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Prepairing For Track Day!

Baysidebluebnr34

By Baysidebluebnr34,
in Queensland

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51jay Mentor

51jay

Posted
Posted
Yeh but the trick is actually being able to safely push the stock car to the limit and be able to hold it there all the time, rather then always pushing it over the limit and losing time. A modded car is alot easy to drive and hold near the limit so to say as its been built to do that.

Did you read my post?? I said nothing about being over the limit. Modding the car will do nothing to help you drive it near it's limits. It will...if done correctly..just raise the level of those limits.

My point was you don't actually have to do anything to an R32 or 33 GT except upgrade the brakepads in order to enjoy a track day.

The GTR of course is another story alltogether. :(

r33_racer Grand Master

r33_racer

Posted
Posted

Yes i know what you said.

"If you can drive a stock GTST to it's limmit you will be quicker than a lot of modded cars and a few GTRs.....Have fun with YOUR car"

And i was saying that it will be harder to push a std gtst then a modded one, with good driver ability or without it. You are all for the just drive for fun thing, not being competitive or anything like that then thats fine, but most people have modified cars and like to modify them so they can go faster and be more competitive whilst still having fun if not more fun then when the car was std.

I wasnt attacking your post, i was just saying that a modified car will be easier to do say a flat 60 around the sprint track with only driving at say 70% of your ability, with room for a quicker time as the ability and effort goes up. Where say a std gtst you would be hanging on the edge of that ability, the cars and your own to make that flat 60. Because you would be near that limit so often, mistakes are bound to happen.

I apologise if you took my post the wrong way, i was actually pissed this morning when i wrote that haha. But everyone is different, you like to just go out for fun and have fun just in the fact your actually racing around the track with basic car mods which is kewl, or people like me who like to go out and be competitive and have fun. Eitherway were all still having fun right?

Hopefully next qld 500 i will see you out there mate. Hope you accept my apology, i dont want any shitfights with fellow nissan drivers/racers :(

MountainRunner Mentor

MountainRunner

Posted
Posted

Hi guys, great thread about track day. I want to answer the question about overtaking.

The number one prioirty on the day is everyone's safety. So when someone is doing an overtake I would like to see the following:

1. Leading driver is aware of following car. i.e. Uses mirrors.

2. Following driver flashes head lights to indicate desire to overtake.

3. Leading driver indicates what side to overtake to following car.

4. Following car proceeds to overtake.

5. Leading car holds line and backs off to ensure overtake is finished before the next corner.

One thing to be aware of is occasionally someone in front will be faster in the straight and slower through all the corners. The temptation is to shoot off down the straight and hold up the following car for another lap of corners. The better thing to do is to acknowledge the following car is quicker in corners and let it pass on the next straight.

Generally everyone does the right thing and the days runs great. If someone doesn't do the right thing, it is usually because of enthusiasm and is not intentional. Don't get mad, have a polite word or get me to have a chat.

With the grouping on the day, I have lap data on most drivers, so the sessions are organised by performance. Doing this reduces the difference between the cars and there is less overtaking. Our smaller numbers also makes for clearer track.

Paul

r_speedfreak_r Proficient

r_speedfreak_r

Posted
Posted

cool, thanks for the clearing that up mountain runner. I think from a noobies perspective like mine there's alot to think about but when your on the track driving it'll pretty much all be common sense anyway.

ZENNON Grand Master

ZENNON

Posted
Posted (edited)

Paul two questions...

First question:

3. Leading driver indicates what side to overtake to following car.

So if Im going down the strait and Im keeping left so i want them to overtake on the right that means I indicate RIGHT while stay left? (just to clarify)

(almost witnessed a crash on the road once because of such a confusion)

Second Question:

What do I have to do if I want to come to a track day?

Edited by ZENNON
51jay Mentor

51jay

Posted
Posted

ah! back in Bris again

r33 racer....nothing to apologise about, if we all had the same point of view there,d be nothing

to talk about.

I'm not anti engine mods,in fact mine are all planned out. I'm just seeing how far we can go with

lightening the car and setting up suspension and brakes.

Track days are not in fact race days...if you want to race you need to go Sundays :laugh:

Having a faster and better handling car will usually get you round the track quickerbut doesn,t

mean you'r a better driver...but enough of this.

The point I was trying to make was, people post all the time saying they are dieing to get out

to a track day but there car is "only" a stocky or they'r waiting until they get this done or that done

They could be out there driving the car they've got and seeing their times go down as they get practice in

and add mods to their car.

Anyway when we're out there come and say hello.....I'm the grumpy old geezer with a white R33 "Mum's Car"

Baysidebluebnr34 Rising Star

Baysidebluebnr34

Posted
  • Author
Posted
thats why i have not been to any of those track days.

i am dying to go, but i have never been on one, and i might hold everyone up. is there any chance ppl can go on with instructors??

You should came out Frank!! even if it is just for a look!

r33_racer Grand Master

r33_racer

Posted
Posted

i will do that mate. I know and agree with what your saying people shouldnt wait till all the mods they can do are done before they go out and have some fun. I took the point about the stock car being quicker then a lightly modded car as the main point there and focused on that. Anyway i know its not a race, only a time race.

51jay Mentor

51jay

Posted
Posted
thats why i have not been to any of those track days.

i am dying to go, but i have never been on one, and i might hold everyone up. is there any chance ppl can go on with instructors??

No to the instructor question. Perhaps you could book one of Paul's passenger ride sessions and take someone who knows around the track. Best thing would be to pay for an advanced driver course.

There is a first time for everyone, you may not be as slow as you think :) just let faster cars past on the straights. you will probably be on track with people doing similar times to you.

The main thing is to get out there and enjoy driving your car and the company of like minded people

maccattack Proficient

maccattack

Posted
Posted
thats why i have not been to any of those track days.

i am dying to go, but i have never been on one, and i might hold everyone up. is there any chance ppl can go on with instructors??

Don't worry about holding people up. The days are organsied so that people of similar times are on the track together. You may start off in a group that is slightly faster or slower than you. This is generally corrected by shifting you into a more suitable group after your first run. There is overtaking, but in reality is is not overly common. If the groups are set right, everyone - irrespective of what they are driving, will be doing fairly similar times. Once you start getting used to it, chasing and being chased are the best parts - tends to make you drive a little harder.

I know a few people who also say "I'll look like an idiot if my times are too slow".

It's definitely not the case. Everyone who goes out has to start somewhere. It is understood and encouraged.

Go and have a run. You'll love it.

ZENNON Grand Master

ZENNON

Posted
Posted
thats why i have not been to any of those track days.

i am dying to go, but i have never been on one, and i might hold everyone up.

Dont worry about it!! :kiss: Ive never been out there (driving) and Im keen as a bean!

And im bound to hold people up - since i dont know the track (know the layout but have never raced on it) and dont know my car very well (have only had it for a couple of weeks now)

Theyll put all us slow people together and itll be fine! :)

MountainRunner Mentor

MountainRunner

Posted
Posted

Hey Guys. As maccattack said, I group everyone based on their lap times. If you are new and want to be in a slower group just let me know and its all good.

All the guys who come out are really friendly and easy to talk too. No one gets embarressed or made fun of because of lap times. Encouragement and good advice is on offer.

I personally have run heaps of track days but have only driven 4 laps on the Sprint and 4 on the clubman in TOTAL at QR. I have been hampered by endless car troubles. These are now almost sorted and I'll be checking myself into the newbie group and looking for advice from the likes of our Group 1 guys.

Paul

Col-GTSX Grand Master

Col-GTSX

Posted
Posted

You should come along to the nov track day so you can see whats going on...

Once you see us flying round and burning rubber you will be keen as mustard to be in the next event...

Plus we need SAU members to come and take photos for us who are driving and we need support...

jlnewton Grand Master

jlnewton

Posted
Posted

GTRs can never have enough cooling, even with a TRUST 16row oil cooler and 57mm PWR radiator my old car used to see quite high oil temps and its was quite stock power wise.

Hopefully the new GTST should be seing similiar times to the old GTR next year. Can't wait for the cooler months next year!

  • 10 months later...
mikel Community Regular

mikel

Posted
Posted

The first time I went I was in the 2nd or 3rd group - I was watching the first group do their laps and I was terrified at how fast they were going.

Once I got out there I had an absolute ball - sure I was over taken, but it was the best fun I've ever had driving (including the drags and the hill climb at Mount Cotton).

I can't wait for the next day on 23 Aug 07.

My tips:

- take a folding chair and a hat, and if it's hot you'll want shorts and a t-shirt to get into in between sessions (long pants/long sleeves are required for the circuit)

- as per a previous post, take lunch and water. The Skyline club had a bar-b-que last time which was great, but I get hungry early.

- take a tyre pressure gauge, and measure your pressures before and after each run - I found 36 cold/39 hot to be the best for my car (R33 GTST) - and don't trust the gauge on the air hose behind the pits- it reads too low

- try not to change gears near the rev limiter all day, changing gears at 6000 rpm puts a lot less stress on your engine that 7000 rpm - you want to drive home.

- take fuel if you can, but I nearly went through 2 tanks for morning and afternoon sessions, so I ducked down the road about 5 minutes for a full tank at lunch time

- have fun

- take it easy driving home -it feels very slow

cheers,

Mike

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