On Wednesday, I went to the track for the first time.
It was F*CKIN' AWESOME!!!
Auto-x ain't nothing compared to this. Now I have a reason to run out and buy some race tires...

First I rode with this "old" (40+) guy in his older (2 generation ago - late 80's - early 90's) BMW 325is with engine chip, suspension upgrade, racing brakes and DOT racing tires. He was probably the fastest guy on the track. Passed a couple of old 911s and another BMW of the same generation. Boy do leather seats suck. My *** slid all over the place in those hard wide seats. It turned out the guy was an instructor with the local BMW club. He hit up to 85 mph on his speedo in the straights.

Then I found out what "cold tires" means. On my first lap, at 1/2 speed, into the 1st hard turn, it felt like I ran over a grease spot. The tires just slid. Turning the wheel one way, then the other did nothing. Luckily, I just sledded over some snow and dirt, cutting that corner off and back onto the track with no damage from the off-track excursion. I hit that turn much faster on later laps with no problem. I got up to 80 mph, but that was being real conservative, letting off the gas early and braking early into the turns. I'm sure 90 would be no problem on stock tires, and I bet an experienced road racer could probably hit 100 in an ITR at 2nd Creek Raceway.

One thing I noticed after a while is an awful burning clutch smell. Should I have heel & toed (or at least attempted rev-matching) on the downshifts in tight turns instead of just downshifting at the apex?

After coming home and going back out on the streets in my CRX si, I noticed how heavy the clutch spring was compared to my ITR. My left foot actually ached pressing the CRX clutch at first. Is the ITR clutch the same as the GSR and other Integras? It's amazing how Honda makes the ITR clutch and engine feel lighter, smoother, and quicker to rev up, yet more powerful than my old CRX.

 

Actually, if you aren't downshifting until the apex, you're tooooo late. Your shift needs to come earlier {where heel/toe shifting comes in} at/during braking so that you can control the car through the turn with throttle - prepared to accelerate out of the turn from the apex. I won't even touch 'trail braking'....and YES - rev match every time if at all possible. I'm assuming you want your clutch to last??

I'm up to 78,000 on my beast with the stock clutch & she's holding strong even though I've raced her a BUNCH. Honda makes a good clutch for normal NA bolt-on mods. If you're stock, then rev-match & you won't be changing that clutch for years to come.

 

Yeah, I was actually downshifting before the apex.

Hmmh, now where to practice learning heel/toeing...

 

Sounds like fun,I can't wait to try it.

 

It could be the brake pads that you were smelling.........

 

Simply practice your heel-toe shifting on the street. The best way to practice your foot position is normal driving when you ARE NOT TRYING TO GO FAST!

Then when you go to the autoX or track, you will see that the foot position is the hardest part....the adjustments you make for different speeds is not that hard to change once you are comfortable with the foot positions.

I figured you shifted before apex since you auto cross, but it never hurts to post what I did just in case other less experienced drivers are reading.

Good Luck - track days ROCK!!! Adreneline rush for 30+ minutes!!!!!