[4MLA1FN]

wojo (EVO owner and forum member) and i went to summit point raceway this past friday to participate in this month's FATT. when we arrived, we were blown away at the level of cars present: 350zs, m3s, m5s, a ferrari, a viper, several lotuses, heavily modified vettes, porsches, s2000s, a couple audi s4s, stangs, many modded japanese imports....and a rented pt cruiser. (his s2000 was in the shop and he'd reserved an altima, but this was what budget gave him.) anyway, amazing lineup.

the experience....OH MY GOODNESS!!!  fellaz, this was so much fun!  it was by far the singular day of hedonistic fun i've had in my life!

the car...DAMN! the car was simply *stunning* on the track; great handling, very agile, *amazing* acceleration out of the corners; and the brakes..oh man...going from 125mph+ to 30mph lap after lap with no fade. (realize these comments are coming from a virgin track racer with a little autox experience.)

the comments...wojo and i parked next to each other throughout the day and we had at least 50 people come by to check out the cars. they drew a lot of attention from the instructors and drivers alike.

so i know you're wondering: so tell us how the STi and EVO compared on the track. while wojo and i were, of course, in the novice group (since this was our first time doing anything like this) we got placed in different novice groups. so we could not race together. next time.

late in the day, there was an accident in wojo's novice group.  a wrx legally passed an s4 but probably shouldn't have since there was too little time before the next corner.  the wrx made an early apex (bad at this corner) and went off, then back on, then sideways, then up in the air, rolled, came down on its roof and rolled 3 more times...all  *on the @#$* tarmac*!!!  egads.  the instructor walked away; the student was flown out.  they said his injuries were not serious but this track has a habit of being overly cautious when accidents happen.

anyway, i'm so hooked! unfortunately i'm outa town for the aug and sep FATT events, but i'm signing up for one or both of the october events (17th and 24th). if you're in the mid-atlantic and haven't done this kinda thing, i urge you to check their schedule and give 'em a call. it'd be cool to have more than one sti and one evo there in future. hmmm. maybe we should plan a regional sti-evo meet at one of these events.)

 

[4MLA1FN]

my rookie mistakes...

a) a 1/4 tank of gas, though the recommended amount, was too little for a 20minute session on a 2mile course. i started the first session with a little less than a quarter tank. by minute 18, i experienced starvation. i pulled in right away. i bought 6 gallons (giving a total of probably 9 gallons) before the 2nd session. i was good for session 2; started the 3rd with 1/4 tank and still had starvation during the last minute of the session. i decided to just fill up for session 4; it took 14.5gallons; i.e. 2gallons left. in future, i think i'll come to the track with a full tank.

b) i was all over the rev limiter; with helmet, both windows open and still learning to drive, you just can't hear the engine. by the end of the day, i started to figure out how to manage my shifts so i didn't end up on the limiter at or just after the apex. nice to have buckets of torque.

c) the tires still look great. i was really worried they'd be shredded. my pressures were way low; 33 front; 32 back. rookie mistake. what's a reasonable setup to run here? i remember in autox, we used to go up to 40 in the front (light, fwd car).

d) i've gotta get: a harness, a proper set of pedals. and an in-car camera setup; maybe this.

that's it. all advice welcomed.

 

[wojo]

I really don't have much more to add. I also made the mistake of not having enough gas. I read a few articles/tips before going to the track and they all said to have about a 1/4 tank. Not in my car! That amount only lasted for about 20 minutes.

Overall, I had a great time and can't wait to go again. Here are some pics for the event:

 

[wojo]

...

 

[wojo]

...

 

[wojo]

..

 

[wojo]

The lineup...

 

[wojo]

Nicely modified WRX......but it had nothing on Ron's STi

 

[wojo]

Waiting for the next session

 

[MKIVSupra]

"STi" components?

I also made the mistake of not having enough gas. I read a few articles/tips before going to the track and they all said to have about a 1/4 tank. Not in my car! That amount only lasted for about 20 minutes.

Just get a full tank before any track day. I once went to a 2 day school with my Supra. I went through a tank of gas a day and that is with a 18.5 gallon tank. It was about 100 miles a day on the track, so about 100 miles a tank. Every track day I have attended I have gone though 1 tank a day.

 

[MarineSGT]

I notice all the pictures of the STi are from the back and all the pictures of the Evo are from the front.... ;-) Does this mean the STi was too fast to get a picture from the frontand the Evo was slow enough to get frontal pics? lol <gentle ribbing ensues>

 

[wojo]

I notice all the pictures of the STi are from the back and all the pictures of the Evo are from the front.... ;-) Does this mean the STi was too fast to get a picture from the frontand the Evo was slow enough to get frontal pics? lol <gentle ribbing ensues>

Actually the hood scoop was too big to fit in the camera's lens

 

[stiski]

Do they let you run on the full track? I was going to sign up for the 8/15 date if it is not full and i can squeeze $175 out of my butt.

 

[4MLA1FN]

Here are some pics for the event:

awesome! thanks for posting. i took only a few pics with my lousy digicamera and you are only a blur in all of 'em, so they're not worth posting. i just signed up for oct 24th. if anyone else is regional, call *now* if you're interested.

 

[4MLA1FN]

Do they let you run on the full track?

yep, we ran the full 2mile jefferson circuit. what a rush!

I was going to sign up for the 8/15 date if it is not full and i can squeeze $175 out of my butt.

the earliest availability is oct 24th, but you've gotta call soon. everything else is waitlisted for novices. looks like you'll have 2 more months to try squeezing. there is also a november and december date, but i don't think they'll start filling those as yet.

 

[masti]

I just got back from 2 days of fun at Watkins Glen with my STi. Running at a racetrack should be a requirement when owning one of these cars. It was extremely fun. I was one of the fastest cars in my group. Z06's are faster on the straight aways, but not by much. I hit 130+ on the back straight, where as Z06's were hitting around 140.

350Z's, Z28's,.........no challenge!!!

Only down fall with the STi was minor understeer at the limit and minor brake fade after around 6 laps or so. Higher temp pads should take care of this and a stiffer rear sway bar should help rotate the car a little more.

 

[daghdha]

masti,

did you end up getting a extra set of brake pads for the track? if so, what kind and where did you get it?

josh.

 

[masti]

I didn't get extra brake pads, but I highly recommend them. Only problem is, I can't find any.

The Subaru dealer gave me a break down of part pricing:

Front Pads (set): $360.00
Rear Pads (set): $340.00
Front Rotors (set): $1140.00

Plus, they don't even have them yet..........and they probably won't for at least another few weeks. (note: this is a E. PA dealership.....west coast dealers may have them sooner)

After hearing this, I think I'm gonna go with aftermarket pads once they come out.

You may be able to get stock pads directly from a Brembo dealer a lot cheaper. Subaru probably buys them from Brembo and marks them up.

 

[MKIVSupra]

Front Pads (set): $360.00
Rear Pads (set): $340.00
Front Rotors (set): $1140.00

I hope I can find them cheaper when the time comes.

 

[RDiamond]

my rookie mistakes...
c) the tires still look great. i was really worried they'd be shredded. my pressures were way low; 33 front; 32 back. rookie mistake. what's a reasonable setup to run here? i remember in autox, we used to go up to 40 in the front (light, fwd car).

Dude, you realize that's less than the recommended street pressure, don't you? Fronts should be 36 minimum, way more than that on the track! (I run 38 on the street just for kicks).

Great write-up. I wish I had joined you. I have bad memories of the oppressive heat of Summit Point in July and visions of my new seat fabric becoming blue "icky-stain". I'll definitely make the next one.