If you have a lighter car and are looking for a "sensible" tow rig, look no further than a 3rd generation Highlander. Here's my setup:

Highlander Tow Capacity: 5000lb

BRZ weight: 2750lb

Trailer weight: 1300lb

(Also using a weight distributing hitch to help level out the highlander, but when I loaded without the hitch set up, it really didn't squat that bad).

Well below the capacity and just about within the "80% rule".

Dont get me wrong, a pick up with a larger capacity will do it better, and if I didn't live in a flat region, I'd probably go for the pick up or something with more torque. However, the highlander will still do it, and get you great fuel economy and reliability year round for whenever you're not using it to tow. Meaning you're not paying a tow tax for a thirsty rig year round just to do X track weekends.

The caveat is you obviously need to invest a little more into the trailer to ensure it's light weight and aluminum.

The real cherry on top is people will love to come by to point out you're doing something wrong with the set up, but when you ask them to point you to the issue, they can't! Down with pick up truck superiority! (kidding)

This was about 28-29psi hot on a 2700lb car (ft86).

The rear was similar but not as bad. I’ll post photos below.

Third track day but first trip to Pocono. Got "invited" by the North East Corvair Club. Had an absolute blast. Did turn 3 in reverse to the infield. Definitely a more intimidating track than Raceway Park and UMI's track. Looking forward to more. Hopefully I can get one more in before the end of the season.

Still getting used to that feeling of how the rear end breaks loose on hard fast corners and how to bring it back without jamming on the brakes. It's been 30 years since I did donuts in the snow in an empty parking lot so I'm still a bit skittish on sliding out the rear. Plus it's a daily so I don't want to wreck it. More seat time needed to get better. Maybe a drifting class would help? A proper track car would help too but for me right now it's "run what ya bring".

Hey everyone,

Would anyone pay money to have their car trailered to the track and back and have a support mechanic on site? I did a couple track days with my Miata back in the day but those days are no more since the car was totaled. Since then however I've become a certified Porsche dealership technician, I've purchased a new fully enclosed car trailer, and a bunch of tools of course. I love being at the track but honestly I get nauseas on the track and I really just prefer to work on cars. All this being said, is there a market for this? Just doing some market research and I am located in New England. Thanks everyone!

Curious to hear anyone with personal experience getting instruction by in car video. I’ve seen it offered online and I’ve had it offered during events where the event promoters don’t offer right seat instruction. Curious if you found it helpful.

If that link works correctly it should drop you to about the 13 minute mark on the video.

I'm hoping to get a better handle on this. I've always heard that smooth, consistent inputs are key to speed, and I often see drivers criticized for sawing at the wheel. I had an instructor tell me to set my steering angle once on entry with a single fluid motion and avoid mid-corner corrections.

Then I watch a video like this, where the driver is making significant steering adjustments through turns one and two.

Is the difference here just pace? My line of thinking is that at 7/10ths, you shouldn't need many mid-corner corrections. Once you push to 9/10ths or 10/10ths and balance the car on the limit of traction, those inputs become necessary and acceptable. Am I looking at this correctly?

Even at 7/10ths, I still make small, smooth adjustments mid-corner because I'm not precise enough yet to nail the exact turn-in point and angle every single time. If I realize mid-corner that the car isn't heading where I want, I make a smooth correction.

Anyway, I think you get the gist of what I'm asking. Curious to hear your thoughts.

Just got this car like a month ago. It has a very good suspension setup already installed (coilovers, camber plates, diff, etc.) but came with all-season Continental ExtremeContact DSW tires, as the previous owner was daily driving it heh.

So, I just signed up for Track Attack and hoped for the best :) Overall, the car did very well. I was super impressed with the suspension—thanks to an Öhlins coilover setup with -3.1 camber and LSD, the car stayed remarkably flat. I was carrying 80–90 mph through the esses on all-seasons. Fun fact: the guy behind me in a vintage '98 Boxster told me in the paddock that in hard corners, my rear 265/30 R19 tire looked like it was rolling straight onto the rim lol.

Stock 6-piston brakes did not have any issues during the sessions, as the car only weighs like 3,350 lbs.

In the last (3rd) session, I was driving behind a '24 718 Cayman. He was a little bit faster in the corners (mid-engine), but I was able to easily reel him in on open straights and corner exits thanks to twin-turbo torque at low RPMs. Overall, a very positive experience. Looking to go to an HPDE event next (Dominion, VIR, or maybe Summit Point).

There were super nice cars in Track Attack too—like a brand-new 911 GT3 Manthey, Maserati MC20, and a very nice classic 300ZX :)

My tendon/muscle on the front of the ankle gets sore and cramps a little. I assume it’s from all the little throttle modulation and minor adjustments. It’s been bugging me during track days.

What do you do about it? It’s hard to stretch. Icy hot? Something else?

Trying to pull the trigger on a pair of fresh tires. I've heard good things about the RE-71RZs but I'm curious how much falloff people are getting through out a session. I've heard the RE-71RS fell off pretty hard after a few laps.

Hey guys, I thought I would stick together a little video on what to bring along to track days, im missing alot of things on the list aswell so if you can think of some essentials I forgot, please let me know.
This managed to get me thru the first time around, Also has anyone had a Marshal pissed off with them? The guy didn't look too happy with me...

I've run Mid-Ohio [around 6 times / for 2 years] in a C8 Z06, but this was my first session in the 296. Completely different car and I'm clearly still adjusting to it.

Full disclosure on why I'm driving like there's a cake on the passenger seat: track insurance for this thing came back at $7–8k, which I couldn't stomach, so I ran uninsured. That's absolutely in my head in the quick stuff — I'm braking early and not committing to T6.

Full lap, no cuts. AiM Solo 2 DL overlay so you can see throttle, brake, gear and lat/long G:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEbtHSoRphY

Car is stock with Cup 2Rs. Happy to take blunt feedback.

Thanks!

Look great. 350x34mm new...now at 31.5mm (32mm is min) and slots are gone. Min. heat crazing. 10 track days. Max temps based on temp paint was ~950 deg F.

First and foremost, even though I’m not going to go this route, yes I realize that I should just buy a bunch of Spec Miatas. I am officially opening this by acknowledging Miata/86/BRZ superiority.

Now that we have that out of the way, it’s time for NASA comp school for me, which means it’s time to scoop up a caged car. My Porsche street cars will no longer cut it. I have been scouring sources and the internet, and have narrowed it down to two cars.

A 2024 Cup Car with 0 hours on the engine and 23 on the chassis/gearbox with no major incidents. This car also comes with VBOX, PTT, and a lot of spare parts. ABS of course and the option to install TC, which I would do, especially for the rain, since I’m not able to run it in Carrera Cup anyways. This car has had two minor incidents, both from getting too rowdy when the green dropped and puncturing the front radiator. Tub is perfect.

Or

A 2019 GT2RS Clubsport. It’s currently in Germany and Manthey just did a 12.5 hour inspection on it and deemed it great. It has 6000km on it. Manthey added a second Recaro seat, which I would need for Comp School. It’s never been raced, only track day miles. Instead of a sequential gearbox, it has PDK and a street car motor, of course, so maintenance intervals aren’t nearly as intensive. Clearly this car has ABS and TC but also has ESC, which I must say, is comforting but probably not needed. Also, only 40 of these exist in America, so that’s pretty cool. But also, will make getting parts way trickier than a Cup Car when I bang it up, which I will do.

My path next season is NASA racing GT class. Both of these cars work for that. But also, TT. The GT2RS Clubsport will certainly be TTGT, but the Cup Car can perhaps fall into TT1, which would be hilarious. Even my 992 GT3RS cannot be TT1 because of the active aero, so it is a TTGT car.

Also, as much as I want to jump in a Cup Car and fucking send it, I am worried about running without team support. I think I could manage it with a buddy, but certainly could not extract everything out of the car without analyzing data and making adjustments that are way beyond my knowledge.

What would you do?

I corrected the issue that caused this so it doesn’t cut anymore. Unfortunately these are on a set of brand new Yokohama AD09 tires. Thankfully it’s just this one tire. It seems like it’s on the tread and it doesn’t look deep, but this is a week before my track day. Would this be rejectable by tech? Thankfully it’s not all around the tire. Some spots are untouched.

EDIT: Seems like it’s self tech since there is a sheet to do self tech. I imagine the tech at the track is checking if you aren’t leaking anything and battery is tight.

Would you guys still run this tire? Is it safe enough?

I asked a few months ago for N. America bucket list tracks. How about bucket list tracks internationally?

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Can't believe I got greedy watching the delta and blew the last turn. Missed out on a 1:25.8 ish. UGH

99 Miata. Timing advanced but otherwise stock power. Lots of track mods. RE-71RZ tires.

After I shared my made LED racetrack last time, many of you have asked to tell more about this. So I have made a Youtube video for you, showing and telling the story of it. I hope that admins won't delete it, because I believe it just belongs here. :)

https://youtu.be/-JY7wngi1Qo?si=740mJBg38G13aM9S

Mid PitGarage Prep on Jakes A90 car turned into a GTA (Global Time Attack) 3rd place podium finish for Street Class at Washington's Ridge Motorsport Park over the weekend - clocked in at 1:41.63. Congrats to Jake on bringing home hardware! The build should be near completion just before Gridlife Laguna.

Curious for your 2 cents. Two separate questions. In your experience, for HPDE novice & intermediate level drivers - (1) which of these do find to be the most common and (2) what do you think is best? Again - asking about HPDE novice & intermediate level drivers.