Lack of Interest

[Boris]

Here is a poll for you all, it would be interesting to know as to why there is a lack of enthusiasm for doing motor sports is an FTO.

Now by motor sports i mean circuit work, motorkhanas, drags.
And when an even is made not many people come.

I'm hoping this will encorage a few people to consider it, i would love to see some more club organised events that have more FTO australia participants. There are always wakefield track days that run every 3 months are are the cheapest around.

I will soon post up my guide to prepping your car for the track and drag racing, although i haven't taken mine to the strip.

Please post feedback / thoughts

[tarkus]

I would love to have a go at "motorkana".

does anyone know who / what / where in the melbourne area.

Robert (tarkus)

[SG]

good timing with the topic.. mitsu owners group of wa actually has a track day on this afternoon @ the wanaroo race track (24th) till late.

i'll post some phone-photos tomorow, going to see if my fto with 145k k's on the clock can survive a few laps

[Integral]

Boris,
You are in luck.

Tomorrow at Wakefield Park we will have our FTO track car down there for a track day.
It is set up for track purpose only.(not registered)
It is a work in progress mind you but so far I am very impressed as to how quick it is in its basic form.We went down for a test day a few weeks ago and got down to 1.14's on very old semi's.

Basic mods so far include:
Inlet, RPW extractors with side outlet exhaust and LSD.

Standby for more updates.

[Jono]

funny,

im going tomorow.. no racing for me though...

my fto is having a new engine put in this week..
cathcha there.

[Spud]

I'd love to race cars one day but for the moment I'll stick to Gran Turismo

It's cheaper, its doesn't cost so much, their's less money involved, oh and it's cheaper.

[Jono]

............... ive done both, track day much better!!!!

[Integral]

Jono,

Be sure to come a nd say hello.
Look for the noisy silver FTO

[Teania]

Kaveman and I race, he's a registered competitor in the NSW State Supersprints Championships this year - I'm official pit crew (aka Tyre changerer, paperwork gatherer, fluid level checkerer)

We DONT do it through the FTO Club as they are not CAMS affiliated, and to compete in these events you need to have a CAMS licence.... which means you need to be a member of CAMS affiliated car club.

We would dearly love to compete under the banner of FTO Australia..... but for the present we represent the Honda Car Club of NSW.

We race a minimum of once per month for the state rounds, plus another once or twice on open practice or Honda Car Club track days.

For those interested, the FTO's do very well in supersprints, there are interesting tracks - Oran, Wakefild, Eastern Creek, Bathurst.

Another event they do very well in is the Hillclimb.

Motorkhanas - not so good......

Cheers
Tanya

[Boris]

Boris,
You are in luck.

Tomorrow at Wakefield Park we will have our FTO track car down there for a track day.
It is set up for track purpose only.(not registered)
It is a work in progress mind you but so far I am very impressed as to how quick it is in its basic form.We went down for a test day a few weeks ago and got down to 1.14's on very old semi's.

Basic mods so far include:
Inlet, RPW extractors with side outlet exhaust and LSD.

Standby for more updates.

Mate, see you there... *drool*
Tanya, don't forget Richard from WA, he does quite well in Motorkhanas!

I know there are a lot of people doing things behind the scenes, but it needs to be more put in the spotlight of the FTO community here. I know some of you a serious and posses much more knowledge then me, so share it

[Teania]

Tanya, don't forget Richard from WA, he does quite well in Motorkhanas!

Could never forget Richard , what I meant was we didnt do so well in Motorkhanas With the way Roberts car is set up, we found that the car was far too "stiff and heavy" (for want of better words).... when trying to negotiate the tight courses.

Having met Richard from WA (lovely chap btw and very nice FTO) - he also takes his car to the drags - where it performs quite nicely. So thats another option for people who don't want to race it around a track.

We (as in anyone who currently puts their car on the track) are always willing to help or offer advice if anyone needs it. Anyone is quite welcome to attend track days, you can come as a spectator - see what its all about, ask questions etc. Track days need not cost a lot of money.
Some places also hold open practice days on weekdays. These are a lot of fun, with only a handful of cars on the track - they are a good way to learn the course without the pressure of timing.

Motorkhana's are an excellent way to improve your driving skills. They are held on large flat surfaces with flags - so if you do "hit a flag" - the worst you will get is a flag lying on the ground - no damage to your car

Cheers
T

[SG]

some really bad photos here if anyones interested of the trackday i went to today. http://www.hlrally.net/someguy/wanneroo/ and a bad video, good sound though thats the best my phone could do in the night time

gotta check the results if they're gonna put em up on the website, last look on the lcd screen i was 11th out of about 30 cars heaps and heaps of modded skylines, v8 fords and holdens, i suppose those all came above me though, cos there was heaps of random cars aswell. the lcd needed to have car types next to the drivers name

not bad for standard suspension though, plus a lsd...the accelerator pedal was welded for most the track thanks to it im pretty sure.

motor didnt skip a beat either
the breaks are spongy now though

[mrx]

I definitely miss it a lot! But having had to replace the engine (again) going to wait a bit and get the thing checked out fully before returning to the track. Interested in doing some drag racing too, but circuit much more fun!!!

[Bennoz]

I used to spend a stack of time on both the strip & the track.

Started of flogging V8's down Eastern Creek before I went berserk on my Mini. A Nitro'ed fire breathing monster that added many brown stains to my pants getting down the strip with a best of 12.89 @ 126mph....

That led to more exploded motors than I'd care to mention. Used to be able to pull a blown one out, rebuild it & have it back in the car in 24 hours.

Then one year I started entering Appendix J races in it. Managed a 3rd outright at the Creek once! (Mainly because half the toranas in front of me all slid into the kitty litter on the last lap )

Now Im limited simply by time There a few things that need doing to my FTO, but I'd be there in a sec given the time...

[mxysxy]

Thanks Boris,
Great inspiration combined with the guide to motorsports,
One thing always holds me down entering the motorsports was the seat belt, I know this might sound silly but, in terms of accident our regular seat belts are shocking in high speed impacts. You are bound to have massive internal injury around the stomach area, many cases are fatal,

So here is my question;
How can I go with having a better seat belt, let’s say 3/4 or 5 point seat belts?
Are they legal in normal road use?
Do I need to get a new seat for this?

Thanks

[Teania]

A racing harness is much more comfortable to use on the track, thats just my personal opinion, they are however, not legal for normal road use.

There is certain criteria to be met for the mounting of the racing harness, we use one, I believe Bennoz does as well. We still use the normal FTO seats with the harness.

Full Racing harnesses also have an "expiry date", so every few years you will may need to replace it. We use a SPARCO 4 point at the moment, which is semi racing. We are looking at buying a 5 point shortly for improved seat holding.

For start up track use, your normal seat belt is fine. Track use is not a "race" as such. You are racing yourself to improve your track time. There are minimal other cars on the track at the same time as you, and there are rules about behaviour, ie - overtaking etc.

If you find that you love trackwork, then yes, I would invest in a racing harness.

Most tracks are designed to prevent serious accidents. We have at least 1 car per event going off the track - they spin a bit, and end up in the sand. In the last year, we've only 1 "serious" accident - where a VW scraped heavily against the side wall at Oran.

Cheers
Kaveman and Teania

[Bennoz]

I've got a 3 point at the moment. Yet to use it properly in the FTO! I have a 4 point in my mini... it keeps me well stuck to the seat. Mind you its a full fibreglass Marsh race seat. Here is CAMS specs on harnesses - they were current 2 months ago

Harness Install Specifications

[SchumieFan]

I would love to have a go at "motorkana".

does anyone know who / what / where in the melbourne area.

Robert (tarkus)

i did a Grasskhana in my FTO with my other club last year, i came second only to a EVO 6.5

and that was with TCL off!

[FTO338]

Yeah i love to get a car just for a track, but my mrss will go "crazy" at me. And i think my FTO is more of a rice then track these days.

[SchumieFan]

A racing harness is much more comfortable to use on the track, thats just my personal opinion, they are however, not legal for normal road use.

are you serious? thats the stupidist thing ive ever heard! surely they are more safer? they are legal here, a few boys have them as well as normal belts, cause when you wear them and drop your ciggy while your driving or your coke etc..... "ahhhhhh cant move!!!!"