I just got off the phone with one of the Subaru STi guys named Kevin who has organized a 3 hour session at Shannonville track for 12 cars.

The date is Saturday June 26th from 6pm to 9pm. The sun should stay out until we're done. The cost is $70, which is only about $23 dollars per hour.

The reason it's a bit expensive is that we will only have 12 cars on the entire track. Sometimes there are a few dozen cars there all at once and although it's cheaper it gets a bit crowded.

We are meeting/ leaving at 3:00pm from AMC Theaters at Hwy 401 and Kennedy Rd. to drive to Shannonville Raceways together.

I am the only G35 going so far, most of the other cars are WRX's, a few STi's, some Honda's etc.

Kevin knows all of the guys and says his emphasis is on driving responsibly on the track (i.e. no passing on corners, only on the back straight, with the lead car signalling for the faster car to pass) -- safety first!!

All the faster drivers are tolerant of novices or slower cars so don't worry if you want to take it easy on the Michelins/ Brembos. I plan on taking it easy with VDC on until I am totally comfortable with the circuit.

According to Kevin, most of the guys going are themselves novices and there are some complete beginners (first-timers). Some cars are running completely stock (including me, more or less) and with the exception of Kevin, we are all on street tires. So don't be intimidated if you've never been to the track before, since you won't be alone and this is probably one of the best opportunities to learn, with only 12 cars -- thus spread out nicely -- with the whole track to ourselves for the full 3 hours.

There is also a brief orientation session, safety review and track practice before we actually start running laps.

Anyway, there are only 9 cars confirmed so far so there is space for two or three more cars, so I told Kevin I would ask if any other G's want to join (I am committed to going regardless, but it would be nice to have at least one other G there to keep me company!)


It'll be fun and a great way to learn the car's limits in a safe environment.

Anyone?




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Sammy?
Pimpcoupe?

anyone...?



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We will be running on the 1.8 km Nelson circuit. A couple fairly technical corners with a few nice straights and a couple sweepers.

Later this summer will be a full course event where we will run on the Fabi and Nelson circuits joined together.



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278396-SMP.gif

 

Sammy!
Got your PM... no problem! I will definitely hold a spot until you know about your schedule that day!




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Great, I will let you know tomorrow......{checks clock}..... er should I say later today.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Should I run with my 20's or the stock 18's? The 20's will give me better traction but may slow me down a bit, but I don't think it will matter with the turbo's.


Silverstone 6MT Maya DTM 20's Greddy Twin Turbo

 

I figure with your lower profile tires you've got the same overall diameter as the stock setup anyways, so probably won't matter much from a final drive ratio perspective (shouldn't lose any bottom-end torque compared to stock)... and those Maya's are pretty light so probably not much weight penalty.

I think the stock 18's plus Michelins are 48-50 lbs front and 49-51 lbs rear?

One thing to consider is that those 20's are pretty expensive tires, and a few hours at the track can chew up tread much faster than on the street, so you might put the 18's on to save wear on the 20's maybe?

But yeah, I agree with you that with your turbos, any speed difference wouldn't be significant... you will be eating those WRX's and Honda's for little snacks on the straights any which way!

My main concern now is the fact that everybody will look at me and think, "look how much slower the one G is compared to the other... poor guy probably can't drive!"
lol

Oh by the way, Shannonville says you should wear a helmet. I have one because I used to ride a motorcycle and I know you ride as well, so bring your helmet!

If you (or anyone else going) doesn't have one, no big deal... you can still go out on the track without one but you have to sign a release first that's all. Kevin (the organizer) says most of the guys going won't have helmets.




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hey, I want to go.

is it possible to share 1 spot between 2 cars? like say my friend and I want to bring our cars, but we will be riding together cuz he will be teaching me how to drive. or would should we be going with 2 spots?

 

Actually I'd be very interested. I'm assuming Colin and me sharing the car shouldn't be a problem, plus neither of us has any track experience, but you said that would be ok... riiight? LOL, I'd be so tempted to do the autoX in the am and then this later, but I have a feeling I'm gonna have to pick...
I'm gonna check something and I'll get back to you asap!

 

Blackie, Fluffydot,

That's great to hear!! This will be a blast... the more G's (and Z's) the better!

Okay, I'll call Kevin asap and confirm if everything is cool with him and I'll make sure that a passenger is okay etc.
I'll get back to you as soon as I can.



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umm... hey, someone just reminded me that it might be a bad idea to go lapping with a bum tire. one of my front tires ate a screw a couple months back and I had it patched. do you think that might be a problem?

 

Hey fluffydot,

Aw that's a real shame. You definitely should not run your car on the track with a repaired tire, unfortunately...

Especially if the patch is anywhere near the sidewall (...well, then it shouldn't even have been patched to begin with).

As a rule of thumb, any plugged or patched tire shouldn't be driven any faster than 130 km (~80mph) -- that's probably erring on the conservative side but nothing ruins a day faster than a high-speed blowout. As soon as you patch a Z-rated tire it loses its rating.

The one exception would be one of those special Z-rated tire patch-plug s. That's the only patch method I know of that allows the tire to keep its rating -- but I don't think it's commonly done since it's expensive and takes more skill.

I wonder if there's any way to check if you got this type of repair (less likely) or a standard patch (more likely)?

If it was a standard patch, you would either have to share your friend's car, or get a new tire before the track day. If you tracked it, it might be okay, it might not be... I wouldn't risk it, personally.



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Blackie, Fluffydot,
I hope you gals/ guys can make it... yes, it's okay to have one passenger in the car!

Kevin asked me to get firm numbers as soon as possible, so let me know whenever you can ;-)
Thanks!


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is it ok i can come n watch? Is it free to watch?

Original G35 Coupe 6MT, Black on Black

 

Sure!
They have grandstands by the paddock.

You could probably hang with Kevin (who is organizing the event); he is acting as one of the track marshalls for our session, so he will be off the track for part of the night. He'd probably be happy to show you around and maybe teach you how to flag.

If you want, you can also ride with me as a passenger for the warm up laps.


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Fluffydot,

I mentioned to Kevin that you had a repaired tire and he said it shouldn't be a problem at all to drive it on the track at high speed, as long as the hole was a small nail/ screw size and was in the tread and away from the sidewall. He seemed pretty sure about it.

Although that contradicts what I said to you earlier, I'm no expert whereas he has a lot of track experience and seems to know a lot about tires. He told me that he and many regulars on the track have driven hard on repaired tires without problems. He says Z-rated plugs are great but not necessary.

So it looks like there are two different positions on this question, and I don't know which is correct.

Anyone else know if it's safe to drive/ corner at high speeds with a repaired tire?


I tried to look it up on a web search... I found this on a Dunlop site regarding motorcycle tires. The last sentence agrees with what I said earlier to you... but maybe it's wrong?

Here's a paste from the website:

Tires should not be repaired if any of the following conditions exist:

A tire has been previously injected with a sealant/balancer.
The puncture is larger than 6mm (1/4") in diameter.
The puncture is not perpendicular to the carcass.
The puncture is in the tire sidewall.
Separation of plies, tread separation, separation of any other components.
Cut or broken ply cords.
Broken or damaged bead wires.
Cut or damaged chafers (bead area).
Deterioration of the carcass inside the tire due to "run flat" or underinflation.
Cracks or other damage to the integrity of the inner liner.
Excessive wear - tire should have at least 1/32 of an inch of tread depth, excluding tread wear indicators.
Cracks in sidewall or tread.
Impact breaks, cuts, snags or gouges that penetrate the surface.

NOTE:
There should be no more than one repair in any quarter of the tire and no more than two repairs per tire.
The wheel itself must be in good condition. Any cracked or bent wheel, however slightly, may allow the loss of air and cause subsequent deflation of the tire.

Following repair, the valve assembly should be replaced and the tire/wheel rebalanced.

Speed should not exceed 50 mph for the first 24 hours after tire repair and the repaired tire should never be used at speeds over 80 mph.




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