toddrhodes
Senior Member
- First Name
- Todd
- Joined
- May 21, 2018
- Threads
- 20
- Messages
- 705
- Reaction score
- 754
- Location
- Indiana
- Vehicle(s)
- '18 CTR #16979, '18 Odyssey
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
- Thread starter
- #1
Went to Gingerman today, in South Haven, MI as a novice in a CGI HPDE. Had an instructor (Mark Phillips) for all of my laps and will definitely go that route at least one more time.
First off, this was the first time I'd ever tracked a car outside a drag strip. I went to learn, to be a better driver and I think I succeeded in that. I and my car made it home without any issues, in fact the car performed very, very well.
So, things I learned, in no particular order. My mods are in my sig, more on that in a bit. This will probably be lengthy:
First thing's first - I was pretty terrified to get out there initially. Don't know why, I know how to drive pretty well, but this was just a different ballgame.
The first real hot laps were a mess. Trying to take instruction, get familiar with the track, not worry about the cars around me - it was too much at first. My head was pretty much spinning.
Lines that people follow in a video, or on a video game, or even that you envision on a public road, are nothing like on the track. I mean yea there is some crossover but actually executing them is something I will really have to work at to get better. I was overconfident in this regard and was in for a rude awakening - it's just not as easy as it seemed.
This car hauls ass. It hauls more ass than I can at this point, but that was kinda the point in going in the first place.
This car is really fun to drive and is actually great to learn on. It never stepped out of line, never penalized me for a minor mistake. It did, however, make me look better than I actually am based on what some folks at the track were saying (good things).
I pointed several cars by, and I got pointed by several times. Even once in a turn and my instructor said to go for it, and so I did, and apparently did pretty OK with it.
If you have any intention to modify your car and take the CTR to the track - take it to the track first. It will surprise you with how good it is. And if you're new like I was, absolutely no modification you can make will make a bigger difference to your experience than taking the proper line and driving smoothly.
Basically, my mods today became noise generators (good ones) and cooling mods. That's it. They didn't make it easier to catch that car in front of me; the right line and good braking did. And they didn't prevent that car from catching me - a better line and better braking did on the part of that other driver.
Track-prepped S2000s are incredible machines, I got to ride in one owned by my instructor and it was amazing.
The event today is only now starting to sink in. Leaving the track I didn't think I'd really miss being out there. Sitting here typing this out, I kinda do!
Depending on how you are with the stock brakes, they may be the first weak spot to present themselves. I was hard on the brakes today, being too conservative. They don't really like that. Once I learned to brake a little later, a little harder, and get off them - they held up better.
I wrestled with the car quite a bit today. As a result I'm a little sore and still plenty tired. I think that will get better as I learn how to work with the car, not against it.
Things I took with me - spare wheel/tire, torque wrench, lug nut sockets, first aid kit, helmet, snacks, water, laptop, chargers, Honda oil, Honda brake fluid, and a jack. Fortunately I ended up not needing to use any of it, really. What I forgot - a chair. I'll bring a bag chair next time, and a tarp to set stuff on and provide cover if the weather turns. Oh, and I did take out track day insurance. Doubt I'd do that next time in the beginner group but it was nice to learn today without any fear of "what if." Gingerman is a very, very safe track and with the CTR being as neutral and forgiving as it can be, the risk is really pretty low unless you're sending it when you have no business doing so.
I think that's it. I hope this helps some people.
First off, this was the first time I'd ever tracked a car outside a drag strip. I went to learn, to be a better driver and I think I succeeded in that. I and my car made it home without any issues, in fact the car performed very, very well.
So, things I learned, in no particular order. My mods are in my sig, more on that in a bit. This will probably be lengthy:
First thing's first - I was pretty terrified to get out there initially. Don't know why, I know how to drive pretty well, but this was just a different ballgame.
The first real hot laps were a mess. Trying to take instruction, get familiar with the track, not worry about the cars around me - it was too much at first. My head was pretty much spinning.
Lines that people follow in a video, or on a video game, or even that you envision on a public road, are nothing like on the track. I mean yea there is some crossover but actually executing them is something I will really have to work at to get better. I was overconfident in this regard and was in for a rude awakening - it's just not as easy as it seemed.
This car hauls ass. It hauls more ass than I can at this point, but that was kinda the point in going in the first place.
This car is really fun to drive and is actually great to learn on. It never stepped out of line, never penalized me for a minor mistake. It did, however, make me look better than I actually am based on what some folks at the track were saying (good things).
I pointed several cars by, and I got pointed by several times. Even once in a turn and my instructor said to go for it, and so I did, and apparently did pretty OK with it.
If you have any intention to modify your car and take the CTR to the track - take it to the track first. It will surprise you with how good it is. And if you're new like I was, absolutely no modification you can make will make a bigger difference to your experience than taking the proper line and driving smoothly.
Basically, my mods today became noise generators (good ones) and cooling mods. That's it. They didn't make it easier to catch that car in front of me; the right line and good braking did. And they didn't prevent that car from catching me - a better line and better braking did on the part of that other driver.
Track-prepped S2000s are incredible machines, I got to ride in one owned by my instructor and it was amazing.
The event today is only now starting to sink in. Leaving the track I didn't think I'd really miss being out there. Sitting here typing this out, I kinda do!
Depending on how you are with the stock brakes, they may be the first weak spot to present themselves. I was hard on the brakes today, being too conservative. They don't really like that. Once I learned to brake a little later, a little harder, and get off them - they held up better.
I wrestled with the car quite a bit today. As a result I'm a little sore and still plenty tired. I think that will get better as I learn how to work with the car, not against it.
Things I took with me - spare wheel/tire, torque wrench, lug nut sockets, first aid kit, helmet, snacks, water, laptop, chargers, Honda oil, Honda brake fluid, and a jack. Fortunately I ended up not needing to use any of it, really. What I forgot - a chair. I'll bring a bag chair next time, and a tarp to set stuff on and provide cover if the weather turns. Oh, and I did take out track day insurance. Doubt I'd do that next time in the beginner group but it was nice to learn today without any fear of "what if." Gingerman is a very, very safe track and with the CTR being as neutral and forgiving as it can be, the risk is really pretty low unless you're sending it when you have no business doing so.
I think that's it. I hope this helps some people.
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