Track day driving /education what next advice

WonkoTheSane said:

theruleslawyer said:

WonkoTheSane said:

Since you're in the northeast, I'd say you should come to a full track day with Mass Tuning or NASA NE.  Both of those will offer in car instruction. 

I'm not from the area, but what I've seen online recently mass tuning seems to be in the process of imploding. Lots of complaints about canceled events and no refunds.

I haven't read anything about that?   Armin (owner/founder of MT) was trying to launch a race series NEGT with Nick Fontana (https://www.cornerfaster.com/), but it turns out that getting people to build a car for a new series and show up takes longer than expected.. Who knew? :)  That series is on hold, and will likely be brought back a bit later with a more limited schedule until they can get traction.

The only cancelled event I know of this year was the Palmer day last Friday (7/12), because that was supposed to be the practice day before the 2nd race for NE GT.  When NEGT got postponed, they also cancelled the track day.   Yesterday's track day at Palmer seemed to be runnin' fine.

If you know anyone who hasn't gotten a refund on something, I'd encourage you to have them contact Armin.   He's pretty good to work with and more than fair in any situation I've ever seen?   I've been tracking with him for a long time, maybe 2018/19? 

I was signed up for the 6/29 Pocono event. It was going to be my first time with MassTuning. It got canceled pretty much last minute on 6/25 because they didn't have enough flaggers. Was frustrating when I'd already taken time off work and paid for a hotel. I felt like a refund would have been appropriate since they canceled the event but we only got MassTuning credits. 
I'm going to PineView run with them this weekend, so hopefully that's a better introduction to the club. I've heard mostly good things. 

It's been a slow build and I've had it since 07 , I just kept doing a little more to make it fun and handle .

 

I'm just amazed you put that much effort into a Tacoma.  Not exactly a performance platform.

CrashDummy said:

I was signed up for the 6/29 Pocono event. It was going to be my first time with MassTuning. It got canceled pretty much last minute on 6/25 because they didn't have enough flaggers. Was frustrating when I'd already taken time off work and paid for a hotel. I felt like a refund would have been appropriate since they canceled the event but we only got MassTuning credits. 
I'm going to PineView run with them this weekend, so hopefully that's a better introduction to the club. I've heard mostly good things. 

Ah, gotcha..   Sorry to hear about that!  Did you contact Armin about it, or was the default behavior to be issued MT Bucks?  I instruct with 'em, so I haven't paid for a track day in a while..

Let me know what you think of PineView.  I haven't gotten up there yet.

In reply to footinmouth :

I love to see people doing different things. Looks like fun.

Back in the late 80s when I was switching from road racing motorcycles to SCCA I autocrossed my Nissan mini truck for several events.

Tom1200 said: What car are you driving that makes the low WHP? And how does that effect your lap times ?

footinmouth said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

Yea , I bet pro drivers are still working things out .That's alot of info in one post about driving ! I need to get some basics down so I don't start getting used to doing the wrong thing as my go to. I can / do drive heal toe at limit and have been for 10+ years . 

I posted that simply because if you are not doing that I'd strongly recommend getting an instructor in the car with you.

I run an extreme low power car, 80hp to 99hp at the wheels, depending on which motor is in the car, so I understand. 

I'd say if the motor isn't smoking keep running it and get as much seat time as you can.

Tom1200 said: I've done a couple auto x's  and was mid pack ,the short gears in my truck work well for that kind of sport driving .

In reply to footinmouth :

I love to see people doing different things. Looks like fun.

Back in the late 80s when I was switching from road racing motorcycles to SCCA I autocrossed my Nissan mini truck for several events.

 

In reply to accordionfolder :

Garmin  catalyst seems to get really good reviews if you use it correctly , I some hoe didn't know about it and have been watching videos about it ,a little pricey. I'll have to check out some of the track day cars and talk to the drivers who have them -Thanks for the heads up on that !

In reply to footinmouth :

Nissan mini-That's a strong little truck - any mods to the suspension?

footinmouth said:

In reply to accordionfolder :

Garmin  catalyst seems to get really good reviews if you use it correctly , I some hoe didn't know about it and have been watching videos about it ,a little pricey. I'll have to check out some of the track day cars and talk to the drivers who have them -Thanks for the heads up on that !

I have a catalyst and it is great.  A few things that I have observed (and this is very personal)

1. the quality of the video is good and the overlays are helpful.  i have used it for youtube uploads and had people review the content and provide some meaningful feedback.  The OBD II overlay data missing isn't as important as you might think.  I had trackaddict /w a cheap dongle before and the reality was that the delay and fidelity on OBD II data made it confusing when looking at things like throttle and brake.  This may be better on newer cars but not having that content on the garmin isn't missed when trading it for higher quality video, higher fidelity gps which provides more accuracy for track location and speed data, and all of the Garmin AI suggestions and its absoulute ease of use.  

footinmouth said:

In reply to accordionfolder :

Garmin  catalyst seems to get really good reviews if you use it correctly , I some hoe didn't know about it and have been watching videos about it ,a little pricey. I'll have to check out some of the track day cars and talk to the drivers who have them -Thanks for the heads up on that !

Love the Tacoma - It looks super fun!

The Garmin is a bit pricey, I just meant *some* version of data capture. There many flavors, here are a few of the ones I'm familiar with:

Apex PRO - setups is super simple and it gives you immediate feedback on the level of grip you're using in a given session. I really like these, especially paired with a gopro or the like, you can see where you're leaving time on the table. The app has the ability to record video and lap times while you use the Apex device.

Harry's Laptimer - it's an android/iOS app that works as a laptimer in your phone. A lot of people pair this with an external Bluetooth GPS antenna, but I've used it without and it's fine for a beginner.  You can check out the compatible accessories by clicking "Accessories" at the top and then the platform (android or iOS) of the phone you use. I think there's a free version that you can trial and is definetly better than nothing. I've always found initial setup to be a bit fiddly, but free w/ upgrade-ability and works well. 

You could also look at the ubiquitous Aim Solo 2 I like it's simplicity, but data review can be more difficult without video and so far as I'm aware requires a laptop. The Aim products are REALLY good, but a bit harder setup IMO and the "suite" can get pricey.

The Garmin is really nice because setup is dead simple and review is immediate, just pop it out of it's mount and watch the video. It also has very simple video export that looks like this. I love being able to just grab it out of the dask and review my data and pass it to people for review/sharing/whatever. I haven't regretted my purchase of it at all. 

ClearWaterMS said:  I had trackaddict /w a cheap dongle before and the reality was that the delay and fidelity on OBD II data made it confusing when looking at things like throttle and brake.  This may be better on newer cars but not having that content on the garmin isn't missed when trading it for higher quality video, higher fidelity gps which provides more accuracy for track location and speed data, and all of the Garmin AI suggestions and its absoulute ease of use.  

TBH until you're ready to move to a real data logging system I don't see a lot of value in OBD2 data. Its just a lot of distraction earlier in your learning. There is a lot of info in a speed/distance trace. The only thing I miss is the ability to put up cool overlays in online videos.

theruleslawyer said:

ClearWaterMS said:  I had trackaddict /w a cheap dongle before and the reality was that the delay and fidelity on OBD II data made it confusing when looking at things like throttle and brake.  This may be better on newer cars but not having that content on the garmin isn't missed when trading it for higher quality video, higher fidelity gps which provides more accuracy for track location and speed data, and all of the Garmin AI suggestions and its absoulute ease of use.  

TBH until you're ready to move to a real data logging system I don't see a lot of value in OBD2 data. Its just a lot of distraction earlier in your learning. There is a lot of info in a speed/distance trace. The only thing I miss is the ability to put up cool overlays in online videos.

Throttle position and brake pressure are the two most important driver inputs to log.  Anything with OBD2 data will have TPS, brake pressure is a bit less common.

In reply to footinmouth :

As my name hints I am driving a 72 Datsun 1200. They made 68hp at the crank or roughly 45hp at the wheels. It's hugely faster than stock but still slow down the straights.

WonkoTheSane said:

 

Ah, gotcha..   Sorry to hear about that!  Did you contact Armin about it, or was the default behavior to be issued MT Bucks?  I instruct with 'em, so I haven't paid for a track day in a while..

Let me know what you think of PineView.  I haven't gotten up there yet.

Pineview is a lot of fun.  Elevation changes and fun turns.  However it's very narrow and zero run off room.  Awesome go kart or Miata track, for bigger and faster cars not so much.

+1 for Apex Pro. Its a big help to see how much of your available grip you are using.