Alex Milenkovic

It seems to me a lot of people have some misconceptions about what makes a good track car et al. I have been to several track days, but I'm by no means a track junkie or anything. A big part of that has been the cars I've had and some of the mistaken assumptions I've had in buying them (not counting the S4, which was a great purchase).

First, cars that you THINK might be fast, aren't. And cars that you THINK are slow, aren't. I've come to a few realizations as I've gone out on the track, and the most fundamental one is the absolutely hardest to accept.

The car is at most 20% of your lap times. The driver is 80%. People like to say it's 90% driver 10% car, or 5% car 95% driver, but I disagree. Get someone who's new but marginally competant out in a viper and he'll do well. Put a pro in a crappy car against him, and there's going to be sections where the horsepower alone makes the lap times even.

That said, I've been amazed at what instructors in Spec RX7s or Spec Miatas or Spec Neons can do compared to students. These are all cars that have about 120 hp tops, but can scare the living DAYLIGHTS out of you if you hitch a ride with an instructor. You start to realize that the lighter the car, the more speed you can carry out onto the straight, which means a higher MPH advantage. Sure, you have less "go", but being smooth, consistent, and in control is SO much more important than being fast. If you are smooth, consistent, and in control, you can build speed while the rest of it is already there.

Some stuff I've seen tossed around (Supra Twin Turbo.. 3rd gen rx7.. etc) are absolutely brutal to drive on the track. The power delivery is very rough, and it takes an expert driver to take one of those cars and be smooth with it.

I think people don't realize how scary it can be driving a "fast" car on the track. Not scary as in "Gee, alex is a big wuss" but rather realizing that you are heading into a 90+ mph corner, where if you over/underapply the gas, you will be 360ing and possibly rolling the car because it is so unforgiving.

At the autocross, I used to think that my 92 GTI would kinda suck. It's actually great. It sticks like glue, and more importantly, is very forgiving towards driving error. Now I don't mean that I'm not learning from my mistakes (ie the car punishes me so I still have to adjust), I'm just saying, if I screw up with a 107HP FWD car, I'm going to get loose, or slide, or even rotate, but it will be NOTHING like if I screw up with a 300+ hp RWD car.

I'm constantly amazed by some cars that are beastly on the track. The Integra Type-R is one of them. It may not be fearsome on the street, but on the track, where you can keep it in it's powerband, you're talking about a 200 HP 2500 lb FWD car. I'd still say the Integra is about one or two steps beyond where you'd want to start - ie It'd be something I'd want to grow into, rather than fear to begin with.

Also keep in mind there's repairs, brake wear, part longevity, etc. In all these things, weight and high horsepower just stresses all the components.

There's a reason many many people drive Neons, Sentra SE-Rs, 1st Gen RX7s, Golfs, Miatas, and Sciroccos. These cars are great handling, easy to learn, very reliable, and will work "with" you as a newbie, rather than being something you have to fight and compensate for every step of the way.

Just a thought. The macho factor of getting a big speedy car is always tempting. Just keep in mind one thing: If you get some fast, beefy car, people expect you to do well, and you feel like an *** if you don't. When you get an older, slower car, people expect you to do poorly, and you get to feel like a hero when you kick ***.

The old "White men can't jump syndrome." I'll paraphrase: "Yeah, I'm a chump. But if you beat me, all you've done is beat a chump. If I beat you, you've lost to a chump."

Be safe out there.

Alex.

UrQuattro

Careful with the 1st gen RX7's though. They are as loose as they come. They are probably the best to learn on though. They handle great, and can get great lap times around the track, but you have to really learn the car to do that. They are a true oversteer car. If you want more info on it, talk to my racing partner, donny edwards. he was pro 7 champion both in NASA and SCCA. if anyone knows how to drive one, its him.

MiniMadMan

great post.. thanks for you input..

Greg Amy

"It's a hellava lot more fun to make a slow car go fast than to try and make a fast car go fast..."

- my first driving instructor

Mike Zam

I could not agree more! Now, if only I can afford a SPEC car . . . . . .