How to Take Your Car to the Track
How to Take Your Car to the Track
Posted on October 21, 2021
There's a special thrill in owning a high-powered luxury car. But if your driving is limited to city streets and stretches of highway, it's easy to feel you're not getting the most out of what your treasured vehicle can offer.
Fortunately, in Toronto it's possible to take your car onto a genuine race track, letting you test the powertrain to its limits in an environment where your vehicle can really shine. But to truly enjoy the experience, and to do it safely, there are a few important points to bear in mind before setting your high-end vehicle loose on the track.
1) Check Your Fluids
Before you leave home in the morning, make sure that all your car's fluids are fully topped up, including brakes, oil, and coolants. Track driving puts your car under extra stresses and strains compared to sedate city streets, and you don't want to find out you've a problem when you're launching into your first high-speed corner.
2) Check Your Tires
Just as importantly, check that your tires are correctly inflated and are in overall good condition. Even if your car is properly tuned for track driving, if your tires are worn or underinflated the handling will suffer. A slight lack of predictability is no problem at typical highway speeds, but on the track you need to make sure you're always in complete control.
3) Explore the Track - Virtually
Even if you've driven on the Toronto track before, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with its layout. Learn the order and angles of the corners, the various changes in elevation, and any areas where you can really press your right foot down for achieving the highest thrills.
In older times all this meant scrutinizing a paper outline of the circuit, but today's tech makes things a lot simpler. Whichever track you drive on, you can be sure there'll be several run-throughs available to watch on YouTube, helping you get to grips with the circuit before you're tackling it with other cars passing at speed.
4) Get Into the Right Frame of Mind
When you take your car to the track in Toronto it's natural to feel excitement, but high-speed driving needs a cool head. Before venturing onto the circuit take a few moments to get into the right frame of mind. Get away from the excited crowds of other drivers, maybe have a little refreshment, and make sure that once you get behind the wheel you'll be able to give driving your full and undistracted attention.
5) Take It Slow
And lastly, for your first go around the track, take things slowly and even use an excess of caution. Don't worry if you're constantly being passed by more experienced track drivers. Driving at speed is a different ball game than regular driving, and you need to find your feet in safety before stretching out and seeing what your car is really capable of.
Taking your car to the track should be fun and rewarding, but also completely safe. Follow these five tips and you can be sure of a day to remember for all the right reasons.
