I rarely get to post here but this was too much fun not to share...Saturday I spent the day doing a High Speed Touring day (regular fun track day) at Hallet with the FD for the first time...Taken it to the autocross and drag before but first on a road course...I recommend this to anyone.

Things I have noticed with mysetup...Neet to upgrade my brakes and make some mods to the cooling system. Was creeping up into the 105-107 when I pulled off but cooled back down to 86 in about 3 minutes.

I was running on Kumho ES 100S, 235/275 and they are defiately not a track tire

Here's a video of trying to keep up with a GT40 for a few laps. We ran with him about 6 laps before I had to pull off and cool down.

VIDEO

Also, for our next BBQ we can hit the track for one of these HST days on Sunday the 28th for those interested and are close by OK.

See www.RotaryRendezvous.com if you are interested in the BBQ

 

My GOD!!~~~ That looks like a lot of fun!!!
Do you need like a license to do track? Or you just need to pay a fee?
I have done autocrossing but... I don't like it. I wonder what track racing feels like..hehehe.

 

Lookin' good. Wish I could've made it up to Hallet when I lived up there.

I know what you mean about the Kumhos too.... they suck bad, can't wait to change mine out.

 

In the 5 years of owning my car it is by far the most fun I have had in it....I have done the drag and autocross and nothing compares to the track...It's a huge adrenaline rush and you get to learn the limits of your car and yourself pretty damn fast...I get to drive the twisties and push it pretty hard but not like this hard...If you run off the road on the track you are in the grass and maybe hit a tire wall...If you run off the road doing the twisties you end up on your roof on down some cliff...

You need to get a COMMA license I belive but all I had to do was pay for it...This is what I spent for the day.

License: 35
Track Fee: 95
Track Entrance: 5 (didn't understand why I was paying this but they required it)
10 Gallons of 110: $57


Don't know why I waited so long to go out there.

 

Looks like mucho fun!!! Wish we had a really nice track to hit like that. We have one north of me, but it is almost never open to the public.

-josh

 

Looks like fun! Next time get some track Kuhmos and show that GT whos boss!
What kind of cooling setup do you have now? Radiator, oil coolers, etc....

 

They have this HST weekend once a month...Think they shut it down during the winter...Check out

Here's an overview of the track



Here's a couple good videos of the track being run both ways.

Clockwise

Counter Clockwise

 

nice vid

 

Koyo w/ 60/40 coolant / water)
Dual oil coolers.

The air then has to pass through my FMIC / AC Condensor to get to the rad which still has the stcok fans.

Was seeing up to 107C and it creeped up slowly...I ran the entire first session 9 laps at about 15 minutes of WOT and it was getting up to 104...Then the following sessions I had about 45min cool down time and I was only getting about 10 minutes of WOT before I hit 105-107 and pulled off to cool down....

Thing is, it cools down really fast...About 3-5 min and I am back to normal temps...

I figure if I was running all water and some water wetter it would have been better...I will try this next time and see how it performs.


Also, I know absolutely 0 Zero about tires...Are there any specific track Kumhos or just 1 type in different sizes? I don't care how long they last really. I will probably drive my car about 2000 miles a year now not including track...I have had these ES100s for 8k miles and still have half tread left. Great for daily street driving but pretty slick on the track.

 

Nice!

 

looked like fun

 

what he was saying about the tires... they are called kuhmo VictoRacers very nice tires and you would have diffently passed the GT with those. also pratice heel toe i noticed that when down shifting you didn't blip the throttle. you kinda just let the clutch out cousing the engine to just reeevvvvveeeennnn engine brake while it cought up to the rpm of the tranny. matching revs will be alot smoother and doesn't upset the car as much going into the corner

 

Thanks for the info on the tires and the heal toe...I am defiantely a newbie at this but hopefully change that soon with more track days.

 

Tire wise do you mean yokohama ES100's....or does Kuhmo make the it as well

Anyway looks like you had a lot of fun....Good times...

 

that's what I meant Yokohama ES100s...I have Kuhmos before...der

 

A couple suggestions:

1) Forget the track tires initially - you need to deal with the cooling problem first. Make sure that you have sealed up all the little areas around the radiator where air can get around it. Probably going to a 70/30 mix plus WW would not be bad - but I would stay away from straight H2O.

2) Good tires, brakes and a healthy car are all essential. But if you are not driving your tires off the car and the brakes aren't fading, I would leave those upgrades until later. Don't worry - keep this up and you'll need new tires soon enough. As well as brake pads. ;-)

3) It goes without saying that fresh fluids are a must - oil and brake fluids should be changed regularly.

4) I can't quite tell from your vids, but where were you shifting in the RPM range? It almost seemed like you were short shifting. The rotory loves the revs - let it get up above 7k, there's a lot of power up there.

5) Work on the driver first - the rest will come later. Heel-toe (or in my case ball of foot on brake / outside edge of foot blip gas) is a good thing.

Welcome to the world of the "go fast crack pipe". Take another hit. Prepare to kiss your bank account goodbye.

-b

 

Saw how you almost spun out towards the end...Man cant wait to move back down to cali so I can track my car...

 

That's some good advice there, Bill (wrankin). Did you have fun at the Mazda Driver's this weekend??

Quick question for apneablue: just out of sheer curiosity, what suspension are you running and do you know the spring rates? I'm polling people who actually track their FDs just to get an idea.

Thanks!

 

Posting just so i can find this later when i'm not in class

 

Ya, I wish I could watch those vids right now, but Im sitting in my web design class. I keep minimizing the window when my teacher walks over here. Im so sneaky. Haha.

 

Wow, that looks like a TON of fun!! I'm planning on hitting a track this summer for the first time.

 

Apneablue,
I agree with everyone’s assessment that you need to get the cooling under control first. However, with the amount of power you’re making on the track you need a better pad compound. I highly recommend N-Tech’s track compound for track duty. If you have the funds to buy the backing plates even better.
As for the tires the ES100 aren’t that bad- I ran a few events on them and they’re a decent tire. You’ll learn better car control with a standard tire and it will let you know when you’re on the edge. Plus, I doubt you’re not out driving your tires at this point. Once you’re able to learn the proper line and move up into the next group then upgrade your tires to an R compound. If you really want to upgrade I would recommend an S0-3 or the Kumo MX, but for a newbie on the track what you have is fine.
Again fresh fluids are a must, oil and break fluid! I have been told that flushing the brake fluid every other event is the norm.

Looks like you had a great safe time! I know what you mean it’s probably the coolest thing you can do in a car!
Good luck and I’ll see you on the track!!

 

nice post, i have never been to a track so this is the best i can get.

SOMEONE BUILD A TRACK AROUND SA PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE.

 

I wonder if Crispy will chime in. I thought he said he saw lower temps with the addition of his vented hood.

 

If you plan on doing more track days, I suggest getting rid of your front mount all together and get a stock mount. A medium ASP would do you wonders!! You could probably get one for about the same price I bet as well (depends on your fmic though). Just a suggestion.