TheOrangeGuy

So I spent the weekend in Bowling Green, KY at NCM with a buddy of mine who was running his E30 on the track and I'm officially hooked...luckily for me, I have a 2000 Trans Am thats sitting in the garage just begging to be put on a race track.

I've looked into the different classes and I'm still a little confused on what exactly I need to be looking at...I've seen the CAM classes and I'm assuming that would be for me considering what type of car I have, but does that include the road course as well? I really want to be on the road course...but some AutoX would not hurt my feelings. Obviously I'll be a novice when it comes to SCCA since this is my first go at road racing so any and all advice/info is greatly appreciated.

The reason I ask all of this is because I want to make sure I am going the right direction before I start throwing money at the car and upgrading suspension.

Thanks for the help in advance!

smitty2919

Get a SCCA membership, buy a helmet and start racing.

IMO only mod the car when you can outdrive it. This way it allows you to "grow" with the car. There are always right and wrong way of driving a car, but there is a good amount of "personal" driving style as well. One persons suspension setup may not be to your liking.

Be a sponge, ask a lot of questions, ride with veteran racers in Camaros or vettes to give you an idea of what lines to take. You can only learn so much from the Miata crowd.

camarokid91

Seat time. Dont worry about the rest.

1981TA

iTrader: (7)

yup, what those guys said. I actually learned more in my GP GXP and my wife's Camry than I did with the dedicated track beast.

gscherer78ta

iTrader: (1)

I entered my first SCCA event, a Pro Solo event in TX this past weekend and was the only one there with a carb and rear drum brakes.... I can't tell you how many times I heard people trying to be helpful by suggesting that I get these parts or those tires and that would help me be faster, for sure a nickel for every time I heard that would have paid for the event and the gas! I smile and tell them that when I get fast in my '78 TA, those skills will transfer when I put on the "fast" parts. If I were to start with the sticky tires and 400HP I wouldn't learn how to drive. I like a lot of the comments made here as they have made me more successful, and I have enjoyed my progress.

camarokid91

Pro Solos are fun but might not be ideal for your first event. They are very hectic and people are out to win.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

San Diego has practice events where you can usually squeeze out around 10 laps, you get a time but no one worries about what class you're in. Plus on practice days you can usually get an instructor to ride along. I will say this, riding with my 140k+mile suspension was terrifying. So while you don't need to mod to learn, at least get your car up to OEM snuff if it isn't already. Do you have practice days around you?

smitty2919

Agreed, I would not think about going to a ProSolo for a year or 2 after starting to race. I'm OK at driving with this is my second year autocrossing and I still wouldn't attempt running one.

TheOrangeGuy

My first go at it will be novice and I'll be running around the tracks with an instructor in the car. My first track night is supposed to be next week in Bowling Green at NCM but it looks like it might rain so I'm playing it by ear. Its not a race, but more of a "lets show you how this stuff works" type of event with an instructor in the car.

Thanks for the info guys! Greatly appreciated.

Signed up for SCCA btw.

1981TA

iTrader: (7)

Some encouragement: I have a buddy who did his first Auto-X last month in a 1979 Trans Am. It had stock everything (rear drums, worn out bushings, you name it) except the 301 which he tossed in favor of a 350 SBC/TH350. He borrowed the set of street tires pictured in my footer. Those are 275/40-17s - same as late 4th gens get stock. That's it.

He took 4th overall for Novice class and would have taken first in CAM Traditional had he not entered as a novice.

gscherer78ta

iTrader: (1)

I didn't feel out of place at all at the Pro Solo. I wasn't the fastest guy there but, I wasn't the slowest guy there. The biggest difference I noted from the event was the rigor behind gridding the ~200 cars and the hot swapping of course workers. I loved the drag strip start and lining up next to someone else at the tree- that is a great format for fun!

I already knew a lot of the people that were there and helping out, so I got all my questions answered and all the help I needed to be where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there.

I was the only entry in CAM and so I was moved to a bump group which consisted of a C5 Z06, C7 Z06, C7, Porsche Cayman, a few carts and a AWD Subi. I lined up with the C7 two of the three rounds... I beat him about 50% of the time and I was always within .5 seconds of his time.... Not bad for a stock suspension, street tire, rear drum brakes, 37 yo car!

Midnight02

iTrader: (8)

As noted above, seat time in the car on track, is the most important component of your development.

The HPDE format you're looking at is a great place to start. Your instructor is extremely important to your development as a driver. Ask lots of questions and solicit feedback on the areas you need to focus on first. Don't worry about the higher level concepts we hear the more advanced drivers talking about (heel-toe, trail braking, etc.) -- just focus on the basics: learning the line, smooth application of inputs, track awareness, etc.

The fact there's a chance of rain does reduce the "fun factor", however it will greatly advance your development as a driver. I hate the rain and my car is terrible on wet pavement, however I look back to the wet days as the times when I've learned the most about car control, being smooth in application of throttle/brakes, corrections, etc.

In order to get your car ready, you need to make sure it's in good operating order. This includes:

-- Tires are not old and have good tread. I started with somewhat sticky rubber (Nitto 555RII's) and went back "down" to street radials because they're better to learn on. As you get a great feel for the car and where the limits are, upgrading to R-compounds will be a nice reward.

-- Check your fluids (fresh oil, fresh bleed with good DOT 4+ fluids for brakes and clutch). I typically run just short of an extra quart of oil on track.

-- If you upgrade anything, you may want to upgrade your front brake pads to a compound that will handle the heat, otherwise you might run into fade issues later in a session.

-- Battery is secure (many folks have trouble with the battery being secure in the tray -- I strap mine down with a bungie strap).

TheOrangeGuy

Tires are good to go.

Went through my brakes and upgraded everything about 2 months ago. New rotors, pads, stainless lines, rebuilt the calipers, etc. I'm running some pretty stout pads right now but havent tested them on a road course yet...ran the tail of the dragon with them and had zero issues, but I also wasnt doing 100+mph like I will be on a road course but I was constantly on the brakes and they ate it up. I might grab some hawk race pads for the fronts anyway tho...just depends on how the car does when I take it out the first time.

I'm considering moving the battery to the hatch where the spare tire goes but I havent done it yet...if not, I'll just strap the battery down in the engine bay.

You guys have helped a lot. thanks for all the info and keep it coming if you think of anything else!