So. Freaking. Cool. I love this!!
So. Freaking. Cool. I love this!!
got me thinking about this...
One week out from my wife's first HPDE, Binge Track Days @ NCM, and this weekend I finished the last odds & ends for prepping the van for the track.
1. Changed oil from Toyota spec 0w-20 to M1 ESP 0w-30. The ESP 0w-30 has a 12.0 100KV and 3.5 HTHS, both of which are higher than M1 FS 5w30. The 2GR-FE in the Lotus Evora specs 0w-40 and I was seriously thinking about running that, but I figured I'd try the 0w-30 and see how it does. I did see a Willhelm Raceworks webpage that data showed a drop in oil pressure on the 2GR-FE in right hand turns near or over 1G (MR2 conversion), but that was significantly migitated by a 1/2qt overfill. I did a bit less overfill, perhaps 1/4qt, and will keep an eye on it.
2. Weight reduction. Removing the spare tire & jack took 50 pounds off the van, removing the third row folding seats took 113 pounds off the van, and previous testing at a truck stop CAT scale showed removing the middle seats took 100lb off the van but actual weight could be a touch more. That's 263lb of easy weight reduction, meaning with a half tank of gas the Sienna is roughly 4120lb without driver.
)
3. Finally, tow points. Toyota engineering is fantastic, but the Sienna is not equipped with a factory tow point front or rear. HPDE requires tow hooks, so I needed to come up with something effective. I thought about doing a "hidden" trailer hitch rear, but was a little concerned about clearance on our angled driveway with the 255/40R18s installed so I looked at other options. I was able to get the van up in the air with my Quickjack 7000TLX and remove the front/rear undertrays to get access to the crash bars. Both front & rear lower crash bars have four 1/4" holes in the bottom, so I drilled through one of those then through the top of of the lower crash bar to mount OMP tow loops with a Grade 8 bolt. I would have preferred to use Rennline universal tow hooks & mounts, but don't think there is room to do that without a lot more fabricating on the crash bars and loops won't bash our shins. I had to notch the front & rear bumper cover to feed the tow loops through, but I think they look pretty clean. Also, unlike clapped 20 year old Civics with Amazon loops secured to plastic bumpers with a lag screw, these are functional.
I'm confident in my install, but just to be sure I ops checked it by hooking a tow strap up to my Silverado and pulling the Sienna in netural up my culdesac (about 220' laterally, 15' elevation gain) with wife steering the van, and everything worked as intended.
I got tired of hearing the G-Loc R8s squeak at 2 in the morning when I was driving the van to work, so I got a set of GS1s for the street and slapped them in last week - nice and quiet as expected. I'll drive it to work again this week with GS1s and CrossContact Tours, and throw the R8s and Konigs/ECS02s on before we head to the track next weekend.
My wife has been watching lap videos and made flag flash cards, she knows a van isn't exactly "typical" and wants to ensure her preparation and awareness is as high as it can possibly be. There's a 488 Challenge Evo also registered in Novice, I need to see if a $20 will convince the owner to give my wife a point on the front straight for pictures! 
Those tow straps are hilarious on a minivan. Riced up soccer mom! That said, good job on the install of the straps.
WE DID A THING!
Wife did her first HPDE at NCM yesterday with Binge Track Days, in the rather unconventional SwaggerWagon.
Wifey wants a garage for her first DE, she gets a garage
Prior to the first session..."How do you do, fellow track cars?"
Lead follow for the first Novice session. She bailed into the pits about one lap early during this for two reasons - she felt a brake grab without her hitting it and was smelling new smells and wanted to ensure it wasn't the van. She was evidently smelling brake dust & exhaust from the SR3XX lead car, but better safe & conservative than not, right?
Second session she got an instructor who did a couple laps in the van - they discovered that even if you turn TC off, if you don't disable VSC it will re-enable the turned off TC "once speed increases" and grab an outside brake and put you into understeer. Lesson learned & knowledge filed away, need to hold the TC off button to disable VSC and if you disable VSC then TC won't reactivate. She then got in the van and did a couple laps before checkers flew. At this point, she really wasn't having much fun and was thinking of bailing after the third session..."This van is cool but I just don't think it is conducive to learning how to do this." A few advanced FWD drivers same over to chat about this van (the Sienna got a lot of attention) and during this conversation a different instructor said he'd run "lead follow" for her as a rabbit in his C7, but letting her run at whatever pace she was comfortable. She took him up on this generous offer.
Third session she was a halfway into the out lap when a S550 somehow ended up in the outside wall at 15 on their out lap, black flagging the remainder of the session to recover the vehicle & reset the barrier. Thankfully the driver was okay, and I don't think the car was TOO damaged despite airbag deployment. She decided to run the forth session and got the full session in with decreased car count (13 cars plus the rabbit instructor in his C7), coming back into the garage with a big smile and saying "I want to do the fifth session." Fifth session also had 13 cars and she started at the back of the pack to minimize slowing other drivers down too much and again she was able to get the full session in.
Did she go fast? LOL no, but she did run back-to-back 3:21s while lifting on every straight for other cars to pass which was faster than her touring laps, so progress was definitely being made and I think she probably could have run 3:05-3:10.
By the end of the fifth session, which she drove without a rabbit, she was MUCH more comfortable and at-ease but still said she thinks she'd enjoy things more in a more appropriate vehicle. With weight reduction the Swaggerwagon has a 1:15.1 power to weight ratio, so we may be looking for something smaller/lighter with an automatic because she wants to eliminate a variable while learning. I told her she can drive my automatic ATS-V and see if that feels better to her, so that'll likely be a first step before purchasing another vehicle.
In all, she had a blast and the van held up to 20 minute sessions without a hint of brake fade (thanks SRF/G-Loc) or other mechanical issues. She wants to do DE again, and our youngest son (11) wanted to know if we could go back to the track next weekend. Sounds like winning to me...perhaps I'll see if we can get her and the van on track at Putnam (flows better with a lot less concrete/armco) next.
Now all I gotta decide is am *I* going to register the van for a DE day and see what she can really do.......
In reply to flyin_viata :
That thing looks great!!!
Agreed! This is my favorite thread on GRM right now. Thanks for sharing.
Love seeing a Mazda 2 in the mix as well. This is my kind of track day. Just get that Ferrari out of there. ;)
So kind of that C7 driver! That's great!
P3PPY said:So kind of that C7 driver! That's great!
His name was Larry, didn't catch his last name...yes he was great and super-helpful.
Other than a couple side eyes and whispers about it not being safe, 99% of folks there thought a track van was awesome and fully matched my experience that "track guys and gals" are fantastic people willing to help everybody if they can. Yeah she was slow (the transmission programming kept it in high gear under braking in D, killing acceleration off a corner even deader than expected) but my wife had fun, never went 2 off let alone 4, never hit anything, never blew a flag, never created a train through a passing zone, and never had a mechanical.
Reps build experience, experience builds confidence, confidence builds pace.
Also the slowest minivan around a circuit is faster than any hard-parked car...
CyberEric said:Love seeing a Mazda 2 in the mix as well. This is my kind of track day. Just get that Ferrari out of there. ;)
There was a basically stock Nissan Sentra and a Nissan Leaf out there too!
In reply to flyin_viata :
Our motto "it's faster than a set of bleachers" came about because someone spectating said they'd never drive anything that slow (The Datsun).
For a first time HPDE person you just need a car any car.
Well done by your wife.
As someone with a 2016 Sienna and a kid who will start driving in the next few years, this is very awesome and on my radar.
My experience with tracking a minivan is that the engineers design safety "features" that are impossible to defeat for any length of time. My old company car Dodge minivan would turn on the stability control by itself after it was turned off for about a minute.
At least she got some seat time at the track, that is the important thing. It's good that she wants to try it again in a car that won't be fighting her every step of the way.
flyin_viata said:WE DID A THING!
Wife did her first HPDE at NCM yesterday with Binge Track Days, in the rather unconventional SwaggerWagon.
[...]
Did she go fast? LOL no, but she did run back-to-back 3:21s while lifting on every straight for other cars to pass which was faster than her touring laps, so progress was definitely being made and I think she probably could have run 3:05-3:10.
[...]
Now all I gotta decide is am *I* going to register the van for a DE day and see what she can really do.......
as an FYI. Rutledge Wood wheeled the "stockish" (iirc, about similar prep to what you've outlined) to a 3-lap cumulative from a standing start of 9:05.361. So, I reckon 2:59's are 'doable'
also, the Lead Project Manager did 9:33.744... so you're wife wasn't that far off of him! and NCM is a daunting track to get your first taste at.
kudos, excellent determination, and awesome job!
My "Minivan" ran a 2:47 if you want a goal to beat.
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