CIVICXI *NOVICE* Track Thread!

[MooMoo]

You aren't the first person to say that about the V730s. I live in Florida and does rain alot here. I also did hear that the RS4s last an extremely long time, probably a better choice

the v730s wear very well too, not quite RS4 but they last and I think why they are so popular. Cheap, long lasting, decently fast

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[BigBird]

I am on RS4s now but will be trying V730s next (or might treat myself and get RE71RS).
The only thing I don't like about the V730s is that people say they are terrible in the rain, dangerous even. I usually drive whatever tires to the event and then back home and don't want to get caught int he rain or have to do a rain track day with them. I mean I could plan of course but its nice to not have to think about it.

I have to say the RS4 are a great novice tire, they last FOREVER so you don't really have to care about camber, they are not super fast so nice way to get a feel for 200tw.
But its hard to spend more for tires that are slower than the V730s

V730s after a few days are down right dangerous in the rain. they end up becoming bald quickly, maybe why they get very good grip and then you have no water evacuation. They also take forever to heat up, so if it's wet and cold, forget it.

The 71RS are fantastic even in the wet/cold. they feel like a PS4S/All-season in the rain/cold, which is a good thing and then have tons of grip in the dry. Their peak grip goes down after a few laps, but they can continue to go as some have used it in endurance racing. ECF may be good as well, I know they are a little slower but last long. I don't have direct experience in the wet with them. I know @J1Avs ran the ECF and put down some great times on them on the upper left coast/UK USA

 

[DustyDan]

Signing up for my first track day March 13th at NJMP with SCDA HPDE! I think I've read through about 50 pages of track junkie posts at this point so appreciate all the info

Last season was my first ever season of Autocross so id say I'm somewhat familiar with the car. Since its my first track day though and it'll be March in NJ I plan to run the stock PS4S, I have 18s ill throw 200TW tires on in future, for now not a necessary expense correct me if I'm wrong? Ill swap to Castrol SRF fluid, but Id like some advice on brake pads, stock have been used for 14k miles daily driving & autocross so I would like to swap, I don't necessarily daily the car anymore but I do drive it on the street, would Paragon P3's be too light for track/would I be ok? Would they melt or be gone by say 2nd or 3rd track day when I get a little quicker? ive read the brake pad thread, but what do you recommend for those of you that drive your car on the street and track?

Also, a little concerned about liftoff oversteer after reading this thread and having a spin last year at autocross (the one run I did the pedal dance...) I was planning to go fully off anyway, be aware of it, so I can learn to drive and control the car properly and save my pads. But It'll be fairly cold... thoughts? Why does it seem like guys have gone off with TC on? Maybe TC off is the way to go...

 

[MooMoo]

SCDA is one of the best groups and they have some of the best instructors so thats a good pic for the first track day! They were my second track day! I never been the NJMP so not a lot of experience there. PS4S totally fine for 1st track day, I would not even think twice. As far as pads, P3s will be fine, there are other pads out there that will be fine too. They will not melt, @TW00Si has used them last year and he has even done watkins and had no issue at all.

As far as TC, I keep mine on but some take it off. On one hand its your first time so TC might save you, on the other end if you never turn it off you will never learn to drive without it so that will be your call. Personally I would not do the pedal dance, specially on first time but long press TC maybe. Maybe keep it on first and second session as you learn the track then take it off and see how you feel.

You gonna have a blast!

 

[PointByPatrol]

Signing up for my first track day March 13th at NJMP with SCDA HPDE! I think I've read through about 50 pages of track junkie posts at this point so appreciate all the info

Last season was my first ever season of Autocross so id say I'm somewhat familiar with the car. Since its my first track day though and it'll be March in NJ I plan to run the stock PS4S, I have 18s ill throw 200TW tires on in future, for now not a necessary expense correct me if I'm wrong? Ill swap to Castrol SRF fluid, but Id like some advice on brake pads, stock have been used for 14k miles daily driving & autocross so I would like to swap, I don't necessarily daily the car anymore but I do drive it on the street, would Paragon P3's be too light for track/would I be ok? Would they melt or be gone by say 2nd or 3rd track day when I get a little quicker? ive read the brake pad thread, but what do you recommend for those of you that drive your car on the street and track?

Also, a little concerned about liftoff oversteer after reading this thread and having a spin last year at autocross (the one run I did the pedal dance...) I was planning to go fully off anyway, be aware of it, so I can learn to drive and control the car properly and save my pads. But It'll be fairly cold... thoughts? Why does it seem like guys have gone off with TC on? Maybe TC off is the way to go...

You'll be fine, and learning lift off oversteer isn't always as....colorful...as my experience was. Part of that was also greasy tires.

You should be just fine on the PS4's for your first track day, and I think your head is in the right place moving to a decent 200TW when the weather gets warmer. It'll make you really appreciate how much better 200TW tires are.

For the pads...I would go with the Paragon R5's. I don't see any reason to stick with the P3's, and especially considering that you are going to do another HPDE after this event. Might as well just have some decent pads from the get go.

 

[svvitch]

I can also recommend the ebc sr11 for street and track ? everything else ? go have some fun. Keep reading but don't just read threads. Go drive ?

 

[TW00Si]

Signing up for my first track day March 13th at NJMP with SCDA HPDE! I think I've read through about 50 pages of track junkie posts at this point so appreciate all the info

Last season was my first ever season of Autocross so id say I'm somewhat familiar with the car. Since its my first track day though and it'll be March in NJ I plan to run the stock PS4S, I have 18s ill throw 200TW tires on in future, for now not a necessary expense correct me if I'm wrong? Ill swap to Castrol SRF fluid, but Id like some advice on brake pads, stock have been used for 14k miles daily driving & autocross so I would like to swap, I don't necessarily daily the car anymore but I do drive it on the street, would Paragon P3's be too light for track/would I be ok? Would they melt or be gone by say 2nd or 3rd track day when I get a little quicker? ive read the brake pad thread, but what do you recommend for those of you that drive your car on the street and track?

Also, a little concerned about liftoff oversteer after reading this thread and having a spin last year at autocross (the one run I did the pedal dance...) I was planning to go fully off anyway, be aware of it, so I can learn to drive and control the car properly and save my pads. But It'll be fairly cold... thoughts? Why does it seem like guys have gone off with TC on? Maybe TC off is the way to go...

I can check if one of my instructor friends is going. Since he drove my car last time, it might good to look for him to be your instructor. Let me know if you want me to make that connection.

 

[BigBird]

Signing up for my first track day March 13th at NJMP with SCDA HPDE! I think I've read through about 50 pages of track junkie posts at this point so appreciate all the info

Last season was my first ever season of Autocross so id say I'm somewhat familiar with the car. Since its my first track day though and it'll be March in NJ I plan to run the stock PS4S, I have 18s ill throw 200TW tires on in future, for now not a necessary expense correct me if I'm wrong? Ill swap to Castrol SRF fluid, but Id like some advice on brake pads, stock have been used for 14k miles daily driving & autocross so I would like to swap, I don't necessarily daily the car anymore but I do drive it on the street, would Paragon P3's be too light for track/would I be ok? Would they melt or be gone by say 2nd or 3rd track day when I get a little quicker? ive read the brake pad thread, but what do you recommend for those of you that drive your car on the street and track?

Also, a little concerned about liftoff oversteer after reading this thread and having a spin last year at autocross (the one run I did the pedal dance...) I was planning to go fully off anyway, be aware of it, so I can learn to drive and control the car properly and save my pads. But It'll be fairly cold... thoughts? Why does it seem like guys have gone off with TC on? Maybe TC off is the way to go...

3/13 is Tbolt....the new repave supposedly fixed issues/challenges from before. It's about 2 seconds faster now and they fixed some of curbs and has more grip overall. They may have the new configuration available, so you may be one of the first to try it.

T4 is/was probably the most sketch (the uphill right hander), everything else is manageable or a lot of runoff. I would run PS4S myself in that potential weather, unless you have 71RS, even then, the PS4S will be more than adequate for you.

Coming from AutoX already makes you better prepared. A good AutoXer is a good track driver, but the opposite is not true...A good track driver is not always a good AutoXer.

If you're choosing the P3 because they are cheap, I would actually try the EBC RP-X or RP-1.

I did pedal dance when I smacked up the car, but I had it off all weekend, and worked great. It was just a matter of me pushing too hard, especially on tires that had enough in a slippery corner. In terms of TC on/off....for the first session or two, and being early in the season I would probably run with it on or partially on, or just in +R without long press. As it warms up and you get up to speed, then you can and should experiment when you're comfortable. Doesn't have to even be the same day, but at some point in the future.

 

[DustyDan]

You'll be fine, and learning lift off oversteer isn't always as....colorful...as my experience was. Part of that was also greasy tires.

You should be just fine on the PS4's for your first track day, and I think your head is in the right place moving to a decent 200TW when the weather gets warmer. It'll make you really appreciate how much better 200TW tires are.

For the pads...I would go with the Paragon R5's. I don't see any reason to stick with the P3's, and especially considering that you are going to do another HPDE after this event. Might as well just have some decent pads from the get go.

You make a great point about the R5 pads, I was trying to save a few bucks with the P3's. I saw you're running the R5's, hows bad is the squeal on the road? Are you using shims/are they necessary? I used TI shims on my STI to stop the squeal and it worked, never tracked that car (im aware they are meant to stop heat transfer)

I can also recommend the ebc sr11 for street and track ? everything else ? go have some fun. Keep reading but don't just read threads. Go drive ?

Front and rear? cant seem to find sr11's for the rear, what do you use?

I can check if one of my instructor friends is going. Since he drove my car last time, it might good to look for him to be your instructor. Let me know if you want me to make that connection.

Sure, Ill shoot you a message, would be good to have someone with experience in the FL5 already

3/13 is Tbolt....the new repave supposedly fixed issues/challenges from before. It's about 2 seconds faster now and they fixed some of curbs and has more grip overall. They may have the new configuration available, so you may be one of the first to try it.

T4 is/was probably the most sketch (the uphill right hander), everything else is manageable or a lot of runoff. I would run PS4S myself in that potential weather, unless you have 71RS, even then, the PS4S will be more than adequate for you.

Coming from AutoX already makes you better prepared. A good AutoXer is a good track driver, but the opposite is not true...A good track driver is not always a good AutoXer.

If you're choosing the P3 because they are cheap, I would actually try the EBC RP-X or RP-1.

I did pedal dance when I smacked up the car, but I had it off all weekend, and worked great. It was just a matter of me pushing too hard, especially on tires that had enough in a slippery corner. In terms of TC on/off....for the first session or two, and being early in the season I would probably run with it on or partially on, or just in +R without long press. As it warms up and you get up to speed, then you can and should experiment when you're comfortable. Doesn't have to even be the same day, but at some point in the future.

Excited to get out there on a fresh paved track!

RP-1 and RP-X are a much cheaper option than the R5's appreciate the suggestion, have you/can you run them on street? how's squeel? do you run shims?


I think ill probably start out with TC on in +R and work my way into turning it completely off based on how its going.

 

[svvitch]

No SR11 for the rears. Rear I ran EBC blue but also have the Dixcel Z type. Both are fine and inexpensive which is good for the rear.

 

[MooMoo]

the squeal on the R5s is horrible, some of the worst I have ever had to deal with lol


if you run the SR11 you can do anything in the rear (R3s are fine, the EBC blue, prob be fine with stock as well)

 

[BigBird]

P3 also squeal some and I have them on the rears.

It's been a few years since I've ran the RP-1s, but I don't recall them being overly loud. But I'm old so I don't remember much

 

[PointByPatrol]

You make a great point about the R5 pads, I was trying to save a few bucks with the P3's. I saw you're running the R5's, hows bad is the squeal on the road? Are you using shims/are they necessary? I used TI shims on my STI to stop the squeal and it worked, never tracked that car (im aware they are meant to stop heat transfer)


Front and rear? cant seem to find sr11's for the rear, what do you use?


Sure, Ill shoot you a message, would be good to have someone with experience in the FL5 already



Excited to get out there on a fresh paved track!

RP-1 and RP-X are a much cheaper option than the R5's appreciate the suggestion, have you/can you run them on street? how's squeel? do you run shims?


I think ill probably start out with TC on in +R and work my way into turning it completely off based on how its going.

They do squeal but not very much. I've had much much worse. I think the R5's are a pretty well-rounded pad.

 

[Rexpelagi]

They do squeal but not very much. I've had much much worse. I think the R5's are a pretty well-rounded pad.

It seems like experiences have been mixed on the R5 (some have mentioned a lot of pad deposits also), but for whatever reason my experiences for pad deposits and squeal align with @PointByPatrol . I don't street-drive the car much though, and sometimes that's where pads can start to get noisy (I also don't change pads after track events, I just leave them on).

 

[PointByPatrol]

It seems like experiences have been mixed on the R5 (some have mentioned a lot of pad deposits also), but for whatever reason my experiences for pad deposits and squeal align with @PointByPatrol . I don't street-drive the car much though, and sometimes that's where pads can start to get noisy (I also don't change pads after track events, I just leave them on).

I don't change pads either. Too lazy for all of that.

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