Darren

Agreed -- also awesome 944 race picture there! I don't think I've ever seen so many at once and its like a million cars wide! Very cool!

M758

It takes a really wide angle to get 34 cars in frame at once. Well 34 944 spec cars and 1 H3.

BTW... you can vote for this as the best picture from NASA Nationals on Facebook. David Saliba is the photographer.

Liceman

Thanks so much for all the replies and advice!

It's great to see such enthusiasm (obsession )
Looking to join the ranks.

Also,
Will one DE destroy my tires? They are relatively new, I believe less than 2 years old per previous owner.

What kind of road rash can I expect after one DE? Though I did buy this thing to DRIVE anyway.

Thanks

TRAKCAR

Pretty much sums it up, but you can slow down the process:

Start off as you are, listen to instructors, they know. Leave your car alone for as long as you can stand it and learn to drive it....
.
.
.
.
Maybe brake pads, hightemp brake fluid and leave it at that.
.
.
.
.
Maybe 2 seats, 6 point belts and a Hans Device... But that's it.
.
.
.
.
Maybe to "save, really = to go faster." your street tires, get an extra set of rims or or 2 with some R compound tires...
.
.
.
.
.
Oh, you'll need a trailer and tow vehicle to go to the new, farther away tracks with the Track tires.
.
.
.
.
A traqmate is entertaining for youtube and you might also find out where you lose the most time.

:-)

aben8057

When buying parts for your car, make sure you also get your wife some gifts....handbag, shoes, etc..

that goes a long way.

M758

DE will not destroy the tires. It will put more wear on them. 100 track miles is probably like 10000 gentle street car miles or 1000 sprited driving miles. Still one event will not be a big deal when it comes to tires. They may never look perfect again as the edges will see more abuse. Still you should be fine for Novice DE.


As for road rash... seriously tracked cars get it in spades. However Novice DE is not bad. The reason is that novice drivers don't follow as close nor run as sticky tires. Race cars see it bad since we tend to follow each other very close, run sticky tires and the lead guy puts a wheel off in the dirt will kick up debris.

Novice DE is just not like that.


That is the big thing. Novice first time DE really only uses 50-60% of the cars capacity. So wear and tear is very light for track standards as is the risk of something occuring. However once guys get hooked on the track things change and wear increases. When you race wear is the worst since every lap in a race you beat the snot out of the car. Nothing maters except the racing. Plus when any little part goes substandard it gets replaced.

So for now just enjoy the track time. Chances are the car will come home in better condiditon that when you left because these Porsches all tend to run better once you wring them out a bit.

If you get hooked and will be tracking 5+ times a year then things like accelerated tire wear, road rash and risk of a crash go up. Then should start considering options. Most guys that run alot of track days had some form of dedicated track car. These are cars that are not trying to look pretty, but are set-up to run around the track fast and wear/road rash are just part the expectations. Years ago I retired my street 944 Turbo from track duty and started run an old beat cheap 84 944. The idea was not to wear down or beat-up my nice Turbo S. The 84 944 was basicly a junker I turned into a track car then race car. Nice to go to the track with no worries about cosmetic stuff.

Once you get hooked we can talk more about what you should run for a dedicated track car.

jbossolo

I'll give you my 2 cents on "wear and tear".
Many years from now,as you are lying in your deathbed, you won't mind any "rock chips" or "road rash", yet you'll have a lot of fun memories from the time spent driving that sucker the way it was meant to!

rlm328

Tires
You just found your excuse in having to go do a DE. Most high performance tires start losing their edge after two years. It is time to use these up so that you can go get some new ones.

Road Rash
It is always nice if you have one of the clear bras to help protect the front paint job. If you do not have the clear bra then you can always do what a lot of people do with new cars to the track and that is cover it in painters tape. Not one of my favorite things to witness but something most of us are quilty of at least once.

flyingpenguin

+1. Lonestar Region PCA in Houston does performance driving schools (consider it DE light in an AutoX setting) with wet skid pad, slalom, apexing type drills etc. and we see paeople that attend these events before a DE move-up through the run groups faster (and safer?).
That butt-o-meter is just a little more sensitized once you have done some slip-slidin' on a wet course around a few cones.

JP

flyingpenguin

Bob, you're not telling me that you've been using painters tape to protect the exquisite paint job on your 944 turbo....

JP

equiraptor

*nod* If you do chose to autocross first, grab an experienced driver to "instruct" you as you go. While most autocrosses don't include a formal school, most experienced autocrossers are happy and eager to help a new person. You just have to ask. There should be a "Novice coordinator" or similar who can find you a specific person.

rlm328

Although the paint job on the 944 is exquisite except for the occasional rock chip or so. The Cayman did see a roll after I had the front end repainted thanks to the usual high driving standards of Houston drivers.