iphilips

First off, I don't know why I left it so late in my life to drive on an actual track. If you haven't, or on the fence, go do it, you won't regret it.

Just got back from a day of HPDE with Simraceway Performance Driving Center in Sonoma, CA. I did the Stage 1 and took my 2018 991.2 C2 GTS. The facilities are great, people and instructors had the right balance of fun, tuition and professionalism. The facility is great too, clean and modern and the raceway has gas ($4 for 91, which is about normal for Bay Area, they also had 100+ octane as well). Being on the track itself was just amazing, so great to run the car up to speed and feel the balance (or lack of it as a rookie) of the 911 in the corners.

So onto my question. I enjoyed it so much I'm heading back to do their half day Car Control Clinic next week, as well as their Stage 2 & 3 in June. Talking to their instructor they recommend I get a seat of "cheap" tires to trash on the Car Control Clinic. Basically it's power slides, burnouts and all sorts of fun stuff that will shred tires. So, what are peoples thoughts on a cheap pair of rear tires that will fit my car and that I can trash that day. Do I need to be worried they aren't N spec, or match the fronts. It's basically 40 miles to/from the track and then burnouts etc for half a day. Any suggestions on make/models that I should look at, stay away from etc?

Also, what do I do with this new addiction I've found? Can't wait to get out there again.

PS.. any recommendations on installers in the Bay Area (preference would be SF based) outside of regular dealerships, I have CL wheels so want somebody that knows how to torque them correctly.

Thanks in advance.

ivan

CarreraFahrer

I've done quite a few days at Sonoma and it's my favorite track. Having a second set of wheels with more track specific track tires is always a good idea but that starts you down a slippery slope. Better brake pads and safety gear are also recommended. If you do buy track specific wheels/tires consider going to 19" for a better selection of tires, less weight and lower gearing which will help on track. Have fun.

erko1905

Definitely turn off the PSM while doing car control. I'd recommend joining your local PCA chapter and doing some HPDE with them as well.

Tire-wise, just burn up whatever you have on already - most tires at these sizes are somewhat expensive.

arter

It is hard to get these cars to slide with good tires ( unless you are on a track and moving ).
Turn the PSM fully off to get rid of the nannies and slide easier.
Since they are likely to have you doing power slides, best to match front and back tire types ( fronts and backs heat up and get greasy at the same rate, prevents larger changes in handling behavior).
If you do get other tires, dont worry about N spec, hey all season tires would slide easier.

Probably easist to use use up the stock tires you have on the car first........

Contadino

Sounds like fun. I might have to check it out. Just curious if you are getting track insurance and what that is costing.

iphilips

I didn't get insurance for Stage 1, also StateFarm (my road insurance) won't cover it as well. In hindsight that was pretty silly, Sonoma has a lot of walls on the track and while I wasn't at the edge of the cars performance I could imagine that if you mess up you could easily kiss a wall.

So for Stage 2 and 3 I'm using RLI. Came in at $816 for 15% deductible fo about $168K of coverage. This provides three consecutive days of coverage, so I'm going to do Stage 2 and 3 back to back over a weekend.

Not sure if I would of pushed harder on Stage 1 if I had the insurance or not. The initial fear wasn't about loss of $$ but more about the actual physical pain associated with kissing the wall. I think now with some experience the fear will subside and $$ may become a higher priority (but I have the insurance now!)

2010panny4S

Damn who has 25K sitting around in the case you need to pay deductible for crashing. but still good at paying 25K to get 168K covered instead of being a total loss.

iphilips

Lol, isn't that what credit cards are for