So me and a couple of friends have been making a plan to go to a road course soon, maybe within the next few weeks. How hard would it be on my car if its completely stock. Ive got on 06 6MT with the sports package.

any precautions? things I should consider? Reasons not to do it? One of my friends has an 08 M3 so its already built for track. Im a noob just wanting to push my car a little bit more... lol

I'm not all for it yet, I need some opinions. Ive only had the car for about 7-8 months now

 

unless you have lots of money and arent scared to **** your car up i wouldnt right away unless you have been building a track car and really is something you been wanting to do. bad things can happen to your beloved daily driver when racing it hard on a track. the m3 is a diff story, im sure your friends loaded and that car will ove the abuse and ask for more, i wouldnt yet, until the bank account grows or you have a whole bunch of mods and wanted to notice the difference. just my opin

 

in my opioin if you want to get into racing drifting , etc.. id get a old 240 or s-15 and steadily build it up, sr20 , rb25 etc.... and take it to the course on a little trailer (car shudnt be street legal) show up wit a trailer, a good crew of do it yourself- gear head friends , and beat the bag outa a old 240 or slvia or wev flaots your boat. that way your not f*ucking up a 25000 dollar monthly payment daily driver. i can only imagine the sadness id have if i effed up my g.

trailer + old 240 or smthng, beat the bag outa it no worries.

i dont know how your bank account is but just my opin

best wishes at the track man.

 

I say go but dont push the crap out of it especially if its your DD. It will be a good experience and you'll know what you would want to do in terms of aftermarket upgrades, if thats what you want to do.

 

It is my daily driver, and im sure if i take it to the track i'll want to push it real hard. But getting a new car/trailer and all that thats more likely not to happen. I dont have room for all of that stuff nor the money. I just want to take my G out somewhere and just go around some corners and what not. I do want the experience. What are some possible things which could go wrong? lol worst case senarios?

 

Before anything, make sure your brakes, brake fluid, oil, water, tires, air pressure, etc are all good. Make sure all your hoses and belts are good, and check the battery to make sure it's secure. Get everything that's loose out of your car, anything hanging off the mirror, change in the console, floor mats, as well as anything in your trunk.

If it's a well organized track day, they should have a beginner class that has strict passing rules to protect the new drivers - definitely start in the beginner class no matter how good of a driver you think you are. Now the most important thing is to go out there and take it slow. I've been to many track days, and am familiar with the tracks, but I still take the first couple of laps of the first sessions slow. Use these laps to get fluids and tires warm, learn the track, find the line, test the track conditions, and get comfortable. Over the course of the day, you'll become more comfortable and naturally start going faster - don't rush it, because as the others have said, it's very easy to mess up your car in a hurry at the track.

Another thing, don't let your ego get in the way when someone wants to pass. You are not racing, and most likely there are no trophies. Stay aware, and if someone is coming up behind you, let them pass as per the rules in your group. There is nothing more frustrating then having to drive behind a slower car and not getting waved by in the passing area.

Stay safe and drive within your limits. Don't push yourself to keep up with anyone (especially an m3) until you're comfortable with the car and the track. Once you get out there, you'll become addicted... so have a great time and be safe!

 

Lots of things could go wrong... but usually nothing does. In all the times I've took the G to the track (about 20 times) I've seen two car to car collisions. Both were in expert (haha) run groups. Personally the damage I've done to my car has been a couple rotors when i was on stock brakes and I took out my front fender on a tire barrier( btw give the tires a lap or two to warm up ) Depending on the track you're on you could damage suspension if you were to go off track. All in all if you don't overdrive, it's most likely the car will be fine. A couple of things, get some good brake pads , EBC's or Hawks etc. Go out there with half worn pads and you'll likely be metal to metal before the day is over. When they ask you about your experience don't lie and jump right out in the fast run groups, start in the beginner class and get a feel for the car and the track, work on a consistent line around the track, remember smooth is fast. I think the benefits outweigh the risks, no speed limits, getting to learn the car's limits, improving your driving skills and did I mention no speed limits?

I was typing while zack posted +1 to above, heh.

 

http://www.texasworldspeedway.com/

We were planning on going to the open track day on march 26th. I doubt they would want to do beginners class. I was just reading up on thier website, they have a 15 min prep talk before. So you suggest I should take a beginners class before even thinking about going to the open track day?

 

yea the main thing is wanting to learn my car's limits, and improving overall driving skill whether its in and out of traffic, or around the whole track lol...safely...

 

Says the event is for "Blue Solo and Advanced Drivers"... not sure what the "Blue Solo" is, but I would call and make sure this is a beginner friendly event.

The beginner class is a group full of drivers new to racing (not an actuall class), and usually only allow for passing on straights with a point by, just to make it safe for everyone. If you get put in an advanced group, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb, and will probably be removed from the group. Just like anything else, take it slow, start with the beginners and work your way up to advanced.

Also, the pre-meeting is typically mandatory since it goes over course configuration, flags, safety workers, entering/exiting the track, etc. If you've never tracked before or are new to that track, definitely go to this meeting and ask questions if you don't understand something. Sometimes they'll also have post session meetings, I highly recommend you go to those as well.

 

Looks like "blue solo" is their 2nd level group cleared to run without an instructor http://www.texasworldspeedway.com/pe...ng-school.html

You would not have much fun out in an advanced run group in a stock G on street tires...

 

Good find HwyDrftr... I was looking for that info and failed

I agree, it'll be a long frustrating day if you are in an advanced group. I would wait for a "green group" event, or find a local autocross event to cut your teeth on.

 

Do you feel comfortable in your car? 7-8 months may not be all that much depending on how much you drive everyday. Have you taken your car to some twisty roads and let her rip a little?

At a track, you can't just rip 2 or 3 corners and the start cruising, you more or less half to be "on it" the whole time. I'm not saying you should push yourself and the car into each corner, but you definitely have to be concentrated and cannot rip a few corners and then relax as if it was a Sunday drive. Are you prepared to that? It may not seem like it, but it's pretty mentally challenging. The first time I did a twisty run it was ~2 hours long, and of those 2 hours I was only "on it" for about 30 minutes. But by the 5th or 6th time I could go an hours straight at 90% speed.

Definitely, definitely start in a beginners event. I don't care if you have Michael Schumachers blood running through your veins, if you've never done a track oriented event, start in the beginners class. If you are way faster than everyone, you'll get bumped up to a higher/faster group, which is like a compliment. If you start out high and get bumped down, you'll just look like a noob who thought he was hotter than he really was.

You'll probably want to do something to your brakes, as the sliders in an 06 probably aren't going to hold up all that well, especially with stock pads. Upgrade to some performance pads, and if you can afford it, steel braided brake lines with some good brake fluid wouldn't be a bad idea (I'd say definitely have the system flushed with better fluid regardless of whether you get lines or not). Another simple upgrade that will definitely help is swaybars. If you don't like the ride you can take them off later since it's not a very intensive install. But these will definitely reduce body roll.

Otherwise, just go out there, take it easy, and you'll have a good time. Understand that you'll probably be one of the slower guys out there if you're running a 100% stock G, and you'll be about as fast as everyone else if you are on your A game. Don't even bother trying to keep up to the M3 as that thing is basically a track-prepped car from the factory. We have an 06 M5 and that thing is a monster. The only thing my G has on it is low speed handling and that's only because of the weight advantage. In an M3 that weight advantage is shaved down to almost nothing and totally made up with better suspension.

Good luck and have fun.

 

nothing's gonna happen to your g! just do it!!! i track mine and it's very stock! just dooooo it! take pics and show us! i also took it for a grip session. it's awesome! stock everything... loved it!

https://g35driver.com/forums/drift/3...n-driffin.html

 

I tracked mine twice at Laguna Seca and had a blast. The car is very capable of being driven on a track, even bone stock. Mine was. I bought my car used with 4k miles on it and it had maybe 6 when I got it to the track. I was not comfortable pushing the car hard when I got there, but by the time I had left I learned so much about how the car drives and I felt very comfortable with it. The only major deficiency is the factory non brembo brake pads. I literally wore them down to the metal. The factory pads seem to evaporate under hard breaking. When I would push the car hard I could feel the brake fade and I would just drive it a little easier and allow more room for stopping. After that I got some stoptech rotors and better pads but I haven't tracked it since installing them.


Track driving is fun, but it is not without risk. On my 2nd track day at Laguna with the G, my uncle spun his Z4 into a tire wall... It was totaled. It made a great video, but after this happened we bought a 95 M3 to be our dedicated track car.