Hey guys, I just signed up for driving school with NASA at Thunderhill in April. Anyone out there that knows whether they will contact me before the event? I have a ton of questions.

Also, what tire pressure do you guys run on track days? My car is all stock in the suspension and wheel/tire department.

Honestly, looking at things I gotta do to prep my car and stuff I gotta bring is pretty intimidating...

 

Here are a few good pages to read that covers a lot of things for your first HPDE.
http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/firstday.html
http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/preparing.html
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.ph...&f=11&t=520685

They won't contact you before your first event, but I've been a member of NASA for about 6 years now, so if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

Enjoy the free issues of grassroots ms too

 

Enjoy yourself. And don't worry nasa, is a great club for beginers, with good instructors, and helpful cooldown meetings. They'll take care of you, once you check in at the event.

Tire pressure 38 PSI hot, may be a good starting point. But everycar and driver is differnt, so you can fine tune it to the balance you like.

From completly stock are cars are ready for the track except for brake department. At the very mininum you'll want fresh Dot 4 brake fluid with high boiling points (ATE or motul are popular). Sometimes a beginner driver maybe able to get by on stock pads thier first HPDE. But as you get more into it, and become a faster drive you'll definetly need track dedicated pads too.

Some driving advise... drive slow at first to find the proper driver line. Then slowly ramp up speed throughout the day. That way you can find the limit, safely. Because if you enter a turn maybe 1 mph too fast, you won't spin or go off, you'll just have to slow down a bit, and cause you exit speed be slower. When you reognize this happening you'll know you've found the limit. Because the optimum speed to enter a turn is the one the yeilds to the highest exit speed.

 

hope your event goes well. i just moved up and was thinking about doing some nasa events

 

I have been running with NASA since April 2003. I have gone to about every even they host in the NorCal area since then.

What's so intimidating about the prep or stuff you need to bring? If this is your first time at the track you should not have to do a lot, other than bring a helmet and get the car inspected (I high recommend getting the car inspected ahead of time).

You will get Emails as the event gets closer with the schedule and paddock parking information..

 

thanks for all the replies! it was intimidating because it just feels like a ton of things to do, like what helmet to get (i got a snell m2000 helmet off ebay, which turns out to be no as good as a SA2005, as a friend JUST told me....) i mean, all the helmet rating just confused the heck out of me, to begin with. now I am wondering if I should buy a SA2005 helmet... probably should NOT cheap out on safety stuff huh?...

then there is the brake fluid change. was debating taking to a shop or doing it myself. reasons for going to a shop would be a reputable shop would know what they are doing and well, me, it will be my first time......... and i definitely don't want brakes to fail on me on track lol. the other side of the coin is I signed up for two events already, so if I take the car to the shop every event to bleed brakes it's gonna add up to a lot of money.
I was reading up on speed bleeders and i think i'll get a set, unless there is some strong negative opinion on that. from my research on the forums, it's kinda mixed. quite a few people love them, some threw them out..

then there is other recommended stuff like shoe grease or polish or something that is suppose to be wiped on the sidewall of the tire to see how much deflection there is and adjust tire pressure (needed for a first timer?) wax for wiping on side of car for tape to go on (i was just gonna use painter's tape...) and then there is checking the meat on the brake pads (i just eye it right?...) my car only has 7k miles on it so i think i am ok in that department...

there were other things on my mind too but i'll post more when it comes up. thanks for all the replies so far, and I'll definitely brake early and go slower at first. I definitely don't wanna bite it first time out lol.

 

o another question. I was about to buy some ate super blue brake fluid from amazon, link here
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Blue-Brake-Flu...f=pd_sbs_auto_2

and I was wondering how much should I get. is 1 liter enough? gut feeling says yes but I want to make sure. what about .5 liter? was looking at the motul 600 and for the same price it only give .5 liter. also, after the bottled is opened and there is leftover, can I use it within, say, a year? i know brake fluid sucks up moisture in the air and that will ruin the brake fluid, so I am not sure if it's still usable after the seal is broken. also, how many events can I go before changing brake fluid again?

so yea, it's kinda intimidating because there is so much unknown and I am soooo green it's kinda embarrassing... also probably because i signed up for two events already and it's a HUGE commitment lol. I signed up for the thunderhill events with NCRC and NASA, both at the end of April.

 

For a first timer I would not worry about marking your tires, you have a LOT more to worry/learn about first! (I never got the marking the tires method either)

Changing out brake fluid is a good idea, A lot of people use ATE super blue with great results. IMO - once the bottle is opened, its done. 1 liter should be enough, and you should be able to pick it up locally (monument car parts by my house sells it). If your planning on doing more track days you need to learn how to work on your car (flush brake fluid, change brake pads/rotor, change tires).

I'm sure you can find someone that is familiar with brake bleeding to help/show you how its done.