With the 2014 racing season now over, it's time to start looking ahead to next year, and for those of you who have decided that 2015 will be the year to get on the race track, we are going to look at a number of different and inexpensive (relatively speaking of course, this is still racing after all...) ways to get you out there over the next few months.
One important thing to keep in mind with all of the racing we will be discussing over the coming months:
Racing, at any level, is DANGEROUS. Regardless of what level you feel you may be racing at, you can get hurt, or worse, in the event of an accident which may, or may not, be your fault. As well, you are responsible for the damage done to the vehicle you are driving, whether or it's your fault or not. You can reduce your risk by listening to your instructors, acting and driving responsibly and purchasing the proper safety equipment, but you can never eliminate it. If you are not willing to accept this risk, then you should avoid getting on the track, there are a lot of other ways to get involved in racing.
The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to get on the race track is to find a lapping day to take part in. Most race tracks, including all of those around the GTA, offer lapping days themselves, or host clubs that put on lapping days, many with instruction available for newcomers or experienced lappers that just want some fine tuning or are new to the track.
Although getting on the track for a lapping day is relatively easy, as long as you have the right car (pretty much anything with a standard transmission), and is the least expensive way to get on a track, (at least where cars are concerned, karts can be cheaper and we'll look at that route in the near future) there are a few things that you are going to want to do to your car before hitting the track, to both enjoy your day and stay safe.
The first, and probably most important, thing you need to do your car is to replace the brake fluid that came with it. Change it to a good racing brake fluid such as Motul RBF 600 or 660, ATE Super Blue or Stop Tech STR. These are all DOT4 fluids so do not be tempted to use a DOT 5 fluid. DOT 5 is a silicone based fluid and doesn't mix with other fluids, and is not recommended. Stay away from DOT5.
The brake fluid that comes with your car can't take the heat generated by the repeated, hard braking on a track and will begin to fade in as little as 4 or 5 laps. When brake fluid fades, the brake pedal gets lower and lower until it hits the floor, and you are not able to slow the car down any more. This is really bad at the end of a long straight away or with 2 or 3 cars dicing into the corner just in front of you.
Expect to pay more for these fluids, much more in fact, than a litre of brake fluid at your local Canadian Tire store. These fluids usually run between $20 and $25 for a 500ml bottle and you will likely need at least 2, and they are worth every penny. Don't shortchange yourself here. Don't listen to anyone who might tell you you don't need this.
Also, you don't want to purchase brake fluid containers larger than 500ml, and don't open any container of brake fluid until you are ready to use it. Brake fluid can absorbs moisture from the air around it, and that lowers it's boiling point, meaning it will fade sooner. It's also a good practice to discard any brake fluid that was bought the previous season and has been opened. Don't take any chances for $25.
Another thing you may want to do is to replace your front brake pads with a high performance brake pad such as Hawk HP Plus. Like brake fluid, over heated bake pads can fade as well. Unlike fluid though, when brake pads fade, the pedal stays high, the car just doesn't slow down very well. Street pads are made for daily driving, which usually means stopping quickly when the pads are cold and dissipating the heat generated while sitting stopped or while driving between stops. A racing brake pad is made to stop while very hot with out much cool-down between corners. Hawk HP Plus are a great choice for track days as they are made specifically to handle the heat a track day produces, plus offer the cold braking bite street driving requires, meaning you don't have to change pads for your track day.
True racing compound pads, such as Hawk Blue 9012's are also a good track day pad, however you really shouldn't use these on the street. They need a decent amount of temperature in them to work properly that just can't be achieved in daily driving, so while your braking on the track will be optimized, you daily day-to-day braking will be compromised. If you are going to use a racing compound, always change the pads back to your street pads for daily driving.
You can also replace the rear pads for the same reasons, however the front pads are the ones that really need attention.
If you get serious about lapping days and think you are going to do more than one or two a year a year, you may want to think about getting a set of track day rims and tires as well. Tire wear can be surprisingly high, and there is always the chance you could leave the track surface and damage a tire, meaning you are both done for the day, and driving home on your spare tire, assuming you only damaged one tire. If you have damaged two tires, you could be in trouble. It's also not a lot of fun scrubbing your tires down to the wear bars during the lapping day, then finding yourself driving home in a sudden rain storm. Or a snow storm.
Having dedicated track day tires and rims also allows you to change from the OEM size, which means you may be able to find a particular tire you like that is not available in your OEM size to use on track days.
When looking for rims, you don't need to look for the most expensive ones out there. In wheel to wheel competition, you want every 1/10 you can get, and lighter wheels are one of the easiest ways to do this. The problem with light wheels is they are expensive, and they tend to bend pretty easy. For lapping days, you don't need every last 1/10, so get reasonably priced rims so if you have to replace one at some point it won't put an end to your track day season.
Before next season starts, we'll take a look at some of the options out there for the best track day tires.
The costs for a track day? It really depends, and can vary widely, on the track, the club and the time of the lapping day. Touge Tuning is one of the more popular clubs to run lapping days at Shannonville, Dunnville, TMP Cayuga and the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Driver Development Track (DDT).
Dunnville and TMP Cayuga are west of the city, while Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Shannonville are both east of the city, so no matter where you live, Touge has an easy track for you to get to.
In 2014, prices for Shannonville, Dunnville and TMP Cayuga ranged between $79 and $99 in advance, and, as always, you will pay more at the gate, if there is still room available. For the DDT pay in advance price was between $159 & $189 and more if you pay at the gate, again if there is still room.
Add in a tank of gas at the track, plus whatever it costs you to get to the track, wear and tear on your tires and brakes, and you will probably end up spending between $250 and $300 for the day. Compared to a pair of tickets to watch the Leafs play, that's a pretty good deal...
Lapping days give you a really nice mix of seat time and value for the dollar. The step up to competitive events, such as time-attack, may not be large in terms of cost, but there will be a great reduction in seat time.
If you like lapping days, and want to try your hand at competitive events, the next step up from here is either parking lot solo events or time-attack racing, and here in Southern Ontario, that means either CSCS or CASC-OR, and we'll take a look at this step next time.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.