DutchC63

My neighbor (member of the Viper Club Houston) invited my to a track day tomorrow where i can bring my own car and play. It will be my first . My 09 is P30 with 235 and 265 width tires , eurocharged tune latest flash and otherwise stock. I grew up in Europe racing the autobahns and did my lap of Italian riviera fun in my first Alfa but never on a real track. Never felt comfortable to expose my car to track torture but I feel I have to try it out.
Any suggestions? I heard I have to torque the wheel lugs , how much torque?
All fluids are OK.
Besides trying to keep a line, do you turn the wheel spin OFF or SPORT or ON?
Thanks for any tips you may have.

gthal

I might change the brake fluid with something that will withstand the heat better (Motul 600, etc). If not, I might just flush it with new fluid to be safe.

I would NOT turn traction control off if you don't have a lot of experience. At most, put it in sport mode. If it's off and you don't have a lot of experience with the car on the track you may just end up in the ditch or facing the opposite direction when you don't really want to be

Torque wheels to factory specs and check before heading out for each lapping session. Watch tire pressure too. I would probably run 40 - 42 hot.

You might want to also check on track insurance... it would SUCK to put your car into a wall or into another car and your insurance company tell you that you had not coverage. I would at least check with the insurance company first or buy a track specific coverage.

BenzoBoi

^^Pretty much covers it all!

At the end of the day, just have fun, it's a day where you can learn the extreme limits of what your car can and can't do.

Mort

The manual calls for 96 lb-ft torque for the spare. I would use somewhere around 100 lb-ft for the lug bolts and you should be good. If you find they are loosening off then try upping the torque 10 lb-ft. M14 1.5 bolts should be good for a torque range of ~ 100 to 140 lb-ft but I am not sure how much the material they are threaded into can take.

gthal

I have no idea what the torque should be but 100 lb-ft sounds high to me . The M3 calls for 88 and my last Infiniti was less than 100 too. I have no real basis for this but would be interested if anyone knows the official MB specs?

cz99

Record your runs on video and post them here! Some of us want to see a first-person view of a first-time track experience with a C63 Have fun!

AKnight55

Have fun.. Your first time out may not get you that great of runs.. It will come with time and practice though

DutchC63

Thanks all! After finding out that my insurance does not cover accidents at the track I decided to cancel. My plan is to get an instructor first for an hour or so to get familiar. I asked my buddy about the insurance coverage and he told me that if you get into a colision both drivers have to hash it out between them. That means if the other person hits you you hope he has coverage. This is tricky stuff and I need to do more due diligence before I get out there.

Case1906

It's fair to say that most auto policies will exclude track events. Most go without, but here's a link for track day insurance. It's not cheap and the deductibles are high, but maybe it's worth it for peace of mind.

http://hpdeins.locktonaffinity.com/

AMGTTV8

I don't know what the official mb specs are but I know for a fact that some of the cars take up to 130lbs...it varies though, from a low of about 80 to an average of 90-115

SMP

100 lb-ft is way too high .... you'll destroy the wheels, especially if they're forged. My car is built for the track and I'll run 80 lb-ft all around.

DutchC63

Well I went to the Viper Club event and decided I was just going to do it. It was a risk but after talking to the organizers agreed that the novice group where they put me in , a group of 12-15 cars , several vipers, few BMW's M3's, few 911's and a few mustangs, are not really competing. It was just a chance to get acquainted with the track and we would all get a chance to drive 3 times 30 minutes in a fairly controlled environment. There was an other group for the experienced track rats but thats a different story.
Anyway, without making this story too long I can say that it was a lot of fun taking the beast on the track, in fact the way going there was already fun because this was the first time since I have owned this car , now 16 months, that I had a chance to floor it early in the morning on a nice well maintained freeway without potholes or traffic. I reached 180mls/hr rather easily I would say before i had slow down for other traffic, gut feeling says 190-195 is definitely possible!
Track was about 2.4 mls with quite a lot of curves and 2 not too long straights where I could hit 110mls/hr before slamming on the brakes.
I never got passed and I did pass a few drivers of different cars but not necessarily because my car was faster i think, more because others were probably more conservative drivers or less experienced.
there was a guy with aM3 v8 who always closed in very slightly behind me during the curves and on the straights I gained some but afterwards found out that he had is traction control set OFF and mine was ON all time. The dang orange light was always on so it must have cost me some time but I wanted to be conservative and not end up in the weeds my first time and save my tires somewhat. They did look a little beat up particularly on the outside because of the sliding i did in the corners but altogether it wasn't too bad.
My conclusion, I loved it but unfortunately right now I cannot afford a separate track car and this car as my dd and I just dont want to mess it up.
But my God what a rush! one more thing , advise for those over 50 years old, dont drink coffee before because during the track time your adrenaline rush will give your heart a major workout and the caffeine may just but a little too much LOL