G37 IPL Track Day at Mosport DDT
10-13-2015, 03:10 PM
#1
Banned
Thread Starter
G37 IPL Track Day at Mosport DDT
A friend of mine from the Toronto Supra Club invited me to a track day at Mosport (For those that don't know it's about an hour north east of Toronto).
He was going to be running his 1982 MKII, stripped interior, fuel cell, 7MGE swapped race car and offered me a ride in the passenger seat. I thought hell that'll be a fun day. But why only ride shotgun, I have myself a respectable sports car now. So I decided to take the IPL on the track and signed up. (paid extra because I was a late joiner).
Anyway I got an "instructor" for my first few lapping sessions since I had not actually done it before. At first I was having a hell of a time exiting the corners, I just couldn't force myself to go wide. I figured there where likely a few reasons one being I wasn't at race pace yet and really wasn't going fast enough to need to use that much track, and going real wide on a right hander made me feel like I would have been drifting over into the oncoming lane had I been on a road. The instructor drove a few laps to show me what the car would do, however I couldn't really focus because how close he was following the car in front my brain was on fire "to close-to close-to close" Of course I was keeping my cool and trying to listen to his track notes.
So my next turn at the wheel came around and I was feeling a little better after he had thoroughly flogged the car and during my next session I did a little better tried to memorize the braking zone, turn in points apex's etc. My next few times out I was feeling real confident and was getting really surprised at how well the big girl moved around the track I was successfully hunting down and cornering faster than some more manoeuvrable cars (RX-8, EVO, FRS/BRZ) I went from being overtaken to the one doing the over taking. Then on my last set of laps in my car I started gaining on a 435 that had been up my *** earlier in the day. Mwaahaaha he wasn't getting away, in fact I was reeling him in nicely corner after corner and passed him on the back straight (in the novice group I was driving in if you know you are being over taken or holding up traffic you have to let the other car pass on a straight). That was an amazing feeling.
I was getting the opportunity to drive my buddies race car and had only gotten one lap in when a Civic went off the track hard and being near the end of the day, that was it.
However the experience was awesome and I am hooked.
Anyway amazing experience. The instructor had some notes on upgrades I'd want to perform to the car.
1 - Tires (The Eagle RSA's I have now were not so great)
2 - Breaks - I have heard stop techs are nice upgrade
3 - Suspension .. I'm a little torn here I daily drive my car and don't want "the pain"
However I was also considering do I really want to be tracking a car I have $45K still on the loan? Answer No probably not (although a nice car to be able to drive to and from the track)
I was thinking maybe an older G35 Coupe could be had for a reasonable price and turn that into my track toy.
Oh dear both my wife and my wallet are gonna be cranky.
He was going to be running his 1982 MKII, stripped interior, fuel cell, 7MGE swapped race car and offered me a ride in the passenger seat. I thought hell that'll be a fun day. But why only ride shotgun, I have myself a respectable sports car now. So I decided to take the IPL on the track and signed up. (paid extra because I was a late joiner).
Anyway I got an "instructor" for my first few lapping sessions since I had not actually done it before. At first I was having a hell of a time exiting the corners, I just couldn't force myself to go wide. I figured there where likely a few reasons one being I wasn't at race pace yet and really wasn't going fast enough to need to use that much track, and going real wide on a right hander made me feel like I would have been drifting over into the oncoming lane had I been on a road. The instructor drove a few laps to show me what the car would do, however I couldn't really focus because how close he was following the car in front my brain was on fire "to close-to close-to close" Of course I was keeping my cool and trying to listen to his track notes.
So my next turn at the wheel came around and I was feeling a little better after he had thoroughly flogged the car and during my next session I did a little better tried to memorize the braking zone, turn in points apex's etc. My next few times out I was feeling real confident and was getting really surprised at how well the big girl moved around the track I was successfully hunting down and cornering faster than some more manoeuvrable cars (RX-8, EVO, FRS/BRZ) I went from being overtaken to the one doing the over taking. Then on my last set of laps in my car I started gaining on a 435 that had been up my *** earlier in the day. Mwaahaaha he wasn't getting away, in fact I was reeling him in nicely corner after corner and passed him on the back straight (in the novice group I was driving in if you know you are being over taken or holding up traffic you have to let the other car pass on a straight). That was an amazing feeling.
I was getting the opportunity to drive my buddies race car and had only gotten one lap in when a Civic went off the track hard and being near the end of the day, that was it.
However the experience was awesome and I am hooked.
Anyway amazing experience. The instructor had some notes on upgrades I'd want to perform to the car.
1 - Tires (The Eagle RSA's I have now were not so great)
2 - Breaks - I have heard stop techs are nice upgrade
3 - Suspension .. I'm a little torn here I daily drive my car and don't want "the pain"
However I was also considering do I really want to be tracking a car I have $45K still on the loan? Answer No probably not (although a nice car to be able to drive to and from the track)
I was thinking maybe an older G35 Coupe could be had for a reasonable price and turn that into my track toy.
Oh dear both my wife and my wallet are gonna be cranky.
10-14-2015, 05:13 PM
#2
Mosport is a great track. I drove my '09 STI there a number of years ago. Tires, brakes, and suspension are some of the best upgrades you can make to a car for the track. The best investment is good instruction so it is good to see you had an instructor your first time out. Especially Mosport, since there is not a lot of runoff there and concrete barriers for walls.
Getting a cheaper G35 for a track rat is not a bad idea in case you wreck it, but if you want a track only car, there are better options.
I have always tracked the car I daily drive. If you go that option, sticky tires with good hawk race pads and high temp (Motul RBF600) brake fluid will make a big difference. You will probably also want an oil cooler. As you become a better driver, the first parts of the car you need to replace will become obvious to you.
Getting a cheaper G35 for a track rat is not a bad idea in case you wreck it, but if you want a track only car, there are better options.
I have always tracked the car I daily drive. If you go that option, sticky tires with good hawk race pads and high temp (Motul RBF600) brake fluid will make a big difference. You will probably also want an oil cooler. As you become a better driver, the first parts of the car you need to replace will become obvious to you.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post