nimble8

I got an '08 8 and have been using everything stock from day 1. I always wanted to atleast change the engine oil grade but never did (I was told the warranty will be void if I did), I still use 5w20 to top-up.

I registered for the FATT at summit point this weekend. My 8 has 16K miles on it and I always have given it to the stealership for every service even before it was due. I love my 8 and did not want to messup anything on it.

I know many of u guys have been to the track so I need some suggestions. I want to know if it was OK to put my car on the track as is. As its got 16K miles on it the brake pads shld be good but I donno how they perform on the track. And the brake fluid is DOT3 not DOT4. (Somehow everything that is recommended on the 8 doesn't sound right).

Please help. Thanks.

Razz1

Read the racing section.
You will need brake pads after the event and tires too.

Those items wear fast.

Bring a quart of oil to use at the track.

Drive safe. Follow the rules and advise of the instructors.

Change oil after event.

nimble8

Thanks much for the quick reply.

Yep was prepared to change brake pads after the event..and also the oil.

Got a new set of tires couple weeks back (<300 miles on 'em). Summer tires from Kumho - size same as stock.

Thanks again.

nimble8

Also, can anyone suggest if I need to take some sort of HPDE insurance for the day. It seems very expensive for just one day..... ~200 bucks????

expo1

Surprised you even found a company still doing that. A lot can go wrong at a HPDE, I would take it. The closest I came to a wreck involved me sitting in staging.

So long as the event isn't timed, prizes etc & you have classroom time it can be called a driver's ed course and your ins would cover, but that is a maybe.

Jacob6875

Unless you are wealthy enough that you can just walk away from your car if you total it I would recommend the insurance. I saw a new Honda civic si at an HPDE event in Indiana almost go into the tires at the end of a corner. Luckily that corner had about 200 feet of dirt before the tires (and he still stopped about 6inches from them lol)

Also its always recommended that you put in high performance brake fluid (to prevent it from boiling) and new high performance brake pads on.

wankelbolt

iTrader: (21)

Wrecks are rare at FATTs. The grid and paddock are protected from on-track traffic at all of Summit's tracks. Usually wrecks at HPDEs are caused by (how can I say this politely) strong-willed drivers exceeding their talent level, usually in powerful cars. I can't tell you how many M3s and Vipers I've seen come off the track on a flatbed... But you are unlikely to wreck your first time out with a stock 8. Note that there is some real chance you could wreck, but I think it's lower than the chance of wrecking on the way to the track.

I've only wrecked my 8 once, and that was on the way home after a full day on the track. Freezing rain and ABS found me short of talent.

Lockton Affinity started offering "HPDE insurance" a couple of years ago after they saw a market big insurance companies abandoned in the early 00's. They charge a lot of money to cover something no other insurer covers and rarely have to pay out. It's a good bet for them and does give drivers who feel they need it coverage on-track. Note there was a long gap of about 8 years after the big names all specifically excluded HPDEs and Lockton picked up the ball. During that time HPDE's have grown enormously and every novice FATT group always sold out even though nobody was covered.

Call your insurance agent (or better yet, email) and ask them if they will cover high-performance driver training. Send them a link to summitpointfatt.com. If they say they will cover you, get it in writing. If not, you have to decide if you need the Lockton insurance or not.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

All of the above. And, the biggest thing am afraid of is Brake Fluid. I have no idea what your track is like, but some of the folks here know. If there is a lot of heavy breaking, I would change to fluid to something like Super Blue. Pads, you will need them soon, tires are pretty visible, so you know when something is wrong. Most events have an inspection sheet and do not want the fluid more than a year old. Trans and Dif are close, but that is not that many miles, so should be OK.

I would search for a few videos of the track, from HPDE events, to watch. Just so you know where you are. Do not try to copy whatever line they are on though. LISTEN TO YOUR INSTRUCTOR. The car is easy to drive.

Like above, check the oil after each run, cool the car, take the cool down lap, when you park, DO NOT SET THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, let the care idle for 10 minutes with the hood up to get nice and cool. If you really want to be safe, move it about half a tire rotation after 5 minutes to put the pads over a different part of the disk.

Warm the car for 5 minutes before you even go out on the track as well. This is not a time to save gas. Oil warms slower than water.

Good luck.

nimble8

thanks guys for the help.

@expo1: There are a couple HPDE insurance providers like locktonaffinity, ontrackinsurance and others but for single session insurance I think ontrackinsurance provides the cheapest and also their deductible is lower than others.

I am planning to get an insurance if my current provider (GEICO) does not cover me. I called them and they said some underwriter wud contact me..but no one did as of yet. I just now e-mailed them too as per the advice above.

@wanklebolt: Hey are u the one who posts vids on youtube wid the same name...vids with r8 in 'em etc? Even if not thanks much for the advice.

The track I'm gonna be on for the weekend:

http://www.summitpointfatt.com/index...d=30&Itemid=39

It has a lot of turns.

I have an appointment with the mazda service tomorrow for a thorough inspection on my 8. If they say I need to replace my brake pads then I wud upgrade my pads and get the new brake fluid. But I still doubt if they will do it or reject my request.

@wanklebolt: good to know that wrecks are rare at FATT's

Thanks everyone for ur 2 cents.

mikeinquincy

Like everyone else said, upgrade you brake pads otherwise your stock ones will get glazed over in a few hot laps.

Also make sure you have a full tank of gas. Anything less then a quarter tank and you'll get fuel starvation especially on the long left handers.

nimble8

Got reply from my insurance:

Your coverage will not extend to the High Performance Drivers Education class at Summitt Point Raceway.

Please let us know if we may be of any further assistance.

The policy's exclusion never mentioned any HPDE like stuff they only mentioned racing and similar stuff.

But things a re how they are so now I have to get some HPDE insurance :-(

nimble8

@mikeinquincy: got it..I'll get good ones. Abt the fuel...thanks...I cud have wondered if something like that happened on track.

Do I have to change the pads to the street ones after the track?

And..any suggestions on high performance brake pads?

mikeinquincy

I don't change, but my car is not a daily driver and I track it fairly frequently so take it for what it's worth. You will get a lot of brake dust on your wheels with track pads.

Hawk HP+ should be more then enough for you at this point.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

I really like the HAWK HPS pads. There are better ones (search for hawk brake info). Someone just published a list. I can leave them on all year. They just need a little bit of time the first time I stop in the cold to get some heat in them. If you see the graph referenced above, you want to look at the lower temp. If it is much above 100 degrees, they will be interesting the first time you use them on a cold morning. Allow plenty of room to stop. I do not see any pad related issues at Roebling Road with the HPS. However, the car is still way smarter than I am.

expo1

Changing the topic a little, do you know if your going to be on the Shenandoah circuit at Summit Point? That is a great track that you can do well on, it is a technical track, High HP cars are not at an advantage there. RX-8's can preform well there.

nimble8

8 is my DD so had to make sure.

@expo1: yea I'll be on the shenandoah circuit and I waited the DE to be on this circuit so that I have an edge over the others

I'll have to order the pads overnight to make it by thursday...donno if I can get it on

nimble8

I am also worried abt the oil..Is 5w20 too thin for the track?? Do the mazda ppl know if I use a different grade?

04Green

iTrader: (1)

The oil discussion is filed under "Religious War".

I will share with you what I Plan to do this weekend, in Savannah, GA, for an HPDE event (similar temps). I went with 5W30 non synthetic. I changed the oil, ran the car for 5 minutes, then changed the oil and filter. Total, about 5 qts. This got as much dirty oil out of the coolers as possible.

Good luck.

wankelbolt

iTrader: (21)

Some good advice here, nimble, and some not so good.

Actually the oil grade is not a religious war. We have hard facts courtesy of oil analysis and torn-down engines. Search around. Generally, 5W20 is inadequate. It's use was dictated by the EPA, not the engineers. If you are going to do a change before you go to the track, 10W30 is a good idea. If you are going to change it after the event, don't sweat it. One event is not going to make a difference unless you are a latent Mario Andretti and will spend the entire day on the rev limiter (unlikely ). I've switched to Rotella T 15W40 (diesel oil), but I drive the snot out of my 8 all the time.

Brake fluid: Don't waste your money on Super Blue or SRF or any other crazy expensive fluid. The RX-8 has superior brakes and Castrol LMA or Valvolline Synthetic is more than good enough. I use whichever is cheaper at Wally World.

Brake pads: I think you'll be OK with stock pads first time out. Surely wouldn't hurt to step up to HPS. When you start getting fast, you may have to step up to HP+ (what I use), but they are not really streetable for a DD. I change my pads (front only) every time I go to the track. Takes 20 minutes once you get the routine down. I have HPS pads on the rear and leave them there (rear brakes are a pain in the *** to change).

Videos: Yep, that's me. I posted another last week chasing race-prepped E30 M3 driven by another instructor around VIR. Caught him too.

Have fun on the Shen! It's my favorite track after VIR Grand Equalizer. The Shen is harder to learn, but very rewarding when you start hitting the turns correctly. I hated it and thought Bill Scott (track owner) was out of his flipping mind when they let us on the track shortly after it was made -- close walls, apexes in the middle of the track, etc -- but now I love it and can't get enough of it.

nimble8

Thank you guys.

But I was still wondering if the guys from mazda know if we change the oil grade (I have anyways decided to change).

@wanklebolt: Thanks for the advice. And yea I've seen that vid too...u were pretty impressive there.....kool driving.

Razz1

You didn't know they send your oil out to a lab and test it when you bring it in for warrenty work?

They will only know if you use synthetic.

I like 10-40 even 20-50 is good at track.

nimble8

Yeah I know but was not sure if they also know if I change grade (non-synthetic). Now I know

I mentioned that I have a track day this friday and the mazda service guys said they can replace the 5w20 wid 5w30...and also my brake fluid with synthetic fluid which can withstand high temps. They say the stock brakepads shld do good for one day of track. The front pads have 60% meat left on 'em and the rear 80%. So I think I shld be good. My tires have <300 miles (Kumho ecsta spt - summer - stock size)

Another note: They mentioned that if I change the brakepads from them OEM they wud replace my pads everytime they are wornout in future (donno how it works...I confirmed that twice)

nimble8

Got HPDE insurance just now from ontrackinsurance.com. (151 bucks).

BTW my car was inspected (at my local mazda dealership) by one of the instructors (Phil) from the Summit point and he is going to be there tomorrow. He said, since this was the first time I was going onto the track I will be doing fine with what I have now. He was the one who changed my oil grade and my brake fluid grade the last time.

wankelbolt

iTrader: (21)

Phil is a great guy and a good friend of mine. He'll treat you right. Too late now but if he's there I hope you get a ride in his GSL-SE RX-7. Looks like you're going to have a perfect day. And I sit here stuck in a cubicle in a windowless office.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

So, we got one going to Summit, one going to Roebling this weekend. No cube for me either.... Is the other RX8 at Roebling in this group anywhere? We need to band together. It is like 110 Porsches and 4 Mazdas..