Track Day Best Practices - MUST READ

osbornsm

With the OEM alignment and Sport suspension... i had significant outer wear on my track tires. I had to crank the PSI up to 48 HOT to accommodate the leaning sidewalls.

But i now have -2 deg front camber with SPL camber arms.
Will report tire wear with the OEM toe and -2 camber after my next event.

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Bshields22

WOW 48 HOT! I'm running about 37 HOT. I would think at that heat level your tires get "slippery" and begin to loose grip.

I'm considering sway bars to help with outside wear and keep camber a bit more steady. What do you think?

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308 rwhp | 252 rwtq | Fast Intentions CBE 18" Res | Stillen Gen 3 CAI | EcuTek Tune | Stoptech Slotted Rotors and Sport Pads | KW V3 Coilovers | SPL Upper Control Arms & Lower Rear Arms | Seibon CF TS Hood | Vossen CVT | SPC Toe bolts

osbornsm

They should be 40 hot. However that's with - 2 camber. I had to have higher psi with OEM alignment to accommodate the leaning sidewalls.

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Slartibartfas

Great thread!

I'll add that if you're being held up by slower drivers that won't let you by, take a quick tour of pit lane. By the time you're back on track the slow guys are quite a bit ahead and you'll have more open track.

Pay attention to your energy level. When you start getting sloppy, you're tired. Come in and rest.

I found that starting with AutoX taught me to read tire slip angles which helped on the track (and street).

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2011 Journey Sport sedan 7AT | SPL front, SPC rear camber arms | ARK Grip cat-back |

BGTV8

And remember to stay hydrated - on a race or track day, even in cooler weather, I will drink 3 to 4 litres of fluid - not sugar loaded cola drinks but usually just water with a couple of slices of lemon in it.

Slartibartfas

^^ What he said.

I ran a LeMons race in September, it was an hour stint. I felt okay while racing but as soon as I got out of the car I almost collapsed. More than one driver was taken to the hospital with heat stroke. Pay attention to your hydration and energy.

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2011 Journey Sport sedan 7AT | SPL front, SPC rear camber arms | ARK Grip cat-back |

Rusty

I start to load up on water the day before if I can. Then pee like a race horse because of the one pill I have to take. If you have to take meds, be careful of them. And know the side effects.

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浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
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Swindler

I plan on tracking for the first time soon and will take the hooked on driving class. I don't expect to be driving very hard my first time. I understand it is recommended to:

-change clutch fluid and brake fluid to Motul RBF600

-upgrade brake pads to carbotech X10 front/8 rear

-get on oil cooler

Those seem like they are the main things. But for the first class would I be ok going stock? I wouldn't even be able to do those upgrades myself, id have to go to a shop every time, which is ok but will add up quickly especially being for just the first experience. Also I have HR 20mm stud replacement spacers all around. Is that ok as long as just the lugs are torqued correctly before i start?



Ive always been really interested in doing this but haven't ever done it because I've been overwhelmed with all the things id have to have done since I don't even know how to do it myself, just to get track ready. But I'm really determined to finally get started and I'm trying to figure out everything i need to do to prepare.

Also, I've been trying to practice my rev matching but i really suck at heel toe. Would it be recommended to not use synchro rev match while on the track or is it fine?

ltullos

Congrats on your determination to get started! I doubt very much if you will be disappointed; and if you're like most, you will be looking to book your second one on the way home.

If you are doing this in cool weather, you can probably get away without the oil cooler for this first one, and stock brake pads should work OK so long as you have at least 50% left on them. Changing fluids is certainly recommended, and I would have that done by a competent shop that can also do your tech inspection.

For your first event, there are so many things to learn that you should resist the urge to push it and instead just concentrate on what your instructor is telling you (I assume you'll have one for each session). If you'll concentrate on keeping your head up to look through the turns instead of driving cone to cone, and being smooth; you'll be far ahead of the guys that are trying to be fastest. And, don't forget to relax and breath (which may be the most difficult part to learn). Hope you have a great time and let us know how it went.

Swindler

Thanks for the support and the tips! That sounds good. I'm looking forward to it. I'll have to wait just a few months before i can do it since I have some other things I have to pay for first before setting aside money for the class. Otherwise I would do it right away. So after the fluid change can I keep the brake and clutch fluid in there for daily use or will I have to switch back to previous fluid? Or will I have to change fluid again after one light track day?


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JARblue

SRM will work great for you as a beginner at the track. But practicing heel-toe maneuvers is highly recommended as your driver mod progresses. More advanced drivers find SRM too slow to be useful on the track.

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Hotrodz

I just did my first track day a couple of weekends ago and my instructor was awesome. One thing he reminded me every time we finished a session was to stay off the the brakes as much as possible including doing the cool down in second gear and not touching my brakes unless I really needed to and when we got to my parking spot he would say..."foot off the brake, don't touch the parking brake, put it in gear and shut down." He said I'm going to tell you every time because so many people ruin their rotors by not letting them cool properly.

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Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel|3GsCustoms|Z1|Wavetrac|Hotchkis|Whiteline |Blitz|Fortune Auto 500|Fujimura|SPL|H&R|TK|TWM|RPM Rollbar|Sparco|Next Level Performance|TrackSpec|AeroFlow Dynamics|Pioneer|

Swindler

Sounds good, I can't wait. In the mean time I'll still be practicing heel-toe hopefully I'll get it down


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Rusty

First time out. You can get away with just changing your brake and clutch fluid. Remember to breath. Look through the turn. Don't target fixate. Listen to your instructor, and ask questions. I use SRM all the time.

When not on the track. Go through your last track section through your mind. Drink water. Watch others going through the turns. Relax, and enjoy the moment.

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浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

SurfDog

From a wet lap in denver yesterday.

The point is know the weather and bring appropriate tires. Sometimes OEM outperform your race wheels. (Like when it's wet)

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09 6spd Berk CBE, JWT cams, ZSpeed CSC, Stillen (25 row oil, brake cooling, sways, gen3 CAI), Passport (9500ci), Quaife LSD, Z1 400 hp kit, ss lines, pads, rotors, clutch etc, Phunk's pan and fuel starve fix