track in melbourne

[alphabeatsco]

does anyone track their cars from melbourne?
wat costs is involved? also wat equipment would i need?

[z3lda]

wats invloved in tracking a car.

1. tracking device on car
2. GPS tracking unit

cost depends on wat nmodel u purchase and wat security ur after

[tekling]

i think he meant tracking car as in doing fully sik laps around a circuit

[z3lda]

LOLOLOLOLOLOL @ tekling

[[R]]

cams licence...

helmet... appropriate track wear (clothing etc..)

and a car of course..

they don't need to be modified to go down track.

haven't been down track in a long time... but it's heaps of fun.. :D

[Vivski]

You need a CAMS Level 2S licence. $85.
http://www.cams.com.au/content.asp?PageID=Competitors&ObjectID=311

[civ_sik]

sounds like abit of fun hey

[alphabeatsco]

hmm...do i habe to have cams license?
on calder park..u dun have to..
i thnk

[garett]

sometimes you can get away without using one

steergimic (johnpaul) on this site has tracked his crx at winton which is toward shepparton from melb (bout an hour and a half) and didnt require a camms licence or club membership he just payed his $100 fee and went on the track for 30 min intervals about ever hour until the day was through

he managed to get about 3 hours on the track i think, which is awesome

normally you need the camms stage 2 licence and need to be a member within a car club to participate in an event on a particular day. for eg you cant just get your licence and rock up at the track and expect to run, thats why you need club membership which organises a sprint day and you go with them.

PIARC (phillip island racing commitee) is a good club to become a part of as they have heaps of divercity within their club, heaps of different cars from full track cars to guys just like us, and i think they hold events at phillip island about every 3 weeks where as some clubs go every 3 months.

[[R]]

yeah u dont need a cams licence to race on winton.

[Nikki]

at calder i think u need a fire putter outter thingy and a helmet and stuff the cots for drift practise is 55 not sure about drags and stuff

[alphabeatsco]

hmm...i was planning to go phillip island..it hnk it's too far now..maybe go calder park..
but i heard it's just big long roads...not much turns..so not so good for hondaz...dunno if it's true...

[kenshin]

at calder i think u need a fire putter outter thingy and a helmet and stuff the cots for drift practise is 55 not sure about drags and stuff

extinguisher?

[Vivski]

I might go down and have a look at a Phillip Island club meet before joining. It's an awesome track. Only ever driven it in games, so can't wait to have a crack at it in real life.

[Zimp13]

yeah.... phillip island is a good track....

[alphabeatsco]

hmm..but at phillip island..they dont open to public..as there is no practise days
u have to join club..i called them up already...

[ekslut]

Calder is pretty boring in a Honda, not many corners at all. Its kind of a oval with a about 2 or 3 more corners chucked in there. If you dont want to travel too far try Sandown, still not as good as Phillip Island, but still pretty good.

And I think that you will find that at all but Calder you will need to be a part of a club and have a CAMS licence. From what I can remember I think it has something to do with Calder not being a CAMS accredited track anymore. Thats why its cheaper, coz you dont need all the safety stuff that CAMS say you need.

The reason why the other tracks aren't open to public, and only have days with big club groups is that you need to have all the marshalls, and medical people on standby coz of CAMS regulations. And this gets very expencive, hence why you usually end up paying more.

This is from what I have read and recalling from memory, so I might have some of it wrong or mixed up, but I think I got it all right

[alphabeatsco]

i want to know something..to be on track..i was thinking of changing sports brake pads..
as civic is FF...is changing front brake pads adequate? or i need to change all 4?

[ekslut]

I beleive you should change them all as this will give you the best balance, but if your low on funds, then the front is the most important. But as soon as you get the funds change the back.

They may not do most of the braking, but they do contribute a lot to the stopping power, and your car will be more balanced if you do. Coz I beleive thats the key to honda's, you need everything to work together and be composed at all times.

They are not like nissans where you can just use power to get you good lap times, you need the car to be able to do everything quickly and smoothly and the car to be predictable. This is why you need good drivers skills too with Honda's.

[alphabeatsco]

hmm..that's true...
but inn da mean time..probably will be enough for me..heehe im low on budget...
i've been serarch for suspension for ages now..cant find anything 2nd hand...

[[R]]

honda's are a very good car to learn in though.. just do handling mods first..

you'll obtain a better understanding about your car's behaviour whilst on track...

[alphabeatsco]

hmm..i wanna reduce tiliting of da car...
i know upper front and rear strut braces are essential...but dunno about the lower ties...
cos i remember smoeone told me..there's a awaybar on da ek4s....
so do i need front or rear on da lower...
thank you...

[[R]]

it would help of course.. but not essential.

what i consider essential for track:
*good set of semi slicks (road tyres are ok too.. but for track semi's are fun)
*adjustable suspension (must have damper, height and camber adjust)
*good set of brakes
*strut bars (front, rear and lower)
*full exhaust system (headers, decent sized pipe & muffler - cat's optional.. hehe)
*comfortable racing/bucket seat

by all means, the list can go on and on.. but this is a great start. you'll have so much fun out there.

[ekslut]

I agree with [R]'s list, but I woudn't say headers are essential ( I never had any on my EK4)

I have found a shift light comes in handy too, you dont need to watch you revs, just worry about the track and your lines. And some chassis bars (B pillar & C pillar) suprisingly make a huge difference to the handling. The car feels a lot more tight and you feel far less chassis flex, this will help with the tilting of the car too.

[[R]]

i guess it's not quite needed.. but for me i've found the car performed better with a full system.

for me that would be my basis to go from.. then you can just only keep going from there.
cams.. cai.. stripping interior.. aero parts.. etc.

but yeah you'll find that the best thing to do is handling mods first.

[alphabeatsco]

yeah thanks...

[vtml]

Learning the car in stock form (power/handling) is the best, that's my opinion.
Bleed your brakes, and make sure your brake pads / rotors and withstand the torture.

[Steer^Gimic]

Learning the car in stock form (power/handling) is the best, that's my opinion.

:thumbsup:

[[R]]

it's good to take your car to track first time stock everything.. get ur best times..

then go back with your mods and see how much you improve :D

[alphabeatsco]

anyone used koni yellows iwth kings springs? r they any good? firm enough for track?

[[R]]

yeah i have... they're alright.. personally i wasn't happy with it.

however better than stock.

[vtml]

']it's good to take your car to track first time stock everything.. get ur best times..

then go back with your mods and see how much you improve :D

Some of the better times I have heard people getting and also on S2ki.com on completely stock DC2R's on Semi Slicks:
- Phillip Island: 2:01
- Winton Long: 1:43
- Calder: 1:12
- Sandown: not sure

[Vivski]

So to clarify... what's the deal at Sandown?
What do you need? CAMS licence, club membership, helmets provided, fire extinguisher, cost for the day??

[ekslut]

You will have to go on when a club is having a sprint day.

You need:

CAMS licence: $90-$100 yearly
Club Membership: $15-$50 (Depends on club, could be more) yearly
Helmet: $150-$400 You might be able to rent, but im pretty sure you need to bring your own
Fire Extinguisher: $30
Bonnet Staps: $10
Cost for the Day: $90-$140 (depends on club)

Good thing is once you have most of these items, then you are set. All you have to do is pay to get on track. Its just the startup caost that tends to hurt the wallet.


Also from what I have heard off others, koni yellows are good for street and thats about it. Too soft for track, I know many people that have wasted money getting yellows, then going on track and finding out they need to buy some coilovers. Do it right the first time, spend a bit longer and save a bit more.

[whtdc2]

why Koni??

[SiR JDM]

Learning the car in stock form (power/handling) is the best, that's my opinion.


ye yeIiiii ... (i agree)