Good choice, I was thinking of the same thing

I was told the ad08 is better than the re11 in the rain, but I never drove it in the rain myself.

Does it make a huge difference going from 285 to 245 assuming you are on the same compound?

Yeah I remember how bad the car was running over any water puddles. Still, it is nowhere as bad as the oem tires. In pouring rain, I was running over 16 sec slower at lime rock. Of course self preservation kicks in once you realize how stupid it is to do time trial in downpours

I actually preferred the RE-11 In the rain to the AD08. The AD08 seems to dance more.

Then again I do have that video of the sudden spin in the rain at Grattan on RE-11s with VDC on.

Apparently, it felt smoother than it was. I was with an instructor that day, getting checked out for advanced and once or twice we felt us getting a little slippery, but two other instructors asked about how I did because they said it looked like I was driving right on the edge and could lose it any minute. I never did though :)

I think going to a narrower tire of the same compound in the rain would be a definite improvement, because you aren't plowing as much water around.

Gotta trust your instructor. He's there to instill confidence in you, but push you safely. If he's telling you to give more power (and sounding like he's cracking the whip), unless you know something he doesn't know, he's probably right.

What he (likely) didn't know is that Six didn't have good oil cooling or safe brakes, and what he was doing was really the best for him at the time.

Still watching the video Six, but it sounds like no matter what you're hooked :)

You need to leave the VDC off and trust yourself and the tires, they will grip eventually. It might spin a little, well maybe a lot first.

I had told him I was on stock brakes, which can't handle much, and that the Z has an issue with oil cooling and I had no oil cooler ... so therefore I am going to be slow to protect my rig, and us.

I think he forgot all about that after 1 or 2 laps and the race car driver in him took over ... but I think I was just incredibly slow and he was probably getting bored ... I was more concerned with just staying on the track than how fast I was going. I liked him though, I hope I get him again when I go back in June. :tup:

Actually in my video when it starts out there is a Corvette ahead of me. That was the second time I had pointed him by LOL.

Hmm if you were ok on stock brakes and taking it easy, maybe I should try going in June. I might have my oil cooler by then too.

I think for a Hyperdrive you would be alright ... not for a whole weekend HPDE. The Hyperdrive in June is on the smaller Jefferson Circuit instead of the main circuit ... so even easier on the brakes. :tup:

He was just trying to trying to get you on the correct racing line and braking and accelerating in the correct places. Instructors don't care about speed, they just want consistency, so as long as you are accelerating when he tells you to that is fine - you don't have to be foot to the floor. If you run it in manual mode and then just short shift at 5-5.5k you should be able to prevent overheating at least on a cooler day, plus it will make the car more stable in the turns by being in the correct gear at the start of the corner rather than having it kick down 2-3 gears on exit and risk the rear end stepping out. No need to wring the car's neck when you're not driving flat out.

So when you heading back on track? :)

Sounds good, I think I'm gonna go for it. What is the exact date and time for It?

National Auto Sport Association - nasaproracing.com

...no schedule yet for the exact times for each session. For mine I got an email a few days ahead of time that had a final schedule.

He probably thought you were blowing it out of proportion. Understand if he was driving, he'd be braking a LOT harder, and SIGNIFICANTLY later than you were. He'd overheat them in no time. I'd give them 2 laps with him driving...maybe.

A good instructor will tailor himself to the driver - he was pushing you hard at first, harder than you (rightfully) wanted to go, and I could tell he was kinda seeing how far you'd go. You were still WELL within safe range for the tires and he knew that - I barely heard your tires squeeling. In fact, the first time you DID squeel, he freaked and cheered - which I thought was awesome/hilarious, btw.

With a proper setup you could accelerate longer on straights, accelerate earlier when exiting a corner, brake later/harder into corners, and in general, throw the car around more.

Your instincts to go slow are hardly unnatural, and being your first time ever, perfectly fine. After a full weekend of doing this, you will look back at this video and go, "Damn, I WAS slow" hahaha.

You did great for your first time (and being handicapped w/ no good brakes/cooling). Be happy with your performance, change what is needed, and go out ready next time!

Great input there, thank you sir. I have been reading the COMSCC site a little bit, btw.

I am about 98% there in getting "permission" from the wife to get the car ready for HPDE-1 at Summit in June :D. I submitted my budget proposal over dinner last nite ... awaiting final approval. :tup:

Shorter tracks can be hard on your brakes too - all depends on how agressive the driver is. You were verrrry tame with yours (understandably so). If Shahid decides to be more aggressive, he could easily get into trouble on Jefferson just as much as the Main.

Just in case June falls through...

https://www.trackdaze.com/index.php?...temid=0&did=40

Thanks for the great input. I think I still learned alot, and hopefully a better equipment set-up going back, i.e. an oil cooler and a better brake situation, I can worry less about those two things and focus on other things.

True that ... I think taking it easy on the brakes is the biggest thing. If you flog them to death, they will let you down anywhere I would guess.

I bookmarked that just in case, thanks for sharing it.

Of course I am hoping June happens though ... I am truly snake bitten with getting back out there in order to learn more, and safely improve. I think it is worse than the "modding" disease ... LOL

So should I get an oil cooler or brakes for my first hyperdrive? I'm thinking oil cooler since it will be hotter in June. By brakes I mean pads and fluid.

Skip the hyperdrive get some brake pads and do a full weekend. :)

Brakes. Definitely brakes.

And I'm kinda with Sig here on the skipping the Hyperdrive. You'll feel there may be unfinished business after only doing one session.

On the other hand, if you really want to get out ASAP? Go for it...but do brakes.

Oh, also: may be hotter in June, but as has been discussed before, just stay in a higher gear such as 5th. It'll warm up, but not nearly as fast as if you wring it out in 2nd/3rd over and over...

I'll be doing mine for sure. I am thinking Motul 600, SS lines, and debating on pads (EBC Yellow Stuff is winning right now just because of money). Then I plan on meshing my grill and relocating my fang air vents feeding the CAI to the mesh somewhere, which will free up the fang vents to do the brake cooling thing. This is my cost effective plan right now, not sure what I am going to do for sure. You start adding the basics up I need (500+ oil cooler) just to play for the weekend on top of the $384 fee and then $249 for insurance and it gets up there in a hurry. My brother in law has a house 20 minutes away from the track so I won't have to worry about hotel stuff tho. :tup::tup:

Motul 600 is what I ran at VIR/Autobahn CC. I now run the AP Racing fluid. Either works just fine. I think AP is actually more expensive.

SS lines aren't required at all, so if you want to save money, dont worry about them. But if you're planning on doing them for sure, then do them with the fluid swap obviously.

Carbotech XP10 Front/XP8 Rear is the defacto standard setup. Don't know much about the EBC Yellow stuff at all (for our application). XP8's all around would work, too.

And yes, track events add up really fast for me:
$350-400 for event
$200-300 for hotel if needed
$50 for food
$200+ for gas (truck, and car)
$160-200 for a trailer

And that's before I factor in any new parts that I need, like brake rotors/pads, tires...

An expensive hobby :). Nice to have a place so close to go to, though - my friend has a cabin about an hour away from Summit Point that we stay at. Almost the same time to get back to Baltimore! haha

^ I have friends that spend that on golf. lol

Rofl, nice. Could never get into it...

I used to run the RBF, good stuff, but I get pretty much the same thing from Amsoil for about 30% cheaper in cost

I did an event in Houston in July without an oil cooler last year. The car managed but I had one installed after that. Oil temps hit the mid-hi 250's. Not terrible with synthetic oil, but it isn't something you want to do for an extended period of time.

For short sessions and lower temps you can get away without a cooler, but I personally wouldn't do it again.

I would also upgrade brake fluid and pads, but wouldn't bother with anything else until you have at least burned through one fluid change and the pads. You will be learning the car still, and thy will probably last a season. I have used the non-nismo pads as well as EBC Yellow. I prefer the yellows due to price and better performance. The OEM pads have a weak bit and fade pretty quickly. That said, they will work fine and you can wait until they a worn out.

Stainless lines are great (I have upgraded to them) but aren't really necessary. They were the last of my brake upgrades and they certainly instill more confidence, but seat time cod the same thing.

Yeah just trying to get out there ASAP for now. Full weekends will have to come next year when hopefully I will have a full time job. Also I want to get oil cooler and summer tires before I go out for a full weekend. The job situation is what's keeping me from doing full weekends right now.

I guess I'll be doing the brake pads/fluid first then instead of the oil cooler. Also want to paint my calipers red since we'll have them off any way :p

The paint will probably get ruined at the track lol. Fair warning.

Don't they have high temp paint for calipers?

they do, but these calipers get really hot

So probably no point in painting them :(

Newp. Or you can just do a safe color like black/grey/silver. Either way the paint will likely crack and flake off a bit.

Meh I think I'll try painting it red for now. Won't be tracking it too much yet so maybe I can get it to last longer for now. I can always repaint it silver (which is the original color) whenever I change my brake pads again.

As a beginner at the track, I needed an oil cooler long before brake pads, but I have the nismo pads and brake a lot less vigorously than I could--I leave a little on the table in case I screw up. While braking late takes more confidence than I've developed, using the go pedal is easy, so I would overheat my oil at 1-2 laps before I bought the cooler.

But I do have to ask, does the oem fluid give clear signals before boiling? If not I may want to upgrade the fluid for peace of mind.

All you'll need to know, for the most part:

Z Meets Wall: We Investigate Why the NISMO Z's Brakes Failed at Lightning Lap - Feature - Car and Driver

And, that all depends on how aggressive you are I believe - they MAY show warning signs, but they will come very quickly. An oil cooler will let you continue a session longer. Your LIFE could depend on your brakes not failing. Not worth gambling.

Well put! For my first track day I only had RBF600 fluid and Carbotech pads, but no oil cooler yet. Having to take it easy on the main straight to let the engine cool down a bit was anoying, but beeing able to fully rely on the brakes in the twisty part made up for it. Would not have wanted it the other way around, i.e. Woriyng about the brakes, every time you approach a turn... Now I have an oil cooler, I'm taking turns faster and using the brakes harder, resulting in fuel starvation and melted dust boots on the calipers. So, brake cooling kit is ordered and I'm eagerly awayting the fuel starvation fix a couple people here are working on.

Long story short: 1. Fluid and pads are the first, must have upgrades for track work. 2. Track days are addictive and will empty your wallet quicker then a mistress...

I see you're in Chicago, so I can only assume you've been to Autobahn? I went there 2 years ago w/ the Integra Type-R group. Fun track - a little flat, though.

My first trackday (with the Z) was Road America in '10. Last year I indeed did Autobahn, full course and Road America again. I really liked Autobahn, lots of different types of turns. RA is a blast as well, fast... Going to Gingerman this month.