Chasing Cars Thru Traffic! [POV Track Day @ NJMP Lightning]

[@billj1874]

I am, unfortunately, the owner/driver of the e90 M3. I had installed a brand new set of track pads and the rears had a manufacturing defect which caused the rears to lock up suddenly. I was literally just bedding the pads in when this happened. Not the way I wanted to make an appearance on the dad hats channel!

[@jpecc8314]

I hope you get a full refund

[@dadhats]

wow that's brutal sorry buddy 😭😭 did u end up hitting the wall or have any damage?? I couldn't tell from my angle

[@dennisdaugherty7009]

Was parked next to you in the infield, gut wrenching sight...was wondering what happened. If it's any consolation you were used as a prime example of "why track insurance" in the novice meetings...

[@DerekNYC]

I think it's disrespectful for DadCaps to show this (clearly for channel views). Many DEs will blacklist participants for posting wrecks. Glad you're ok and I hope you get the car back on track. Maybe time for a G80!??

[@mikey631]

To be fair, he didn't show the wreck, just the car sitting on the side of the track. I've never heard of getting blacklisted for showing a track incident in the US. I know the nurburgring has a rule about it though. I don't think this footage was distasteful, and leaving it in the video raises awareness that things can, and do go wrong at the track, and driver safety is important. Obviously, it sucks, but I'm glad the BMW driver is okay, and I hope he gets his car fixed soon. I've been there, and know how it feels (many years ago - T9 Laguna Seca). It's a risk we all take when we go to the track. Btw, this video was really fun to watch otherwise, and DadHats is really honing the skills in the brz

[@025MikeMiller]

Regarding the spec Miata, you are at the point now where you should be closing the gap side to side when making a pass on a race car. They expect it. Reason being is while racing, if something unexpected happens and car to car contact occurs, having a smaller gap usually results in less damage/chance for a bigger issue. Plus, if you are closer to the racing line you will lose less lap time making the pass. Nice catch.

[@dadhats]

agreed! typically I try to give extra room bc it's hard to know what everyone's experience level is even in advanced, but in this case you're def right 👍

[@knightmarecs]

What are you yapping about? Closing the gap side by side on a regular HPDE? "Race car" "While racing" 🤨🤣

[@025MikeMiller]

@@knightmarecs Eric knows he isn't racing. He is very advanced and looks to be ready to step up to a competition level. I'm not saying to compete in HPDE. I'm suggesting to prepare and get used to a style of driving that competitors are used to and is technically safer. Only do so with drivers of race cars who are comfortable doing so.

[@dowroa]

I was waiting to see if the windshield wipers had been updated! Nice video and thank you for sharing!

[@dadhats]

appreciate it dude!! hahah not yet. lots of stuff happening lately keeping me busy that I can't wait to share with y'all 👀

[@MaxPwr176]

Great save! I enjoy the commentary, my fav video so far

[@dadhats]

thanks man!!

[@dennisdaugherty7009]

Hey Eric it was nice to actually meet you there! I was in the Gray Challenger in Novice....the traffic was crazy all day. In my second session my go pro highlights saw me pit for space two laps in a row. Definitely like seeing I was running very close lines to yours as well...albeit you are much quicker I'm sure!

[@dadhats]

nice to meet you man!! and thanks for supporting the channel it's much appreciated 🙌 that's awesome tho dude congrats on the progress!!

[@natejute]

Miata be like HI FRIEND :D

[@yowie0889]

Great video. Keep up the good work with the spoken and text commentary about what's going on.

[@miguelmochon]

Lots of traffic today, I enjoyed watching you overtake :D

[@symawd]

Another great video. Too bad you weren't able to make it to the last one. Almost no one showed up so they combined advanced and intermediate. There was some traffic by doing that, but they gave us 25 minute sessions instead.

[@dadhats]

oh wow that's crazy. I've been to a bunch of tnia events and never seen them do that before!

[@symawd]

@@dadhats First I've seen it too. I think a bunch of people cancelled because they kept saying rain all day but it ended up being a great day instead.

[@djsonicc]

those miatas are a MENACE of track days. Menace I say!

[@elhdez9788]

youre the reason im getting an frs lol

[@dadhats]

hell yea 👌

[@JunkRacecars]

That traffic was so brutal lol, it really felt like intermediate out there

[@dadhats]

seriously! I bet inter filled up and the rest got dumped into our sessions 😂

[@AUTOTRAGIC]

Traffic almost as bad as the last HOD lightning event...

[@Devastator-em2qu]

I think this is the longest iv seen a person have a car with a boxer motor and it not blow up after track use lmao

[@dadhats]

LOL these 1st gen brzs are pretty reliable! WRX motors maybe not so much lul

[@christopherstraw3629]

Love these vids. What mode do you use when tracking. Can’t find a good answer. Just VSC Sport? Press and Hold VSC?

[@dadhats]

thanks man! I do what's considered the legal dance aka tc all the way off

[@Speed.killz5]

Love the content brother. But I was curious if your gonna eventually do anything more to the brz for more power....I think you could for sure handle it.

[@dadhats]

I've def thought about it! it's a tough decision tho bc if I do add power it's harder to class if I decide to try time attack. playing around with suspension and chassis mods is pretty fun tho!

[@manpalbajwa4394]

What’s the setup for the camera? I currently have my go pro chin mounted since I also ride a motorcycle, but in the car it’s just a screen full of steering wheel!

[@dadhats]

yup I tried that route too lol. I took a GoPro sticky mount to my forehead and used a j hook buckle mount to get the camera as close to my eyes as possible. you could check out bossboss racings visor clip for a more elegant solution too 👍

[@manpalbajwa4394]

@@dadhats awesome I’ll give that a try! Thanks!

[@bry1955]

It looks like you are working on your skills. I think you are doing it right and just experimenting with the sway bar. But maybe my observations can help you to play a little more. In the hard left you lost the rear and you were trying to counter steer before you lost it. If you can get a little more on throttle rear traction your counter steering will be less. alternatively you could take a little traction out of the front. Tire pressure or weight might be your friend if you want to smooth out your movements in the corners. Some people like oversteer. if you are one of those guys see if you can get more overall traction front and rear.

[@danbe2284]

Hey man, love your helmet pov, how do you have your camera set up? What camera are you using? Are you not using Dragy anymore?

[@dadhats]

thanks! I took a GoPro sticky mount to my forehead and used a j hook buckle mount to get the camera as close to my eyes as possible. you could check out bossboss racings visor clip for a more elegant solution too. dragy hasn't released their obd2 port reader yet so it won't work for my videos unfortunately! I still use it as a backup when needed tho

[@danbe2284]

@@dadhats thanks for the reply! I will check that out thanks. Was thinking about picking up the Dragy after watching one of your other videos. Dont want to really be spending 1k on a Catalyst. Thanks again 👍

[@dadhats]

@@danbe2284 I have no complaints about the dragy I'd say go for it 👌

[@davidmarellano]

Nice driving. What phone mount is that?

[@dadhats]

thanks! ram mount x grip I think it's called. highly recommend 👍

[@vmmramos]

Hey bro have you ever ran into that oil starvation issue on your brz ?

[@dadhats]

nope! haven't heard much about that before tbh

[@teamscoobydoo]

@@dadhats he's talking about the GR 86 lol

[@dadhats]

@@teamscoobydoo oh. well than for obvious reasons no lol

[@mrmidnight32]

I love that this guys joins novice or beginner groups and spends the entire video complaining about slower less experienced cars.

[@dadhats]

lol. unfortunately this was advanced

[@jaydenray2803]

Did you retune your rear suspension after installing the sway bar?

[@dadhats]

you mean adjust the dampers? I did soften the rear a bit

[@jaydenray2803]

@@dadhats 👍

[@knightmarecs]

What's with all the whining and pitting? Why not just pass traffic...

[@mikey631]

Because it ruins your lap times when you spend a quarter of the lap waiting for a driver to point you by. Some groups allow open passing without a point, but most HPDE's don't so it just wastes time (time you paid a lot of money for). Coming in for space saves a lot of frustration, and will let you turn faster laps, so you have more good data to analyze

[@knightmarecs]

@@mikey631 So waiting a couple turns to get a point-by vs. wasting a whole lap pitting... seems logical. Have you tried driving faster?

[@mikey631]

@@knightmarecs you don't waste a whole lap pitting, you only go into the hot pit lane. It's maybe 15-30 seconds, while the steward waits for a gap.

[@knightmarecs]

@@mikey631 It's most certainly a whole lap as you enter the pits negating your current lap and then resetting with your outlap. Part of Advanced group is knowing how to show intention of pass-- leading to a point-by. It's on the passing car to do clean and safely. Try practicing this in Intermediate.

[@mikey631]

@@knightmarecs No, it's not wasting a whole lap, because you aren't going into the paddock, you are staying on the hot lane, which is along side the front straight, next to the start/finish line. It's literally seconds. You can show as much intention to pass as you want, but if the guy in front doesn't see you, or just doesn't want to point you by, you are still stuck. either way, point by's still slow you down.