First Track Day

[gregor]

I'm taking my stock bf2 auto sedan to a track day at wakefield park in july, from a bit of reading I have decided I should do the following before I go:

Change brake fluid to something a bit more resilient the day before. (I think I heard castrol but feel free to elaborate)

Change brake pads to some track pads the day before and break them in. Can anyone suggest a good track pad for stock bf2 brakes, and where to get them from in NSW at a decent price? I've heard of racebrakes out at eastern creek (I think).

I'll check the rotor thickness to make sure its not too low but it only has 42k on it so should be ok I hope.

Not sure if I want to spend the coin on some slotted DBA4000s yet because I am contemplating the 4pot brembo upgrade but im not sure what the dba 4000s are worth either.

Are there any mods I can do cheaply that make a big difference like sway bar upgrades or strut braces and will still be ok for use with a better set up later, either coil overs or an upgrade spring/shock combo depending on how serious I get.

I'll take my existing pads to change over for the trip home in case the track pads are done at the end of the day.

Any suggestions on any of that?

[Erko]

I'd be doing brake fluid, engine oil and diff oil before the day. as for track pads speak with Matt at Race Brakes Sydney for a track compound for the stock calipers. If you want a dual purpose street / track pads I can recommend Ferodo DS2500. I would also check alignment before the day for stock something like

front -1deg camber

max castor

0 toe

rear -1deg camber

1mm toe in/side

sway bar choice is reliant on the springs you decide to run in the end, if however if you are considering just going with kings and bilsteins it would be fine to go with the tried and tested 27mm front 22mm rear (I would get adjustable rear) and also could do the lower control arm bushes in the front (superpro). Get yourself a tire pressue gauge. Dont use the hand brake after hard laps (will fuse pad to rotor) and try not to do more than 4-5 laps at a time.......you wont go faster, the heat will just put more wear and tear on the car.

I am booked in with circuit club at wakefield on 25 july - which day are you going to?

[gregor]

I'm ok with the standard pads on the street, they seem to pull up ok for my driving style on public roads and so ill go a dedicated track compound unless my existing pads are almost gone and if theres anything left on the track pads ill save them for next time.

So the 27mm front and 22mm rear are both upgrades? And which manufacturer? I've had whiteline gear before which was good. If I could only get one as a birthday present which one would make a bigger impact? I know adding a rear sway bar helped my turbo pulsar a lot but it never had one to start with. I guess I'm hoping to stop some of the roll I've felt on the occaisional spirited drive and im still getting used to a bigger rwd car which makes it feel more unusual. Later on I'll be looking towards kings & billies or tien coilovers depending on how the budget stretches.

Its due for a service soon so I might just move it forward a couple of thousand kms. I have a tyre pressure gauge from previous trips to the drags so that's all good. Im going with RENEW on the 12th of July. After spectating last time I'm keen to get out there.

[Erko]

ok, in that case dont get the bars one by one. front alone will push too much and rear alone could be very sus at 180kmh through the kink.

just go out there stock and find out what the car is doing and get used to driving it. plan your upgrades from there.

[gregor]

fair enough. If I can do both I will but if not ill just do the service items you noted and the pads.

Also if I do end up in limp home/torque reduction mode with the auto is it just a case of turning it off and giving it a few minutes (obviously letting the turbo and everything else cool down first) and turning on again ?

[Erko]

yes, that's usually the case. However I would watch your dash pretty closely. Really 3-4 Laps and Wakefield is all you want at a time, pit it and let it cool down. at least you have picked a good time of year.

[nelsonian101]

You will be fine with the minimum of mods. (See my Marulan thread in this forum)

The main reason I do track days in the first place is for the fun of it, and watching the times come down with each modification. If you do too many mods in one go, you never really get to experience the limitations of the stock car and hence the satisfaction of doing the mods in the first place.

At bare minimum get a full service done before the track day. Engine oil/filter, new Super DOT 4 brake fluid (don't bother with 5+ at this stage) and new front brake pads. I recommend EBC Red and Yellow but Racebrakes have a lot of options. I agree, having a separate brake pad set for the track is a good idea. Track pads work completely differently to road pads and are designed to operate at higer temperatures (with more dust production)

You can get away with Stock rotors but it really depends on how many laps you do. 4 laps max per session as there are 3 hard braking points at Wakefield!

Wakefield in July will be VERY cold and will assist with keeping your brakes cool but still do a cool down lap at half speed after the session. Very important. Don't put your handbrake on when you get to the pits as the shoes can stick. It's a tough habit to break with an auto... :-)

A track wheel alignment is also recommended with as much negative camber as you can get at the front. Usually only about 1deg.

I've heard a few guys with BF's having great result with a front only Whiteline swaybar 27mm, but can't comment personally as I haven't driven one on the track, only the FG with the 30mm front. I'd recommend leaving it at this stage, then next time trying them later and feeling the difference with the Coilovers.

Last thing, and most important in my opinion is tyres. Don't know what your budget stretches too but the stock tyres will be the first thing to give up at the track. Most cost effective I've found are Kumho KU36 or Federal 595RSR. Great bang for your buck. If you can afford better go with Falken RT615. Toyo R888, Bridgestone RE55 or YokoA048's will find the limits of the stock springs too quickly, but would be a good future mod.

Watch a few laps of Wakefield of youtube too before you go out too.

Circuit club did an article on a first timers experience at Wakefield below

http://wp.circuitclub.com.au/wp-content/up.../Issue%2023.pdf

Have a great day. I'm going down myself in a FG XR6T in June or July, just haven't sorted the date yet.

[Sprjenkins]

What times are people running on the track? There's not many replies in the track time thread.

[gregor]

I'll be running on the maxxis ma-v1s that were on there when I got it. Not the greatest but with the power mods ive got planned early next year I'll be wanting something a bit wider than the standard rims (9-9.5" should do it) and ill get the semis then.

[Erko]

nelsonian is on the money with all points. Just get out there and enjoy it as it is and improve the car, and your driving from there.