by "vondon302" (vondon302)
Published 05/02/2017 at 08:10
by "vondon302" (vondon302)
Published 05/02/2017 at 08:10
Tags: Nerves
STARS: 10
Track night in America May 19th at Gingerman. I figured for 125 bucks why not. Now the nerves are setting in. It doesn’t help that Mrs Vondon is taking her Fost too.
So now I get to worry about her too yay! Oh well at least she’s into cars but it cuts the car budget in half.
Anybody got any thoughts on low cost paint protection? I was gonna use the trusty painters tape method but it sure looks stupid.
"Bourbon&JellyBeans" (bourbonandjellybeans)
05/02/2017 at 08:14, STARS: 1
I had the same internal conflict a while ago! I was *this* close to signing up for a beginners’ trackday at Summit Point, WV, but chickened out at the last minute. Everything started going through my mind. “But it’s muh’ daily!” “What if something bad happens?”
Good for you for just doing it. I’m sure it’ll be a kickass time.
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 08:20, STARS: 0
Thanks. Yeah it’s exciting but damn that’s alot of my money out there.
"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
05/02/2017 at 08:21, STARS: 2
Honestly, Gingerman is quite safe and has a lot of runoff areas. I’ve done 4 or 5 TNIA events there and had a blast each time. Sadly, I have some warranty and recall work that needs to get finished with my car before I hit the track again but I would so be there with you if I could. My biggest piece of advice for safety - “graduate” to the intermediate group ASAP. The intermediate run group is smaller, and the quality of drivers is higher. It is very common for a novice to have something like a viper GTS or a C7 vette that, while they aren’t stuffing it into the wall, they do drive erratically and it can be unnerving in a lesser powered car to have faith in someone like that. I think I’ve always seen intermediate have both the slowest cars and the tightest spread from slowest car to the fastest in the group.
Oh and if your wife is in a FoST, tell her to take turn 2 slowly. I have seen a number of FoSTs go in too hot and understeer right off the course and into the dirt.
"Bourbon&JellyBeans" (bourbonandjellybeans)
05/02/2017 at 08:21, STARS: 1
Exactly, I was still in college at the time, and I realized that I have no funds to fix anything if something goes tits up.
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 08:22, STARS: 0
Thanks! Appreciate it alot.
"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
05/02/2017 at 08:50, STARS: 1
If she beats your lap times will you be man enough to post them? :)
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 08:51, STARS: 0
I think she’ll force me to. ;)
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
05/02/2017 at 08:51, STARS: 2
Paint protection seems silly. You will get more damage from driving down the highway with trucks chucking rocks at you and such. I see people spend a half hour taping up their cars at autox events and just sit there going WHYYYYY.
I definitely want to try a track day eventually though! Just need a roll bar, and a racing seat, and a harness, and a better helmet. Way too much to deal with while I daily my Miata but some day.
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 08:59, STARS: 0
Yeah it’s definitely getting whacked on the front fascia from the crappy Michigan roads.
"WRXforScience" (WRXforScience)
05/02/2017 at 09:43, STARS: 1
The novice group in TNiA is one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever witnessed. Over the last 3 years I’ve been to about 8 TNiA events and every time whenever I watch the novice group I am horrified by the thought that all of those people drove to the event.
We haven’t had any serious incidents locally, but that’s down to sheer luck. At least we stopped advertising for them at the Cars and Coffee a couple of years ago.
It’s great that you and others are getting to the track, but really you should look into a PDX or HPDE event with actual instruction. Even at 2-3x the price of a TNiA, the experience will be well worth the investment.
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 09:48, STARS: 0
Well damn that’s not reassuring. Thanks for the honesty though.
"nafsucof" (galinskiomatic)
05/02/2017 at 09:57, STARS: 1
I’m doing my first tnia on Friday at palmer, got wilwood brakes, race seat, sticky tires, oil cooler for the fost. It’s gonna rain. Get the fost brakes bled before the event, they need it for track days minimum!
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 10:00, STARS: 0
Yeah worried about the brakes on that thing. Thanks for the tip.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
05/02/2017 at 10:13, STARS: 1
Maybe consider this:
https://locktonmotorsports.com/
As long as you guys are decent drivers, you should be plenty safe. The track will be filled with people who at least care about driving, which puts them way ahead of the usual drive to work.
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 10:17, STARS: 0
Yeah. Track day insurance wouldn’t be a bad idea.
"WRXforScience" (WRXforScience)
05/02/2017 at 10:17, STARS: 2
Learn the flags, track, and how to watch your mirrors/give point-bys and move out of the novice group as soon as you can. Be aware of the fact that the other people on track with you are unprepared for the track and will be a danger.
I’ve been autocrossing for 8 years and started to regularly hit up the track for the last 2 years. My first track experience was in the intermediate group of a TNiA and a couple of my autox friends were trying to convince me to start in the advanced group with them. I did two events in intermediate, then switched to advanced and haven’t looked back.
I am an advocate for motorsports; however , I will not recommend TNiA to novice drivers. My recommended path to performance driving is: start with autocross, it’s the best and safest way to learn car control; once you’ve got car control down (at least a season of autox) start looking into PDX, HPDE, or entry level time trials; and once you’ve learned track etiquette, car control, and flag/passing awareness; get to the track as often as possible (the expert group at TNiA is a great place that only occasionally gets people who shouldn’t be allowed on track).
"uofime-2" (uofime-2)
05/02/2017 at 10:17, STARS: 0
Really?
Never really had trouble with turn 2.
I guess you would miss the apex if you track out of one to far.
That might mean I’m slowing down to much for one.
One and two are both fun to trail brake into.
I’ll be up there doing reverse on memorial day weekend, Sunday, should be a blast
"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 10:19, STARS: 0
Thanks appreciate it.
"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
05/02/2017 at 10:37, STARS: 0
I think what happens is people dive into 1, and go “wide” at the exit but that puts you way inside on turn 2. In my FiST, I hold tight to the inside of 1 and then sweep from the outside into a late apex on 2. But the FoSTs get a heaping helping of understeer if they start on the inside and wash out fast. Yes, a bit of track knowledge fixes the issue, but I have seen so many novices in FWD cars eat dirt on turn 2 I’m warning people about it. Seems to be a trend.
"uofime-2" (uofime-2)
05/02/2017 at 13:08, STARS: 0
Yeah, a lot of factors will lead to an early apex and the way that turn is cambered, once you fall out of line it kind of throws you off even more.
2 and to a lesser extent 3 really liked for you to be patient on turn in, then really dive deep into the apex, roll through then hammer the gas once you see are lined up with the exit. When I got that right I was grabbing 4th gear and getting to 90 on that little straight.
My trouble spot was turn 8 where I really wanted to turn in to soon. I’d make it through 8 just fine, but it meant I made 9 really hairy. Tracking out to far from 8 meant having no straight section between 8 and 9 and going from hard right directly to hard left and that realllllly unsettled my car. The rear end is wiggling the cure for which is power, but about the middle of there I need to grab fourth which further unsettled the car. It was pretty sketchy up until finally straightened out shortly before hauling it down for 10.
Despite the sketchyness I’d gain a ton of ground on people through there.
Towards the end of the day this finally bit me, the rear end came out to much and I had to chase it to the point I was not getting through the corner, so I mowed a little grass there and made a corner worker rather nervous.
The next day I got an instructor to show me how not to be an idiot. Stay outside and turn into 8 later. That gives you a small straight where you short shift before turning into 9 and on 9 you can just hold one steering angle all the way through that big sweeper and set your line entirely with the gas.
Getting 9 right feels awesome and is of course faster than doing it the sketchy way.
"uofime-2" (uofime-2)
05/02/2017 at 13:12, STARS: 1
Here’s a video of my last visit there, sped up to be less boring and punctuated by a stanced miata spinning in front of me.
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"vondon302" (vondon302)
05/02/2017 at 13:14, STARS: 0
Yikes! Lol