roybfr

I am going to Road America the 8th and 9th for a Badger Bimmers event along with 5 other locals that will be in the intermediate and advanced classes. I will be in novice, never took my old car to an event so this will all be new to me. I am in Looking for any tips/suggestions. Picked up a spare set of rotors and ordered a set of Hawk HP+ pads. Changing the brake fluid before we go. Have 2 helmets that meet their requirements. Been rereading through some Rookie info on a BMW site. Must admit that I am a tad nervous but pretty excited as well. Oh well just looking for any suggestions spare parts wise, things about the car (04 Z06) that I should look out for.

TmillerC5

Hey it sounds like you are on the right track . I am going to the same event also. RA is a great track. Rotors, pads and fluid is the best starting place and then seat time. I will be with a couple other folks from the St. Louis area.
See you then.
Tim

VetteDrmr

Read through the sticky at the top of this forum. Bunches of great stuff there!

Enjoy your DE, and tell us all about it when you get back!

Mike

c4cruiser

For your first event, I wouldn't worry too much about hauling parts along. Get a good tire pressure gauge and maybe a small 12v air compressor for checking and adjusting tire pressures. Do an oil change with new filter before going and add an extra 1/2 quart or so once you are at the track.

Use a good DOT4 brake fluid like ATE Super Blue or TYP200 (same stuff, different colors). Carry the can with you and a pressure bleeder or install some Speed Bleeders on the calipers. If you boil the fluid, that will allow you to bleed the brakes and add new fluid. The Hawk HP+ pads should work fine for Novice class. They will come with bedding instructions so it's a good idea to follow their procedure.

You wil probably have an instructor riding with you so listen to what he says, pay close attention at the driver's meeting and know what all of the various flags mean.

Wear a long sleeve all cotton shirt and long pants like jeans. Decent driving gloves will help especially if your hands get sweaty. You won't need a driver's suit but don't wear shorts, tee shirts or anything polyester. While it's scary to think of, protecting yourself against fire is important. Shorts and tee shirts wont help and polyester will melt and stick to skin.

sothpaw2

I think you have addressed the mechanical concerns you need to worry about--pads, and fluid. You don't even need the pads if you have stock Z06 pads that are near new, I would say don't bother with the expense of HP+. You likely won't need spares for 2 days if your stockers are new. If your tires are really ancient (5 years old), get new tires. Old rubber does not stick.

My suggestion would be to worry about the driver. Get a track map and memorize the overall layout. What I think will help me is to key on the names of the corners so that I can get the flow of the track. Look at video from a known good driver. Keep studying it. You should be able to close your eyes and see each and every corner and know the line, where you need to go. You should be able to drive the whole track with your eyes closed, no guesses. If you can do this, it will be extremely helpful; if not, it will just take you longer to learn the line.

After you drive, make adjustments; the key is to be able to close your eyes and see everything. It takes time to learn a track but the sooner you learn the line, the faster you can learn the rest.

Other things (ie the rest): Practice your heel/toe down shifting if you can. Do it under pressure situations where you are slowing down with hard braking and have to make that shift. You are looking for a smooth shift; be smooth in all things (driving). Don't drop the clutch, don't hammer the gas, "actuate" them quickly but smoothly. Make sure your seating position is good--you should be close enough to the wheel that your arms still have bend at the elbows when your turn the wheel 180 degrees. Fitness--it pays to be in shape. If your not, it's ok, but take some walks so that you improve a little.

roybfr

Thanks for all the help.

My car has around 3k miles on it so tire, pads, ect are in good shape. Changing the fluid due to age per another driver I am going with. I have watched quite a few videos of people driving RA to kind of get the layout in my head.

As for fitness I am doing pretty well. Dropped almost 60lbs since March, mostly by changing my eating habits but I also go to the gym 3-4 times a week. It's has help in a lot of other areas, I'm sure it will help there as well.

I am trailering the car up due to the distance. It is really just a safety net in case myself of someone else in the group has a problem and needs to be hauled back. Plan on taking lots of pics during the breaks if I am not in class. I'll post stuff up once I get back.

waddisme

You might want to check the fluid in your clutch. Changing may not be a bad idea. Hot brakes and hot clutch have been my 2 issues.

ScaryFast

In addition to what's stated above, don't stretch yourself too thin. There is a lot of temptation to invite all your pals, your wife, etc out to see you "race" your car. Trust me, you need to pay attention to what's going on all day. When you're not on the track you should be checking things over after every session - lug torque, brake pads, tire condition, etc. You don't want to miss something because you were chatting with your buddies about how you passed a Viper in turn 3. There's lots of time for the stories over beers at dinner.

This is the most fun you can have with your clothes on, but keep in mind that it's dangerous and your safety is paramount.

wallyman424

1. get a good nights sleep beforehand
2. drink a lot of water
3. listen to your instructor
4. hitch a ride with a couple instructors
5. meet people
6. ask questions
7. have fun

simple aint it?

roybfr

Everyone that is going it doing the school so that should be good, no one extra asking for a ride during lunch ect ect. Plus I am the only noob of or group, they have all been doing it for several years and are pretty serious about it. So it's really not going to be a drink with the guys weekend, which I am glad as I want it to be fun but all business.

My only other major concern is that if I like it I will want to go again, and again, and again. Not that that's bad, but will see how the wife deals with that.

MungoZ06

You should be in good hands ... BMW group has a good rep.
Wallyman nailed the essence of it.
Be prepared for a "life comes at you fast" experience ... which you can slow a bit by prior mental preparation ... as Sothpaw2 mentioned.

Basic stuff ... what the flags mean, where the flag stations are ... track line, "point by" direction, and passing zones, track "lingo" ... grid, pit out, blend line, braking zone, etc. Remembering to look up, think ahead of the car (turn-in ... think apex; apex ... think track-out, etc.) ... don't over-think tho ... you'll exhaust yourself at the end of the day!
Start figuring out how to tell the wife you've got "something else in your life" to deal with (read "track addiction" )

96CollectorSport

I won't be running this weekend but I will be around the track helping/watching friends like Tim and his buddies. We will have a group of Z06's I think you will notice the Corvette Racing on the side of Todd's trailer, he will be running a silver 03 Z in advanced. If you would need anything I have a shop 15 miles from the track and will have pretty much anything that you would need.

As far as preperation, I would say #1 brakes, fluid, pads and rotors. You should be o.k. for your first event as long as everything is fresh. You may want to play with the alignment a little to help save the tires. I have several customers running a street/track set-up about 1.5 degree negative in the front and 1 degree negative in the rear.

Watch some video's of the track that will help you with the line, definatly ride along with who ever you can, I know that they have an advanced drivers day on Friday so if you get into town early enough stop up and see if you can catch a ride, especially if you can get a ride in a C5. Watch the shifting points and gear selection that should help you a lot. RA is mainly a 3rd and 4th gear track, it is also very fast, 3 straits that you will be over 120 mph. Don't worry about the speed so much just listen to the instructor, learn at your own pace and be sure to have a good time.

Stop over and say hi, we have a large group of vette guys who will all be ready to help if you have any questions or probelms.

Joel

StArrow68

All the stuff is good and remembering to drink lots of water is key to
ending the day with a clear head. As to the wife, mine likes to point out
to those that ask, 'How can you let him do that?', that I'm gone for a
day or two, come back with a huge grin and women aren't involved!
Well, I don't mention any women most of the time. As one local group
points out, it's not how fast you go, it's how big the grin is!

Now, based on the track schedule at RA it looks like it mostly shuts
down at the end of Sept? Is that true? Visiting the area 2nd week of
Oct and sure would like to see the track in action.
Randy

asp04

I thought I would add my 2 cents also. With a 04 z and a wife, remember to take a big cooler and some sort of lunch. I also would advise a big umbrella and a ccouple of chairs. There is a fair amount of down time between runs. With only a few thousand miles on the car, I would assume you are still pretty particular about paint. I would tape up some of the key areas behind the wheels to avoid paint chips. A front end bra is also good for the new cars, or try to resist running real close to car in front, or they will pepper your front end with rocks. Be easy on brakes, it is easy to overheat them. Be easy on the F1 tires for a couple of laps, on 2nd and 3rd runs to give them a chance to heat up and offer the grip you had at the end of first heat. Take along some tylenol. If you run long and hard you neck is gonna be sore. I know this is all the sissy stuff compared to alignments and tire pressures, but I remember my first time. Oh yeah, I had to go fill up with gas at noon break, take extra if you can. have fun, drive within your abilities, don't wreck trying to keep up with faster guys. You will be one of them in a few more outings.

96CollectorSport

Randy,
The Midwest F-body Association is running October 13th and 14th, lots of cool/fast cars running that weekend, definatly stop by it will cost you $5 admission.

Back to work I have 3 cars to set up for the Badger Bimmers event!

Joel

DANNOV

Rain could be the biggest problem, especially if you are running the GY Supercar tires. There are 3 very long straights here of 4000' or more, if it rains, be careful about hydoplaning. I don't know what the Badger Bimmers policy is regarding the "Kink", but I notice that other BMW clubs use the cutoff chicane. That would make it easier on a novice. If you are getting novice instruction, they will take good care of you. I doubt if you will need the extra rotors or the pads, you need to learn the track before you can go fast.

96CollectorSport

The Windy City BMW Club is the only car club that uses the kink bypass, and the OLOA. Badger Bimmers lets you run the traditional configuration.
The "kink" and turn 7 were the 2 hardest turns for me to learn on the track, it's easy to try to carry too much speed into those turns, just work on your line on those turns first. Then once you have hit the line correctly over and over then you can slowly start to work on carrying more speed.
As far as rain goes just remember the old 75/50/25 theory, in the rain you have 75% of your acceleration, 50% of your cornering and 25% of your brakes. That's what I think to myself before I go out on a wet track.

96CollectorSport

Here is a thread from a couple of months ago, I think that there is some good stuff in here.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...hlight=America

I just found this on you tube from the ALMS race, way cool!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjk2cx8fl8