First track day!

[Elwood]

Ok guys, well the time has come for me to lose my track virginity, and really see what my (nearly stock) dc2r can do!

Im going on the 25th of April, and as the date gets closer i get more nervous.

Will my engine blow half way around the bloody thing?
Am i going to die?
Is my car going to die?

Searching this and other forums, i have come accross much speculation about, well, pretty much everything to do with the track from baffled sumps to oil coolers, and to be frank, i am shitting myself.

At the moment, my only preperation is :

Bendix HD front pads (OEM rears) Both brand spanking new.
New clutch (Spoon Full faced clutch with lightened flywheel)
And new rims (P1 QF's).

What next?..

..I have a limited budget, and while i think investing in some guages to monitor my cars oil and water temps would be good, i also think a baffled sump or an oil cooler aswell? New tyres, (maybe second hand semi's?) and some better brake fluid.

Am i thinking too much about it? Will it hold up as it is now? Or is there something i DEFINATELY need to purchase?

Any help would be appreciated =\


Steve

[daviee17]

grats on the decision !

Im yet to make that choice hahaha

Ive heard that a baffled sump would do well if youre going to be cornering hard to prevent oil starvation to the engine.

All the best for that day and i hope you dont die hahaha XD

[Elwood]

Ive heard that a baffled sump would do well if youre going to be cornering hard to prevent oil starvation to the engine.

Thanks Davie, yeh im aware of this but i am unsure on how hard i will be cornering. Maybe just learning the lines and the basics of track driving. Thats why i am unsure of what is needed.

[daviee17]

Id say if you have the funds, buy it now as you would rather have it just in case you do decide to go hard...and if you do decide to go tracking later on, you would need it then =)

[l3vnd1]

Check your oil prior to driving hard; inflate your tyres to a racing spec, Make sure your cars warmed up before you gun it and do a generous cool down lap to cool everything down every say 4-5 laps.

Sustained thrashing might pose some danger to a stock setup - but a few hard laps might just see your brakes fading and also tyres going off from the high temperature. (if your pushing hard enough!)

Apart from that theres nothing to worry about!

You seem knowledgable enough to undertand your car - you'll know if somethings not right.

Relax, enjoy yourself and drive in your own time (dont try and keep up with anyone else) and you will have an awesome time honing your skills and further understanding your car!

I too have yet to take my DC2R to the track and am intending to; however in having just purchased the Adrenalin potenza's; i dont want to spoil them at the track - I'd rather find some semi-slicks first. :-)

[Elwood]

^Go to uni during the day :P

Insecurities are from the fact my mate with a ae86 and a fat oil cooler was getting 120 degree oil temps after 5 laps.. =\ Coilovers can wait, but the more i think about it the more im leaning towards (before April 25th anyway)

1. Brake Fluid
2. Oil change prior (its due for a change anyway, it is currently at 4500km on Honda MTF - maybe get something thinner than 10w30?)
3. Baffled sump.


Bah

[l3vnd1]

how many Km's on your car?

[Elwood]

130.

Oil + gearbo oil changed very regular.. Runs like a dream.

[air23box]

if you are running street tyres......baffled sump is not really require.....unless you run semis or full slicks.....except you are running low in oil level....
My opinion is try to run the car as stock as rock for 1st trackday......you will find out what is require after that....such as upgrade brake pads, different engine oil, coilovers etc etc......There is not much to worry as long as you do the right thing......Driving on track is acturally much safer then on street...you get run off area in case you need it.....and you are driving within your own limit....<<dun try to push it beyond ur limit>>........ppl are not going to run in to you if you give them signal and give way to fast cars....there are a lot of rules to follow....and a lot of ppl to give you advice......just remember there is no hero on track but only idoits.....safty come 1st......ur objective of the day is go home in 1 piece....if you stick with this....you will be fine.....
Some gauges to monitor ur car is a good idea....that was like my 2nd mod in my list when I 1st got my car.....after you have gauges you can find out whether you need oil cooler or not......and its good to know what kind of temp the car is running when its stock and you can compare it after you put the cooler in......in this case you know whether its doing the job or not......

Try to get coilover in later stage b4 semis.....you will find a lot of body roll if you put semis b4 some foot work......hope this helps....

[Elwood]

^My thoughts exactly, i need a guages setup

[l3vnd1]

should be fine man;

seriously - if you were doing competition racing or something I'd say - the car might not sustain that; but for a casual track day it should be fine - especially if maintained regularly!

At the end of the day - it IS a Type R....

Its designed for it! Enjoy your car!

[air23box]

should be fine man;

seriously - if you were doing competition racing or something I'd say - the car might not sustain that; but for a casual track day it should be fine - especially if maintained regularly!

At the end of the day - it IS a Type R....

Its designed for it! Enjoy your car!

yeah.....I'm with you......It's an R.....and its born for track.......I'm sure you will have a lot of fun and learn a lot of ur car compare on normal road .....enjoy the day and post some feedback after.....I'm sure we all enjoy to share with you ....

[rayDC2R]

First time I tracked at Wakefield my car was full stock and had no problems at all... No need for upgrades for your first time... just learn the car as it is now and upgrade slowly to improve track times (if that's what you want to do).

[Elwood]

^def.

I might spoil myself to some guages though

[freakygeek]

Just stop worrying and drive it...

Baffled sump is nice but as others have said, not really an absolute necessity on street tyres. Just ensure your oil is full after *every* session, and top up if necessary.

Fresh brake pads and fluid is good.

2. Oil change prior (its due for a change anyway, it is currently at 4500km on Honda MTF - maybe get something thinner than 10w30?)

I think you're getting confused here. If you have 4500km on the MTF (gearbox) that is fine. As for your engine oil, you definitely don't want thinner, you will most certainly want a thicker viscosity for the track. I would suggest at least 10w40, perhaps 15w50. There are many discussions about oil, take a look at some other threads about this topic.

Just go out there, drive the car, try to understand what you're doing and become better at driving the car. Experiment with basic things first, tyre pressures and things like that. More often than not, a good driver behind the wheel of a stock ITR will beat an ordinary driver with $1000's in mods...