Yesterday, I had my first track experience at the MSR Houston track. The track is 2.4 miles with 17 turns and 3 demanding straights.

I went along with my brother and a couple of friends (yellow C5 & Boxster S). We got there at noon until 5 pm. My buddies had way more experience than me so they taught me the basics as well as following the track ins and outs all around. This is A MUST if you’ve never been in a track.

First of all, I’ll like to thank all the members here for helping me with all my questions. The best advice that I got was: “look at your rear mirror” (very good tip). Another tip I got at the track was to keep my windows down and point out to the better drivers, when/where to pass you. I was only “racing” my two friends… I came last of course but I gave them a tough time a few times.

Ok so, the first highlight of the day was riding with the chief instructor. Surfer looking cool dude with no worries at all. He gave me a ride in one of the C320 that the track has to teach classes. The guy ripped apart the car… the ride was a crazy rollercoaster! He was just talking cool and quite while I’m looking for the brake pedal all over the passenger seat. My first thought was: I’m not doing this to my car… no way! My second thought was: OK, I don’t know how to drive! Two more laps with this guy, I’d probably gotten sick… seriously.

As far as the car goes, it is pretty much stock with green filters and Renntech springs. I had new OEM rotors, Axxis ultimate brake pads, SS lines and fluid. The first thing my instructor said when he drove it was: good brakes! That gave me a bit more confident, however, after 30 minutes; you could tell the brakes were not responding the same. I started each session at about 36F/34R. When I came off after each session tires were gaining 6-7 psi. Never felt the SC hesitating or signs of heat soak.

The only downside was that I had to remove two of the plastic panels underneath the car. One of the bolts was missing, once air started to flow underneath the car, the panels came loose. Immediately, I putted on my emergency lights and drove slowly back to the pits area. At first I thought it was my CF lip, but once I looked under the car the plastics were hanging there. Took both out and kept having fun.

I kept a moderated pace at the beginning. There were 2-3 turns that I couldn’t get the line to take the correct apex. Once I memorized the track and the hard braking areas, I tried to do better each lap. The hardest part was “looking ahead”... Cones were helpful but sometimes was too late to do it right.

Good thing I had a helmet on, because I couldn’t help the smile on my face. I was so thrilled and excited. I felt comfortable and the car felt that could do much more… just needed a better driver obviously. Playing around with suspension settings was the least of my worries. I downshifted only in a few runs just to try it out. ESP was always ON and saved me a few times. All these details are not really relevant if it’s your first time.
There are so many things to be aware of on the track that you won’t worry about how fast you take the car. The fastest I took the car was 120 mph at the longest stretch. This might sounds very stupid but I had that video game mentality where you hit an apex at a certain speed, turn the wheel and you should be fine… I found out that it was juuust a little bit harder than that! The adrenaline, lack of cojones and how easy it is to make a mistake, turns Road Course Tracking into a science.

In conclusion, it was extremely enjoyable and I will definitely do it again; learning about you as a driver, looking at what’s ahead and being aware of your surroundings are the main things I got out of it. If you can do it with some friends, it is much better. You need to take breaks between sessions and hanging out and sharing experiences are always great.

Here are some pics. Thanks for reading - Carlos

 

I enjoyed reading this. Sounds like you may have the bug! Doesn't it make street racing seem just silly? Once you know where the real limits are, the stuff you do on the street is lame.

It sounds like you had a good, low-key event. It can be intimidating when you're among a bunch of strangers. So now you're ready to get into some auto club HPDEs (hi performance driver education). You won't get much action in the Benz Club, so you may want to join another club that is open to non-brand cars at HPDEs. I am in the Audi Club for that reason, and I'm told the Mazda Club is similar.

 

good write up bro, I've yet to take my beast out on the track.

 

Wow, sounds like fun -- good write up!

By the way, your car looks great. One of the best looking C32's - very clean and updated (2005).

At least you have an AMG, I couldn't take my C320 to the track, people will think it's the practice car! lol... But I do want to add a Kleeman supercharger soon, so maybe a stick-shift supercharged C-Class wouldn't be so, so embarrassing. I gotta get the AMG Brake kit first!

But anyway good run and at least now you have some experience. Next time you'll know a couple of tricks/strategy. I've never been so reading that made me excited!

*By the way, did you remove your spare tire and do anything to remove weight?


Tee_Tz.

 

Once you've been to enough track events, you realize that the REALLY serious track guys don't care about horsepower. They roll up in a Ford F250 Diesel with a nice trailer, and inside the trailer is usually something like a Spec Miata, old Porsche, beat up 1980s Mustang or some such track monster that looks like hell, but is modified from the ground up for the track. They often have half the horsepower that our cars have; but they're light and made to handle, and will run circles around you on track.

Personally, I don't think I'd want more HP on track. First, I really get no thrill about top speed. I've topped 135 at VIR and frankly it's just a shorter trip to the next turn. Second, high horsepower can give you the impression of success (you keep up with better drivers) and prevent you from focusing on better car control techniques. The best drivers are the guys who win in Spec Miata and other low-HP classes.

 

Yup! Congrats AMG4EVER.

 

Oh okay. So what would I need to upgrade to make my car 'track ready'? I'm sure I'll need to upgrade to some AMG brakes (I'd like to keep it Mercedes OEM hence "AMG" brakes), but what else? Sway bars?


Tee_Tz.

 

For a first day, the only thing I would worry about is good, high performance brake pads. 360 days a year it is still your daily driver, so there's no need to overspend on track mods. If you get hooked and want to spend a lot of days at the track, then you can look at upgrades. And for aftermarket brakes, I would skip the AMG stuff and go for an aftermarket kit like StopTech or Brembo.

 

Yup.....took my C55 to the track for the first time last year.....it was so much fun and satisfying to go faster and faster as I learned the track and what the car can do.

There is so much you can learn......proper racing line (probably the most important aspect of tracking), proper braking zones, and mastering the throttle application at the right time to maximize corner exit speed (without going off the track).

I loved it so much that I'm going again in about a month's time.

 

And I echo Fifth Ring's statement that you don't need a high HP car to enjoy driving on a track. 3 years ago, I took my old C240 to the track. Sure, the C55 is a lot faster in the straights and handles MUCH MUCH better around the curves, but you can still enjoy taking the car to its own limits and trying to go around the track as fast as you can without flying off the track. You will learn a lot about driving no matter what car you have.

HP only helps on the straights and exiting a corner. A lighter, more agile car allows for later braking and higher entry speeds into and through the corner.

 

Thanks for the input Fifth Ring. You are right about that... It felt silly driving back from the track. I just put the cruise control and enjoy the ride. I used almost a full tank... 9 mpg at 120 miles... about 50 laps I'll say.

Joining a club sounds like fun... I actually met a few guys from the Porsche club, traded cards and stuff like that... we'll see.

 

9 mpg??? Lucky you! We get about 4.9 to 5.4 depending on driver at the track! Then again this track is at WOT about 80% of the time! I get worse MPG going to work in traffic than you do at the track! Well done!

Now that I think about it we buy guys about every 3 sessions. Half 91 oct and half 100 oct. Gets to be $$$ after a while!

 

Thanks tee_tz. I like to think of it as an updated C32.

Man! You have to try it with your car. When the instructor took me for a ride in his C320, I was schocked more from his driving skills than anything else. That was crazy. Don't let that push you back, it really doesn't matter. I bet he can beat me in a Geo Metro.

I did removed my spare tire and my tools. I also emptied the glove compartment. Basically anything that moves inside your car.

 

Haha. Yeah man. I thought the same thing... I always read about what the track guys post here. I took it easy, I think I did more braking than what I'm supposed to and less acceleration than what I supposed to.

Here is a layout of the track. The more experienced guys said it was a "slower" track.

 

Most Porsche Clubs limit track participants to Porsches (afraid of being shown up by lesser vehicles, perhaps). So pick a club that will let you bring your car on track.

 

Wow, I'm excited about this, I think I'm going to try this. First I want to go and learn, drive around a little and practice what I learnt and then I'll go for real.

Man, I might have the bug before even going!


Tee_Tz.

 

Tee_Tz, why wouldn't you take the 330i to the track? Seems like it would be ready to go right out of the box.

 

hey good job congrats.

hope your tires were ok.

5th ring is correct re the hi hp stuff. i will start tracking my swift (100hp/ 1900 lbs) this year. for sure it will be faster in the corners than the c32. but putting the hammer down on the c32, in the right environment, is a certain thrill.

yes, porsche club limits to it's own marque. ferrari club -any car is ok but events are usually a bit pricier (duh!)

cyncarver my gas strategy will be sunoco gt 260 + (104 octane) diluted 50% with 93 octane pump. i get 104 at $7.55 a gal pumped into my own container.

i'm on track with the 352 rwhp beast this coming monday- lime rock (please rain hold off). 4/21 will be at summit point shenandoah. 5/5 pocono south, 5/11 pocono north.

 

tee: I drove a 1997 E320 on the track for 4 years, before getting the C32, and then C55. You don't need an AMG to have great fun. Take your Mercedes, and then take the BMW, and compare them. One of my sons drives a 2003 330i performance package on the track and he is an instructor for the BMW, Audi and Porsche clubs. Actually, the people who start in lower powered cars seem to become better drivers in my opinion. You need the track experience, learn the basics, and move up into the higher groups; then think about getting an AMG or M3.

 

Thanks man. My tires did just fine. Maybe it was the fatigue but sometimes I felt the car losing grip... Now, my friend's Porsche had dunlops and the rubber was building up along the edge of the tire tread. Any idea why? He told me those were the tires that came with the car...

The miatas & porsches were driving strong but to my eyes the ferrari 430 was the fastest.

I'm not joining any clubs anytime soon, definetely need to go at least 2 more times... it is $300 per event, ouch!...

 

yeah ferraris rock!

it's normal for rubber (marbles) shed by other DOT R tires to be picked up on your tires.

up in my area there are a few clubs that put on events at reasonable cost. my best deal is $175 for 4-5 hrs open track. $300 is about avg, sometimes it's only 1 hrs worth of running tho. varies per club and track. there are bound to be track junkies in your area and better deals for track time. just have to find them.

 

i just want to know why i didn't get a phone call to come?

sounds like you had fun, did you take any video?

 

AMG4ever, thanks for your post. I appreciated reading it because I will be tracking my 03 in about 5 weeks at Sebring. I have made almost the identical preparations you'd made...new OEM rotors, ss brake lines, Ate 200 fluid, Porterfield R4s pads. I also put new Goodyear GS D3s on the back last week to give them some miles prior to the track. I have read the information posted by the track day sponsor (Chin Motorsport) and wonder if you have any other words of wisdom for me. Do gloves help? How many others wear them? Did you wear regular sneakers? How hard was it to remove and then reinstall the spare? Sorry for all the questions, but since you just went for the first time, I think you are the ideal person to ask. Thanks for your reply. I want to learn all I can.

 

sweet!!!

 

I've been meaning to go -- where in Houston are you? I'm in Sugar Land.

Maybe we can get an mbworld.org event going over the summer.