My first Track day

[bellis_GTR]

Hey guys, Just wanted to show some pictures of my GTR and I at CSCS on aug 22.

This was the first time I have ever been on a circuit course and the feeling was amazing!

Let me start with the mods on the car then get to some pictures!

The car is pretty much stock but this is what I have so far

92 BNR32 GTR

Apexi adjustable coilovers
HKS adjustable Front upper links
EBC green stuff pads/drilled slotted rotors
3" cat back exhaust with a 5" Apexi megaphone muffler
HKS mushroom filters

I think thats pretty much it.

Here are some pictures of me posing for the camera before leaving lol

My Skyline GTR T shirt


Tried to be serious lol


And of course one of the pretty ladie



On the way up to Cayuga it was really nice and sunny Not one cloud in the sky. Once we were about 30 mins away from Cayuga it just starts pooring down on us.

Some pics on the way up.

My friends Mr2 supercharged


My friends S13 with an RB20DET swap his GTRC name is Wongger


Me driving


nice picture of the booty


Anyways we finaly get to the track and we wait in line to register the car in and listen to the drivers meeting. Once I got threw I drove over to the padlock and started taking everything out of my trunk and took out my back seats, speakers and everything else that wasnt bolted down. I borrowed my friends Sparco 4 point harness, so when we had the back seats out we bolted the harness to the back seat belt bolts.

Here are some pictures before going out to do some lapping.

Starting Godzilla up


Winnie the Pooh for good luck!


Last minute tips


Checking over the gauges


Going out


As Im shaking in my seat from being so nervous I look to my left and see this monster pull up.


He was taking everybody on. Not only in the straights did he blow by everyone but in the corners it was like he was glued to the track. He did not have the factory bridgestones on but they did look like toyo T888s.

But back to me. I get the "GO" to get on the track and in the first corner I didnt expect to have so much oversteer being in a AWD car. At first I thought the car was in RWD but I looked at the dash and the 4WD light wasnt on. So in the next corner I tried to see if the Front torque gauge went up, it was hard to see trying to focus on down shifting and turning in the apex but I glanced over and saw the needle was in the middle of the gauge. So from there I knew the ATTESA system was working. I go into the next couple of turns and the car acted fine. I got to the chicane and down shifted in to 2nd while braking hard causing the ABS to come on a bit. I thought I was going right in to the grass but I controlled it and went on in to the next corners.

Me heading into the chicane


Coming out of the chicane


Turn 13


Drifting out of turn 14


After all of thos quick tight turns I come off turn 14 drifting on to the straight and quickly make it up to 160km/h.





Im approching turn 1 again and I remember talking to Thomas Smith, a driver for Crawford Performance and I asked for some tips on taking a corner as quick as you can and he told me to brake early and turn in to the apex early. So quickly heel toeing I turn in to the apex and my front driver side wheel hits the apex. That caused my tire to lose the grip that it had and spin faster then the other tires. I spun in to a 360 hitting one cone but staying on the track and controlled it till I was facing the right way and continued on. That was probably the scariest time of my life. I was thinking there were cars behind me and were gonna T bone me. Very scary 2 seconds.

Thomas Smith's Subaru Impreza STI

[bellis_GTR]

Part 2

While I was there I met Juergan (Phastwon) with his R33 GTR.


Shots of him on the straight


I must say This was my first time seeing an R33 GTR and it was beautiful. The guys at Right drive did an excellent job at tracking down this beast.

Also my friend that took the pics got some of the record breaking SG motorsports 350Z







Here are some other pictures my friend took.







Scott (not sure of his name on here) and his M3. I met him that day and started talking about his car and how he has a GTR as well.


on the track


I also met John that day and loved the sound of his HKS 272 cams


My friend Zack's RX8


Another friends ride. 85 RX7 FB


R35 GTR


This is a slideshow of me drifting the 14th corner. I wanted to make the slideshow faster but I didnt know how. If you click fast enough it looks like a video

http://s804.photobucket.com/albums/y...t=9486c5dd.pbw

This is Cayuga's track


Can anyone give me tips on handling an AWD car? This is my first time on the track and my first AWD car.

Any tips on doing heel toe? I know it pretty well but tips from experianced drivers is always good.

Any other suggestions/tips let me know!

Please let me know what you think! Thank you for reading.

Happy Tracking!

[Phastwon]

You took a lot of pics man. Glad you had a good time. Hopefully I'll see you again at the September Finale. I will be there for sure.

[aN4rk1]

Cool pics, I hope you had fun!
The FB, is that Sams??

[wongger]

Haha, next time we go ill do some lapping.

[326_godzilla]

nice!...looks like fun...how did the 16s handle the track? what kind of tires did you run?

[bobbo]

The biggest suggestion I can make for taming the GTR is getting a torque split controller. There are several different types available. Also be sure you're using fresh fluid in your ATTESSA and the system is properly blead. Playing with tire pressures (increasing by about 6-8lbs) will make a difference as well as softer compound/track oriented tires. I've found that I have to run about 3lbs. less in the rear tires.
Get a four wheel alignment done. Adding a bit of negative rear camber can help. I wouldn't suggest going outside of spec though.
Stainless brake lines really help with pedal feel and using a high temp brake fluid.
The R32 is a surprisingly capable car on the track and with some time and tweaking you'll be hacking away at your lap times.
I noticed you had your harness bolted to the lower seat belt locations. Although for track days it's likely no one will say anything but if the unfortunate should happen that type of belt mounting can lead to spinal compression.
The belts should be mounted in line with the tops of your shoulders if you can.
As far as heal toe shifting. Practice.

[bellis_GTR]

You took a lot of pics man. Glad you had a good time. Hopefully I'll see you again at the September Finale. I will be there for sure.

Thanks man, Ill definitely be at the next one!

Cool pics, I hope you had fun!
The FB, is that Sams??

haha how do you know everyone I know? Yes thats him.

Haha, next time we go ill do some lapping.

Lol I know we gotta get more of the boys out there!

nice!...looks like fun...how did the 16s handle the track? what kind of tires did you run?

Not to sure how they would handle on dry surface but in the rain they werent doing so good. I think it might be because I was running 16 Inch Sumo Akina ST-09 Tires with tread around 60%

The biggest suggestion I can make for taming the GTR is getting a torque split controller. There are several different types available. Also be sure you're using fresh fluid in your ATTESSA and the system is properly blead. Playing with tire pressures (increasing by about 6-8lbs) will make a difference as well as softer compound/track oriented tires. I've found that I have to run about 3lbs. less in the rear tires.
Get a four wheel alignment done. Adding a bit of negative rear camber can help. I wouldn't suggest going outside of spec though.
Stainless brake lines really help with pedal feel and using a high temp brake fluid.
The R32 is a surprisingly capable car on the track and with some time and tweaking you'll be hacking away at your lap times.
I noticed you had your harness bolted to the lower seat belt locations. Although for track days it's likely no one will say anything but if the unfortunate should happen that type of belt mounting can lead to spinal compression.
The belts should be mounted in line with the tops of your shoulders if you can.
As far as heal toe shifting. Practice.

Thanks for the tips! During the winter I am gonna be up grading lots of parts, and stainless brake lines is one of them. Scott (with the M3) also told me if I had a torque split controller that It would be much easier to control. Im sure there is a thread on how to bleed the ATTESSA but since its brought up, How do I bleed the whole system? And as for more negative camber what are after market parts that you would recommend? I have adjustable front upper links, Im sure there for adjusting camber in the front but how is it done? Yeah for the harness I didnt know where else to put it but those spots. I heard its suppose to be on a 45derg angle? OR 90derg if you have a roll cage? Thanks for all your input! Very appreciated.

[aN4rk1]

haha how do you know everyone I know? Yes thats him.

Ive known Sam since highschool mannn! I remember when he FIRST got that car. He asked me to come with him but I said I would never track my car :P
Hope you had fun, as for the heel-toe thing, The best advice I was ever given for that is practice heel-toe on the street daily driving (not being stupid with the car ofcourse) until it is second nature, THEN hit the track.

[bellis_GTR]

Ive known Sam since highschool mannn! I remember when he FIRST got that car. He asked me to come with him but I said I would never track my car :P
Hope you had fun, as for the heel-toe thing, The best advice I was ever given for that is practice heel-toe on the street daily driving (not being stupid with the car ofcourse) until it is second nature, THEN hit the track.

LoL thats crazy...I know heel toe I just wanted to see if anyone else had tips in doing it better

[bobbo]

You won't need any after market parts to get some negative camber within factory specs. It's just enough to plant the rear a bit better. If your car is out (which it can be if you haven't had it done) it'll really make the car feel better.

[aN4rk1]

Its not crazy, you dont have to be going fast to heel toe, you just have to be downshifting from semi-high rpm. Then when you shift+brake, its a good way to practice. If you get it the downshifts become smooth as silk.

[bobbo]

Maybe watch some of the japanese racing vids on youtube. They've always got cameras on their feet.

[bellis_GTR]

You won't need any after market parts to get some negative camber within factory specs. It's just enough to plant the rear a bit better. If your car is out (which it can be if you haven't had it done) it'll really make the car feel better.

But say I wanted outside of negative camber spec? What would those parts be. And What would be the best spec or suspension setup for the track. I know everybody's driving style is different but just to different setups. Sorry Im just getting into the whole suspension components now.

Also found these interesting pictures. I was searching "suspension components" on Google images and the first thing that popped up was the R32 front suspension set up.

here is the site http://justskylines.com/knowledgebas...ion_parts.aspx

and pics

Front


Rear

[bobbo]

IMO unless you're building a full time track car the last thing you want to do is go outside factory alignment specs. You'll have a huge problem with uneven tread wear.
If the car isn't hooking up the way you want it to get a good suspension set up. Adjustable coil overs, urethane bushing kit, heavier stabilizer bars. That's the expenisive way.
Buy a set of track tires. It'll give you the greatest improvement in grip for the dollar.
Get the Torque Split Controller.
You're just getting into this and you want to keep things simple at first and make on change at a time. If you go doing a whole bunch of things all at the same time it makes it hard to dial the car in and you don't know what made the biggest difference.
Developing a cars handling set up takes time (and money).
Pick away at it and keep things simple. IMO you'll have more fun that way.
For track days I bump up the tire pressures, check the fluid levels, check the lug nut torques, make sure everything is tight and adjusted normally and then I toss my helmet and some tools in the car and go to the track.