trackable street car?

[Massive Lee]

...For a beginner, an ordinary street car in good condition with no more than high performance street tires is what you should have. Only when you've developed the skills to get everything that car configuration has to offer should you consider upgrades.

May I add that a beginner should have regular street tires and not R-Compound. The more slippery, the better the learning curve. Many clubs will not allow beginners to run R-Compounds.

[jlevie]

What happens if you spend mass $$ on a killer C/O setup and you wreck the car because your a n00b (I am too)? As someone on the NASA forums wrote, if you are going to track your car, you should be able to push your car over a cliff and walk away... don't spend too much at this stage of the game.

I'll modify that slightly and say that while you can take you daily driver to the track and have fun, if you feel the need to modify it to improve its performance you need to start operating under the logic of "Don't take any car to the track that you are emotionally or financially attached to.".

For a beginner, an ordinary street car in good condition with no more than high performance street tires is what you should have. Only when you've developed the skills to get everything that car configuration has to offer should you consider upgrades.

[markseven]

Learn vehicle dynamics and car control, then incrementally upgrade your suspension. Like everyone else has said, spend your $$ on preventive maintenance, consumables such as tires and pads, and track time.

What happens if you spend mass $$ on a killer C/O setup and you wreck the car because your a n00b (I am too)? As someone on the NASA forums wrote, if you are going to track your car, you should be able to push your car over a cliff and walk away... don't spend too much at this stage of the game. An E30 M3 just set the new D Mod track record at WSIR, against much more powerful cars such as E36 and E46 M3's... it's all about the nut behind the wheel :D

[StackTrack]

:up:

Very happy to read the advice given in this thread... hopefully the OP will take it to heart (sounds like he did anyway)

Also good to see some familiar "faces" here :)

I'm a firm believer that your car upgrades should come after your driver upgrades. We need to learn to walk before we can run (and walking on track is very different than walking on the street).

[JRKOUPE]

pads

hps, hp+, axxis ultimates,....even consider mintex 1114's...I jus put em on my rears for track days.....

[Boris3]

Thanks for the input!

[jlevie]

Hawk HP+ is about as far as you can go in a "streetable track pad". They are a bit noisy when cold and that can be too much for some folks, but they aren't that farr off of a pure track pad (say like HT-10's) in performance. If you can't stand the noise on the street Hawk HPS or Axxis Ultimates would be my next choice.

[JGood]

Costing a bit more to get the car in shape than planned due to pretty lax maintenance by POs, so it looks like the RA-1s are out for a bit. To start with I will run a set of Yokohama AVS ES100s with about 6K that I took off the miata and had stored last spring.

I have upcoming HPDEs at Blackhawk Farms this summer and could use some recommendations for a streetable track pad (maybe also good for an autocross or two as I get a better feel for the car?). I've been reading through assorted threads on brake pads and am more confused than enlightened. Hawks (HP-10, HP+, HPS), Carbotech (XP-08, AX-6 the old Panther+), Performance Friction (01, do not make Z compounds for the non-M3), Porterfields (R-4, R-4S), Mintex (C-tech), Pagid (Dark Blue Sport)?? I have run Axxis Ultimates on the miata which have been OK but not great so I am less convinced on how well they will do with a heavier car.

Iinsights and suggestions appreciated!

Just as with springs, you have a compromise. Pads that work better when you first touch the breaks in the morning, or pads that work better after 20 minutes of track driving. I use Hawk HPS for autox and have talked to many people who use them at track events with little to no fade. The price and availability is another plus. Not much dust compared to most street pads, although a little squeaky from time to time. I would recommend them.

I once used PBR/Axxis Deluxe, and they were nothing spectacular.

[Boris3]

Brake pad recommendations?

Costing a bit more to get the car in shape than planned due to pretty lax maintenance by POs, so it looks like the RA-1s are out for a bit. To start with I will run a set of Yokohama AVS ES100s with about 6K that I took off the miata and had stored last spring.

I have upcoming HPDEs at Blackhawk Farms this summer and could use some recommendations for a streetable track pad (maybe also good for an autocross or two as I get a better feel for the car?). I've been reading through assorted threads on brake pads and am more confused than enlightened. Hawks (HP-10, HP+, HPS), Carbotech (XP-08, AX-6 the old Panther+), Performance Friction (01, do not make Z compounds for the non-M3), Porterfields (R-4, R-4S), Mintex (C-tech), Pagid (Dark Blue Sport)?? I have run Axxis Ultimates on the miata which have been OK but not great so I am less convinced on how well they will do with a heavier car.

Iinsights and suggestions appreciated!

[etxxz]

track worthy?....what does that mean?......there are no true dual duty cars........its a compromise.


Any well maintained bimmer is track worthy. I have a dual duty car.....its almost too so
ft for advanced level DE's and almost too hard for a DD. Sure, w/ the proper choices one can find a good 'tweener, but there are no hard and fast answers. Too stiff for one is not hard enuf for another. C/o's are fine for the street w/ the proper rates.......and Spec e 30 does fine as well. Whats the dilemma here?.....your car wont break.........unlesss you run like 800 lbers.....and then you just end up having horrrible creaks and groans......and compressed lumbar discs!!!!!

i rode a camaro with 11xx lbers, 900s in the back and it was most breath taking (literally) experience ever...

what i kind of meant is for example having very thick sway bars right and decently hard springs in the 450lbs-f/600lbs-r which are alright on the street but with the help of the thick sway bars they are all you would need on the track and you have good travel in the suspension ~ traction i suppose, but there has to be a balance with the sways becasue i've had experience with cars that lift a wheel and it sucks

i'm gonna look at rally car forums see if i see something interesting, i wanna know how they do it...not that i'm trying to get something like that...i'm suspension is drifting, track~auto-x oriented

[flypenfly]

I pricematched at Discount Tire to edge racing for a set of 195/60/14 Azenis RT615s. I should be getting it this week.

[Boris3]

Thanks guys. I've bought from Edge before and had postive experiences. So far they also have the best prices on the Toyos I've found.

[ddavidv]

I had my local tire vendor 'match' the price close enough I bought them locally, but if I had it to do again I'd probably buy from Edge also. Best price I've found.

[e30sd]

edgeracing has them in stock. i buy all me street tires there, never bought r-comps from em though. good prices, good service.

[Boris3]

Checked on the Spec e30 site: 205/55/14 for the 14" version of the Toyo RA-1. Any recommedations on best place to order the tires?