GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Wet Track Days

minordomo

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Houston, TX
Car(s)
Mk7 golf r
Not really a specific detailed technical post, but I just wanted to say that what everyone says about driving in the rain is spot on. It's an amazing learning experience and really heightens your senses for what smooth inputs are, what traction loss is, how to recover etc.

As a beginner, my understanding of traction was basically binary, you either have traction and send it, or you have none and are basically sliding until you slow down enough or end up in the grass. Now though, after driving just a single 20-minute session in the rain I found all kinds of different variations. There's minor understeer on acceleration, which is different to understeer on braking or coasting. Same with oversteer, which isn't something I got much of at all until driving on a wet track. There's traction loss where you can still kind of control the car or reign it back in without just bailing completely. It's amazing all the different ways you can feel the tires slipping, and since you're going slower you can take the time to logically process how to react and get instant feedback.

The speed is so crucial to learning as a beginner I think. Thinking about how many times in the dry where I pushed it too hard and ended up losing traction or going off track. Afterward trying to think about what exactly happened it's just sort of a blur because it all happened so fast. But in the wet, you can get that whole event much slower and process it and remember the details. You can also anticipate it so you can react even quicker.

So anyway, that's all I just wanted to put my thoughts down on wet track days and say what everyone else says. If you have the opportunity, 100% recommend.
 

R Golf

Go Kart Champion
Location
Lenox, MA
This is just one man's opinion, so take it for what it is... I think it is a minority opinion, but so be it. ;>)

I have been doing track events since 1998. I've done well over 100 events, taken the Road Atlanta racing school and the Keith Code Superbike school, as well as instructing for 8 years back in my Porsche days. I am only listing that so you know I have some experience and not just reading off other internet posts. I am not at all a fan of driving on track in the wet for HPDE, especially for new drivers. The runoff in many corners is not sufficient for an inexperienced driver in HPDE.

If you want to learn about slip angles in the wet get yourself to a good skidpad where you can push your limits and learn bringing a car back from the brink in relative safety. Skidpads are absolutely the best way to experience and learn from driving in the wet safely. We are not getting paid for this. You simply can not, or at least should not, push to your limits on a very wet track.

The biggest issue is not gathering in slip angles, which you can learn to do in the dry if you push harder, but rather the total lack of safe runoff. When you go off to wet grass or wet asphalt you are going to go much, MUCH further than in the dry, sometimes not stopping until you hit something. Watch the best drivers in the world in the rain. There are more accidents simply because they are pushing the limits, and it is so much tougher to gather things up in the rain. They also get a new car for the next race if they bang things up.

So, IMHO, if you want to feel slip angles go to a skid pad or slowly push your limits on a dry track in corners where there is plenty of runoff.
 

Treadup

Autocross Champion
Location
SE NC
Car(s)
MK7.5 6MT GTI
I’ve seen what @R Golf referred to with wet grass. We were at VIR for a track day over 10 years ago and a friend of mine brought his pristine 03 Cobra. He bought slicks just for the event. The first night it dumped rain for a while and the grass was saturated. We decided to move to a small viewing area near the bridge where we could view cars prior to climbing the hill towards the old oak (RIP). He took a really bad line into left hook and ended up going off course. I thought for sure he would stop but he came back on track and slid across to the other side of the grass. He ended up spinning and slamming into the tire wall on the passenger side.
 

reverend_sean

Go Kart Champion
Location
Pittsburgh
I love rainy HPDE track days. I only have about 25 days total under my belt (6 have been in the rain), so likely there is some "you don't know what you don't know" mixed in with opinion, but I love the reduced speeds combined with playing with the limit of adhesion. I am sure as I get faster and start to be able to maximize grip consistently on each and every lap, I can see how rainy days could be a downer. But for now, bring them on.
 

jay745

What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Location
Slightly Outside Chicago
Car(s)
Mk6 racecar, Tacoma
I don't mind a wet day, it's great for practice but it doesn't have the same fun factor as a dry day. Last year I had to call it and went home after driving 5 hours to a track which sucked. It was an absolute downpour and some sections of the track had 3 inches of standing water. Some people were still out there but that's too much for me
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
Had a Lamborghini driver spin right in front of me on a wet track day. The car did a couple rotations coming out of a turn and came to a stop facing backwards down the straight. Driver’s eyes were wide open looking right at mine across our respective cars hoods as we came to a stop. The added risk is real but the seat time in the rain is educational.
 

reverend_sean

Go Kart Champion
Location
Pittsburgh
Had a Lamborghini driver spin right in front of me on a wet track day.
Ha! My second-ever track day I had a Huracan spin right in front of me too, but in the dry. It was the driver's first day and you could tell he was timid. He ran too wide out of a downhill turn, dipped his rear tire off the track and went to throttle at the same time. Spun like 2 times at about 80-90 mph. Yay for club tracks that have lots of forgiving run off!
 
Top