High Plains Raceway Lapping days

[whitebois]

Ok, i am getting a little lonely. Every time i go out to the track there are many people hanging out together and driving the same brand. Porsches, BMW's , Subarus, Miatas, Coopers etc. The ONLY NSX i have seen out there, excepting NSXEXPO, Is McPherson's, and i can't hang with him. The open lapping days are the best deal for getting time on the track. There is one more winter lapping day left - cost $100 for a full day 10-4 w no lunch break. Summer starts in April and the cost for that is $150 for a full day and $90 for a half day. Also during summer they have a number of friday lapping days. A half day at the track on a friday afternoon is a great way to start a weekend! These costs assume you pre-register. I was out last Sunday. There were NO run groups, most people dicking around with their cars in the paddock and i could have burned a tank of gas before 1pm if i wanted. Compare that with a PCA event where you might get out on track 3-4 times in a full day for at least double the price. So, it would be great to see some NSX's out there. I will start posting when i am planning to go out again and perhaps others can join in. For those familiar with other front range tracks, please post if there is interest in lapping days at Pueblo etc.
Thanks

 

[Honcho]

Ok, i am getting a little lonely. Every time i go out to the track there are many people hanging out together and driving the same brand. Porsches, BMW's , Subarus, Miatas, Coopers etc. The ONLY NSX i have seen out there, excepting NSXEXPO, Is McPherson's, and i can't hang with him. The open lapping days are the best deal for getting time on the track. There is one more winter lapping day left - cost $100 for a full day 10-4 w no lunch break. Summer starts in April and the cost for that is $150 for a full day and $90 for a half day. Also during summer they have a number of friday lapping days. A half day at the track on a friday afternoon is a great way to start a weekend! These costs assume you pre-register. I was out last Sunday. There were NO run groups, most people dicking around with their cars in the paddock and i could have burned a tank of gas before 1pm if i wanted. Compare that with a PCA event where you might get out on track 3-4 times in a full day for at least double the price. So, it would be great to see some NSX's out there. I will start posting when i am planning to go out again and perhaps others can join in. For those familiar with other front range tracks, please post if there is interest in lapping days at Pueblo etc.
Thanks

Just shot you an e-mail. I'm in for a half day. Let me know what works for you. Anyone else want to join?

 

[R13]

From the dead, are you guys still doing these somewhat regularly? I am likely slowly relocating to Berthoud and High Plains appears to be the closest track. I'll probably have my car out there later in the summer and wouldn't mind meeting some other area owners.

 

[Honcho]

Not since the HG blew last year- I'm a little gun shy now. I might be up for a fun few laps with my street brakes, though.

 

[R13]

Eeew. That sucks. I had a head gasket issue a few years ago (original gaskets with 215,000 miles at the time, and a careless p.o.). Wasn't cheap, but the replacement MLS gaskets have held up great for a dozen or so weekends and whatever 35k miles of driving in between.

I may have my car out here sometime in May/June, and wouldn't mind checking out the track whenever that is.

 

[Honcho]

Let me know, I can probably come out. Jon is usually up for it too. Maybe we can get a few other cars out there. MilehighNSX is a new local owner...

 

[ProOnThaSnow]

I'm relocating to Casper, WY shortly and I'd be game to trailer my car down and come play on some twisties this summer as well.

 

[MileHighNSX]

As Honcho stated I'm new to the NSX ownership experience as I've had my car since August of last year. That being said I would love to do a track day at High Plains! Unfortunately I don't think my car is track ready at the moment. When I had the headers installed (last Oct) the tech said that my brakes (especially in the rear) are going to be due for replacement soon. I've been looking at aftermarket BBK but don't know if I want to spend that kind of dough on a full BBK set-up? Do any of you know how well the stock rotors and pads hold up to track days when your running a 18/19" set-up on the car (was on the car when I bought it)?

 

[R13]

The stock calipers/rotors with decent pads will get the job done with capacity to spare, even with an 18/19 setup i would think.

I'm still using stock calipers/rotors with semi-race tires (Toyo R888), and while I've had to get more aggressive pads, and replace rotors a little more often now, they still stop the car in a serious way (I catch most people in my TT field under braking). The main thing is making sure your coolant hoses are all new, you install a balancer shield, and have good brake fluid (may be preaching to the choir on that one).

I'm still trying to boil down my travel plans a bit with my office calendar, but probably one of the last Friday's in may or first one's in June, I'm hoping to make the trip with car. ~20 hours in an NSX between east TN and northern CO, lol.

 

[MileHighNSX]

The thing is I have no idea how many miles are on my rotors? I bought the car with 87k on it and now I have 90k, they might be the originals? Who knows there wasn't too much paperwork with my car when I bought it. The only way I think I'll feel comfortable doing a track day is to buy new rotors and pads and start fresh so I know the starting point with them. What is a balancer shield?

Lol yea 20 hours in an NSX, let me know how that goes.

 

[Honcho]

As Honcho stated I'm new to the NSX ownership experience as I've had my car since August of last year. That being said I would love to do a track day at High Plains! Unfortunately I don't think my car is track ready at the moment. When I had the headers installed (last Oct) the tech said that my brakes (especially in the rear) are going to be due for replacement soon. I've been looking at aftermarket BBK but don't know if I want to spend that kind of dough on a full BBK set-up? Do any of you know how well the stock rotors and pads hold up to track days when your running a 18/19" set-up on the car (was on the car when I bought it)?

I track on the stock brakes and have had no fading issues, even on a 100F day at HPR. That said, I was using Carbotech XP8 track pads and fresh ATE Typ 200 fluid. If you have OEM Honda pads, they will work fine on the track. I would make sure to change your fluid with a high temp DOT4 fluid like ATE. The nice thing about a track day is you can control how hard you go. For example, I don't have time to swap out my street pads this time out, so I'm going to take it relatively easy and just practice the racing line. In fact, you can actually drive the entire course in 3rd gear without even using the brakes! So, you can control your temps- I wouldn't be worried about it. Just make sure you have plenty of pad material and fresh brake fluid. If you want to dive bomb every corner, then yes, you'll probably need to look into track pads, new rotors and brake ducts (I have all 3 lol).

 

[R13]

Balancer shield is just a metal "washer" that bolts in between the lower timing cover and the balancer/crank pulley. The stock pulley's have a rubber damper-ring inside them that can detach from the metal pulley and chew through the timing cover. At least a couple of NSX engines have fallen prey to this, and I had it happen to me, but caught it before it got to the timing belt.

A TitaniumDave invention, SOS sells them: http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/engine_performance_products/NSX/Cedar_Ridge/Damper_Shield/

 

[MileHighNSX]

I track on the stock brakes and have had no fading issues, even on a 100F day at HPR. That said, I was using Carbotech XP8 track pads and fresh ATE Typ 200 fluid. If you have OEM Honda pads, they will work fine on the track. I would make sure to change your fluid with a high temp DOT4 fluid like ATE. The nice thing about a track day is you can control how hard you go. For example, I don't have time to swap out my street pads this time out, so I'm going to take it relatively easy and just practice the racing line. In fact, you can actually drive the entire course in 3rd gear without even using the brakes! So, you can control your temps- I wouldn't be worried about it. Just make sure you have plenty of pad material and fresh brake fluid. If you want to dive bomb every corner, then yes, you'll probably need to look into track pads, new rotors and brake ducts (I have all 3 lol).

I guess that's true I can control my speed throughout the course. Granted I've never tracked any car at an official track, done plenty of canyon runs in the mountains in previous cars but no official track time yet. So this would be my first time out on the track period! I'll have to look into the brake situation and see what I can do. Thx

- - - Updated - - -

Balancer shield is just a metal "washer" that bolts in between the lower timing cover and the balancer/crank pulley. The stock pulley's have a rubber damper-ring inside them that can detach from the metal pulley and chew through the timing cover. At least a couple of NSX engines have fallen prey to this, and I had it happen to me, but caught it before it got to the timing belt.

A TitaniumDave invention, SOS sells them: http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/engine_performance_products/NSX/Cedar_Ridge/Damper_Shield/

Thanks for that info, it looks like something I should do as preventative maintenance. Is it something that is done when you have a major service, or is it easy to put on without dismantling the engine to get to it? As you can see I don't know the engine quite that well yet.

 

[R13]

Thanks for that info, it looks like something I should do as preventative maintenance. Is it something that is done when you have a major service, or is it easy to put on without dismantling the engine to get to it? As you can see I don't know the engine quite that well yet.

If you have the special tool to remove the balancer, it's maybe an hour job for someone who's decently mechnanically inclined. Car in the air, remove wheel, loosen and remove AC and Alternator belts, un-bolt the crank pulley (hardest part), slide pulley off, install shield (two bolts replacing existing timing cover bolts), reverse process.

 

[Honcho]

Thanks for that info, it looks like something I should do as preventative maintenance. Is it something that is done when you have a major service, or is it easy to put on without dismantling the engine to get to it? As you can see I don't know the engine quite that well yet.

I have this shield, installed by LarryB long ago and I kept it mounted even though I just replaced the pulley last year. Good insurance against a known destroyer of NSX engines. Have Michael at Mile High Acura do it for you- it's about a 30 minute job.

 

[MileHighNSX]

Good to know the time at Mile High Acura for the install. This will be in a future maintenance schedule.