SBPORSCHE

So very excited to have my first day out on a track. Willow Springs International Raceway no less!
I've posted a lengthy Q/A post in the Racing/Driver Education Board. But I have two questions specific to this 997 board.
1. What type of wear should I anticipate on my 09' 997.2 after two days of track events?
2. Any specific tips/things that suprised you about the car on the track? Watching oil temp/consumption/ tire temp/wear???
Many thanks in advance.

utkinpol

you need to take car to any local shop who knows how to do track alignment on stock 997 cars, street or gt3. search forum for specs.

if it is your first day ever - do not worry much. car will be fine.

Spiffyjiff

since this is your first time, dont worry about doing anything "extra" to your car re: performance. are you running with an organization/group? if so, they should have a procedure in place for a pre-track safety check which will cover checking fluid levels, nuts & bolts inspection, etc. (or if not, go to your local dealer and get one.)

as far as wear and tear, you will probably get a few paint nicks/chips, windscreen pitting and your (outside edge of the) tires may look a bit chewed up. if youre really concerned about your paint, you can always tape the bumper and hood...but be sure to do it securely, as 100+ speeds can definitely peel back tape and vinyl/magnetic covers and throw them into the car behind you.

if you're not burning oil regularly, then i doubt you will appreciably over 2 days on the track but to be safe, simply check it in between runs. yes your oil temps may get a bit higher but water temp should not by any significant margin.

the biggest thing that will surprise you is limits - while i can assure you that you will not be driving close to the limits of the car, you will def be taking it farther than you originally thought you could go. the track is a priceless tool for getting comfortably with just how far you can safely push your car before it bites you.

tons more info on here via search, and i'm sure the racing forum will have a few tips. good luck and as our lead instructor says at the beginning of every event: "be safe, have fun, and try to learn something...the first two are mandatory!"

DMoore

If you're doing two days at Willow shortly, I suspect you're doing the weekend with POC at the end of the month. They're very well organized and safety conscious.

As far as your car is concerned - if it's your first ever track weekend I wouldn't do anything to the car - not change the alignment - just get it safety inspected per POC's rules and drive.

Track events use up tires and brakes. There's no two ways around it. On my 997.2 with stock suspension settings, about 4 days on the track is all a stock set of tires was worth. If you have many miles on your tires, two track days will probably mean that you'll need new tires afterwards. In other words - a weekend at the track will mean new tires unless they're still pretty new. If your tires are getting close to the end, they will not last through a track weekend.

Brakes also go quickly. I went through front pads on a brand new car (only 2700 miles on it!) after 5 days on the track - BUT 3 of those days were at the Fontana roval, with 2 separate 130 - 35 mph corners per lap. Streets of Willow uses brakes, but not that badly.

Worst case scenario is that you'll need new pads and tires after the weekend, but that's only if they're getting pretty well used already. If pads and tires are new or near new, you'll be fine.

Most important of all - LISTEN TO YOUR INSTRUCTOR! And have fun.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

utkinpol

if you do not want to get new set of PS2 tires down to cord in 2 days - reduce rear toe from what it was set at the factory down to 0.10, front toe set down to 0.05 and front negative camber should be set to max - 1 degree or so. rear camber may be set to same as front or to 0.5 more than front, those details do not matter for beginning much.

it will benefit both car and driver.

blake

+1. I would only worry about alignment and break pads. On my first track day, I toasted my street pads. They could not handle the heat! I'd recommend Pagids or PFCs. They cost more, but will last MUCH longer. The downside is that they will squeel on the street. There are ways to cut down on the squeel (spiders behind pads, bed the breaks differently) but it is a lot of bother IMHO!

Other than that - just have fun!

-B

utkinpol

hmm, to toast brake pads on a first day ever in a green group is quite an achievement.
for beginner PFC will not do much good, they bite very hard and will be difficult to manage as you will not be yet at speeds where you can warm them up properly. when you`ll get to higher groups, will switch to r-comp tires then you can go with PFC.

this topic is constantly discussed - PFC01, PFC09, RS29 are 'real' track pads and do cost more.

EBC yellowstuff, EBC bluestuff, Hawk DTC-60, ferrodo, carbotech are 'intermediate' pads. some use them, some hate them, so your own research. green DE group on street tires should be fine with street pads, just make sure you have more than 50% of original pad left.

blake

LOL - Miller Motorsports Park is a fast track with long sweepers and a 2/3 mile straight. Speeds of 160mph are achievable, hence the toasted pads!

I ran street tires (PS2s) with Pagid 19s up front and 15s in the back, and got a lot of life out of the tires and the pads... I waitied for 2 years to finally "bump" to R-compound tires... And for the record, I still run Pagid pads. I'll try PFCs this summer.

To the OP - lots of good info on the racing forum via search. You could spend DAYS reading!

-Blake

utkinpol

on my car any pagids or PFC scream on front calipers like crazy, I cannot fgure out why. a lot of folks run RS19 on a street and they are silent, on my car, even with brand new rotors any track pad screeches above level anybody can tolerate. so i run with EBC and keep RS29 set in the box, in case if EBC will decide to disintegrate from overheat.
it probably would help to upgrade calipers and rotors but i woud need to change uprights too for that and total cost gets way too high. so i gave up to lower grade pads, for DE is does not mean much anyway.

simsgw

I agree with everything that Spiffyjiff says where those ellipses go. This one statement requires a caveat, but not a big one: Oil is a consumable and it will be consumed in proportion to the demands you put on the engine. My car normally goes my preferred distance of 7,000 miles between oil changes without using more than half a quart over that time. That's on public roads and with two routine DE days in each interval.

But. If you spend a lot of time at high rpm, the engine needs the oil and it will use it. Porsche is like a lot of manufacturers in considering something less than a thousand miles per quart (exact number escapes me) to be reasonable and not indicative of engine problems. This is why: On the one DE day when I was doing tire testing and kept the car at the limit for a couple of sessions, on the day I asked for serious speed from the car, I went through about half a quart in that one day. One afternoon really, when I quit fooling around with handling issues and said "Okay, let's see what you've got."

This caveat isn't something to worry about, because you're not going to ask anything like as much from your car as I did mine for that one afternoon. I mention it for the good of the archives, not as a warning. Normally, even I don't ask that much from my car, and I haven't before or since in the 30k miles of its life. The bottle of oil from which I took half a quart to refill is still sitting on the shelf in my garage. It's the only time I ever needed to add oil.

My only point is that oil is a consumable, so don't fret about it. Make sure you're topped up before you go, and top it back up afterward, adding no more than half a quart at a time. Checking between runs is almost certainly unnecessary, but this is a day to enjoy your car for all it is, so make it part of your ritual. Don't worry about it in between.

Maybe I'll see you at Willow. I'm going there in a while myself. Just "be safe and have fun" as has been said. The latter is almost guaranteed.

Gary

kisik

Here is my input from a "Rookie" stand point. I have done may be 14 days and heading to Blue (solo) group.
1. Don't worry about a car too much. Do an inspection, bleed or change brake fluid. Just lower tire pressures before your session down may be 33 to have a target no more then 40psi hot.
2. Make a relaxed and comfortable set up. You should concentrate on driving and not your shoes/gloves..
3. Talk to your instructor before and after. Listen carefully. Be open and ask questions. Set a right tone during a session as to what input you want from him.
4. Look ahead. Relax. Don't worry be passed by older 911 with less then 200hp.
5. Be very smooth. If shifting and heel/toe is not your thing yet, don't worry. Keep between 3d and 4th which are close enough. Weight management is the most important thing. No drama!! Don't try to be fast. It will come later.
6. Have fun, get new friends, ask questions and change your underwear.
Good luck!

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MY 05 C2S

SBPORSCHE

Thank you thank you thank you!!!! You guys Rock!!!

MileHigh911

I switched to EBC yellow stuff last summer and found the right pad for me. Once bedded, they are quiet on the street' and don't overheat for me. Learn to be smooth, talk to others there, soak it all in, every time you go plan on learning something new.

cvazquez

The biggest concern is your tire pressure under or over inflation could cause severe tire wear. Also, remember to inflate your tires at recommended PSI before heading home.

Relax and have fun... The first day is gaining skill and car confidence and the second day is all out fun!

Don't forget to constantly scan your rear view mirrors and blind spots.