When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I was wondering if I can get some feedback on taking my wife's 2017 F Type (340 HP) to the track. My wife got me for my B-day a Hooked on Driving experience (https://www.hookedondriving.com/) at the Daytona Speedway. This is an even that you take your own car to the track and race it (what I call a control race - if you are getting too close to the car at front of you, the spotter tell the driver at front of you to drop to the inside so you can pass him/her on the outside).
The car has 35,000 miles and still under warranty. Would the wear and tear be too much that I should stay away from it? I just don't what to trash the car but by the same token if I do it, I want to drive the car like i stole it...no sense to do the experience to drive it like the stereotype senior citizen in Florida.
I know the car does not have the high performance brakes. But I don't know if this would be an issue. The website says the drivers will be on the track for approximately 2-hours. I stopped by the local Jaguar dealer and asked their opinion. The said to be not be hard on the brakes since the car does not have the high performance brakes and the only way to tell if I am overheating the brakes is by smoke coming out of the brakes. But they were more interested on selling me an Aston Martin telling me that the driving experience would be more enjoyable in the Aston.
This is what the website says about items to check:
Wheel bearings, for excess play or wear
Brake pad/shoe depth a minimum of 50% remaining
Brake fluid we highly recommend a flush and replacement with high temperature synthetic fluid
Tires pressures should be increased 2-3 lbs. from standard pressures (see your expert for more precise guidance on this and you really should buy a high quality air gauge with dial readout) tread should have 50% remaining
Wheels snap on parts should be removed and lug nuts should be tightened to recommended torque (usually in the 85 lb range, but check manufacturer recommendation)
Belts and safety equipment is all the factory equipment in good shape?
Fuel its best to arrive with a full, but not topped off tank You'll use fuel quickly on the track and your car is probably engineered to handle properly with a reasonably full load fuel is available at the track, but it's a bit pricey
Coolant/fluids (OK air-cooled guys, you're off the hook on coolant) check all appropriate fluids oil should be topped off (except dry sump Porsche engines, which should be at the low end of gauge/indicator)
Your thoughts? Have any of you done the Hooked on Driving experience?
Those tips are valid. For the Jag, just make sure you use the correct spec'd fluids. Especially coolant & brake fluids.
With 30K miles on your brakes, I'd either change the pads beforehand, or bring a replacement set with you, in case yours wear out. (That way, any local garage could change them.)
You won't be on-track for 2 hours continuously will you? Looking at the HOD site, assuming you don't have a 'vert?
++++++++++++
We instructed a first-time F owner at Watkins Glen last June and had NO issues with the brakes. He had the bigger ones, though. And, I drove a few laps myself so I know the brakes were used HARD with no issues.
Jags are very well built and will be fine on the track with normal care. Don't forget old adage, don't race what you cannot afford to lose. Standard insurance won't cover track use.
It's not 2 hours continuous, it a total of 2 hours made up of likely 4-5 x 20-25 minute sessions.
Brakes will be the main concern. You likely won't be driving hard enough your first time out to overheat them, but the base brakes can overheat. If it does happen, just back down using the loud pedal but I doubt you'll have much of an issue with your first time out.
Brakes will be the main concern. You likely won't be driving hard enough your first time out to overheat them,
Yeah my experience with instructing new students (no matter what the car) is that they are easy on the brakes and need to be taught how well they can stop.
+++++++++++++
Speaking of that, who has tracked/HPDE'd an F with the Base brakes?
First, it is not a race. Racing is an entirely different animal than a track day or track experience or driver improvement day. You need to have the mentality that it is not a race or you could get into trouble. In a race, you are going all out and trying to put the guy in front of you behind you. In the event you are talking about, you are working on improving your driving skills. While you may be passing other people, the very nature of 'point to pass' tells you that you are not racing. Armed with the right mentality (i.e. I don't have to take risks to pass the guy in front of me), you can get a lot from a driver improvement day. You can learn the limits of your car in a safe, controlled environment and it can be quite addictive and can lead to racing (a Miata is a great place to start).
For your car, don't worry about the brake. Smooth is fast. Most new track drivers go slower by trying to go faster. When learning the track, you go faster by braking early and less aggressively and working on maintaining corner speed. You see it all the time. People charge the corner, waiting until the last second, slam on the brakes, slow down too much and basically park it in the corner, allowing the smooth guy in the Civic to pass them. Work on corner speed, not all out braking, is what I am saying.
As for tire pressures, I hate blanket statements like the one the advised you. Wither look on the website for the tires you have or email them asking for track day tire pressure recommendation. They are vastly different for different tires. It's best to get that information from the source.
Fuel: Don't be tempted by race fuel. It's bad for your car. Run Super Unleaded and I have no idea why they are telling you not to top off your tank! I went through an entire tank in 81 miles. I topped off completely.
Learn where your tow hook is and put it on when you show up. Many courses require it and it's a good idea to have it in place as a safety measure.
Finally, buy supplemental one day track insurance. Your insurance will not cover an event like this and you don't want to be in a bad situation. A few different companies provide this.
-- Mechanical
Don't race with old engine oil or brake fluid - unless they were done recently, get these changed.
Don't race on bald tires
Always take cool down lap prior to going to the pits
--- Driving
Don't completely turn off traction control unless you really know what you are doing
Don't feel like you have to keep up, it is OK to drive to your comfort level
Don't drive tired - you make more mistakes that way
Repeatedly watch gopro of the track on YouTube so you are visually familiar with the layout
Great advice. I’d done one of those 3-laps-in-a-supercar deals (F430 in my case), but the first real track day, I had an instructor, who I really liked. I had no problem braking hard coming into corners (which I loved), but as eeeeeeeeeeek says, I didn’t know what the right entrance speed was, so I’d much rather have too little than too much! But I could certainly feel it when I got it about right. We did 20 min sessions, with a warmup and a cool down lap. (They had cones before each corner - “start braking here”, very useful for a novice.)
SinF is also spot on. After maybe 4 sessions, I could tell my focus was waning, so I stopped then. Did a few hot laps with my instructor driving, first in his Vette (with track tires, a real eye opener and bladder emptier ), then I offered to let him drive mine, and we went out in an advanced session, which was also quite intense.
He loved the car, but hated the Pirellis (long since gone.)
For perspective, here's track day versus races. Me at Thunderhill, turn 15. Not a race. Me at Thunderhill, turn 2. Also not a race. Me (188) at Sears Point, turn 9. This was a race. Me (9) at Sears Point again. Race.
I'm not trying to split hairs. There is a huge difference between driving your car at the track and racing. I spent over ten years teaching high performance motorcycle riding and also licensed people to race. Racing is one mentality and tracking another. The people who would treat a track day like a race were often the ones who crashed. We could quite literally spot who was going to crash within about the first 5 minutes and would do all we could to try to adjust their mindsets. With the bikes, a crash would usually be less than a $10k mistake (sometimes a high end Ducati would have far more damage). With the cars...It's a lot more money.
So much of the track experience is having the right mentality. When I was out in my F-Type, it was very difficult for me to turn off 'race' and let the 718 GT4 pass me. He had a better car for the track and proved to be a better driver. If it had been a race, I would have gone to great lengths to have kept him behind me. Go in knowing you will be in a safe environment to really experience your car and you'll get a great experience from your gift.
More good stuff. My 2nd track day was informal, a group of less than 10 cars at a scary, technical track. One of the guys pulled out a watch and offered to time people. No fricken’ way, that’s the last thing you need! [I’ve never raced, and have zero interest in doing so.]
Finally, buy supplemental one day track insurance. Your insurance will not cover an event like this and you don't want to be in a bad situation. A few different companies provide this.
Are there any affordable plans? Every supplemental track insurance quote I've gotten is around $1000/day and only cover sanctioned events.
Thank you everyone for your educational feedback anddifferentiating between a track day vs a race. I am pretty excited to do this event (the track day).
I had driven a Ferrari Italia at the Disney track before they closed down due to a nasty accident. It was a lot of fun and very helpful having the instructor in the car telling what to do and not to do . I also done a track day with retired NASCARs with a spotter telling me when to pass or drop down to let someone pass me...a lot of fun as well. Rented a 2019 Lambo Huracán in Vegas for 24-hrs and had a blast driving like I stole it thru the Valley of Fire. All of these experience were very fun part because of the fact I purchased the supplemental insurance and they were not my car.
I spoke to a friend that has done track days in his own Ferrari Italia as well as being in the Ferrari driving school in Canada. He said it is a totally different when you are driving your car (you are more careful and less daring) vs a car that is not yours.
I paid about $300 through open track for comprehensive. It was brokered through Lloyd's of London and had a deductible of 10% of the value of the car.
Hagerty had a similar policy for about $400.
The policy was for 24 hours and covered my day at Thunderhill Raceway with a NorCal Aston Martin Owner's group.
A few years ago I asked my insurance carrier if my coverage included instructional (non-competition) events held on race tracks. They assured me that it did. I was asking in regards to NASA HPDE. I've got no experience with Hooked on Driving but have heard that it is similar but perhaps more controlled, in that the clientele lean more towards the affluent with expensive cars, where NASA has lots of people in their everyday cars. Both are worried about damage, but the former can get a little freaked out about it. That's not my own observation, but something I heard from another enthusiast. The discussion was at a concours in an affluent area, so may not apply elsewhere
A few years ago I asked my insurance carrier if my coverage included instructional (non-competition) events held on race tracks. They assured me that it did. I was asking in regards to NASA HPDE. I've got no experience with Hooked on Driving but have heard that it is similar but perhaps more controlled, in that the clientele lean more towards the affluent with expensive cars, where NASA has lots of people in their everyday cars. Both are worried about damage, but the former can get a little freaked out about it. That's not my own observation, but something I heard from another enthusiast. The discussion was at a concours in an affluent area, so may not apply elsewhere
A few years ago my normal insurance covered track days. The exclusion list was for timed events at closed courses, which meant track days were covered as long as you weren't running a lap timer. They have since updated their definition of closed course events to include track days, driver improvement days, etc. Basically, anything at a closed course is no longer covered.
My insurance may have updated their policy too. I think my information was from about three years ago. I'd certainly get clarification before doing a track day.
I spoke to my insurance carrier and they mentioned the policy does not cover the car on the track.
Insurance policy exclusion
For those people in this chat that have the same predicament and your insurance does not cover a track day, Hooked on Driving mentioned to check out these two insurance providers; Lockton Affinity Motorsports, locktonmotorsports.com and Open Track www.opentrack.com.
Thank you all for your feedback in this topic and educating me.
09-16-2019, 08:11 AM
Taking the car to the track?
), then I offered to let him drive mine, and we went out in an advanced session, which was also quite intense.
. I also done a track day with retired NASCARs with a spotter telling me when to pass or drop down to let someone pass me...a lot of fun as well. Rented a 2019 Lambo Huracán in Vegas for 24-hrs and had a blast driving like I stole it thru the Valley of Fire. All of these experience were very fun part because of the fact I purchased the supplemental insurance and they were not my car.
