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I did my first track day mods and ready for this weekend.
APEX 18" Cayman Spec 18x9F and 18x10R
F1 tires 245F/275R
DS2500 Pads
GT3 LCA with 10mm spacer
Alignment is -2 camber front and 0 toe, rear is -2 camber with 1mm toe in (I am on stock suspension, no X73, no PASM), this is the most camber in the front with 10mm LCA spacers.
1. Safety. A solid roof (coming from an S2K with only factory loops)
2. Safety. Better brake pads
3. Safety. High temp brake fluid
4. Safety. Helmet, yup got one!
I think I am good to go!!!
Everyone's got their own tolerance for risk. I would't track a car without proper accommodation for a HANS, but that's just me. And I wouldn't be on track without fire safety gear (both clothing and fire suppression). While I've never been in a car that burned, I've seen a few and that scares the crap out of me. I have been subject to 'sudden deceleration syndrome'...proper safety gear (fixed back seat, properly-mounted harness, HANS) probably saved my life. No one is ever the guy that's going to have an incident...until you're the guy that has an incident.
My advice to focus on safety was intended for the OP, btw, who asked the question about preparedness.
Track insurance is a good call. While some insurance companies will cover you if you're doing a 'DE' (versus some sort of timed event), it doesn't appear to be a given that they will.
A fire extinguisher isn't going to do anything. If you car catches on fire you pull over, jump out, and run the F away. There's no time to be fumbling with an extinguisher. Corner workers and the safety crew will put the car out.
The stock gas tank is very safe, its behind the factory firewall, there is a fuel pump cut switch that triggers in an accident/rollover, etc. It's far more of a concern in a race car with aftermarket fuel cells, plumbing, etc, that's why they have fire suppression systems.
Hagerty track insurance has the option to include competitive time trials. Of course it costs more. I certainly wouldn't count on normal car insurance to cover anything on track. Most carriers have rewritten their policies and have generally wised up to the old loop hole.
Well I would definitely use a fire suppressor, if someone is stuck in a car that is on fire.
Yeh, I was going to mention that that's about the only practical use I can think of. Even then, you'd be hard pressed to have the where with all to actually beat the corner works to the car. Can't hurt, though.
A fire extinguisher isn't going to do anything. If you car catches on fire you pull over, jump out, and run the F away. There's no time to be fumbling with an extinguisher. Corner workers and the safety crew will put the car out.
I have never used my fire extinguisher, but I disagree slightly here - if the fire is somehow in the cabin, I think a fire extinguisher could buy some additional time to safely jump out of the car and run away.
Hankook RS4s are in stock at Tire Rack. Mine shipped Friday, Apr 15th. Squeezed one more weekend out of the two year old, 10 weekend set Friday-Saturday at Summit Point . The rears are worse than the fronts. Good practice on squeezing in the throttle and opening the wheel. I've found Lockton to be slightly cheaper for me. I've looked at OpenTrack and other 3 to 6 session multiple weekend options. The Pagid RS29S on new front Sebro slotted were great. Still have the the old DS1.11s on the rear which might still have another weekend before replacing with RS29s.
I have never used my fire extinguisher, but I disagree slightly here - if the fire is somehow in the cabin, I think a fire extinguisher could buy some additional time to safely jump out of the car and run away.
imo, the time spent trying to get to your fire extinguisher, point/pulling and aiming is time wasted that's better spent getting out of the vehicle. If youre stuck in the vehicle, Id imagine the extinguisher wouldnt be accessible either. So I'd agree w/ txbdan...do everything you can to get out of the vehicle asap.
I also think first track day mods are a bit overrated. I've done a few events on stock street tires, brakes, and fluids. Fluids were new, not aged. But I never found myself needing anything else. I think people can go to the track with a stock car and do just fine. Don't drop thousands of dollars on something that you might only do 2-3x / yr or heck...maybe won't even like it. Have fun, do a couple events then reassess.
I have never used my fire extinguisher, but I disagree slightly here - if the fire is somehow in the cabin, I think a fire extinguisher could buy some additional time to safely jump out of the car and run away.
Hard disagree. If you so much as smell fuel or smoke in your car you get the F out ASAP. Seconds are critical. Let the car burn, you are the priority. This advice is in line with every club I've ever participated with from autocross to w2w.
Hard disagree. If you so much as smell fuel or smoke in your car you get the F out ASAP. Seconds are critical. Let the car burn, you are the priority. This advice is in line with every club I've ever participated with from autocross to w2w.
I can’t disagree getting out of the car first and not trying to save it. I don’t think I said anything at odds with that at all, but perhaps my last post was not well worded. A 1-lb handheld extinguisher is too small to practically use as a tool to save the car, but it could be a tool to get out of a burning car safely. That’s why I have one in my car.
From the one time I have had an engine fire in a car on track at speed, I can say this - the first thing I did was bring the car to a controlled stop off the racing surface ASAP. The next thing I did was make sure my instructor was OK, and we both got out of the car to wait for the marshals (who red flagged the session, arrived promptly, and put the fire out). Thankfully, getting out of the car quickly and safely was very easy in that case, and nobody was hurt.
I just think the fire extinguisher *could* buy some extra insurance in some corner cases. It cost very little (financially and in terms of complexity of carrying it around in the car), so I continue to keep an extinguisher in the car.
Hard disagree. If you so much as smell fuel or smoke in your car you get the F out ASAP. Seconds are critical. Let the car burn, you are the priority. This advice is in line with every club I've ever participated with from autocross to w2w.
Rule #1: never get out of your car on track.
Rule #2: if you car is on fire, forget rule #1.
My comment about fire gear and suppression, btw, refers to 1) clothing. That's not a big investment relative to other things you could spend money on; 2) a suppression system as a potential investment down the road. I agree that a fire extinguisher is unlikely to help you 'before' you get out of the car and I, for one, would not be trying to extinguish a car fire with my hand-held fire extinguisher once I'm out of the car. I'd rather watch it burn that risk injury trying to save it.
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