lapping day, worth the $ ??
 

Hey guys,

I am thinking about going to a lapping day this weekend, but I'm not exactly rich lately, and I'm not sure if its worth the $275. They were nice enough to waive the $25 late registration fee if I decide to go, so that helps, but its still a big chunk of change, especially if you consider that I will also burn through at least a hundred bucks worth of gas, and a set of brake pads...

I would like to get a little taste of road racing, as this is my favorite type of driving, and what my car is best suited for (GT42R 20B+ supporting mods, coilovers, wheels, rotors, bushings are my major mods). I'm a college student at the moment, so I cant afford to think about competitive racing, but I might like to get into it after I graduate. I also just want a chance to see what the car can do, as it has gotten to the point where I cant realistically test it on the street without major danger of either dying or going to jail.

So I guess the question is, will the experience of driving on a real road course be worth blowing my next 2 months worth of mod money?

Let me know what opinion you guys who do this all the time have...

Thanks,
Pat

Yes.

The best mod you can do is to tighten the nut behind the wheel.

I'd say it depends on the level of instruction. A lapping day w/o instruction to someone new isn't as beneficial as one with instruction. If they do have good instructors, then it absolutely is the best mod money you can spend.

Absolutely, the best "mod" you could buy.

But be carefull, It's more addicting than drugs.


Paul




.

With good instruction, then absolutely, without instruction, well then they shouldn't be letting you out on track (you did say you were a complete noob right?).

I've had some experiance and am now an advanced group student, and it's a ton of fun, and definetly worth it. Your car can make a lot of speed, so it's important to make sure the driver can handle it.

What track?
If the facilities are top-notch, I wouldn't hesitate to drop that kinda cash...


-Ted

We do lapping days here whenever we get a chance, but they are a lot cheaper.

Yes get on the track. Do it with an instructor. $275 for one day w/ or even w/o an instructor seems a little high. For about $250 you can get on the track for 2 days w/ an instructor doing NASA or about $200 for a bring your own car high performance driving school day. I'm not sure which organization is putting on this $275 lapping day. Since every penny counts it sounds like, make sure this is the best $ for seat time in your area.

I don't think you should use up a set of pads in one day. A set of Hawk Blues last me much longer than one day... then again they are $200.

Very very addictive. You will definately be hooked once you start. And you shouldn't use up a set of pads unless they are just crappy. Like the guy above Hawk Blues last me 5-6 days.

$200-$250/day is about the going rate... so that's a tad steep, but in terms of value, last year I took a friend of mine out for his first track day in his SC Miata, and the loo on his face after he pulled in from the first (relatively slow) session was priceless. He couldn't get the silly grin off his face, and was talking a blue-streak about it until the next session. You could spend alot more than $275 on things that won't make you feel that way.

Well is this your only car? Don't go to the track with the last few pennies you scraped up. I just got back from Summit Point Hyperfest weekend doing some driving. Wow, it is sooo addickting, but it gets pricey.

Basically just dont put your self in a bind where you have no money left if something breaks or you need a tow home.

If you are truck adn trailering it then go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lapping days for us are $50 for 4 hours, and $75 for a full day. $175 for a race school, $150 for a solosprint school, and $450 for a 2 day school with instructors, insurance and lunch included. We have a lapping day and a race testing day coming up that are $100 for the two days together.

We get off pretty easy here though.

As mentioned previously, the real hidden cost is in the addiction that follows shortly after your first session when you being dropping all your free time and money into going back to the track. Good luck!

You've obviously spent a lot of time and money on that car, and it looks like you did most of the work. Question: what the hell did you build it for? Sit in the garage and look at it? Take it out and put it on the track where it is suposed to be! One of the high points of my life has been driving my car at Laguna Seca with Gadd! It is way too much fun.
Unless you are an idiot driver, or have exceptionallly bad luck, you will not stack the car up. Just make sure everything is well maintained. First time out for me I didn't put "lapping" or race pads on my Fd, and it wasn't a problem. Get a good instructor, take your time to listen and learn and it will be the best $250 you have spent.

^agreed if everything is setup and tuned right you shouldn't have a problem, just watch your temp gauges, as it may get hot fairly quickly depending on cooling mods and weather.

Definately hit the track. That is a bit pricey (NASA as mentioned is cheaper; however more traffic on the track). Agree on the addicting part. It is one of the biggest rushes out there.

If you can do a weekday track event vs. a weekend there will be 1/2 to 1/3 as many people there.

Get a real coolant guage if you don't have one already. The factory guage is worthless.

If you haven't already tried it I'd recommend some autocrosses 1st which don't cost much and test your driving along with the car. It's also really fun and it will give you a decent handle on car control along with improving your vision which are probably the two most important skill sets for any form of driving. Once you've done some autocrosses you'll have a better overall understanding of what motorsports are about and get a bigger bang for the high speed buck when you hit the road course.

Fritz,

I have autcrossed it once, and probably will some more. I do enjoy it and I see how it is helpful to me, but it is alittle frustrating to try and drive a 600hp car with no power steering on a course where you can never get above 45mph....

As for the cooling issues, I dont forsee any problem with that, I have a very good afco radiator and I monitor temps through my ecu. The only thing I need to work on is oil temps, but a bigger cooler is on the list.

After talking with some local people and you guys, I think I am gonna sit this one out and make the longer trip to a NASA hpde at mid ohio or somewhere. I think that would be a better learning experience for me, and will count towards my license if I want to race next season (I graduate in december, so maybe I will be able to afford this rediculous habit after then)

thanks for all the advice guys

pat

At the track, do yourself a favor and turn down the boost as much as you can. It'll help keep things cool and it'll be easier on the brakes and will make the car a lot easier to manage. With 600hp you can get into a lot of trouble really, really fast.

Very good advice here. With that much power, you're going to burn through brakes and tires like no tomorrow. If your oil cooling isn't upgraded you're going to have major overheating problems after a few laps. And of course, you'll have to be very very gentle with the throttle in turns, especially if you aren't running race rubber. That being said, with street tires I only run 9 psi on the stock sequentials at the track for the above reasons.

oil cooler will be upgraded before I go. also I have a dual stage boost controller so I can choose between 10/16 psi on the fly.

if this is your first track day, i would recommend you do everything you can to make sure everything is bolted down tight, and no mechanical issues. Turning that boost down to 10psi, maybe less, would make the car much easier to drive as a novice

YES, it's VERY well worth it!!!!! You will never get to drive on the street like you do on the track.

Very worth it. Though, you and/or your car will be worn out by the end of the day.

I visit TGPR on a semi-regular basis. Trying to get in some PDX's at Road Atlanta.

Another excellent option is a school run by a car club like the PCA, or the BMWCCA. I've attended ones put on by each and they're very well run with good instruction and they're a bargain compared to most. Sometimes they even do 2 day schools on the weekend, and the extra day is very, very helpful to learn, as you've got that night to let all the lessons sink in then go practice it the next day.