freescopesdad

I need to heat them up but they do warm up quickly, usually by the end of the first lap.

freescopesdad

I'm really bummed looking at the Thunderhill schedule. Nothing until Bonni's event on April 3rd, and that may not even happen if she doesn't get some sign-ups soon. I just put a check in the mail to her.

Without a roll bar or a lowered seat I'm a no go with NCRC because of the broomstick test they employ, Trackmasters is just too pricey (and have 4 run groups), and GGLC and Unlimited Laps won't happen until May.

I'm thinking about the Laguna track day on April 7th., but I'm waiting to see if Carlos will give S2KI the $230 group price. Still, its a long way to go for only 100 minutes of track time.

Looks like its back to Lake Berryessa for Sunday thrills.

AyJay

I wanna sign up for Bonnie's track day but I'm being non-committal to just about everything right now.

With the economy sucking right now and the governor playing with our jobs (state employees) I don't feel comfortable shelling out extra $$$ right now.

Lake Berryessa is good for thrills and AutoX is pretty good too. You might consider joining us for a weekend or 2.

freescopesdad

I'm really not into autocross but thanks for the invite.

AyJay

Fair enough ... just for the sake of my own curiousity I'm gonna ask why you are into track days but not autoX.

I'm not going to lobby you to go or anything... just curious to hear a track day vet's opinion.

freescopesdad

I have autocrossed in the past, going back 30-40 years, when it was simply called gymkhana, in a variety of cars... Lotus Elan (wish I had kept it), Fiat 124 Spider, TR6 (wish I never bought it), several not so exciting sedans, and my Miata, which I owned from 1999-2006. But once I went to my first track day back in 2000 I was hooked on that. And I decided that I would rather pay more money for 2 hours of 10/10ths driving rather than a little money for 5 minutes. And actually, track days ARE cheaper, on a cost per minute basis. If you pay $25 for 5-6 runs, you are paying close to $5 per minute. If I spend $235 at Thunderhill for 120 minutes, that's less than $2.00 per minute. But I say to each his/her own. If you enjoy it go for it.

AyJay

Fair enough.

Definitely valid points.

freescopesdad

OK so who is going to Thunderhill April 3rd besides me?

AyJay

I found that there were alot of hidden costs associated with the track day too. Maybe hidden isn't the right word ... I'll go with "additional".

1. Hotel room - i could alleviate this cost if I leave sac @ 5am.
2. Night before meal - again alleviated if I leave @ 5am.
3. 2 tanks of gas - 1 travel, 1 track

4. 1 set of brake pads - i vaporized the last set
5. 2 new rotors - burned heat spots into the old ones.

I have a theory about 4 and 5. I think the Hawk HPS pads I used were so woefully inadequate for track usage that they exacerbated my heat problems. Towards the end of the day I had to stand on the brakes early and often to scrub off enough speed to safely take the corners at the end of the straights.

All the extra time with the pedal to the floor may have caused the heat problems. With track oriented pads and new rotors I'm hoping I'll be spending less extended time on the brakes causing less heat producing friction.

I will definitely test this theory again but it will be on a track day where I'm more comfortable spending $200 - $400 the next day if I'm wrong.

Grimnebulin

Hopefully me!