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11-15-2005, 05:28 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NorCal
Posts: 263
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n00b track advice, please
On Friday, I'm taking my sweet little, mostly-stock '73 GTV onto the track for the first time. I'm here hoping to get advice on car prep and driver prep.
I'm having my usual mechanic give the car a once-over and install high-temp brake fluid and performance pads. All hydraulics except rear calipers were replaced with new parts this summer. I'll tape over the front of the car with blue masking tape, since the paint is in nice shape now.
Several questions come to mind and any general advice is welcome.
1) What tire pressures should I start with and how do I know to adjust them? The tires are 195/70-14 Goodrich T/A's with about 1500 miles on them. I'm sure they'll be pretty beat up at the end of the day, but that's okay. I need 15" Panasports anyway. :^)
2) I'll check oil level and lug nuts after each session (65 lb-ft?). What else to check regularly?
3) I'll bring a small tool kit, spare throttle cable, oil, and brake fluid and pads with me. What else should I bring?
4) What should I be doing about the loose nut behind the steering wheel?
Thanx in advance-
-df
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11-15-2005, 06:17 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,992
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 Quote:
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Originally Posted by dan farmer
1) What tire pressures should I start with and how do I know to adjust them?
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by dan farmer
2) I'll check oil level and lug nuts after each session (65 lb-ft?). What else to check regularly?
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Those are the two most important ones. Check the engine over for leaks, and check the car for anything that may have come loose during the session.
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Originally Posted by dan farmer
3) I'll bring a small tool kit, spare throttle cable, oil, and brake fluid and pads with me. What else should I bring?
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A floor jack is nice if you need to inspect the underside of the car, but you can probably borrow one at the track. Water or other hydrating beverages are essential. Depending on the track facilities, folding chairs can be nice to help you wind down.
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Originally Posted by dan farmer
4) What should I be doing about the loose nut behind the steering wheel?
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The best thing you can do is relax, and try to concentrate on learning the correct line and technique before worrying about going fast. If there is someone with lots of track experience running a GTV, get a ride with them.
If there is something, like a particular part of the track, you are having a hard time with, ask the instructors. Have fun!
Joe
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11-15-2005, 06:33 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
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Dan, forgive me for hijacking this for just a second - was that shot taken on Skyline between Golf course road and Crystal Springs by any chance? It looks *so* familiar, then again half of the roads up here look like that so it's probably just my imagination. Great photo regardless, and have a great time on Friday!
__________________
Greg H.
1978 Spider Veloce (back to life 10/14/2005)
1995 Acura Integra (backup car)
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11-15-2005, 07:24 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NorCal
Posts: 263
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Thank you both.
Joe- Do the white marks in your photo show a proper amount of sidewall scrubbing, or should it be a bit less? BTW, I'm currently resisting the temptation of buying a light blue Giulia Ti that might have once belonged to you. It looks to be a sweet car, but I *don't* need another car right now.
Greg- That photo shows Laureles Grade dropping into Carmel Valley. A beautiful spot only a couple of miles from the entrance to Laguna Seca.
-df
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11-15-2005, 07:27 PM
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Posts: 1,492
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I usually start with about 34 pounds cold in my Bridgestones (205/55-15) on the street car. Then do as suggested and check with shoe polish. It is always hard for me to put that much in the tires since the Street TD's on the race car usually start at 21-22 pounds!
Don't forget to bring an extra fuel filter. It would be a shame to ruin a track day due to a clogged filter!
Erik
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11-15-2005, 07:34 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Colorado
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Dan,
I would shoot for a little less rollover than in that photo, but every tire is a little different. It was just a picture I grabbed off the internet to illustrate the concept. If in doubt, grab somebody with experience and have them take a look.
Steve's Ti was never mine. I took it for a drive a few years ago, when it was still a project, but I haven't seen it lately.
Joe
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11-15-2005, 08:06 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,386
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Many tracks require fixed seat belts with shoulder harness (not the take-up reels common on the newer cars) and also helmet and installed fire extinguisher ( a 2BC is OK, even better is a 1A/5BC). Even if not required, they do not cost too much and add a lot to your safety. Bring a cooler and anything you have for shade! You'll need a 12v compressor or an air tank to adjust tire pressures - don't count on having a shop hose anywhere.
Attend the early drivers school if your club has one. Often!
Relax and have fun!!!!!!
Robert
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11-15-2005, 08:35 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: N.calif
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Hay Dan,
Where is the track time at? and with what group?
Thanks
Peter Batagios
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11-15-2005, 08:43 PM
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 3,380
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by genericwood
Don't forget to bring an extra fuel filter. It would be a shame to ruin a track day due to a clogged filter!
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Not sure why everybody thinks wheel nuts will work loose? ... never ever happened on any of my cars. But then I always use a torque wrench (er, on my race cars). But if you are nervous I guess it does not hurt to check.
The biggest concern (and what you need to remember) is that YOUR car is but a road car and needs to be treated as such. While Alfa Romeos take to the race track like a duck to water ... they still need special preparation to make them indestructable, ie. oil coolers, brake cooling, etc.
Thus please check your oil level (including gearbox and diff) and ensure they are right up to the mark. Please also keep 1 eye ball on your oil pressure gauge and give your car a rest if it starts falling off. You may think your car has been thrashed hard by you before but in reality it hasn't. After you have done a 10 lap track session it will know what a really good hard thrash is all about ... and it will stink (  ... love that smell).
Also watch your brakes. Yep great that the right pads and fluid have been installed, but your pedal will probably sink due to inadequate cooling ducts (ie. none in standard form) ... thus you do not want to be right up the back of a mates Alfa when this happens 
Thus overall the important thing, like anything, is to walk before you become Michael Schumacher  and enjoy yourself ... and watch the red mist!
I have watched way to many people stuff (ie. completely write off) their onced dearly loved car because somebody in a potentially slower car passed them ... and their egos took over, and they drove ABOVE their level. I can guarantee that an experienced racer in a Morris Minor or VW Beetle will be able to lap faster than you ... not because you cannot drive, but because they know how to drive on a race track, they know the track and know all about carrying corner speed, etc.. Big difference between road driving and track/racing.
Pete
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11-16-2005, 04:40 AM
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Wow, you guys give really good adivce. Makes my post relatively short. 
For street tires, I would start at about 38 psi front, 36 rear. It's much easier to adjust down than up, and high pressure wear (basic wear) is less than low pressure wear (I've chunked side walls).
The best roll over estimate on the tires is to get wear to 1/4" from where the tread physically starts on the sidewall. I've been tuning my car to that for years with really good success.
Have fun, and know your personal limits. I bet that 99% of the drivers on this board (including myself) have lesser abilities that our cars do.
The biggest problem with track events- addiction. This kind of behavior tends to lead to multiple cars, lots of projects, and a few empty hulks in your back yard. Just as bad is the endless optimism that you'll actually finsih the car....
Thankfully, the addiction is not treatable. You just get to share it with other crazies like us....
Eric Storhok |
11-16-2005, 07:49 AM
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You might want to look into AROSC time trials. They're great. I've done three schools and one time trial in my basically stock 2000 GTV. Their events center on Willow Springs, a bit of a drive, but also are held at Buttonwillow and Laguna Seca. A fair number of NorCal folks attend, esp. at the northernmost tracks.
Andrew Watry
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11-16-2005, 08:14 AM
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Maryland
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by dan farmer
4) What should I be doing about the loose nut behind the steering wheel?
Thanx in advance-
-df
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---Eric
__________________
'84 Spider Veloce; '91 BMW 318is; '94 Jeep GC
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11-16-2005, 08:14 AM
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Laguna Hills
Posts: 56
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Race prep
Good advice from responders. I would suggest you keep a log. Write down every thing you did after every track session ( tire pressures, what gear you used on each corner, oil pressure and engine temp,.....) This will help you go out prepared the next time you race that track.
Some people disconnect the rear sway bar if you have too much oversteer. Check the brackets holding the injection lines. they can crack with the extra vibration on the track.
Good luck
Phil
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67 GTV
73 911S
2002 Miata
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11-19-2005, 08:25 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: N.calif
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You got to go slow to go FAST,
You the best info all here it would take 3 differnt books to get all this.
Where is the track time at and with what group.
Thanks
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11-20-2005, 12:30 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NorCal
Posts: 263
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oh, what a day!
Thanks to all for the advice. I went to Thunderhill yesterday and found out what fun it is to run on the track. It was a private roup that i was invited to join by my eye doctor. Sorry to keep quiet when you asked, Peter. I didn't feel like I could invite anyone, since I was an unknown quantity to them. Turns out to be a nice bunch of folks with a wide variety of cars. There was a Viper GTS, a brand-new Z06 Corvette, a Mercedes CL55, an E36 BMW tube-frame racecar, a gen-1 and a gen-2 RX7, lots of Porsches (one of the Porche guys actually talked to me, but it turns out he just got it), two modern Mini Coopers, a rental Boxster (not kidding), an Audi RS6, several E36 BMW M3s (including a supercharged one), my little Alfa, and the coolest car of all:a '62 Ford Falcon racecar. It had a high-compression V8 set back about 9 inches, gutted interior with a full cage, 4-bar rear end, and a good driver. Needless to say, I was pointing people by pretty often. Fortunately, most of the really fast cars were in Group 1, and I wasn't.
For those that know Thunderhill, we ran the whole track counterclockwise, including the Cyclone. I got a ride with an experienced driver first, so I could see the track from a car. Then I got someone to ride with me. He gave driving pointers and watched for approaching traffic. There were 3 passing zones on the track, and I was amazed how fast some of the cars caught me. I found it hard to leave the braking late enough. Being smooth off the brakes and onto the gas, while downshifting, is going to be a long learning curve, too.
Now I need another car, since my current GTV is nicely fixed up in pretty-much stock trim. I really don't want to put a cage in this one. Maybe a step-nose GTV, but I lust for a Giulia sedan, too. I think i'll be doing a lot of track days next year. Probably with AROSC, NCRC, and SCCA SF region. It's a slippery slope, and I'm on it. Whee!
-df
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