Went to Buttonwillow for a NASA sponsored track event last weekend for my first track experience. Registered for HPDE group 1.

Changed the oil, brake fluid, checked all other fluids, swapped on the stock rims.

Great experience to open up the G and learn to drive better and faster. I'm definitely faster after this event. I started my first 20 min session doing about 4-5 laps. By my 6th session, I was did 7 laps in a 20 min session.

VDC definitely has to be off. It was interrupting constantly. The G's weight hurts it a bit. Lighter cars definitely have an advantage in the corners. Car felt really good though. The limit felt really predictable. Sways set at Front- soft, Rear- medium. HKS RS coils at Front - 15 clicks from full soft, Rears at 19. Tires, oem Pilots 225/45/18 at 40psi in the front, Falken GRB at 245/45/18 in the rear at 40psi. ABS was kicking in early during braking. My instructor asked me to deflate them down about 3psi after the first session and the abs didn't kick in too much and the tires stuck better. The instructor also said my suspension and brakes(OEM brembos and hawk pads) were outclassing my tires.

Front tires were melting bad. The melted rubber would clump up and on my last session it caused the tires to vibrate pretty bad. In one turn the tires gave, making the car understeer bad. Had to scrub a bunch of speed before the exit.

Any tips on how to not melt my fronts so bad?

 

Change your sway bar and suspension settings. Also more track experience will help the most with that problem as well as the ABS problem. Buttonwillow is a fun track. But besides that, welcome to the racing family! We are all a little bit . and soon enough your car will end up looking like this...

 

Wow, your car is gutted! I'm a little hesitant to do that to my G. I do have a 240sx that would probably be perfect for the track.

Should I change my suspension and sways for more oversteer or understeer?

 

More oversteer. Also another huge thing that I didn't notice before was different tires on the front and the back. Swith that so its all the same tire, you will be suprised at the difference that alone will make.

 

thanks

 

#1... chances are, you'd have more fun in the 240sx. It is much lighter (especially if its a 1st gen) and has great suspension geometry out-of-the-box. Sure, it doesn't have as much power, but you'll forget about that the first time you catch the V8s in the turns.

#2... like 350ZNV said: seat time will... no wait... seat time with proper instruction will help your issues out more than adjusting your suspension. Your set-up should be as neutral as possible when starting out, then you should learn what the car wants to do and adjust your driving style accordingly. When you force a car to do something it doesn't want (either by mechanics or technique) you will use up the soft goods much quicker than normal (brake pads, tires, etc.)

#3... resist resist resist!! Resist the urge to go out and buy R-compound tires! These will only mask your inexperience and give you a false sense of improvement. They cover up SO many mistakes that novice and even intermediate drivers get in over their head way too quickly... and thats where problems start arising.

#4, and most importantly... WELCOME!!! Don't over think what you're doing out there. Go out and have fun, thats all that matters. Don't worry about whos faster on track. Concentrate on smoothness, keeping your eyes UP, and consistency... and you WILL get faster automatically, without being under your car whenever you aren't on track.

 

Thanks for the tips and welcome. I figured the 240 (it is a first gen) would be better, kinda waiting for it to break though. It's got a high mileage ka24e and the tranny doesn't feel great. If I didn't live in CA, I would have SR20'd it already. For now, suspension and a diff are probably up next for the 240.

The G will be my track car for a little while, then I'll switch to the 240 when I feel comfortable that it won't break on me.