Welcome to @ the Track. Here, your going to find tips, tricks, advice, and stories of/about racing. Definitions and instructions of anything related to the topic, are going to be here.

Jack Kramer's Racing Guide

Racing Terms & Definitions

Vehicle Behaviors:
Have you read automobile reviews only to hear things like "...and the car handled well with a slight oversteer". What the heck, are they talking about anyway? In actuality they are referring to the vehicles turning behavior. Let's take a look:

Understeer & Oversteer - A common dictionary lends us: "Understeer: tendency of an automobile to turn less sharply than the driver intends. Oversteer: tendency of an automobile to steer into a sharper turn than the driver intends sometimes with a thrusting of the rear to the outside" However these are not a proper definitions as it doesn't explain the how's & WHYs! ...working on the rest...

Countersteer - "The act of turning the wheel in the direction of the slide to "counter" the slide effects and bring the car back into control". Ever had the back end slip out on a MR2? This tends to happen allot, but being being quick and turning the steering wheel in the direction the rear is going, you can bring it back. However do it too slow or too late, and you won't be able to save it from fully spining around and wiping out. Too fast or too much and it can come back and wip in the opposite direction...very bad.
More Coming Soon...Brian Crowell


Driving Tips & Tricks

Downshifting & Upshifting - Ok everyone knows what this is, but do you know really WHY you do it, other than the car would bog if you left in a low gear, or blow or not go any faster in a high gear. Downshifting is done to keep the car rotating in it's OPTIMAL POWER BAND as the vehicle decreases speed. In racing you always want the car running were it has the most power. Upshifting is done to to allow the vehicle to attain higher speeds, and not exceed pre-set engine RPM limits. However upshifting doesn't necessarily keep you in the power band for that you use optimal gear ratios and shift points...

Shift Points -

Toe-to-Heel - Downshifting manuever to maintain car balance, improve gear shifting & reliability, on stay in the power band for optimal throttle response & power. The term actually came from long ago when the pedals were situated differently and isn't explanitory to how it's actually done today. In a normal everyday shift, we push in the clutch & Rpms drop to idle, slip down a gear, and let out the clutch and the car goes from idle up to higher RPMs than before. The problem with this is that 1) It takes longer for the synchros to mesh 2) when you engage the clutch the tranny forces the engine to rotate faster than it currently is (called backdriving) which 3) also acts like an brake to the wheels and 4) unsettles the car altering it's handling characteristics. In racing you should NEVER use the engine to slow you down or brake you, that's a no-no. So we use a smoother downshift method to speed up shifting, stop wasting time & power of backdriving the engine, and maintane smooth car motion. Yeah yeah, but how do we do it? OK.. While 1)braking with the left side of your foot, 2)push in the clutch & hold it in while you 3)angle your braking foot towards the throttle(keep on the brake) and blip it quickly such that it reaches the RPM for the lower gear, 4)Pull into gear and 5)let off of clutch. The last two steps must be done quickly, before RPMS go below what the engine requires for that vehicle speed & gear. It takes allot of practice but once you've got it down, you'll be suprised of the car's smoothness, quicker shifting, and immediate throttle response off the curve.

Double Clutching - Downshifting manuever involving toe-to-heal that also improves tranny/clutch reliability and performance. The movements are as follows: 1)Push in clutch 2)Pull into nuetral 3)Let off clutch 4)Blip throttle using toe-heel method 5)quickly push in clutch go into gear 6)Let out clutch The last two steps must be done quickly before RPMS go below what they need to be for that gear. More Coming soon...Brian Crowell


Jack Kramer's Racing Guide

The number one most overlooked go faster modification that you can make to your MR2 is not something you do to your car, its something you do to yourself.

Lets face it, the limits of a bone stock MR2 are higher than the skill level of most MR2 drivers. We are fortunate enough to own a very competent sports car. Its mid-engine design enables it to do amazing things in the hands of a skilled pilot. However, that same mid-engine design can bite you big time if you dont know how to handle it, more on that later.

I thought I was a good driver. I owned sports cars my entire life, I had always been a racing fan, and I considered myself a spirited driver on the street,or so I thought!.

That impression all changed one eventful day a few years ago when I enrolled in a High Performance Driving School offered by Car Guys Inc. (www.carguysinc.com) at Roebling Road Raceway in Savannah, GA with my trusty 91 NA.

In the course my first on-track experience, a short 30 minutes, I realized that I did not have a clue how to drive my, or any, car at speed. I also realized that there is absolutely no way to get this experience other than on the relative safety of a racetrack. It would be utter suicide to try these maneuvers on the street.

I know many MR2 owners have tried Autocrossing. I'm one of them. It's a load of fun and it provides an opportunity to safely explore the limits of your car. However, unless you have the luxury of autoxing on a large open course, it does not provide the same speed potential that the track does. Plus, it rarely offers the same level of seat time that you get during an on-track environment. You're lucky to get 5 minutes of driving time during a typical autox, while you'll generally get over 60 to 90 minutes of track time per day during a high performance driving school.

So, the next time you are thinking about spending your hard earned money on an upgrade, I urge you to spend that same amount of money on a driving school. Trust me, you will not regret it!

Where can I do this?

We live in good times cause there have never been so many opportunities to experience your car on a racetrack. There are several commercial companies that do this on a for profit basis. Car Guys (www.carguysinc.com) and Trackmasters (www.trackmasters.com) are two examples of this. I'm very familiar with Car Guys as I have been participating in their events for three years now. Their events run somewhere around $400 per weekend and you generally get 90 minutes of track time per day. The lynchpin of the Car Guys experience is in-car instruction. They pride themselves on the quality of their in-car instructors and I can personally vouch for several of them. You also get a couple of classroom sessions per day, and depending on the location, you may get skidpad and/or threshold braking practice opportunities. Refer to www.racingschools.com for a comprehensive list of driving/racing schools. Many of these require you to use their cars, but some, like Car Guys, allow you to use your car.

Another alternative for track time is through marquee car clubs such as the BMW Car Club of America (www.bmwcca.org) or the Porsche Club of America (www.pca.org). Both of these offer what they call Drivers Education events. It varies from region to region, but some regions will let non-marquee cars participate in their events. Even if a region allows non-marquee cars into their events, novices may find it difficult to get into these schools cause they tend to reserve space in the novice groups for their club members. You can¡¦t blame them for that! I've driven with a couple of PCA regions and have found the schools to be extremely well run and very reasonably priced, close to half of what a commercial organization will charge. PCA events generally do not provide instructors for their upper classes, so I can't personally comment on the quality of their instructors, but I do know they are very picky on whom they allow to instruct. I also know that many of the Car Guys instructors also instruct for the PCA so I suspect the in-car instruction is on par with what I¡¦ve experienced with Car Guys. A fairly comprehensive list of car club driver education school events can be found at www.trackschedule.com.

Most tracks also offer some type of open enrollment track days on a periodic basis. One example of this is Summit Point¡¦s FATT (Friday at the Track) sessions. They offer this at least once a month and for $150, you get some track time. FATT¡¦s also offer in-car instruction, but I can't comment on their quality as I have yet to participate in such an event. You can learn more about Summit Point's recreational driving schools at www.bsr-inc.com/RDS.HTM.

A new and very interesting option is to become a member of a driving club sponsored by a racetrack. Rausch Creek Motorsports Park is a new 2.3 mile road track facility located 45 miles NE of Harrisburg. They have a membership program where you pre-pay for a certain number of driving sessions per year. There are additional benefits of membership, see their web site (www.rauschcreekracing.com) for more information.

I'm sold, what do I need to do to prepare?

The great news is that the answer is not much!

The minimum requirements are:

- A safe car ¡V you must pass a basic safety inspection (tires, brakes, lines/hoses/belts, wheel bearings, etc.)
- A helmet ¡V most organizations want Snell 95 or better. If you don't own a helmet, you can rent one. I rented a helmet from OG Racing (www.ogracing.com) for my first track event for $25.
- Long sleeved, long pants driving gear that's made from natural fibers. Jeans and a 100% long sleeved cotton T-shirt will suffice.

Notice that the above list doesn't say anything about sticky tires, suspension modifications, special brake pads or rotors, etc. You can take a bone stock MR2 to the track and have a blast!

In fact, if you don't have any previous track experience - that's what I recommend! IMHO, way too many people put off going to the track until they¡¦ve made this or that modification to their car. They think a modified car will make them faster on the track. Certain modifications will make a novice driver faster on the straights. But, there's little skill required to go fast in a straight line, it's the turns that count!

To be honest, an MR2, or any mid-engine car, can be a bit of a handful for a novice, especially a '91, '92 as they have a natural tendency to snap oversteer. In layman's terms - that's when the back end decides to pass the front end in a nanosecond. This tendency is one of the reasons the MR2 is so popular for autoxing. An experienced driver can use this handling trait to make the car literally dance through the cones. Trust me on this ¡V check out the diary of my first track event (members.aol.com/jakramer2/Roebling-9-1997/myfirst.htm) to see what I mean. You'll see that I really didn't have a clue what I was doing!

Suspension & tire upgrades will raise the limits of your car, but as a novice; you are actually better off with an unmodified MR2. Raising the limits of you car means you risk experiencing loss of control conditions at a faster rate of speed.

I really encourage you to get familiar with your car on the track before you start the modification process. That way, when you make a modification, you'll be able to feel and measure the improvement the modification made.

When you are ready to make modifications, here is the sequence in which I would make them for track purposes. Remember, these are my opinions for an MR2 and they do not necessarily apply to other cars.

1. Brakes. Stock MR2 brakes are great. However, OEM pads will eventually fade at the track. A better pad material will eliminate that problem. You may want to replace your rubber brake lines with stainless-steel units, as they will provide better pedal feel.

2. Tires. A set of R-rated DOT competition tires will significantly improve cornering ability.

3. Suspension. Alignment, shocks, springs, and sway bars - in that order. You may want to investigate some way of getting additional negative camber in the front suspension. There are a couple of ways to do that, but the most cost effective is getting a set of ¡§crash bolts¡¨ from Toyota. Check out Randy Chase¡¦s autox setup page for some ideas (www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7200/Randy.html).

4. Power. Lot¡¦s of options if you have a turbo¡K Don't forget to think about your brakes if you really crank up the horses. Being able to blast down a straight isn't any good unless you can slow down for the corner at the end of the straight.

There are several good books about high performance driving that would greatly enhance your preparation level. Some of the best are:

Going Faster : Mastering the Art of Race Driving : The Skip Barber Racing School Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving
Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook.

I find the physics of car control very interesting. I know, you're saying, ¡§I hate physics.¡¨ But, in this case, it's definitely an advantage to understand the physics that are controlling your car in high performance driving. The above books cover this topic, but there's also a good web resource that I recommend you review. It's call the Physics of Racing Series and it can be found at members.home.net/rck/phor.

That's enough for now. I hope I've whetted your appetite for taking your MR2 on the track. If you want more info, feel free to email me at jakramer@aol.com.