Road Course Thread

[willi]

Guys,

It seems a couple of you are interested in running your cars on the road course. Warning it is extremely addictive!

Great thread on LX Forums: http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=123923

All of the events I do are NOT considered racing but, high speed driving education. They are all fully instructed and you make the choice to have an instructor in the car or not once you are signed off solo. There is no aggressive passing and passing only takes place on long straights. You must get a point by from the driver in front of you. Why am I telling you this, because should something happen you insurance will cover you!!!!!

There are 3 major groups that run the road course events in this area. They are (DE) Drivers Edge, (PCA) Porsche Club of America, and Apex. I have run events by each. They all have their pros and cons. I would personally suggest going to an open track event at Eagles Canyon Raceway which will have almost all PCA instructors (they are the best instructors). It will cost you ~$200 for the day including instructor. You can not get signed off to the next level or to solo at an open track event but, you can become hooked!

If you decide to do one, DO NOT RUN STOCK BRAKE PADS!!!! The brembos even turned to peanut butter. EBC reds at the minimum and i would suggest EBC Yellow Stuff! When the instructor is pushing you to 120mph with 200 feet to the corner it is a bitch to realize you have just cooked you brakes and fade is an understatement.

One of the things I need to do and so will any of you who decide to come play is install a power steering cooler. The biggest deal to this is that not only will you lose your power steering but, our power brakes run off the PS boost pump so you are now headed into the corner muscling the steering when your brakes go!

You will need a helmet with a SA 2005 rating and long pants.
You will need to flush your brakes.
You will need to have you car teched, I can help make this happen at a buddy of mines shop.

I will be going to Hallett http://www.hallettracing.net/ October 11 &12. It is up near Tulsa, OK Any body that wants to go please let me know. It is the SVTOA event and will be fully instructed but you need to sign up now!

Ryan

[cadzilla74]

Thanks for posting this Willi ... I need to burn some vacation hours in October ... I hear ya about the stock pads and the power steering units ... many on LXForums who autocross have blown the power steering or boiled the fluid ... I dunno about the brake pads though, you may be more aggressive or professional than I am but I've made 60+ mile runs through some really twisty and hilly roads in far SW Texas at speeds over 130mph in the straights and HARD braking plus downshifting down to 30-55mph to take corners marked at 15-30mph and my brakes never let me down.

Rumor has it there is a new road course track in the Denton area? Also, Cresson has been around for years, about 10 miles south of Benbrook ... We might be able to organize a Club Day at one of these tracks ... I'd love to do it ... just got my tracking number for the Hotchkiss sways and I'll be looking to put a shock tower support strut on very soon, either Razor's Edge or the new MOPAR one ... I know I can't turn it into a Bimmer but if I can steer it faster and keep the tires glued to the ground the horsepower will take care of the rest .. LOL ... I like drag racing a lot but my forte has always been as a driver on the twisty bits ...

[Mecha]

made this a sticky for ya willi

[willi]

Cadzilla,
I am a pretty aggressive driver on the road. I will tell you that you have NO idea what your car can do until you strap in with an instructor who is pushing you to stay on the gas and not lift until the last minute. You will have a new best friend ABS! Get a set of track pads or you will be sorry you did not. Using stock pads, I had brake fade in a major way my first instructed session of my first event. After this, the last 1/2 of each session was not even fun. THe instructors are going to push you further than the stock pads can possibly go. With events costing $175-$300 you want to make sure you get your moneys worth. Swap your track pads the night before and save the stockers for the street.

As for tracks, Eagles Canyon Raceway is west of Sanger and a great track that has an open track day per month costing $185 with instructor (mandatory). It is a big track and about a year old. It has major surface issues they are repairing right now. It is a lot of fun. Motor Sports Ranch is the track in Cresson and they actually have 2 tracks, the 1.3 and 1.7.

I am willing to help all who are interested in setting up their cars from basic brake flush and pad change to installing all the Razors Edge track goodies, coilovers, swaybars (the rear is a bitch), etc.

[willi]

made this a sticky for ya willi

Thank you Mecha.

I am not sure if this is the right place for it or not.

Maybe we need a track section that would encompass road, strip, auto-x, etc?

Ryan

[willi]

ripped off from LX forums:

This thread is an attempt to round up all the good information to help you prepare your LX car for running a Road Course! Many THANKS to MattRobertson, X E Ryder, TTMR and the other great forum members who helped me round up all this information, while I'm preparing myself and my car for my first trip to the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course!

(This is the first draft, so check back for updates, edits and re-takes!)

*Check with the track you will be going to for their regulations concerning Driver Attire and Safety Equipment! Most tracks require at least: full shoes (no sandals or open-toed shoes), long pants, and a Snell 2005 Approved helmet (minimum). Long sleeves, gloves and fire-retardant gear is highly recommended, especially when you start becoming competitive with your lap times!

Brakes:

Do NOT leave stock brake pads on for a track day, they can't take the heat and will turn to goo, and your rotors will look like you spread peanut butter and jelly on em afterwards!

Go EBC Yellowstuff , but even then be aware of the brakes fading. When they do, do Not just keep pressing harder on the pedal! Instead do a full lap without using the brakes, to cool them off, and either pull in, or see if your pedal is back. This should allow everything to cool and you will not ruin them, hopefully.

*You can run the Yellow pads on the street for everyday use, but be advised they are a little messy, and if you drive mellow they will start squealing - a couple hard, hot stops will usually bring em back in line though. The squealing comes from being used at too low a temp for awhile and they get a sort of buildup going.*

It takes a little practice learning when your brakes are "going away" and all the little things like, when you pull in, do not use your brakes if you can-- shift to neutral and coast to a stop in the pits if possible. Do not set the parking brake, and after a few minutes, push your car 18 inches or so to get the part of the rotor out of the caliper area to avoid hotspots on the rotor. Do this a few times.

You can use the Wilwood BSL6 calipers and SRT rotors. The SRT rotors are the "El Cheapo" alternative that give you big brake kit performance (14.2") with the peasant price ($65 or so each). THEN you can get some serious pads on.
You want the Wilwood H pads, and you put them on at the track. They will trash your rotors otherwise but there is nothing like them for hi temp performance. I have a set that have lasted two full days at Laguna and are good for one more. And they work no matter what.

The W6A Wilwood caliper is far better than the BSL6 but I don't think it fits under an 18" wheel...?

And do the Wilwood 570 fluid. Down the road, get stainless lines and you will get a nice pedal feel out of it.

Thats the poor man's brake upgrade: fluid, pads and lines.

When you get in after a track session, NEVER just stop the car and park! Right when you get off-track, do the 'paddock parade' or something like it: Drive around slowly (at idle is fine) staying off the brakes and the accelerator. Do this for about 3-5 minutes. Longer is better. What it does is let the rotors cool off and keeps the pads from hot-spotting the rotors when they are worst-case hot. It might help cool the motor too since you will have fluids circulating with no load.
You will probably see many other drivers doing the same thing themselves. Just remember your car is bigger and heavier and you are generating more heat, so if they go in and park you stay out for a minute or three longer.

Cooling:

The Ultimate LX Cooling Guide: FRANKENCOOLER!!
http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=56863

Note: Some of the steps below are specific to the 5.7 and 6.1L V8's, and are not applicable to the V6 engines.
(But we might figure a way to work around that, anyway...)

1. I'd do the p/s cooler no matter what. Its cheap and the problem is known and could be catastrophic.
2. If you haven't done a tstat, put in a 180.
3. Read your tranny temps at the track (Aeroforce Interceptor Guage or DashHawk can display temps, unless the EVIC reads it). If they go high, get the franken-tranny cooler. Autocross will probably not be bad enough to show a problem. No matter what put the stock cooler and the aux-cooler in series with the aux in first position.
4. Do the Mopar oil cooler. Its like $150. Without a gauge this is a bit of a crap shoot but for $150 its tough to beat. (Does not fit the 3.5L engine)
5. Monitor your water temps. Are they too high now that you are dumping heat into the motor thru the oil cooler? Look at Severe Duty II radiator to fix that. Its a big bump up in capacity. Before you go to the Maximum Duty you need to really, really want it and need it and the SevereII is probably fine.
6. If the oil temp. is still too high (I'd put in a gauge first) add in the frankencooler.
All 6 steps above are way extreme and a lot of money but once you are done you are looking at 190-degree temps across the board, pretty much. I would think most folks who hammer their car would be fine after Step 4 and an immediate oil change after a full on track day (an Autocross is no biggie).

Tires:

Here are two recommended track tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....r&tireModel=A6 in 245/40/18.
OR:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....del=g-Force+R1 in 225/40/18 on some Borbet wheels, for example. (SXT/AWD Magnum in this case.)
One problem you are going to have is sidewalls. We have too much weight flying around for our sidewalls to hold up. Watch that. Especially since you will be sticking and thus dishing out more lateral g forces. Some folks are running 50 psi in the front, 40-45 psi in the rear.

Summary:

Bear in mind that these are wide, heavy cars, and it will take a lot of work to run with the little, fast cars on an open road course. If you're just going to run a Track Day once in a while for fun, at the least upgrade your Brake Pads, use Synthetic Motor Oil, and change your oil, power-steering fluid and possibly Transmission Fluid soon after the day at the track!

Enjoy, Be Safe and Have Fun! Turn that wheel!!