QR Street Sprints - Tips or hints for a new guy

[Benn]

I had not thought about the air travelling out of the indicator/parker areas, My radiator has a cowl on top and some rubber so it is for the most part directing air through it. Therefore i guess the air would want to go out of these openings in the front, instead of more air entering them?

Will look into the CAI as the year progresses.

Another question i had was regarding the clothing, now it has wrist to ankle - fire resistant or that type so i imagine 100% cotton Long sleeve (work shirt) and jeans would cover that. But it doesn't say if i need gloves or what foot-wear they would like? I have a balaclava and helmet that meets standards so that is covered as well.
I will end up giving them a call next week most probably, however i thought while everyone is coming in and out of this tread why not ask what everyone wares on track/sprint days.

benn

[Magpie]

Closed footware, no thongs

Vehicle and apparel requirements for the day are similar to that of a standard Sprint meeting, with ankle to wrist fire retardant clothing, enclosed shoes and Australian safety standard helmet required as a minimum. Standard, road registered vehicles are eligible and welcomed to participate, in an effort to keep the event as affordable as possible for people who want to try out the sport before committing to a dedicated track vehicle (http://www.qldraceways.com.au/competition-getting-started).

[Benn]

yep, that's what i thought.

thanks

[speed freak]

Mine is a silver NB8B on stock wheels at the moment. If the damn things arrive in time I might be running with RPF1's if I can get tyres done in time.

Also Accurate Suspension is a great place to go for a wheel alignment. When I got my coilovers installed I had a wheel alignment done by whoever Automotive Plus use and it didnt really seem right so I got one done by Accurate Suspension and the car felt really good. Ill definitely be going back there soon.

Regarding fuel I arrive at the track with just over half a tank and by the time the 4 sessions are done the gauge is nearing empty but still plenty to get to the BP to fill up on the way home so if you have jerry cans youll be sweet.

Im more then happy to give you a hand or any tips on the day if you like, I mean Im no racing driver or mechanic but still willing to help out with the knowledge Iv learned over time

Should be a good day, so looking forward to it.

[Benn]

great news speed freak. Will look out for you and have a chat when your not busy mate or worse case at the beginning of day/end of day.

[speed freak]

Sounds good

[Benn]

Picked up my CAMS approved roll bar padding this morning, WOW that stuff is hard!

Might take a little persuading to get it to fit bends.

benn

[davekmoore]

Sounds like you're starting exactly where you should - with safety kit first.

Next, spend more time in the car on the track. After a while, try to follow some quicker cars to see what they're doing.

Then sign up for some driver training.

Only then, and only if you're going quickly enough that the car is starting to suffer, should you consider upgrades to the car other than safety/reliability ones.

In other words, avoid doing nearly everything I did.

[Benn]

yer mate, safety first.

figure i will have a few track days before i start looking into driver training and then a few more before performance stuff.

[speed freak]

Good thing to start off with a stock car too that way what ever mods you do, if you do any you will notice the difference they make to the car. I had already had my coilovers fitted before the first track day in the mx5. Pretty much everything else is stock, brakes are stock just got some good pads in the front and braided brake lines. These I would highly recommend as they help to eliminate brake fade and improve brake pedal feel. Next thing after I get my RPF1's fitted (when they finally turn up...) is to get MX5 Plus to fit one of their roll bars.

You'll see some cars at the sprints with almost every mod in the world but its really not needed, a few basic things to improve safety or reliability, brakes etc and thats all you really need to have a great day at the track.

Main thing for me is its completely legal, you can go out and drive like a hooligan and you dont need to be worrying about speed limits or the police.

[Benn]

yer i totally agree Speedfreak, I am trying to keep my car 100% legal and roadworthy for as long as possible.

As for the mods i think i will do as magpie and other suggested, write down what my car could do better and get mods to fill the need.

[Tim_cyc03]

With the alignment, what I found on road tyres is when I put a semi aggressive setup after installing coilovers, it got a little loose and actually ended up roughly 2 seconds slower. Once I changed to RS-R's it then of course went 2 seconds faster. I guess all I'm saying is maybe dialing in lots of negative camber wouldn't be too good for street tyres. (please correct me if I'm wrong.)

[Tim_cyc03]

Sorry and also get a seat, harness, hans device and posted helmet before anything else.

[Magpie]

Whilst I'm all for safety (HANS etc) it is not cheap especially when first starting out. A neck collar would however be a good investment as it does not require a harness, seat and mounting points to function. Doug and other instructors will use the neck collar if your passenger seat does not have a harness. A neck collar costs up to about $130 as opposed to about $3,000 for HANS (roll bar, seat, harness, HANS).

Neck collars have a look here http://www.racerindustries.com.au/afawcs0161689/CATID=319/Neck-Restraints.html

If you get bitten by the racing and/or modification bugs then take the next step and go a full safety package. Just remember it gets expensive real quick:)

[Benn]

thanks for advise guys,

yep been looking into this however i am thinking of just having a few track days and getting some experience under my belt before moving to this next phase.