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Road Course Racing - Help

silver98

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 21, 2004
Messages
202
Location
southeast PA
Corvette
1998 Sebring Silver Coupe
Hey all,
Don't know if this needs to be in the Autocross section but... I'm planning on going to the SCCA PDE (performance driving experience) at Pocono in June 2005. One of the tech requirements is that if you have a passenger seat with a folding back (don't all Vettes?) is must be either bolted down or secured.

How do I do this?

I know a bunch of you folks out there have done this type of driving before, so ANY clues would be helpful. There is no fuel at the track, will a full tank be enough? What tire pressure would you suggest, 30# (cold)?

arrgggghhhhh! I'm excited, but just a bit tentative.

Oh yea, will my insurance company freak if I screw up?

Anyway, looking for your experience and help.
Thanks All

Joe
 
silver98,

i am signed up for a similar event at summit point in wv in june. it's called f.a.t.t. (friday at the track), and it's considered a performance driving school. according to one of my coleagues who is an instructor at these sort of things, insurance will cover you because it's considered driver education. but to be sure, you may want to check with your provider.

my information didn't mention the seat issue. hopefully it's not a requirement for me, but i'm really curious to see what kind of answers you'll get.

let us know how the whole thing goes.:beer

later,

tom
 
In regard to the insurance freaking :W, the answer is yes. I called my agent years ago when I did an ontrack event at Watkins Glen. He informed me that they would cover the repairs to the car, but not any injuries I might receive, and after that they would drop me. They even freak at their customers participating in the SCCA Solo II events when you are the only car on course.


If you really know your agent I would ask him, if not then I wouldn't.
The seat issue is a new one to me, every 2 door cars has similiar folding seats.

One item I would recommend you do is have your brake fluid changed to a Hitemp fluid. The worst feeling is to stomp on the brakes and not have any.
 
silver98 said:
Hey all,
There is no fuel at the track, will a full tank be enough? What tire pressure would you suggest, 30# (cold)?

arrgggghhhhh! I'm excited, but just a bit tentative.

Oh yea, will my insurance company freak if I screw up?


Joe

I've done a few Fridays at Summit and I'm going to Pocono for first time this Memorial day weekend (May 30-31). I don't know anything about a seat requirement but they do want a fire extinguisher installed at Pocono (not so for Summit).

Fuel--Full is more than enough. Don't go below 1/2.
Tires--not so high as auto-x pressures. 30 is ok. I might do 34 front 30 rear.
Insurance--I asked this once to my agent when I switched--he said no coverage as I recall, that no company would, as long as it's an organized off road event of any kind. Not good news, but that just means don't push it too hard. Oversteer is your biggest enemy--just remember not to touch the brakes in a corner. If you do, it will cause massive oversteer.
 
silver98 said:
I know a bunch of you folks out there have done this ype of driving before, so ANY clues would be helpful. There is no fuel at the track, will a full tank be enough? What tire pressure would you suggest, 30# (cold)?

arrgggghhhhh! I'm excited, but just a bit tentative.

Oh yea, will my insurance company freak if I screw up?

Joe,

Don't let these things ruin your experience. There's nothing like driving a Corvette on a track, and learning how to do it properly. I'm no expert, but I have done some open track days here in northern CA, and it is a blast. Next one is coming up in about a month (May 14).

Best advice is take it easy until you are absolutely comfortable. Next is be aware of other drivers and how you personally respond to them. I found that I became nervous and started making mistakes whenever someone came up behind me. Just try to ignore them until you get to a safe passing area, then wave them past. Drive to your abilities, don't try to push to his. Remember this is supposed to be fun and is not a competition. Go into it with humility, and listen carefully to your instructor - he knows more than you about how a car handles, and hopefully will pass down some wisdom. Lastly, you go where your eyes go. Always be looking ahead not to the next tunr-in or braking point, look 2-3 places past. A good instructor will empasize this, probably from the very beginning. I learned that lesson the hard way, as I followed my buddy right off the track. I was watching his bumper, and not where the track was going. Fortunately, I only got 2 wheels off and recovered; he spun out completely.

As for fuel, depending on how much time you get on the track, 1 tank may not be enough. My first time, 1 tank got me through the day, but I came off early because I wasn't looking much at the gas gauge. The first low fuel warning brought me in probably 2 laps early. Since then, I fill up at lunch time (we do have the benefit of fuel at the track, but we pay a premium price for it!)

Tire pressure will go up throughout the day, so watch it. Bring a pressure guage with you (as the tire sensors do not update in real time). Again, depending on how aggressively you drive, you may be letting air out serveral times over the course of the day. If you're running stock rotors, pads and tires, my guess is you'll have to let air out before noon. I usually start out the day at 30psi all around, then try to keep it to no greater than 33-34 throughout the day. And don't forget that after the event, as your rotors and tires cool, you'll need to fill them back up. Make sure there's a service station with air on your way home. Freeway driving (lots of air flow and no braking) will cool your rotors down quickly.

Lastly, insurance. My agent told me that as long as there is no timing, this is considered driver education. Best to contact your carrier and find out before you go, just so you know what to expect. An inquiry like "I was considering doing this driver education course at a track this summer. Some of them provide cars, others have you use your own so you get the education with the car you actually drive every day. Would I be covered in the event I used my own car?"

Good luck, and have fun!

Craig
 
ok, first of all, thanks to everyone who responded, all the info was helpful, when we meet I owe each of you a nice cold one :beer


I received an e-mail from the Tri-Region SCCA about the backs of the passenger seat, buckle the seat belt! That's it, no clue what they're getting at, and since I have no track time, an instructor will be seated 'shotgun' (lucky dog lol), so it's a non-issue.

Got the tech inspection form, no biggie, just a quick check of the Vette to ensure it's basically safe and street legal, not much beyond that. It does mention that the throttle linkage must be checked and in good working order, no problem there, ha ha, BUT... they want 2 throttle return springs. I'm not going to sweat that one either, hopefully its a non-issue also.

I don't have a camera to mount in the car, but I will take a few stills, from the paddock area and post them after the PDE. I expect to be running on Saturday, June 18.

Thanks again everyone.

Joe
 
What did your insurance company say?
 
Please give us an update after you've completed the course.

I would like to do something like that, but with someone else's car :D

Tammy
 
Aw come on Tammy, that MY Z06 likes it when YOU shake the carbon out.


Joe
 
silver98 said:
Aw come on Tammy, that MY Z06 likes it when YOU shake the carbon out.
Joe
Yeah, I know, but I don't think my insurance co would like it. I keep getting visions of that burned up z06 after things went wrong.
I want to do one of those racing schools were they provide the corvettes.
 
tammy, Check with your insurance agent a lot of companies cover you at driving school. Which is what most people start out with. basicly this means as long as your ther to learn and no raceing or lap times are kept your covered.
 

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