[caiNeco]

🏁TRACKDAY HELP WANTED🏁

What’s up, fellas! I want to hear some advice about Trackdays and what should I do or not.

Ever since I purchased my car I’ve been wanting to take it to the track, and I finally have the chance to do so soon to celebrate my birthday!

My car is a 2019 V6 A8, with a few mods: ECU Tune, Intake, Borla axle back, and lowering springs. Other than that, everything else is stock.

Aside from oil change and brake pad checks, what else should I be concerned of? I have 20” rims with the OEM run-flat tires and those would be the ones I’d use for it. I’m not sure which tire pressure I should use (although I know we should lower them for the track) or what else I could do.

I’m also wondering if I should drain my brake fluid and replace it with something more specific for “intense” usage? (My worst fear is to lose my brakes in a turn and bye-bye &#128514.

The car is my daily, and my intention is not to make as a track car and go crazy, my idea is to focus just on the important things to avoid any issues. This would be just a birthday gift to myself so I could enjoy the track and have a good time without any risks.

With that said, my intention is to not having to spend tons of money on it, but always prioritize safety and the well functioning of the car of course 👍🏻

Any help or advice is appreciated! Thanks in advance 🏁🔥

(Picture is from my last time as a spectator)

[Iconic]

I would repllace the brake fluid with Motol 600

[cdb95z28]

Brake fluid change to high quality DOT4 is a must and any opinions otherwise is dangerous. Fresh high quality DOT4 is the cheapest insurance any track driver can buy. While Motul is a good fluid and you have a V6 which won't build as much top speed as a V8, I personally wouldn't use Motul. Castrol SRF is the standard choice for our heavy cars.

[Iconic]

Not sure what the hangup over Motul is. I've used it in my Vettes at Daytona, Sebring, Palm Beach, and over a thousand miles at Road America without a single brake fade. I'm sure Castrol is good stuff too.

[Christian1LE]

Another vote for Castrol SRF, seen Motul boil multiple times at the track in different cars.

[N Camarolina]

OP: I second (third?) the DOT4 brake fluid. As to what you should use, a few things to consider:

-Typical daily vehicles use Dot3 fluid by default, and that is likely what you have in your Camaro right now. Although Dot3 isn't designed to hold up to a lot of heat (such as is generated by braking while track driving), it doesn't absorb much moisture over it's lifespan of daily use in the vehicle. And that's why it's safe enough for long term daily use.

- Most of the guys who track their cars, me included, use Castrol SRF because its wet (moisture saturated) boiling point is higher than most other Dot 4 fluid dry (little to no moisture yet in the fluid) boiling point, AND because of this, we can run that fluid for a whole year's worth of track events without changing it. It comes out looking like it went in.

-Motol 600 is cheaper and initially OK, but it only lasts 1 or 2 track events before it gets moist quickly and will need to be bled, if not completely flushed (changed out). It comes out looking a lot darker than when it went in, which tells me it has degraded somewhat.

- If you only intend to do this one track event/weekend, you will likely be fine with the Motol 600. But because you daily drive your car, you may well need to change out the fluid back to a dot 3 afterward so that you have a fluid in their that will absorb a lot less moisture for the 1yr+ you are likely to leave it in there for daily driving (everyday vehicles go many years without having their brake fluid changed, and use dot3 accordingly). IF you go with Castrol SRF, it will cost a decent bit more, but you'll be able to leave it in for an entire year or more and within that time you'll be set for another track event should you get bitten by the bug and decide to do another.

[N Camarolina]

I'm not sure about tire pressure. Driving on track in dry temperate/hot ambient weather tends to create more friction than normal and causes tire pressures to go too high (and tire contact patch to decrease). All the 1LE , SS and ZL1 Camaros lower their tire pressures, to optimizes the contact patch once the tires heat up. If your normal cold starting pressure for daily driving is 32, I'd lower it to 30 and target 35-36 while the tires are hot on the track (use your tire pressure display in the instrument cluster if your car has that, or measure with a digital tire gauge as soon as you get off the track). If the pressure while on track exceeds 35-36 in one or more tires, then let out however many pounds it was over before you start the next session. Monitor and repeat as you drive the rest of the day.

Don't forget to add back air at the end of the day so your tires won't be low after you've left the track.

[caiNeco]

Thank you so much all of you for the useful information! I imagined I would have to use a high temp brake fluid but you guys went above and beyond with all the responses! thks again!!

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

OP: I second (third?) the DOT4 brake fluid. As to what you should use, a few things to consider:

-Typical daily vehicles use Dot3 fluid by default, and that is likely what you have in your Camaro right now. Although Dot3 isn't designed to hold up to a lot of heat (such as is generated by braking while track driving), it doesn't absorb much moisture over it's lifespan of daily use in the vehicle. And that's why it's safe enough for long term daily use.

- Most of the guys who track their cars, me included, use Castrol SRF because its wet (moisture saturated) boiling point is higher than most other Dot 4 fluid dry (little to no moisture yet in the fluid) boiling point, AND because of this, we can run that fluid for a whole year's worth of track events without changing it. It comes out looking like it went in.

-Motol 600 is cheaper and initially OK, but it only lasts 1 or 2 track events before it gets moist quickly and will need to be bled, if not completely flushed (changed out). It comes out looking a lot darker than when it went in, which tells me it has degraded somewhat.

- If you only intend to do this one track event/weekend, you will likely be fine with the Motol 600. But because you daily drive your car, you may well need to change out the fluid back to a dot 3 afterward so that you have a fluid in their that will absorb a lot less moisture for the 1yr+ you are likely to leave it in there for daily driving (everyday vehicles go many years without having their brake fluid changed, and use dot3 accordingly). IF you go with Castrol SRF, it will cost a decent bit more, but you'll be able to leave it in for an entire year or more and within that time you'll be set for another track event should you get bitten by the bug and decide to do another.

One of my concerns was daily driving my car with the fluid I eventually use for the track, but that question was also answered! I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for the Castrol SRF if that will give me a longer lifespan if I eventually decide to track again (which I probably will I'm sure hahaha!). And being able to continue using that fluid once this first track is done without any issues will work too! Great news, thanks again!!

[caiNeco]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

I'm not sure about tire pressure. Driving on track in dry temperate/hot ambient weather tends to create more friction than normal and causes tire pressures to go too high (and tire contact patch to decrease). All the 1LE , SS and ZL1 Camaros lower their tire pressures, to optimizes the contact patch once the tires heat up. If your normal cold starting pressure for daily driving is 32, I'd lower it to 30 and target 35-36 while the tires are hot on the track (use your tire pressure display in the instrument cluster if your car has that, or measure with a digital tire gauge as soon as you get off the track). If the pressure while on track exceeds 35-36 in one or more tires, then let out however many pounds it was over before you start the next session. Monitor and repeat as you drive the rest of the day.

Don't forget to add back air at the end of the day so your tires won't be low after you've left the track.

I'm in Houston, TX and it's been hot as hell in here. At the track, it will be even hotter I'm sure. My cold start pressure is 32 as said, but I do notice that by just daily driving the pressure eventually goes to 34/35psi. I will mark these numbers and I guess for the tires I can just test it out on the day. Start with 30 and see where it goes from there.

[caiNeco]

One other thing I thought about:

- I know when tracking the cars we do a few laps, then let the car cool off before going back again. However, does anybody know the "maximum temperature" I could let the car get when tracking it?

Over the summer my car runs around 200F if I am going easy, but if I floor it to pass a car or just to have a bit of fun when the roads are free, I notice the temps rapidly increase to 235F, but it goes down shortly after since it was just for that pull. I'm assuming at the track I will be abusing way more of the engine, so I wonder what would be the maximum temps I let the car go without having to be worried (and before letting cool off too).

Any opinions on that?

[N Camarolina]

Originally Posted by caiNeco

One other thing I thought about:

- I know when tracking the cars we do a few laps, then let the car cool off before going back again. However, does anybody know the "maximum temperature" I could let the car get when tracking it?

Over the summer my car runs around 200F if I am going easy, but if I floor it to pass a car or just to have a bit of fun when the roads are free, I notice the temps rapidly increase to 235F, but it goes down shortly after since it was just for that pull. I'm assuming at the track I will be abusing way more of the engine, so I wonder what would be the maximum temps I let the car go without having to be worried (and before letting cool off too).

Any opinions on that?

OK, so let's talk about engine heat and oil. Your car does not have auxillary coolers for the engine oil or transmission fluid, so there will be more heat in both those systems when you drive on track. Here are a few points to consider:

1) The Camaro High Performance supplement owner's manual (for 1LE and ZL1 owners) says that for " LS/LT 1LE, SS 1LE, and ZL1, change the engine oil to 0W-40 or 5W-40 that meets the dexos2 specification." The 40W oil is important to maintain oil pressure and lubrication of engine parts at these higher track temps.

2) In addition, it the high performance supplement suggests adding additional oil beyond the normal fill. "For LS/LT 1LE, add 0.9 L (1.0 qt) of oil over the nominal fill level for a track event. After the competitive driving, remove the excess oil so that the level on the dipstick is not above the upper mark that shows the proper operating range." You do this because running the car near the peak lateral G loads on track can cause oil in the pan to pool toward one side, away from the oil pick up tube and can lead to oil starvation of the lubrication system and engine damage.

3) Oil temps. Not sure if the numbers you quoted were for engine coolant (water) temp or oil. If your car has a DIC readout option for oil temp, you will want to look at that. The SS 1LE norm oil peak temp on track is 272F. Synthetic oil is normally OK when kept below 300F, so I'd say keep it below 290F to be safe. Thus, if you get up to 290F, do a cool-down lap going a good bit slower at low RPM. Water temp readout is a poor substitute, as I find in SS 1LE (it has lots of extra coolers) that water temp barely rises above normal road temps, even when oil temp is at normal 270F track temp.

4) Transmission fluid temp If you have a DIC display option for trans temp, monitor it from time to time and see if it ever gets toward the high end of the scale. If so, do a cool down lap as per #3 above. If no temp display, not sure what you can do other than pay attention to how smoothly the trans is or isn't shifting and if it starts getting out of character later in a track session, do a cool down lap or two.

5) Cool down laps: Most HPDE events have a cool down lap built into the last lap before you come off the track. Problem is that sometimes it's not even a full lap and may be inadequate to properly cool things down. I'd suggest after a session that you: 1) Do some additional driving near or outside the track paddock area (anywhere you can do ~ 35-45mph) to provide additional cooling before parking the car in the paddock. 2) When you park in the paddock, raise the hood to help engine AND brake heat to discipate more quickly. Your car will take longer to cool because it has less built in coolers, so these extra steps may well be necessary.

[N Camarolina]

Finally, there's also the issue of brake pads.

When you drive on the track, you are going to get the pads hotter than they have ever been on the road. To ensure they perform up to task consider burnishing and bedding the brakes a day or so before you head out to the track.

How to burnish and bed the brakes:
Do a series of stops that are designed to slowly heat the brake pads up to opperating temp and transfer a film of pad material to the rotors. The usual generic approach is 5 medium (pedal) pressure stops from 50mph to 20mph, followed by 5 high (80% pedal pressure) stops from 70 to 20. You will notice the brakes will start to smell, possibly smoke, and that the last 1 or 2 stops will take longer distance as the pads start to overheat and "fade." Note that this will be the pads fading (firm pedal feel) and NOT the brake fluid boiling (soft, mushy pedal) as you'll have already changed to DOT4 brake fluid before doing the brake burnishing procedure.

This is particularly important to do if you have new brake pads as there is material in the pads that first needs to be off-gassed (through high heating) before the brakes will stop the car properly. It also helps to ensure that your pads don't get glazed, which can reduce stopping ability. In addition, the pad material (whether new pads or not) is transferred to the rotors and supplies additional friction to help the car to stop better.

[kropscamaro16]

ive used motul 660 for the last 5 or 6 years never had an issue...hawk dtc60 pads and giro disc rings and stainless steel goodridge lines

[Heartbreaker]

Originally Posted by Christian1LE

Another vote for Castrol SRF, seen Motul boil multiple times at the track in different cars.

+1