THill April 28th $160
 

Bonni at T.E.A.M. Racing is putting on a single track day at Thunderhill at an unbelieveable low price of $160. Every Novice gets an in car instructor as well as classroom instruction. Bonni's events offer a lot of track time for the buck.

Wow! If I have a car available to me and there's no autocross or rallycrossing, I'm there.

+1 for Bonni and TEAM... They put on very affordable and very fun events!

Wow that rocks. Do they allow passengers if safety on the passenger side is equal to the drivers side?

They allow passengers once you've been moved out of the novice group and are checked out for solo. The instructors keep a close eye on folks taking out passengers for the first couple of times. In reality all drivers in all groups are watched closely for erratic, off line, spins, off course, or unsafe driving practices. They are counseled or warned if this behavior is observed, blatent disregard for the safety of others or yourself can result in loss of a session or worse yet being sent home for the day after the 3rd strike..

Cool beans. I'm interested, though budget and motor rebuild isn't making the 28th look likely. I wanted to take one of my navigators with me (or a potential navigator) see how good they are at keeping their lunch down.. hehe

For a complete newb, if I were to head down for this, what should I do for prep or make sure I'm equipped with? It'd likely be one of the last outings on the RE070s, I'd have recent Motul 600 and stainless lines with good (good life, not race) pads and rotors in the factory 4/2 pot brakes.

Should I get some Porterfield or similar pads for this one event and replace them with the stockers after?

Anything else I'd need to get the wagon ready? I'm sure I'd need my helmet, but would factory seat belt be ok or would I need a harness?

Am I missing anything? - fresh oil, good (fresh-ish, flushed today) brake fluid, clean airfilter.


Figuring I should be able to come up with gas money and the $160 no problem, but additional costs might be deal breakers.

What pads are you currently running Rory?

If you're willing to swap brake pads, I'd just get a cheap set of the EBC yellows. They'll take the punishment at the track and save you from demolishing the OEM pads that will rapidly wear (or worse, chew up your rotors when they overheat). Just remember that even if you bed in the yellows before the event, they're still going to take a session or two before they're really working well.

If the tires are nearing their end-of-life... make sure to check them after each session. And you'll probably want a contingency plan (i.e. some spares) to get you home if you cord one. I find a lot of the time you *think* you've got a track day left in the tires, only to find out you're corded right on the edge of the tire after just one session. :(

Factory safety gear should be plenty in addition to your helmet. I'm not sure about dress-code, but wearing long pants and long sleeves (all cotton) is the next best thing to a firesuit. Good sneakers are a must.

There are tons of great tips from Van's thread over at RenoSCCA: http://www.renoscca.org/forums/showthread.php?t=890

I'm on stock replacements as far as I know - was planning to go HP+ or similar for autox/dd this year - but my current pads still have a lot of life so I was hoping to put off a change as long as possible. A track day would likely mean new pads regardless - but more wanted recommendations. EBC Yellows it is....


My tires are good - I'd say 50%, none are near the wear bars, and definitely no cords. But good thinking on taking the stockers down as a last resort to get home.

Heading over to renoscca now. Thanks for the link Scott.

HP+, Porterfield R4-S, etc, are great for autocross/Summer use. I use the Porterfields, myself. This Fall I reinstalled my OEM pads and definitely prefer them for winter. They work right out of the gate on freezing mornings without having to warm them up. I just feel safer with them on.

I also have EBC Yellows for a track day but I haven't used them yet.

Rory, pads, just like tires are never perfect for all uses so keep 3 sets: track, autoX, and winter.

You do not need 3 sets of pads! 2 at most, and many get by with 1 for all uses just choose wisely. Greens may be the best all but serious race pad and fine for your first few track events.

HP+ and R4-S are similar, but I think the greens are better bang for your buck and maybe slightly better.

Yellow remain my pad of choice for all things including hard track use. Not great in the cold, but nothing really is. Until the rotor is at least 100-200 degrees, nothing is really working as intended, even stockers.

And most stockers suck if you ever heat cycle them. Had a set disintegrate at Thunderhill this past weekend in a Saab. Tons of rear stock pad but had not been heated really since Aug. or so. Had absorbed a bunch of moisture over the months and the heat boiled the water and pad crumbled in 1/2 a track session with a very conservative driver.

I would suggest HPS or similar as a minimum street pad for most any car/driver.

Need? no. Will you benefit from 3 sets of pads if you track, autox and daily drive in a cold climate? yes. You could just drive with EBC yellows all year round, but you'll waste rotor and pad material and may have pulsing issues as well as a scary cold stop or two. It's also possible to completely use up a set of Yellows in one track day if you drive hard enough. That's why EBC now makes Blues which last longer, but I don't know how well they work.

I know a crap load of people who drive street cars at autocross and track days and few if any have more than two sets of pads.

It is fairly easy to find a pad that will double stint and cover either daily + autocross or autocross + track depending on your needs.

You imply that stock pads are somehow better in the cold. Show me any data to support that because I think it is a load of crap. Next you will say RE92s are great tires.

Most stock pads are just good enough to stop the car once or twice and last longer than the bumper to bumper warranty.

Hi Dean,

I'm not sure why, but my latest set of R4-S required a stop or two before they were warm enough to lock up the tires on dry pavement. I rebedded them and still saw this behavior. They were fine for normal driving and great for autoX, but when it started getting cold this fall, I decided to pop in the OEM pads I hadn't used for years. I noticed that the cold stop issue was gone. The OEM pads stop great the first time every morning. I do garage the car, but I remember them working fine when I didn't have a garage at my first house in Reno as well.

I've also seen plenty of pad fade on R4-S's at the track, so I'd swap to the free EBC Yellows I got if I were to do another track day. I even have an extra new set for the front that I got from you for like half price.

I'll have to try the HPS or similar to replace the R4-S's when they die, but I just have so many pads now, I don't think it'll be any time soon.

Just because you ended up with 4 or 5 sets does not mean you need 4 or 5 or that Rory needs 3. :P

Cold brake performance is likely most impacted by temp and moisture. Water loves cold steel and no pad material grips water or ice. Until there is enough heat to make and break chemical bonds in the pad material, pads/calipers just squish rotors which is way less effective.

Not saying your stockers don't have better cold bite than your R4-Ses, just that there is likely something much better across the same or larger range and then something complimentary for other uses.

OK Mods, how about splitting the prep and brake content into another thread rather than in the $160 Thill thread? :)

Circular conversation is cirular. :P

Fixed:
The right 1 or 2 sets will fit all but the most bizarre conditions or OCD for changing pads. :)

hey,
bonni events are great people are nice and you will learn alot from this event. as far as brake pads dont even worry about it to much (most likely your going to be learning the line) just worry about getting a good night sleep the night before and having the most fun you are ever going to have with a car. when you get your line and start to go alot faster then worry about brake pads. i love my yellows i run the year round on all 4 corners i destroyed i set of greens in one track day (that trak day beeing like the 4th one i been to, so i was going lot faster than my first) and thats my .2 cent
silvio
ps sing up quick cause this one will get filled quick

My thoughts were my pads would last the day, but pick up a set and take them with just in case.

Sorry to have derailed the thread - I was just trying to find out how much a $160 track day was actually going to cost me ;)


Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I'd even be able to go - work and whatnot has left many bits of wedding planning untouched, and we need to get that done more than I need to throw my car around a track :rolleyes:

Anyone going? Seriously debating it.

i think i might have to shoot for this one, just need to get the car ready:D

Same here.

Just decided to take a huge paycut to get out of a shitty situation, not gonna make it.