1st track day, someones gotta be last.

[turbokid]

after years of drag racing i finally decided to go out and turn my wheels and...im pretty sure im in love.

I took my BP swapped festiva out to miller motorsports park for what they call winter x. They dont prep the track or care if there is mud or snow, you just have to deal with it, so its a mix of rally and autocross. This particular day was nice and dry so all the bad boys were out there. The festiva was way out of its league, the track was full of STI's, evos, porsches, a lotus, prepped miatas etc.
The festiva got faster and faster as i became more comfortable with how it handles and more familiar with the track. 1st lap was 2 min 42 sec. and the fastest was 2.24 so i was able to scrub 18 seconds off my lap times but still took dead last in my class haha. In my defense i will say this track is way better suited to higher power cars and my super manly 127hp just wasnt enough. I drove as fast as the car and crappy tires would let me.

All in all it was a blast and i will be going back again. Also on the plus side is the festy did 8 hard laps with no major issues, she got a little hot because the fan wasnt working for a few laps but a parking lot fix got it spinning again.

and no good racing story is complete without a video so here you go, this is of my fastest lap, you can check out my crappy driving first hand. Enjoy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMT_vbfgwCA&feature=youtu.be

[sketchman]

Looks like fun. All we have here is Auto-x a few hours away sometimes and dirt. Never done either. Tried to Auto-x once, but that day got messed up in every way possible. Haven't tried since.

Keep it up.

[kumalaba]

kudos for getting out there & running! you will get faster & faster w/ practice, also a little suspension work will net even faster times. great job

[turbokid]

Thanks guys, my buddy sent me this picture he took from the stands, pretty much says it all, I was definitely the turd in the punch bowl out there.

[skeeters_keeper]

What is your suspension setup? And what trans on you running?

More power won't help you till you can get it to the ground!

Sounds like a lot of fun though - I'd love have something like that around here!

[turbokid]

My setup is G trans, with raceland coilovers and aspire front brakes. but my tires were junkyard specials, some decent rubber would help alot. Anybody got some good tire recommendations in the 13 inch category?

[sketchman]

Try one of these?

http://www.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=135&sowigan=&Breite=175&Quer=50&Felge=13&Speed=&kategorie=6&LoadRange=&Marke=&ranzahl=4&search_tool=standard&rsmFahrzeugart=&suchen=View+Tires

[Aaronbrook37]

I'd personally take these. They're on my B6T car. http://www.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/rs...n&typ=R-133893

[Advancedynamix]

185/60-13 Toyo Proxes R888. These will help much more than more power. You'll want 7" wide wheels and -2.5 degrees camber on all 4 corners with toe set to zero. Also, not sure what your spring rates are or what your running for rear shocks, but sag in the rear is your worse enemy. Only run about 1" of sag in the rear.
Good to see more of these cars on the track. And don't let badges and popular opinion stand in your way, the festiva is superior to all of those cars on any track, with the correct setup. I have lapped more than one Exige.

[Advancedynamix]

Just watched the video. Those cones are not doing FWD guys any favors. I would have been smacking those things all over the track. Lol.

[Prafeston]

I was thinking that too Advancedynamix. The cones just in general seemed like they were in weird spots.

[LittleHoe]

well I'm really jealous... Our idea of an autocross is a crappy parking lot with some cones and light standards to miss lol... Not a real race track... I think our nearest track would be about an 8 hour drive from here lol..

Oh and I think the festy did pretty good... I always like being the underdog..

[turbokid]

185/60-13 Toyo Proxes R888. These will help much more than more power. You'll want 7" wide wheels and -2.5 degrees camber on all 4 corners with toe set to zero. Also, not sure what your spring rates are or what your running for rear shocks, but sag in the rear is your worse enemy. Only run about 1" of sag in the rear.
Good to see more of these cars on the track. And don't let badges and popular opinion stand in your way, the festiva is superior to all of those cars on any track, with the correct setup. I have lapped more than one Exige.

i've been unable to find any decent tires locally in 13's let alone those r888's smallest they have for those around here is 15's so i was thinking about switching to a 15x7 inch wheel, what kinda offset should i be looking for so i don't have to take a chainsaw to my fenders?

Just watched the video. Those cones are not doing FWD guys any favors. I would have been smacking those things all over the track. Lol.

yeah i was griping about that too, but it is what it is. Funny story i saw one of the faster miatas come back to the pits and pull a cone out from under his car he had been draggin around

FYI, Advanced its your fault i went out and tried road racing, watching your videos and reading your threads got me interested. So i put my other project on hold (79 corolla wagon with 1JZ swap) and pulled the old dirty festy out from the side of the house and burned off some of the weeds and cobwebs at the track. So thank you.

[turbokid]

well I'm really jealous... Our idea of an autocross is a crappy parking lot with some cones and light standards to miss lol... Not a real race track... I think our nearest track would be about an 8 hour drive from here lol..

Oh and I think the festy did pretty good... I always like being the underdog..

that used to be the case around here but a local millionaire dude went nuts and built some world class facility trying to lure in some big name races. And thanks for the kinda words, the first time is always nerve racking, now that i know what to expect and how the car feels next time will be better.

BTW if anybody wants a quick way to finish off bad front wheel bearings, go road racing!

[Advancedynamix]

Your welcome! It's highly addictive, especially when you start lapping miata's like they are in reverse! lol.

unfortunately, no R compound or racing slick tire in a 15" that we can buy in this country will fit under a festiva without intrusive surgery. 185 60 13 is the biggest you can fit and they require fender stretching. With a roll cage that supports the rear shock towers and beam mounting location you can cut the fenders out and run 15's or 195 60 14, which is a common r compound size for Miatas.
If you want to have some real fun, get some 13x7" wheels in a 35mm offset and buy some used hoosier slicks from USDRRT on eBay. You'll want 20.5x7-13 r45 or r35 compound. You'll burn these up quick if your doing full sessions, but with 1 lap at a time like you did they will last a few weekends at least. With the right spring rates and alignment on those slicks you can pull 3 g's in some corners. You'll want good seats and harnesses because we are talking tear your face off cornering here. Like i said, this is addictive.