cfjan

Driving on the track is definitely a much safer way to learn how to drive the car.. here's a pic of the front tire after a couple of sessions. It is definitely getting more workout than it has ever seen driving on the street by a large margin..

A few times the rear stepped out a little bit when I wasn't driving smoothly (either too much throttle or lifting the throttle when I thought I was going too fast) but it never felt like I was in danger. (would be a different story if I was to try this on the street)

996FLT6

Cfjan- at least u ran with pca. It was a humbling experience getting passed by hondas. Granted it was a 99 996c2 but hell with a gt3 1st time out it be way worse. What I know now vs before I coulda beat my gt3 in my Smartfortwo car. U made
it safely back both u and car so that's an accomplishment in itself. Congrats!! Mike

cfjan

Thanks Mike! LOL, SmartForTwo.. Yeah, it is definitely driver skills that matters..

Like you said, made it back safely so it was a successful day.. total track mile = 80.6 miles. Average MPG was 9.1. I was tired by the end of the day.. !

Looking forward to the next event! My goal is just to get better slowly after each event.. !

Gofishracing

Focus on what you did well and more skills will follow. It's all about seat time now. Need more? Also check pdadrivingschool.com

AllanJ

We've all been there. Don't worry, you will be better next time. Like I said, you have the right attitude. More seat time will be accompanied by less "stage fright" and you'll become more used to lapping on a track. Keep going over everything your instructor told you and where you can, try to practice those on the street. No, not driving fast. When you are making a long sweeping turn like a 270+ degree loop (cloverleaf) to merge onto a highway, keep your eyes scanning ahead. Look for that apex while scanning back and forth - from where you are driving to the apex and beyond. "Keep those eyes up!" (the instructor probably said more than once)

Rev match everywhere. Practice your heel/toe downshifts where you can. Always be progressive with the steering, brakes and throttle. Be smooth.

Your instructor probably said something about "the imaginary piece of string" joining your steering wheel to the gas. On corner exit, unwind the wheel as you are applying the gas. Do not apply gas until the unwinding has begun because at speed if you are near the limits of traction, you will spin. Even though street driving won't require it, practice all the right movements - all the time.

The really cool thing is that next time you're out there, you will get another instructor and you will learn more from him (or her). Keep up with the instruction and you will learn a lot and you will see your skills improve dramatically.

Enjoy the slippery slope!

Cheers,

007DT

+1 on Allan's statement.

Don't worry about everyone else on the track. Did you have fun?!

This is a new skill set to you. Enjoy it.

BTW seriously get the 2" belts with a HANS. Even on the passenger side as the 2" is still sufficient even W/O a HANS. Plus I don't know an instructor that doesn't have a HANS.

cfjan

Thanks for all the suggestions.. yes, I had a lot of fun.. can't wait for the 2nd day to build up the skill some more.. hopefully I will see some improvement..

The next DE is within 10 days.. so I need to get the car inspected again soon.. this is going to be an expensive hobby...

himself

Oh boy is it! Wait until you are burning through $1500 worth of tires every other event (3 if you are lucky!).

-td

996FLT6

Cfjan- how did the 3 inch shoulder belt feel on your Hans? I did not like it one bit. Hated rubbing on my neck and if I overlap on the outside of Hans collar felt less secure. The 2 inch is great for the Hans. Mike

mooty

every other event?
i get 2 days on a set of hoosiers if i babied them. else one day they are gone!

cfjan

Mike,

Hasn't had the chance to try them yet as I'm still waiting for my seats.. so right now I am running the stock seats w/ stock seatbelts.. I was told that Sparco will be getting the shipment from Italy next week.. so hopefully I will have the seats a couple of weeks after that?

Then we will find out about the harness.

The thing is, I got the harness as part of a package buy. Previous owner of the car (Modoc, another Rennlist member!) was getting out of tracking so he sold me his harness, mounting hardware, HANS Device, etc. So I didn't have a choice of 2" or 3" shoulder belt.

If that proves to be an issues, I can always buy the 2" shoulder belts, I hope.. (instead of buying the whole set)

cfjan

LOL! No worry Mooty.. it will be a LONG TIME before I'm close to your kind of speed.. maybe years...

996FLT6

^well if Mooty stopped staying on the asphalt the hoo hoos will last longer : ). I bypass t5 ( over the top) altogether and perfect entry into t6 : )-jk. Cfjan maybe the 3 inch lapbelts will work with 2 inch Hans shoulder but just to let u know the Hans lap belts are 2 inch as well. Mike

cfjan

Thanks for the info Mike.. I will give the current setup a try first.. can always sell the harness to a friend (they are in great shape, basically like new) and get the 2" version later.. when the budget allows..

himself

1-2 days sounds right depending on number of sessions and driving style. A "newbie" to Hoo-Hoos can easily get 2+ full events out of them, assuming a typical DE with only 4 20-minute sessions per day. I stopped counting heat cycles, but used to get 20-25 HC before getting to the cords. [As I mentioned before, I don't run Kassumaul, but my setup works for me]

-td