1st Trackday in my 996
Discussion
I'm sure other posters will go into a lot of detail for you, but try and get hold of this week's Autocar too. Steve Sutcliffe (he usually seems to know what he's talking about) has an article in there about the do's and do not do's at track days. His tyre pressure advice seems to be lower for wet, leave as manufacturer's recommendation for dry. Have fun.
As a relative newby too, I had some very good advice from a few 'seasoned' trackdayers from PCGB and to sum up....
Avoid armco, avoid tyre walls, avoid other cars.......
To do this you need to listen to the briefing, drive within your abilities, use your mirrors and assume the drivers of all other cars haven't seen you.
You have nothing to prove. You are there to enjoy! For the car do the usual fluid checks before you leave home. Do not overfill with oil. On your journey there look out for the nearest filling station to the circuit and top up before you start. You will probably need to fill up again before the end of the day. And again at days end. Wear comfortable clothing and something with long sleeves (no, not a dress - that is for later - sorry, wrong website) and avoid clumpy great shoes.
Your tyres and brakes will get hot - very hot! Do a few steady laps to familiarise yourself with the circuit and come in on a slow down lap and check your tyre pressures. You will find they have ballooned if you are hooning a tad so let some air out. For the 996 try 32 front 34 rear and as the day goes on and your confidence grows try 30F/32 rear.
As for the brakes do a cool down lap (watch your mirrors!) using your brakes as little as poss will avoid probs. If you stay out too long you will start to get fade so come in and have a break. Park in gear and after a couple of mins roll the car forward a bit so the part of the disc covered by the caliper also has a chance to cool nicely.
If you don't know the circuit, before your first session try and blag a passenger lap or two with someone who looks like he might know what he's doing.... he will be in a spoilered up, rollcaged beast of a Pork and be Sparcoed from head to toe. Or better still have some professional instruction... Pay on the day...
Have I forgotten anything anyone????
Avoid armco, avoid tyre walls, avoid other cars.......
To do this you need to listen to the briefing, drive within your abilities, use your mirrors and assume the drivers of all other cars haven't seen you.
You have nothing to prove. You are there to enjoy! For the car do the usual fluid checks before you leave home. Do not overfill with oil. On your journey there look out for the nearest filling station to the circuit and top up before you start. You will probably need to fill up again before the end of the day. And again at days end. Wear comfortable clothing and something with long sleeves (no, not a dress - that is for later - sorry, wrong website) and avoid clumpy great shoes.
Your tyres and brakes will get hot - very hot! Do a few steady laps to familiarise yourself with the circuit and come in on a slow down lap and check your tyre pressures. You will find they have ballooned if you are hooning a tad so let some air out. For the 996 try 32 front 34 rear and as the day goes on and your confidence grows try 30F/32 rear.
As for the brakes do a cool down lap (watch your mirrors!) using your brakes as little as poss will avoid probs. If you stay out too long you will start to get fade so come in and have a break. Park in gear and after a couple of mins roll the car forward a bit so the part of the disc covered by the caliper also has a chance to cool nicely.
If you don't know the circuit, before your first session try and blag a passenger lap or two with someone who looks like he might know what he's doing.... he will be in a spoilered up, rollcaged beast of a Pork and be Sparcoed from head to toe. Or better still have some professional instruction... Pay on the day...
Have I forgotten anything anyone????
Colenol said:
Any suggestions on things to check / do before I take my 996 on its 1st track day.
I have read on some sites that you should increase tyre pressures etc, however my OPC has told me that you dont need to inflate...
Any feedback would be appreciated.
You will need to deflate tyres not inflate - after they warm up - its tge cornering that gets the psi up. 32-33 all round hot - you will find yourself letting air out a few times. Dont forget to put them back up at the end of the day before driving home.
Ajit.
Ajit
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