mamoroso

I followed your advice and I am going to have my 1st DE at the end of next week .
It's going to be at the same track where the PCA holds its session but it is going to be run by an independent school (recommended by PCA as all DE were booked until end of November )

The car will be checked by a mechanic (Jim at Eurowerks), so I am safe from that point of view.

I know I will be humble and follow what the instructors will tell me, but have you guys got any other tip?
What was your biggest mistake at the track?
I have got the fear that I will have so much fun that I'll eventually push it a little too much...
I have had DE track experience with other cars like Lotus Elise, Catheram 7s, Subaru STi, Single seaters (2.0L engine), but these were always the school's car.....

Also what about insurance. Is my car going to be covered? Is there anything on the policy that prohibits track driving? It is not going to be racing as laps will not be timed...

Anyway I am sooooo looking forward to taking the 911 to the track....
Will keep you posted..
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

S4drifter

Sounds like you have some good track experience already. A smattering of eclectic tips for you (no insult intended if these are things you already know) There will be many more i am sure:

a.) Your car will appear slow compared to the lightweights you've driven previously
b.) damage to your car MAY or MAY NOT be covered by your insurance. If it is covered, and you have an accident, expect them to pay and then drop you, or, pay then hike your rates. Many insurance specifically forbid it, while others say they will cover you if it is not a timed event. There are some independent companies out there that insure for DE's specifically.
c.) Don't lift
d.) You will probably be more cautious in your own car.
e.) Be humble and leave your pride at the door. No one cares who passed who and no one remembers.
f. ) Don't lift
g.) bring an extra set of brake pads and all necessary tools to change them.
h.) Bring a folding chair to sit on.
I.) If you decide to leave the track at speed, try and do it straight.
J.) make sure your helmet is rated to meet the event requirements
K.) Don't lift (can't you tell that i have a 930!)

best of luck and most of all ENJOY!!!

gerry100

Matteo,

You are going to love it. Not only is the track experience awesome but the people are great.

Besides the mandatory preparations, there are other things you want taken care of so you aren't distracted and can fully enjoy the day.

- show up at the track with a full tank of gas. Miliage on the track will be about 60% of your street mileage.( my '86 3.2 gets about 12mpg). Running out in a track session is more embarassing than hitting a barrier.

- bring fluids and food for the driver. No matter how excited you get, eat and drink. At the end of the day, low blood sugar and dehydration can be worse than no gas.

Take the numbers off before you dirve home.

Jay Gratton

Everyone has given you great advice. I always like to tell new folks to remember a few simple things that have nothing to do with their cars.
1.) Get a lot of sleep the night before.
2.) Drink lots of water that day and go to the bathroom often (don't laugh, often people are so nervous they don't need to go until they are on the track).
3.) Bring rain gear and a chair. It may rain and it is not fun to be stuck in your car all day if it is. Also, places to sit are hard to find, so bring a chair.
4.) Be ready to have a GRIN on your face for a while, you'll love it. Have fun and tell us all about it when you get back.
Best wishes - Jay Gratton

g-50cab

You'll be fine. It's a blast! Just finished my first DE on Sebring. Very cool. I toasted my brakes - so if I had the option again I would probably change over to some higher performance brake pads (had the stock mintex) but I was also driving my car double duty with my buddy driving too.

Take some snacks
Plenty of water/gatorade
Extra engine oil
Don't lift
portable compressor
Take off your fuchs center caps
Take it slow - let people pass as soon as they get in your mirror so you can focus on the track ahead.
Have fun -

That is all I have... Leave yourself plenty of time and check your ego. I also have a little track experience but started out almost every comment with my instructor with "I know nothing about driving a 911 on the track"...

Inquisitor

What do you guys mean by don't lift?

mamoroso

Don't lift....
I guess everybody refers to the tendency of the 911 butt to overtake you if you lift the throttle during a turn.

Jeremy
"I know nothing about driving a 911 on the track"... that will be my mantra

Drew Theodore

911's rear will come around if you are at its limit, in a turn, and let up on the gas. It will happen every time, not just sometimes. Let up on the gas and get on the brakes while the car is going straight. The good thing about 911's is that coming out of the turn, the heavy rear end will bite and you can sling shot out of the turn. It feels good.

87turbo911

It sounds like you already have a fair amount of DE experience and would just need to learn the quirks of the car. In that light, you're a bit ahead of me. I have a few DE's under my belt- most were with my 87 911 Turbo (is it okay to call it a "930" even though I've heard that, technically, it isn't?) but one was with my Audi A4 (hopefully not dead) at The Glen.

Oh- you might also want to bring some brake fluid. I've noticed that, as you get better/faster, you eat up brakes and could also boil your fluid. Ask me how I found out... It's a good thing my mechanic was at that event to help me with brake bleeding!

At what track will you be DEing?

Oh- to Inquisitor..."Don't Lift" = Don't get off the throttle abruptly while in a turn. I've "eased off" the throttle before without spinning but, for all I know, it could've been because I wasn't going "fast enough." Then again, from my understanding, "easing on/off" the throttle is how you throttle steer.

-Adrian

PS- 6-9mpg with the 87 911 Turbo. 9mpg is "average" but I get as low as 6 or 7mpg after the first day (after building some confidence and learning/re-learning the track).

g-50cab

And Matteo - and to others - probably more important with the 911 than any other car I have driven hard - get all your braking/downshifting/hand placement etc done in a straight line, then power out of the curves. You want the weight transfer in the rear as you are cornering/accelerating. And don't lift...

BTW - I averaged 11 mpg at Sebring...

Hard on the gas coming out of turn 17 at Sebring

mamoroso

Adrian I will be doing the DE at the Carolina Motor Sports Park
Here is a link for the track

http://www.turn1motorsports.com/imag...diagrambig.jpg

And the school

http://www.turn1motorsports.com/trackdays.html

g-50cab

Oh - and biggest mistake I made was not doing it sooner.

S4drifter

87turbo911:

Looks like we have similar tastes! I will be taking my 87 turbo to the Glen at the end of June. My first DE with it will be at NHIS at the end of May. I love the Glen and had a ball at that track in my Audi. What pads would you recommend I run on the track in the 930?

gratuitous Turn 9 shot (oh..and I passed that VR4 coming out of the boot):

87turbo911

Good point, Jeremy.

I forgot to answer that question. I almost said one of these:

"When I confused the 'off-camber left' with the 'fast left' when I went to The Glen and went too hot into the 'off-camber left.' Thankfully, I wasn't going all that fast so it just got a little hairy rather than ending up with me stuffed into the wall."

"When I went in too hot (or was that turned too late?) into Turn One at The Glen and ended up going over the curbing into the dirt and, when trying to recover, had that situation when only one side of your car goes into and back out of the dirt...SPIN! Again, fortunately, I spun ONTO the track and ended up just facing the wrong way rather than stuffed into the tire wall...which, actually, is what happened to my brother who hadn't learned about 'in a spin, both feet in' yet."

or

"When I went in too hot (or was it 'turned in too late?') at MidOhio at Turn One after getting off-line on a late pass and went over the yellow curbing (very bad from what I hear) and ending up spinning...again, fortunately, I went into the gravel...amazingly enough, I was able to drive out of the gravel by myself."

At least, every close call or OTE has taught me something!

-Adrian

87turbo911

Hi Kirk,

I would have to agree with you there! Taking the A4 to the Glen was definitely fun. But I destroyed my brakes! I ended up having to replace two rotors, all of the brake pads, and the driver's side front caliper (it had "frozen" to the rotor!)! And I had a brake service done prior to the DE! I'd still have to say it was fun, though.

I have a picture of it at home somewhere. Unfortunately, I was in a "situation" with the A4 on Easter Sunday and it looks like it might get totalled. If that happens, I'll probably end up with another A4...or, if I can get a good deal on one, maybe a 2001 S4.

I don't know what a "good recommendation" would be but the brake pads I used in the Turbo the last time I was at the Glen, I used KPF Magnums in the front (squeaky on the street but effective on the track!) with Super Blue...which ended up needing to get bled at the track. Then again, I think I had done a DE at MidOhio on the same fluid several months before then.

I don't know if it was something I was doing or my brakes but, with the KPFs, it was the first time I ever locked up the brakes during a DE without slamming the pedal down and doing it "on purpose." My instructor and I did "braking exercises" at MidOhio off of the track so I could get a feel for my brake power...then I switched to street/track brakes so I think it screwed up my "feel" for the brakes on the track. Doh!

I have a pic from that event (August 2003? with NNJR-PCA) somewhere too. On my (very rudimentary) website, I posted a pic from my first DE (which was at the Glen) from October 2002 with TracQuest.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/87turbo911

-Adrian