Hey all,

I just discovered thanks to a NAM member that there is a track and a racing school just a short day-trip away from me! ProFormance Racing at Pacific Raceway. It seems to be reasonably priced, although I don't have much basis for comparison. Thinking about the 1 day High Perf. class:

http://www.proformanceracingschool.c...rmance-driving

I imagine it would be best to use my car the first time around and maybe play with the Lotus Elise some other time. I have a nice Shoei helmet from my sport bike days, so I'm all set on that front. Before I make it down there I should have my coilovers installed, as I'm thinking spring time for this excursion.

I'd love to hear any advice, or stories of your first HPDE, maybe it will help me know what to expect! Secondly, anything I should do to my car to prepare?

Thanks!

 

Seems spendy to me. One day almost $600.00 using your own car. I don't know. I went to a BMW track day a couple years ago for less than $100.00. Friend of mine is in the club. I have never been to this particular track before (Portland International Raceway.) and never with the BMW club so I had to have an instructor the first couple of laps. I was considered a novice. After that I was on my own. The instructor I rode with was a real good driver. I don't know how much more these school can teach you in one day and I'm not sure it's worth almost $600.00.

If you are not going to track your car on a regular basis I don't think it is worth it.

But if you have $600.00 burning a hole in your pocket what the heck? I won't spend that much.

 

That's kind of expensive for an HPDE, round here an HDPE will run $200-$350 depending on the track ($350 for Lagina Seca). On the other hand its quite cheap for a profession driving school type event, we payed $1500 for a day with Skip Barber at Laguna Seca in their cars. If you're going to wait till next spring you might find there's other options when they publish next year's calendar.

You should check if they'll accept your helmet, for cars you usually need Snell SA, not Snell M (motorcyle) helmets. Personally, I'd try the track day before modding the car, then you can see what difference it makes.

I've written a bit about our adventures here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...the-track.html Just make sure the car's in good condition, you might want to get abrake flush if its not been done in the last 6 months. We get a flush before each track day.

 

That's a good bit of money for a one-day school. I'd seriously consider going through a car club instead, or at the very least checking into the local clubs. (SCCA, NASA, BMW CCA, etc.) Those usually run 1/3 of the cost of that class.

The Elise would be a hoot, though...

I really liked my track weekend in my "other car". Got some classroom instruction a week or two before, then plenty of one-on-one instructor time, with them riding along with me.

Your motorcycle helmet may not be up to spec for track days. Some clubs will require SA-rated helmets instead of the M-rated ones. (DOT certification is usually not enough for any club.) I'm not sure if anyone allows helmets with Snell ratings prior to 2000 any more; I'm surprised to see the website above talking about 90 and 95.

Wear non-synthetic clothing. Cotton may burn, but polyester melts and sticks. That's much worse.

Have fresh brake fluid. If it's more than a few months old by the time of the track day, change it! Make sure your brake pads have at least half their thickness left. Brakes are very very important...

WARNING: This stuff is highly addictive! I've read a quote that "Racing makes a heroin addiction look like a vague desire for a salty snack." Others refer to it as "the track crack pipe", and the phrase "slippery slope" is very common.

If you haven't done any autoX, I would suggest that as a good low-cost low-impact way to get your feet wet.

 

It's also expensive. I took my GTO out a few times and that is a heavy fast car. I pounded the brakes in no time. Not only that you might want to blue tape the edges of your car and the critical areas that are hard to clean. Your car will be a rubber factory when your done. I had rubber all over my car. I mean from end to end. A friend of mine was driving his dad's Corvette and he must have used 4 rolls of blue painters tape on his car. Sure makes em easy to clean up.

Just know this if you get addicted be prepared to spend some money. Brakes, brake flushes, tires galore.

But it sure is a heck of a lot of FUN!!

 

+1 on the helmet issue. Even if they allow M90 and M95 helmets, I would insist on using an SA2000 or newer. They look the same, but they're designed with totally different applications in mind and, as far as I know, there are no helmets approved for both uses.

Unless they supply any of the following, you should check/bring:
Wheels torqued to spec (check torque before every session)
Oil topped off (check oil before every session)
Brakes in good condition; brakes bled before the weekend.
Tires in good condition; tire pressures set appropriately for that track
Everything not securely bolted down should be removed from the vehicle (detachable head units, floor mats, stuff inside the glovebox)
Appropriate clothing (probably long pants and a long sleeve shirt made of cotton--NO POLY and NO LEATHER, assuming you don't have a suit)
Plenty of fluids and snacks
A chair
No leaks

Tips:
1) Be safe. Always drive within your limits and always listen to your instructor. If you're doing lead and follow, if they drive off the road, follow them. Always obey the corner workers. The rule is that if they feel unsafe, the driver is wrong.
2) Have fun. That's the whole point. Don't forget that.
3) Be courteous. This really is aimed toward the big power guys whose cars don't turn that well. In many run groups, passing is restricted to certain areas of the track, mostly straightaways, and by invitation only. Novice drivers with big power tend not to let novice drivers with little power by, even though they might be faster. If this happens to you, don't get frustrated or upset; just back off for a little bit to clear up some space in front of you.
4) Trying to put a full lap together can be overwhelming. You might find that you'll improve much faster if you focus on one section of the track at a time. Once you get it, work on improving the next section.
5) It's not a race. HDPE is not racing. There's no giant check at the end. There are no umbrella girls (most of the time). Just remember that you're there to learn the limits of yourself and your car in a suitable environment.
6) You might get rubber onto your side skirts. If you like the manual labor aspect of cleaning, this shouldn't be a problem for you. If not, some people put a layer of petroleum jelly on their side skirts so that everything just wipes off after the track day.
7) At HDPEs, make friends with your pit neighbors. They can be lifesavers when it comes to tools, advice, or lunch.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys! I've looked into other options in my area, but it's nothing but a sea of broken links and outdated websites. Apparently there is a track in Portland somewhere that's a little less challenging, but not a lot of info on any instruction there.

It certainly not cheap, but it looks like once I get this class done, I can go down there and do track days for a few hundred bucks which is more on par with what people seem to expect to pay. It does look like an expensive hobby, but I don't have any kids, so I can be a little reckless with my money

 

You can check with the tracks, e.g.:
http://www.portlandraceway.com/index...dar&Itemid=123

From there you can contact the individual clubs. For instance you can look up the Oregon Porsche Club to see if they let other cars run at their autocrosses, like the one on the 9th. You can contact the Alfa club to see if they will let you play on the 16th.

Or a quick look at bmwcca.org shows the Puget Sound chapter, whose website talks about running at Pacific Raceways: http://www.bmwpugetsound.com/

Keep searching; the info is out there.

 

Great info, thanks! I'm going to get in touch with the BMW car club

 

That's too pricey!
"Hooked On Driving" has an HPDE scheduled at a new private track near Tacoma for only $200 on October 22-23. HOD is a very good school to do for your first time. HOD: http://www.hookedondriving.com/hooke...FR5Cgwod6lesRQ

It looks like it may be delayed, here's more info on the Ridge Motorsports Park: http://www.ridgemotorsportspark.com/...date/#comments

 

PatM, Rasmussen MINI put on a Track Day for the MINI Community a couple of years ago, last year unfortunately MINI of Portland wasn't going to do one, but there was interest in possibly doing one this coming year. Check out PDXMINI Club, their website www.pdxmini.org. Our Run Season is over for this year, just some Social Events going on in this month and next, our next and last Club Meeting of the year is Tuesday Night @ Tebo's Restaurant in Milwuakie come join us!!

 

Great tip, thanks! I'll keep an eye on that! I'm in no hurry, I can't really get away until the Spring anyhow