Some video from my track day this weekend at Blackwater

[weeata]

This weekend was my very first track day and it was SO much fun! I drove my bone stock NA (1.6) around the track at Blackwater (Moyock, NC) Amazingly the car held on great even with dry rotted tires and no suspension upgrades whatsoever. I am hooked, I can't wait to do it again!!!

In the video I'm posting, I had the track pretty much to myself because it was towards the end of the day and most of the people I came out to the track with went home. I was especially happy to see the drifters leave because they kept flinging rocks and mud all over the corners and I was having a hard time not losing grip in those spots! It was fun to watch them but not as much fun to be out there dueling with them -- Grip vs. Drift!

In the long straight, the gas pedal was literally to the floor and I couldn't get above 70mph! Many of the turns were off-camber, though you really can't tell in the video.

So here's the video:
http://youtu.be/_paIhURqesk

[OCD]

It was a lot of fun!

Though I think I brought more gravel onto the track than the drifters.

[Loren]

Awesome!

Now, I know this was your first track event and you were on crappy tires, but don't blame the car for your 70 mph top speed! First, get some tires that you can trust a bit more (though, I didn't hear any tire squeal in your video... so you weren't really driving to the limit of what you had), and then start working on your driving line. It looks like you're leaving a couple feet of track on most of your apexes and track-outs. Doing that means that you're turning tighter than you need to, and you could be going A LOT faster if you'd just loosen your line a bit.

Remember, the most important turn on any race track is the one before the longest straight. Exit speed there determines top speed on the straight.

All of this was driven home for me the day I had my ass handed to me at Sebring (in my reasonably modified '96 R) by a bone stock 1.6 street car on KYB AGX's and street tires. It was all about turn 16, which has a half-mile straight after it. I'd be on his tail coming up to that turn, and he'd fly through that turn like it wasn't there. I didn't. I could never catch him in the straight, in spite of having 25 more HP!

And now I'm jonesing for some track time.

[stormin'norman]

Sounds like you're lugging it. Drop a gear and abuse that 1.6! Overall looks like you enjoyed your time. Did they have instructors available? If not seek out clubs that offer free instructing for novice run groups. You will learn the most that way rather than blind leading the blind.

[weeata]

No instructors available, just my husband who had been on that track before and rode with me for a bit in the morning. I know my line wasn't perfect, but like I said it was my first time on track and that was a vast improvement from how I started out the day. It was 40 something degrees outside and there was crap all over the track, so I didn't push too hard because the tires weren't gripping well. I spun out one time really bad in the morning because there was so much crap on the track in one of the off-camber turns. The rest of the time the tail end of the car was swinging around on me. Not making excuses, trust me. I know I didn't have the best line... I've watched that video probably 20 times and found the places where I need improvement. Nobody's perfect their first time, and if they are.. well good for them

[Loren]

None of us are perfect! I just don't like to see people get started with the very common misconception that "the car is the problem". So many people throw tons of money at a car without realizing that if they just put more effort into learning good driving skills, they could be faster without spending a dime on their car!

One of my favorite phrases lately has been: "You can't buy talent."

You're on a righteous and entertaining path, enjoy it!

[weeata]

I know that improving the car won't make me a better driver! I've been doing autocross for about 2 years. I've given up my CSP NB for a stock NA. I want to improve myself first. I bought a completely set-up car because I thought it would be better but it's ME who needs improvement

However, I do think that the few reasons I gave certainly didn't help me at all. Dry rotted tires don't provide grip on the street much less on the track. Better tires are all I'm investing in this year. The car will stay stock for at least another year until I feel that my skills have outgrown the car! I've done what I can on my dry-rotted tires, proving so at auto-x by having my husband drive my Miata at the same auto-x as me, and when I was only 4 tenths of a second behind his time, it proved that I am certainly tire limited. He auto-xes an E36 325is in D-Prepared and is usually at least 3 or 4 seconds faster than me