Anyone Interested In Enjoying Their Z On A Road Course?

I'm following up on the track info I mentioned at the meeting this Sun. at the Green Knoll.
There are many clubs out there that sponsor track days. They are usually referred to as HPDE(High performance Driving Education). It's not racing, there are no prizes, there is no finishing 1st or last. It's all about getting your car on a track with an instructor sitting in your passenger seat helping you learn to enjoy your car on a track and have nothing but fun and getting out of your car with a big smile on your face. I have to warn you, this is like a drug it can be very addictive. I am an addict and have no chance pf recovery.

What's nice about this is, you don't have to change anything on your car. Bring what you got. But, convertibles will need a rollbar which in our Z32's is very cost prohibitive. Z33's are OK with their factory roll-over protection system. The DelVal Miata Club, is the only club I know of that allows convertibles without roll bars. They do only 2 track days per year at Pocono every July. Currently they are booked and putting people on a wait list.

Getting back to your car. All you should do is make sure all your fluids are fresh and topped off. You should have at least 50% of your brake pads left. They provide rental helmets. My advice is to not spend a dime on anything except the above before heading to the track. Cost is usually about $275 or more per day depending on the club and the track. That gets you at appox. 2 hrs of track time broken into 4 sessions. Some clubs run 5 sessions. Most of the clubs offer what they call a Taste of The Track. During the lunch break, for about $50, they will provide a helmet-you can get on track for about 30 minutes with an instructor and do a lead follow exercise at moderate speed. It's an inexpensive way to begin your addiction. They must have gotten this idea from the illicit drug business. We are very lucky in this area. I can get to all of the tracks I use within 4 to 4 1/2 hrs.

The tracks I go to are:
Watkins Glen
Lime Rock
New Jersey Motor Sports
Summit Point
Monticello
Pocono
If you have any questions don't hesitiate to e-mail me, pm me or call me.

I have to disagree on one thing here, I bought race brake pads for my first session and I am extremely thankful. I was able to enjoy the whole day without getting any type of fade, the rest of my brakes were stock.

Regarding brakes. You can't go wrong by upgrading your pads. In my personal experience and as an instructor most people are OK their 1st time on track with street pads--as long as they have at least 50% left. But, there are always exceptions. But, you can never go wrong upgrading to something like Hawk HP+. You don't want a dedicated track pad because they won't work well on the streets--unless you plan on swapping pads after the event. But, something like a Hawk HP+ will work well on track and street.

Yeahp, but I was really happy I did get. I got the HT-10s and holy crap they bite. Yeah I did go with the latter as I put the ht10s on right before track and removed them afterwards

dont buy AXXIS metal masters!! they were doo doo at the track. towards the end of lapping sessions fade was obvious.

then again i was still on my way to learning how to compress braking zones.

but mainly- YES HPDE's FTW!!!! get out there and drive your Z the way it was meant to be driven!!!

i will have to get up with you and the NJZClub when i get back to the states. I'd love to try out new tracks.