Legacy GT upgrades for track days?

[Chris GTO TT]

OK, I do need tires anyway, so it's a matter of selection. Right now I'm looking at a set of Enkei Falcons @ 17 x 8 and a set of 245/40 R17 tires from tirerack "Max Perf Summer" category. The Hankooks and such are sexy but I can't justify treadwear below 250 - they just wouldn't last long enough for my wallet to enjoy the experience. The ones I am looking at are like Conti ExtremeContact DW (complaints of sidewall softness noted), Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Potenza S-04 Pole Position. Anyone have light-duty track/lap day experience with this category? Recommendations?

 

It's run S-04 Pole Position on my spec.B, but have not done a track day. In my DD use of the tires I am very happy.

[SQLSpeed]

Thanks all - lots to think about. I appreciate the help.

[SQLSpeed]

Ooo, I'd looked at the Dunlop star specs but could not find a size I liked - but the new ZII's have more R17 options. That looks very promising. No treadwear data yet on Tirerack for them, tho.

[boxkita]

So, this is all well and good. However, most of the commenters are autox veterans (and good ones at that). What track are you looking to run (I know PIR)? Something in MN, or somewhere else? This makes a big difference.

 

If you are looking to save money, make yourself a budget. Seriously.

 

Decide how many track days you want to do, and at which tracks, and how much it costs and whether you are buying track insurance. Figure out mileage to get there, and whether you need a hotel. Unless you're a young buck, about 90 minutes travel in the morning is all you can do before you're wasting your track day dollars. Figure gas, food, etc costs into each day's total. If there is no gas at the track, you have to bring your own (fuel cans are 5 gallons each). Figure 7 mpg at the track (you might get more, that was my average for ~40 events).

 

Other per track day expenses:

1. change your oil before you go - use 15-40, or 20-50 with a new filter. I use 15-40 turbo diesel truck oil...it comes out like cold molasses. Bring one gallon per track day to replace what you burn up. Trust me on this one.

 

2. Check your brake fluid, ideally, you want to replace it every 2-3 events. More often if you get brake fade. Do it by hand (it takes 2 people and its a pain), because every race team does it this way and they have more experience with failure that you do.

 

3. Check your tire pressures before you leave the house. If you have a second set of wheels/tires, make sure you have marked which tire goes on which corner (tire chalk is special - get it from your tire store or amazon). Air up your tires to stock cold pressures before leaving the house. Buy a cigarette lighter powered air compressor ($20-30 is good enough), as you'll be adding ~10 pounds to each tire, unless you have a 2nd set (you can pressure them at home based on your notes).

 

4. Start a log book. I made an excel spreadsheet that tracked day, temp, conditions, beginning tire pressures, and post session pressures for each session. I also had a notes section for each section, so I'd know if the pressures were working for me or not. I brought the stack of notes to every track day, and referred to it when setting tire pressures. Other option is use tire chalk to write on the fender (it comes off easily) and you can skip the per session notes.

 

5. Get a track app for your smartphone to video you and record gps, g-forces. As long as it doesnt show you laptimes, noone will complain. Dont be a douche and talk lap times in the pits either. If the insurance company hears about it, the event will lose their insurance. Enough with the insurance. :-) The track app will help you learn to drive better. Review every session before you go out for the next one. Think about one thing you'd like to work on. Then do that. Review the session to see how you did. In the beginning, you might be able to learn the basics of several things in a day. As you get better, you'll get better slower. Get used to it. You're still on the track driving instead of doing chores.

 

6. Cultivate friends at the track. Especially friends who are relatively at your speed comfort level. You'll get better much faster when you have someone to push a bit. Its not racing, its ego.

 

7. Hire a driver coach. This cost money. Mine is $100/hour. Has been worth every penny. He's never ridden in the car with me. We watch video, review the output of the track app, and discuss what needs work next. In all our sessions, the only things he has suggested to buy are a better datalogger and 40 treadwear track tires (BFG R1). I have to agree. These 2 things did more to shave seconds off my laptimes than anything else.

 

 

8. After all this, if you still want to spend money, here's the order I would do it. Keep in mind, for wear parts (brakes, tires, etc), these are track day things only. If you drive them on the street, you won't like them and in some cases they are unsafe.

NOTE: I would do one change, then drive your car until you feel you've reached its limits. Then make the next change.

a. Get a stage 1 tune to remove some issues in the stock map. Also, get infamous's oil line filter kit.

b. replace your stock brake pads with Hawk HP+ (when you fade these, you're ready for alot of other things)

c. buy a second set of used rims and put on a cheap summer tire (if you shop around, you can find $50-75 rims). Tires in the $100 range are fine. You want something with really wide treadblocks to prevent chunking. You're going to be going thru tires, and the cheaper your spend is, the more track days you can afford. Besides, if you can drive a "bad" tire fast, you'll be wicked fast on awesome tires. Besides, awesome tires (40 treadwear) are expensive.

d. Upgrade your swar bars, both front and rear. Get the reinforced bracket for the rear. Get the bushings you can lube. Replace all the hardware with better quality hardware. Especially if you live in a snowy region that uses salt on the roads.

e. upgrade your suspension bits (Whiteline ALK Motorsport, Whiteline rear camber kit, Whiteline's full set of bushings for the front LCA, Whiteline/Moog/GroupN shifter bushings)

f, decide how serious you are before upgrading your suspension - a full-on track car suspension is a brutal bitch in stop-n-go traffic or frost-heaved roads.

g. If you havent blown your engine or transmission by now (likely), look into a new block with a fresh build.Debate endlessly the option of custom gearing in a built 5-speed or more weight of a 6-speed. Debate adding a front LSD and upgrading the axles to R180 or R200 specs.

h. Review how much money you spent, and how fast you can go, and the color of your shorts when you have a catastrophic failure at speed while realizing you didnt budget for a full cage.

 

 

Dont let me dissuade you from having fun with your LGT on the track. In spite of the money I spent, I wouldnt trade the experience for anything. Well, that's not true. Had I won the Powerball, I've bought a Porsche Cup car and never looked back.

 

In its stock state and in the hands of someone with patience (I had to learn it), its a very fast car capable of passing many "true" sports cars. Learning to drive a slow car fast is far more educational than learning to drive a fast car fast.

 

/soapbox

[SQLSpeed]

boxkita, that is awesome. That should be a blog post or an article. Very good, very clear. Thanks! This is what/why I came here to learn.

[SQLSpeed]

My main interest is in HPD events like HOD or High Perf Schools at road courses like Pacific, Autobahn, BIR, Roebling, Lime Rock, you name it. I am happy to keep the car fairly stock so the gist of my question is just what you said - what can I do (if anything) that is simple and would make the experience more fun. I'm not really into changing it just to change it. I have enough money, but not a desire to waste it :-)

[boxkita]

^^^ Welcome.

 

I'll cross post to motorsports forum and ask for sticky?

[farberio]

Great informative post

 

This is a great post.

 

If you are looking to save money, make yourself a budget. Seriously.

 

100% true.

 

In its stock state and in the hands of someone with patience (I had to learn it), its a very fast car capable of passing many "true" sports cars. Learning to drive a slow car fast is far more educational than learning to drive a fast car fast.

 

I don't mean to toot my own horn or even pretend that I am some wicked fast driver. I don't know if I would even say that I am even a good driver, but to drive home this point I have lapped faster then a Porsche Caymon S at Mid-Ohio as well as gained time on a 458 Italia through the back s's at Autobahn. (the ones after the jump) All with a stock LGT (well, a stage 1 tune ... but I was driving in S and not S#).

 

One question you should ask yourself is, do you want to drive a fast car or be a fast driver?

[boxkita]

My main interest is in HPD events like HOD or High Perf Schools at road courses like Pacific, Autobahn, BIR, Roebling, Lime Rock, you name it. I am happy to keep the car fairly stock so the gist of my question is just what you said - what can I do (if anything) that is simple and would make the experience more fun. I'm not really into changing it just to change it. I have enough money, but not a desire to waste it :-)

 

Then dont do a thing to it. In stock trim, you can make it to intermediate class easily. If you get really smooth, you can make advanced class. By that time, you'll want to invest in a caged racecar.

 

Track days, whether you call them HPDE or lapping, get addictive and expensive. Spending money on "mods" is going to make it more expensive. Cheap parts fail quicker and at the worst times. Expensive parts cost money to maintain in top condition.

 

If I was starting out with a 2005 GT Ltd wagon, I'd make the following purchases:

1. buy my safety gear (helmet, gloves, nomex head sock, nomex suit, nomex shoes, hans-like device, schroth harness) - this could be you - [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Q5ZeV5ud0]Crash at Lime Rock - YouTube[/ame]

2. get a stage 1 tune to remove the low points in the 3-4k rpm range, and drop the redline 500 rpms. You'll be driving in the upper rpm band for 30 mintues at a time. Its better if the upper end is less than the actual upper end, unless an engine build is in your future.

3. add the infamous oil line filter kit

4. add the crawford AOS v2 kit (which removes the pcv valve which is responsible for pumping out alot of your oil)

5. buy a second set of wheels and cheap summer tires (if you're really good, you might get 4 events on a set of tires) or make a deal with your tire store to get a good rate in return for decals on your car. Race tires are wasted on a stock suspension. Expensive summer tires are wasted on track.

6. Get a set of brake pads for the track. If you have extra cash, get a set of blank discs, too. Slotted & drilled is a waste of money. Hawk HP+ should be enough pad until you get really fast. Once you find those are not cutting it, you'll need new bearings. At which point, you should invest in brake ducts that have a dedicated port for the bearings.

7. get as much seat time as you can. Get instructors to ride with you, as much as you can. Get rides in other cars, preferably from people who are much smoother than you. video everything. log everything.

8. seat time in anything on a track (go-karts in the rain, skid car training, forza driving the specb with horrible settings)

 

=============

#1 will keep you safe

#2 thru 4 will improve the longevity of your engine

#5 will keep your costs down

#6 you dont need much brakes, but when you do they need to work now

#7 & 8 - this has the biggest impact on how you improve. If you do nothing else, do this

 

 

A final piece of advice on money. The way to make a small fortune in auto racing is to start with a large one. Same applies to HPDE & lapping.

[SQLSpeed]

I'll cross post to motorsports forum and ask for sticky?

 

Great idea

[boxkita]

Looks like StoplightAssasin has posted this already - http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/amateur-motorsports-and-you-can-get-involved-you-legacy-199487.html