FL5 Track Considerations

[ayau]

more negative camber and alignment are for tire preservation. he may or may not eat up the tire sidewall depending on track/temp/driver skill etc. would be crappy to "ruin" some new tires after one track event.

typically under $150 for an alignment. cheap tire insurance IMO.

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[machimself]

front:
camber: -1.8 +/- 0.2
toe: 0
caster: non-adjustable

rear:
camber: non-adjustable
toe: 1/16 total toe-in

get a nice tire pressure gauge:
Longacre® 50417 0-60 PSI Analog Tire Pressure Gauge, 2 Inch (amazon.com)

start at around 32 psi front, 30 psi rear cold. after a few laps, check pressures. should read about 36 front, 34 rear hot. you may want to play around with the pressures to fine tune the balance of the car, but you may not feel the car's balance at your current skill level.

do not engage your parking brake after your session is over. just put it in gear or chock the wheel.

you can also open the hood for better ventilation when parked.

get a torque wrench and check lug nut torque after each session. they should be around 95 ft lbs.

don't forget to replace OEM brake fluid with some high temp DOT4. something like motul RBF600.

besides "driver mod", there are a few "nice to have mods" for track prepping the car regardless of driver skill.

go to an alignment shop that specializes in aligning track cars. pull the front suspension pins and max out the front negative camber. a good baseline alignment is something like:

front:
camber: -1.8 +/- 0.2
toe: 0
caster: non-adjustable

rear:
camber: non-adjustable
toe: 1/16 total toe-in

get a nice tire pressure gauge:
Longacre® 50417 0-60 PSI Analog Tire Pressure Gauge, 2 Inch (amazon.com)

start at around 32 psi front, 30 psi rear cold. after a few laps, check pressures. should read about 36 front, 34 rear hot. you may want to play around with the pressures to fine tune the balance of the car, but you may not feel the car's balance at your current skill level.

do not engage your parking brake after your session is over. just put it in gear or chock the wheel.

you can also open the hood for better ventilation when parked.

get a torque wrench and check lug nut torque after each session. they should be around 95 ft lbs.

don't forget to replace OEM brake fluid with some high temp DOT4. something like motul RBF600.

Very good advice, these are the basics I need! Is there any issue with the camber adjustment for daily driveability or will I need to revert back after tracking?

 

[ayau]

Very good advice, these are the basics I need! Is there any issue with the camber adjustment for daily driveability or will I need to revert back after tracking?

nope. These aren’t aggressive. Fine to run on street.

 

[ayau]

These cars are aligned to tolerances from the factory. A custom alignment will make the car even more “balanced”. Whether or not a new driver can feel the differences is probably debatable.

 

[machimself]

Great to bookmark for later use, but OP really just needs seat time. As mentioned above. Get a comfortable (make sure to try them on) helmet and go find your local regional sanctioning body with post session class-room time. the NASA program is a great help to get yourself safely up to speed.
With it being your first experience, you won't know the difference between -1.6 and -3 degrees of camber or what tire pressure changes make because you should be focused on many other aspects of driving. Just go out with what you got. Stay humble. Ask for guidance from fast guys. DON'T let anyone drive the car unless you know they can and will pay for damages. GoPro's are helpful tools, but can also be a distraction. If you run one. Set it and forget it. Don't worry about lap times. Worry about flag towers and what's happening on track.
As you you get more comfortable with the "line" you will naturally start picking up pace and adjusting braking points.

After your first weekend out a brake fluid change will likely be all you need. Upgrade at that time.

I am not that much of a novice. I understand the basics about high performance driving, vehicle dynamics, etc. I can see how these suggestions are a bit advanced, but my goal is to be both prepared but also precautionary so my car will still work properly the next day.

 

[yeaitsahonda]

The other responses have pretty much nailed it. Keep the car as stock as possible for as long as you can. It is a Type R after all. Should be very very capable in the right hands and likely way more than capable for a first timer. Just do the basics. Prepping my car for a track day next month has consisted of swapping out the front brake pads for a track pad, flushing the brake fluid with better stuff, and removing the pins in the front struts for some more negative camber. Still need to do an oil change but then she’s ready to go. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t need more camber to keep the tires in decent shape. Planning to rotate the tires throughout the weekend.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned is track insurance. Definitely look into it before you go. This is my first expensive car so it’s the first time I’ve dealt with it. Rates are reasonable and takes away the financial worry of totaling an expensive car.

 

[machimself]

The other responses have pretty much nailed it. Keep the car as stock as possible for as long as you can. It is a Type R after all. Should be very very capable in the right hands and likely way more than capable for a first timer. Just do the basics. Prepping my car for a track day next month has consisted of swapping out the front brake pads for a track pad, flushing the brake fluid with better stuff, and removing the pins in the front struts for some more negative camber. Still need to do an oil change but then she’s ready to go. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t need more camber to keep the tires in decent shape. Planning to rotate the tires throughout the weekend.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned is track insurance. Definitely look into it before you go. This is my first expensive car so it’s the first time I’ve dealt with it. Rates are reasonable and takes away the financial worry of totaling an expensive car.

Good call on the insurance. Any specific companies you recommend?

 

[yeaitsahonda]

Good call on the insurance. Any specific companies you recommend?

I went with Lockton HPDE insurance. That’s what everyone in my region seemed to like. I got quotes from them and Hagerty. Lockton was $375 for the weekend. Hagerty was around $700.

 

[madbikes]

The track day group I usually sign up with also recommends Lockton Affinity.

 

[ayau]

i wouldn't go past the maximum negative camber (without pins) on a street car. you'll probably get around -1.6 +/- 0.2. beyond -2, you're looking at aftermarket suspension parts and uneven tire wear. just not worth it on a street car IMO.

after each session, look at the triangle located on the sidewall. tire wear shouldn't go past the triangle. if it is, bump up the tire pressure. that will stiffen the sidewall. you may find that you may need go to as high as 40psi. with the stock 4s tires, i don't think you'll need more than 40psi to prevent extreme sidewall rollover.

 

[machimself]

i wouldn't go past the maximum negative camber (without pins) on a street car. you'll probably get around -1.6 +/- 0.2. beyond -2, you're looking at aftermarket suspension parts and uneven tire wear. just not worth it on a street car IMO.

after each session, look at the triangle located on the sidewall. tire wear shouldn't go past the triangle. if it is, bump up the tire pressure. that will stiffen the sidewall. you may find that you may need go to as high as 40psi. with the stock 4s tires, i don't think you'll need more than 40psi to prevent extreme sidewall rollover.

Excellent tip thank you.

 

[ScumbagRob]

Do any of the major insurance companies cover HPDE as part of standard coverage?

 

[yeaitsahonda]

Do any of the major insurance companies cover HPDE as part of standard coverage?

Not from what I could find. One post mentioned that they got dropped just for asking so I wasn’t gonna call mine to ask.

 

[machimself]

Not from what I could find. One post mentioned that they got dropped just for asking so I wasn’t gonna call mine to ask.

Yeah I was thinking it’s probably not even worth asking. Lol

 

[CTR]

Great thread! Saved this for future reference.

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