Greatest day of my life
 

This was my first HPDE at LimeRock Race Park in CT
im hooked...theres no going back now ;)
http://goku.fscker.com/~brandon/hpde/IMG_6990.jpg
http://goku.fscker.com/~brandon/hpde/IMG_7001.jpg
http://goku.fscker.com/~brandon/hpde/IMG_7010.jpg
http://goku.fscker.com/~brandon/hpde/IMG_7465.jpg
http://goku.fscker.com/~brandon/hpde/IMG_7468.jpg

two words of advice:

A) buy a cheap, replaceable, and dedicated track car
B) There will always be someone faster than you. Drive with your head, not your balls.

M.

Welcome to the go-fast crack pipe!

Welcome to being broke :)

Looks fun. I'd be worried about cooling issues . . whenever I drive the piss out of my car over a certain twisty farm highway I know, the radiator can't seem to keep up with the water temp! Wide open throttle > 4k rpm 90% of the time appears to be outside the design critera of the stock cooling system. :)

:withstupi Yea, what they said. Your life as you knew it is over. :D

a)Yeah ive been trying to sell my car for a bit now..looking to got a stock honda hatch :)

b) I wasnt one of the morons out there trying to set lap records :)

my coolant temps never went over 183-185 the whole day....im running a FMIC with the radiator behind it with a ducting tray...it also didnt go over 45 degrees that day either

Yep, I wasn't trying to insinuate you were, just making sure you knew that , :) too many newbs go out thinking they own the track...

Amen.

Poverty is owning a race car.

Although it would be nice to have a DEDICATED track car, if you go with another lesser car than a third gen, you may not find track driving as much fun.

when was the event and who hosted it? how much $$?

Nov8th and NASA hosted it


it was 200 bucks i think

Ive thought about this...but theres guys with dodge neons out there having a blast...

Im pretty sure a stock honda civic hatch with some suspension and braking things would be pleny fun for now.

The one thing i learned after tracking out of turn 1 for the first time...horsepower is maybe 30% of this game...

artowar summed it up perfectly.... I'm hooked as well. Just remember you drag race between every corner....

I did my first HPDE NASA day and it was a blast. Then had to do a few more. I had a stock powered FC with zero engine upgrades, T2 rear end/brakes, s/s brake lines, K2RD coilovers& c/c plates, Hawk HP+ pads and 17x8's with some RA-1's. I truly had the time of my life. I got my ass handed to me in the straightaways..... but once the twisties came I was chewing people up and spitting them out.

Now I'm building an FD to get the most out of it and plan to do a handful of HPDE days a year. Money is spent like water on some parts. Get used to it :).

I hope to finish my project before 2004 is over.

-GNX7

It's hard to beat a Miata as a dedicated track car - cheap and super-reliable. Not just cheap up front, but brake pads, tires, wheels, etc. all a fraction of the cost of an FD, M3, Porsche, Corvette, etc. And obviousboy is right - it's more about driving skill than the car for most people. I routinely lap M3s, Corvettes, 911s (NA and turbo) at most events in my Miata. You would probably have the same experience in a 1st or 2nd gen NA RX7. I don't have any front-wheel drive experience, but some of the guys in the Integras and the Civics are pretty damn fast, and those are also cheap, reliable track cars. An occasional HPDE is one thing, but if you really get the bug, I really think you need to be able to afford to push your track car off a cliff and walk away from it. If you're unreasonably scared of balling up the car, it's hard to play at the limit, which is what high performance driving is all about.

As a racer and HPDE instructor, I can also tell you that someone who learned to drive in a low hp car can transition to a high hp car and drive it well much more frequently than someone who has been struggling to learn to drive a high hp car for years.

That being said, I'm getting my FD ready for the track - not as a dedicated track car, but as a street/track car - because hp is a hell of a lot of fun, and I think now I can handle it.

BTW-go ahead and start budgeting in the tow vehicle and trailer, etc. And get used to the idea of your tow vehicle being your daily driver. Once bitten...

Sure they are.
But have they had a taste of the poison? I assure you that they have not. Otherwise, they would be driving an FD instead.

My personal experience is that I have driven my FD and a BMW 328 Ci on the track as well as the M3. Although I could learn plenty in the 328Ci, it was not nearly as fun driving it on the the track. It was not even close. As a matter of fact, after having done two track events with the 328 Ci, I decided that it was not fun enough to take it to the track anymore. All because I have been spoiled by the 3rd gen. Now, the M3 is a different story...

Sort of like saying, "If you move up to women from sheep, you may not find sex as much fun".

Whatever floats your boat, dude. I have more fun in my 89RWHP street car (or 109RWHP Spec7) than I do in anything else, any day.

those are the hp numbers im looking to run :)

when i can drive a car with 125whp with my foot down on the gas the whole time then ill move on to something with more nuts like a FD

Brandon,
Glad to hear you made it to the track and hope to see you at one in 2005.

Great attitude regarding hp btw :)

I borrowed a spec miata for a track weekend this year and had an absolute blast. If you plan on doing lots of track events it would be a really wise choice or even just a miata period.

Track life is expensive but you would be amazed at how you somehow manage to have enough money to buy what you need. You may live in the gutter but on the weekend you'll be at the track :)
Fritz

LOL

It IS like saying "If you move up to women from sheep, you may not find sex as much as fun if you go back to doing it with sheep".

I don't know about you but if I wouldn't go back to the sheep.

But whatever floats your boat, duuuuude.

Very well said.:) It's just like crack.....

Lime Rock is a fun track in a Miata. :)

I remember the first time I ever drove a Miata was on track on the same day I was there with my Turbo II Convertible (full conversion) w/ lots of HKS goodies back and a roll bar in 1995 or so. I had more fun with the Miata.

Watkins Glen wasn't much fun in a slow car - FC na + street mods. Neither was Bridgehampton in a A1 chassis VW with street mods. My e36 BMW sucked ass on the track even with a full suspension rims and other engine mods. Too big and heavy feeling compared to the nice nimble sports cars I just listed.

However, a nicely prepped track car with a roll bar and sticky tires such as a Miata, FB or FC is easily more fun that a street car. There were some guys in prepped FBs that were just hard/impossible to catch. Still need to get out there with my FD though.

Kudos on your attitude to horsepower! I race go karts and always loved lapping the idiots in shifter karts that are attracted to big HP numbers but don't know how to properly use the horsepower to make them fast. Same applies to fendered cars/race cars on track.

It is a drug.

Mr. Stock, you ever driven a low HP car to the limit on the track? Just curious.

My guess is no.... ;)

Ok, let's be nice.:)

Chris the funny thing is that the FB is plenty fast in IT/Spec7 form. I'm scared as shit at the EP speeds. 130mph in turns 1 & 2 at TMS. It's gonna take me a while to build up to it.

Lol

Thanks man...Ill be at VIR sometime in Febuary (i think thats the next event)
I might still have the rx7 :)

Thanks for calling :bss: on that arrogant FD comment silk and chris. ;)


Think about this. A simple car like an ITA/IT7 or spec7 FB or spec Miata will net you more fun time too, and less time wrenching, and cheaper to maintain. You wont learn how to race by fixing it all the time.

The only thing that MIGHT be more fun than a well prepped FD track car is a GT3 cup car. More time wrenching but huge fucking grin :D


Brandon,
Is that event with NASA? If so I'll see you there :)
Fritz

Yeah its with NASA

I dunno, a nice Formula Mazda or CSR would still run rings around most FD track cars, and the aero makes for some new horizons to play with.

And would still be way way easier to work on ;)

PaulC

im probably just getting a honda hatch for now (ducks)

i would really like to build a nice NA FC but that would be later :)

The above was not typed with sarcasm.

I think all you guys with FB's and FC's got your panties in a bunch for no reason.
Yes, I have driven a low HP car on a track. And yes, they can be fun.

But a FB/FC, Neon or Civic more fun on the track than a FD?
You have to be kidding yourselves.

I have to admit, I've never driven an FD on track. BUT, of the high-HP cars I have driven, none have been as fun as an FB/M1. For one thing, you CANNOT (except in the extreme cases of Pro cars) flog the shit out of a high-HP car for an entire race. The game moves from being one of balls-out, who-can-go-100%-for-25-laps to a game of who-can-conserve-tires/brakes/the car-until-the-last-lap.

Which is funner?

Your right low HP cars are the bomb and high HP cars suck ass. Now I'm going to go fuck a sheep so I can go balls out instead of trying my best to keep my dick from blowing up when I see my wife naked :D

What are the high horsepower cars that you have driven?

But I think this discussion is moot if you have never even driven an FD.

Wow, calm down guys. My IT7 car is enough fun for me. Never driven an FD on the track. But I been passed by GT3 cup cars. :D

I love when my threads go haywire :)

No Honey! Don't drop your towel!!! KABOOM!! DAMMITALLTOHELL!! :rlaugh: :rlaugh:

I track both a Miata and an FD regularly. Both are street / track cars and a blast to drive on the track. I usually prefer the Miata for autocrossing and the FD for track work. The speed of the FD makes it a bit more thrilling at the track. However, the Miata is much easier on the wallet, super reliable & almost as fun.

-John

no I haven't driven a high HP car on the track but have passed them numberous times in ITA form in a 7 and a crx. In my opinion (not first hand of course) it seems that the lower horsepower cars take more finesse and skill to drive than say an FD. with and FB or any lower HP car YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO BE FAST you can't simply stomp the gas and have a turbo spool up and away we go hauling around track. I'm sure high horsepower cars are fun and all but I think its best to start with something underpowered and actually have to drive the car to its fullest.

BTW: obvious nothing wrong with hondas, i was so pissed when i turned a faster time in our crx than our 7. The 7's my baby, it almost brought a tear to my eye. If your serious about getting a honda pm me and maybe we can point ya in the right direction.

hehe :) yeah ive never liked hondas..but 25 dollar rotors compared to 80 or so for the rx7 seems nice...

they may be ricer esque by nature but set up properly they are fast little cars, usually top runners in ITA are the crx's. But to counter why I was faster in the crx was b/c the Fb had some old old old hoosiers and the crx was on new avons. Also the FB was tuned horrible and on its last breath (tore apart engine 2 weeks ago and found bronzish looking bearings and a crack in one) hell it still ran though before we took it apart.