Today's track-day events are crowded with race cars and a lot of wanna-be race cars. When I started running track events sometime in the last century, most of the cars were driven to the track. Last month at Sebring, I looked down the tech line and there must have been over a dozen race cars in line. . One driver even complimented me for bringing a vintage Corvette out to the track. Hey, it's a C4 Corvette for goodness sake.
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| Dedicated track cars are becoming very common. The problem is they require a trailer and a tow vehicle. Make sure you really enjoy track events before you buy a dedicated track car. |
A track event is where a group of people gather together and rent a racetrack for the day. Sure, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. It's not racing, and no times are taken. The emphasis is on driving fast and not wrecking your car. If you're new (and at one time we were all new) the event organizers will provide you with an instructor who rides around in the car with you and helps with the finer points of driving your car. In fact, they will do that until the organization has developed a certain amount of confidence in your ability to handle your car without hurting someone.
The Car
The best car you can have for a track day is a stock car. Stock cars run all day and never break. Remember, the goal is seat time, not to see how quickly you can break your car. I see stock Corvettes and Porsche that run flawlessly for the whole weekend. Then the helmet comes off and they're driven back home on the highway. That's the way it should be. This isn't racing.
Most modified cars seem to break at some point during the weekend. They get loaded back on the trailer and hauled home with the owner facing another week of work. It's always interesting that most of the cars that fail to complete the weekend are the modified ones. The stock ones keep running like an old clock. I don't think I need to elaborate on this point. I'm sure you get the idea.
The Helmet
You're going to need a helmet. This will be one purchase you can't escape. The prices vary widely. So will the fit. This is why I suggest you buy your helmet at a local store. It's sort of like buying clothes. You can save money purchasing them online, but they may not fit as well as they could.
The best way to find a good-fitting helmet is to try several of them on. The front of the helmet should be just above your eyebrows when you tighten the chinstrap.
You're going to notice that there are two types of helmets: The SA (Special Application) and the M (Motorcycle). Both types must pass the same series of impact tests but the SA helmets include an additional rollbar impact test. Also, the SA helmets have a Nomex liner and are more fire resistant. Most track event organizers today will insist on an SA certification. The price difference is significant, so make sure you check with the people who run the track events near you before you show up at the track.
The Checklist
The secret to having fun during the weekend is to spend a little time going over your car the week before. You need to spend at least a day looking over your car to identify potential problems and then eliminate them before you get to the track. I usually spend two days going over my car before a track day. Then again, my car is either a modified Corvette or Porsche so it takes a little more effort to get it ready. I also have a check list I've developed over the years. Here's a list of some things to check before you head to the track.Brakes
Take a good look at your brake rotors. Either measure them or have a shop measure them to see how thick they are. Remember, the braking system is nothing more than an energy conversion system. You need to know that your brake rotors can handle converting all the mechanical energy your engine produces into heat energy as you slow down for the corners. The mass of the brake rotor is critical to this energy-conversion process. An undersized rotor (too thin) simply can't handle the heat you'll produce at the track. The good part is that the auto companies have already figured the minimum thickness that's necessary for your brake rotor, and any competent technician can measure them.
Brake Hoses
You need to make certain there are no cracks or tears in your brake hoses. In addition, you should check them carefully for swelling. Brake hoses generally go bad from the inside out. That means the first noticeable sign of a problem will be swelling. When the inner line ruptures, a bubble forms on the outside of the brake hoses. You can check for this by running your fingers along the length of the brake hoses. It's easier to feel a swollen hose than to see the problem. You also need to make sure that the hoses aren't twisted. An incompetent shop, or a weekend mechanic, may have installed new brake hoses with a twist in them. Make sure you check to see that the ribbing on the brake hoses is straight.
There are stainless steel hoses on the market that claim to do everything but take a full second off your 0-60 times. The basic idea is that these braided hoses won't expand when brakes are applied. In reality, they're not much better than brand-new factory hoses. The big advantage is that they're generally cheaper than OEM hoses. If your car is five or six years old, you might want to consider them. On a new car you'll never notice the difference.
The biggest problem is there's no way to inspect a braided-steel hose. They look wonderful-right up to they minute they break. Race teams replace these hoses after so many hours of use. You might consider doing the same, except maybe on an annual basis. It won't be all that expensive, and it gives you another reason to flush the brake fluid.
Brake-Pad Thickness
There are two reasons for having at least half of your brake pads in place before you start the day. First, you're going to wear the damn things out. You certainly don't want to drive home with the steel backing plates rubbing into your brakes rotors. Worn-out brake pads can destroy a perfectly good set of brake rotors. The noise you hear will be the sound of your Visa card going through the credit-card machine. You want to make sure that you have enough brake pads to make it through the day and all the way back home. Secondly, your brake pads actually act as a heat insulator. The pad material is actually a piece of insulation between your brake rotor and your brake fluid. When the brake pads get too thin, the heat transfers rather quickly from the pad to the brake fluid. Hot brake fluid is not a good thing.
Many people bring an extra set of brake pads with them to the track, especially if it's a two-day event. Just remember to bring the necessary tools with you so you can change the brake pads in the Holiday Inn parking lot. This might seem a little excessive, but it's not as bad as going home early because you have no friction material left on your brakes.
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This is my favorite type of track car. It's a slightly modified street car. It can actually be driven between events. That's a good thing. Nonetheless this owner actually trailers this car to the event. |
This one is simple. Change the damn brake fluid. You should change it annually, but I'm sure you don't. I change my brake fluid before every event. That means I change it five or six times a year. People kid me about my spotlessly clean brake fluid, but I've never lost my brakes in 15 years of running track events. I see other people bleeding their brakes at the track and changing pads in the middle of the day. That's just plain stupid. I don't go to the track to work on cars. I go there to drive.
Get the work done before you drive through the gate, not in the middle of the afternoon when your friends are driving around the track.
I'm not going to recommend a brand of brake fluid. Most of it is pretty good. I used Ford fluid for years. It was cheap and available at the local Ford dealership. I've also used Castrol fluid, but not the expensive stuff. Lately I've been using the Wilwood 600 Plus, but the 570 would be just as good for most of your needs.
Brake fluids absorb an average of 2 percent or more of water in the first year of usage. In that period, the boiling point can drop from 401 degrees F to 250 degrees F, a reduction of over 150 degrees. It's not uncommon to have caliper temperatures exceed 200 degrees. At 212 degrees, this collected moisture will boil, causing vapor lock and brake-system failure.
I'm not real big on the DOT 5 silicone fluids since they're not hygroscopic. That means as the moisture enters the system, it's not absorbed by the fluid, and results in beads of moisture moving through the brake line, collecting in the calipers. Additionally, DOT 5 fluid is highly compressible due to aeration and foaming under normal braking conditions, providing a spongy brake feel. DOT 5 fluid is best suited for show-car applications where it's anticorrosion and paint-friendly characteristics are important.
Racing brake fluid is intended for use in racing-type brake systems that undergo frequent fluid changes, so exceeding federal standards for wet boiling points is of little concern. Racers don't care about the wet boiling point, since they change fluid so often it never contains any moisture. Racing brake fluids always exceed the DOT specifications for dry boiling points. The dry boiling point is more important than the wet boiling point when used in a racing brake system. Just the opposite is true for street cars, where the fluid is seldom changed. If you flush your brake fluid before each event, it won't have time to attract any moisture either.
BRAND DRY WET
Castrol SRF 590 518
Motul 600 594 421
Motul RBF 660 617 399
ATE Super Blue 536 396
ATE Type 200 536 396
AP PRF 600 608 311
Castrol LMA 446 311
AP 600 572 284
Wilwood 570 570 284
Wilwood 600 Plus 626 417
AP 551 540 284
To be continued: