My first 1st track day..

[zuihoujueding]

Finally! Im going to my 1st track day tomolo at Wakefield Park. Lucky that the weather is likely to be good, according to my trusty iphone app...

btw, questions about what needs to bring for track day.
Apart compulsory stuffs from helmet, long sleeves shirt, long pants and enclosed shoes, do i need other stuffs like the assorted stickers (tow, battery indication, etc), fire extinguisher, tow bar?

[Bennoz]

Nope, just a full tank of gas & I recommend a tyre pressure gauge!

[zuihoujueding]

thanks! i have a digital and an analogue gauge.
btw, what pressure should i start off with? and how do i manage the pressure if it gets hot?

[Bennoz]

Start by dropping them down when cold, as they'll get hot after a few laps & the air will expand increasing the pressure.

I usually start out at about 25psi & go from there. Just measure them again after say 5 hot laps & they should be up around operating temp (ie 30-40psi) and adjust from there.

[Shane001]

Oh and good luck! Wakefield is a great little track, lots of fun, but it's very hard on brakes and if it's cold be sure to have a bit more pressure in your rear tyres as they take a lot to get them up to temp. Not knowing what brakes or tyres you're running I'd recommend doing 4 to 5 lap stints, letting the brakes and tyres cool down for a couple of laps then do another 4 to 5 laps.

Have fun

[aza013]

Yep 2nd all the above
And as said have FUN . You will be hooked after your first run .

Oh and take warm clothes it gets Fing cold down there.

[Shane001]

haha, yeah Wakefield is freaking freezing in the mornings

[Bennoz]

3rd that ^ Does indeed!

[aza013]

I should add (and the members that know me will agree) when I feel the cold it's freezing cold. .

[zuihoujueding]

Guys im back! what a tiring day and what a great day it was!

my two other mates with 180sx and tegS set off to Wakefield at 5:30 in the morning and yeah it was cold and very foggy along the way there.
There was just a handful of street cars (mx5 with semis, Nissan NX with SR18 or SR20 engine and an old open top car. Dont know what it is.
There was no briefing at all. All i heard is street cars 2mintues and off i go! Not sure about the track as i only studied the track 1hour before i sleep last night.
yes, it is a short track and lots of turns. Im particularly concerned about turn 8 and 10. pretty tricky.

I was worried about my brakes as it was mentioned many times before that wakefield is very brake demanding. However, my TWR brakes pads with slotted rotors performed very well. No signs of wear of lack of bite.

But the letdown are my tyres. Kumho KU25 in 205/50/R16 are hard compound street tyres and they can only grip so much. Lots of screeching when cornering. Spuned out once between turn 3-4 and turn 10 due to excessive counter steer and excess speed respectively. But im smiling....

i got my mate with the 180sx, who is a more experienced driver, took my FTO out for a ride and he reckon it handle very well. Brakes are excellent. He reckon it was my driving style, which was too harsh. Cause i mentioned that it oversteers at corners and there were some close calls. After he drove it for a few laps, he reckons its fine and he tipped that the trick is not to let go of the throttle when cornering(which i did, cos im scared), instead do a half throttle and it will ride itself out of corner then full throttle. I tried it out and it actually works, but im still working on it.

He tried out the TegS as well, it felt heavy.

I raced the TegS along the straight and i have to say the TegS had slightly more juice. When compared against the mx5 and the nx, The FTO is clearly faster on the straight. But the mx5 with semi is so nimble at the corners which i could not keep up.

Overall, it was a terrific day. It was 3pm and i was tired already plus running out of fuel. Race with 3/4 tank and the needle hit bottom line by 3pm after countless laps (could not remember how many laps i went.)

I took a few videos fomr my cheapo recorder, hopefully the can be uploaded sucessfully.

[zuihoujueding]

Yep 2nd all the above
And as said have FUN . You will be hooked after your first run .

Oh and take warm clothes it gets Fing cold down there.

Yes, i feel the need...the need for speed!!!!!!

[Shane001]

Well done mate, though you clearly weren't pushing those brakes hard enough

[zuihoujueding]

yeah thought so. but i acelerate as hard as i possibly could and braked as hard as to keep it on the track. i dont know how else i can tes the brakes...lol

[aza013]

Well it's sounds like a great first time on the track well done
You well get better each time you go, pushing harder and harder each time.

We will have to try and get a day going where a group of us can get down there and have some fun .

[zuihoujueding]

Yes yes and yes! Im hooked now!
A set of new rubbers and coil overs are on my shopping list now.

[zuihoujueding]

The videos I took were all corrupted! Stupid mini recorder from eBay! No action, no lap times, sad.