Track days - knowledge base

[seangti]

Hi peeps,

I couldn't find a specific thread relating to those that have tracked their car, how they set it up and the times/feelings they had from it. (if there is a thread, point me in the right direction and delete this)

It'd be good to have a specific point that discusses my points above.

So who's done them, where, what times and what will you be different in the future to ensure you have a great time and continue to the car home in one piece?

I used to do quite a few track days in my Subaru GT Forester, though haven't seen any late model VW's out there. It's been a while since being on a track, damn buying houses and overseas holidays so chuffed to get back out there.

I'll be doing a few this year out at Queensland Raceway and Lakeside - which really the only reason I bought the polo. At this stage it's all stock as i've only had it a fortnight, but that ain't gonna stop me.

Lets try keep this specific and relevant rather than a pi55ing contest.

[DaveMack]

Sean,

I think this is a great thread to start. If we can interest our 'racers' amongst the Polo drivers to share the wisdom of experience ... it could be very handy for all of us who intend to either do more track time or start tracking our Pogos.

My track time is extremely limited and the only advice I can give is the following:
1. Check all fluids and tyres before starting.
2. Lighten the car as much as possible prior to tracking it
3. Don't race on a full stomach
4. You will need fully enclosed shoes, a helmet (may be able to rent one there), fully sleeved shirt and full-length trou.
5. If it's you first time ... take the advice of the instructors who should be in attendence (I don't care how tough you think you are or how much you think your road-racing 'skills' have prepared you for this ... the track is different)
6. Don't come out to the track with the intention of driving if you're hung-over
7. Don't race too soon after taking medication.

That's about my contribution ... go out there and have fun!

Dave

[beeza]

1. Check all fluids and tyres before starting.
2. Lighten the car as much as possible prior to tracking it
3. Don't race on a full stomach
4. You will need fully enclosed shoes, a helmet (may be able to rent one there), fully sleeved shirt and full-length trou.
5. If it's you first time ... take the advice of the instructors who should be in attendence (I don't care how tough you think you are or how much you think your road-racing 'skills' have prepared you for this ... the track is different)
6. Don't come out to the track with the intention of driving if you're hung-over
7. Don't race too soon after taking medication.

That's about my contribution ... go out there and have fun!

Dave

I'll second all of that.
Although there are a few mods (these are just recommendations) i would definitely do before getting out there.
Definitely upgrade at least the brake pads. That is minimum.
I would also get semi slick track tyres. Now, these are expensive, generally around $350-450 per corner, so if you are thinking of going regularly they are worth it. I don't care what anyone says street tyres are for the street and track tyres are for the track. Thats how they are designed.
At this stage Alex(KI11Z)VR6, Jason(jayg60)Mk216Vg60 and I in my Ibiza Cupra will be doing QR and Lakeside sprints throughout the year. It would be great to have a fellow dubber come along. I've always wanted to see a Polo out there.
One more thing, its a racetrack, there "WILL" be incidents, although it will all depend on how much skill you have and how much you are willing to push your car.
I would suggest finding your limits at QR first, as there is plenty of run off there. Lakeside can and has already bitten me. You'll hear all about if you come to join us .

Cheers, Laz

[MACCAA]

When you come in after some laps,DON'T put the handbrake on.Hot pads can weld themselves to the discs pretty quickly.
Just leave it in gear-handbrake OFF.
Cheers
Len

[FL00DY]

Yeah nice idea for a thread.

The best mod for your car when it comes to the track ... is the driver. The more time you get on the track, the better and faster you'll get. All I run with is a RSB, front strut ... I've mostly done my track days on my PP2's.

I don't like EC, I don't know if it's the length or whatever I've just never been comfortable around it. Oran Park, even though I've only done it once is a great circuit and I look forward to another day or two before they go destroying it.

Wakey is my fav, and probably because I've had 7-8 days there now. My first time was a 1:20.3 and now I'm doing 1:16.5 ... I've had a pro drive it round in 1:15. Going faster by learning the circuit is so much more fun then going faster cause you've laid money down for a chip & now I know what a pro can do in my car, I wanna cut more time off cause I know what the car is capable of.

As often as possible get an instructor to do some laps with you. Sometimes it's good to get different people with you, but they can sometimes give you conflicting advice and then you need to work on what works and what doesn't.

Some people like going to the track just to go fast and be doing 180km/h down the straight. I go and like to know my times, so I have an app on my phone called RaceChrono ... it runs on S60 phones & uses a bluetooth GPS. You can compare laps and entry and exit speeds to other laps ... it's a great way to learn the track.

[FL00DY]

When you come in after some laps,DON'T put the handbrake on.Hot pads can weld themselves to the discs pretty quickly.
Just leave it in gear-handbrake OFF.
Cheers
Len

Yup that's an important one. Also your out lap should be a warm up and you should do a slow warm down lap. However if you are doing a warm up lap, you need to keep you eye on the mirrors and not get in the way of the guys coming through fast.

[poloplayer]

When you come in after some laps,DON'T put the handbrake on.Hot pads can weld themselves to the discs pretty quickly.
Just leave it in gear-handbrake OFF.
Cheers
Len

I learnt that you should leave it in gear though? That keeps it from being completely free to roll around

[FL00DY]

I learnt that you should leave it in gear though? That keeps it from being completely free to roll around

At the track, take something to chock up the wheels with and stop it from rolling. When you get back from a session you'll want to leave your car running for 5 or so minutes so it's fine to leave it in neutral.

[seangti]

At QR, I'd always go drive down the street after each session and roll back down the hill to the track to get plenty of air flowing through the engine and brakes. It certainly made a difference to brake feel for the next session and days there after. The also meant I didn't have to let the car idle for 5mins - being a subaru with a top mount wasn't ideal.

I'd always ran on street tyres, Yoko C-drives, which are far from a track tyre, but if driven within the limits, they were ok. They'd go soggy after 3 absolutely hot laps, do a 90% lap, than back on it in the last and all was fine.

It's also best to learn a track a corner at a time, or atleast not consecutive corners. After 120+ laps at QR, I'm only now starting to feel confident that my times are due to improved lines and not driving harder. This is also backed up by less tyre wear throughout each session.

I'd also drive with the heater on half way to dissipate some of the heat from the radiator.

Also, double check you wheel nuts.

[jamesatfish]

A few that I've picked up from my time at the track:

1. As others have mentioned, buy a cheap set of rims and fit them with track tyres. Track tyres alone will probably take a few seconds off your time at any given track, they don't fade as quickly and they wear more evenly than pushing your road tyres to the limit. The cheap set of rims are handy as they will get chipped / scratched when (not if) you make an excursion into the kitty litter (or hit some gravel left by the car in front who made the excursion).

2. Let your track tyres get warm before driving at 100%. Track tyres take a lap or two to warm up and are typically pretty rubbish when they are cold.

3. When your session is waved in, spend at least one more lap driving without using the brakes to cool them down a bit more evenly. If you can't do that, take a moderately slow drive around the pit area (if allowed to do so). At Wakefield sometimes after a hard session on a hot day I'll take a short trip up the highway and back just to let the brakes and engine cool back to more normal temperatures.

4. This is my personal rule, but drive with Traction Control / PSM / whatever it's called in your car ON. It's a handy safety net if you can't get yourself out of a situation, and most modern systems give you plenty of leeway for quick driving without cutting in and ruining the fun. In a chipped Polo without an LSD I've often found the traction control is actually useful to help get -some- power down to the ground on a wet day, when turning TC off just converts engine power into useless wheelspin.

5. Similarly, use the AC / Heater to keep yourself comfortable, especially in summer. You'll be wearing ankle to wrist to neck clothing and a helmet, so there's no point sweltering further by turning off the AC in the hope of getting a few extra KW out of the engine. As Tomas Mezera told me once (when he was sitting in the passenger's seat next to me around Eastern Creek on a hot day), we may as well turn on the AC as we'll be going just as slowly but at least we'll be comfortable.

6. Have fun. The minute it stops being fun (and the red mist descends), it's time to take a break. If you're driving in your road car then getting home in one piece is more important then overtaking that frustrating driver in front who is faster down the straight but won't let you past around the turns.

[Petrina Polo]

Make sure your brakes are upto scratch...

Fitted 6 piston calipers on a car years ago... We went to wakefield and thought we would out break everybody... did three laps and the disk tore it self right off, both fronts..

Had to do a lap just to slow the car down, only had rear brakes.. ended up taking it off the track, very difficult to stop and tow home to sydney $$$...

Brakes are most most important.. We thought we did everything right but they were just faulty set..

At least have newish pads on your car..

[Timbo]

^^ as above. Good pads and fluid. If you are tracking a few times a year, you'll want (at least) harder pads and higher spec fluid.

Have fun, and aim to improve your times, not beat someone else's

[shaneth]

Have fun, and aim to improve your times, not beat someone else's

Couldnt agree more Timbo.

[seangti]

Queensland raceway - sprint circuit

Did a 69.68 in the third session, 4th session was untimed, probably did slightly better than that. The car was sweet doing 70's laps. Probably an extra .5-1sec left in it, track had a big oil spill and a bit of water before entering the straight, shooting the car sideways even at 60km/h.Good times. Stock brakes and pads were surprisingly great, not a hint of fade at all and was very confident diving deep under brakes.

Even the continentals did ok - ran 44psi front, 42 rear. Front left tyre shoulder is worn. The tyres didn't go off through out the day, ambient temp was around 29-31 and very humid.

[clubracer]

Hey guys, I've got a gti that I'm in the midst of researching parts to turn it into a track day car. I'm only new to here since buying the polo a few months ago but I must say there's a lot to pick up on here, it's been great. I run http://autosports.com.au and we have a few track days coming up so it'd be interesting to get anyone along to see what mods work best! My car will probably still be standard at the first event, but I've got some bilstein coilovers coming soon, then a big brake conversion (still undecided as to which way to go here though) on the front, followed by some semi slicks...