Track day fun

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pj

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Just got back from Thunderhill Raceway in beautiful Northern Calfornia .The coupe behaved great I can't belive how well she was sticking to track, I on the other hand was humbled .
First run out was crazy, Iwas like a 90 yr old woman going for groceries but by the 4th run we were running with the pack.
Thats where I realised how well the coupe handles when you totally get off line and too hot going into a corner and she brings you through,thats also where I realised where I was heading if I went out on Day 2 in the coupe so in my new found maturity I put her away and rebooked day 2 ,I will probably run my 525i wagon for a laugh. I learnt that my coupe can go very fast and is very chuckable in the twisties but that I am not willing to break her on a trackday , I have a long way as a driver to go to push her to her limit thats for sure.
I will post some pics when I get them

Take care
PJ
 
Hey PJ,

Glad to hear you had fun at Thell. With the exception of Laguna Seca, it's my favorite racetrack in California. I have hundreds of laps there on the Cowpoke Racing Ducati, but none in a car. It's a seriously fast track as I'm sure you found. The big boys in AFM where I race don't even brake for turn 1 and terminal speeds past Start/Finish are clsot to 160. On race slicks the first three turns are an amazing experience. I had a pretty big get off in Turn 6 years ago, tucking the front at about 90. Luckily I only tumbled and my racebike didn't flip. I did end up bending a rear wheel and ruining all my gear, but I was at work the next day, and racing the next weekend.

I did a track day in my CS at Sears Point a couple years ago and found it to be way to flexible and heavy for that track. Sears is way more technical than Thill, get off the line there and you spend the next three trying to get back on it. Of course your car is much more agressively set up that my old CS, but it was kind of humiliating getting passed by Alfas which were down some 60 BHP to my big bad Bavarian machine.

Anyway, glad to hear you made it round the track and home safely. You must be one tired dude, driving there, at the track and home again is a lot of driving for one day.
 
Track days..

ScottAndrews said:
So PJ,

What was this you signed up for?
A CCA event?

What preliminaries did you have to do?

S
Click to expand...

My buddy runs Track Masters Racing, which is an HPDE group. (High Performance Driving Event) Most of the groups run relatively the same, with the club events usually being much more picky about tech inspections, etc. You can get an idea by checking out his site...

http://www.trackmasters-racing.com
 
It was a NASA event , really well organised , safe , fun . The weekend was under $300 and was a HPDE event.First day you go around with an instructor then if your hitting the line you go up to group2 where you can go alone or take a passenger.
I totaly have noticed an improvement in my driving (the coupe) and she seems to have gotten a good cleanout as well.

PJ
 
an E9 track day??

track days are good times!

excellent and safe way to 'Sort' or learn the scope of your cars capabilities and durability........and what it can't do.....

Maybe we can try to organize an E9 track day w/ a bunch of coupsters someday?? If your not into 'tracking your coupe", maybe you can get some 'Hot laps' w/ a ride a long in someone elses....

much to learn and you will leave a better driver.....

One lesson learned on a track day once:
"Don't ever follow a couple of 911 GT3 racers into a sweeper off a long downhill straight (Laguna Seca turn 2)......
...I gave them the pass by signal and tucked in behind them going into 2, I forgot I was in a 30 year old car being fueled by reliving the old '70s CS-911 rivalries.....they turned in, trying to stay close I started my turn at their turn in...and then realized the difference....the CS tried to hang, but broke/snapped into the longest opposite lock 4 wheel drift I'd ever done all the way thru 2. Thankfully was able to save it (and face) and keep it on the track and go about my merry way. My brother (the passenger) and I checked our shorts, and I laughed it off and made jokes about the difference between track tires and modern suspension, brakes..I could go on....

Track days are a blast, but a very real and serious thing. Gotta think about not only your pride and joy, but thother guys too as your enter corners together......very humbling when your classic CS gets spanked by a clapped out bucket Honda Civic. That's when you learn power to weight ratio lessons...........and that the CS is "Das Boot".....until heavily manipulated.......;-)

-shanon
 
Shannon
my instructor took me around for a few hot laps in his 'clapped out' street Honda civic hatchback , what he called a momentum car ( means he does'nt use the brakes) it was a wild ride thats for sure but real smooth.

The 2 cars that amazed me on the track were the spec Miatas and a very rapid Honda s2000( he passed me at 120+ on the straight).
What cracked me up was when I had someone in front of me and I got sucked into following their line no matter how wrong it was (I got in trouble for that one).

I stopped because I was rubbing my fenders on the fast corners ,I am running staggered 16" rims and st springs/bilstien shocks and she sits a little low as some of you have seen so when I get that sorted out I would venture out on the track again especially if a bunch of us were to go.
Lets set it up

PJ
 
Track Day

I would be glad to help organize a track day through Track Masters Racing. We could all get into the same run group and race around the track flippin' each other off! Of course I'd have to borrow someone else's CS, but that's just a minor problem. ;-)

It would be easiest at Thunderhill, but Infineon might be possible too.

Dan
 
shanon

sounds good to me.

gotta finish my 'bucket' (hopefully by end of month).
I would suggest Thunderhill if the majority of the group are first timers....no walls, plenty of room for error.
Infineon would be logistically the easiest, but it is a tricky course with Walls.... typically the most expensive for track days. A personal favorite, but may not be best for first timers.

just my .02 worth.

let's figure something out.

-shanon
 
I vote for Thell too, the walls at Sears are less an issue than the fact that the track is just extremely technical, and it's hard on E9 bodies. My CS was flexing so badly that the driveshaft was rubbing against the tranny tunnel. True, it's closer, but Sears is just a brutally challenging track for car and driver.
 
works for me , a midweeker would be cool , can't make saturdays.
Thill was a great track for me , a few cars did go off and there was no serious damage.
Beautiful backdrop too

PJ
 
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