Why can't we have fun with the IS on the track on occasionally? I thought the IS can handle some tracks even though it is not the fastest out there. Should we spend money on a dedicated track tires instead of looking for a track car? Just for some fun, not into competition or world series lol.

 

I gonna go for this too. Hey Sport kid, have you been to this? If so, can you shoot me a PM about what I need to prepare? registration, helmet, logistics and stuff like that?? Thanks man.

I also signed up for the PCA OCR autocross for May 4th. Anyone knows anything about this event??

 

I completely agree but it seems like Ranger wants to take it a little more seriously that is why i think he should invest in a dedicated track car.

 

I have been to this track but in a different configuration which was much faster. I kind of like this track setup better as our cars aren't the high speed monsters and I have more fun in teh corners than on the straits. Plus it is way better for the new guy.

Not to much that you need. You can just go to the website and sign up and print out the self inspection form. All you really need to make sure of is that your car is mechanically sound, has good tires and brakes, and then you fill out the form by yourself. No official inspection is needed. For the first track day all you really need to bring is a helmet but you can rent them there as well if you don't have one. Other than that you just some food and water and will be fine for you first day out. I am the silver IS350 with gold rims. Probably the only other lexus out!

 

The IS is absolutely capable for an occasional track day. But if you start to push it, it's still a heavy car and you are going to go through some consumables. Tires and brakes aren't going to last too long. My car also has over 115k miles as well, so I don't want to risk something major breaking.

For what I'd spend to really get my car set up for the track, I'd be most of the way to a dedicated car. For me, that would be wheels, tires, new brakes, alignment, shocks and springs. For that money, I'd rather get another car. I just don't have the stomach for $1000 worth of tires and $150+ in brakes every 2 weekends.

I don't mean this in a negative way at all for people on the fence. For your first few days out, just get out there, have fun and be safe. It's just a money issue. for me As people here love to say, you have to pay to play. When you start pushing the limits, I feel that is especially true.

 

thanks for sharing! videos looked fun

 

Really good points. I also want to offer another opinion that is not intended for argument. Just something to think about. I also see what is missing here is we are comparing different cars and treat them as they are all in the same class. That is like we are comparing apples and oranges.

Beside, car is one factor, driver is another factor. I saw a video of someone running Camry stock and passed many cars. Straight from his video description *Note this is my daily driver I took out to show it doesn't matter what car you have.*

Also, I still think that Lexus IS350 and ISF are capable and can be competitive track cars in their own class. I do not mean we can compare a Godzilla GTR against IS350 because they are not in the same league.

 

Ranger Joe you are exactly correct. The IS350 is a great car and with a few modifications can be a very fun track day car but will never compete with the big boys. The weight of the IS is a killer. Plus the transmission kind of takes some of the fun out of it as the floppy paddles really suck at letting you choose the gear you want (at least on my 08 is350). Looking at other cars I see a lot of CTS-V's which can produce some very impressive lap times. But talking to those guys a properly set up car goes through tires every 4 track days and brakes even faster. Being 4000lbs the CTS-V puts a lot of stress on every part of the car. In comparison the people with the Spec Miata's @ under 2000lbs don't have the strait line speed but can take the corners a much higher speed and generate quicker lap times. That and tires and brakes cost half the price of the high end cars and last 2-3 times as long since the car is so light. I think I am talking my self into a track car here! Unfortunately no place to store it.

As a reference of those who want to get into regular track days on their IS here are my observations after about 14 track day in the bag. I am not great by any means but a solid intermediate. Once I got my car set up with the correct camber and brakes my tires last me about 8 track days and brakes about 4-5. Overall the car has held up very well and still drives great and nothing has broken me.

Required modifications:
-Camber kits: With the OEM alignment expect 2-3 day out of you front tires before the outside edges are gone. Not nearly enough camber in out cars
-Good brake pads and high temp race fluid: Our cars are heavy and the brakes take a beating. Need an upgrade when you really start to push it as the brakes will go quick
-Sticky tires: Again to handle the 3600lbs you need tires with good grip

Nice to have:
-Adjustable Suspension: Stock spring rates are a bit soft. A firmer suspension makes has a huge impact. Also the adjustability is nice to firm it up on the track and then tune down the dampening for your day to day driving
- Rear sway bar: It does make a huge difference
- Lightweight wheels: The OME wheels are really heavy. You can easily find wheels that shave more than 10lbs a wheel without spending much. Really helps the agility of the car. Plus if you have a 2nd set of wheels you can keep you daily driving tires on your car when off track and really save your tires

 

Very nice prep list to get the IS ready. I think i have lightweight wheels, F Sport rear sway, lower springs and Bilstein shocks. Missing camber kit. I have couple questions:

1. With camber kit, we need negative camber to prevent outside tread wear?? I thought too much negative camber will create inner tread wear??
2. Are OEM pads, rotors and fluid good enough??
3. What PSI should we run for tires front and back on track?? Should we keep them lower or higher than OEM specs (35 PSI front and 38 PSI rear?)?

 

^
1. Yes too much negative camber can wear the inside edges of your tires. However this usually happens on cars that do a-lot of striaght line freeway driving. Negative camber saves your tires through the turns and wears your tires on the straights. I have always gotten more life out of tires on my cars if it is setup with ~2 degrees of camber. I don't drive much on the highway. Also a reasonable amount of negative camber won't wear your tires near as much as a small amount of toe will, which is why these cars benefit so much from replacing the front, lower rear bushings.

2. Stock rotors are fine. Stock pads are ok but will overheat and wear out very quickly. Stock fluid is iffy at best; any fluid that has been in the car for a year or more is no good for the track.

3. Most tires get the best traction near the maximum reccomended pressure because it gives a bit more sidewall rigidity. Just don't go over the max reccomended pressure for the tires, and keep in mind that when you fill the tires they are usually cold, so the pressure is going to go up quite a bit after the tires are hot from driving on the track. A-lot of guys who drive to the track on their street tires pump the pressure up to close to the max, bring a pressure gauge to the track, and let some air out after the first couple of laps. Really for anything you are doing in a 2IS there isn't going to be much benefit from getting excited about tire pressure (as long as you stay under the max). I have a buddy that autocrosses a-lot, he has a dedicated set of autocross tires which he pumps up to ~50psi before an event, but he hates driving the car like that because the stiff sidewall tires with high pressure makes for a pretty harsh ride; he even takes different routes to events based on how smooth the roads are.

 

How much do you guys typically pay for track fees? I tried to look up track day events for beginners in the southeast (Road Atlanta, Atlanta Motorsport Park, and Roebling) and they all seem to be around $350 per day. Is that the typical track fee around the country?

 

I saw $85 to $200 for autocross or track in Southern CA. I think $350 is overly expensive.

 

at the track event I went to they had two Tacoma xrunners and a 4runner in the advanced groups. No joke they could hold their own and even can make passes on some cars

 

God that seems like a lot. A track day in So Cal runs $100-150 depending on the track. Just bought a package deal of 12 track days for $800 from the group I go through.

 

No worries, I'm certainly open to other points of view. The events I've done are for driver education, they are not "races." The IS would not be an ideal race car platform, but it can be competitive against other daily driver cars. At my skill level, it is much more driver dependent than car dependent. There is a lot more performance that my car could give that I am not able to take advantage of.

Last time I was at the track, I did go for a ride in a GTR in the advanced group. The guy said he can put about 550HP to the wheels, but doesn't run full power on the track. People kind of treat him like crap and try to give him passes in the worst places, just assuming he can go full speed off line all the time. It was a fun ride for sure. I also went in a ~700HP corvette race car. Both cars are tons of fun, and obviously a very different experience than my poor little IS350.

I stopped reading after this, because I figured it was the only important part, haha.