A day at the track... Amazing

[Scotty]

Hello fellow dubbers...I'm Scotty (a.k.a. new guy, first post) and I've got an '03 GLI. No mods, pretty much outta the box.

Anyway, spent yesterday at Race City taking the High Performace Driving Course. Did some solo 2 type stuff in the morning: cones, slalom, etc. Spent time in the afternoon on the road course doing laps. Car held up great throughout and even the instructor who's not a vw guy was totally impressed. The only thing on the car that showed any wear, besides the tires of course, was a bit of sponginess on the brakes at the end of the day. Hopefully that's just a temporary thing.

So, the question is "how hard is this on the car?" See, I liked it enough that I'd like to do it again but need to know more about wear and tear on the car. Thinking about brakes, clutch, suspension, transmission, etc.

Thanks everyone. Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet some of you sometime.

[CalgaryB5]

Welcome to our club. :thumbsup: I saw your dark gray Jetta yesterday with the short antenna. For your question on my view is more about how you drive on the track. There are so many techniques to learn to save a bit on this and that. Definitely you need to expect to melt some tires on the track. Modify one thing at a time will let you learn what will give you on the new improvement.

Bart, Simon(Upsolute dealer) and I will go to Solo II tomorrow. If you want to continue to have more fun, you are very welcome to come. Bart did an awesome time on the Solo II school last couple weeks ago.

We are all running TDI Upsolute chipped cars.

[Scotty]

Thanks for the note. Good to hear that there are other opportunities for racing and hp driving.
I take it you were one of the instructors. Great course, so glad I signed up.
I hear what you're saying about drivign style. But generally speaking, I'm still wondering about wear and tear with brakes, suspension and so on. If I run stock, what's the impact? Sorry, just so many questions....

I might drop by tomorrow... If not, the next session. Thanks again.

[alien]

It's probably hardest on tires and brakes. Suspension shouldn't have a problem. You may consume a bit more oil than normal too.

[Kor]

Of course its going to be harder on the car than daily driving... things will wear out ahead of their expected life. Its the same if you drive your car hard on the street - cars are made for the average driver, not for the performance driver.

Although I don't race, I don't think even the more experienced guys will tell you that nothing could wear out. Theres always a chance. I'd guess that if you race all the time you will need to put at least a little more money into maintenance at some point. If you only occasionally race, the risk is probably smaller.

You need to decide if its worth it! Yes there is risk but if you really love it then you should probably pursue it. I don't think anyone on here can tell you exactly HOW hard its going to be on your car - are you looking for a number like dollars per year? Or some recommended mods to make things last longer?

[MrHeavyFoot]

So that was you in the Jetta. Looked pretty good. I was marshalling in turn 8 or 9 or whatever that turn at the end of the back straight is.

I took the course last year and pretty much had the same results wear and tear-wise. A little bit if tire wear and a lot of brake wear, especially the rear pads. The brake pedal was noticeably softer after that event and after one other lapping day and numerous autox's, the rear pads were pretty much toast.... thinly sliced, burnt toast that is.

Other than that, I don't think the wear and tear on the vehicle is too severe, although anything that normally wears out on the car will wear out a little quicker, especially if you do this a lot.

Probably a little more stress on the clutch/transmission depending on how you downshift, but I think its probably easier on it than drag racing. Suspension bushings might wear out a little quicker too, but its not like they're going to go in one or two events.

[Scotty]

Some good comments - thanks guys.

Hey Mr HF: Thanks for saying. I appreciate the compliment. It would have been cool if the school could have provided some timing, photos, or video. It would have given a different perspecitive on the day.

With respect to your car, did your brake pedal tighten up again after or will that only happen after a brake change?

Did you perform any mods on your 1.8 prior or after for better performance on the track?

Kor/All: I'd like to know what you'd suggest for mods. (Hopefully not too hard on the wallet).

[Smartiepants]

Suspension always

[MrHeavyFoot]

Originally posted by Scotty
Some good comments - thanks guys.

Hey Mr HF: Thanks for saying. I appreciate the compliment. It would have been cool if the school could have provided some timing, photos, or video. It would have given a different perspecitive on the day.

With respect to your car, did your brake pedal tighten up again after or will that only happen after a brake change?

Did you perform any mods on your 1.8 prior or after for better performance on the track?

I just had H&R Sport Springs, a Neuspeed 28mm rear sway bar and some Kumho 712 tires. Come to think of it, that's still all I have. Searching for some shocks though.

I lucked out last year. They wanted to test out their new timing system, so I got to carry a transponder around for the day.

[GINCH]

Hey Scott,
Give me a shout at work! The private message or whatever doesn't work!
Cheers
Derek

[Scotty]

Derek - Will do. Can't wait to hear more about your new ride. I was checking it out some more on Vortex. I think I actually started drooling.

[GINCH]

Ha Ha....Good one Skingle! Seriously, I can't get it to work! It keeps asking me to register, then I register and go back in and it asks me again...I don't know!:mrscrewy:
Scotty, if the pictures make you drool you should see it in real life...Yummy!!
See ya
Derek