[albertcua]

Hey guys,

How would one get involved with educational track racing?
I don't mean serious track racing, but just a hobby.

I'm just not a fan of autocross.

Thanks.

[white rocket]

Check out Morrisport.com // Advanced Driving (http://www.morrisport.com) for Mission Raceways or Turn2 Lapping inc. - Home (http://www.turn2lapping.com/) for Pacific Raceways and The Ridge in Washington state.

[N8]

The Sports Car Club of BC offers a race driver training program. Completed the program last July and they teach you everything from heel-toe to vision to passing to flags to etiquette etc etc. One day classroom, two day track. We probably did about a 100 laps, and at $450 it is a bargain. The instructors sit with you until they feel you are ready which is a good thing.

Probably one of the best in the northwest if you ask me. And upon successful completion you can apply for your CACC novice license if you intend to compete in road racing.

Driver Training | SCCBC.net (http://www.sccbc.net/get-involved-2/driver-training/)

[trollguy]

N8; do they still do the simulated race on Sunday?

[freakshow]

Not sure if they're still active, but I went with PDC: Home | Performance Drivers Club (http://www.performancedriversclub.org/)

[boatcaptain]

i practice track driving gt5 :woot2:

[ilvtofu]

Not sure if they're still active, but I went with PDC: Home | Performance Drivers Club (http://www.performancedriversclub.org/)

I did a track day with them in summer of 2012

Track days aren't racing though, not sure if OP knows the difference.

[mac25]

...it's like $280. are there any tracks that are $100 drop in for a few laps, with minor safety issues such as only needing a helmet?

[ilvtofu]

...it's like $280. are there any tracks that are $100 drop in for a few laps, with minor safety issues such as only needing a helmet?

Proformance down in WA offers something like this sometimes
MotorsportReg.com : ProFormance Racing School announces Power Lunch Lapping Hour Thursday, Mar 21 — Friday, Mar 22, 2013 info at Pacific Raceways, Kent, WA 98042 (0863) (http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/0863F15B-EE4B-70B9-C37C73D032C8A8D0#.UUAeRRzFVMQ)

Their full day event is $245 but is a lot more track time

You'd probably still have to get your car tech'd and as it says you need to attend a quick meeting.

You'd need some track day experience to do that kind of event too.
I'm not aware of this kind of event at mission though

[mac25]

ya mission as far as i know is all drag. but their site states they have a course but on the section of their website it only lists drag cars for race types.

the one up in north van is a course but they don't seem to have street legal cars, just dedicated race cars.

my buddy had a drift day with a few friends in 240s at Agassiz. but i think that was a special event.



i really want to do time attacks on touge courses with winding switchbacks and straights with elevations change. or light auto x with slight mud/snow/ice/gravel/wet pavement.

problem is i have a car that i don't want to damage in a stock race with multiple cars and don't have enough power to drag, which i'm not really into. she handles like a dream though that's why i like the personal time attack tracks or getting some friends together for a friendly race, where damage would be less likely.

[Rich Sandor]

There are several choices for road course tracks within a 6 hour drive of vancouver.

-Mission, BC (Mission Raceway Roadcourse)
-Seattle, WA (Pacific Raceways, aka SIR)
-Shelton, WA (The Ridge)
-Portland, OR (Portland Raceways, aka PIR)
-Grass Valley, OR (Oregon Raceway Park, aka ORP)

There are several different car clubs that do DEs (track days) at all these tracks.
-UBC Sports Car Club (ubcscc.com)
-BMW Club
-Alfa Club
-Porsche Club
-Mustang Club
-PDC
-Morris Sport
-Proformance
-Weissach
-etc etc

They don't care what car you drive, as long as your car is track worthy (not leaking, loose suspension, etc etc) Some of the clubs may require membership, like UBC, but it's very cheap. Porsche club and BMW will take non members in non Porsche/BMW just to fill spots.

MOST DE's or TrackDays will have the groups split into experience, so if you are a first-timer, you will run with the novice group until you have proven your skill and experience and you will move up accordingly. If you can, go to a day where they have instructors to ride with you. There are clubs and groups that do "lapping days" with less structure, and more track time, and usually no instructors. I DO NOT recommend these sorts of track days for novice drivers. You NEED to have someone show you the right lines and coach you, otherwise you are ASKING for an accident. Even the BEST drivers take coaches along to always improve. The scariest drivers are always the ones who think they don't need a coach.

Explore those clubs I posted above, go to their websites, and check it out. Have fun!

[Rich Sandor]

Note: DE's/Track Days/Lapping days are NON COMPETITIVE EVENTS. They are DRIVER TRAINING DAYS.

Using Lap Timers and Data Loggers during your session are highly discouraged by most car clubs, because it VOIDS the insurance policies in place. Some private car clubs, like some of the ones I run with, don't run under the same insurance policies, so we can do what we want, but we are also much more advanced drivers, and it's an invite only system.

If you want to actually RACE wheel-to-wheel, you have to get a racing licence with CACC/FIA/SCCA/NASA etc and have a RACE CAR with a FULL roll CAGE built in and all the various safety equipment. You can't do wheel-to-wheel racing anywhere with your bone stock daily driver car with no cage/harness/window net, fire system, etc.

[death_blossom]

this is your best bet:

http://www.morrisport.com/trackdays.html

probably the cheapest in lower mainland as well, no membership required. as others have said, track days are not wheel to wheel racing. they are "high performance driving events". they're more about learning to drive your car faster. having said that, it is definitely lots of fun and it is probably what you're looking for. as it is your first time doing a track day, you'll have to run the "FIRST TIMERS" event with the Inside Line track day. still lots of fun, you'll get good instructions, and get to drive your car fast.

people driving the first timers event can't pass other cars. but most of the time you're spread out far enough that you'll have the road to yourself.

[white rocket]

OP: come out to the March 30th event at Mission Raceway with Morrisport. They offer a First Timer group which involves a quick classroom theory session then 3 or 4 sessions with an instructor. It's a ton of fun and the instructors are great. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

You can even just come out and watch for free to see what it's like. Watch a couple sessions, talk to some instructors and participants and get a feel for it. Most people that try it get hooked right away.

[freakshow]

...it's like $280. are there any tracks that are $100 drop in for a few laps, with minor safety issues such as only needing a helmet?You're describing auto-x

[N8]

N8; do they still do the simulated race on Sunday?

Yes they do.. it's more of a 'mock race start', because by the end of Sunday everyone is pretty much lapping on their own before then.

Only point to pass was allowed, as usual. Remember to review your flags because they like to test everyone randomly!

[trollguy]

I like the meatball flag. i had that in my old car. LOL.. ended my day early.

[mac25]

thank you guys =D, you mentioned insurance Rich, what does this cover? i thought all insurance was void while tracking. does this cover the team against law suits from injury or does this cover the cars if one spins out and hits a wall?

if i was to come out with the morrisport group what is needed?

drivers licence
insurance
helmet
stable car ie suspension and brakes?
helmet
more?

are aftermarket coilovers ok?

[trollguy]

thank you guys =D, you mentioned insurance Rich, what does this cover? i thought all insurance was void while tracking. does this cover the team against law suits from injury or does this cover the cars if one spins out and hits a wall?

if i was to come out with the morrisport group what is needed?

drivers licence
insurance
helmet
stable car ie suspension and brakes?
helmet
more?

are aftermarket coilovers ok?

the insurance which Rich refers to is the host club's insurance for liability and/or possibly property damage to the track. :)

your vehicle damage is not covered under that policy nor will ICBC (and other third party insurers) cover it

and your list- that's all you need. just make sure your car is good to go and you're set! helmet may or may not be provided by some clubs. mods to cars of course are OK if they are safe (you know what i mean! :) )

FYI - i created a thread on the Vancouver Subaru forum (nasioc) which answers everything you've asked :)

[mac25]

thank you Rich Sandor, death_blossom, white rocket, slowguy, ilvtofu and freakshow!

i'm considering joining ubc scc after visiting their page. looks like $25 membership for a year plus $25-$55 per event. this is within my price range considering with my schedule i may not be able to attend any events.

[falcon]

Dude, be realistic. You're not going to be doing any W2W racing anytime soon without a huge budget. I tried getting into it and it's easily $1000/weekend. Go do some track days, learn to handle a car and go from there. If you really want to race wheel to wheel, buy my kart and go race for $200/weekend against 30 guys at a world class facility and have way more fun than in a crappy 80's honda civic doing 100kph down the straight.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/for/3599745304.html

http://simaracing.com/start-racing <- Located in Blaine, WA 5min from Abby. Greg Moore Raceway in Chilliwack also holds events all summer.

[ilvtofu]

thank you guys =D, you mentioned insurance Rich, what does this cover? i thought all insurance was void while tracking. does this cover the team against law suits from injury or does this cover the cars if one spins out and hits a wall?

if i was to come out with the morrisport group what is needed?

drivers licence
insurance
helmet
stable car ie suspension and brakes?
helmet
more?

are aftermarket coilovers ok?

Just check out the website... Morrisport.com // Advanced Driving (http://www.morrisport.com/faq.html)

Decent tires, not just tread but compound
Good fluids, it's not unlikely you will cook some fluids if you're running 20 mins+ at a time
Good brake pad life,
If you're doing mission chances are your OEM Civic brake pads or street compound pads aren't enough unless you're pretty slow
Helmet doesn't just mean your old DOT sticker'ed motorcycle helmet

I still recommend you doing autocross, its got its drawbacks but you don't know how your car really feels at the limits and it's a safer place to learn to respect your car, plowing through a corner or snap oversteer/spin out there is better than on the track or street. You don't seem to know what you're doing yet and sound like you want to bite off more than you can chew.

[albertcua]

Sorry for the late reply guys.

What I meant by track racing, was pretty much track days. Where from what I understand just have a bunch of people driving around a track at their own pace and learning their car/driving lines/techniques?

And from what I gather, in terms of north of the border all we have is Mission Raceway, but if you go down to the states there are a lot more other options?

In terms of prerequisites, do you need any sort of track license? I drive a Jetta TDi Sedan, would I need anything special in order for me to drive my car around a track? Special Insurance?

From what I know.. You also need a helmet with some type of DOT designation? Where's the best place to get such a helmet?

In terms of cost, would you guys who do go, do you guys blow through a set of tires and brakes everytime you go? Change your fluids right after?

[albertcua]

Sorry. not *DOT* but *SNELL*!

[FiveOneOh]

www.carsonice.ca is probably the cheapest way you can get into wheel to wheel road course style racing. But you will still need a full cage and other safety equip. Of course there is also the seasonal aspect of ice...

Helmet:
For most auto racing DOT is not good enough. You will need a SNELL approved helmet.
try here: Driver's Edge Autosport - the store for Drivers (http://www.driversedgeautosport.com/#)

If you want track days you will be limited to Rivers Edge Raceway north of the border. (mission road course. "Mission Raceway" is the drag strip)

Rivers edge can be/is VERY hard on brakes! I pit for a Spec Miata team, if you are driving hard enough your brakes can be toast after only one day or running (we actually melted a brand new set of Porterfield pads and fused them to the calipers...) I highly recommend you put in some good pads and upgrade your brake fluid.

[freakshow]

Helmet:
For most auto racing DOT is not good enough. You will need a SNELL approved helmet.

For many clubs, you'll also need a SNELL SA rated helmet, not M rated. (Auto-X is fine with M, afaik)

[falcon]

No, M helmets are fine for hpdr
Posted via RS Mobile

[Dinan3]

I know you've mentioned that you're not a fan of AutoX, but if you haven't done any type of driving events before, you should go to a couple of AutoX events to learn the limits of your car before you take it to a the Track where you don't have much room for any mistakes.

[kunoman1]

I remember there used to be some sort of group rate, like there was a RS group going to a track class. Is that/was that a thing?

[albertcua]

I did one autocross event in Bremerton, WA. And I just didn't really enjoy myself.
I prefer a good mixture of different types of turns, and the one I went to seemed to have mostly switchbacks with the odd longer curve.

I understand it's more dangerous, however, if taken "with care" don't think it should be that bad? Correct me if I'm wrong.

In terms of helmet, if there are the 3 different "specs", it would be safer to go with a SNELL approved helmet, as the helmet would be good for any type of club.

If you're doing mission chances are your OEM Civic brake pads or street compound pads aren't enough unless you're pretty slow

When you say not enough, you mean in terms of brake fade? My car isn't fast at all, since it is a 1.9L Diesel, but I don't feel like I need to go fast to have fun. I'm more about technique and satisfaction in getting a corner right.

[albertcua]

I remember there used to be some sort of group rate, like there was a RS group going to a track class. Is that/was that a thing?

IF there is that would be awesome!

[Traum]

To the OP,

If you are interested, Pacific Raceway is having its final winter track day this coming Sunday (March 17). As long as your car is track-worthy, you just need to show up in the morning by 8:30am at the absolute latest, with USD$195 in hand, and that'll get you started. I think they'll even lend you one of their loaner helmets.

http://www.pacificraceways.com/RoadRacing/RoadCourseSchedule.aspx

Mind you, PR is not exactly a beginner's track -- the track is unforgiving, and should you make any careless mistake, there is a good chance your car is gonna get banged up to the point where you wouldn't be able to drive it back home.

Even if you do not like autox, I'd still strongly recommend you to take it up at least a year. Autox is considered a "low speed" motorsport, and I'd dare say there is really no better playground to learn the basics of car control. And the best thing is, when you are learning, you are going to make mistakes, but the "consequences" of those mistakes at the autox is generally minimal. When you get to keep playing at the limits, you'll learn so much faster than you would otherwise.

VCMC has announced their 1st Velocity Driving School for this year:

http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/showthread.php?13088-Velocity-1-Registration-April-20th-2013

and this is one of the best place you could learn a few things quickly. You'll have gobs of seat time, and some highly qualified instructors help you find out what car control is all about.

Additionally, both UBCSCC and VCMC have announced their 2013 track day programmes:

UBC Sports Car Club &bull; View topic - UBCSCC Track Day Program 2013 (http://forum.ubcscc.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5153)
VCMC Track Day Schedule for 2013 (http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/showthread.php?13092-VCMC-Track-Day-Schedule-for-2013)

These track day events are held at Mission, and both clubs work hard to find instructors for all novice drivers. I am not as familiar with UBCSCC's track day events, but with VCMC, novice drivers are usually matched up on a 1:1 basis with their instructors. The instructor will ride along in your car until you're signed off to drive solo on the track.

[Traum]

When you say not enough, you mean in terms of brake fade? My car isn't fast at all, since it is a 1.9L Diesel, but I don't feel like I need to go fast to have fun. I'm more about technique and satisfaction in getting a corner right.
Mission is undoubtedly very hard on brakes, so fresh fluids (at least DOT 5.1, if not something better) and sports pads are very much preferred over your standard OEM stuff. One way to mitigate the high stress against your braking system is to simply alternate between your hot laps and your easy laps -- this is precisely what I do myself when I'm out at Mission. I start off with an easy lap or two to get my brain and my car warmed up. And then I go for a few hot laps (typically no more than 3), and then I back off for a few laps, and I just keep alternating between the 2. Not only will your car last much longer during each session, your own endurance will also be much better preserved, meaning you can last the entire day.

The thing to keep in mind at a track day is -- it is part driver training, part entertainment / recreation. At any track day that is reasonably well-managed, you will generally get 2+ hours worth of seat time in 15 to 30 min chunks. It may not sound like much, but you will work up a sweat, and you will probably tire yourself out before the day wraps up. So if you can make yourself (and your car) last longer, you'll be able to get the most out of your track day.

(Sorry for my rambling, and I hope I'll at least see some of you at Mission this year.)

[ilvtofu]

I know you've mentioned that you're not a fan of AutoX, but if you haven't done any type of driving events before, you should go to a couple of AutoX events to learn the limits of your car before you take it to a the Track where you don't have much room for any mistakes.

He is a driving god


To the OP,

If you are interested, Pacific Raceway is having its final winter track day this coming Sunday (March 17). As long as your car is track-worthy, you just need to show up in the morning by 8:30am at the absolute latest, with USD$195 in hand, and that'll get you started. I think they'll even lend you one of their loaner helmets.

Pacific Raceways ~ Seattle's NHRA approved racecourse ~ Road Course Schedule (http://www.pacificraceways.com/RoadRacing/RoadCourseSchedule.aspx)

Mind you, PR is not exactly a beginner's track -- the track is unforgiving, and should you make any careless mistake, there is a good chance your car is gonna get banged up to the point where you wouldn't be able to drive it back home.

Even if you do not like autox, I'd still strongly recommend you to take it up at least a year. Autox is considered a "low speed" motorsport, and I'd dare say there is really no better playground to learn the basics of car control. And the best thing is, when you are learning, you are going to make mistakes, but the "consequences" of those mistakes at the autox is generally minimal. When you get to keep playing at the limits, you'll learn so much faster than you would otherwise.


I know someone who flipped his Z4 M coupe @ PR, definitely unforgiving. In a jetta TDI you will have terminal understeer and an overconfident driver that is too hot can run off the high speed turns. With a front heavy car like that with small-ish brakes you really gotta worry about brake fade too, nothing like stepping on the brakes and nothing happening to make you shit a brick.

I'm personally not THAT into autox either with the classing etc. but it is a solid indicator of your proficiency and you can see the difference on the track even in novice groups between those who have never autox'ed/done it once or twice vs the seasoned autoxer.

[falcon]

When you say not enough, you mean in terms of brake fade? My car isn't fast at all, since it is a 1.9L Diesel, but I don't feel like I need to go fast to have fun. I'm more about technique and satisfaction in getting a corner right.

Stock brakes on any car, regardless of it's power will be gone after 4-5 laps of hard driving at Mission. Even with good pads you will still boil the fluid and they won't be lasting much longer. I had to build a big brake kit with Wilwoods to be able to stop consistantley at Mission.

[death_blossom]

thank you Rich Sandor, death_blossom, white rocket, slowguy, ilvtofu and freakshow!

i'm considering joining ubc scc after visiting their page. looks like $25 membership for a year plus $25-$55 per event. this is within my price range considering with my schedule i may not be able to attend any events.

UBCSCC? but didn't you just say autocross wasn't your thing? UBCSCC does mostly autocross, with a few track day events sprinkled in. the track days are 200bux or more from what I remember.

[kunoman1]

He is a driving god



I know someone who flipped his Z4 M coupe @ PR, definitely unforgiving. In a jetta TDI you will have terminal understeer and an overconfident driver that is too hot can run off the high speed turns. With a front heavy car like that with small-ish brakes you really gotta worry about brake fade too, nothing like stepping on the brakes and nothing happening to make you shit a brick.


My god you flipped your z4 M?!? What did you do?

[Rich Sandor]

Falcon: dont say M rated helmets are fine for hpde, because there are clubs that REQUIRE SA rated helmets. If you dont ride bikes and want a helmet just for DE events: get an SA - that will be good for any driving event you may sign up for.

[spoonek4]

I am agreed with some of you guys about starting with autocrossing before going to driver's education events or lapping days at a road course.

I've been participating in UBCSCC & VCMC's event back in 2003-05ish. I am no where competitive myself compare with some other very talented local guys out there. And my car was prepped to the point that i have no advantage on PAX time at ALL(coilovers, LSD & bucket seat etc). I took VCMC's velocity school twice myself and I found that course. The practice plus the guidance by other competitive guys out there no matter on driving & car setup did help me quite a bit. Really gives u an idea on what kinda mods will help you go faster....

I've been trying to go lapping at Pacific Raceways at least once a year since 2005 or so. Did Mission once myself. It's technical, but not as technical & fun compare with Pacific.

Talk about driving a slow car. I highly doubt that your Jetta is slower than my 07' Honda Fit lol! My left arm is out pointing people by at Pacific ALL the times.

[Matsuda]

I did one autocross event in Bremerton, WA. And I just didn't really enjoy myself.
I prefer a good mixture of different types of turns, and the one I went to seemed to have mostly switchbacks with the odd longer curve.


I think you should give the local clubs a chance for autox. The courses designed can be quite technical and there are a good variety of slaloms/turns/etc.

Here was the course design from ubcscc from the last event.

http://www.ubcscc.com/events/2012/ss7/coursemap.jpg

[Rich Sandor]

Stock brakes on any car, regardless of it's power will be gone after 4-5 laps of hard driving at Mission. Even with good pads you will still boil the fluid and they won't be lasting much longer. I had to build a big brake kit with Wilwoods to be able to stop consistantley at Mission.

I agree that Mission can be hard on brakes, but I totally disagree that one NEEDS to upgrade their stock brakes to run decent laps at Mission.

Usually, ensuring you have fresh, high performance brake fluid, like motul rbf or similar, is enough to run good laps at Mission all day without boiling.

Ive upgraded to 993tt porsche "big reds" for 12 and 24hr endurance races. The stock sized rotors and calipers have done me fine for almost a decade of trackdays. The only time i ever boiled brakes was when i had old, dirty, ate blue fluid at my first ever trackday, and the other was when my car was dual driven for six hours nonstop at ORP in 40deg celsius heat. :devil:

[ilvtofu]

^ I agree that stock calipers/rotors will be enough especially for a novice driver, but don't forget brake pads, just cause you have a decent thickness doesn't mean those will be track ready.
Some OEM pads might be alright but I've managed to fade stock MK6 GTI Brakes at autox, like pedal to the floor fade, so I doubt OP's TDI will be any better. VW stock brakes are mushy as heck, check out the MOT of different pads and see what will work for you, there aren't really any true dual purpose (street/track) pads, especially for a nose heavy car like that with small-ish brakes. Likely you'll have to switch pads either the night before or at the track if you want to dual purpose your car.

[albertcua]

Thanks guys for all the info, I definitely DO NOT want to be bashing my car up against a wall.

Seems like it would be a great idea to start small, and that autoX course doesn't seem half as bad.
Also, I don't have the funding currently to be upgrading my brakes, so I guess I shall start with autoX.

For autoX my stock brakes should be fine right? And would the general consensus be that ubcscc would be a great place to get involved?
Posted via RS Mobile

[Traum]

Stock brakes are absolutely fine for autox. Especially when you are first starting, it is all about driving skills.

As far as starting off is concerned, both UBCSCC and VCMC are great places to be. UBCSCC has a slightly more laid back attitude, while VCMC offers a slightly more competitive atmosphere. But at the end of the day, a good number of people attend events from both clubs, and both groups go out of their way to help novice drivers learn the ropes.

But by far the biggest bang for your buck would be the driver training programs VCMC and UBCSCC offers. In fact, if I can only do 1 event the whole year, Velocity driving school or Autox 101 would be the one to do. As I mentioned in my post above, VCMC's Velocity driver training is scheduled for Sat, April 20, and registration always fills up fast. UBCSCC will almost certainly offer their Autox 101 program some time this year.

So I would recommend you to join whichever group and whichever events that work with your schedule. Naturally, the best option is to join both and get as many events under you belt as you can. Especially when you are first starting off, there is really no replacement for seat time.

Hope to see you on the pad soon!

[albertcua]

Thanks! I will be going out of town in April, so I presumably would be starting sometime in June! Hope to see you guys out there

/end thread
Posted via RS Mobile

[falcon]

UBCSCC? but didn't you just say autocross wasn't your thing? UBCSCC does mostly autocross, with a few track day events sprinkled in. the track days are 200bux or more from what I remember.

UBCSCC has the most AutoX events per year than any local club and hold 3 track days per summer. The same or more than VCMC, and UBCSCC runs some top shelf events.

"from what I remember" always nice to just throw information out there because you "think" you remembered it correctly.

[falcon]

Falcon: dont say M rated helmets are fine for hpde, because there are clubs that REQUIRE SA rated helmets. If you dont ride bikes and want a helmet just for DE events: get an SA - that will be good for any driving event you may sign up for.

News to me. Any and all track days I've ever gone to my "M" helmet was sufficient. If things have since changed, then oops. I was going on my experience.

[falcon]

I agree that Mission can be hard on brakes, but I totally disagree that one NEEDS to upgrade their stock brakes to run decent laps at Mission.



Show me where I said everyone NEEDS to upgrade their brakes? I said I had to to run consistent laps.

[dvst8]

Thanks for info guys. Think I'll be trying VCMC this season.

[trollguy]

"from what I remember" always nice to just throw information out there because you "think" you remembered it correctly.

wtf? guy is trying to be helpful and he was pretty damn accurate. UBCSCC is mostly autox with a few track days sprinkled in.

Per UBCSCC's site, there are 3 track days @ mission at $225 a day.

[trollguy]

News to me. Any and all track days I've ever gone to my "M" helmet was sufficient. If things have since changed, then oops. I was going on my experience.

Things haven't changed. There are a few clubs which only allow SA helmets. Which is why Rich brought it up.

[roastpuff]

I did one autocross event in Bremerton, WA. And I just didn't really enjoy myself.
I prefer a good mixture of different types of turns, and the one I went to seemed to have mostly switchbacks with the odd longer curve.

I understand it's more dangerous, however, if taken "with care" don't think it should be that bad? Correct me if I'm wrong.

In terms of helmet, if there are the 3 different "specs", it would be safer to go with a SNELL approved helmet, as the helmet would be good for any type of club.

When you say not enough, you mean in terms of brake fade? My car isn't fast at all, since it is a 1.9L Diesel, but I don't feel like I need to go fast to have fun. I'm more about technique and satisfaction in getting a corner right.

Hey Albert, some courses can contain a lot of switchbacks, that's true, but with the larger pad at Pitt Meadows now we try to have larger courses with more sweepers and faster speeds on average. The last course that we did had some straightaway sections that you can get some serious speeds on, so it's not all THAT slow when all's done and said. Since it was raining hard we had to slow the course down, but I got to try the course in its original format when it was dry the day before (the joy of course setup and testing) and I bumped 2nd gear rev limiter (that's 80+ km/h) on my GTI not even pushing very hard.

Track, even when "taken with care," can still be very dangerous. One guy that I know who was an experienced autocrosser, screwed up on his very first lap - warm-up lap - when he wasn't trying very hard, and was out due to a significant amount of damage to his bodywork. Any lapse of concentration in a track situation can leave you with very little time to recover. I would say this is especially true with Mission, which has very little runoff room and is decidedly narrow compared to other tracks.

Diesels can still build up a lot of speed on the back straight at Mission, so don't discount that. You have the Golf brakes as well (288mm front discs?) which will have less heat capacity, especially on stock pads and fluid. I managed to boil mine (312mm fronts) within 4 laps while in the novice group (i.e. not pushing too hard with an instructor sitting besides me). But I took it easy and my pads are still lasting to this day!

^ I agree that stock calipers/rotors will be enough especially for a novice driver, but don't forget brake pads, just cause you have a decent thickness doesn't mean those will be track ready.
Some OEM pads might be alright but I've managed to fade stock MK6 GTI Brakes at autox, like pedal to the floor fade, so I doubt OP's TDI will be any better. VW stock brakes are mushy as heck, check out the MOT of different pads and see what will work for you, there aren't really any true dual purpose (street/track) pads, especially for a nose heavy car like that with small-ish brakes. Likely you'll have to switch pads either the night before or at the track if you want to dual purpose your car.

I'd like to know how you managed to fade stock GTI brakes at auto-x, as usually the courses are not that fast! Lol. Agreed on the stock GTI feel, they're not that good - the TDI brakes are smaller too, so you have to be careful. HP+ usually works quite well for dual-purpose, and I've heard good things about the Carbotech/Porter pads as well.

Thanks guys for all the info, I definitely DO NOT want to be bashing my car up against a wall.

Seems like it would be a great idea to start small, and that autoX course doesn't seem half as bad.
Also, I don't have the funding currently to be upgrading my brakes, so I guess I shall start with autoX.

For autoX my stock brakes should be fine right? And would the general consensus be that ubcscc would be a great place to get involved?
Posted via RS Mobile

AutoX on stock brakes is totally fine. UBCSCC is fun too, I will come with you when I can! UBCSCC is trying to have bigger, longer courses using the double pad so it will have plenty of speed - and since you say you like technical stuff better than speed, autox is definitely where it's at. More time is lost on corners/slaloms in autox than in the sweepers.

As for helmets, it varies - UBCSCC allows M helmets for both auto-x and track as long as they are 2005 or newer.

[DieselMeister]

Thanks Roastpuff for the plethora of information. I guess I just had a bad experience with the AutoX events that I attended. Hopefully will see some of you guys out there in June!

[falcon]

I don't think I've ever met someone that hasn't had a good time at local AutoX events. Other than a few people who make things miserable for themselves because of a bad additute or unrealistic expectations of how things are run. VCMC or UBCSCC, can't go wrong either way.

[falcon]

On a side note; I fly over the pad almost every day on my way to the Pitt Lake arial practice area now and it's hilarious seeing the cars run around the pad. They look like RC cars haha!.

[Traum]

Anyone going to Mission tomorrow for UBCSCC's track day? It looks like there'll be some light drizzles. I hope it won't be enough to get things too wet.

On a related note, registration for the Wed, June 5 VCMC track day (http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/450BAC68-92BF-20BC-677680ED757071F4#.UY7vZaKG1Fs) is now open as well.

I sure hope we'll get some good weather by then?