Some advice and tips please

[oregato]

Right, So I've signed up for a trackday with another forum on the 13th of February.

It'll be my first one, so I just want to make sure that my car is ready for it and just need some advice.

Right, tires, I've had the car around 4 months now and the front tires are as new, its a weekend car so I don't really drive it that much, the only problem with them is that the dealer put them on and they're a crap make (I've never heard of the brand before) the question is, should I replace the tires for the trackday? I'd rather have a decent set of rubber rather than something sub standard. What do you think? Change them over and swap back after the trackday or don't bother.

Brakes - although they have big shiny Brembo stickers on them, I've never really had to use them that hard, I'm probably going to change the pads anyway. Can someone recommend me a decent pad?

They're my two main worries, as for power etc, the car is pretty standard. Any other tips and hints are welcome

Thanks

 

[Hancock]

if you are thinking of upgrading your front pads then ferodo ds2500 or mintex 1144 seem to be quite popular though i've not tried them myself. Also make sure you have plenty of wear left on the rear too, but stick with oem about £35.

I would make changing the brake fluids a priority the last thing you want is having to retire early because your fluids are shot. I use ap racing 5.1 from unit 8 its about £20 delivered from unit8, i do about 4 trackdays with this before changing and its more then up to the job, no point in spending stupid amounts of money on the srf stuff.

A decent set of tyres will make a big difference to the handling of your car on road and track, in other words i would change my tyres weather im doing a track day or not, but its up to you. Crap tyres won't stop you having fun but no brakes and your trackdays over.

Make sure your engine oil is topped right up to the max it won't hurt to fill it a little over and check all other fluids too. Don't leave your handbrake on after a session and check tyre pressures after each session.

Where abouts you doing your trackday?

 

[VTeCMonKeY]

Don't leave your handbrake on after a session?

What's the thinking behind that one out of interest?

 

[haitch]

Tyres - a good set of road tyres will be fine for the first time out - if you have an unbranded set of unknowns, change them and get them scrubbed in before hand.

After a session as said best to leave in gear or use a 'choc' - hot pads will stick to your discs, locking them together.

Use those mirrors 8)

 

[oregato]

Thanks for the great advice.

If changing the tires, should I change all four or would it be sufficent to just change the front two? I've budgeted a few quid towards track prep, but wouldn't want to go OTT, would it be ok to just change the front?

The fluids is a great idea, I must get the brakes done asap.

Keep it coming lads

 

[lockwood77]

Change all four tyres, your back end will be rather mobile if the front tyres are better than the rears! With road tyres you'll ultimately be frustrated by understeer in my experience, but that's unlikely to be a concern on your first day.

I would definitely upgrade from OEM front pads, they won't take the heat and are rubbish anyway. Fluid is a good one, if you don't know what or how old your current stuff is. Make sure you bleed them well though, any air at all will be shown up by the heat generated on track!

I've not had any cooling issues with a DC5 on track, so that should be OK. Oil will be used, so keep an eye on it and have some to hand. If you haven't changed it for a while, might be worth doing beforehand.

One off-the-wall tip - take something solvent-based to clean your windscreen, if you get some oil chucked on it by someone's failing engine and try to just wash it off, your screen will be a nightmare!

 

[alucardo]

Mintex 1144 or ferrodo 2500 with uprated fluid. Keep your old oem ones just in case and take them with you just incase you melt the pads not likely but its awlays best to be prepared.

As your doing the track day in feb you may want to get an all seasoned high performance tyre Michelin ps2's hold up well on track from experiece by another user on the forum ejwillistyles.

Top up the oil after each session, check the wheel nuts are tight after every other session as heat will expant the nuts and they can become loose this happened to me at cadwell last year.

Check your tyre pressure before each session as your tyres will get hot and you will be running 40 psi in no time at all so take a foot pump and tyre pressure guage a cheap one from halfords should do the job then adjust the pressure as and when you need.

My teg hasnt overheated I do however pop the bonnet after each session to let as much heat out as possible.

Keep an eye on your fuel I never go below 1/4 tank before I top it up to stop any chance of fuel surge no matter how slim the chances.

Review the track before you go there are plenty of videos online of all tracks via youtube so you get an idea of the line braking points etc.

Tuition? I never have but from reports they are very good when your first getting out there.

Once out on track make sure to do a warm up lap to get the oil up to temp and a cool down lap for the brakes.

Remember its not a race there will be alot of quicker cars than you so remember its you and the car Versus the track nothing more and as above check your mirrors and let cars past that are quicker even if you think they are crap boxes.

 

[oregato]

Cheers lads, thats some great advice.

Yeah, I've attended one or two track days in the past (but never driven) so I know about the etiquette and manners.

I'm thinking of getting Mintex/Ferrodo pads, if their too expensive I might just go OEM? Would people suggest strongly against this?

Also, going to change the brake fluid to carlube 5.1, any one any recommendations?rep
As for the tires, I'm still thinking what should I do, as I said, I've a set of brand new tires on the car that has barely been used. I don't want to replace all four as it'll costs too much.

Anyone any ideas?

 

[lockwood77]

Well, depending if it's dry and how hard you drive, you could use those tyres and see what happens - if they're soft (like Toyo T1-S/R), they will melt up and you won't want to use them on the road any more anyway!

I've never used OEM pads on track, my guess is it will be borderline whether they'll withstand the heat. I would think they'll fade considerably quicker even if you don't roast them, so I would advise changing both to get maximum enjoyment on your trackday and more generally to improve your brake feel, OEM pads just don't have enough bite for me on the road.

I had Motul RBF600 brake fluid in mine which was fine on my first trackday, I use Castrol SRF now though, my pads (Mintex F4R) get a lot hotter and I had it left over from my caliper-destroying RX-7 days anyway.

 

[alucardo]

Reports on the Oem pads say they will fade badly not what you want really. Its worth stumping up the cash as it can ruin a trackday other wise.

What tyres do you have?

I use apracing 600 does the job

http://www.apracing.com/info/products.a ... _1265_1264

 

[Hancock]

if you a re planning on doing more trackdays in the future i would highly reccommend uk circuit guide
http://www.circuitguides.com/product_in ... oduct_id=1

It goes through each bend in great detail explaining different racing lines cambers, entry, apex and exit points with diagrams. it really is fantastic guide, i've knocked more time off by reading through this then all the mods i have done to my car :xyes: so at £35 its a bargain when you think about it.

 

[celox performance]

Changing the front pads at least is a must and is a very high priority.

 

[oregato]

Changing the front pads at least is a must and is a very high priority.

Thanks Celox, yeah, I'm getting that arranged at the moment.

My mechanic is getting prices for me for the parts, so far,

EBC yellow/green stuff are coming in at €110 and mintex are coming in at €60 - €70 (all prices before fitting)

Do these prices sound alright? or should I look elsewhere?

Also, stiill not sure what to do with the tires, don't want to risk it, some people have said that changing the front tires and leaving the back may upset the car as well. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Dc5Dub07]

I presume you will be doing Mondello? A very technical track with lots of tight sweeping and twisty bends...

Brake pads like the Ferodo DS2500's should be top of your list, followed by change of brake fluid, and braided brake lines..TGM should be able to sort out a good price with you on these.

Tyres... yes change them for a set of Toyo's, R888's preferebly.. Mondello will chew up regular road tyres..

 

[haitch]

You want all four tyres the same brand/type. As already said if you have better quality/grip tyres on the front the rear may give you trouble if you are new to trackdays. If you are a confident driver and drive agressively then yes, get some 888 or the like (you will have the better day with this option), but if you are new to trackdays a good set of road tyres will most likey do, is it open pit or sessions? As apart from the driver this will have an impact (and money!).

 

[oregato]

I presume you will be doing Mondello? A very technical track with lots of tight sweeping and twisty bends...

Brake pads like the Ferodo DS2500's should be top of your list, followed by change of brake fluid, and braided brake lines..TGM should be able to sort out a good price with you on these.

Tyres... yes change them for a set of Toyo's, R888's preferebly.. Mondello will chew up regular road tyres..

Thanks for the info dub, yeah its mondello, Its on early next month so I don't want to be waiting on postage, I'd prefer to be able to pick something up asap, where would be the best bet for the Ferodo brake pads? I'm sorted for brake fluid at the moment so thats not a problem.

Any sort of price for the 888's? I think their expensive enough, but I'll have to check funds, I'll have a check at the specific make of my tyres in the morning and report back.

Thanks for the help

 

[oregato]

You want all four tyres the same brand/type. As already said if you have better quality/grip tyres on the front the rear may give you trouble if you are new to trackdays. If you are a confident driver and drive agressively then yes, get some 888 or the like (you will have the better day with this option), but if you are new to trackdays a good set of road tyres will most likey do, is it open pit or sessions? As apart from the driver this will have an impact (and money!).

TBH, its my first track day, so I'll be taking it easy for the start and hopefully learning as I go and gaining more confidence, as stated, I'm sure the 888's will be quite expensive and tbh, I'm not sure if i'll need something like that. What would you recommend as good road tyres?

Thanks for the help.

 

[kingston]

just leave the car as it is for your first track day and see how you get on.

Dont spend any money on tires, yes the brand you may have is shit but theres also hidden costs with tyres - if you get decent rubber your going to scrub em in pretty good. On my first track outting i went from having 5mm of tread to being borderline legal which meant i ahd to egt 2 more tyres so you buying 4 new tires could result in 6 tyres or requiring 2 new ones a few months later (unless you stick the shit back on). With regards to the brands, ive always run different brands on the F/R and never had any problems (bar when i over inflated them as per an instructors suggestion #-o ) As for a decent fast road tyre id recommend the RS2's or RE070's. If i come to change the tyres on mine before i sell, ill be shodding the next lot in RE070's though no doubt someone will recommend another brand but then everyone is different

Despite what everyone says, just leave the OEM's on and see how they feel. I was happy with mine but then i brake way to early.

Tuition is good but again unless its cheap id wait, theyre going to make you push you/your car to the limit and youll want to take it there so dont bother.

After youve got this day out of the way and you really liked it, then start thinking bout upgrades though you start a slippery slope then as rough costs;
Spare rims £200+
Spare Tyres - 100+ a corner (though theyll last longer)
Suspension - springs 300, coilovers - 700+
Brakes - pads 100, full set up 600+
Then theres the noise issue so you may need a new exhaust if yours is too loud or the intake sets off the alarms due to the reverberations it can cause (i almost got kicked out of Bedford due to hitting vtec at 6k by a sensor with the Injen)
Baffled sump - 150 without fitting

 

[oregato]

just leave the car as it is for your first track day and see how you get on.

Dont spend any money on tires, yes the brand you may have is excrement but theres also hidden costs with tyres - if you get decent rubber your going to scrub em in pretty good. On my first track outting i went from having 5mm of tread to being borderline legal which meant i ahd to egt 2 more tyres so you buying 4 new tires could result in 6 tyres or requiring 2 new ones a few months later (unless you stick the excrement back on). With regards to the brands, ive always run different brands on the F/R and never had any problems (bar when i over inflated them as per an instructors suggestion #-o ) As for a decent fast road tyre id recommend the RS2's or RE070's. If i come to change the tyres on mine before i sell, ill be shodding the next lot in RE070's though no doubt someone will recommend another brand but then everyone is different

Despite what everyone says, just leave the OEM's on and see how they feel. I was happy with mine but then i brake way to early.

Tuition is good but again unless its cheap id wait, theyre going to make you push you/your car to the limit and youll want to take it there so dont bother.

After youve got this day out of the way and you really liked it, then start thinking bout upgrades though you start a slippery slope then as rough costs;
Spare rims £200+
Spare Tyres - 100+ a corner (though theyll last longer)
Suspension - springs 300, coilovers - 700+
Brakes - pads 100, full set up 600+
Then theres the noise issue so you may need a new exhaust if yours is too loud or the intake sets off the alarms due to the reverberations it can cause (i almost got kicked out of Bedford due to hitting vtec at 6k by a sensor with the Injen)
Baffled sump - 150 without fitting

Thats some good advice there Kingston, thanks very much.

I've already committed to changing the brake pads and brake fluid so I'm going to go ahead with this, mainly because its more piece of mind to have a fresh set of pads for the day.

As for the tires, I am seriously thinking of going with two new tyres on the front and leaving the crappy ones on the back. IF they get worn out on the day, I'll put the crap ones back on it as there is seriously loads of grip left on it. I'll probably try and get the work done this week, just so I have a few weeks of letting the brakes and tires settle in before the session.

Would Toyo 888's be my best bet for tyres then? Any idea of price?

 

[alucardo]

Toyos are expensive they are 163 a corner for roughly 5 trackdays if your smooth.