finalzero

Hi,

Need some advice from exprienced track day guys and girls. I am looking to do a few track day's next year in the UK and if funds permit, I will be hitting the ring near the end of the year.

With a mildly modified (stage 1 or 2) blobeye STi, what kind of preperation should I make? Is it worth investing in oil cooling etc?

I will be sorting the handling out at some point before I hit the first track day and will be aiming for a fast road setup so I can make the most of the car (all power and no go isn't fun).

Any other recomendations?

D1CCY

A spare set of wheels is handy and think about your tyres. If you are really going to cane it then an oil cooler and guages are a good idea along with frequent oil changes. If you have any money to spare spend it on brakes and suspension but not power. I have a 330 bhp blob STi with T25 suspension and AP 6 pots and on track I can easily reel in a 450 bhp classic I know who hasn't sorted his brakes and suspension. I think the "Power engineering" website has a nice checklist for track preparation.

gussy

iTrader: (2)

As diccy says also,make sure all fluids are topped up,engine is warmed up before you cane it,when you come in let the engine cool down on tickover and don't put the handbrake on (can warp brakes) and the main thing go out and enjoy yourself.

The Hoff

iTrader: (5)

If you can buy some training at the track day then take it! No matter how good you think you are, you are not. Take the advise of the experts and it will increase your driving and your fun factor loads.

EDIT: Take the training in the afternoon when you have already had some time out on track. Dont take it straight away.

Gutmann pug

Don't spend any money on the car just yet. Make sure it's in good fettle and has good or uprated brake pads but other than that hold your horses.

If you listen to everything everyone tells you then you will be out of pocket by £1500 on brakes, another £2K on suspension and £600 on tyres

My suggestion would be to try the car the way it is, see if you enjoy driving it on track and pick out the areas where you believe improvement is required. I wouldnt do this until I had completed a few track days and maybe some training though. It maybe operator error rather than the machinery

Finally think long and hard before you spend £4K on mods. You can buy a nice already made track toy for that kind of money. Oh and the £4K doesnt include cage, seats, harnesses either

Have a look at this to see what you could buy for your money.
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Oh and ''hitting'' the ring is not something you want to do

Borat_Drives_A_Scooby

The most important thing when doing a track day is to arrive nice and early and get straight over to the burger van, grab yourself a nice bacon and egg sarnie and a cuppa. After that just go out and enjoy yourself, don`t be bothered about what other people think of your driving as your there to learn. Start off at a nice comfy speed and get used to the track, as your confidence grows then up the speed a little.

Always check your tyres when you come off and leave your bonnet open to cool the engine, just enjoy it the first time and if you then get the bug you can start to change a few things, personally if that was me and i enjoyed the track day i woulod look for a car thats already been prepared as you will save a fortune than doing it yourself.

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

some top tips already said, and lots of peeps will give you good Do's and Don'ts Mine is simular ;_

Enjoy the day and take care You drove the Car there, it's fairly important that you Drive it home

Tony

wrx287

iTrader: (8)

Also dont forget to tell your insurance,because accidents can happen
Like the NSX owner at Japfest who didnt tell his insurance and rolled it

D1CCY

Good point abot the burger bar. The one Javelin has at Elvington is great.

As I said only do mods if you want to spend the money but as pointed out above you can have loads of fun without.

I looked at insurance when I started track days. They want something like £10 for every £1000 insured plus a huge excess (£2000-£3000). There is no legal requirement to be insured so I just take the chance as most people seem to do. If you damage your car on track it has nothing to do with your road insurance.

Torque your wheelnuts between sessions. Ragging it and the greater than usual heat from the brakes sometimes loosens things unexpectedly.

leerichosti

all the above is sound advice one thing i do which may make me look daft is pop the bonnet between laps/sessions to help to coll things down

most of all drive within your limits if youve got to drive the same car home and have loads of fun!