First track day, did not go so well. Need some suggestions

[Boy Blue]

I did not remove the spare or any of the trays from the rear of the car...
I was running stock shocks.
The track temperature was warm, but not hot.
Not sure if I completely understand the under/oversteering thing..
Going into the corner I would push the car through, sliding on the tire till the apex of the corner, comming out I would be spinning and pushing through as well. (maybe my cornering speed was too quick?)

Is a front strut bar really going to make enough of a difference?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by blueskana

I would get tires first, take it out, and see where you stand/what you feel your lacking. Your understeering, excessive exit tire spinning and line tracking will all be enormously affected by switching to a true UHP tire.
Another good reason for taking this step and then reevaluting is how much your ability/performance will be able to be "improved upon" in the driver department. Street tires leave you sliding and howling away, kind of a controlled clusterf*ck. The right tires will give you such a vast increase in control and feedback, you'll start to be able to see more clearly when both good and bad descisions are made and their outcome. Between predicatable traction charactoristics, tire pressure and weight distribution experimentation and techniques you'll be busy for a while.
Best of luck and enjoy!

yeah, i would do that. forgot you already have your springs and wheel set up (that way you won't rub by getting too large wheels, then lowering the car). but yes, tires, i think will make a BIG difference (like how i'm understeering pretty bad with the crappy OEM tires).

Originally Posted by Boy Blue

I did not remove the spare or any of the trays from the rear of the car...
I was running stock shocks.
The track temperature was warm, but not hot.
Not sure if I completely understand the under/oversteering thing..
Going into the corner I would push the car through, sliding on the tire till the apex of the corner, comming out I would be spinning and pushing through as well. (maybe my cornering speed was too quick?)

Is a front strut bar really going to make enough of a difference?

understeering is when you turn the steering wheel to turn in, but the front tires lose traction and you end up going straight or not turning in as much. oversteering is when you are cornering, and the rear tires lose traction and you end up "fish tailing". if you're familiar with NASCAR terms, i believe understeer is being "tight" in the corners, and oversteer is being "loose" in the corners.

yes, i think a strut bar, when properly installed, will make a difference. furthermore, when we installed my TRD struts/shocks, we didn't get to put in the rear shocks, so i was still using the OEM shocks in the rear and the TRD struts in the front. i drove around like this for a few weeks. i'll tell you that when we finally installed the rear shocks, i immediately felt the difference. with the OEM shocks, understeer was more present than with the TRD shocks. now my problem, like i said earlier, is my OEM tires.

i think spring rate and strut/shock dampening will have a big affect on cornering abilities. too much spring rate in the front will cause understeer, while too much in the rear will cause oversteer (can someone confirm this?).

[mojoyaris]

Originally Posted by Boy Blue

I did not remove the spare or any of the trays from the rear of the car...
I was running stock shocks.
The track temperature was warm, but not hot.
Not sure if I completely understand the under/oversteering thing..
Going into the corner I would push the car through, sliding on the tire till the apex of the corner, comming out I would be spinning and pushing through as well. (maybe my cornering speed was too quick?)

Is a front strut bar really going to make enough of a difference?

When I first took my car out to Autox I ran it on lowered springs, 17 in rims and ziex 512's (215 size). The tires surely chunked..........
To get the rear end around, I increased the rear pressure to 45 and the fronts to 42. To prevent the car from pushing I used the brakes and steering to unbalance the car on the next lap to get the back end up and around, but this also produces a bit more oversteer than you may want. ... but it's fun! If you want a neutral turn in and out, the best way is brake before the turn, not during the turn.

When you're getting wheel spin exiting out of the corner it's because, well you're gassing it too hard. An LSD to keep the power to the ground does help.

Hopefully this and the others will help you on your next time out.
Have fun!