CIVICXI *NOVICE* Track Thread!

[conchajm]

The order is LF, RF, RR, LR, then actuate the parking brake 5 times then re-bleed the rears RR then LR. The front calipers have two bleed screws the order is outer then inner.

Perfect, thanks for sharing.

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[Rhorn]

Man, you guys are awesome for all the responses and suggestions, i don't even know where to begin to reply to all.

Tires - I appreciate all the responses and suggestions regarding the tires and if I should buy them or not. I think what I will do is buy them anyways because of the deal and if they have a lot of life left on them I can grow into these eventually. What I should do according to you guys is run my stock tires for my first few outings and then go from there. At the end of the day, I don't want to handicap myself by putting a tire that I'm not capable of controlling or understanding what's happening. So I'll use the stock tires on my first few outings and then feel it out from there.

Brakes - I think what I'm going to do here is definitely do the brake fluid which was already on my to-do list but I'm going to probably add brake pads. I've read a lot of different reviews and responses on this websites and others where some people suggest certain pads over others. I think I'd rather protect my investment and I tend to go by the moto of buy once, cry once.

So with that being said, I'll do some more research, but it looks like I'll probably do either Paragon r5 front and r3 or r5 rear or CSG CP as suggested by you guys.

My car is not a daily driver thankfully. So ideally what I would like to do is have a pad that is kind of a one and done deal. I know that doesn't really exist, and I'm okay to deal with a little bit of noise, but I guess I'll just try to sort out what pad would work best for my use case.

I'm not sure when my first outing is going to be but I would imagine it's either going to be May, June or July. I live in Canada, Ontario specifically so I got to see what events and track days will be happening near me.

Thankfully I live relatively close to 4 different tracks but the one is apparently more novice friendly so I'm playing to go to that track more frequently and it happens to be the closest to me as well.

Helmet - so I don't have one yet, I mean I could use my motorcycle shoei helmet if need be but I think I would rather get a new updated helmet. I know you got to try them on to know for sure which is best but any suggestions of brands to consider?

I would suggest ordering them through Amazon or seeing if there is a local shop that sells racing equipment. I couldn't find any near me so I had to order a bunch through Amazon and return them to get the right sizing.

I got the ILM helmet because it was a tighter fight and the design offers better protection than an open face helmet.

https://www.amazon.com/ILM-Lightwei...details_voyager_secondary_sheet_1739397042690

 

[svvitch]

@SGP_FL5R I have a bell m8 helmet for sale: https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/bnib-bell-m8-helmet-xl-sa2020.53903/

 

[PointByPatrol]

What did you learn after your first track day?

I had the pleasure of having Robert on the Podcast to tell us just that!

 

[PointByPatrol]

@Club Version shares valuable insights from his vast experience!

 

[DustyDan]

Heading to NJMP this Thursday for my first Track Day. Car is prepped and ready I installed P3 pads and SRF brake fluid. Running with the stock wheels and tires. Ill be sure to share my thoughts after the day

Minor concern: Stock tires have 17k miles and about 3-4 autocross days on them. I rotated them so fronts have about 7/32 and rears 6/32 more or less. Forecast is saying mid 60's. Am I good to get a full day out of them? I plan to drive there and back on them too. I planned to bring one extra wheel from my winter set with me as well.

If anyone else is heading out to NJMP let me know!

 

[MooMoo]

If your sidewalls look good I say send it, that will take more damage than the center thread if you don’t have stock camber.

also have fun!

 

[BigBird]

Heading to NJMP this Thursday for my first Track Day. Car is prepped and ready I installed P3 pads and SRF brake fluid. Running with the stock wheels and tires. Ill be sure to share my thoughts after the day

Minor concern: Stock tires have 17k miles and about 3-4 autocross days on them. I rotated them so fronts have about 7/32 and rears 6/32 more or less. Forecast is saying mid 60's. Am I good to get a full day out of them? I plan to drive there and back on them too. I planned to bring one extra wheel from my winter set with me as well.

If anyone else is heading out to NJMP let me know!

you did what you can. go have fun.

you'll find out what is limiting you as you go and get faster.

 

[PointByPatrol]

I try out slicks for the first time, talk about the ADRO wing, set a new personal best (in the black car), and show the FWD line at VIR!

 

[DustyDan]

Successful first track day here and can’t wait to do another! I’ll share my thoughts and setup:

For track specific mods I went with rt615k tires on 18s, Paragon P3 pads front and rear, SRF fluid, Type S damper module with eibach pro kit springs. As a novice I don’t think that you really NEED anything more aggressive than this for tires and brakes. The car felt really good in the corners, plenty of power and brakes felt strong. I think it’s more than quick enough with this setup for a novice, when you get a few corners right trust me you’ll be going very fast. I think damper module also helped soak up those curbs since I was in R mode. New guys don’t forget to keep an eye on those tire pressures! Don’t think that’s talked about much here but it’s important. Bring em down to mid to low 20s psi and they’ll climb up.

Which brings me to my first point. I was so pleased and frankly amazed with how the car performed and allowed me, as a novice, to gain tons of confidence in a relatively short period of time. The FWD is pretty easy to put the power down but I also used R mode without changing any traction settings and as I got faster and faster i noticed how it helped rotate the car especially in tight turns or oops moments. Same with the rev matching, it allowed me to get fast very quickly because the car was never unbalanced by a poor heel toe downshift. I was able to focus purely on braking and turn in. I know some people reading this might think it’s cheating or to many aids but if you haven’t done it before, trust me it ain’t. And when you get better, go ahead and turn stuff off. But I was battling some very fast cars by session two onward and it was fun as shit!

Fatigue is REAL. I got very sloppy when fatigue kicked in and got some serious arm pump. 35m sessions are no joke. Maybe I was gripping the steering wheel to hard or seat not holding me in, not sure. I also found that I was very precise when no cars were around but once those dam supras came flying up behind me it was all thrown away and I got sloppy and/or pushed too hard. Learning to stay focused at speed and not let your mind trigger fight or flight is tough lesson on the track (not driving in your mirrors) Your ego will be checked.

Overall great experience, I was happy it was not a very rigid environment, my fiancé was able to hang out with us all day in the paddock, drivers meeting, track walk, even the class room and take pictures around the track. I also got to ride in my instructor Tim Hannen’s E36 race car and I think it changed my life. Mind bending grip.

 

[TW00Si]

Did you know a bunch of us are getting together for VIR in May? Come join us.

 

[PointByPatrol]

Did you know a bunch of us are getting together for VIR in May? Come join us.

I second this motion

 

[MooMoo]

you went with SCDA?

Great group.

And yeah come down for VIR, 3 of us are coming from NY/NJ

 

[DustyDan]

Yeah SCDA was great.

Would love to come to VIR, big time bucket list place for me. But might be too tight of a squeeze with my engagement party in May. I think the previously mentioned Fiancé might be a little upset if I blew the budget on a track day instead of the party... gotta pick my battles

What's the dates? I assume everyone is driving down? or trailer?

 

[MooMoo]

Yeah SCDA was great.

Would love to come to VIR, big time bucket list place for me. But might be too tight of a squeeze with my engagement party in May. I think the previously mentioned Fiancé might be a little upset if I blew the budget on a track day instead of the party... gotta pick my battles

What's the dates? I assume everyone is driving down? or trailer?

We all driving down.

Dates are May 23rd to 25th.

Remember you can get married more than once but the inaugural east coast type R track meet will only happen once

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