FORMULAVEE.ORG

As driver's school gets closer and the car is getting back into one piece I realize there must be tons of stuff I'm not thinking about. Any last minute hints/suggestions as I'm getting ready?

The trailer is only so big, how do I determine which spares to take? How much of what fluids do I need (oil, etc...)?

Thanks for the help, hope to see you guys at the track.

At least one spare tire (front and rear) mounted on a rim would be good.)
A few extra Lug bolts.
I would carry 5 quarts of oil. You will probably only need one at the most, but if you lose a valve cover or drain plug....
A valve cover and an engine gasket set.
Racer Tape
A rear axle seal.
Brake Fluid.
A crew guy with tools
One spare heim for each application size.
Set of points. (or electronic ignition.
Plugs
Wire set.
Coil
Battery
A spare igntion switch.
One front brake drum with (bearings and seals installed)
One rear brake drum.
A rocker arm with clips and adjuster tip.
Some hardware. (typically nuts and bolts for your suspension applications.) And a few 8mm nuts and bolts or studs.
Rags / Paper towels

You might consider this : http://sracing.com/Store/FV_Stuff/hardwarekit.htm

The list could go on and on, but if something more serious than the above occurs you probably won't have time at a school to do the work.
You may not need ANY of the above, but at a school you won't have time to be searching the paddock or local autoparts stores for something you might need.

I do have the vee 'first aid kit' already. I'll have to sort thru my spares and see what I have and don't have going by your list.

How much gas can I anticipate going thru? It's a 3 day weekend, if I'm going with the AV gas how much am I going to need?

I'd suggest bringing at least 10 gallons of fuel with you; 15 would be better, especially if the track does not have fuel available. But if you're going to Blackhawk, they have pumps.

A pop up tent and a couple of door mats in case it rains.. You'll need rags to wipe your feet before getting in the car, but a door mat to stand on before and after wiping your feet is great Otherwise it becomes a bit of a dance trying to wipe your feet and either go right in the car or trying not to step back in the oil puddles.

Bit of a moot point if you have a crew member, but if you're by yourself, little details will always get you until you've done it a few times.. Check your mirrors before getting to pre-grid hehe.. Rig up something so you can hang your helmet off of the pop up tent right above you - I put my helmet on after getting the belts tight and just before putting my gloves on - of course I've gotten all ready to go before and realized my helmet was on the ground next to the car, out of reach. May sound silly, but I suggest you practice getting in and out of the car (including putting all your gear on from scratch, arm restraints, belts, balaclava, helmet, gloves.. Or whichever order works for you!) before the school day. Maybe it's just me, but my first few sessions were unnecessarily stressful as it always took me way longer than I expected to get ready..

You'll have a blast

Oh, 5 gallons of 94 octane gas usually last me 6 sessions - 4x 15 minute practice/quali sessions and 2x 20 minute races. So 1 hour and 40 minutes out of 5 gallons and I usually have maybe 1/2 to 1 gallon left that goes straight in the tow vehicle. Not sure how many sessions you'll get on a school day, but yeah, might as well take plenty of it..

Tiago,
You must not be counting what's in the CAR when you leave. 5 gal of fuel for an hour - forty seems like incredibly good fuel mileage to me. For a 2 day double national weekend (2 x 45 mins + ~ 2 x 30 mins) I generally take 10 gallons of fuel PLUS 4 gals in the car ... and end up with about a gallon or so in the cans and around a gal in the car at the end of the weekend - that's as close as I want to cut it.

If you're running pump gas anyway, it's not a big deal to go get some - but paying $10/gallon at the track is just NOT in my racing budget.
Steve, FV80

I don't normally fill up the cell after the weekend (and perhaps I should..), so whatever's left in the cell is part of the 5 gallons.. I dunno, at an average of 60mph (is that a bit optimistic, maybe?) that works out to about 20-22mpg. Mission is a pretty slow/technical track, so maybe I'm not spending as much time at full throttle as I should

I think at speed you will use about a gallon every 12-14 minutes. So you can figure from there with some buffer.

By the way, don't forget your battery charger... Charge it after every session for a few minutes. You won't HAVE to but your battery life overall will be extended.

Jeff, are you going to the BFR tire wall day this coming saturday? Usually done by noon and then we get to go out and lap the track for quite a long time, at a slow pace of course, sort of.... Be a good chance to get in some easy and free laps in a street car, good for working on your line with no pressure.

Hal

D-13 88
Citation 88

an air tank or small compresser, to add air to tires. glass cleaner, visor after each session, rain suit of some kind, if you not ready for it it will rain. In my 3 day school, I used 15 gal. of gas on top of full cell at the start, filled car, brought 10 of av. gas had to buy 5 gal of track gas. Roebling is a lot of foot to the floor.
over all, just have fun.
THOR

Foot to the floor all over actually uses less gas than in and out of the throttle constantly, in my experience. The accelerator pump seems to use more gas than the actual jets I think.

fv195 wrote:an air tank or small compresser, to add air to tires. glass cleaner, visor after each session, rain suit of some kind, if you not ready for it it will rain.

I followed someones suggestion and picked up a small air compressor from Harbor Freight for $40. Got the glass cleaner and towels in bulk from Costco. Thanks for the tip on the rain suit, I would never have thought of that.

Don't forget Brew for the Crew.

Dave

Since no one else has said it, I guess I will. The school day will be very, very hectic...it's super important at some point to take a breather - pause for a second, take a breath, and relex - just sit down and soak up what you're doing for a minute or two. Remind yourself how freakin' awsome it is that you're actually driving a race car on a real race track, while so many others are wishing they knew how to. You'll feel much more relaxed, and when you're relaxed, you'll do better. This is supposed to be fun after all.

Well said!

Speedsport wrote:This is supposed to be fun after all.

Thanks, for all the running around I've been doing glad someone reminded me of that. I know once I'm on the track all the craziness of getting the car together will pay off. I just have to survive to get there.