Track Days In The Rain

[11Budlite]

After many beautiful clear days over the last week, I'm signed up for a track day at Palmer, MA tomorrow with the forecast looking pretty bleak. I'm going to make the best of it but will be using my aeroscreen because I've removed the wipers/motor/linkage and don't feel like putting all that back together. I have a canopy to park under in the pits but will be getting wet while on track. I'm looking for any tips that will help make the day successful. I'll be running the stock wheels with Avon ZV7 tires. 

 

Tire pressure? I usually run around 18psi 

RainX on the visor, will that help?

Anything else, please let me know!

 

Thanks

[Vovchandr]

Track day insurance even if you don't usually buy it. Seriously. 

 

Edit: also half tonneau if you got it.

 

Can't comment on other issues 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Vovchandr

[11Budlite]

Vovchandr - Thanks for your input. 

[Croc]

 

 

What seats are you running?  If it is the regular leather or cloth ones with sponge foam inside, then stick a double thickness trash bag over them and tape it all together so it will not blow around.  Those seats take forever to dry out if they get wet.

 

You will find speed will clear the visor pretty well - RainX is nice but not really required.  

 

Change of clothes for later plus a towel.  

 

A rain day is a very good day to learn a track.  Take it slow.  Keep it super smooth for inputs of steering, brake and throttle.  Coasting into corners instead of trying to brake is actually a very good technique for the rain.   Keep off the kerbs (curbs?) as they will be slick.  Do not try to brake and turn into a corner - trail braking is likely to just have you spinning until you find your feet.  Dont expect to drive the track edge to edge - the water will be at the edges draining - so expect you just lost 4-6 feet of track width.

 

I find I start aquaplaning in any Caterham at around 100mph.  Cap the top speed and focus on just enjoying the corners.

 

You are likely invisible to other cars in front of you - be careful passing.  See the VIR photo below.  Gary in the Fox body Mustang had no idea I was behind him for 5 laps.  He could not see me in the spray in his rear vision mirror and he was driving just fast enough I could not safely get past him without aquaplaning    I show up pretty clearly in the photo though - but not in a rear vision mirror.  

 

 

 

Forget about trying to drive a regular qualifying line around the track.  Instead read the track and avoid the slick portions of standing water.  The fastest, grippiest, and safest lines will be the ones you would never think are the fast ones.  See the photo above - there are strips of standing water in the paving seams - look for those shiny areas as they are what you want to avoid.  None of us are fully exiting to the kerbs in the above photo as the standing water is evident.  Think of threading a path between the shiny areas and if you have to go over them then try to head over it in a straight line without trying to turn the same time.  

 

I had so much water coming through the bonnet louvres the engine started missing as the water was collecting in the coil plug wells and seeping into the engine.  Cling wrap was my friend that day - I taped it to the underside of the bonnet to direct the water off the cam cover depression.  

 

 

 

If you have the tonneau then put it on the passenger side to save some of the water from getting in.  

 

If you keep yourself restrained you will have fun and learn a lot.  

 

[11Budlite]

Thanks Croc, that's very helpful info!

 

No tonneau cover yet, so I removed the passenger seat. I'm going out to cover up the drivers seat now (it's leather). I'll tape the bonnet louvers too.

 

Thanks again, especially the reading of the track surface/driving line. Smooth and steady and hopefully it's a fun day!

[11Budlite]

So I thought I'd give a little update. The track day on Saturday started off pretty well with only a light mist early in the morning. I got in a couple fun sessions before it started to rain. The third session in light/med rain was one of my favorite drives in a Seven. There was enough traction to maintain some decent speed with no puddling or rivers running across the track. I was trying to be especially smooth and was finding out that even in these wet conditions breakaway in the corners was very progressive. Really had a lot of fun!

 

The afternoon sessions were another story. The rain was really starting to come down and although visibility was decent because there weren't too many cars on track, traction was getting worse and worse. I think the only cars that were doing well were the WRX/STI's and a VW Golf. There were a couple spins and off-course excursions, thankfully not for me but there was very limited traction at this point. I made it worse by forgetting to put on my rain jacket and only had a MTB windbreaker on....I got soaked and there were some pretty good puddles in the lowered floor pans too! I wanted to do at least another session, but with the weather conditions getting worse, only one set of dry clothes that I wanted to save for the ride home, and a rollover in the advanced group, I decided to play it safe and pack up.

 

Takeaways from my first wet track day?

1: As far as driving on track, there’s a lot of great advice from Croc’s post listed above. There’s not much I can add to that with my limited sessions in the wet but his advice certainly helped me. 

2: Bring a rain jacket or a rain suit. You’re going to get wet and a wind breaker won’t help.

3: A tonneau cover over the passenger side would have helped to keep some of the water out.

4: Drain holes in the floor pans. I was surprised to see how much water was sloshing around after the afternoon run. Having the seats covered in plastic bags kept the leather and foam dry.

5: A canopy in the pits is a must. I can’t imagine how wet it would have been without one.

6: A covered trailer would be a big bonus, but I like the ease of towing with my lightweight open trailer. I put the windshield/side screens, and top back on for the drive home and the stock Caterham weather protection is not 100% effective. The inside was even wetter when I got home.

7: If the track offers garages or covered areas for rent, it would definitely be worth it.

8: Towels, lots of towels and an extra set of clothes for the drive home.

9: My biggest concern after getting home was drying everything off and making sure there was no moisture left in the chassis/body/grot traps. I drove it to get the surface rust off the brake rotors and left it sitting in the sun over the next few days when possible. My car is still immaculate (PPF on the most vulnerable areas) and I want to keep it that way.

10: At the next track day if I know there’s going to be downpours I’ll just take the Miata!  

 

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by 11Budlite

[Croc]

Great update Bruce!  

 

Super smooth is the way to go but there is a point where so much water is on track that you end up crawling around.  You learn a lot about how your car handles at the limit in these conditions without needing to drive on the ragged edge at insane speeds.  

 

These cars take a while to dry out though!

 

With the lack of drain holes, its a double edged sword.  If you make a drain hole, then I found water comes in in under the carpet in wet conditions when you have the hood up.  Given how infrequently we drive in the rain then it may be better just to ignore having drain holes?

[wdb]

Carpet?

[Vovchandr]

53 minutes ago, wdb said:

Carpet?

makes you feel all warm and fuzzy 

[11Budlite]

No carpet on the floors of my Cat.  

 

It's surprising how close to the floor the seat bottoms of the std leather seats are when installed. They drop down between the seat rails and if I hadn't wrapped them in a plastic bag they would have soaked up the water that was sloshing around.

[IamScotticus]

Carpeted my tunnel to stop burning my knees.

I then started wondering if the glue had a low flash point?

[11Budlite]

Some photos from the track day. The one with the Miata was during the last session when it was raining the hardest. I was trying to keep up with my son who was driving the Miata, and getting ready to point by the WRX who was much quicker than me in the rain. My son had just put on some Continental tires (not sure of the model) that he said were great in the wet.

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by 11Budlite