Taking your normal non sportscar to a track day?

My first track day was at Roebling Road. I had a 340hp MR2 Turbo. The first two sessions of the day, I could not get past a well-driven Enterprise rental Pontiac.

That will humble you real quick.

APEowner wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: Am I the only one who saw "E350" and pictured a Ford van?

I thought the same thing. I don't think Bondurant ever used Econolines but the van ride is a staple of their curriculum. Clicky Link As far as the original question is concerned. I think track time is fun no mater what I'm driving. I've never done a track day in a non-performance car but I've done reconnaissance laps prior to HPDEs that I was instructing at in a variety of rental vehicles ranging from a Mazda 6 to a Dodge RAM 1500. I've done instructional laps in my wife's S60 Volvo and my F250 Powerstroke. The F250 is great for demonstrating heel toe technique since passengers can see my feet easier than in most cars. It's also good for demonstrating the use of weight transfer and trail braking to get a vehicle that prefers to understeer to rotate on entry. My point being that you can learn stuff and have fun exploring the performance envelope of pretty much anything so, I'd run whatever is available. That recommendation comes with a few warnings. Pay attention to your brakes and tires. Non-performance cars are often equipped with brakes and tires that aren't really up to the rigors of a track day and if you push either to the point of failure bad things can happen. If you don't have a trailer and whatever you're tracking needs to get you to work on Monday be smart and dial it back a bit. Yes, I listed that one twice.

I feel like the Mercs brakes for what they are are overkill. I am actually surprised that Mercedes put them on the hum drum version of the E350 but it probably was cheaper from a partsbin standpoint. Tires wise I have pilot super sports so they are decent as long as they dont get to hot and deliminate or anything

I did my first ever track session in the Forte. At Putnam, it was perfect. topping out a tick over 100mph on the front straight, great brakes, predictable handling and easy on the tires. I passed more cars than passed me in my 20 minute session so I considered that a win. The last 10 minutes were spent chasing down a G35 coupe. She'd pull me in the straights with her power, but I'd reel her back in in the corners. could never get enough steam to pass though. that was fun. 165whp, 2700lbs and 225 width tires with 12" front brakes were perfect for me.

Keith Tanner wrote: What is this "normal non sporty car" of which you speak?

Oh, I don't know. How about a 1966 Cadillac?

Between my E36 325is and E34 530i . . . I had WAAAAY more fun in the E34! Even with the super el cheapo Monroe struts/shocks and Advautoreilly's brake setup I had a blast in that car.

Last year I had a student with said Mercedes and the car did just fine. Yes it's kinda big and kinda soft but you can still rotate the car on the brakes and throttle steer it through long sweepers. I wouldn't hesitate to take it.

While it's not at a track day, here's a picture of my backup Fairmont, a worn out, 88 horsepower (when new) inline 6, automatic with an open diff, with smoke pouring off the rear tires and oppo.

Have I done this? Yes, but there is one big caveat.

If the track has long Indy style turns and your stock engine lacks sufficient oil control (e.g. baffled sump) you can run the bottom end dry in the corner, and on some cars you won't even be able to tell on the gauge (there is often considerable delay in mechanical gauges).

So beware - you could be taking thousands of miles off the life of your engine if you have the wrong car on the wrong track.

A couple of times a group of us from AMEC did track days at Lime Rock. One of our members ran rental cars and he drove the p--- out them. Dive into the corner, then stomp on the brakes until the ABS kicked in then turn. Really, that's what he said. He rotated the tires between runs. Always able to drive the car home.

A friend of a friend took his Mini Cooper S to a track day.
Only a helmet was required. Stock seatbelts, no roll bar.
He rolled the car.
He regained the ability to walk after 3 months. Insurance does not cover track days so he had to pay off the car as well.

Dude took a Snart car to the first Track Night in America here in Portland.

Drive it quite well and appeared to be having fun.

Track days are not competition, so you really shouldn't have a wreck, unless someone else does something stupid or you have a mechanical failure. That doesn't stop people from suffering with "red mist" once behind the wheel and on the track, so be aware and be prepared to pull off into the pits if you aren't comfortable or think someone needs a bit more space from you.

Woody wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: Am I the only one who saw "E350" and pictured a Ford van?

Nope!

x2!!

My, what now?

Dusterbd13, uh I'd like twenty extra large of the 'Its kinda like hooking up at last call. Still good, and nothing to bitch about, but could be a lot better.' T's. What colors have you?

In reply to 759NRNG:

I forgot i even said that. If you want t shirts, have at it!

In reply to Dusterbd13: on it Boss............

Jaynen, can't remember....are there any suspension settings on the Bluetec?

In reply to 759NRNG:

My dad's 2009 doesn't have adjustable suspension, though that's a W211. Sport/comfort only changes engine response and transmission shift logic on his car.

759NRNG wrote: Jaynen, can't remember....are there any suspension settings on the Bluetec?

Nope, sport mode is stupid. Literally I think the only thing it does it tell the car to use first gear at a stop vs second, which with the diesel torque just means it has to go through another shift.

Manumatic mode kind of sucks also because the car will still shift up or down on its own so it just holds that gear a little longer (and it also doesnt re-shift back down as soon as it can I think IE if you are in 3rd and it pulls 4th it wont go back to 3rd when speed decreases)

I'm not sure what the stock suspension is but when I went on a canyon drive out to Palm springs with a heavily modified GTI, a S2000, and an E92 M3 I lead the pack and no one had pace issues. (We were going to Thermal to the new BMW Performance Center West)