What's the best way to get myself on a track?

I'm very new to being actually involved in motorsports. It's been a passion my whole life but it always has seemed so unattainable, never had money/the right car etc. so recently I've come into a 2002 manual Infiniti G20, and even though I can't go full racecar (its still my DD) is like to get it to a track so I can push my car and my skill legally and safely. I'll admit I'm a totally Noob, and I consider my fellow GRM'ers as my spiritual advisers haha. So gurus please tell my, what do I do next. (oh also I'm located in grand rapids, mi and am on a college student budget haha)

Short answer: Don't go to the track. If you can't afford to put it into a tire wall and walk away from it, don't bring it out on the track. Or get track-day insurance. It sounds like you'd be stretching your college student budget pretty thin with this.

Answer B: Autocross.

subscribed! was honeslty going to do the same thing... hopefully you dont mind if I tag along. Or is that considered hijacking?

And if you must go to the track, see if Gingerman Raceway still has week day track days.

But definitely try autocross first, there used to be a decently active region in Western Michigan so there's sure to be an event coming up soon.

JDbuilder of course not, hop on in my man!

Ok cool, so how do I go about getting into autocross as someone who knows nothing about that?

See if you can find a Lemons/Chump team near you to hook up with and get some track time?

I don't fully agree with the "don't go to the track if you can't afford stuff the car into the barrier and walk away from it". I have tracked several cars that were expensive enough that I would have noticed the difference (even though I would not take a car I'm making payments on onto the track). Still, that is what track day insurance is there for.

If you have an SCCA or NASA region close that does HPDE/PDX, that might be a good starting point. With SCCA (don't know about NASA) at the PDX level, you do get the option of having an instructor in the car which I'd highly recommend.

Before you take it on a track, make sure that the car is 100% mechanically sound. I wouldn't spend money on uprated parts quite yet until you know you like track driving and you're actually getting to the limits of the car as it sits.

So basically, you want to take care of:

• Brakes in good shape. You probably want some more aggressive pads if you're running stock pads. Make sure both pads and disks have plenty of life left and that you have fresh brake fluid in the system.
• Suspension is in good shape, no bent control arms or leaking shocks
• Tires not made out of Teflon and in good shape
• Change the oil (stick some "good" oil in) and make sure that the cooling system is up to scratch.

Enjoy.

D_Howard wrote: Ok cool, so how do I go about getting into autocross as someone who knows nothing about that?

Find a region that does events near you, show up, and you will most likely find plenty of people to answer all of your questions and help you get started.

There are several car clubs that do track days. I agree that if you can't afford to ball it up and walk away, don't take it to the track....and race. I instruct with the local Porsche club and the novice group (all groups actually) is very safe on track. Passing is only in designated areas with point-bys. Instructors ride along with you and keep you in check and won't let you drive over your head. There are several first timers and we emphasize keeping yourself in control and not driving outside your limits the first time out.

PM me if you have more questions.

Phil

I would start by looking at what clubs and events are in your area. Go to some of there events as a spectator. Most if not all will welcome you and you will quickly learn if you like the crowd.

As for actually getting on track don't use your DD unless you can afford to wrap it up in a ball and toss it out with the trash.

Talk to your agent about insurance. My insurance covers instructional events and open track days but as soon as the stopwatch comes out (time trials or even autocross) you have no coverage.

The other thing I would recommend is getting in a car that has not much motor. (miata, MR2 etc) You want to learn how to drive a car you don't want to be one of those PITA's that go screaming down the straits and then crawls through the corners. This will make you really unpopular in a hurry and it will quickly show to others your lack of talent. You also dont really learn much doing this. you will learn more in a slow car

Lastly if you are thinking of taking your DD on the track get it checked over to make sure all the mechanical stuff is up to snuff. Especially the brakes. Bring an extra set of break pads (or two) and I would recommend stepping up to something that is track day orientated. A set of regular off the shelf pads will quickly start to fade especially with new drivers that tend to use a lot of brake.

Otherwise go have fun be safe. If you are even remotely tired at the end of the day before your last run call it a day and watch and learn from others or ask an instructor to take your car out with you as a passenger and watch and learn and ask many many questions. It is much more tiring than you will realise and when you are tired mistakes happen.

As much as I'd love another noob to take a hit from the track crack pipe, using your DD for track duty is very foolish. All it takes is one misplaced fluid spill...

Most all regular insurance will not cover you while you are on a 'racing surface'. You'll need supplemental HPDE insurance, which is expensive.

I'd stick to autocross for now, and maybe try to find a group as someone suggested who is running a LeMons or Chumpcar.

As an organizer of many track days I can tell you I often need volunteers. I try to invite "budget-constrained" enthusiasts to help me with the day in exchange for track time -- that may be something for you to consider. Show up, help out, see what happens.

I don't have an issue with taking your DD on the track, as long as you can deal with it financially if you wreck it or it blows up. In the novice group, there's a 99%+ chance you won't wreck, but it can happen. As for blowing it up, who knows? Track days, even for a novice group, can be fairly hard on the car. Not trying to discourage you, it's awesome, just make sure you know what you're risking.

Autocross is definitely a low risk way to get into it. I'm sure if you do a Google search, you'll find your local autox region. You could also search the SCCA website, and I'm sure you'll find a link there too. For someone who hasn't been on the track before, you'll find it very exciting. It's also inexpensive and is much less likely to damage your car.

Not track, but as for autocross, if you're in West Michigan, you're in luck: http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmEventDetail.Show?psevent_id=13063

The Furrin Group has an autocross at MSU this weekend and they are a GREAT group to start out with. I'm planning to be there Saturday if family stuff doesn't interfere. If I'm there, look me up (greenish/blue Miata - #91 ES) and I'll try to help you out.

EDIT: You definitely want to pre-register online. Their events have been getting more popular and they've had to turn away people trying to register the day of the event.

The hazard to your daily driver is about 95% blowing it up vs 5% wrecking it. I'm not going to discourage you. If you run novice, you will have a instructor. If you listen and drive within your ability, you'll do fine and come up to speed quickly and safely.

Go do an HPDE if your car is in good mechanical order. Go will fresh fluid, rotors and pads. Like new fresh. Even better if you can borrow a truck and trailer so you don't get stuck at the track with a blowed up car. .

If you only own one car, go autocross. Track days are not kind.

(...says the person who has not done a track day because he's scared of the repair costs)

I hear a lot of people saying a track day is harder on a car than autocross but that is only true because of the amount of time involved. Auto-x is (30-60sec) x 3 of wailing on 2nd gear and trying to snap off your swaybar mounts.

HPDE is 2hrs that will use up your brake pads and possibly find that weakness in your old hoses.

Neither is especially kind to a car with deferred maintenance but neither should be killing a car that is in decent shape.

Regardless of what you try, don't set out to drive at 110%. That's when things break, crash, whatever. Take some classes and work up your speed, agression, whatever-you want-to-call-it slowly. The SCCA has a great autocross program, I'd start there.

Well put, GPS. Both are hard on cars.....it is just that the time involved makes it more likely that a single HPDE event can cause an expensive failure (...as you noted, typically in cars with deferred maintenance) while a it will take more than one autocross to do the same amount of damage.

My standard rule of thumb (which has been laughed at here by other GRMers) is that if I cannot afford to ball it up and walk away, I should not drive it in anger. There's a reason that I drive a Geo when I autocross (...and that's been a while.) It cost less than a decent set of tires.

If I destroyed my daily driver, I'd have a major problem. With the Geo, that's not true.

The best bang for your buck is a Test N Tune. Autocross all day long, instead of 3 or 4 runs. Great chance to build your skills.

I have run a few track days and HPDE events, and they are awesome! I have seen a few people go off-track because they pushed beyond their noob limits, but if you take it easy and stay smart, you should not have any issues. There is a small chance however, so beware. And you will need to replace your brake pads before and after the track day.

If you want to really compete, and save the DD, then look into other racing venues like carting or lawnmowers or Lemons. There are many other options out there.

Don't be afraid of a track day. Bleed your brakes and check all your fluids, pump up your tires and go. Start out slow and get comfortable with both the car and yourself on a track before pushing it—and do so progressively. You'll be fine.

I think it takes real boneheadedness and overconfidence to screw up badly enough that you break something. If you can't get comfortable on track or you start feeling your brakes go soft, pit in. Don't be afraid to pit in early.

I've done plenty of track days, I've boiled the brakes, blown a shock (on a pothole, a rare problem) and blown a coolant hose (it was old and crusty, I should have seen it coming) but never caused any serious damage. But it depends on the track, some have lots of space to build up speed and little runoff room if you mess up, those types you might want to avoid unless you're confident.

That said autocross is almost as cheap and safe as sim racing, but it's a completely different style of driving than you'd use on a track. Experience with one won't make you good at the other, but autocross can help you learn the car's limits in a noob-safe manner, you just have to remember that you can't abuse your peak (vs sustained) cornering capability on a track like you can in an autocross.

In autocross I've seen a couple of idiot hoon moves, one where a guy bent a rim on a curb and one where someone plowed into a chainlink fence, but apart from that I've never seen any real damage.

One thing to keep in mind. A track day is NOT competition. No winners, no trophies. So drive at your comfort level and don't worry about faster cars. Look at it as a fast drive in the country and not having to worry about cars coming in the opposite direction. Kep it fun.

Only have a DD, go AutoX.

If you have a some expendable $$$, buy a crapcan, get it up to snuff and drive it to your heart's content.

I bought a $1000 E34 added $1000 for brakes, suspension and other maintenance items and took it to a few HPDEs. While it is a bit heavy (3700lbs) and will wear on consumables at much higher rate than some lighter cars, I've only got a few $$$ tied up in it

1. Brakes (all inclusive - cheap Advanced O'PepZone blank rotors FTW)
2. Fluids
3. Kill all leaks
4. Decent tires
5. R&R Stock Suspension

Either way you go, open your ears to the instructor, don't drive over your head and HAVE FUN!!

JoeyM wrote: If you only own one car, go autocross. Track days are not kind. (...says the person who has not done a track day because he's scared of the repair costs)

I've personally blown up 100% more cars at autocross than HPDE. (Crapcan racing is another thing.)

An autocross event wears out street tires more than a HPDE in my experience also.

Autocross has less barriers to entry, less cost in entry fees and less chance of catastrophic damage to your car. It's a great place to learn car control, but the learning curve is MUCH steeper because you only get a few runs per weekend, and often one weekend per month.

The reality is that occasional autocrossing might never teach you anything. You have to find a school, where you'll get instruction and lots of reps. Many regional SCCA chapters put on excellent, affordable schools one or twice per year. You need an instructor to tell you to quit doing dumb things until you have the fundamentals.

HPDE is going to require you go out with an instructor. By all means--hit an autocross, but you still need to seek out that instructional help if you want to keep doing it.