but i have done a few car track days and 1 auto cross and i was in love after those. I used to race motorcycle and that was a bit scary at first as well but I craved it after the first time.

I would say if I did it once and did not like it, I would just move on. If its work and you don't like it, it does not make sense to keep doing it

 

I can understand what you are saying utkinpol. I was close to getting my pilot's license a few years back and one day I was landing in a very strong cross winds in a little Cessna 152. My touch and goes were very scary that day with the plane demonstrating a weird oscillation on final approach and I was just at my level of comfort and control. I remember my instructor thought I was doing great and probably I was, however I realized that day that the stress out weighed the joy of flying. At that point I walked away. This was supposed to be FUN. I understand doing a DE and learning how to fly are a little different but i do remember similar feelings you are describing. It sounds like you have made your decision at this point and that is cool. To each their own and how they enjoy their P-car and their experience will be different. Not wrong just different. Either way I will continue to enjoy your insightful posts.

 

Look, less than a year ago when it was my first DE event I was simply shocked my how much I thought I knew and realized at the end of the day that I actually did not...

You need to know something, you do not know the capabilities of your car until you drive on the track! No matter how good you think you are on the street, it is a completely different thing on the track.

In time you will get to know your car better, how it handles, how it reacts to throttle and braking in a corner, where and when the back swings around, etc. Once you get comfortable with your car it will take less effort, and you will not be exhausted on the track anymore. You will be able to see all the flag station, you will see the small imperfections on the road, you will see the cars that are going in front and back of you.

Even though I constantly added parts to my car but in the last DE event in Sebring (June) it took me about 1 session to get comfortable on the track. Then I started to push the car further and further. At the end of the second day I was able to knock off more than 5 seconds from the best time of first session of the first day!

Just remember, this is a learning process. It will take time and effort, but you will get better for sure

 

ok, like i said - mixed feelings, and that got nothing to do with skills really, but to everything else as well - i cannot go away from family and stay in a hotel near to track as they really want me back, so, level of exhaustion after event itself plus driving home - sucks, lack of tire trailer - sucks, danger to the car. just a bunch of big and small factors of which i did not even think will matter but they did.

as of event itself - skills will come in time, it is all understandable and i am not ever discouraged of anything just because i cannot do it all right in the beginning, it is not about that, it`s what i did say already - psychological discomfort of driving $90K car around a track with bunch of other people who have no idea what the heck are they doing happened to be way way higher than i originally anticipated. i have strongest feel now that i do not want to take this car to track at all anymore.
proper way should be to buy a wreck and build something out of it then take it there so if it would be a hit i would have no regrets whatsoever. but again, it requires logistics and infrastructure i do not have.

those are my feelings, more or less. it will not prevent me to go again, but i got to say, i have a certain feeling it is not a smartest thing to do.

 

You make it sound like there are no idiot drivers on the roads you travel every day.

I did many events last year with PCA in the green group and never once felt people were out of control even with 40 cars out on the track.

DE is not for everyone.

But for me there is no greater feeling than seeing what I can do with my car, with my limited talent, in a controlled enviroment with other enthusiasts who also value their cars and who are being instructed by some very good drivers.

 

I hear you, maybe you should purchase a cheaper car and start tracking that... You may enjoy it more, not feeling so worried about the car.

 

sort of... first of all it is quite obvious that if i am going to do several days on DEs i have to stay in a hotel - waking up at 4am and driving to track then coming back home and doing different sh#t at home until 11pm is beyond of what i can do psychically when i have to wake up 4am on next day again and repeat it all. plus i did auto-x on sunday, so it was full 3 days of running, essentially , and it did pile up.

tires - driving so far, it was 2 hours in traffic on a way back, on r-comps with ton of crap on them - very, very bad. much worse than i expected. i will need to try to fix that. i did not want to make tow hook and get tire trailer but i will have to.

and a car too. may be i will try to search around for a very cheap boxster most likely this winter. not sure. i do not want realy to exptend my car park at all.

 

If racing was easy we would all be F1 drivers.

Jason

 

racing is actually easy when all the logistics are already worked out.
but when you are your own racing team and paddock team - it is a sort of a different question.

i really liked approach of a guy who was in my green group - he owns '08 997 c2s, so, he did first several events on it then during winter he got a totaled bmw for $700 and has built spec e36 out of it for $16K and that is that he races on on a track now.

 

Not a bad idea if your really worried about damaging your Porsche.

I actually own a E36 M3 as my DD.... great car and I used to have a lot of un Auto-Xing it. Even dragged it a few times!

In reality though, I have actually never heard or seen anyone damage their car in the green or white groups. I find these groups so carefully controlled that you would either have to really F something up or there would have to be complete Jack A$$ on the track with you. Both of those scenarios are unlikely, at least from what I have seen, but my experience is limited to PCA/POC events and hearsay from guys like Gomez and Mobonic that do over a dozen events a year.

My instructor at a Streets of Willow event told me that he is a 80% guy. Meaning, he enjoys pushing his car and the fun of the race but he is not out to try to set any records or compete and saves the last 20% to make sure his car and himself go home the same way they came to the track. I liked that philosophy and I think I would put myself in that category most of the time. Personally, I think its best to check your ego at the door for these DE events. If you go into them thinking your going to be the best at the track or at least really good, and thats the only way your going to have fun, then your going to be really frustrated.

Jason

 

I'm not sure what tracks or events you want to run at, but there are ways to mitigate these issues. I never go for a full day. I usually start around lunch, and drive three sessions max. The afternoon tends to have less traffic as people often leave early.

There are motor sport business at my local track so I've arranged to store a set wheels there. You might be able to do something similar at your local track. Or consider shipping your wheels in advance to a local business that can swap them for you on the day.

 

well, as i see it - tech line is usually done in early morning, 7:30am, so one way or another you got to wake up early to get there, any tracks i have are 1:30-2 hours away. it is great idea to ship wheels to some local business but financially it may have more sense to build a tire trailer. not sure.
i will need to think it all overr.

 

Financially, none of this makes any sense

It's relatively informal where I drive, so I have the freedom to turn up late. It really brings the hassle factor down. I'd look for a similar club.

 

Hey Bud,
Don't let it bog you down. It's kept me from the track as well. There are only so many things you can work into family life. Going away for a few weekends is a huge price. If you make it a long drive, they hate you for leaving and you kill yourself getting there and back anyway. Chances are the anxiety of the whole thing weighed on your driving as well. I can understand being hyper conscious of the car as well. That would be a tough one. Was it a Porsche DE? I could see going out with a crowd of Porsches; apt to be a bunch of others that are more concerned about a wreck than shaving a few seconds off their lap times.

 

I hear you buddy... just a thought. Try and take out some of the stress... if you only do 2-3 DE's a season you can use your street tires, sit out one session if your worried about tire wear, saves you tire swap, compound rubber cost, driving home on track rubber, home tire swap etc....other... and you can get some great sport tires these days that handle great and can handle some light track duty. (not the price of a P Zero and still a nice tire...) Do a 1 day event rather then a 2 or 3 day (www.scda1.com offers such...) and as far as family and being away consider this. Do whats needed family wise all day and night and head to NH at night; leaving your house at 9:00pm, grab a cheap hotel and check in by 11pm ish, right to bed.... up the next day early, track day and then head home..... you will be home at a reasonable hour etc in time for diner...

You can strip out near 50% of your stress level which IMO impacts how your event goes.....

This is how I did it when I use to run my honda s2ooo at NHIS (now MS)...... as I have a family, lived quite the distance to NHIS, etc...

Just trying to help....as it sounds like you need another go at it.... also you can go to track and have a car waiting for you... companies like flatoutmotorsports offers spec miata's ready to run and meet you at the track, gas'd up, right rubber etc............