April 9th is my 1st official track day at Laguna Seca!!!

I have been to other tracks of lesser caliber before, and have been to Laguna many times for pro car and moto racing...... But this time it is actually going to be me on the track!

I am very exicited and a little nervous.....

Do you all have any suggestions on things that I might need to bring or do while I am there? I have some tools, car cleaning supplies, bottled water, folding chairs, my wife, helmets and nexk restraints..... What else am I missing?

Any suggestions would be appreciated..

Also, what is the right tire pressure to run at Laguna, my car is lowered on H&Rs with a 22mm rear sway bar...

What do you all think???

Thanks, Jasun

 

Have fun, relax the first couple of times on the track can be a bit overwelming. Just take it easy get a feel of the car and enjoy, they are amazing little cars and it is great fun. Sounds like you have what you need, your instructor will go over air pressures and everything else you'll need with the car

 

I recently wrote a blog post about what to bring to the track... it's here:
http://brownmini.themotorcade.com/20...ts-in-the-box/

but, to make life easier, I'll copy it:

Here’s what I have in my track box:

Tire pressure gauge - get a pretty nice one that has a relief valve for lowering pressure easily
Notebook and pen - useful for writing down stuff like tire pressures, contact information for people you meet, etc
Scotch tape - some clubs will give you nice vinyl numbers to put on the car, others will give you a piece of paper with a number printed on it and say “tape this to your window”. Without tape, that’s pretty hard.
Painter’s tape - some clubs will make you tape up and glass on the front of your car such as headlights. Painter’s tape can also be used if you have to supply your own numbers on your car, but it’s a pain to do it that way
Glass cleaner - windows get dirty, so bring something to clean them with
Paper towels - goes with the glass cleaner, but get used for lots of other things too
hand cleaning wipes - hands get dirty
brake fluid - at some point, you’ll need to bleed your brakes, so have more fluid handy
a quart of oil - my car doesn’t burn oil, so I’m not really sure why I carry this around, but it feels like the right thing to do
tire tread depth gauge - so you can keep track of just how worn those tires are getting. Comes in handy when you want to rotate the tires to even out the wear on them
brake pads - at some point, you’ll use up the brake pads that are on the car, so carry along the next set so you don’t have to go home early
sunscreen - if it’s not raining, you’ll be getting sunburned
Tarps - for covering the box and other stuff when it rains
clean t-shirt for the drive home - it’s either going to rain, and your shirt will get wet, or it will be hot and your shirt will get all sweaty. And either way, it will end up dirty. A clean, dry shirt can make the drive home a bit more pleasant.
Also put in the car an umbrella and a folding chair.

Water is another important thing to have on hand. Get an insulated container that can hold a fairly large amount of it. You don’t want to have to pay the track for overpriced bottled water.

I carry along my full (but small) toolbox. Minimally, you want to bring the tools you’d need to rotate / change tires and bleed brakes. So, the right size sockets for those two tasks, a breaker bar, a torque wrench, socket wrench, and a plastic hose and bottle for bleeding brakes.

I wish I had the following:

aluminum racing jack
mechanic’s gloves
easy-up tent like shelter
air tank or compressor

 

I just discovered another good reason to throw a notebook and pen in the box of stuff you take to the track.

If you get hooked on the track thing, at some point the number of days you have (and number of tracks you have been to) might become important... when signing up for events, they might ask you how many days you have. There are other reasons you might need that info too.

Some of the more competition oriented clubs will have formal log books, but even so, having one log you keep with all your events listed in it just might come in handy.

 

An adjustable torque wrench w/appropriately sized sockets is also good. You should check your lugs before each run (when car is cool) just to make sure nothing has jarred loose.

Take _all_ loose objects out of the car from everywhere (boot, glove box, etc).

Floor jack is great to have, but if you ask nicely, someone will be happy to let you borrow theirs.

Water, water, water, water. Above all else, keep yourself hydrated! Even if it is a cool day, you will still sweat. Lapping is more intense than most people realize their first time out. Gatorade/Powerade is OK too, but not sodas. Keep yourself hydrated.

Don't forget your helmet. Have fun. Take pics or video and post it back here for us to drool over!

 

One other thing you may want to bring is some form of portable shade... you may want to take a nap at lunch... waking up early, lots of physical and mental exertion + food = nap-time

I've never made it to Laguna Seca, but have done a few East-coast tracks... Watkins' Glen, Summit Point, LimeRock, Pocono... a few padocks have shade, or garages, some do not...

and as mentioned a cooler filled with water...

After the track day, a few instructors and some students usually go find the local go-cart track to settle the score before adult beverages and dinner

Just remember to do what the instructor tells you and all will be well!
(don't get too frustrated, this is supposed to be fun... by the second day, you will remember that

 

Everything you can possibly fit in the car. The more you bring, the less likely you are to need it.

 

Laguna can be hard on brake pads; take an extra set. Flush in fresh brake fluid before go if you haven't done it within 6 months. Drivers new to a track tend to be harder on the brakes also (at least that was my experience).