HPDE advice

Everybody's covered most of it very well. Only thing I can add is...leave the stopwatch at home, and avoid anyone carrying a stopwatch who wants to tell you what time you cut.

GR40RACER wrote:

docwyte wrote: Most track organizations don't care about whether you wear gloves or not...

In Northern California NCRC, NASA, SCCA does, and in a fire gloves buy you time to unhook and get out.

Umm... no. Not for HPDE. At least not NCRC or NASA. They do not require gloves for HPDE any time that I've driven with them. They do require long pants though.

It's all been said but I'll throw in my 2 cent. Completely flush your brake system a couple of weeks before the event, new pads, change the oil.

Most HPDE clubs require a tech inspection before the event by a professional mechanic. Try to find one with motorsport experience. The club your planning to autoX with can help you find a trusted mechanic.

Thing to take - extra brake pads, extra brake fluid, extra oil, LOTS of water (for you not the car), tire gauge, tools.

Forget everything you think you know about driving fast, unless you have a LOT of experience in autoX. You will NOT be the fastest thing on track the first time out so don't try to be. Listen to your instructor. What they say may not mess with what you think you know but trust in what they say. I love the first time students that think they know more than I do. As mentioned before, speed comes last. You need to learn how to drive on track before you learn to be fast. As your knowledge of the basics increase your speed will increase without driving any harder. The smoother you are the less you have to work at it.

If you have a chance to ride with an instructor take it or even ask them for a ride. Use it a a learning experience not just a joy ride. Pay attention to how and when they do things. Watch their hands and feet. Feel how smooth they drive. Talk to to your instructor (in the car and out) and ask questions. Be a sponge and absorb everything you can.

Expect to have information overload. Instructors know that 80% of what we say goes in one ear and out the other. That's why we talk so much. No one expects you to learn everything at once so don't try. Take it in steps. If you get confused about something ask questions. If you don't understand something ask questions. If your not sure about something ask questions. The instructors and staff are there to help. The two most important thing to remember (besides being safe) is to have fun and remember to breathe.

Salanis wrote: Umm... no. Not for HPDE. At least not NCRC or NASA. They do not require gloves for HPDE any time that I've driven with them. They do require long pants though.

Meh, whatever, get in a fire and you'll wish you had them...

Since you brought it up, NCRC requires a long sleeve shirt as well as pants for HPDE, you can check their rules if you disagree.

GR40RACER wrote: Since you brought it up, NCRC requires a long sleeve shirt as well as pants for HPDE, you can check their rules if you disagree.

Is that new? They weren't requiring that last time I ran with them.

Salanis wrote:

GR40RACER wrote: Since you brought it up, NCRC requires a long sleeve shirt as well as pants for HPDE, you can check their rules if you disagree.

Is that new? They weren't requiring that last time I ran with them.

Honestly, Luke and Dave will let it slide, but yes, it's in their rules and has been for some time.

Find out if you're going to run clockwise or anticlockwise on the track. Go to the track's web page and download the video of a hot lap in that direction. Watch it A LOT before you get there. Knowing the track will help you a lot. Tacumi did it all the time.

Dr. Hess wrote: Find out if you're going to run clockwise or anticlockwise on the track. Go to the track's web page and download the video of a hot lap in that direction. Watch it A LOT before you get there. Knowing the track will help you a lot. Tacumi did it all the time.

Great suggestion -- and some tracks also have "notes" posted that may help you understand what you and the car SHOULD be doing in each corner. I've found the notes useful from an academic standpoint, but it wasn't until I had completed many laps that they became useful from an applied standpoint.

I've also learned that there are often multiple lines around corners depending on what car you are driving -- ride with experienced people driving similar cars and take notes. As questions. Compare drivers. Stand at the corners and watch (where it is safe to do so). Ask questions. Lots.

Smile lots -- especially when driving, It's supposed to be fun.

Come in the first time you scare yourself (you will, guaranteed) and re-focus. Think about what you did (or ask someone what you did) so that you can avoid the same mistake.

Few amateur drivers are ever scouted at a lapping day. You've got nothing to prove, except to the other participants that you are safe, predictable, and reliable when out there with them.

Rob (who lives in the Great White North, and is still at least four months away from his next lapping event)

Just a couple things to add. On street tires add about 4+-lbs. psi to the tires. They will build some pressure and DO NOT bleed them down. If you do they will be way to soft for the start of the next session. The pressure will drop as the tires cool. Pressures are an experiment to see what works best for your tires. Don't worry about it for your first time. Your car has a reccomended pressure for DD. The owners manual will most likely tell you to increase pressures for high speed or high load.

thanks for all of the great advice. i will certainly be looking closer at the mounts than i would have ordinarily and i think getting better pads is a great idea too. does anyone have a recommendation on manufacturer's for mounts and guibo's for an e-30? to clarify about the tire pressures.... are you suggesting running them about 4 lbs above normal (owner's manual) pressure? or 4 lbs higher than i would run them in an autocross situation? it seems the latter may be too much given the heat build up from long laps.

Tire pressure will depend on the actual tires. Some will need more than others.

I'm trying to remember where I got my poly mounts...probably AKG. Their stuff is really good. The way the rubber ones are made they WILL fail eventually and a track day is not the place to have the motor break free and shred the radiator or hoses via the fan or destroy the guibo (did both). Guibo, stock is really the only option, just buy name brand (I shop Pelican Parts).

Pressure higher than owners manual or door sticker.

When you come in after a session, do not set your parking brake. The pads will cause uneven rotor cooling and you'll warp your rear rotors.

Keep your eyes up!

Look where you want to go. And keep your friggin' eyes up. UP!

Be smooth.

Old thread I know but it showed up after a search on "ebc" and "porterfield".
Have you had the event yet? How was it? Somebody said something about a packing list so I thought I'd share mine. Feel free to save a copy and modify it to suit you. Ignore the notes at the bottom. LOL http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ82lMCRTcY7ZGNubmpza25fN2cydDRrd2dz&hl=en

great timing. i am actually headed to roebling for my first HPDE this weekend! i knew i forgot something when i read your list. i should have packed a cobra and a porsche!

I don't know if it's been touched upon, and it seems like common sense...until you've worked tech. Clean EEEEVVERRRYTHING out of the car. Nothing breaks concentration like a wendy's receipt flying in your face while you're trying to nail the apex...or a loose spare tire taking your berkeleying head off when you get out of control and hit the wall. Just sayin.

it is a very good point and definitely worth mentioning! i worked black flag at one of the earlier events this year and ended up with cameras, phones, a screwdriver, and even a fire extinguisher in my possession before the thing ended for that very reason. sometimes this stuff shows up in the car after tech so you cant count on that to catch everything!

i'm back and i had a blast! thanks to everyone for the great advice!

going with street tires was definitely the way to go. a 400 treadwear rating will not make you finish first, but you learn pretty quickly about modulating steering input speeds and keeping the car balanced in the transitions! All in all the car survived the abuse very well with no noticable malfunctions at all.

and hats off to my instructor for the weekend. he was incredibly patient and definitely went the extra mile to make the experience as helpful as possible. and i highly recommend roebling as a great place to learn.

Good to hear everything went swimmingly. Just curious - what street tires did you run and how did they hold up (chunking, etc.)? I'm considering just running my dd Ziex 912s at an event. However, the last autocross I ran them at tore up the shoulders so bad I'm a little hesitant to punish them on a road course.

itsarebuild wrote: going with street tires was definitely the way to go. a 400 treadwear rating will not make you finish first, but you learn pretty quickly about modulating steering input speeds and keeping the car balanced in the transitions! .

I'm glad you see the benefits there! My first several outings were on Toyo T1S's and it wasn't long before I realized they were masking a lot of my mistakes. After switching to Sumitomo HTR+'s (a fantastic learning tire I might add) I started learning a WHOLE lot more about car control. Glad you had fun! My first event of the year is in two weeks, I can't wait!

i ran bridgestone potenzas in 195/60 (or maybe 55?) /14. they held up pretty well considering the level of abuse they took. we did 11 20 minute long sessions all out. they were pretty much full depth tread when i started. the outer tread on the drivers front tire took the most abuse and i can feel the ridge forming on the inside of that groove. the rears wore very evenly. they dont squeal so much as groan when they are reaching their traction limit so you may want something else that is easier to hear if that matters, but they were insanely predictable about when they reached that traction limit. other than heavy wear noted above the tread seems ok (not chunked off). i ran them at 36 psi in the front and 34 in the rear (cold) for the best runs. if an autocross hurt your other tires the HPDE will hurt them worse. these tires definitely wore this weekend but barely lost there sheen doing autocross work.

Cool - thanks for the wear description. Sounds like an excuse to buy a second set of wheels & tires!

edit - I assume you meant the Potenza RE760 and not the RE-11?

i seem to need more reasons to have a single set or wheels and tires for each car than i do for reasons to get more than 1 set. my neighbors might wish it was the other way around! if you do one of these events you WILL get addicted so you may as well start planning for the extra sets

Matt B wrote: Cool - thanks for the wear description. Sounds like an excuse to buy a second set of wheels & tires! edit - I assume you meant the Potenza RE760 and not the RE-11?

400 treadwear, allseason, and 14" means they were 960s. Not the worst all season tire you could have at a trackday by any means.

Did anyone mention to bring a cooler with cold water? You'll be sweating more than you think. Drink lots of water and wear a hat when out of the car. Being sharp while behind the wheel is just as important as your tire pressures and stuff like that.

By the way, I drove a Spec E30 at an HPDE this weekend. It was big fun.