I'd like to start getting my ducks to make sure my car is a solid and reliable performer for trackdays. I plan on running with local Porsche Club or BMW of America trackday clubs.


I have the core mods sitting in my garage ready to go on after I recover from knee surgery, but I'm wondering if there are any more I need:

I have turboback exhaust, sways, springs, HD Bilstein shocks, intercooler, lower IC pipe, shortshifter, brake ducts, stock advans in good shape on BBS wheels.

Things I 'need' (or do I?): SS brake lines, intake cone/filter (have vibrant adapter plate), track pads, tune, fix Wideband LC1 and possibly need to go for Amsoil brake fluid over Superblue I have in the garage unopened. Video camera and mount for fun.

Anything else u can think of? O2 housing while I am installing exhaust perhaps? CG lock? (does BMW Car Club of America or Porsche club require harnesses?)

Much appreciated. thx.

(Yes I realize none of this is needed for a trackday, but I'd like to make sure my car is as reliable and fade free as possible with the brakes, the suspension is in good order, and I'm having fun out there playing w/ friends with some extra umph.)

 

Like your caveat says, there's not really anything in that list that you need for tracking except the brake-related stuff. All those power mods are the opposite of what you need, and so are the springs/sways. That's not what you do for tracking - that's for guys who just want to lower the car and induce oversteer. If you perfectly mated your springs, sways, and shocks per some other racer's formula, then maybe you will be just fine, but you'd typically get some coilovers with custom settings/tuning.

The wideband, tune (track tune is different than other tunes), CG Lock, and brake parts (fluid, SS lines, pads) are the most important parts, in my opinion.

 

Thanks warrtalon.

Yes the power isn't needed, just wanted at this point. The Suspension isn't needed, but I'd like less body roll and better valving. I don't want AutoX oversteer, so I'll be doing front and rear sways. It's a DD car, so I'm not willing to pay for or go to coilovers at this point in time in the NorthEast. I'm following SmikeEvo and GTWorx recommendations at this point in time after a test ride.

Brakes are my biggest worries. I never had brake problems when I used to track motorcycles and could go as hard as I wanted each session out....kinda sucks that can be an issue with the EVO so I'm trying my best to mitigate that situation.

 

The Vibrant adapter plate will need a L bracket made up ($5) to make sure it doesn't bounce around.

BMW, PCA wont require harnesses. CG lock is a good one to get. 4-pt isn't bad either, some events would allow you to use it w/o a cage.

O2 housing is easier to do with the turbo off the car. Its a fair amount of work/labor.

Camera Mount:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...mount-how.html

Wicker Bill:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...urney-lip.html

 

I went to my first track day at Lime Rock this past weekend, so I was just in your situation. Like Warralton said, power is not the way you want to go when you're starting out. Brakes are priority number one. I ran a few sessions and was really hard on the brakes coming off the main straight and could smell the brakes cooking and ended up glazing the pads. Stock rotors are fine, but stock pads could be bad news. I also put in new Motul RBF600 fluid and added stainless steel lines for the heck of it. I will absolutely be on track pads next time. Other than that, you don't really need to do anything to have a fun first track day. As always, there will be cars that are faster than you and cars that are slower than you, but the driver will make the biggest difference. Good luck.

 

Limerock have any noise regulations?

(Yeah if there aren't any cars faster than me I would be extremely surprised haha)

 

Crappo, might have to buy helmet too. Not sure if my motorcycle helmets fit the bill. Gotta look into that.

 

Most HPDEs require SA rated helmets, so you'll probably have to invest in a new one. Best thing to do for that is find a place you can try them on as it's important to be comfortable in your helmet. You can find several entry-level SA helmets for around $200-$300.

 

I bought mine at here:



http://www.zamp-racing.com/

 

Helmets...
http://www.racerwholesale.com/

You Need:

- Pads: Ferodo DS2500's are what I like for DD and track use.
- ATE Super Blue. It's as good as any - for the most part, and less sensitive to moisture than RBF.
- Cooling Ducts.

If you've got the power mods then that's fine, put them on and get tuned by someone who understands road racing and will leave margin in the boost, timing and AF's.

Make sure you check your coolant and oil level before you hit the track.

 

DS2500s are NOT track pads. I do not recommend those with serious tracking. They are only good to 1000F MOT.

 

I'll be going with Amsoil fluid (little better than Superblue and I'm scared of evo brakes fading stories during trackdays) and dedicated track pads from this list with little more friction and temperature:

Acceptable track only pads - Street tires
Hawk HT10: 100-1300F, intermediate to high torque
Hawk HT14: 300-1400F, high torque
Porterfield R4: 100-1200F (100-900F optimal), .52 drag coefficient

SS lines are still up in the air.
Racing Brake ET700: 100-1200F, intermediate torque
Racing Brake ET800: 100-1400F, intermediate to high torque
Performance Friction 97's: 167-2000F, intermediate to high torque

 

all good advice so far

don't worry about power/handling mods until your limits > your car's limits

 

Yes, they have pretty strict noise regulations actually. There are guys on-site that will try to help you if you're too loud, though. Do what you can ahead of time to avoid any problems.

Definitely get an SA rated helmet because, well, you need one.

It was wet and rainy when I went on Saturday so we weren't up to dry speeds but I still hit ~115mph on the straight and was really hard on the brakes before Big Bend. Even for a first timer event, you will be moving and hard on your pads for extended periods of time. I managed on Hawk HPS's in the wet, but I do not recommend them for the track obviously. They are a street pad. No doubt I'll get dedicated track pads for future HPDEs.

 

DS2500's are a good pad if you don't want to change them out, they can still be street driven. WITH cooling ducts they do fine in my experience.

But if you are OK with changing pads I'd run PF97's.