Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Well, after putting off several opportunities in the past im finally going to head to wakefield and have a go round the track at this weekends UAS track day.

I plan to drive my MR2 for fun and I was hoping that some of the more experienced track driving people here could provide any tips or info such as which lines to take or avoid, as well as anything else I should know.

Thanks guys

Nick

  • Replies 46
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Sure... let me drive!

On a serious note.

Take it eaisy the first few sessions if not the whole day. work on finding a line slowly and remember that smoothness is what counts. Your gear selection is important... use a higher gear to start with and try and find a gear that works for "most" of the track. The less changes you have to make the better you will find where to go.

Look for the white edge of track lines... more importantly where they have been worn (discoloured) by tyres running over them. this is where "most" people drive and would be close to the correct line (everybody drives slightly different).

Try and take an experenced driver out with you as much as possible. not every time, but maybe every second or third session. and try for different experienced drivers if you can. (If I was coming down I would jump into the passengers/drivers(your car if you'd let me) seat and let you know what I know and hope that it helps.

Most important,

Enjoy yourself and drive the car home.

Dan.

haha like Dan said the most important bit is to drive home :(

I guess the most important thing before hand is make sure ur brakes are OK, put in nice new fluid...I guess you've done all that sort of this since it just landed.

With the track itself, Wakefields a great place to get into it.....not just a drag track with corners like Eastern Creek...its got a great mix. Obviously you take it easy for a few sessions until you get comfortable where the track goes and how your car reacts.

To get consistency and speed out of the car, you note points/marks/bumps etc on the track as points to turn in to corners or brake. Generally people on the track for the first time brake to early and not hard enough and turn in to the corner too early. But the easiest way to sort out lines is to take out a passenger who can give suggestions.

I guess the main thing is tho, unless you're a driving genius like wreckhead, don't get overconfident. Amazing how all the big offs happen in the afternoon sessions when people think they've got it sorted...and they're a bit tired...

Thanks Duncan - that was my theory, I consider myself a good driver on the road but I dont think that means jack on the track so I will work my way into it gradually.

Nothing like cheater tyres for my first drive though eh :(

What profile tyres are you running Nick?

I put my old 17" rims on to race and found them much more comfortable with the way they let you know where the limits of traction are as opposed to the 18's I normally run.

The tyres are sh!t quality and I'll be using them again on Sunday but believe it or not I felt safer knowing my tyres were the weak link because (obviously being my first track day) I was still learning the car - as you will be this weekend.

To clarify that; I'd prefer the tyres let go than anything else.

Hope this makes sense. I have a massive one days track experience to back me up here with all previous hard driving being FWD on dirt.

Hmmm we as it happens im now going to be running on the factory 14 inch alloys with some new tyres thrown on the back.

Will look into larger wheels and better tyres later down the track.

I expect a lot of fun on Sunday - the MR2 should resemble a go kart on the track due to its size

you will have heaps of fun! good onya nick for giving it a go!

sounds like the mr2 will be mauled by the fire breathing Zed's and R's on the day though?!? but, you'll have equal amount of fun regardless of the car you're in :thumbsup:

these vids will give you an idea of the track :)

from the outside:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/photopost..._and_franks.wmv

from the inside:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/photopost...franks_laps.wmv

and heres what NOT to do ;)

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/[email protected]

Haha thanks Franky, I couldnt care less who I get mauled by. I want to get the track feel before taking the GTR out.

I havent done a single track day and even I can see that "Russ" drives like an idiot on the race track :thumbsup:

Generally people on the track for the first time brake to early and not hard enough and turn in to the corner too early.
After my first experience at Eastern Creek (as short as it was before my master cylinder decided it wanted to make bubbling sounds) I found that Duncan's comments above would have to be the #1 mistake people make.

Witches hats were place at the 'turn in' the 'apex' and the 'exit point' of the main corners at EC and it was quite amazing how far you would have to dirve (straight ahead towards the edge of the track) before you have to turn in. The first few laps (with Dunan as my passenger) I felt as if I was going to run off the track and tried to turn in early (which if I was in the v8 Supercars it would have looked like I was "blocking" on every corner), it was quite surprising how far you have to stay out for before beginning to turn in.

Braking is not like normal street driving (slow and relaxed), when Duncan took me out I thought we were either gonna hit the car infront, run off the road or my brain was gonna slither out through my nose (heavy braking). Once your happy with your line and gear selection give the brakes a smooth yet heavier jab than what you would normally do on the road.

PS. I'm guessing the common gear at Wakefield is 3rd? with 4th down the straight? (won't reach 5th right? and 2nd being too slow for the top corners?)

PS. I'm guessing the common gear at Wakefield is 3rd? with 4th down the straight? (won't reach 5th right? and 2nd being too slow for the top corners?)

This could be the start of some disagreements lol. Personally, all 3rd except breifly on the back straight, and on the front straight. With good corner speed and a quick car you might need 4th up the hill and back down to turn 8 (the fish hook). I don't use second in a RWD car....too much wheelspin and too close to needing to change up anyway....jsut leave it in 3rd and have plenty of boost as you come out of the corner :thumbsup:

I found the hardest habit to break was the turn in, i would always turn in too early, and probably still do.

When i drove an R33 i didnt touch 2nd gear around Wakefield, in my jigger though, when im really trying 2nd gear onto the straight, and on the tight left hander...its marginally quicker if i get out of the corners well, can be slower if i punt the thing sideways ...bu tdont normally do it as it menas the car has to rev a lot harder and i tend to wash off corner speed when i search for the lower gear.

Blitz - I went through my first track day experience earlier this year. All I can say is prepared to be hooked! lol

Anyways.... some advice from my first time out. Start off following someone who knows their way around the track. Preferably someone you could just beat powerwise normally but not someone you have to "slow down for" to follow. I kinda made this mistake on my first day - because when I finally decided that enough was enough and it was time to go forth and venture on my own I discovered my braking points were a whole lot different when I was at full flight! (LOL - my very first corner I went WAAAAYYYY off at turn 1 at Sandown! I had gone from being at about 180km/hr at the end of the straight when following a car to 240km/hr - didnt realise the braking distance was THAT big a difference for those speeds)

Also - speak to as many different people that have been at the track as possible for little tips. From my experience all the tracks have some little quirks or tips that can be handy for the non experienced. Don't know about Wakefield but Sandown has 3 corners where advice from others certainly helped me improve my times.

Regardless of lap times you will have heaps of fun. And then Im sure you will be dying to get the line out on the track!

I had gone from being at about 180km/hr at the end of the straight when following a car to 240km/hr

Thats it... I propose a road trip to sanddown raceway... I can't get near 240 at EC!

/end hijack.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • For these last 7 years of ownership, I've always had to use a small scissor jack under one of the front tow hooks to raise the front just enough so my low-profile jack fits under to reach my subframe jack point. I'm beginning to get annoyed of always having to do this. Are there any lower low-profile jacks that fit under the gtr lip on a dropped car?
    • Seat of the pants assessment of the new intake: The car is way less "doughy" when hitting the loud pedal, especially off idle when stopped or in traffic, I did use a cheapo lazer thermal thingo to measure the temp around where the pod filter got its air, it was between 55 - 60°C, in saying this the car was shut off and not moving, so the OEM intake pipe was not supplying any fresh air to where the pod was when the car was at least moving A weird bonus was induction noise on the throttle in the cabin increased a bit,  I was worried that I was actually going to lose some of that induction noise I love so much, outside though, when I got the daughter to do a WOT drive by pass for me, the induction noise has increased alot when on the throttle, not quite ITB doort, but well up there I'm extremely happy with the results and have been exploring the country roads in the region  As for house mods: 1.New front fence is up and is awesome, it really upgraded how the joint looks from the street, and the added security is nice 2. Electricians have replace some interior lights, and with more lighting in the garage, a few new motion detecting lights out the front above the garage, front room, and at the front door, which I have already found heaps helpful coming and going, also now has fancy pants CCTV all round the house The only hold point for power though is the solar and batteries due to supply issues, although this will happen over the next few weeks 3. I have done a heap of landscaping out the front and I'm almost ready to do a new small retaining wall with some nice blocks to replace the brick and cemented in rocks around the raised garden beds cemented in river stone "was the fashion at the time" the house was built. I currently have a pallet of retaining wall blocks and 2 bulka bags of 20mm blue metal to replace the wood chip that is in the raised garden beds around the house 4. I now have 3 big raised garden beds for out the back to grow some vegetables, about 70cm high, 200cm long and 100cm wide 5. My 2 compost bins are already pretty full with brown, green and kitchen waste from the landscaping I'vedone so far, but they will probably take a few months to break down, so anything else that gets chopped, trimmed, and kitchen waste will just start filling the base of the raised garden beds to about 30cm before I start throwing 40cm of good compost, and stuff, for the vegetables to grow in, I'll need a few ton of compost and soil, but the local supplier can sent me bulka bags of the stuff Basically the logs, wood chips and a few strategically placed rocks for drainage, will give the beds some good organic materials down low to break down over time, and they will hold moisture during the warmer months to save the water in my big arse water tank if we don't get alot of rain So, all in all, the car and house mods are going well, and I'm really enjoying being retired, I sleep in too 0700 and slowly plod around inside until I feel like actually doing anything, and only work in the yard for as long as want, which has actually been alot over the last few weeks,  although when you look at it, it seems that not a huge amount of work has been done,  until I look at the before I started the work pics Happy days and good times indeed 
    • hahaha yeah. Plan is to get side skirts and probably just rear pods. But going to do them one-by-one. I've got a set that I really like from RHDJapen, but that one isn't shipped to AU. So need to find someone who can get it for me
    • Here's an idea, answer the questions I asked you as they are trying to work out WHY the LSD will be binding up in a straight line.
×
×
  • Create New...