I have read that one of the most important upgrade is to go to driving school. Are there any videos, books of driving schools near the Atlanta area? I want some lessons/education to help prevent running into a wall or swap paint with someone else on the track.

For people that track do you purchase the special racing insurance?

Will running Mich PSS be suffice for track day?

Did I fell to mention that racing is quite expensive. Are there cheaper alternatives beside autocross?

 

Many tracks have lapping days where an instructor is provided. For the first while, I would not go out on a track unless every car has an instructor in it. This is best to keep things safe for everyone.

I drive without track insurance.

I have run PSS's but quickly went to a slick. Most advise you should drive on a street tire to learn how your car behaves before going to a slick.

Yes it is very expensive, only two alternatives is to not race or iracing. Iracing is an online simulator.

 

Driving school can "help", but it isn't enough seat time to move you up in the HPDE ranks. Likely it will get you signed off solo quicker. Try to do as many track days as possible on your stock setup. I would not use the Michelin PSS on the track as they aren't that effective and the wear is crazy quick.

I transitioned from auto crossing my 350z to tracking my 350z to tracking my IS-F to owning a couple of race cars.

Autocrossing was fun, but I got bored very quickly.

When I started tracking my 350z I was hooked. After that I never looked back at autocrossing. I know it's more expensive to track, but the thrill and constant improvement against other drivers has me hooked. Here are some pics of my progression.

 

 

go to a track day and you'll be registered in the beginner group. most track day organizers can provide you with a qualified instructor to ride along with you for the first couple sessions to teach you the line. track safety is also taught in the morning before anyone gets to the track. i recommend going to a track day with a friend as a passenger. so that you can get an idea of the speeds and where the brake zones are. passing in the beginner/intermediate groups is usually done by "point-by" meaning, you can't pass a car until the driver points which side to pass them at(can be seen in the video i posted below.)

video of my first track day in my rsx-s. sloppy lines but my buddy was riding with me to teach them to me.

 

Autocross is cheap compared to HPDE. If you want to learn to drive well without spending a lot of money, get a different car that is cheaper to run. There are many, many options. Anything with a V-8 in it will be more expensive to run because it will be faster and heavier. It will burn through tires and brakes faster than a lighter slower car. You will struggle to learn car control and power control at the same time. Miatas are popular track cars for good reason - light, good handling, cheap tires, cheap brakes, and low fuel costs.

The cheapest option to learn to drive well is to go karting. It is also a lot more dangerous than driving a car because you are more exposed. I once had a discussion with an ER doc at Sonoma Hospital when my friend was getting his pelvis reassembled after a bad wreck on his bike at Sears Point. The doc said the karts were the worst for injury. I really expected him to say the bike were, but he didn't. Anyway, karting will improve your driving skills pretty dramatically at a very low cost compared to other routes.

AFA tires - it's an HPDE, not a race. Lap times don't matter. Learning to drive your car on lesser tires is recommended for two reasons - 1. They are cheaper. 2. Their limits are lower so you will have to learn to control your car at lower speeds which impacts ALL of your costs except entry fees and track insurance. One of the instructors at my first HPDE recommended getting used tires with even wear for reasons one and two. It makes a lot of sense if your goal is learning to drive and not to try setting fast lap of the day.

I buy track insurance. With entry fees, track insurance, race pads, and fuel a weekend at the track is about $1k without hotel or other ancillary expenses. If you run an HPDE at Atlanta Motorsports Park, you could expect to spend about the same to run your IS F.

 

I would recommend that you go the HPDE route over Auto X. With the HPDE you have the advantage of having a qualified instructor right next to you to help you learn to late brake, enter and exit the corner the correct way. I would also recommend that you try to learn the appropriate line initially then push. Most, including myself, will tend to over drive their car the first track day because they want to try to push. Focus on the line and what the instructor is telling you and you will soon be comfortable on the track. Other than just the line and how to handle your car you will need to learn to negotiate traffic safely, the flag system, the track itself, and even how your car will respond to the session. The instructor just makes all of that easier.

As a daily driven ISF I would say thatt he PSS is fine for the track but like others have said before , they wear out insanely fast after track usage. I have been through 2 sets of PSS in 15K miles and 4 track days!! I am currently looking to upsize my wheels and tires to a much wider set up and will be trying other brands. Bottom line is if you just want a little taste of the track the PSS are fine but if you get hooked ( you will) you would be wise to switch to another more track focused model ( RE11 might be best for the street and track if you are not into owning 2 sets of wheels and tires ). I am all about drive to the track, drive it home, wash it, and drive to work on monday. I tend to be a little more basic that most when it comes to track prep. I just run what I brung the way it came. Its easier to prep but I go through tires and pads a bit faster than the rest .

Enjoy, be safe, and know we are all here for you if you have any questions. Have fun and share some videos.

Here are a few books I recommend for learning some basics :

https://speedsecrets.com/books/

Also to help with your first track day, I would recommend watching a bunch of videos of people lapping that track on youtube. Most are recording on the track and are more than happy to share them with the world on youtube. Take advantage. Learn as much about the actual track layout as you can.

 

Where in atl are you? There are a few of us here that run our F's on the track (torxuvin, piston1047, lobux, and myself) with some of the local groups. Torx and I have run with just Track it together a number of times and they offer great instruction and pricing. We were both just upgraded to intermediate after 6 or so events this year. There is also a really good group of very experienced drivers that will jump in the cockpit with you and give you pointers. Some of us are looking at running road Atlanta on dec 4th(I think) with Just track it, you should join us.

 

it was my first track last may with bnizzle, before we hit the track we did some track prep, such as brake pads and fluid..etc...thanks to lobux, since it was our first time, we ask for instructor to show us the line. its pretty addicting but can be costly...i'll be hitting the track in a couple of weeks at streets of willow and i'll have another instructor to show me the line...hopefully the weather permits thoug....

 

Thanks for the info. This was really helpful. I am going to read up. I was only partial to PSS since Michelin are the only ones that offer warranty on their summer tires. I guess I will look for instructor led HPDE

 

Awesome! I am about 15min away from Road ATL. I will check Just Track It out.

 

Its a little nerve racking on your first couple of times out. New place, new track, new everything. These organizations are great are are extremely helpful and usually pretty well organized in helping enthusiasts get their cars on the track. Just make sure you read the instructions on what is required ( pretty much a safe car, helmet, good attitude and you are golden ) , show up early, and ask tons of questions. What I have found other than having a great time driving and learning to drive is a great community of people also there to learn and drive and who are so excited to help out and share their experience ( good and bad ) with anyone who comes along. You would think there is a lot of "**** swinging" at the track and " flexing " but that is very far from the truth in my experience . Everyone is humble and there to learn to drive. By far the most common conversation topic I hear is , how much fun it was, and what I did wrong . You don't hear "I smoked that car" and "dusted that one".


It can turn into a lifetime of fun and enjoyment. Just be prepared to beat up those front rotors and toast those tires, but that's the price of admission . 19" tires are relatively cheap ( I was buying 22" PS2s before my F ), you can buy Brembo rotors on amazon for a fraction of the cost, and pads can be purchased there as well with a wide selection depending on what you are shooting for. So if we have to pay to play there are ways to lower that cost. I don't run separate pads, rotors, etc for the track. My tracks are not as high speed as the ones ZaxF, Lobux,Bigcloud, and Compthis run so I run bone stock always. I have no noise, squeal, .....nothing. If you are topping out at above 110 I would recommend upgrading . Bottom line is you can have your cake and eat it too !! Reliable DD that you can put tons of miles on and a weekend track car that doesn't need much , if any , serious prep . I pack the car, check the tires, set up my GoPro, and GO !!! Come home, wash her, open up the holes in the rotors, download my videos, and drive to work Monday .

Now that I am totally hooked I am moving to a better wheel and tire set up for the track ( still lower speed tracks ) BUT its still a set up that I will be running on the street as well. Gonna ditch the 225/255 combo for 255/295 combo. Its a compromise using street tires but it will give me the added grip I need on the track and the look I want on the street and since . Again, if you are doing many track days and higher speed courses upgrade to a separate wheel and tire set up for the track. OK , Im rambling haha, Just let us know if you have any questions. There are tons of options .

 

What's up man, you need to come hang out with the rest of us ATL owners like ZaxF says (beside lance, who is always too busy to hang) . HPDE's are a great experience and the SCCA track nights at AMP are probably the cheapest but they do not offer formal instructions. I have jumped in both ZaxF and Torx cars and given my input and could probably give you some instruction if my schedule permitted. I have experience in many HPDE events and wheel to wheel racing. I also have a "race car" (240sx) and it tends to be cheaper to go this route if you want to save time and risk. Another relatively cheap form of racing is budget endurance racing (4-6 drivers over 2 days) like 24hoursofLemons,chump car and AER. The buy-in to usually race for the weekend is between 350-800 bucks and contrary to what you may think of budget racing you have some top level drivers in these races, I have been in races with both randy Pobst and Mike Skeen. I tend to have slots on my team from time to time, so if you decide to come hang out I'm sure we could talk about it more. I have been trying to get Torx and ZaxF to man up for some wheel to wheel racing but they like buying mods for their F's to much

 

Damn Piston. Your not messing around. I would like to come out and see what our machines can do on the track. SCCA track night is pretty reasonable. I just look I guess we are out of season there is nothing on their calendar. And as far as your input I WELCOME THAT TOO. I appreciate the invite. I heard you can learn a lot as a passenger.

 

Are you guys running 5w 30 on track days?