Taking My Smart to the Track. Oh yes, yes I am.

[ChosMister]

you are all awesome. even Alan, playing devil's advocate.

The sessions will be run as one group (20 - 25 cars), all day long. I think I will have to plan my laps accordingly, so I am on the track at times with the least amount of other cars racing.

Other factors: I have been to SoW with other cars a couple of times, so I am more familiar with the track than some of the other drivers. But, almost all of the cars (besides the humble BMW 650 and 335) are beasts - so skill aside, I may be an obstacle for others. However, I am dying to track the smart and see what it can do. I just don't know if it will remain to be fun for an 8am-4pm track day.

In the end, yes, it is all about fun. And as I am sure you all know, the smart is a blast to drive. Especially when trying to hang in a race (I have irresponsibly taken advantage of unsuspecing drivers in the streets who can't seem to hang - 3 series, Lexus IS, ...)

Let's see what happens

[DavidV]

It will do just fine... :-)















-- DavidV

[ChosMister]

DavidV,

was that a stock Smart?

[DavidV]

Originally Posted by ChosMister

DavidV,

was that a stock Smart?

Yes and no. It was stock at times, and not so stock at others.












-- DavidV

[ChosMister]

David,

how did the brakes hold up?

[Smartfor2guy]

Been there, done that

[GHammerly]

Originally Posted by jetfuel

..hey Gus...what's your view on the skinny tires and narrow wheel base of the smart on the track...also how about tires/compounds..

jetfuel

Didn't drive mine at the track or autocross yet but pushed it hard at the Dragon, hard enough that my poor wife had to . The car felt better than I expected but still has too much understeer and an overly intrusive stability control. If the system detects any kind of slip it does not allow the throttle to open so corner exit is a little frustraiting. I think maybe having higher grip tires may either reduce or increase how intrusive stability control is. Higher grip will increase overall grip maybe allowing the car to reach higher limits before the party pooper intervines. On the other hand, higher grip will amplify how much the car rolls and pitches, so some tires will be getting even lighter and sliding causing the stability control to interfere.
A wider track and a lowered suspension will reduce how much SC interferes. If I had money to mess with mine I would find the widest 15" 3 lug wheels, at least 6.5" wide and mount Bridgestone RE-11 195-50-15 tires. Lower the car a little and see if I can convince Hawk or PFC to make street and race compound brake pads. Hawk HP+ will probably be plenty for the smart.
Ideal would be 7.5" wide wheels all arround with aggressive offset and fender extensions to widen the track as much as possible.

[jetfuel]

...thanks for your input...spoken like a true road racer..
...anybody else wants to take a crack at it..
...where's is Randy when you need him....

jetfuel

[DavidV]

Originally Posted by ChosMister

David,

how did the brakes hold up?

We weren't all that hard on them, so I expect that eventually if we had kept pushing it we may have run into some issues, but they were fine for several laps at a time.

If you haven't already checked it out, we also posted some vids of an autocross we set up at Infineon, including Larry's (LittoDevil) "Screaming Cow" Fortwo against an instructor's Fiero. The Fortwo more than held its own, even when pushed to the limit!

Infineon Meet Video, "Screaming Cow" vs Fiero

-- DavidV

[Suze]

The screaming cow video is the best!