2tall also sent me a private e-mail with the same question as in his first post here. I replied before realizing there was already a topic here that had developed while I was out of town this past week, and that others had already posted a lot of excellent advice. Here is what I said:
nsxtasy said:
The NSX is certainly a very capable track car. I have over 10,000 actual track miles on mine! (If you saw it at the dinner, you noticed that it looks pretty nice.) There is really nothing you have to change to drive the NSX on the track, except making sure to use fresh brake fluid (and a higher performance brake fluid wouldn't hurt, but isn't mandatory). Driving on the track won't hurt it at all, except for a faster rate of replacement for parts which you replace anyway (tires, brake pads, and front brake rotors). Of course, there is always a slight risk of driving off the track and hitting something, but you can minimize that by driving within your own abilities and by increasing your speed by very gradual increments. But, if you would prefer to get a different car to drive on the track, that's up to you.
The schools at which you drive THEIR cars on the track tend to be very expensive.
You might want to consider signing up for the NSXCA Spring Fling event May 20-22. It includes a track event on Monday the 22nd with CGI Motorsport, and there will be plenty of NSXs there. GingerMan Raceway, where the track event will be held, is a very safe track for novices, with lots of run-off room and not a lot to hit.
Then, after an e-mail reply back, asking about BMW CCA and Putnam Park...
nsxtasy said:
The BMW CCA events are very well organized, and Putnam Park (like GingerMan) is an excellent place for beginners, for the same reasons.
I will be at Putnam Park with the Hoosier Chapter BMW CCA April 15-16, and back again with the Windy City Chapter BMW CCA the last weekend in August.
Now, to comment on a few of the prior posts here... (Please note that I am not commenting on every post, only on the ones where I have something to add. There is a lot of excellent advice in other posts which I am not quoting.)
NSXLuvr said:
You should atleast get a taste of track events before buying a track car. Go do an autocross or a High Performance Driving Event(HPDE).
I agree. These track events are something you've never done. Before going out and making a major investment in an activity you've never tried before and might not enjoy, try it out a couple of times first. Take your NSX, or whatever other car you already have, out in a couple of schools, and see how you like it. Maybe you'll like it and you'll want to continue in the NSX. Maybe you'll like it and you want to get another car for these events. Maybe you won't care for it. In any case, it will give you the opportunity to try it out without making a major investment until you're sure you'll enjoy it enough to make that kind of commitment.
I've tried autocrosses as well as HPDE events. FWIW, I don't think the two are similar at all, and I didn't care for autocross. My biggest objection was the imbalance between the time spent driving and the time spent at the event. At an autocross, you typically spend an entire day waiting around for 3-5 passes through a slow-speed autocross that takes 1-2 minutes to drive through. At an HPDE event, you usually have 3-4 sessions per day, each with 25-35 minutes driving time, for a total of 85-105 minutes of actual high-speed driving time per day. Even more with the CGI Motorsports events, which offer seven sessions of 20 minutes each.
Another thing you can do is to go to one or two of the drivers schools as a spectator, just to watch, see how they're conducted, see what kind of cars participate, talk with folks, etc. (Keep in mind that when you're at a track event held by a marque club like BMW CCA, an awful lot of the cars will be from that marque.)
NSXLuvr said:
I'm sure Ken can direct you to plenty of track events in your region.
Yup.
For novices, I strongly recommend events which require that you have an instructor in the car and also provide classroom sessions. Groups which provide this format in and around the Midwest include:
BMW CCA (lots of different chapters, lots of different tracks; not all events are listed on a single schedule, you may need to check the websites of the individual chapters; offers the closest instruction of the groups listed here)
CGI Motorsports (events only at GingerMan Raceway on Mondays)
Chin Motorsports (just starting to hold events in the Midwest this year, in addition to their extensive schedule in the Southeast)
NASA (lots of different chapters, lots of different tracks, but tends to be oriented towards racers, even though they offer HPDE run groups)
GingerMan and Putnam Park are excellent novice tracks, with tons of runoff room and very little to hit. (I have not yet driven at Autobahn.) CGI is at GingerMan many Mondays, including May 22* as part of the NSXCA Midwest Spring Fling event, and Windy City Chapter BMW CCA is there in June. BMW CCA events at Putnam Park include the Hoosier Chapter April 15-16*, Buckeye Chapter in May, and Windy City Chapter the last weekend in August*. (I will be at the dates indicated with an asterisk.)
I would avoid Road America until you've driven in at least 4-6 events elsewhere. Aside from having little runoff room and lots of concrete objects to hit, it's also somewhat difficult for novices to learn, due to the length of the track and how long it takes from the time you make a mental note about a particular turn until you see it again.
jond said:
I did road race the Type-R though because the SE-R isnt fast enough. I worried about wrecking it, but its just a risk you have to decide if you're willing to take.
The last event at summit I went to, a TON of people wrecked. A vette flipped end over end right in front of me. I have part of it on tape. My instructor wrecked his Type-R on the first lap(almost rear ending a NSX!). And I spun my car up onto a curb(no damage).
I think HPDEs ARE safe if you dont take your car past 90%. But when you can almost pass a vette or mustang, you WANT to push it past 100% really bad..
I strongly agree with this last paragraph. If you take it easy, feel your way along, and build up speed gradually, drivers schools can be very safe. If you feel the need to push yourself faster (like if you're trying to "beat" another car), you can increase the level of risk.
Sounds like much of what jond describes took place at an actual race, rather than a drivers school (HPDE event).
Also, when a car wrecks on the first lap out, that's driver error, 99.9 percent of the time. When the car is cold and the brakes are cold and the tires are cold, you can't drive it the way you can when everything is warmed up, so those first couple of laps in a session, you need to carefully feel how the car is responding and not over-drive it.
nsx2tall said:
What sort of minor damage is typical at these events? Can I expect rock chips and a cracked windshield or just bald tires and brake pads?
Rock chips and cracked windshields are NOT common. I've driven around 200 events and have not experienced either. I get plenty of rock chips but only out on the highway, not on the track.
Tires, brake pads, and rotors will wear faster than in normal everyday driving. I generally go through a set of brake pads in 3-5 events, and a set of front rotors in 6-12 events. I use track tires, but with street tires, it takes a lot of events to wear out a set of tires. Let's say you use up your tires 3-4 times as rapidly in track driving as on the street. That means that the 200 miles you might drive in a typical two-day event give your tires the wear they would experience in 600-800 miles on the highway; it's more, but you won't go home with bald tires unless they were already pretty darn worn before the event.
Scin said:
It is more likely that you will end up with tire rubber and brake dust all over your car. This cleans off, although the rubber can be a pain to get off.
Yup. Not exactly "all over your car" though. The brake dust is mostly on the wheels. I typically get quite a few marks on the car finish from chunks of rubber that cars ahead of me kick up (although keep in mind that, as an instructor, I'm typically driving more miles, driving closer to cars ahead of me, and driving with more cars on the track at a time). 95 percent of them come off easily with Zymol HD-Cleanse, which is non-abrasive. Every once in a while, I will need something stronger, and use Meguiar's Number 9 Swirl Remover 2.0, which is a light abrasive which still leaves the finish smooth. You can also try solvents like any brand of tar and bug remover, which will usually remove the rubber marks. Any of these products will remove car wax, so don't forget to re-wax the affected area after removing the marks.
NSXDreamer2 said:
Sean, no need to shoot at my grammar lessons, I know I'm suck at that.
There's no need to apologize for grammar skills when you're communicating in a language other than your native language. Anyone who can communicate in a second (or third or more) language should be commended for that achievement.
nsx2tall said:
Andrie's post taught me that I do not want to race cars.
Andrie is a racer. Racing in competition events is a very, very different experience from driving in HPDE events.
