Gelignite

I just did my second track day (Bedford Autodrome) at the start of this week and had an instructor for the day. It was certainly useful and I was going much faster by the end of the day. I did find a couple of problems though and was wondering what others have done:
1) The standard steering wheel is way too big! I am not big but kept finding my arms crashing into my knees. What sort of after market steering wheels have people fitted?
2) My tyres - Good Year Eagle F1s on 16" D90s overheated way too quickly which made getting the power down out of the sharp hairpins very difficult. Some more track focussed tyres would be an obvious solution but how much additional strain does that put on the rest of the suspension? Is that something to worry about?

One other thing I did notice was how much warning you get of the back end coming out and how easy it is to correct. These cars have a very unfair reputation and are so much fun.
Steve

anto1150

1) https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...ing-wheel.html

2) F1s are very plasticy when temperatures raise... try lower pressures first, then step up to Toyo R888s... you won't believe the difference...! What suspension setup have you got?

ciao
Anto

boxsey911

+1 on dropping the pressures as a first step. Even my Toyo R888s start sliding around when they are hot and over pressure. I run mine at hot pressures of 36 at the rear and 34 at the front. That's on 17s. For 16s your pressures will be 44 at the rear and 36 at the front. If you've not already checked them when they get hot, you might be surprised to find that the rears can increase by around 8 psi from the cold pressure when they are used on track.

Gelignite

I have kwV3 suspension with strut brace and poly bushes.

When I checked the pressures after one session they were 51 rear and 39 front so I dropped them back down to the standard 44 and 36, which did improve things but still felt a bit like marbles in the slower tight corners. The fast corners felt very planted. I probably just need more practice at getting the turn in right. It was just a bit soul destorying to be left for dead by a peugeot 106 coming out of one of the hairpins. Then I suppose I was only using 3rd to keep things simple for now.

boxsey911

I think you could probably try going a bit lower than the standard pressures which might help a bit. FWIW I tried 16 inch wheels on a couple of track days and gave up on them. They were too narrow at the rear which limited their grip in my experience. Also seemed to understeer a lot more.

I would seriously look at getting a set of 17s to put track tyres on. I definitely recommend the toyo 888s if you go that route but don't waste your money on buying them for the 16s.

Oh...and don't worry about the Pug going buy. Owners of those kind of cars are often on the limit because they're not worried about coming off. You on the other hand have far more to lose. With more experience and more tuition you'll soon be leaving them in your wake

cobalt

i agree with what the other said. However, before i started switching tires i would start with a log book. Note what pressures you start with and what hot temperatures you are running. Unlike street use observing hot pressures is most important.

I did DE's for 10 years took a break for 18 and have been back into it for the past 3. My wife drives with me and she was a nervous beginner. So I ran Michelin PS2's for an entire season. I found I learned so much more about my heavy 3k pound 964 compared to the 2390 pound car i previously tracked. Switched to the R888's which of course are a major improvement but there are benefits of learning control when it is limited that will help you so much more than you realize. I would adjust pressures focus on a clean perfect line and start pricing tires. You might find the benefits might be more costly than you realize and they don't last half as long as the current tires you are running. The slope gets slippery faster than those tires do.

just a thought.

Bob Rouleau

Hot pressures for street tires should never exceed 38 lbs. 44 lbs is suggest for street driving to avoid pinch flats. I assume the track does not have pot-holes. You will find the car much more stable if you run with 34-36 Hot in front and 36-38 hot rear.

As to the steering wheel, you should not hit your knees. Can you adjust the seat height? Have your instructor check your seating position. There are some basic rules to be followed. Bench should be adjusted such that when you press the clutch with your right (yes, right) foot, your leg has a slight bend. The seat back should be adjusted so that when you place your wrist on top of the wheel your arms are slightly bent at the elbow. If the seat height is adjustable, make sure your elbows do not hit your knees

BlueHeeler

Very good advice. I learned to autocross on regular street tires. The characteristics of a street tire provide a great margin for error while learning to drive near the limit.

964russ

Ive just fitted a sparco dished steering wheel to my car, this has moved the wheel towards the driver a little.
Now my leg dosnt touch the bottom of the wheel.
Ill take a pic and show you if you like?

anto1150

This means you won't have any problem, whichever tyres you're going to use.

Frank 993 C4S

You're getting some very good advice here.

1) if your arms are crashing into your knees it's not a steering wheel issue. It's probably a function of your seat position and not the size of the wheel.
2) Monitor your tyre pressures - they should not exceed 36-38 psi when hot. This means that initially, you'll start with about 30-32 psi cold and warm them up for a lap or two. No need to buy track tyres

Enjoy!

cobalt

So Frank when are we going to see you at a DE in the US? You didn't much this year LBI was a rainy mess most of the summer.

Dwane

I'd like to see a pic!
thanks
Dwane

964russ

With my old cs wheel it touched my leg, bit annoying and the flat cs wheel was very close to the dash, allso a pain.
Ive found even with a slight dish its much better.