I may begin tracking my BS in late Feb and June (Virginia International and Summit Raceways) and perhaps other times as well (Monticello, NY). It's OEM stock including original Corsa's that I'm going to replace with PS2's or G-d forbid DSW's. My question is, what can I do in advance to inexpensively prep the car to ensure it meets current track and safety requirements? I'm not looking for long tube headers, an ECU re-flash etc. My thoughts are:

1. New tires set to what pressure?
2. Change the brake fluid?
3. Change the brake pads, mine have 9,700 miles on them?
4. Change the factory suspension settings, how, where, and to what?
5. And?

Your thoughts and recommendations please.

 

No need to change the pads if you only have 9000 street miles on the car, they will be fine, depending on how hard you drive the car you might want to think about replacing them after the track day. Your brake fluid will be fine as well, VIR is not too hard on brakes. As for airpresseures, we can give you some starting points but VIR in Feb is gonna be cold, you're never going to get enough heat into the tires to work with the same warm weather pressures most of us use on the track so its going to be a lot of trial an error once you start lapping. As for suspension settings again this is something that's going to require some trial and error based on your driving style, there is a threas in this section that talks about some good starting points for a set up but your driving style will dictate the fine tuning.

 

If you haven't changed the brake fluid since the car was delivered it's over 2 years old and I'd flush the system as a good starting point since you plan on tracking it.
I'd have the alignment checked and dial in as much negitive camber as you can and put on a set of wheel spacers.
I'm in the minority as I like the Corsa's for the track as it's an overall good package.
Read your manual on the suspension settings. Experiment with your settings and you'll have a great time dialing it in to your liking.

 

Most track day organizers require you to have your car checked by either the dealer or an authorized work shop. The brake fluid should be changed every two years, which is part of the B service. Old brake fluid tends to take on moisture, which in turn will lead to air in your brake system. Make sure your differential was serviced and has the correct oil level. Corsa's and Michelin PS2's are both fine for the track, but good luck with the Continentals. Not something I would put on my car, especially when the car is being tracked. In regards to suspension settings, here is my honest opinion: Leave the settings stock for the first time at the track. Make a note how the car reacts to your inputs, and change settings accordingly for the next track day. The car should be set up to your driving style, not someone else's.

 

Thanks everyone, these are great responses and I appreciate the time and effort it took to prepare them. Based upon your recommendations so far I'm going to put new PS2's on my BS (I need them anyway), change the brake fluid (any recommendation) because I'm probably overdue, have the car safety checked IAW the safety checklist I received, leave the suspension alone for now, check the differential, and finally go out and have a lot of fun! I'm going with a group of other enthusiasts that have two late model V8 M3's, a C63 with the performance package, a tricked out Boxter and possible a heavily modified F430.

 

I'd say you are on the right path in regards to setup and having your car in tip top shape for the track. The only thing that I would suggest is running Corsas instead of the PS2's. While the PS2's are a much better street tire, they don't work nearly as well as the Corsa on the track; they don't give as much immediate feedback, are not as responsive and they don't turn in as well as the Corsas. On the street none of that really matters, but on the track it becomes readily apparent that the Black Series (due to it's weight) NEEDS a really good tire especially with the amount of mechanical grip it generates.
With that being said....it's clear that you don't want/need to extract the maximum amount of performance from the car while tracking it. If that is indeed the case, then there's no need to spend the money for the PS2 when you could run a much cheaper tire. The reason I say this is because you are going to destroy the tires tracking it - especially the fronts. I don't know about you, but I don't like driving around on the street with tires that are beat up and cause the car to pull to one side because they were beat to ***** on the track. That's why I suggest a cheap tire for the track, and reserve your nice expensive PS2's for the street. Or, if you do want to maximize your car for the track, go with the Corsas.
Understand something - tracking a street car is not cheap. Thankfully the Black Series is MADE to be abused and never skip a beat....but it comes at a price; first is tires and then brakes...the list gets bigger the more you track it. Many people get away with cutting corners here and there to save money, but that is recipe for disaster and you're only fooling yourself to think that a mechanical failure can't happen to you. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you.
Lastly, is the actual driving. Make sure you are well rested and focused. Tracking a car is very mentally taxing especially if you are REALLY pushing it. I'd suggest getting on a skidpad if you can and really learning the limits of the car before hitting the track - that's always good to do. If you can't, then leave the traction control ON for the first session or two so you can really get the feel for when the car is getting out of shape and where the ESP is kicking in. Alot of people track these cars on Sport mode on the transmission. I think that's fine, but to have absolute control over the vehicle you really have to drive it in M mode.
That's about all I can think of...other then that, just go out there and have fun. Start slow, build your speed and only drive as fast as you feel comfortable. It takes a while to get used to sliding a heavy car like this thru 120 mph high speed turns....but once you figure it out and get the hang of it - it's very rewarding.

 

Luke, did you just have a double shot of espresso? I agree with what you're saying about the tires, but I doubt he's going to feel the difference between the Corsa's and the PS2's on his first track day. The PS2's have grip from the first lap on. Performance is pretty good for 5 laps, after that the Corsa's are much better. Due to the different sidewall construction I agree, the Corsa's are more direct, most noticeable at turn in at the front, and fast sweepers in the rear.

Also, if he leave's ESP on, he's going to fry his rear brakes. Plus, he's never going to get to feel how the car reacts to his inputs (whether good or bad), since the ESP is going to mask it.

Like you said, it's a relative heavy car, that you can't flick around a track. Starting slow and building your speed progressively is the best way.

 

Yeah Luke that's a HUGE paragraph coming from you. But I do agree with everything Luke said. Definitely track with corsas, I did and it went very well, the tires took abuse well with not much wear. Leave TC on for the first few rounds.

I wouldn't touch the suspension settings (you may do more wrong than right) but I would certainly get the car aligned. The most critical thing is the toe: you want rear toe in, at least 1/8 inch on each side. front toe should be 0 or even a little out if you want faster turn-in. Before I had my car aligned, even in 3rd gear WOT on straight I could feel the back "wiggle." Also on track high speed braking was a bit "shaky" in the rear. After the alignment, I was able to do WOT in 3rd with cold Corsas and still feel very stable.

 

Guys,
A "first time" track day is all about slowly building up speed, and not doing anything stupid. The driver adjusts to the car, so worrying about what tire works best is much further down the road.
I do agree that after a few warm-up laps, the traction control must be turned off, or the driver will never feel what the car is doing, and will heat the rear brakes.
I think I'd lower pressures to something like 38F 32R, and keep rechecking as the tires warm.
Just remind the new guy that the rear Corsas provide lots of entry oversteer until they warm up.
Have fun, and keep all four corners intact. AS

 

Just feeling extra jolly these days you little fockers Also combined with the fact that I love road courses and Simon just sent me a feeler email for a Big Willow track day...hope to see you guys out there so we can mix it a little.
I'd like to get some serious rubber for the day and trailer the BS out there - any suggestions ??

 

Me too .... that's going to be great!! I'll be there for sure.

 

All great advice from others here. As for the brake fluid, I have been using AP Racing 600 recently and am very happy with it. Performs as well as Castrol SRF imho and costs less. I had my local MB dealer replace the OEM fluid with it as well as replace the rear diff fluid when I bought my BS a few months ago; although it only had 1800 miles on it when I purchased it.
Bish

 

I've read and posted a lot of threads on this and several other websites but I find this is the most informative and professionally responsive thread I've ever experienced. Thanks again everyone for your very knowledgeable advice and great recommendations! I knew I could count on, and draw from, your wisdom and experience driving and tracking unquestionably one of the finest cars MB has ever produced!

 

Here is a link to a very informative "sticky"...

http://my350z.com/forum/autocross-ro...-hpde-faq.html

Judging from the dates and tracks you mentioned, I'm thinking you are planning on running HPDE with NASA. Its a great organisation with a bunch of awesome people. However, as an HPDE student, you will not get much track time.
Check out www.trackdaze.com They run the same tracks, but you literally get TWICE the track time for the same $$$$$.
BTW, I have absolutely NO affiliation or loyalties to any of these groups - I'm just always looking to get the most track time possible!!!!!!

 

/\ I agree with what reserved said. I ran with both groups and found that trackdaze gets you A LOT more seat time than NASA, because it's purely school/practice whereas NASA also has races and time trials. However, NASA has MUCH better school / classroom and seem to have more experienced instructors. Use NASA for classroom and more expert instructions, but go to trackdaze for more seat time on your own. Both are well run organizations.

Lovemybs, I'm in MD and tracked my BS at Summit. I have yet to see another BS around, we should meet up when the winter's over.

 

Lots of good advice here from all - this is how I got started, got hooked, and cannot shake my addiction!!!

Make sure you record how much your tire pressure grows each session. It can be in the 4-10 lb range depending on how you are driving, how much slip angle you are getting and how hard you are on the brakes. Tires that are 30lbs cold can be over 40lbs at teh end of the session - make sure you dont overslow your cool down lap, otherwise you wont get representative tire temps.

When you come in from a hard session, do not hold your brakes on when you have stopped - keep the pads off the discs.

VIR has three hard braking zones with a decent amount of time between each allowing brakes and tires to cool off. Other tracks are not so kind.

Also note that as the track temps increase from morning to midday, a car that you have setup to be neutral in the morning, will tend to be loose at midday on the hotter slimier track, so when setting it up for the midday session, soften the preload as needed to incur a slight push for the first lap or two, which will then go away as the tires heat up and the car starts to get a bit loose. if you go out neutral you will be too loose and cannot commit to WOT early enough - this hampers top speeds down the straights, and at VIR this will have a huge impact

I have attached my track setup sheet here for anyone who might need it. It has evolved with input from several racers over the years and incorporates most adjustments we do on our cars. I do a sheet FOR EVERY SESSION.

Looking back over the past 3 years of racing just my Spec Miata, I have more than 900 setup sheets from 22 tracks, so its simple to consult the notes and put the car back to the killer setup when coming back to a track. Roll off the trailer and be spot on with setup immediately - then fine tune for the conditions.

I also strongly reccommend installing a GPS data aquisition system like the very popular Traqmate - these "LIE DETECTORS" will tell you more about what you are doing in one session than you will ever get from the seat of your pants.

Good luck with your session, and work up to it slowly...

But never forget, ......dont take your car to a track, unless you are prepared to take a match to it. Sh*t happens - be careful.

 

Yes, this is all good advice. If you need specifics for alignment or anything or want to chat, feel free to call me.

As GeoGeo stated, NASA has good classroom. Better then that will be the BMW CCA schools, which offer by far the best classroom (short of private or semi-private days).

Like golf, tennis, etc - good instruction is the key to starting your tracking experience.

As many others have stated, I would not move away from the Corsa's. They are the best tire for the car (the Michellin's sidewall construction does not work well with this car IMHO). If you want a cheap track tire, then do just that. Plenty of good options (Bridgestone Re760 Sport, Vredestin Sassanta, etc).

thanks
Brad