Need first time track advice

[RPDBlueMoon]

I'll be running the standard HP size. 305/30-19 front and 315/30-19 rear.

My DD tires are 285/35-19 front and 295/35-19 rear.

What tires are you using?

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[AZ_Ryan]

What tires are you using?

PS4s. It's all in the first post.

 

[haalandl]

I have another set of rims so I’m throwing the continental extreme contact force on. I have heard good things about them.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

PS4s. It's all in the first post.

What wheels are you using? The PS4S can be fine but alot of OEMs wheel and tire combos use a big wheel which doesn't leave much cushion with the rubber.

So the chances of bending a wheel are alot higher with the stock setup. Im not familiar with the tiresizes for the different Mach 1s (HP and non HP). Its very common to downsize the wheel and use 200TW tires. Im sure you'll be fine though

 

[GTP]

I have another set of rims so I’m throwing the continental extreme contact force on. I have heard good things about them.

I ran PS4 for a few years. Now on ECS2. I like them a little better.

 

[Boyd]

I'm thinking of meeting my Porsche owner friend for a first time track day at Willow Springs CA with my M1 in December. But I have questions and need advice from the experts on working out the logistics when it comes to tires, driving out there, and prepping the car.

I will be by driving by myself, so there is no room for an extra set of tires or equipment. So my first question is the tires. I currently run Conti Extreme Contact 2s with 35 profile as my daily drivers. My plan would be to put on my old set (with good tread) of stock size PS4s and drive out there the night before, hit the track the next day, and drive back on day 3. Its a 400 mile one way drive (6.5 hours) from Phoenix. I've read on this forum that the PS4s are fine for beginner track fun. Apparently that's what the use at the Mach 1 Tack Attack. But I'm concerned how well the tires will hold up after a track day AND driving on them long distance back home afterward. I don't not want to buy another set of tires, and have no interest in driving long distance on Cup 2s, especially after chewing them up on the track. Will the PS4s hold up ok for the drive back or is this a bad idea?

My other question is car prep. I've heard you can really beat up your cars paint and finish on the track from debris. I have Steeda springs on the car now, and took off the fender flares for clearance. The car will almost certainly rub on the track if I put the flares back on with PS4s and those springs. Which means I probably wont have much paint protection from kicking up road debris with those wide tires sticking out up front. I'm wondering how exposed my paint will be realistically as a beginner track driver? I currently have PPF on the front, ceramic on the rest of the car, and small mud flaps up front. Is it necessary or recommended to use anything else anything to protect their cars on the track?

Any other feedback or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hey Ryan,

I went back to the original post (good questions, btw) to chat.

I'm running on older styled Super Sports (precurser to the PS4's, but very, very much alike) and I drive to & from the track. I've done 4 track days on these tires. Knowing full well I have to drive the car home keeps me sane on the track and not abusive of my tires. I still drive hard, just not to the point of severe under or oversteer. I do ride some of the apex and exit curbs at Road Atlanta, VIR and AMP.

My experience: After a full track day, I've only shaved 1/32 off my tires. I also was concerned about tire wear before my first track day. Turns out to be a non issue.

One issue I came across on my first track day: I lowered the tire pressure 2 psi before going out the first time. Watched my pressures on the dash through the day. Noticed when they got up to about 38 or 39 psi, they started getting greasy. Not dangerously, but I could feel the car not tracking as tight, esp on high power exits and hard braking. Since then I've learned to work the temps so when heated up, they max about 36-37 psi. I believe even Ford says something about this in the Track section of the Mach 1 Supplement.

I think you'll be fine driving to & from and enjoying your track day, long as you've got good tread to start with.

Car prep: seems most of what you're asking is about debris. You have front PPF and overall ceramic, so I think you're fine. The biggest thing you'll collect is rubber, and those marks come off easily with quality ceramic and PPF. I dont use anything else besides what you've got, and most, if not all, of my paint damage has come from the street.

Now heres something you didn't ask about: If you have access to a sim, use it. Doesnt matter what you're driving, just get to know the track a little. Willow Springs is a popular track... theres plenty of you tube videos out there about it. Watch em to get familiar and maybe learn some of the traits of that track. Its also a pretty much flat track, so you cant see a lot of whats ahead of you. Learn it on the sim, or even on TV, so you can drive it in your head. If you can find a JIm Pace video, these are wonderful with the way he talks to you. Even the videos of the track from a racing sim will benefit you. It'll really help you have fun once you're out there instead of spending laps learning the track.

Also, you'll prolly have an instructor. If they dont assign you one, please ask for one. They will bring you up to speed slowly and confidently. And you'll have someone to talk to after each session about whats going on with you and the car.

OK, man, sorry this is so long. Have fun!!

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Hey Ryan,

I went back to the original post (good questions, btw) to chat.

I'm running on older styled Super Sports (precurser to the PS4's, but very, very much alike) and I drive to & from the track. I've done 4 track days on these tires. Knowing full well I have to drive the car home keeps me sane on the track and not abusive of my tires. I still drive hard, just not to the point of severe under or oversteer. I do ride some of the apex and exit curbs at Road Atlanta, VIR and AMP.

My experience: After a full track day, I've only shaved 1/32 off my tires. I also was concerned about tire wear before my first track day. Turns out to be a non issue.

One issue I came across on my first track day: I lowered the tire pressure 2 psi before going out the first time. Watched my pressures on the dash through the day. Noticed when they got up to about 38 or 39 psi, they started getting greasy. Not dangerously, but I could feel the car not tracking as tight, esp on high power exits and hard braking. Since then I've learned to work the temps so when heated up, they max about 36-37 psi. I believe even Ford says something about this in the Track section of the Mach 1 Supplement.

I think you'll be fine driving to & from and enjoying your track day, long as you've got good tread to start with.

Car prep: seems most of what you're asking is about debris. You have front PPF and overall ceramic, so I think you're fine. The biggest thing you'll collect is rubber, and those marks come off easily with quality ceramic and PPF. I dont use anything else besides what you've got, and most, if not all, of my paint damage has come from the street.

Now heres something you didn't ask about: If you have access to a sim, use it. Doesnt matter what you're driving, just get to know the track a little. Willow Springs is a popular track... theres plenty of you tube videos out there about it. Watch em to get familiar and maybe learn some of the traits of that track. Its also a pretty much flat track, so you cant see a lot of whats ahead of you. Learn it on the sim, or even on TV, so you can drive it in your head. If you can find a JIm Pace video, these are wonderful with the way he talks to you. Even the videos of the track from a racing sim will benefit you. It'll really help you have fun once you're out there instead of spending laps learning the track.

Also, you'll prolly have an instructor. If they dont assign you one, please ask for one. They will bring you up to speed slowly and confidently. And you'll have someone to talk to after each session about whats going on with you and the car.

OK, man, sorry this is so long. Have fun!!

Thanks. I'm actually going to Chuckwalla. And yes, I will have an instructor for at least the first two laps. I do not intend in pushing the car hard. I just want to have a good time. After doing some research and reading these responses, I'm not worried about the tires anymore.

 

[S550HPP]

More fun if you have cheap low traction tires plus it accelerates car control skill immensely where as big traction tires compensate in any one except advanced racer....IMHO.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Well, I completed my first and probably last track day.

The first session was really intense and intimidating for a newbie. My instructor was nice, but I felt he was pushing me way past my comfort zone right off the bat. So much so that I sat out the next two sessions and pretty much tapped out on the day. Also running street tires was ultimately a bad idea. They held up, but were definitely worse for the wear after just 5 laps.

After the group dwindled to a much smaller number and riding shotgun with someone else, I got my confidence back and went back out in the afternoon without an instructor and had way more fun. I didn't push the car hard, due to the tires but it was a much, much better experience.

All in all, I'm glad I did it and got the experience. It's an interesting sport/hobby and can see why people enjoy it, but moving forward I just don't think it's my thing. I'd definitely recommend a cheap set of track tires to anyone starting out. The car otherwise did amazing. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

 

[Roady68]

Well, I completed my first and probably last track day.

The first session was really intense and intimidating for a newbie. My instructor was nice, but I felt he was pushing me way past my comfort zone right off the bat. So much so that I sat out the next two sessions and pretty much tapped out on the day. Also running street tires was ultimately a bad idea. They held up, but were definitely worse for the wear after just 5 laps.

After the group dwindled to a much smaller number and riding shotgun with someone else, I got my confidence back and went back out in the afternoon without an instructor and had way more fun. I didn't push the car hard, due to the tires but it was a much, much better experience.

All in all, I'm glad I did it and got the experience. It's an interesting sport/hobby and can see why people enjoy it, but moving forward I just don't think it's my thing. I'd definitely recommend a cheap set of track tires to anyone starting out. The car otherwise did amazing. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Glad you had the experience. It isn't for everyone, but I think its cool you can say you did it. Interesting on the instructor. My instructor was pretty cool when I said I just wanted to noodle around the first session to get comfortable with the car. She did push me pretty good after that. Your instructor probably saw you had the capability and want you to get there. I don't know for sure. But I do know, that for first timers and novices, the car has a tone of capability that we just don't get to without the instructor pushing us. As I said above ( I responded early on in this thread) I took a huge chunk of lifespan off the tires in two days. And, I like you, was pretty intimidated at first. I was exhausted after first day. I grabbed a bite to eat and crashed by like 8:30pm.

 

[murick]

The first session was really intense and intimidating for a newbie. My instructor was nice, but I felt he was pushing me way past my comfort zone right off the bat. So much so that I sat out the next two sessions and pretty much tapped out on the day. Also running street tires was ultimately a bad idea. They held up, but were definitely worse for the wear after just 5 laps.

If you saw a lot of scraped rubber on your tires, it was most likely not your rubber (if you rode on PS4S).

 

[WItoTX]

My first HPDE, I got an instructor that ran a Miata. He told his boss I wasn't on the right lines, I was too aggressive, and a handful of other things about it being too much car for me.

I told his "boss" I wanted a new instructor, and the next guy immediately had me moved up run groups, told his boss about my ability to find the right line for a heavy V8 car with no input from him, and that generally the first instructor should probably stick with Miata guys.

My point is, don't let a bad instructor put you off. Some guys hate they aren't the one driving the car, or feel their own inadequacy, or any number of other personal factors we may never know about. He was the only bad instructor I ever got, the rest have been fantastic.

 

[skinnyb]

Well, I completed my first and probably last track day.

The first session was really intense and intimidating for a newbie. My instructor was nice, but I felt he was pushing me way past my comfort zone right off the bat. So much so that I sat out the next two sessions and pretty much tapped out on the day. Also running street tires was ultimately a bad idea. They held up, but were definitely worse for the wear after just 5 laps.

After the group dwindled to a much smaller number and riding shotgun with someone else, I got my confidence back and went back out in the afternoon without an instructor and had way more fun. I didn't push the car hard, due to the tires but it was a much, much better experience.

All in all, I'm glad I did it and got the experience. It's an interesting sport/hobby and can see why people enjoy it, but moving forward I just don't think it's my thing. I'd definitely recommend a cheap set of track tires to anyone starting out. The car otherwise did amazing. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Glad to hear you at least got to try it once. And sick pic BTW . I am probably in the same camp. I know my car is WAY more capable than I am for sure and it hurts my feelings to push my car hard even on the street much. I will definitely wait til I can afford to buy a new set of tires and some consumables after the trip before I consider it.

 

[RobZ71LM7]

Sounds like you may have had a poor instructor. For someone’s first time, he shouldn’t have been anywhere close to pushing you beyond your comfort zone.

 

[luc]

Well, I completed my first and probably last track day.

The first session was really intense and intimidating for a newbie. My instructor was nice, but I felt he was pushing me way past my comfort zone right off the bat. So much so that I sat out the next two sessions and pretty much tapped out on the day. Also running street tires was ultimately a bad idea. They held up, but were definitely worse for the wear after just 5 laps.

After the group dwindled to a much smaller number and riding shotgun with someone else, I got my confidence back and went back out in the afternoon without an instructor and had way more fun. I didn't push the car hard, due to the tires but it was a much, much better experience.

All in all, I'm glad I did it and got the experience. It's an interesting sport/hobby and can see why people enjoy it, but moving forward I just don't think it's my thing. I'd definitely recommend a cheap set of track tires to anyone starting out. The car otherwise did amazing. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

From my experience running a club for almost 20 years, the percentages are as follows:
All first timers:
70% + will never return
25% will occasionally come back as 1 of their many hobbies
5% are in deep sh$t and get badly addicted

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