Cold weather racing tips?

[erlrich]

Was hoping to get a few tips on running in cold, or even worse, cold/wet conditions. Things like what to do with tire pressures versus normal/hot conditions, differences in driving styles, anything else you could think of to look out for. The reason I'm asking is I'll be at Summit Point for the FATT this Friday, and the weather man is calling for a 50% chance of snow/rain, with a high of around 32

Thanks in advance for any help -

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Earl
ITA 240SX in process

 

[Knestis]

1. Make sure that your heater and defogger fan work - people in the Northwest are less likely to run cage tubes through that space than people in Texas.

2. Make sure that holes in the floor are plugged - I got a geyser of steam up my pant leg in the passenger seat of a car that didn't have the OE rubber/plastic plug in a 2" hole in the floor, after water hit a hot exhaust pipe. Needless to say, it really steamed up the windows, too.

3. Don't panic if it's wet - rain tires aren't really an issue until there is real standing water on the track (when you can't see the texture of the aggregate poking up through the mirror finish of the water.

4. Come prepared to block off your radiator and/or oil cooler to get temps up to the correct point - oil particularly shouldn't be below 210-220* to boil out water.

5. If you can adjust your roll stiffness, try runnning it as soft as you can - don't make huge balance changes to do this, however, like just disconnecting the bar on one end.

6. Make sure that you perpare so that you don't suffer OUT of the car - good awning, warm place to hide, extra socks, gloves, maybe some rubber overboots for the driving shoes...

7. Go into the experience expecting it to be fun - crappy weather is easier on drivers and equipment and can be VERY educational if you don't assume that it will be hell.

K

 

[whenry]

You may need to plan on the contingency of not being able to use regular(?) racing tires. Soft rubber tires dont do well below 40 degrees and you may either need to plan on using normal street tires or finding a way to heat your race rubber.

 

[ddewhurst]

Earl, there comes a time when seasons change that you change with the seasons.

Duck hunting, deer hunting, ice fishing, snow ski, drink beer & lie a bunch about the past racing season (inside where it's warm & dry).

Enjoy your weekend

David

 

[RSTPerformance]

If it does Rain see if you can find an experienced driver to show you the "Rain" line if there is one. At NHIS there is no real "rain" line, but at LRP there is a definite "rain" line.

Other advice:
Soften up everything
Put on the rain tires if you have them before you head out to the track, with a 50/50 chance I would rather change tires in the dry than in the wet.
Bring warm dry spare clothes as mentioned above... The entire weekend is supposed to be fun; the driving part is a small portion of your overall weekend experience.

The Rain is the best!!! Slow and steady wins the race!!!

Raymond Blethen


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RST Performance Racing
www.rstperformance.com
1st and 2nd 2003 ITB NARRC Championship
1st and 6th 2003 ITB NERRC Championship
3rd 2003 ITB ARRC Sprint Race
4th 2003 ITB ARRC Endoro
1st 2003 AS NERRC and NARRC Championships

 

[joeg]

I've raced in cold weather numerous times.
An important tip is to allow extra warm-up time on the fluids, tires and brakes! Don't just go charging out there for practice/qualifying--especially if you are the first group of the day.

A trick tip on tires is to secure autocross compounds (if you run Hoosiers or Kumhos) for tires, but it better be cold.

If it is really wet and cold, Hoosier DirtStockers are fabulous.

If you actually have snow that sticks to the tarmac, it is likely the track will be closed. No iceracing on tarmac.Good Luck!