Thinking about tracking - have some questions

Now that I've owned an NSX for a couple of months, I'm getting the urge to take it to a track so I can really let it out and see what she can do. But, I have some concerns...

First and foremost, I don't want to put a lot of wear and tear on the car. It's in great shape and I don't want to subject it to excessive stress and possible damage. Except for custom headers, exhaust, and wheels, it's pure OEM, so it's not tuned for racing, and I want to keep it that way.

Barring the obvious calamities of collisions or smashing into a wall, will lapping around a track significantly shorten the life of my car? How much life will be extracted from the tires, brakes, and suspension?

I've never tracked a car before and am a semi-conservative driver, so I'm not interested in pushing it to the edge through every corner, I just want to feel the rush of speed and acceleration in a way that's not possible on the streets, and just get some more enjoyment out of my NSX.

I don't plan on making a habit of this (famous last words ), I just want to experience it at least once. Any advice would be appreciated.

The only track I have been on is the Nurburgring. Probably not the best place to start, but that's how it worked out. It was in early April and I only had a couple of half dry laps, and on the first lap it was snowing. Most people were coming off the track. Anyway, I had a blast even though my track rental was a paddle shift BMW.( never even thought to ask if it was a stick.) If I got a chance to drive my NSX on a track, I certainly wouldn't drive it a whole lot differently than I do in short intervals on the street. At least I could pretty much use the whole road and not have to bring the detector. I say give it a shot, just watch out for the rest of the people out there with you. Oh, and you might want to check out the insurance implications too! And you should order some new tires, at least rears.

Do it. The only thing i did to mine before the track day was to install some more aggressive brake pads and of course bleed with a high temp fluid. Just drive to your limit the car can take it. I drove with these guys a couple of times and had a blast. When the day was done just filled with gas put on the AC and a CD and drove home , no problem.


http://www.hookedondriving.com/

Cheers

I am new to tracking. You will be able to take your car, almost as is, and have a good time. Minimum is just fresh brake fluid. In fact, I would say that if you don't intend to track much then that's a good approach. You will wear your brakes and tires considerably. Probably brakes more than tires, depending on how you drive. But I don't think there is any reason to think it will negatively affect other aspects, assuming it is not a regular occurrence and is not an all-out pursuit of lap time.

I still have to recommend track insurance.

start with fresh brake fluid and newish pads.Ask your locals which is a good track day school to join up as a newb....have fun.

Definitely give it a try. I just got back from a weekend at VIR. If you have never tracked before, you are not going to come close to stressing these cars. But it will certainly feel like it! Like the others have said, get your brakes taken care of before you go. Most clubs require you to take your car to a mechanic for a "tech inspection". The locals can point you to someone good, and that person will also take care of the brakes for you. You can go to motorsportreg.com and see what events are coming up at tracks near you. Take docjohn's advice about getting a recommendation of a good school for a first timer. Some clubs run one day events especially for new people. You will have fun...

Thanks for all the replies and encouragement. I'm currently considering Sonoma Raceway and their Performance Driving program.

Based on some informal research, it seems Hawk HPS pads might be a good choice. Can anyone recommend a good Bay Area brake shop for tracking purposes?

Thanks.

Do it. Put a good DOT-4/5 fluid in there and flush it completely. ATE Super blue, Motul RBF660 or any good race fluid are good options.

While HPS may be OK for a beginner, I'm a huge fan of the Ferodo DS2500:

https://www.topbrakes.com/c/item/FCP905H

This is an OEM pad used on a CTS-V and many Ferraris. Perfect for street and pretty heavy track use. I've also been a fan of Porterfield R4S and would pick either of these over HPS.

The car is extremely solid and stiff. I wouldn't worry about wearing the car out. Go and have fun and take the classes, the nsx lives and belongs on track.

What tires do you have and how old are they?

stuntman said:

Do it. Put a good DOT-4/5 fluid in there and flush it completely. ATE Super blue, Motul RBF660 or any good race fluid are good options.

While HPS may be OK for a beginner, I'm a huge fan of the Ferodo DS2500:

https://www.topbrakes.com/c/item/FCP905H

This is an OEM pad used on a CTS-V and many Ferraris. Perfect for street and pretty heavy track use. I've also been a fan of Porterfield R4S and would pick either of these over HPS.

What tires do you have and how old are they?

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Thanks for the brake info. Tires are Hankook V12 Evos. Fronts are brand new, rears are about 3 years old, but have plenty of tread.

Tires should be good. Make sure your oil level is full, change your pads and fluid, and make sure your hot tire pressures don't go much over 40 psi. I like to aim for 36-38psi hot, which means I start them around 30psi cold.

I feel that I am in a similar boat as you. I decided to do the track event at the 2013 NSXPO and it was one of the best decisions I have made in terms of connecting with the car. It has increased my enjoyment of the car off the track greatly and given me more confidence in carving up windy roads on spirited drives.

I would encourage you to ask a lot of questions from your instructor and don't try to look cool and pretend you know what you are doing. Ask those stupid questions and acknowledge that you really don't know what you are doing. Sometimes instructors forget stuff that is obvious to them but baffling to the general public. I also found that doing the slow speed parade lap on my own without an instructor was very useful. Gave me some time to think about what he had been saying with plenty of time to react to things.

At the end of a 2 day session, I had reached a decent comfort point and was just slow due to holding myself back. Quite frankly, I wasn't willing to push harder because I didn't want to run the car off the track and that was fine for me. I drove the car faster and more aggressively than I ever had and learned a lot more about what it is capable of. Despite all of that, my instructor frankly informed me that all I did was "run glorified parade laps" which is probably true - I was pretty slow. He also said that he totally understood and would probably be doing the same if he was driving a car like my NSX around the track.

While I enjoyed it immensely and got a lot out of it, I have no desire to do it again in the NSX. I would enjoy pushing myself further in a car that I am more willing to abuse and I can completely see the benefit of buying a cheap, dedicated track car and going hog wild with it, but I am just not interested in doing that with my NSX. So it is also possible to track the car and walk away without becoming addicted.

Good luck to you as you move forward.

I would also add that you should also be sure to go out for a ride in your instructor's car. Rules apparently vary by club, but usually they can take you out in their instructor/advanced group. It will be quite the experience...

1. Do it!!

2. If you're in the SF Bay Area, I'd second the recommendation on Hooked on Driving. They're a good club, relatively affordable, you get an instructor, and you'll be able to drive Sonoma, Laguna Seca, Thunderhill and others. Also a friendly community of other drivers there to help you out. I've run with them about 6 or 7 times now and never failed to have a blast.

3. I ran with Hawk HP+ pads and Motul 600 fluid (both acquired at SOS) and I've been plenty pleased with the stopping performance.

If you like it and want to do it again, its going to be like losing your virginity.
Right now you have high standards. Slowly, you'll lower them for more [t]rack time.
It was worth it for me.

If OEM, your pads should have at least 50% left and the car should be checked out so that you fully enjoy the day and don't miss time for something minor. If you put in new pads, do it way early and follow bedding instructions if required. Also, drink lot's of water.


Here is some good reading.
http://nsxprime.com/wiki/Track_Preperation

+1 on pad thickness. Even on HP+, when my pads were more than 50% worn, I got pretty serious fade. +1 on bedding new pads. Before I understood this, at my first track event, on HP+, I had shudder that developed on the way to the track and worsened on track.

stuntman said:

Tires should be good. Make sure your oil level is full, change your pads and fluid, and make sure your hot tire pressures don't go much over 40 psi. I like to aim for 36-38psi hot, which means I start them around 30psi cold.

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huge advise from stuntman -- start at 30psi on front and back. Then check as soon as you can when session is over and aim for the same pressure all the way around. As the day progresses, you may have to continue bleeding air. If you have any type of a drive home, add air at track just before you leave. If tires get to hot, you'll lose traction on rear [at least I do]. Oh yes, no emergency brake when you end session; it traps heat when engaged. Your brakes will be hotter than they have ever been by hundreds of degrees.

Be easy on my baby Mr. Bee.... lol. Have fun and let me know how it went.

nsxtacura said:

Be easy on my baby Mr. Bee.... lol. Have fun and let me know how it went.

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Is that you, DC!? What brings you to Prime - are you back in the NSX game?

No need to worry about your baby - after doing more research, reading articles, blogs and forums, visiting track websites, looking at insurance rules, and watching videos of cars getting crunched on the track, I decided this isn't the car I want to risk with tracking. I've waited most of my adult life to get an NSX, so I'm not ready risk it all on a high speed spinout or worse. I think I'll be better off trying one of the track's cars.