458 at Sebring

Chin puts on a great events! Follow them north to VIR and WG. Great tracks.

 

Great track; I love it.

Keep the MPSS at 32-34 PSI for max traction. If you are pushing, you will have to keep letting air out over the course of the day. I would not go out with them below 28/29 PSI though and take it easy until they are up to temp.

I always have to add a lot of air at the end of the day before I drive home. Going to cup2's next : )

 

Thats great youre using it as it should

Im considering a 458 and will use it on track 5-8 times year so would love to hear about your experience with it esp re maintenance

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I was there as well in my Exige. I won't make the August event, but planning on September.

For the rubber marks, try Mothers R3 Racing Rubber Remover. Comes right off, with no hard work.

 

I used to use a GoPro, but found an iPhone 6 on a windshield mount running Harry's Laptimer and a Bluetooth OBDii dongle are the hot setup. The GPS on the iPhone only runs at 1hz refresh thou. So next thing is to upgrade to a GPS dongle of some sort.

 

Pads are really easy to replace, you should look at just buying pads, not necessarily Brembo pads and learning how to replace them. It will be a lot easier and save you money. You may also want to get some racing pads that are better suited to the track. They will squeak for a while after being on the track. Bleeding brake fluid is important also. It is also pretty easy if you are mechanically inclined. The trofeo R spec tires are great. That is what I changed to with my 458 for the track. I did the exact same thing you are doing. Put 10,000 miles on my 458 with a lot of track days and then ultimately ended up buying a Challenge car when I found the track was the only place I really enjoyed driving the car.

 

Always wanted to drive on this track w/ all the history associated-good for you! I grew up not too far from here (Gville).

Also, I say take it as a compliment that you spooked the instructors!

 

It's a good compliment. I'd be uncomfortable too honestly as a passenger. : )

You might consider Michelin Cup 2's also.

Have you done any skidpad time and what setting do you have the traction control in? You might consider doing a car control clinic or private skidpad. Stakes can be high in certain turns at Sebring, so best to get really comfortable with your car control. That can be hard to do at a track day.

Have fun out there!

 

You might want to get some experience at pbir or homested w infield layout before hispeed tracks like daytona and sebring.
Dangerous not only for instructor but you too

 

The Miata driver instructors with chin will give you some grief, especially when you go to do your checkout drive with one of them. They run different lines through many of the turns there because they rely so much on momentum and that's not the fastest way around Sebring in a car with any power. Just consider moving into something safer if you really start to enjoy going to the track. I used to track my Modena a lot and then went to 360 and 458 challenge cars that I race and don't feel safe in street cars. The average high performance street car today has way too much power to be safely used on the track by most people buying them

 

Onofrio is a friend, he's not running the challenge series anymore but I'd take his reco on street tires. I run slicks so I can't make any reco there.

As for the safety, the roll cage and the 6 point so you can wear a hans device are non-negotiable in my book. I've broken my neck before (mountain biking, not driving) and so so not having a head restraint (I also use a halo seat, although it is limited in what it can do) is foolish.

I did it just like everyone else starting, drove with a three point seat belt in my comfy leather seats and now that I've been doing this a while, involved in a "touch" during a race and hit a wall during practice (through Bishop at Sebring, so ya, I was scootin') and had COUNTLESS people I know be involved in wrecks at the track, safety is of utmost importance to me. My teammate was the one involved in the 458 ch crash with CCR last month. My team and I have taken even further precautions since then from things we learned from the crash.

It's very serious business driving a 458 at the speeds you are. Down the back straight at Sebring we're going similar speeds (I have an evo kit so more drag) but my car going into 17 is going to brake much later and carry more speed through the turn, but you're hauling the mail going into 17 and I've seen many a car hit the wall in Chin events at 17. Nosing in there with no Hans device is a basal skull fracture waiting to happen.

I'm reiterating things that I heard from all the "old guys" when I first started, it's not a matter of if, it WILL happen if you drive long enough. I've spun at Road Atlanta because of a car setup issue and because there was oil dropped on the track. Two things out of your control.

Long story short, at the speeds you're going in a 458 I wouldn't want to get in the car either without all the possible safety devices I could. I'm sure you've heard all this and you'll hear it again and again until you start preaching it yourself most likely!

Last thing, I'm not an "old fuddy duddy" either, I'm 39 and I'm not slow. I've won 6 out of 9 races this year in four different cars and set 4 lap records in three different cars, including the 360 challenge and NARRA TT3 lap record at Sebring, which is my home track. I've raced and won and set a lap record in Radical SR3 and SR8 and I love driving them more than anything - but won't run them anymore just because they're open cockpit - it's not worth the additional risk to me anymore.

 

I did the exact same thing in my Modena. I bought a custom harness bar and put in race seats and 6 points. However there is a very valid school of thought out there that suggests this is even more dangerous in a rollover because it doesn't let you submarine when the roof gets crushed. Rollovers don't happen often in these cars but as the saying goes it just takes once.

It's really an interesting time in track days. With the guy dying at road Atlanta at a de event recently safety concerns have been brought to the forefront again. The reality is a street car just isn't very safe at a race track at the speeds something like a vette or 458 is capable of. My poor little 360ch with aero does 160 down that back straight at road Atlanta. Add about 12-15 to that for the 458 and any accident or off turns into something insanely dangerous.

I've won two races at road Atlanta this year in the 360 and managed to stay clean the entire weekend but had a mega spin because of oil on the track. You can see it here http://youtu.be/f79CwRMgGPU

It happened so fast that there was absolutely nothing I could do other than try and keep it out of the wall which I was barely able to do. **** happens and it happens fast on a race track in cars this capable. During this one weekend there were at least 6-8 significant offs causing damage. Many of them were the crazy kids in the formula cars, but we had several in the GT class with all well experienced racers. It's just not preventable at some level, you're just as likely to get taken out by someone else as you are to make a mistake on your own. Too many things outside of ones control, blown tire, exploded rotors, broken drive shaft, brakes gone, it all happens at one point or another.

So, the only way to truly mitigate the risks to an acceptable level for me personally is to have a proper race car. I bought a GT-R as a back up track car when my 360ch was broken and I drove it at Sebring 5 laps before I hated it. Not only because a street car, even one as capable as a brand new gtr, handles like **** compared to any proper race car, but also I didn't feel safe even with me behind the wheel.

So I now race the 458 and have the 360 as a backup. I realize that scenario is completely unreasonable for most but it doesn't have to be a ferrari. A Miata, e36 M3 or any other proper race car will not only be more fun, but it might just save your life some day.

 

Sounds like you have very good natural ability and you are eager to learn. That is the recipe for success IMHO.

You will have a freakin' blast on the skidpad...it is really awesome and invaluable on many levels.

I use a 3point in my street cars for HPDE, but use HANS in formula cars which in which push much harder...also fireproof underwear ; P

But as Rotary points out, things can happen. I don't want to cage my street cars because one is for touring and the other is still double duty as a "date night car" ; ) A cage in street car can be dangerous because you don't want to smash your head off it in a "routine" accident - may lead to a massive head injury. So there is no "one solution" for all. Some neck restraint systems don't require a harness now, but secure the helmet via a brace around your torso. I might get one for HPDE because I keep getting faster and hope to be around for a while : )

 

I think I was behind you at Sebring; red sypder? My student was in a yellow 996 gt3.

Rotary is correct. Most will start with their street car, build that up, and then eventually go to a race car. The cars are so fast now, that they really can be unsafe in an off at big speeds with no safety equipment. I did the same path, and I told Rotary he would probably follow the same path when he had his street car. I race a cup car, and I have a scud. Even the scud doesn't hold a candle to a real race car on track, nor is anywhere near as safe. I'm not saying that there is no place for street cars on track, because we would have no racers as few are going to transition from street driving a sports car to tracking a full on race car. It's just the speeds are a lot greater now so you have to be careful.....

Ask Rotary on a local shop since he's racing them. I'm sure FCF could look at it as they support challenge cars and are familiar with them.

David

 

You'd be crazy if you didn't take it to a dealer or team to have it independently checked. Honestly there's not a lot mystery on these cars like the 360 and 430s. They're pretty damn reliable but the gear box is an issue, a big one. If you're talking about Joes car then he thinks it has the second gen gearbox, but even if it's the 4th there really isn't anything different other than the harness position and wire routing - which is changed with zip ties lol. The reality is it's probably going to grenade at some point unless you just get lucky, so just anticipate it a $16k box plus $3k labor at some point in the future.

Brake pads have to be bedded in properly on the ccm's or they will disentegrate, but that's a wear item. Make sure the software is up to date as there are issues that the car won't make full power over 8k without the update, but it's free.

I always get a compression test done on any ferrari I buy, so I'd do that as part of the deal. Lastly is spares. They're expensive so get what you can as wheels are about $9k a set.

 

Pretty awesome thread to see someone go straight at it like this!

I'm sure these guys have a lot more experience than me, but I like my sparco suit a lot. They will also custom fit it for you and turn it around in a couple weeks via mail to CA for a nominal fee. I like alpine stars underwear and shoes, and love my sparco gloves. All the stuff is fireproof - for a time : )

I use this stuff in a formula car, so no room for a cooling unit for me. I'll be interested to hear other's replies.

 

Cool shirt and momo make good stuff. For a race suit get the best you can afford. In essence the more expensive it is the more comfortable and light weight it will be so it won't be so damn hot when your sitting in the paddock. I like puma shoes for fit and function. For gloves sparco momo and alpine stars are all good.

Get flame retardant everything. Socks underwear balaclava etc.

You're a lot like me jumping in head first so if I can help in anyway let me know. I live in Windermere during the winter and will be back for the summer in a few weeks.