Track Day Advice??

[JoeNBlu]

Getting ready for my track day tomorrow at Summit Point and looking for any last minute pointers. One question I have is what tire pressure should I be at on the track? Thanks!

[blkZ06]

you will have a BLAST at Summit Pt

I ran 30 cold and dropped it down to 28/29 when it got hotter outside (I have Kumho Mx's)

[JoeNBlu]

Thanks for the input. Yea I am looking forward to it! I have taken my motorcycle up there for track days and when I found out I could take my Z I was like "Who do I make the check out to!"

[blkZ06]

I want to get back up there, Pocono is a hoot too if you ever get a chance to do their F.A.T.T.'s

[gmblack3]

tire press- for the stock SC tires, start with 30 psi all around. After your first session, look at the wear arrows at the corner of the sidewalls.

If the tire is wearing over to the tip of the arrows then you are fine.

If the wear is not coming to the arrows, let out 1-2 lbs.

If the wear is coming past the arrow add a lb or 2.

Keep checking this after each run as your tires will buildup more heat/pressure during the day as it becomes hotter out and you are getting more heat to the tires from increased speeds.

I would hope that you have already changed out your brake fluid. You stock pads will be fine.

You can run with the AC on as it will keep both fans on. That will keep your water temps down. The AC compressor will kick out when you hit WOT so no big loss of power there.

Make sure you do a cool down lap at the end of each session.

Keep your hood open after each session and do not set your parking brake.

If you get the "high trans temp" warning on the DIC, hit the reset button. This will give you the tranny temp. It comes on at 270*f, do a cooldown lap and bring her in. Let her cool off till the next session. If you keep getting the warning, you need to try and be in the next higher gear thru some of the turns. 4th instead of 3rd, ect. Just try to be smoother and carry more speed thru the turns.

If you can get the car on jackstands or ramps tonight, check the area in front of the radiator. Get a brush and clean that area out real good. A shop vac also works well.

Make sure that you drink plenty of water starting now, keep drinking it thru the day tomorrow.

Have Fun and remember the winner of any track day is the guys/gals who bring their cars home in 1 piece.

[GatorZ]

I have a question regarding track use:

Assuming use of the stock F1 SC tires, about how much tread life can you expect to shave off on a track day (assuming a few full-speed runs through a track)? I understand it will be just an estimate, but are we talking half the tire wear in one day? Negligible wear? Somewhere in between?

I'm just wondering, because I'd love to hit a track, but not if it will cost me half the tread on a set of tires (hmm... $600 is an expensive afternoon!)...

Thanks!

[z06nut]

Don't hit any of the volunteers. Be aware of all the people on the track.

[JoeNBlu]

silverz06vette
Thanks for the great advice. I did not change the brake fluid as I jsut found out that it would have been a good idea. Is that something I should be over concerned about?

[timz06]

Flushing the brake fluid is one of the most important things. Brake fluid absorbs water over time and this lowers the boiling point. For the track you need new fluid that is higher temp than stock. If you didn't flush it and you are taking it easy you may be ok, but it is easy to boil the fluid and you will not be able to stop.

How much tire you use depends on the track and your driving. I would say if you drive hard about 1/8 of the tread per track day (2 hours time) as a guess.

Tim

[JoeNBlu]

Do I need DOT5 brake fluid? Can I do it myself?

[Subdriver]

You can run with the AC on as it will keep both fans on. That will keep your water temps down. The AC compressor will kick out when you hit WOT so no big loss of power there.

I disagree with the above advice. It is fine for sitting in traffic with no airflow and is a viable method to turn the fans on, but on a track the fans provide little benefit. With average speeds of around 80 mph you have plenty of airflow through the radiator and the fans do not help much. At that point you are in a heat balance equation, heat in from internal friction and combustion and heat out from losses to ambient and cooling in the radiator.
Turning on the AC will only add work to the engine and increase the heat input over the course of a session.

There are a couple ways to help:
- Turn on the heater. This will pull heat out of the engine back and provide extra cooling through the blower in the dash - sort of like a second small radiator. However, this will kill you, especially in hot climates where heat is already an issue. Sometimes I have turned on the heater, but closed all the vents on the drivers side.
- Add Redline Water Wetter. May provide a few degrees of benefit. Read their description of water wetter below. It is a good read.
http://www.redlineoil.com/products.htm
http://www.redlineoil.com/redlineoil/wwti.htm
- Go to a 25% coolant, 75% water ratio for track days. Per the discussion on the redline site above, water transfers heat better than coolant. However, coolant provides important anti-corrosive properties and lubricants for the coolant system. I run this ratio all the time, but mine isn't a street car. I recommend returning to 50/50 after the track day.
- Install a Ron Davis Heavy Duty radiator from DRM.
Probably something you will only need after you are much more experienced and serious. Also may have warranty issues.
- Install an oil cooler.
Probably something you will only need after you are much more experienced and serious. Also may have warranty issues.

Some other thoughts:
- Run in Comp Mode. This is your street car. No reason to lose control and hit something.
- Put the DIC on oil temp. If oil temps approach 300, cool it for a lap or so. This issue is what has driven most serious track drivers to install oil cooler. Others will say 300 is no problem. Hot debate. I have an oil cooler.
- I suggest you start with 32 front, 30 rear on the F1SCs. Hot should be something like 42 front, 40 rear.

Have fun, then start worrying about mods like new brake lines, new brake pads, brake ducts, oil coolers, HD radiators, better tires, etc, etc. This car is awesome on the track. You will have a blast.

The above is only this man's opinion. Others may vary.

For Gator, I wore out my F1SCs in 3k miles and two track days. Wear was almost completely on the inner edge due to the negative 1.75 degree camber I was running. With less camber they would've lasted longer, but at the cost of grip. I went with grip.

[Subdriver]

I suggest Motul 600 brake fluid. I replaced mine with the feed and bleed approach. DJWorm will tell you to go to GM and get a complete flush of the ABS system with a tech II. That will definitely work as well.
I actually replaced most of my fluid when I upgraded to Goodridge brake lines. The fluid drained out and I replaced with Motul. Then I went out and drove and activated ABS to move the old fluid out of the ABS block. Then I bled again. This was close to complete changeout, but still some old fluid remained. At your level it won't matter. In time as you bled with Motul, the old stuff will be gone.
Not sure if any of our vendors carry Motul. I can give you a link if you need one.

[JWz06]

What they all said plus GO FAST

JWz06.

[Steve J.]

Guldstrand suggested 36 front 34 rear cold and hot, adjust after your first run when tires are hot. I have worn out the outside edge using 30/30 and stock camber settings. The higher pressures help alot with tire wear.

[blkZ06]

wow these guys sure know their stuff, they have helped me a LOT.

I use speedbleeders for bleeding the brakes BEFORE each track event, also

check lug nut torque (mine's set at 100) tech inspection will check it
take center wheel caps off
bring 1 qt oil for each track day
bleed brakes prior to events
mark tires with a white marker at beginning of day (easier to check pressure I think)
drink LOTS of water!
bring a tarp to put your crap on-mats, partition, detector, etc (might be raining!)
have at least 50-75% wear left on brake pads

have fun!