My first Track day

[bellis_GTR]

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.

Yes the plans for the car will be for pure track use. But you are right about doing to much to the car and not getting to know the car better. Haha Yeah I know it takes time and LOTS of money. Thats why for the winter I just want to improve handling. People have told me to keep the engine stock (other than BPU mods) for a bit till I experience what it really has. Thanks a lot for that info. learn something everyday! Great shot of your car as well.

[Oakville]

hey bobbo, what kind of wheels are those? car looks great!

[bobbo]

Work Emotion CR-Kai 18x9.5 with a 20mm offset.
... and THANKS!
Here's a better pic. Sorry to hijack and get off topic.

[Skym]

GTR with semi slicks is amazing, so much grip. Also makes a difference with braking, handling after removing weight from car. Realised that after going for a ride in a mates ex N1 GTR racecar and then hoping back into my car.

Also locking rear subframe makes a difference. I was told by suspension specialist to get Whiteline Pineapple bushes to lock rear subframe (avoid locking with solid metal kits, supposedly not good for chassis), as stock bushes are on the way out.

[bellis_GTR]

GTR with semi slicks is amazing, so much grip. Also makes a difference with braking, handling after removing weight from car. Realised that after going for a ride in a mates ex N1 GTR racecar and then hoping back into my car.

Also locking rear subframe makes a difference. I was told by suspension specialist to get Whiteline Pineapple bushes to lock rear subframe (avoid locking with solid metal kits, supposedly not good for chassis), as stock bushes are on the way out.

Semi slicks will be on the list of "wants" over the winter. Iv heard you can never go wrong with them. Is there any other performance tire close to semi slicks that I could buy if I didn't have enough flow?

[Skym]

On the GTR racecar I experienced, was running Bridgestone semi slicks.

Some reckon the best allround tyre for "wear, pace, value" is "Dunlop O3G SR compound" (I assume they mean Dunlop DZ03G tyres).

For cheap track tyres, find some ex slicks from racecars (V8 supercar slicks, etc). They can be bought cheaply as nearly worn out, but provide enough grip for trackdays.

But like with most track cars, cars suspension has to be setup to take advantage of semi slicks, slicks.

[aN4rk1]

Right now Iam running Nitto NT-01s on my car. Its a daily and a got a ridiculous deal on them. They are full R-Compound and they have tremendous grip. Tires probably 50% of the battle when it comes to track setup.

[Oakville]

....you're dailying R comps?

[FarShark]

Looks like you had a great first track day! Thats awesome!
Unlike mine..

Too bad the weather wasn't the best.

Similar to you I am also still in the process of learning how the car reacts to different scenarios on the track. Ill make it a point to PM you next time in heading to Cayuga, maybe we can head down together and perhaps learn something from each others experiences.

Ive only been twice since and I have been able to handle the car much better, so don't be weary about your first day especially in that weather.

As for Tires, I have the AD08s and I find they are pretty good, I haven't really gotten to the limits yet, R compounds would be great but DD will wear them out very quick, especially if you are also going to track them.

[bellis_GTR]

Looks like you had a great first track day! Thats awesome!
Unlike mine..

Too bad the weather wasn't the best.

Similar to you I am also still in the process of learning how the car reacts to different scenarios on the track. Ill make it a point to PM you next time in heading to Cayuga, maybe we can head down together and perhaps learn something from each others experiences.

Ive only been twice since and I have been able to handle the car much better, so don't be weary about your first day especially in that weather.

As for Tires, I have the AD08s and I find they are pretty good, I haven't really gotten to the limits yet, R compounds would be great but DD will wear them out very quick, especially if you are also going to track them.

Sounds good man. Let me know next time you hit the track, even if its just a lapping day. These car's take time to learn. I guess its just learning your car on regular days like driving in the city and having practice on the track.

Hopefully the next time I go to cayuga there weather wont be horrible. Every time iv been there it has rained lol. I hope before everyone puts there cars away We can have a nice track day. I think the tires I got on there now are pretty good. Like on the city roads they handle good and Iv never lost traction with them. Maybe it was just Speed vs wet surface.

[bellis_GTR]

On the GTR racecar I experienced, was running Bridgestone semi slicks.

Some reckon the best allround tyre for "wear, pace, value" is "Dunlop O3G SR compound" (I assume they mean Dunlop DZ03G tyres).

For cheap track tyres, find some ex slicks from racecars (V8 supercar slicks, etc). They can be bought cheaply as nearly worn out, but provide enough grip for trackdays.

But like with most track cars, cars suspension has to be setup to take advantage of semi slicks, slicks.

Thanks Ill try remember that for next track day. Theres lots of muscle cars around here since I live like 25 min away from a drag strip. As for the suspension...One day!

[Daryl @ RightDrive]

Nice pics! Glad you had a good time and caught the bug
Are you front links adjustable? I don't think HKS ever made front links, you may want to check that again.
As bobbo said, align the suspension to factory specs, maybe a little more negative camber. As others have said tires made a HUGE difference. I once raced on regular street tires and was sliding the car around the track. The guy driving the Evo behind me asked if I had turned of the AWD lol. After I got RE01Rs I could be very confident in the limits of the car, and push much harder. Even bumping up to a better tire like an s tire or a top end Advan would be even better.

Bobbo, you bump up your tire pressures for the track? I always reduce mine, the heat generated by the tires during racing will increase the pressure.

[bellis_GTR]

Nice pics! Glad you had a good time and caught the bug
Are you front links adjustable? I don't think HKS ever made front links, you may want to check that again.
As bobbo said, align the suspension to factory specs, maybe a little more negative camber. As others have said tires made a HUGE difference. I once raced on regular street tires and was sliding the car around the track. The guy driving the Evo behind me asked if I had turned of the AWD lol. After I got RE01Rs I could be very confident in the limits of the car, and push much harder. Even bumping up to a better tire like an s tire or a top end Advan would be even better.

Bobbo, you bump up your tire pressures for the track? I always reduce mine, the heat generated by the tires during racing will increase the pressure.

Thanks! Yes I know they are adjustable. I was told they were HKS when I bought the car. I will try and get a good camera and take some pics. Would the factory specs be in the GTR tech part of this forum? LOL yeah when I was on the track another Skyline owner asked me if I made the car An FR layout haha. It was really bad out there. Although sometimes I had a lot of under steer at lower speeds and over steer at higher speeds.

Is this normal for an AWD layout to have a lot of under steer? Also When I get the Torque split controller what are the settings?

[bobbo]

Bobbo, you bump up your tire pressures for the track? I always reduce mine, the heat generated by the tires during racing will increase the pressure.

Yes. I spent quite a bit of time playing with tire pressures to maximize tire use. I have different tire pressures for auto cross, solo sprint and for lapping. Now that ambiant temps are starting to fall here I'll have to adjust again. I just used the old tecknique of watching the side walls, using a pyrometer and of course the advise of people with more experience.
Tire wear to this point seems to be excellent too.
Of couse different tracks, temps and tires will all have an effect on tire pressures but out of curiousity what is your "hot" tire pressure?

[FarShark]

Depends on what TSC you get and you can get a cheap one or a relatively pricey one. . Most of them will just have a dial that goes from one side to the other (Full Rear to Full Split). Also there is the possibility of excess undue wear on your ATTESSA clutch. However I have only heard of this, never seen anyone with a TSC sharing this experience, nevertheless it is mentioned far too frequently to be just a rumour.

I got TSC after my first track experience http://forums.gtrcanada.com/gt-r-tec...essa-grip.html because my AWD was not kicking in 90% (maybe 100%) of the time which is something I am still trying to understand... After I got it and dialed in full AWD, it definitely worked I could feel the front gripping and turning in conjunction with the rears. But I only used it for a few laps and stuck to factory.

Oversteer was a huge issue for me as well the first time, however it was a HICAS issue, which is now fixed and after which I didnt experience any oversteer or understeer and on a somewhat moderate (not a hard run by any means) I managed to lap a 1m34s and the car gripped just fine. A lot of it comes to experience which I learned later to my first track day, when to brake, how long to hold on when to turn, when to punch it, when to just feather or lay off. It will all come to you with practice and I myself am still learning.
^ If you read my thread, most of those issues have been resolved, with the exception of the ATTESSA issue on factory settings.