Driving the track at Hawaii Raceway park
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OVERDRIVE - Racing Champion
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,262
Likes: 72
From: Mililani, Hawaii
Before you head out to drive at Hawaii Raceway park on the track for the July Aloha 500,
I thought that I would leave some notes on what I observed at the last April Spring Fling.
http://www.hawaiiracewaypark.com/
Before you drive the track it would be good to browse through some info. I like
http://www.turnfast.com/tech_intro/intro.lasso
Check it out and give yourself lots of time to read through it.
In general when you drive on the track:
It is very tiring so get lots of rest the night before.
You will get hot- drink lots of water
You will be outdoors all day- use sunblocks and wear comfortable light colored clothes
Make sure you check your tire pressure and oil level.
Always drive (shifting, braking, and steering) smoothly. Don't waste energy and efficiency.
The track and it's parts- see map below:
Turn One- There is a quarter mile straightaway leading into turn one-a hairpin turn
Turn Two- after exiting the hairpin you have a back straightaway that turns slightly to the right and over a few mild humps.
Chicane (turns 3 and 4)-This leads to an "S" shaped turn first left then right on a mostly flat road
Off Camber(turns 5 and 6)-Then a hard left turn followed by a quick right where you pass over slightly raised concrete shoulders
Sweeper (turn 7 and
-You end up near the start of the quarter mile but the track leads to a slight right turn then tight left followed by a tight right (a very important place to exit with speed for the straightaway) which leads out to the quarter mile track.
Each part of the track sets you up for the next turn or straightaway. The straightaways are important because that is where higher speeds are possible. Enter the straight faster and your potential top speed will be higher. For turns you want to exit the turn faster regardless of how you enter the turn. Smoothness and control of the car counts alot. Tire noise and skidding hurts alot.
On the track curbs -orange cones are laid on their sides to mark the turn in point and apex of each turn. The correct line will vary during the course of the day depending on the condition of the track. Once it heats up in the afternoon things can get slipery so some adjustment is needed. Also your car and tires heat up with each lap so your driving will likely need to be slightly different as a result.
Driving the track
Exiting the pit- This is the start, come out and turn left, go to the far right and come up to the beginning of the sweeper turn in third gear.
Sweeper-In the first left turn move to the left side of the lane and hug the barrier while gaining speed steadily then once past the apex of the turn steer right close to the barrier to enter the straightaway at about 60+ mph in 4th gear. Not much braking going on in the sweeper this is a series of turns for building up speed for the start of the straightaway. If you do it right you can get over 100 mph in the straight. The fastest cars did over 120 mph.
Turn one- You come down the straight at 95+ or so in 5th/6th gear and at about 80 feet from the turn in point you start braking- really hard sometimes to drop your speed so that you can start your turn in while in second gear. You can shift down from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 or fast from 5 down to 2 but the important part is to get into second and let out your clutch BEFORE you turn in. All braking is done in the straight-not in the turn or you will loose traction. You try to let your clutch out and be in second when you transition into the turn so that you are ready to hit the apex and start to throttle up right away. If you are shifting in the turn you will not have the traction you need or the control to complete the turn and start to accelerate- this is crucial- remember you want the highest speed coming out of each turn and the hairpin is the place you will slow the most to negotiate the turn. Once you finish turn one you will be on the outside right of the road.
Turn two- As you exit turn one you can slow move over to the far left side of the road and bring your speed up to about 75 or 80 in 4th gear then slowly steer right and flow over the humps about 4 or 5 feet from the right shoulder then before the chicane set up on the right side of the road and in 3rd gear and brake to about 50+ mph
Chicane- turn left, hit the apex and then a quick right in this S turn all about 60 mph as you accelerate out of the turn and leave it in 4th gear- no time to shift, just some brake and throttle. Stay on the right side of the lane as you set up for the next turn -brake and shift to 2nd gear
Off camber-Now comes the second hardest turn- you'll be turning hard over rough raised shoulders (like cutting corners) so you have to slow down enough to do the turn with control. Again you need to shift to second and be off the clutch before entering the turn left followed by a quick steer right then shift to 3rd gear once out of the turn and passing by the pit.
Sweeper-next you steer to the right edge of the track to set up for the beginning of the sweeper turn left in third gear and about 45+ mph.
A word about shifting and steering-
Shift as little as you can. In theory you can do the whole track in gears 1 to 4, maybe 5th on the straight. As long as you don't go above 6000 rpm you are probably OK. More shifting means more opportunity to mis-shift. Once you complete a shift move your hand quickly to the steering wheel. Otherwise you loose 50% of your ability to steer and feel the road. Don't drive long with one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter.
Steer the straightest line you can. Turn the wheel the least you can in order to maintain the correct line. Everytime you turn too much you will need to correct the wheel- this wastes effort, time, and energy of you and your car.
There is a short track circuit which cuts out the long straightaways and turn one. You get half the quarter mile straight leading to a sharp left turn (at turn two). Usually the closed portion of the track is being used for the car control clinic in the morning.
I hope that gives you a bit of a glimpse of what it was like for me. Each 1.32 mile lap goes by really fast. Sort of the same as a roller coaster ride at the 50th state fair. There isn't much time to think. All of sudden it is over. Get your instructor to drive a few laps and talk about what he is doing at each point on the track. Every instructor is different. I had Chris and George-both were excellent. Ask them for feedback on how your did. Don't expect miracles if you haven't done track driving before. Be gentle on your car-it gets really really hot with each session of twenty minutes. I think I got my brake fluid to boil over and spill out the top. I did not warp my rotors or chunk my tires. For that I am grateful.
A word about safety. The whole point of driving on the track is safety. There are flags to signal you with the rules of driving. You must study what they mean. There will be a demonstration of what the flags look like and do before you are allowed out on the track. There is great potential for trouble. It is very important to obey all safety rules and wear an approved helmet.
Well, post your questions and have fun. It's a blast and I would advise you all to give it a try. I would expect that coopers- 5 speed and CVT would do fine even though we had mostly MCS driving that day.
_________________
ALOHA
I thought that I would leave some notes on what I observed at the last April Spring Fling.
http://www.hawaiiracewaypark.com/
Before you drive the track it would be good to browse through some info. I like
http://www.turnfast.com/tech_intro/intro.lasso
Check it out and give yourself lots of time to read through it.
In general when you drive on the track:
It is very tiring so get lots of rest the night before.
You will get hot- drink lots of water
You will be outdoors all day- use sunblocks and wear comfortable light colored clothes
Make sure you check your tire pressure and oil level.
Always drive (shifting, braking, and steering) smoothly. Don't waste energy and efficiency.
The track and it's parts- see map below:
Turn One- There is a quarter mile straightaway leading into turn one-a hairpin turn
Turn Two- after exiting the hairpin you have a back straightaway that turns slightly to the right and over a few mild humps.
Chicane (turns 3 and 4)-This leads to an "S" shaped turn first left then right on a mostly flat road
Off Camber(turns 5 and 6)-Then a hard left turn followed by a quick right where you pass over slightly raised concrete shoulders
Sweeper (turn 7 and
-You end up near the start of the quarter mile but the track leads to a slight right turn then tight left followed by a tight right (a very important place to exit with speed for the straightaway) which leads out to the quarter mile track.Each part of the track sets you up for the next turn or straightaway. The straightaways are important because that is where higher speeds are possible. Enter the straight faster and your potential top speed will be higher. For turns you want to exit the turn faster regardless of how you enter the turn. Smoothness and control of the car counts alot. Tire noise and skidding hurts alot.
On the track curbs -orange cones are laid on their sides to mark the turn in point and apex of each turn. The correct line will vary during the course of the day depending on the condition of the track. Once it heats up in the afternoon things can get slipery so some adjustment is needed. Also your car and tires heat up with each lap so your driving will likely need to be slightly different as a result.
Driving the track
Exiting the pit- This is the start, come out and turn left, go to the far right and come up to the beginning of the sweeper turn in third gear.
Sweeper-In the first left turn move to the left side of the lane and hug the barrier while gaining speed steadily then once past the apex of the turn steer right close to the barrier to enter the straightaway at about 60+ mph in 4th gear. Not much braking going on in the sweeper this is a series of turns for building up speed for the start of the straightaway. If you do it right you can get over 100 mph in the straight. The fastest cars did over 120 mph.
Turn one- You come down the straight at 95+ or so in 5th/6th gear and at about 80 feet from the turn in point you start braking- really hard sometimes to drop your speed so that you can start your turn in while in second gear. You can shift down from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 or fast from 5 down to 2 but the important part is to get into second and let out your clutch BEFORE you turn in. All braking is done in the straight-not in the turn or you will loose traction. You try to let your clutch out and be in second when you transition into the turn so that you are ready to hit the apex and start to throttle up right away. If you are shifting in the turn you will not have the traction you need or the control to complete the turn and start to accelerate- this is crucial- remember you want the highest speed coming out of each turn and the hairpin is the place you will slow the most to negotiate the turn. Once you finish turn one you will be on the outside right of the road.
Turn two- As you exit turn one you can slow move over to the far left side of the road and bring your speed up to about 75 or 80 in 4th gear then slowly steer right and flow over the humps about 4 or 5 feet from the right shoulder then before the chicane set up on the right side of the road and in 3rd gear and brake to about 50+ mph
Chicane- turn left, hit the apex and then a quick right in this S turn all about 60 mph as you accelerate out of the turn and leave it in 4th gear- no time to shift, just some brake and throttle. Stay on the right side of the lane as you set up for the next turn -brake and shift to 2nd gear
Off camber-Now comes the second hardest turn- you'll be turning hard over rough raised shoulders (like cutting corners) so you have to slow down enough to do the turn with control. Again you need to shift to second and be off the clutch before entering the turn left followed by a quick steer right then shift to 3rd gear once out of the turn and passing by the pit.
Sweeper-next you steer to the right edge of the track to set up for the beginning of the sweeper turn left in third gear and about 45+ mph.
A word about shifting and steering-
Shift as little as you can. In theory you can do the whole track in gears 1 to 4, maybe 5th on the straight. As long as you don't go above 6000 rpm you are probably OK. More shifting means more opportunity to mis-shift. Once you complete a shift move your hand quickly to the steering wheel. Otherwise you loose 50% of your ability to steer and feel the road. Don't drive long with one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter.
Steer the straightest line you can. Turn the wheel the least you can in order to maintain the correct line. Everytime you turn too much you will need to correct the wheel- this wastes effort, time, and energy of you and your car.
There is a short track circuit which cuts out the long straightaways and turn one. You get half the quarter mile straight leading to a sharp left turn (at turn two). Usually the closed portion of the track is being used for the car control clinic in the morning.
I hope that gives you a bit of a glimpse of what it was like for me. Each 1.32 mile lap goes by really fast. Sort of the same as a roller coaster ride at the 50th state fair. There isn't much time to think. All of sudden it is over. Get your instructor to drive a few laps and talk about what he is doing at each point on the track. Every instructor is different. I had Chris and George-both were excellent. Ask them for feedback on how your did. Don't expect miracles if you haven't done track driving before. Be gentle on your car-it gets really really hot with each session of twenty minutes. I think I got my brake fluid to boil over and spill out the top. I did not warp my rotors or chunk my tires. For that I am grateful.
A word about safety. The whole point of driving on the track is safety. There are flags to signal you with the rules of driving. You must study what they mean. There will be a demonstration of what the flags look like and do before you are allowed out on the track. There is great potential for trouble. It is very important to obey all safety rules and wear an approved helmet.
Well, post your questions and have fun. It's a blast and I would advise you all to give it a try. I would expect that coopers- 5 speed and CVT would do fine even though we had mostly MCS driving that day.
_________________
ALOHA
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,730
Likes: 0
And with that.....e-mail me at bokubo@hawaii.rr.com for applications and tech sheets for the Aloha 500. Cost is $199 for the day if paid by July 21, continental breakfast, lunch and lots of water will be provided. For those paying after July 21, it is $219. At the door will set you back $249! So get your apps in early!
Thread Starter
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OVERDRIVE - Racing Champion
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,262
Likes: 72
From: Mililani, Hawaii
I checked around with various driving schools and the Aloha 500 and Spring Fling are quite good values and very well run/organized. It is fairly small (total in the mids 30s or so) and the people are interested in what they are doing. It has a small club atmosphere with a strong MINI presence which is very supportive. People are tuned in to what the event is all about- and the instructors were great- very experienced and helpful. I think most of the cost is kept down because this is a labor of love with many of the benefits donated more or less or sponsored by the club or a dealership. You could not charge that much if each instructor was highly paid. Most are working out of the love of the sport. Same for all of the track support personnel- they are excellent and are mostly donating their time. Overall I highly recommend it for all drivers of performance vehicles. Can't go wrong. Just pay attention to what they are teaching you. Oops- what was that I just ran over!
Oops- what was that I just ran over!
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,730
Likes: 0
Actually, nobody gets paid at any of these Driving Schools. Instructors donate their time, as does Owen and myself. The dealer and independent BMW shops (BME & Motorworks) also donate their time to tech the cars for free. This is how we are able to keep costs low.
Our major expenses are the track rental, in$urance, food and airfare for our mainland and outer island instructors. Oh yeah, t-shirts are pretty costly, too!
Did you know that our mainland instructors (Steve and Christian Doleshall, Jack Fahuna and Mike Vincenty) actually close their businesses to come here and instruct? Like the rest of us, our only compensation is to see everyone's enthusiasm about the sport. Yes, it is a labor of love.
Our major expenses are the track rental, in$urance, food and airfare for our mainland and outer island instructors. Oh yeah, t-shirts are pretty costly, too!
Did you know that our mainland instructors (Steve and Christian Doleshall, Jack Fahuna and Mike Vincenty) actually close their businesses to come here and instruct? Like the rest of us, our only compensation is to see everyone's enthusiasm about the sport. Yes, it is a labor of love.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,172
Likes: 0
From: Makakilo, HI
The_Beastmaster,
I can only assume that the mainland instructors not only do it for love of motoring and sport but I also feel the aloha that BMWCCH (and its people) give them. :smile:
This weekend my local LA Chapter is having a driving school at Willow Springs (2 day event) and the cost is $425. This is for members only and if you are not a member you must pay $35 to join. Not that bad a deal but your's sounds better, especially for those trying for the first time. In August there is a California Speedway event (also teo day) for $535 with the same membership rules.
minihune,
Will you be driving with your current set-up or do you swap out for track time?
I can only assume that the mainland instructors not only do it for love of motoring and sport but I also feel the aloha that BMWCCH (and its people) give them. :smile:
This weekend my local LA Chapter is having a driving school at Willow Springs (2 day event) and the cost is $425. This is for members only and if you are not a member you must pay $35 to join. Not that bad a deal but your's sounds better, especially for those trying for the first time. In August there is a California Speedway event (also teo day) for $535 with the same membership rules.
minihune,
Will you be driving with your current set-up or do you swap out for track time?
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,730
Likes: 0
I would love to hold a two day event again, but our track is rented out on Sundays. Our two day event usually runs $299 with breakfast and lunch catered and a nice dinner for all participants at a restaurant. Maybe that's why we ran in the red! I guess I'll have to raise the fees. Thanks for the info guys! 
Just kidding!
The rates should stay the same.
Just kidding!
The rates should stay the same.Trending Topics
Thread Starter
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OVERDRIVE - Racing Champion
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,262
Likes: 72
From: Mililani, Hawaii
For the ALoha 500 I will not be able to attend due to being half way around the world on July 25. I will send others in my place.
If I were to go then I run my car "as is" until I can get my "wheels" which I am in the process of ordering. Trying for polished Centerline RPM 17x7 with Yokohama AVS ES100 215/45-17 (to keep the costs down). Better stronger rims and good all purpose tires- good in the rain. The SO3 are better but only a little with maybe double the cost depending on sources. Exhaust coming soon (UPS today???) and throttle body being made as we speak.
If I were to go then I run my car "as is" until I can get my "wheels" which I am in the process of ordering. Trying for polished Centerline RPM 17x7 with Yokohama AVS ES100 215/45-17 (to keep the costs down). Better stronger rims and good all purpose tires- good in the rain. The SO3 are better but only a little with maybe double the cost depending on sources. Exhaust coming soon (UPS today???) and throttle body being made as we speak.
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 973
Likes: 0
From: MINIlani,HI
I'm working on my Aloha 500 application right now. I hope there is room for me and my "bone-stock" MINI Cooper.
I'd like to find the limits of my showroom stock MC before any performance mods. Just want to make sure money spent is not in vain
I'd like to find the limits of my showroom stock MC before any performance mods. Just want to make sure money spent is not in vain
Thread Starter
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OVERDRIVE - Racing Champion
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,262
Likes: 72
From: Mililani, Hawaii
Your "Bone stock" mini cooper will do fine on the track.
The day is about driving with skill, not so much about car mods and technology.
In the hands of a skilled driver, your cooper is a nimble machine.
Plus I don't think you are like a "beginner" so just sign yourself up for the advanced group and everybody stand back
Because Miniac is here!
The day is about driving with skill, not so much about car mods and technology.
In the hands of a skilled driver, your cooper is a nimble machine.
Plus I don't think you are like a "beginner" so just sign yourself up for the advanced group and everybody stand back
Because Miniac is here!
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