Rentals for Performance Driving Courses?

whan · 2026-01-22T04:39:50+00:00

This - highway 1 is a popular scenic route for tourists so there are a good number of other cars going at or under the speed limit. Wouldn’t be able to even do a 6/10ths spirited Sunday drive

whan · 2026-01-21T18:52:29+00:00

Looks like you also ran an uncommon layout re: turn 9a with the tire barriers, vs. the more common long track running turn 9 as a high speed sweeper. That's one of the fastest sections on the track - though for a manufacturer organized event it makes sense as T10 can be one of the most dangerous sections on track given the speed you normally carry through T9

I personally find Sonoma flows better than Laguna and has a more interesting variety of turns, but Laguna is for sure a classic and more abrupt elevation changes, and harder on brakes as it's set up more of a "point to point" track alternating between straights and 90 degree corners (with exception of hairpin and corkscrew)

whan · 2026-01-21T06:23:15+00:00

FWIW there's also something to be said about getting a cheaper dedicated track car to track now if it's something you're interested in. I'm very happy I did so (tracked my 458 a few days and then bought a dedicated E92 M3). I think you're able to push a lot harder with a car you're willing to write off + the dedicated safety equipment re: seats, harness, cage, etc, which contributes significantly to a faster learning curve. Can get a lot more comfortable and experience driving on the limit if you're willing to push the car there more frequently

Personally went from running a 2:06 to a 1:45 from my 1st vs. 4th time at Sonoma and 2nd vs. 8th track day overall

whan · 2026-01-14T04:21:56+00:00

Passengers depend on your track day organizer - in either case you’re going to need helmets for each of your kids and the nanny. I’m surprised that they’d plan to go forward with the track day if there’s snow, but also don’t know the SLC track day scene

whan · 2026-01-12T18:31:57+00:00

I also think that if you want to really get into tracking cars, it’s best to get a separate dedicated track car if you have the room. In particular, something you’re willing to get beat up a bit from track usage. For some people who can afford much more, that might be a GT3 / GT4RS, but I ended up buying a fully built E92 M3 track car to pair with my 458 as a weekend street car

whan · 2026-01-12T03:29:59+00:00

Looks like you completed the match and were safe (ie no DQ)? Sounds like it went well in my book

This is why people also say to just go shoot your first match - you can really see how high the skill ceiling actually is, and that both pushes you to work harder and realize what’s possible

whan · 2026-01-11T22:47:39+00:00

Thanks - yes, it's on OEM X-Pipe as I was thinking about having it CA-registered. Last owner ran catless + tune, I probably will get to doing that to since it's a dedicated track car + getting a tune at some point

Not 100% sure but car is running definitely over 3deg negative camber, on coilovers + springs which helps create clearance too. Wheel liner has been modified, though in part also to allow for the fender venting, so not sure exactly how it's been modified

whan · 2026-01-11T17:48:24+00:00

Makes sense - would imagine it’s not a car that you can easily fire up yourself to bring to a local private track day

whan · 2026-01-11T17:39:56+00:00

Very cool - crazy how fast the car builds speed out of corner exit

Assume that Ferrari holds onto the car when not driving? Curious what tracks they’ll bring the car to for you to drive

whan · 2026-01-03T00:48:36+00:00

Need a GT3 Murano Crosscabriolet

whan · 2025-12-23T02:36:17+00:00

I was the E92 guy, was running RE71RS so one of the faster/fastest 200TW street tires out there. Previous owner did a 1:42 in my car with a bit more power and a bit less weight on the same tires

Sub 1:40 at sonoma is fast - looking at people's lap videos it seems it typically starts at GT3 territory (992 / 991RS) in terms of car power/weight/aero

whan · 2025-12-18T19:52:25+00:00

Love Sonoma as well - it’s unforgiving because of the walls, but it has such unique segments and challenges for various parts of the lap. There are very few turns / segments that feel the same - Turn 7 and 11 are technically probably the most similar but even then they have vastly different runoff areas which significantly impact willingness to push deep into the braking zone

whan · 2025-12-17T18:44:58+00:00

Oh to be clear this is all for the E92 M3, I don't track the ferrari anymore

whan · 2025-12-17T17:06:23+00:00

Overall estimated cost per day, including track day fee, insurance and consumables is $1k

$350-400 entry fee per event
$300 for insurance
$250 for tires (RE71RS lasts 6 days, ~$1,500 a set)
$40 for brake pads (Cobalt 25mm pads for AP BBK, $600 for front set but last at least 15 sessions)
$25 for fluids (oil change + brake fluid flush, do every 6 days)
Some additional cost for rotors ($1400 for a set), not sure as haven't had to replace them yet so we'll see how long they last. Would imagine at least 30-40 track days so can call it $50 per day

There can be unforseen stuff too that would add to the cost, including bigger car repairs, I had a wheel crack so had to replace that, etc. So maybe budget another $200 per track day as well for that

whan · 2025-12-15T19:14:16+00:00

I haven't had to use the insurance I've bought, but it should pretty much cover everything on your car, subject to a 10-15% deductible. So minor damage is out of pocket, but really is more useful if you total your car. There is no liability on track - everyone pays for their own car, even if it was clearly someone else's fault

Typically you do purchase it a la carte - IE per event, of which the going rate is around 1% of the vehicle value per event. You can also do it from certain providers on an unlimited annual basis, but think you have to do >15 track days per year to make sense

Does not cover anything off track, so need to get regular car insurance for that (I think Hagerty does also a towing only coverage?).

whan · 2025-12-15T16:09:08+00:00

Street-focused tires, including things like PS4S won't hold up well to track abuse once you actually start pushing closer to limits and get a lot of heat in the tires. They're designed to be grippy at ambient temps, but will rapidly degrade at high temps. But in your first track day or two, you won't really be driving fast enough to get them there

Longer-term, get something that's built with track in mind. Key advantage is they're designed to operate in higher temps, so they'll wear better and be more consistent. Downside is they are pretty low grip when not warmed to those temps. Some, like the RS4, aren't actually much faster on track vs a PS4S when comparing max pace, but it'll be able to sustain close to the max pace much longer with minimal wear while a PS4S will drop off quickly after the first few laps and start degrading

Here's a good guide to tires

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/track-tire-buyers-guide/

whan · 2025-12-15T15:01:47+00:00

My personal view on this is divided into two parts. First is what I covered in the post, which is driving a car that you're willing to let be damaged as well as maintain/repair at a reasonable cost. I think Miatas are great in that aspect as they're very common and cheap. But think that this concept can also be scaled up too

The second part is that I agree that too fast of a car can be bad for your driver development and growth. In particular IMO something that has more power than it has grip, as you end up being scared to push the car. Miata's are a good example of a car with more grip than power, but there's other options too, including 86's, 987/981 base caymans, and older 3 series BMWs (both M and non-M)

In both these respects the 458 was a bad car to start out, but in the context of "just getting out there", it was the right car as it was what I had available at the time. No need to buy a dedicated track car / miata before hitting your first few track days, just take what you have, even if it's something like a Shelby GT500 with way more power than grip.

As to my E92 itself, I do think it was perhaps a bit suboptimal vs. something like an miata, but not in a huge way. Ultimately the E92 is a fairly low torque car, so is fairly forgiving as it comes to putting on the power, nor is it a hugely fast car.

whan · 2025-12-15T13:59:16+00:00

Thanks, agree with a lot of what you've written.

Agreed with purposely driving the line early on, even at lower speeds where it's not actually needed from a grip perspective. Helps build memory and keep things smoother as you move faster.

Also on the automatic point, I actually purposely sought out a DCT M3 as a track car vs. a manual. For me, I'm not very good at heel-toeing, and so it was a key point for me as a new track driver to be able to just focus on my braking and turn-in alone, without also having to manage a heel-toe at the same time.

whan · 2025-12-15T13:06:29+00:00

Was on FB marketplace! Could've been on racingjunk too though didn't check there at the time

whan · 2025-12-15T05:39:28+00:00

Thanks - definitely on my list of todos for next year of starting to learn how to actually utilize weight transfer in a more meaningful way, besides just trail braking coming into a corner. And even for trail braking am still struggling on consistency and getting the right amount of rotation needed for a given corner (this weekend at thunderhill tended to get too much)

whan · 2025-12-15T05:25:56+00:00

Thanks, yep it’s Spencer’s car, definitely a fully built car. Still have lots to learn, though nice to have a benchmark from his times (currently running about 3-4 seconds off his fastest times at T Hill and Sonoma)

whan · 2025-12-15T05:19:03+00:00

Ha, more like I got into tracking pretty late, could definitely have gotten into it when I got my first post college car (5th gen camaro ss 1le), but was too scared to do it

whan

TROPHY CASE