So you want to attend a track event...

[Jean]

Lance Racing , I like the writing on the lip !!! lol

[joshh]

I don't care how old this is, that's a damn good write up.

[AlarmedBread]

very good info in this thread!

i like the comment about the gofast gimicks, i'm sure the engineers who designed your car knew what they were doing when they selected suspension components ;)

another thing is remember to ask questions, if you don't understand why/how/when you should or should not be doing something, ask. ...when in doubt, ask questions...theres plenty of knowledge out there

the best thing you can gain is to understand why and how your car is doing the things it does

also make sure you use funnels to top off fluids, if you spill oil or something, you car will smoke, you may get pulled off the track and lose a session just because you were too lazy to get a funnel! not to mention the mess you'll make in the paddock area, be nice and always use a funnel!

[Lance Racing]

M20 engines can handle lots of track miles. My street/track car is pushing 250k on the original engine and still going strong with good compression.

Even the engine in my E30 race car has 5 years on it.

The weak link on the M20 are the rocker arms. You probably won't blow up an engine, but you may break a rocker arm.

Because the power drops off at 6k rpm, I try to shift at 6k on the track. Doing that I believe has really extended the life of the engine and rocker arms. It is the last few hundred RPMs that really give the rockers a beating!

[MikeE30325i]

damn, this is an awesome thread, thanks!

[1991 318is]

Makin' Bones!

On the smaller stock car tracks, there are no schools, licenses, or any requirements. One of the hottest local 1/2 mile drivers here was track champion at 15 and had two years expeience in late models with about 525 HP in a 2600 # car. What you do need is the endorsement of a few respected drivers and then you can practice and run the first heat race on probationary status.
I have no illusions that this could work in a racing organization that sees 50-100 new and relatively inexperienced faces every year. Even SCCA will tell someone to go back and run another season of regionals if they are a squirrel. Even in good ol' boy NASCAR, a lot of the new crowd started in go-karts at about age six- Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, and even bad boy Tony Stewart. My point is that you have to meet some basic criteria. There's a bit of pride to swallow in driving "school" but it's better for everybody including yourself. Racers are very competitive and also very supportive as the prior posts to this thread illustrate. It's forums like this one at their best and why I like R3V especially.

[BimmerE30]

I'd mostly just be worried about my engine blowing up since it's got 200k miles on it.

I just did DE1 and 2, he is right its punishment but the E30 is a freakin champ man, I have 230k miles on mine with tokico springs and shocks, it freakin flew! You wont have a problem senor.

[Dave]

This was a nice writeup.

[SLEEPERracer]

great info.! i hope to try the auto-x soon.

[Slick92GS-R]

on car prep.. get an alignment !!!

and take the air freshener off the rear view mirror.. (its distracting)

[uflnuceng]

That list was pretty much all inclusive... I particularly liked the letters on the side of the wheel comment.

Seriously, the most important things for me have been:

1) Tires - tech-in is a very serious deal. If you come up in tires that are remotely close to showing the wear bar, even if you have a set of dedicated race tires in the trunk, you are going to get a lot of looks and have a lot of explaining to do.

2) Brake light switch - part # 61 31 8 360 420 for the e30 325i. Have a spare handy. This one broke on me on the way to the track. I managed to get it working with a bunch of zip ties but most will not be that lucky. This part also went out on my e36 325i. Its only $13, have it as a spare. If your brake lights don't work you can't drive. If they stop working they will track you down and stop you from driving if you don't fix it.

3) Zip ties - the man/woman with the surplus of zip ties is GOD! I have held radiator hoses on when clips broke, my entire cat-back exhaust when my mounting rings broke... these are invaluable. I recommend putting them on your radiator hoses even if you do have clips on them already. You will be nobody's friend if they have to close the track for an hour for cleaning because your radiator fluid is covering a good part of the track.

4) Brake pads - Have a spare set and inspect your pad thickness in between runs to make sure you don't come up on the sharpest turn on the track just to find out you aren't stopping.

5) Helmet - Get the best you can afford that meets the most recent Snell requirements. Some schools will allow the Snell Motorcross grade helmets, some will not. I would also recommend a neck brace as well. Makes getting in and out of the car a pain-in-the-ass but will save you should something unfortunate happen.

6) You don't need upgrades to go fast. I have seen 325i's beat down M3 lightweights through the twisties just because one driver is better than the other. The ///M-whatever may pull away in the straight-away but will feel darn stupid coming out of the turns with you on them like white on rice.

7) THIS IS NOT A RACE! - If you try and race some schools will ban you. Is a chick with a nice rack waiting to give you a check and trophie in the pit? I doubt it... only be close enough coming into the straight-aways so that you can pass quickly when the driver points you around.

8) Don't underestimate poor weather - Is there a little bit of rain coming down? Good. This isn't racing school, most of us are to old for that fantasy. When the weather forces you to drive slow, it will make you that much better when you pick up the speed.

7) Tools - bring what you can. If you can afford an aluminum jack, bring it. If you can afford an electric impact wrench, bring it. Will make changing tires and bleeding brake that much easier. Bring a box end wrench for your brake bleeding, and a set of sockets and matching wrenches. Screwdrivers. Jack stands... do not get under your car with only a hydraulic jack holding it up. Many of us are guilty of this and were lucky enough not to get hurt... don't gamble with your life.

8) Slow down at the end of the day. - My instructor told me that the last 2 times out on the track I would only be going at about 70% of my skill level. You will get tired, even after only a couple 20 minute runs. If there is anything I can respect about NASCAR it is them wrestling with a 180+ mph vehicle for 500 laps. God knows I couldn't do that.

9) Go to the classes... sometimes they suck, but occasionally you'll get a teacher who really knows his snuff and will turn you on your head.

Hope this helps... Im sure everyone who has been to DE will agree that there is so much more, but I gotta get back to work.

Later
Jared

[nefarious7907]

I might get another set of pads just for the track.

[Tangent]

Good tips.

Also don't feel too stupid about trailering your car to a track even if it's bone stock if the track is far from your home. Shit happens, spending a few bucks on a U-Haul trailer is good insurance against a few hundred dollar towing bill if/when something breaks on the track. A few years ago when I took my Camaro to Buttonwillow I discovered that 1 day of extreme punishment + 50 mile old carbon metallic brake pads + 3200 pound F-body = metal to metal goodness. (never even felt them go metal to metal until they were really destroyed) It would have really sucked to make the 3+ hour drive through L.A. with the front brakes grinding their way into the rotor. As it was I just drove it back onto the trailer and didn't worry about my brakes disappearing on the 210 freeway on the trip home...

[rwh11385]

good stuff. and I need to check this again and have the spares/tools handy. yay.

[Bokes]

haha like your car trev?


couldnt resist

Wait 'til spring...maybe then it'll be track worthy.

:roll: autocross it now. nothing wrong with it.