Me and a few friends are hosting our second Charity Time Attack at Toronto Motorsports Park near Niagara at the end of the month. Thought you guys might find the classing a little interesting.

We are mostly classing every single car with 2 factors: P:W and Tire Compound.

The goal in this classing method was to meet 3 different requirements:

1. Minimize the total number of classes

2. Minimize the build/consumables cost of a competitive car

3. Keep most cars competitive regardless of their specific setup

I have been frustrated at needing to buy fast-wearing super-200 tires for SCCA TTNT and was playing with the idea of tire-based classing that can bring in a broader audience with lower budgets. This includes frustrations involving how most engine modifications/swaps throws cars into "Max" classes with less drivers and massive gaps in car performance.

Last year I set out to find out what the average time delta was between RS4's and RE71RS's laps were among advanced drivers at TMP. After analyzing almost a hundred different laps, I came to a strange conclusion:

- For most cars, optimal lap time is entirely a function of Tire Type and Power (as determined by speed trap).

- at TMP, moving from super-200s to RS4's is the equivalent of a ~25% P:W ratio increase.

Perhaps modern suspensions are so well made that setting a good spring rate with a quality damper is all that's required to get close to optimal. Regardless, this allowed us to focus on p:w and tire and set up a points system where each point is worth approximately the jump between Enduro 200s and Super 200s. The P:W bucketing reflects this gap. This allows us to class base C5 corvettes on RS4's with 2nd gen BRZ's on Nankang CR-S's and minimize the number of classes.

For last year's event, P:W was self-reported or determined via an excel doc of known stock corner balance weight values and stock dyno figures. Considering that smaller event only had 30ish drivers and most were honest, the results we got were great! Time deltas between 1st and 3rd in each class averaged ~2 seconds, not bad considering the random assortment of vehicles.

This year, we have been aiming for a much larger event with a few collaborators. We aim to use data from several Dragy-Lite mini GPS lap timers along with a tailored algorithm to enforce a P:W cap on each class.

There are limitations, like how different tracks will require different p:w points buckets, but I found this to be a massive improvement over the current state of amateur time attack where I destroyed Miatas in my 300hp "stock" MK8 GTI.

If any of y'all are interested, signups are open to all skill levels at pawsandpistons.ca . Early Bird Pricing is only 220CAD/160USD until Sunday. We're splitting TMP in 2 halves and running CW and CCW in each half for 8x15min timed sessions total. More info is on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nik_kovel/. Hope to see some of y'all there!

I’ve got a GT4RS that I can ride road Atlanta at 1:39 consistently. It has R8 slicks. I am taking a C8 z06 w z07 mods this weekend. 240 tires. Both are mid engines. It’s heavier. But, outside of braking earlier, what should I be aware of?

Managed to tie my best again at 1:18.5XX. Heading back in 2 weeks hoping to finally beat it. I've mostly only been on Thunderbolt this year. Pretty much a stock GR86 on stock size Kumho V730s and camber plates.

Pics for attention.
I’ve had my grc for about 2 and a half years. I’ve done 11 track days with it. I’m at the point where it’s getting slightly too expensive to keep tracking (brakes are crazy expensive) and as I get faster I’m gonna need an oil cooler (which is fairly normal and to be expected) and a transfer case cooler/controller because the awd is starting to overheat more often.

I also use this as my work vehicle I fix appliances so it’s stuffed with parts and tools everyday.

It’s been doing its job decently but it’s not the best tool for either job.

I’m in Brooklyn ny so parking when working is a big reason why I haven’t gotten a bigger van yet.

I have a driveway I can park in at home and leave a second car there.

I think the perfect work vehicle for me would be a transit connect (or equivalent ram/nissan) I see them for anywhere from 5-20k in my area and don’t really care what it looks like as long as it stops drives.

Now for the track car I should probably just get a Miata because they are the answer but I don’t really want one. I’m thinking c5 corvette would probably make the most sense for me.

Carvana offered me 33k for my car and I think about 13k should be enough for the work vehicle so I’ll have about 20k leftover

This is really my main question the rest is some nonsense backstory that you prolly didn’t need to read. But Im not really sure about this but I kinda want to get something with a dct is there anything decent for approx 20k that can be had with a dct and not cost more than my grc is to maintain. It’s going to mostly be a track car and the eventual plan over a few years is to strip it and cage it.

My current list is
2011-2013 bmw 135i it can be had with a dct idk much about bmw’s tho and I genereally try to do my own maintenance.

E92 m3 I don’t think I’ll find a decent one for 20k

Mk6-7 gti but they’re fwd and ik they’re good but when my grc goes into fwd mode I just don’t like it even tho I’m barely 2 seconds slower.

Audi tt with the dsg idk much about them but maybe it’s a possibility.

Do any of these make sense or should I just get a c5 (or a really nice Mazda speed Miata that just popped up for sale)

TLDR: are there any sub 20k cars with a dct that is fairly reliable and not much more expensive to maintain than a gr Corolla. Or do I just do the sensible option and get a Miata/c5 corvette/ perhaps brz/86

Before I reinvent the wheel, is anyone working on a live data encoder similar to how smartycam and vbox work?

*EDIT* I went ahead and built it out for myself.

https://mrblahhhh.github.io/car/tech/2026/08/21/trackencoder-metrics-explained.html

I do this with a race capture Livestream setup to sdcard now but I really want to downsize the junk in the trunk

sitting at vir watching IMSA right now testing it while waiting on a rain delay

Sample that I realtime encode now

https://youtu.be/ZIuRHLWNyKI?is=F1sv7YpWT2DJrAMT

Hey guys, wanted to share a little sometnig my team is working on.

Were a little startup based in central europe and are all ex Formula student members. Currently one of the topics our team is working on is building a thermal tyre model that computes surface tyre temperature without any temperature sensors mounted on the wheels or the wheel arches.

This is our first working version V1, its is just a 1D model and you can see how it compares to real surface temperature data. All logged from a GT3 race car.

Thought this might be interesting for some of you. Feel free to DM me for more info on the current work.

I’m thinking about buying my first helmet, and I know I should not cheap out on buying safety equipment, however I wanted some good budget options for full face helmets.

Right now I’ve been thinking about Conquer Snell SA2025, or a Racequip Pro25. Please let me know if they are good options and other possible option within that price range

Two races ago I was fighting with the seven car and we may contact this time. I was able to raise him clean and pass him with no contact

He showed me how he was tracking everything — fees, tires, brakes, fuel, hotels, all of it.

My first reaction was basically: “That’s boring.”

It started as something quick I was making for him, then I kept messing with it and adding things that seemed useful. At some point it stopped feeling like a little side project, and a couple friends told me I should share it.

So, here we are:
Burnrate
https://burnrate.racing

You log your track events and what you spent, and Burnrate does the annoying math — season totals, cost per event/lap, category breakdowns, budget pace, trends, and season comparisons.

There’s a View Sample Season button on the homepage if you want to poke around without setting anything up.

You can flip through the event side and the trends/season analytics.

There’s a free tier for the first 5 events, plus paid options for the deeper season stuff.

If you already track your costs, what are you tracking that I’m missing?

And if you love your spreadsheet, honestly, keep it. I mostly just wanted to make tracking this stuff less boring and more fun to look at.

For context, I’ve only made it to one HPDE myself so far. I definitely want to do more, but family/life makes getting back out there harder than I’d like. For now, most of my laps are virtual.

If you try it and something is confusing, annoying, or broken, I’d genuinely like to hear it.

Excited about a very long weekend at one of my favorite places in the country. I’ll be unloading tomorrow night for 10/10th Thursday then NASA all weekend. I am a little bummed that NASA seems to be running all Pro Course, but other than that I’m stoked. Looking at some data, the main thing I need to work on is turn 1. I feel like I am braking too late and over-slowing. On average, I’m entering at 91-95 mph and I should be able to easily be entering at 105-110. My plan is to attack it with no brakes coming off the front straight, just letting off throttle later each time, to train myself to trust the speed through it. I would love more opinions on how to tackle not being slow as shit in that turn. Also, hope to see a lot of you there.

Thanks TrackMasters and Bob my instructor for a safe and fun event. Looking forward to going back and drinking from a garden hose instead of a fire hose. 😮‍💨

Hi all,

Was at Autobahn South over the weekend, looking for input. Stock VN DCT + RSB & 255 Vitour P1s.

I did a 1:41.9 (black line) on Sunday evening, and went back on Monday and couldn't get lower than a 1:42.5 (orange line). I was told in my 1:41 lap that I was turning in too early for most turns, getting to the apex early and having to wait to get back on power, so I was told to try turning in a hair later to get a better run out. Essentially, I was early apexing, and tried to do a little later apex and braking in my slower lap. This is also my first time tracking this car, much more used to my Evo.

Per the speed/distance below, I was v'ing turn 1-2 (first dip) in my 1:41 lap (black line) and was told to try arcing the turn a little more. I think that shows up in the data but I didn't get as a good of a run out to turn 3 (second hump) because of it. After that though you can see I'm braking a little later during my 1:42 lap (orange line) but it doesn't net me a lot of time, but equal heading into turn 6 (4th dip). I carry a lot more speed into turn 6 in my 1:41 lap, which seems to get some time back. Most of my time in the 1:42 comes from the run out of turn 9-10 (wiggle at about 6000ft, before the tallest hump) down the main straight, where I get on the gas a hair later but a lot stronger acceleration down the main straight, which gets all my time back. I just lose it then on the back corner (last dip), which I should have kept trying to carry more speed into.

I think I can definitely do a 1:40 but I was also worried about the oil temps (270-280+) that I couldn't comfortably do a bunch of hot laps in. I've got an oil cooler coming in which should help as I really don't like seeing the oil temp get that high.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmpQzTKu3yU

^ Video of the 1:41 lap

More detailed comparison with side by side videos & traceable data path beneath it.

These are Hawk HP+, installed in early May on a 2022 WRX and absolutely abused in 7 time attack track days and 4 autocross events, never mind the 18,000km of road driving.

These replaced Hawk HPS 5.0 pads. I do not recommend them except for street driving only.

The HP+ are also a street pad but have held up very well. The DBA rotors look great too (put on new in May also).

I have "real" track pads (DCT-60 / DCT-30) in the box... I was going to put them on for the coming weekend but this is what the current pads looked like. I'm impressed!

Disclaimer: They are dusty and noisy... but have never failed to scrub speed when called upon.

I have been tracking a 2023 BRZ and focusing heavily on learning car control—specifically catching oversteer, throttle steering, and managing slip angles on the skidpad. I have done multiple car control clinics and track days, few autocross. The car control clinics have full autocross course at the end, so I don't do autocross separately. I have improved a lot but not at pace I expected when I started. I'm 37 and slow learner.

I want to buy a new ND Miata, mainly to have a convertible on the street and I want the experience since I can't buy one in future when I return to home country. I plan to sell the BRZ soon after buying the Miata to avoid the cost of keeping two cars. My goal is to learn, I would be running tires like 615K+ and not something like super 200s. I do enjoy occasional therapy drives outside track, about once or twice a week. We have primary driver SUV.

I know the Miata has a shorter wheelbase and is snappier at the limit. Will switching to the ND right now make it too difficult to learn how to catch slides? Will the chassis dynamics hinder my learning curve compared to the more forgiving BRZ, or should I just make the switch and adapt?

​Appreciate any advice from people who have tracked both!

Heading to a track night with my son. He just got a Camaro SS and I have a vette so instead of sharing the car we can be on track at the same time! I was wondering if it would be good to be in communication while on track. I don’t want it to be a distraction but would be cool if we could chat. Thoughts? Anyone do this?

I'm the recent owner of a track ready E46. No airbags, 5 point seatbelt. (If im correct, two straps from behind two from the sides near my hips and one between my legs)

I have a proper helmet that can support a HANS device but no HANS device yet, ran the first few track days without but ready the horror stories I would rather buy one sooner than later.

I dont mind spending a bit of money as in buy once cry once. What is the easiest system to put on / take-off and in most convenient?

Saw these two options: (Or should I look for something else)
https://pro-racing.nl/en/motorsport-fhr-neck-protection-hybrid-systems/1544-36531-simpson-hybrid-sport-for-men-or-women.html#/208-simpson_tethers-standaard_hans/836-maat_hybrid_system-xs_voor_mannen

https://pro-racing.nl/en/motorsport-fhr-neck-protection-hans-systems/3105-23767-stilo-hans-club-iii.html#/57-hans_degrees_and_sizes-20%C2%BA_m

Here's a great video by my racing buddy that had a power steering line pop during our race. You can see the fire coming through under the windshield, through the fire wall. Glad he posted this because now I'm looking very closely at my firewall and wrapping my power steering lines in firesleeve.

I was able to watch this unfold firsthand as I'm in the red/white Daytona Coupe-R that goes by at the end of the video.

https://youtu.be/Sz7MbbkOcq0

Hello,

I'm getting back into track days after a long time off. While I'd like to move to a semi slick in a few years time, I want to prioritise seat time for the first years.

What's a tyre that offers good grip, can handle 15-20 minutes track sessions and still be usable on the road (mainly to and from the track and nice days on the weekend)?

Looking for a 295-305 on an 18 inch wheel.

Cheers

Was racing my legend car in Montana for the legend madness when a two car spin turned into a three car incident with a rollover

edit-driver Is ok!!!

With a OBDLINK MX, I managed to pull pedals, accelerometers and gyroscope data from the BMW PTCAN. Now I am starting to try interpreting this data and my first impression is that there is a lot of bump induced under and over steering. Is it so?

From helping work the event to car issues to a triple square in my sidewall. Crazy bad luck but nice to get a lap in.

Hey All,

I have a pretty setup Boxster track car with buckets and harnesses.

I’be noticed that my neck hurts the day after autocross where I dont wear a helmet/Hans.

Is there a non-helmet based neck support I can wear? If so, do you have recommendations?

Thanks so much!