First Time

[jetkona]

Gang,

I am going to take my cherry 87 carrera to PIR this weekend for the Arizona PCA DE day. It will be the first time for me on a track with any car, let alone a Porsche. I have been there to watch friends race but never been out myself. Mind you, I have been known to do the occasional 130 with a pack of 911's on a Sunday drive, but somehow I don't think that's the same.

Any pointers you might have are appreciated....

What parts of the car to ptotect?

Anything I should remove?

Full tank or not?

etc, etc, etc?

Thanks

[FastCarFan]

The most important thing is to drive within your comfort zone. You are not out to grab pole at an F1 race. You are out there to learn & have fun. And you will not have fun if you put it into the wall.

Get ready for one of the most fun things you will ever do. But beware -- it is addictive!

Have fun. And we expect a full report, of couse.

I am sure others will be able to answer your questions better than I can, but basically remove loose objects from your car, including the trunk. I would say go with 3/4 of a tank of fuel. Torque your wheel studs. Get lots of rest. Get your car inspected by a mechanic. Take snacks & water. Sunblock. Rain-gear.

[Barrpete]

I've done this exactly one time (took a week to wipe the grin off my face) so others will be able to give you more specific advice. Check out this link. It has some basic driving techniques/tips and was real helpful to me ahead of time.


http://saz.pca.org/driving/streetpractice.htm

[Jeff Higgins]

Biggest thing your first time out is to forget about speed. It's all about precision. Drive the line, hitting every braking point, turn in, apex, and track out as close as you possibly can. Be as smooth as possible on the control inputs. Stay ahead of the car and forget about speed. If you feel like you are reacting to the car, rather than the car is reacting to you, slow it down a bit. Learn the line. Did I mention you need to forget about speed?

Take care of yourself. Drink way more than you think you need. Stick with water or some kind of sports drink; coffee, pop, fruit juice, etc. are all out. If you are not downing at least a gallon of water over the course of your day you will be getting dehydrated. Concentration is the first thing to go when you do become deydrated. This is an amazingly stressful experience, which leads to dehydration. If you are not peeing clear and often you are not drinking enough. Start early; you cannot "catch up" if you start to get dehydrated. Wear sunscreen. Bring shade if none is available; an Easy-Up is great. Something to sit on between sessions. Food.

Remove anything that ain't nailed down. Empty trunk, glove box, etc. Get all of those crushed beer cans out from under the seats. They inhibit braking when they slide forward and get stuck under the pedals. Floor mats, loose carpeting; it all comes out.

Go over the car. Our local PCA has a great checklist on their website; it's meant to be filled out by a shop inspecting your car, but I find it useful for my own inpections. Do it several days before your event, so you have time to fix or replace things you uncover.

http://www.pnwr.org/track/driver_ed/forms/PNWRDETechInspect2008.pdf

Lastly, try to relax. Easier said than done... Don't try to keep up with your buddies that have done this before. Check your ego at the gate. I might have mentioned this earlier, but forget about speed. That will come. Repeatable, smooth precision is what you are after. Listen to your instructor, even if what he or she says sounds odd. And have fun.

[gerrygug]

In addition to all the good advise above...look as far down the track as possible because things happen much faster at speed. Also, don't forget to check your mirrors: there always seems to be some jerk in a Corvette trying to pass in the most ridiculous place on the track. Just let them go, it's not worth wrecking your car to be a hero.

[jetkona]

As requested, I am back from the track this evening and have to say...WOW!

The event was at Firebird West in Phoenix (not PIR as I thought). Nice little track, short and tight. The back straight-away after turn 4 was just long enough to for my car to sneak a peek at 100 mph.

Very exiting day, lots to process and let soak in. All your advise was great. The "Ground School" instructor went over very much the same stuff that Jeff and Gerry said, but you know what...That damn Carrera wouldn't listen. It just wanted to go fast.

After the sensory overload of the first session I calmed down a bit and started to be able to apply what the instructor was telling me. It seemed to get better with each session. I can tell that this is gonna take a lot of practice. My overall grade at the end of the day on a scale from 1 to 5 was a 4 minus. I'm please with that, but feel I could have done better if I'd slowed down a bit and worked on the precision as Jeff suggested. Next time I will.

The most incredible thing to me overall was the car. It can do things that I had no idea it was capable of. Having only been a spirited street driver until today, I had barley scratched the surface. I felt like I was beating the crap out of it at every session and it didn't even break a sweat. The way you can take it at speed to a corner, late (I mean LATE) break it and dive in is nothing short of amazing. When I finally started to trust that...HOLLY COW!

Well, I better stop now. My adrenaline level is going up just recalling it all and I think I am rambling.

Thanks again guys...I know I'll be back there soon.

PS: Any one who is on the fence about doing one of these D.E. events...you gotta go.

[FastCarFan]

Originally Posted by jetkona

The most incredible thing to me overall was the car. It can do things that I had no idea it was capable of. Having only been a spirited street driver until today, I had barley scratched the surface. I felt like I was beating the crap out of it at every session and it didn't even break a sweat. The way you can take it at speed to a corner, late (I mean LATE) break it and dive in is nothing short of amazing. When I finally started to trust that...HOLLY COW!

Hopefully you had the opportunity to ride with an instructor in a similar car to see what the car is really "capable of". It is truly amazing.

Glad you had fun & drove within your limits. I warned you that it is addictive!

[jetkona]

I had the instructor drive my car at the start of the first session so I could get a feel for the lines and the points. He did probably 3 or 4 laps is all, and I think he kept it at about 75%.

He was driving a full race GT3. No comparison!