tannat

I'm planning to track my car at the local Porsche Club DE this June.Car is recent purchase-170k miles but feels very solid. Doing rear pads this weekend and will get an alignment before the DE (pulls right).

Have any of you tracked your cars before? How hot was it? How did your car handle it?

Temp gauge got above midrange in 70 degree the other day-will probably do a coolant flush soon as well.

Quant

iTrader: (1)

you should get stoptech street/track pads, they work well with stock calipers. also suggest replacing brake lines to s/s stocptech ones as well, and flush the brake fluid. for the brake fluid i suggest something like ate blue brand. make sure you also check steering damper and tighten steering bolts. these make a big difference in terms of feel. also, of course do the coolant and i would also change all the oils (engine/trans/diff). you should be good to go.

170k miles is nothing for this car, mine has 162k and still running strong. i track it on regular basis and never had any real issues.

will be glad to make suggestions if you decide on modifying car for track. have fun!

tannat

Thanks for the reply, Quant. I see you are in NYC. Has your car seen any very hot days at the track? Sadly the local PCA books essentially 2 'summer' schools each year-this year mid June and Mid September. Air temps are likely to be in the upper 80s and lower 90s. How well does this car handle the stress of a hot track day?

Quant

iTrader: (1)

car handles heat pretty well, just make sure you flush coolant and check radiator and coolant lines. actually, just remembered you should probably change serpentine belt and idler pulley. if pulley is old and has not been changed in a while it might come off and create a big issue for you.

if you start tracking car a lot you can add an air-oil cooler similar to the m113k cars. i would say this is not required, but not a hard mod to do.

so my recommendations:
1) stoptech street/track pad and s/s brake lines
2) ate blue brake fluid
3) coolant flush and check all the hoses for cracks/leaks
4) serpentine belt and idler pullery
5) engine/trans/diff fluid change
6) steering damper and torque steering bolts

the stoptech brake stuff is actually good for anyone, whether they track the car or not.

tannat

I've got SS lines on order. Did the rear pads over the weekend and noticed dry rot in the lines. I'm going to tap into your expertise and ask the bleed order on this car. I know the master is driver side front, but am unsure where the abs module is located...

BigJimmyLarge

great thread, very interesting stuff, what tyres are you running tannat?

tannat

LOL...this car came with nearly new Uniroyals......(yes Uniroyals ....almost laughing as I type)....and I'll just use them. Not my personal preference, and I'll certainly upgrade once these bite the dust...

Jim's500E

Great tips...I'll add a few if no one minds.

Def pump up your tires to 40+ psi, as long as they have good tread you'll be fine. It's not a competition. Make sure your wheel bearings and sway bar links are all good.

Mix 'water wetter' into your coolant, it really works to keep the coolant cooler !

Change your oil and tranny AFTER the event. DOT 5 brake fluid and the SS lines are a big yes....and stay off your brakes as much as possible and stab them; don't trail brake or leave your foot on the pedal, it'll cook your fluid in no time... engine brake where possible.

Your car should handle the heat, tho you might loss some power when the fans kick on.

Quant

iTrader: (1)

great advice on braking and tire pressure. only thing to maybe add to it is that tire pressure will dramatically increase after a hard session. prorbably good to start around 32/33 and checking to make sure they are around 40 hot.

also, awesome 500E.

Jim's500E

Love your track shot !...exiting big bend at LRP?....I'm just into the esses after big bend.

True on psi increasing with heat, but depending on how hard he pushes his car, since his tires have newer (tall) tread...he'll chunk out the outer edges in turns as the tire will surely roll at lower psi until they heat up and get harder. Since he's new he could start off with near max tire pressures and go easy because I bet with full tread it'll feel greasy/uneasy at higher speeds during turns too. He's better, actually, throwing a set or 1/2 or less worn tires for a track day...and save his good tires for the street. But for a first timer, he should be fine if he drives within his and the car's limits.

His run group will prolly be limited in speed and to 20 minutes or so...so he may never even get the tires up to temp depending how fast they let them go.

Best thing tho if you do nothing else... a seat belt lock.

GatorMB

To add, inspect sway bar mounting brackets for cracks.
I found one broken after autocrossing.PCA Citrus. the brackets are mild construction.
If you can add strut bars without upsetting SCCA officials it might help the chassis as well.
Ball joints and drag link a must on this chassis, inspection before race.
Looks like fun bro
Gator