I am debating going to my 1st track day ever. I'm going to move the rest of the stuff out of my college apt this weekend. Not too much stuff, just some clothes, dvds, kitchen stuff. It just so happens that thunderhill is having a hpd driving school the same weekend, not 30 minutes away from where I'm going anyways. I was wondering what kind of condition do my brakes/tires need to be in? Tires are yoko es100's with maybe 2000-3000 miles of life left in them, not too much tread. Stock wrx brakes with hawk hps pads in front, normal lines front and back, slotted dba rotors in front, re-bled about 2 months ago.

I feel dumb for asking this but where is the tread marker on a yoko es100?
-all 4 tires above tread marker
Ive never seen it, how hard is track driving on a set of tires?
Here is the link to the driving school
http://www.thunderhill.com/school.html


Also, how do I check on my wheel bearings? I have my car jacked up and the right rear will move around as if the brake wasnt locked all the way(movement forwards/backwards), but there is no side-to-side play in it.

you'll be fine..it's basically all in your hands...push your car as far as YOU feel comfortable and just have fun!!

Also, how do I check on my wheel bearings? I have my car jacked up and the right rear will move around as if the brake wasnt locked all the way(movement forwards/backwards), but there is no side-to-side play in it.

I've gone through wheels bearings this year like candy. I can readily attest that there is no reliable way to determine if your wheel bearings might be going bad. I can say that trying to get movement out of the wheel is the least reliable measure. If you do get movement, you really do have a problem, though you can also get no movement when there is a problem. If you're particularly attentive to how your car feels under braking, you may be able to tell also. I've found that when the bearings are bad, and there is play in the wheel, the car can feel unsettled under braking, or sometimes feel like there's too much rear bias - rears locking up before the fronts. Another way is to use a pyrometer and take hub temps. Of course you'll need a baseline, but you can pay attention to differances between wheels, also. Also, if you have a feeling your car doesn't have directional stability - seems to wander - it's probably a wheel bearing. Don't confuse wandering (directionless) with an alignment issue (directional). Worn bearings can also be noisey but this again is a hit and miss proposition. I my Impreza (race prepped) there are too many other noises to tell.

Brakes - your pads should have no less than 90% pad left for a weekend long HPDE event.

Tires - A typical street will last a weekend even if it's low on tread. Just pay attention to hot tire pressures.

Have fun, stay safe, and don't confused an HPDE with racing. It's not.

I realize I'm going into it to learn not necisarily to race. I think it will be great just having a instructor in the car with me for a few laps telling me what I should and shouldnt do at high speeds.

The rear wheel bearing makes a certain noise at times, though I cant be totally sure its just the wheelbearing thats doing it. Regardless the front wheel bearing made something of the same noise only worse and that was right before i found out it was shot.

also its not a full weekend, I think at most it may be an hour to two hours so of seat time on the track

Your brakes and tires will be fine. You will need to bleed the brakes after the event, but that is normal. Ask your instructor about tire pressures. At least have them up to normal street pressures to start with. Your first day should not be hard on street tires. That only happens after you become addicted and go to every track event. :D

Go have fun!!!

I feel dumb for asking this but where is the tread marker on a yoko es100?

Look in the two large channels that run around the center of the tire. You will see some small raised sections.