What do I need to do a track day? From autox, I have a helmet, tire pressure gauge, torque wrench, and shoes - (sneakers are just too wide). The car is a 2002 MCS completely stock except for Toyo Proxie t1R's.

Do I need a tow hook? Suspension changes? Racing suit? Should I change brake fluid or do any other maintenance?

It seems a simple question, but I can't seem to find the answer here on the forums?

 

It would be good to flush the brake fluid. The things you listed that you already have are fine to go to your first day. You can use your factory tow hook if you have a problem. No need for suspension, racing suit, etc.

General pointers for useful mods on the track are:
1: Upgraded pads and fluid
2: Safety restraints

Just listen to your instructor and have fun. You will spend the first couple sessions just trying to get the correct lines down. Let people pass you if they are faster; its not a race. Once you learn the lines and your braking points, you can pass back alot of the people who have faster cars.

Here's a good read if your interested....
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=199661

 

agreed. for the first time on a road course, not much is required. i ran my car totally stock, w/ runflats. once bitten by the track bug i modded the whole suspension, bbk, dedicated track wheels/tires, dedicated brake pads....you will have plenty of other opportunities to spend money if you too enjoy this endeavor. have fun and bring up the pace slowly.

 

Your suspension will be fine, you're safer throwing the tow hook on just in case, if not required.

Make sure all your fluids are fresh (esp. the brakes) make sure you've got plenty of pad life and plenty of tire tread.

Bring lots of water get a good nights rest, read up on the sanctioning bodies rules. (I'm assuming your AutoX is SCCA which means your helmet is SA and current otherwise make sure it meets the needed requirements)

Which track and sactioning body are you running with?

 

Go with a good sanctioning body, BMW Car Club or NASA. There are others but these two have a good reputation for safety.

Here is a good link to what to do and expect. My First Day at the Track read the other links at the bottom of the page. All good reading. Your car will be just fine, I would change the brake fluid and check the pads. After a few time out you will be harder on the brakes. I started here and now race wheel to wheel with USTCC.

Now, go out have fun and drive safe

 

I'd add to hold off on any mods until you decide what you want to do (as far as what group you want to run with.) Different groups have different classification depending on what mods you make. Best to have fun and improve your driving, decide who you want to run with, then decide on what mods you want to make based on their rules. Or you could just spend the mod money on more track time Nothing wrong with being stock

 

Your brakes will reach much higher temps than in an autox, so fresh fluid is a must. Other than that, get the tech inspection sheet ahead of time, and make sure everythings tight. (No leaks, no excessive play in suspension/motor mounts/etc.). Make sure you have decent brake pad life left. I'm new to Miini's so, I don't know what "decent" is.

I would NOT advise "R" compound tires for a novice. They'll mask errors. The Toyos should be fine.

Don't worry about modifying the car. On a road course a high performance driver always trumps a high performance car. I've seen Dodge Vipers on track that I could pass with a Dodge Neon.

 

Thanks for the pointers guys. That's been really helpful.

The list is simple:

Helmet, new brake fluid, pads and tires. Just like Autox.

i'm not going to mod the car, but my plan of getting toyo's has been overturned by a steal of a deal on Wheels and Kumho slicks. Life is good for autox. Plan for HPDE maybe in December.

-Jamie

 

Do you have another set of decent street tires?

I wouldn't run the V710 for your first track day. On my other car, I auto-x alot and run Hoosiers for auto-x, but have been running kumho MX for track days.

There's a couple advantages to starting with street tires.
-Linear breakaway. If you have run on slick you know it likes high slip angles, and its fun, but its not hard to overstep the line and gets harder to recover from.
-Sound. There's something to be said about listening to your tires to judge how you are treating them.
-Speed. You don't need the extra grip and speed at corner entry. That can amplify a problem while you are still trying to learn.

 

Man, I KNEW there was a reason I became a member of this community....awesome advice and solid information!!!! I've been interested in Track Days, Auto-X rules & regulations and what to expect, but I haven't had much luck at getting any specifics. Thanks guys...y'all ROCK!!!

 

Wow ... this was really interesting to read. I posted this thread just before my first track day. I did end up finding a great deal on light wheels and Kumho slicks...... but I listened to the people on the forum, pulled off the slicks and ran on street tires (Falken Azenis). This was a brilliant decision ... the street tires were VERY forgiving for a new Driver.

For a first track day, a good set of new STREET TIRES and brake fluid replacement worked great.

As I have now done a few more track days --- 7 days of driving now. I did make a one good change:

1) Harness: Locks you into the seat making steering inputs more of a slight adjustment and less of a "let me hang on for dear life while I turn" kind of move.

I still have a MAJOR issue to figure out:

1) Brakes: On my last track day, I totally "cooked the brakes." I wore through a set of Hawk pads (two drivers + one car + aggressive braking with harness=lots of brake wear) but more concerning, I found that the pedal got VERY soft on a couple of occasions..... I'm not sure if that is brake fluid boiling or if it is the brake lines getting soft (any thoughts).

I also have a MINOR issue to figure out:
I'm currently running Falken Azenis ST 615 215/45 R 16 .... any thoughts on another street tire --- I find that these get greasy with time and I also find that they wear pretty quickly.

Has anyone had experience with Hankook Ventus Rs2 225/50zr/r16s? Any other thoughts?

 

1) Use ATE super Blue or Motul. This helps with the boiling point. I do not know which Hawks pads you have (HP plus is a little better than HPS) but you should move to a more racing oriented pad such as Carbotech XP10 Front and XP8 Rear. Speak to AutoXCooper (Dustin) and he can help you. Remember, be careful when you have a racing pad on the street.

2) I am running Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs and they work very well. It is a bit noisy. Lots of threads on this. I have not tried Hankook so I cannot comment there.

 

1) Try ATE Type 200 or Racing Blue (same fluid) or Motul. It will help with the soft pedals. Also, change fluids a few days before going to the track. I do not know which Hawks Pads you have but HP Plus is a little better than HPS. Going with a more racing pad is worthwhile if you do a lot of track days. Perhaps Carbotechs XP10 fronts and XP8 rears. Regardless, make sure you talk with AutoXCooper (Dustin) and he can help you. Note, not all track pads are good for street use.

2)I use Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs and they work very well. There are a lot of threads on the Dunlop in NAM. I have no experience with the Hankooks so I cannot help there.

 

Thanks,

your the second person to suggest the dunlops and I'll try the brake fluid....

-Jamie

 

+1 on the Dunlop Direzza. They are my street tire of choice for track, communicative, predictable and long lasting. TireRack just publish their tire test, Direzza was #1 in Extreme Summer tire catagory.

This is good read for track brake.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=152015

 

I did my first HPDE day at Watkins Glen with a group called Trackmasters. They are fantastic, great instruction. I would highly recommend them to anyone wanting to do a track day.

I have a stock 2006 MCS with Falken Azenis 215/45-16 tires. I have auto-x'd extensively in the past but only two HPDE track days. For auto-x the stock brakes are fine. For the track I added Motul RBF 600 brake fluid and Ferodo 2500 brake pads front and rear. Even after two days of progressively harder driving I had no problems with fade or a soft pedal.

Oh yes, as for the question of boiled fluid or "soft brake lines". It is definitely boiled fluid. For the track you want to stay away from factory fluids and put in something with a higher dry boiling point. The ATE Blue is good and easy to flush with because you can see exactly when the new fluid is coming out. The Motul RBF600 actually has a higher a dry BP and a better wet BP than the ATE. At least that is what the nice folks at HMS Motorsports http://www.hmsmotorsport.com/store/b...ts/brake-fluid said. Whatever, I had no brake problems what-so-ever.