within the range of my AAA 200 mile tow, otherwise take a trailer
within the range of my AAA 200 mile tow, otherwise take a trailer
Before I self-evacuated my engine internals on track? : anything under 3 hour drive...
After I self-Evacuated my engine internals on track? : Anything under a 30 minute drive...
There's few worse feelings in the world than blowing a motor during the Instructor session at the end of the day, and needing your father to drive an hour to my house to grab the trailer, then 2.5 hours down and back to come rescue me. That one stung enough to pretty much never go to an event without the trailer, or at least a plan in case of worst case scenario...
I've driven ~500 miles to Miller Motorsports Park from Denver. Car was a dual use car, Recaro Speed seats, rollbar, harnesses, but still had AC, radio, etc. If I had to drive a "real" race car with no hvac, rollcage, harnesses etc, I wouldn't want to go more than 45-60 minutes in it.
I've been lucky to never substantially break down that far from home. I've broken plenty at my "local" tracks though and had to call for tows from there.
I don't have the time to head out of state now and all the tracks in state are within my Hagerty tow coverage, so I don't really worry about it. I tow a tire trailer behind my 996 Turbo and swap wheels/tires at the track. That car is still pretty pleasant on the street, only thing that makes it less comfy than stock is the fixed back Euro GT3 drivers seat. Which is still pretty comfy in the scheme of fixed back seats.
Hopefully when I do have time to head out of state again I may have my wifes Cayenne Diesel as my DD and maybe buy another trailer. Not sure...
I did ~6hrs each way to gingerman for my first track day, in a NA miata with uncomfortable seats and no A/C or cruise control. I survived but I wouldn't do all that again. That was a situation where I had signed up for a chumpcar race and needed some kind of track time beforehand, and that was the only thing available on short notice.
Already this year with the cayman I've driven to pittrace (~3hr each way) twice. First time I pulled the track tires out on a tire trailer, mostly as a test of the whole system. It all worked but was a lot of effort so the second time I just drove out on the track tires. Ride was a tiny bit rougher than usual but generally fine. I'd like to go to some further away tracks eventually, I'm not opposed to driving but I'd probably use the tire trailer just to a) keep wear off of the track tires and b) avoid the risk of damaging a tire on the way or getting stranded far away from home without any kind of a spare. That's the only real concern for me, but I'm dealing with a largely stock car with lots of creature comforts and relatively low risk of random mechanical failure. Of course, the further away from home the more inclined I'd probably be to play it a bit safe and not go too crazy on track.
If I had a "real" track car I'd be trailering it pretty much anywhere further than Mid Ohio (1hr), and maybe even there too.
My personal track car, the farthest I ever drove it was about 35-40 minutes from my old house to Hallett.
Driving a friends WRL Miata, we trailed it from Tulsa up to Raceway Park of the Midlands for an HPDE event.
In reply to dps214 :
Curious why you thought towing the tire trailer was a lot of effort? Other than the obvious having to swap wheels at the track, I don't find it much work at all
Well, in May I hope to drive it about 3500 miles or so.
To date 4 hours one way. I dont usually drive on the track tires but Sunday I did from Mid-O because they were better than the wife's tires that I drove there on.
docwyte said:In reply to dps214 :
Curious why you thought towing the tire trailer was a lot of effort? Other than the obvious having to swap wheels at the track, I don't find it much work at all
Mostly the having to swap wheels (twice) at the track. And it was just a track night event so they were in pretty quick succession and it resulted in getting home that much later too. The towing itself isn't terrible but does add a bit of effort - slightly slower speeds, more care required in general, and more fuel use. Not worth it all for that short of a trip.
When I was a novice I had no problem driving a good distance (4-5 hours) to the track, running all day, and driving home. As I got better/more serious that changed. Stock brake pads needed to be swapped for track pads. Stickier track tires weren't suitable for long highway distances. Race seats and safety gear weren't great for long drives. My (relatively nice) car was taking more of a beating than I wanted... rocks and rubber on the outside and my dirty sweaty a$$ on the inside. At some point the juice wasn't worth the squeeze for me. For the last two years I've had a pickup and a dedicated track car in an enclosed trailer with all the tools and gear. It is immeasurably better for my needs.
I've certainly driven 10+ hours in the past, but from my location, everything is at least 4 hours.
i remember one return to Iowa from Grattan where I realized I'd melted all the adhesive out from under the balancing weights in the front wheels. Turns out 70-75 mph was right about where the wheels were most out of balance,
After that, a liberal application of foil tape over the weights became part of my track preparation.
I'll drive my car from Aurora to Autobahn but will trailer to Blackhawk.
Autobahn is close enough for the wife to come get me if needed. I'd be more scared to call her from Blackhawk to come get me.
So I guess about an hour for me.
I drove a lowered Probe from PA to FL for the challenge, then drove it back. That wasn't all that bad for a once-a-year thing. For a regular type event, in a mostly stock car, 4 hours each way is probably ok if it's going to be a multi-day event. Get there the night before and not have to rush.
For one-day shows where I have to get there real early in the morning, I'd probably set the limit much lower because every hour earlier I have to wake up is 10% grumpier that I will be about it. For example if the drivers meeting is at 8AM then I have to be there probably 7:30 at the very latest, plus an hour drive, an hour to get ready, that's 5:30 AM and I'm not built for that.
In reply to dps214 :
Can't say that I've noticed a difference in fuel economy or stability with my trailer. My friend who drove his cayman to the track with me marvelled at how stable my trailer was at 85mph...
Stability is fine even with probably less tongue weight than it should have, it is noisy though. Slower speeds (70-75 vs 75-80) just because I don't feel like risking blowing up a trailer tire or wheel bearing in the name of saving a few minutes of travel time. I might be being a bit overly cautious on that though. I don't do enough normal highway driving with the cayman to know what it should do, but mileage definitely took a hit. It's not a huge cost impact especially amongst the expenses of a track day but it's something. Even towing it behind my fiesta (where the trailer is fully within the frontal area of the car and should have minimal aero impact, definitely not the case with the cayman) it was like a 10% mileage decrease at 70-75mph.
It may depend a bit on which trailer you get.
My HF 4'x4' tire trailer was kind of a PITA. Noisy, low speed rating, lower speed limit, lane restrictions (here in CA towing vehicles are limited to 55 mph and the two right lanes), higher tolls on the bridges, and difficult to back up (wheelbase was so short it jackknifed almost instantly). I used it for a couple years before deciding I would just use slightly less-soft track tires so that I could change them at home and drive there/back on them.
I towed a ton with Harbor Freight type trailers and they did pretty well. My current SouthSport trailer is markedly better tho. Still a PITA to back up with it, although the tongue is a lot longer than the HF ones, so it's slightly better.
The turbo doesn't get great mpg period, so the 22mpg I got towing the trailer seemed pretty normal. No restrictions on lanes here in Colorado, if I'm going fast enough I can be in whatever lane I want towing a tire trailer.
I have heard that if you forget your trailer is behind you, and you get on the hig...err...track. It can and will withstand speeds up to 130.
Normal Texas Highway *85mph* speeds weren't an issue, get the 12" wheels and keep a spare in case and check when you get places. Ran for 3 years without an issue, and they are impossible to back up....yup.
My longest trip coming up Sunday.
I'm going to drive the Ralliart wagon to Spence Field for an autocross. I've only autocrossed it when the Miata was down for some reason, but it's got cruise control, meatlocker AC, and is a great highway cruiser. I'm likely to be last in H Street against the three Civics.
I just bought a new set of Rivals for the Miata and I don't want to put all of those miles on them either.
The Ralliart has 162/162 HP/torque vs the 8th gen Civic SI with 197/139, plus the civics are at least 100 pounds lighter and have a manual transmission with an excellent limited slip. Also, I'm going to be on Firehawks, not 200 TW tires.
This is all about getting seat time and checking out another venue. Maybe it'll rain, these tires are new and they are good in the rain.
The biggest thing is that I have to be on the road so early. It's going to be a long day.
5 hrs ~300miles is my limit. It gets me a few places from Cincy. I did have to drive the rabbit with wasted rings smoking like a train from Mid Ohio back to my buddies place in Columbus once which was entertaining but not enjoyable.
My high score is four hours (250 miles)
Disclaimer: mostly stock, new-ish car.
So I was reading CM last night and there was an article about TOK258 the Morgan that was raced at Le Mans in 1962. The car won it's class, covering 2200 miles and when the race was over they drove the car home to England..............that's GRMing
I'm thinking we have become less adventurous.
I have driven 900-odd miles each way to rallycross but typically 200-250 for a regional. 99% of the time I can limp home if something breaks.
Turn for home, break into a vast cloud canyon at 25,000 ft. Canopy frosted over, ice on the wings, radio on the fritz, gyro compass spinning, left engine running hot, funny vibration coming from somewhere. A wall of thunderheads between you and home towering up at least another 25,000 ft. above you, not another airplane in sight. Holes in your wing. Gas a little on the low side. Five-hundred miles to go for some Spam fried in axle grease and a cup of coffee brewed with battery acid....
Just another day at the office.
For an autocross or track day generally 2 hours max, may push it to 4 for something special. Longest I've gone was Ontario to Florida for the Challenge in a Toyobaru with a stock interior. If something goes wrong, I have tools and common spares, beyond that you need to be able to afford to ship the car home and transport yourself back in a worst-case scenario.
When I was a younger man and lived near NYC, the closest track was Bridgehampton at 1.5 hours, Lime Rock in CT at 3 ish hours followed by Poconos at about 3 hours.
That was all fine in a modded street car for HPDE. I wouldn't do that in a car without a/c heat or basic creature comforts. No point in making your car miserable to drive in order to have fun driving it on track imo.
I drove my race Miata a couple of times to/ from the track 3ish hours here in CA. That was miserable but temporary until I found a decent cheap truck and rented trailers from uhaul as needed. Much better for that car.
3-4 hours seems like my limit. Anything longer than that would require me to take a day or maybe 2 off work to get there and back and still be functional.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:My longest trip coming up Sunday.
I'm going to drive the Ralliart wagon to Spence Field for an autocross. I've only autocrossed it when the Miata was down for some reason, but it's got cruise control, meatlocker AC, and is a great highway cruiser. I'm likely to be last in H Street against the three Civics.
I just bought a new set of Rivals for the Miata and I don't want to put all of those miles on them either.
The Ralliart has 162/162 HP/torque vs the 8th gen Civic SI with 197/139, plus the civics are at least 100 pounds lighter and have a manual transmission with an excellent limited slip. Also, I'm going to be on Firehawks, not 200 TW tires.
This is all about getting seat time and checking out another venue. Maybe it'll rain, these tires are new and they are good in the rain.
The biggest thing is that I have to be on the road so early. It's going to be a long day.
The car was better than expected.
I drove it at a few more events, and when we had a cold, wet day for the State Championship at the Firm, I left the Miata home and drove the wagon one more time. Cold and wet worked in my favor. The first place Civic SI picked up five seconds on his last run to beat me by two.
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