Track Days advice

[TheKomoman]

Need some advice from track day veterans. I went out to Spring Mountain back in October with my brother and we did the 3 day class. Had an absolute blast and have the bug BAD now. After going back & forth between Z51 coupes and the Z06 it was inevitable that I would buy a Z06 (AMAZING car), which I did, picking up an 08 leftover back in January.

So now I have a car, an SA2005 approved helmet and an interest in taking my car to the track. I am not looking to develop myself into a race driver, just looking to spend some time enjoying these cars the way they were designed to be driven. After a 3 day class I'm slightly more than an absolute beginner but understand I'm way less than an experienced track day guy, so what kind of events should I be looking for to get started? I've read on CF that some organizers are more friendly/oriented than others towards beginners and others are to be avoided because the crowd is hardcore and has no patience for n00bs.

Help & advice would be appreciated! ;bc

[Norm Clemmer]

I am sure you will get a lot of expert advice on this one. There are people in this club like Frank G that are much more knowledgeable than I am.

I went to an event sponsored by SCCA <Sports Car Club of America> at Mt. Pocono the other year and it was a blast. My summer plans are to attend one or two of these events this year.

Norm

[Glennm27]

I am running my 08 Z06 at NJ Motorsports Park, Millville NJ on May11 with a group called "Track Time 4 Cars"
This is a very cool organization to run with that will assure you of plenty of track time. It is also great facility (NJMSP)
I ran both tracks at NJMSP last year and they are both terrific.

Check them out. Click ==> TrackTime4Cars (http://www.tracktime4cars.com/tpm.php)

I will also be running with another group at NJ and at Pocono. This group is called "Hooked on Driving (http://www.hookedondriving.com/home.cfm)" They are alos very cool.

ALSO, National Corvette Museum will be running the VIR HDPE June 28 & 29. Registration opens on line at NCM website starting today at 9am EDT

SCCA is also a terrific organization to run with.

You appear to have all you need to register for these events.

[TheKomoman]

Thanks for the info, that's exactly what I'm looking for!

Interesting that your spin on Track Time 4 Cars is so different than what I'd read at CF. There was a thread in the NE section that my admittedly sketchy memory had comments about that group being a bit more "serious."

Glenn what's your take on being prepared for driving the car there and then driving it home? Do you take an extra set of brake pads with you, anything like that?

Thanks again!

[Glennm27]

Thanks for the info, that's exactly what I'm looking for!

Interesting that your spin on Track Time 4 Cars is so different than what I'd read at CF. There was a thread in the NE section that my admittedly sketchy memory had comments about that group being a bit more "serious."

Glenn what's your take on being prepared for driving the car there and then driving it home? Do you take an extra set of brake pads with you, anything like that?

Thanks again!
Will you be at the CCDV meeting tonight? Hope so, I will be there, we can talk about it there.... If you are not attending the meeting let me know and I'll answer your questions via email: ==> glennm27@comcast.net

I just registered this morning for the NCM VIR HPDE, June 29 & 30.

I am very excited about this one... :)

[Glennm27]

Another note, as a noob you will of course have an instructor ride along with you. He'll be there until he or she feels you are "good to go" on your own. You will also spend some time in the classroom between on-track sessions going over what you just did and what you are about to do in your next session. It is very good info and well worth your time....

Hooked on Driving is a terrific group to run with.
SCCA is terrific
TrackTime4Cars is good as well. They are part of Team Pro Motion who runs events like these for motorcycles. They have branched out with TrackTime4Cars to run events for automobiles....

I am thinking of running with Hooked on driving June 19 at Pocono.
Pocono is fun and these guys put on a great track day.
ALL are friendly for noob's..

[Frank Gonzalez]

Thanks for the info, that's exactly what I'm looking for!

Interesting that your spin on Track Time 4 Cars is so different than what I'd read at CF. There was a thread in the NE section that my admittedly sketchy memory had comments about that group being a bit more "serious."

Glenn what's your take on being prepared for driving the car there and then driving it home? Do you take an extra set of brake pads with you, anything like that?

Thanks again!

First of all, if your car is the one pictured in your avatar, you have a problem. Most organizations will not allow convertibles on track unless they have an SCCA approved roll bar.

I instruct professionally for Bertil Roos at Pocono, and as a volunteer for SCCA, the National Corvette Museum and several others. I also live in Blue Bell, so we can get together sometime, share some beers and answer all the questions you may have.

If you want to see what one of these events is like, SCCA-South Jersey Regions is holding an HPDE (SCCA calls them PDX) at New Jersey Motorsports Park-Lightning Track on March 21 and 22. You can get the details at http://www.sjr-scca.org, or you can contact their Regional Executive J.D. King at assistre@sjr-scca.org.

If your car is a Coupe or Z06, you can still register for the March 21-22 event at the sjr-scca website.

Give me a call if you want at 215-643-5968 and leave word in the answering machine if I'm not home.

Welcome to the speed club,
Frank Gonzalez

[TheKomoman]

First of all, if your car is the one pictured in your avatar, you have a problem. Most organizations will not allow convertibles on track unless they have an SCCA approved roll bar.

I instruct professionally for Bertil Roos at Pocono, and as a volunteer for SCCA, the National Corvette Museum and several others. I also live in Blue Bell, so we can get together sometime, share some beers and answer all the questions you may have.

If you want to see what one of these events is like, SCCA-South Jersey Regions is holding an HPDE (SCCA calls them PDX) at New Jersey Motorsports Park-Lightning Track on March 21 and 22. You can get the details at http://www.sjr-scca.org, or you can contact their Regional Executive J.D. King at assistre@sjr-scca.org.

If your car is a Coupe or Z06, you can still register for the March 21-22 event at the sjr-scca website.

Give me a call if you want at 215-643-5968 and leave word in the answering machine if I'm not home.

Welcome to the speed club,
Frank Gonzalez


Hey Frank!

I have two C6's these days, the vert in my avatar and a new Z06, the Z is what I would take for track days. I don't want to do a roll bar in my vert so I knew I 'd have to get a different car for taking to the track. After driving a coupe and a Z06 back-to-back in sessions the decision was easy to make, especially with the prices available right now.

I'll take a look at that SCCA site but no way I could do that weekend. Would love to get together for a few beers, Whelihans is around the corner from me. I'll be giving you a call, thanks!

Dan

Oh and since you referenced a picture in my avatar, may as well share one of my new baby!

http://www.lazyassgeek.com/photos/albums/C6/Z06/FirstWash/normal_Z06___Zoom_Zoom_First_Wash_009_%5B1024x768% 5D.JPG

[Norm Clemmer]

Komoman, Don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a quesion for Frank that I think might be of interest to you also.

Frank
For a rookie like me running on street tires would a four corner alignment from Pheonix make any difference at the track????

Norm

[Mike Campbell]

Whoa baby...I don't know how you'll do at the track, but, please don't screw up those really sweeeet spider wheels!! ;bl Very nice IMHO.

[Frank Gonzalez]

Komoman, Don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a quesion for Frank that I think might be of interest to you also.

Frank
For a rookie like me running on street tires would a four corner alignment from Pheonix make any difference at the track????

Norm

Norm, I have my track car aligned once a year whether it needs it or not (it usually needs it). Tell Kurt at Phoenix Palm what you need and let him do his magic. You could tell him I sent you, but then he might charge you more. ;-)

Frank

[Frank Gonzalez]

Hey Frank!

I have two C6's these days, the vert in my avatar and a new Z06, the Z is what I would take for track days. I don't want to do a roll bar in my vert so I knew I 'd have to get a different car for taking to the track. After driving a coupe and a Z06 back-to-back in sessions the decision was easy to make, especially with the prices available right now.

I'll take a look at that SCCA site but no way I could do that weekend. Would love to get together for a few beers, Whelihans is around the corner from me. I'll be giving you a call, thanks!

Dan

Oh and since you referenced a picture in my avatar, may as well share one of my new baby!

http://www.lazyassgeek.com/photos/albums/C6/Z06/FirstWash/normal_Z06___Zoom_Zoom_First_Wash_009_%5B1024x768% 5D.JPG


Yaayyy!!! Yellow cars are the fastest. You are already on the way to fastdom (is that a word?).

Good decision on the Z06. You won't regret it. Lightning is fun and not too hard for beginners.

Make sure you look me up when you get there. My car is yellow (of course) and has a big 97 on the side.

Frank Gonzalez

[Joel Fellman]

some of us also enjoy the local autocross races through SCCA. If you are interested, visit phillyscca.com. And did someone say yellow Corvettes are the best? I totally agree!!!

[carboman]

Hey Frank!

I have two C6's these days, the vert in my avatar and a new Z06, the Z is what I would take for track days. I don't want to do a roll bar in my vert so I knew I 'd have to get a different car for taking to the track. After driving a coupe and a Z06 back-to-back in sessions the decision was easy to make, especially with the prices available right now.

I'll take a look at that SCCA site but no way I could do that weekend. Would love to get together for a few beers, Whelihans is around the corner from me. I'll be giving you a call, thanks!

Dan

Oh and since you referenced a picture in my avatar, may as well share one of my new baby!

http://www.lazyassgeek.com/photos/albums/C6/Z06/FirstWash/normal_Z06___Zoom_Zoom_First_Wash_009_%5B1024x768% 5D.JPG

Enjoy the new baby, she's a beauty!

[TheKomoman]

Thanks for all the replies guys, and no worries re:threadjacking Norm, this ain't the hypersensitive CF! Actually it was a good reminder for me, I was thinking an alignment would be a good idea prior to my first run on the track. I know the guys at Spring Mountain mentioned it's a good idea as the stock alignment wears out tires on a track in a hurry.

I would certainly consider autocross, I may come out and do a look-see before trying my hand at it just to get a feel.

Mike the Spyder wheels are interesting on this car for me, for a couple of reasons. I am a fan of multi-spoke wheels so I like the style but I typically am not big on chrome. For whatever reason the combo works to my eye on this car though. Also it's an 08 and would have originally come with chrome split-spoke original Z06 wheels but it sat on 2 dealer lots since some time last March so I guess somebody buying an 09 decided they wanted 08 wheels instead. End result I wind up with an 08 with 09 wheels, works for me.

The yellow is kinda different for me as well. Something about it on the Z06 just looks right though, probably too many hours watching C6-R's run!

Thanks again for the replies and how to see some of you guys soon. ;bt

[Rick and Arleen Ball]

That is a Beautiful Z-06!