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-   -   Track Day Best Practices - MUST READ (http://www.the370z.com/track-autocross-drifting-dragstrip/60123-track-day-best-practices-must-read.html)

Rangerz 08-21-2014 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar (Post 2939129)
I'm still doing fairly ok with my 25-row cooling, but I went with the Series-9 (it's not as tall as the 34, but it's wider than the usual Series-6's on this car. It's basically closer to the 34-row's total surface area, but you're not putting rows behind the crash beam).

But, I've also opened up the airflow through my front grill and put in CSF's radiator without a condenser in the way. My temps have been edging up uncomfortably as I get faster, but still not quite a problem yet. Next on my list is to vent the hood to exhaust the high pressure rear side of the radiator, and do some better baffling to keep air from escaping the oil cooler / radiator stack to the sides/below. I suspect those two things will bring me back down to where I'm super-happy with temps again.

Going to work on some baffling/ shroud this weekend. On my series 9 25 row I was hitting 250 at the end of the 25 min session. I do think the Nismo front end has some flow issues but, I'm hoping that shrouding the rear of the oil cooler to the radiator will help with the airflow.

martin82 08-22-2014 01:06 AM

W my 34 row after 3 hot laps I was pushing over 250!!

MightyBobo 08-22-2014 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martin82 (Post 2939247)
W my 34 row after 3 hot laps I was pushing over 250!!

You are also racing in the LA area lol. Much cooler here.

carlitos_370z 08-22-2014 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martin82 (Post 2939247)
W my 34 row after 3 hot laps I was pushing over 250!!

damn :eekdance:

BTW guys thanks for the recomendations... In Octuber i think im going to go to my first Track Event.... is the PCA (Porsche Club Association) Track Time Event... is more a Driving School than a track time but im going to get fun with some Porsches :stirthepot:

martin82 08-22-2014 12:41 PM

True it but even in November and weather at around 70-80's I was able to hit 255+ easily in 3 laps! where i would have to turn on my heater right after during my cool down lap.

wstar 08-22-2014 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlitos_370z (Post 2939451)
damn :eekdance:

BTW guys thanks for the recomendations... In Octuber i think im going to go to my first Track Event.... is the PCA (Porsche Club Association) Track Time Event... is more a Driving School than a track time but im going to get fun with some Porsches :stirthepot:

Good for you! Driving Schools are necessary. Some are structured differently than others, and I really prefer the sorts of grassroots-style DE events where former students are turning around and helping the newbies through the process. But the bottom line is it's pretty hard to get decent at driving without someone there pointing out your mistakes, telling you how to improve, and harping on the basic habits. And that's not just the mechanical skills of the situation, but the psychological ones too. Things like lifting up your vision and scanning constantly to be aware of traffic and flags and incidents way ahead of time, and not letting your ego (or stress, or emotional state, etc) control your decisions on the track. That part was especially difficult for me at various stages. You have to be driving exactly to your rational capabilities, which also implies being able to rationally evaluate yourself first; you can't be driving harder than your skill allows for due to ego overload, and you can't be driving weaker than you're capable of due to fear or stress either - both of those mistakes can send you off the track if they hit you at the wrong time. These things carry over into other areas of life as well.

No matter how awesome a driver anyone thinks they are in everyday life, the first few real track events are always a real eye-opener as to how bad you really are at driving and how much there is to improve on. I really think everyone who owns a sportscar or is into cars owes it to themselves to at least do a handful of light DE weekends at some point. You don't have to stick with it as a major hobby, but you get so much out of just those first few experiences that they're always worth it.

Mike 08-22-2014 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clintfocus (Post 2939062)
both Martin and I have exceeded what a 34row cooler can do for us on track LOL, dont worry, you'll get there :D

get a stillen bumper then. My car ran about I think 30 degrees cooler than Russell from Z1s at road atlanta last time we were both there, and my times were a little faster. The larger bumper opening and me not having an ac condenser are about the only mechanical differences between our cars.

martin82 08-22-2014 05:49 PM

I'm gonna throw away my stillen bumper. Ordered the new nismo and gonna hack it up http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/23/7a9ajeva.jpg

GSS138 08-22-2014 06:01 PM

Dude I love that front aero lmao. Is that plastidip?

martin82 08-22-2014 06:02 PM

ordered new 2015 nismo front and rear bumper, I will be hacking up the front bumper

GSS138 08-22-2014 06:26 PM

But then what is that blue lip in the pic above? Hehe.

clintfocus 08-22-2014 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike (Post 2940328)
get a stillen bumper then. My car ran about I think 30 degrees cooler than Russell from Z1s at road atlanta last time we were both there, and my times were a little faster. The larger bumper opening and me not having an ac condenser are about the only mechanical differences between our cars.

my car is on the AE cooler now, and my bumper is cut up top on either side of the Nissan burger for upper radiator airflow. im just talking about when my front end was un modified and only on the 34 row cooler.

I also have the grill cut out. i dont think a stillen bumper is getting more airflow then my ghetto track bumper LOL

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...894892298f1ea6

carlitos_370z 08-25-2014 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar (Post 2939902)
Good for you! Driving Schools are necessary. Some are structured differently than others, and I really prefer the sorts of grassroots-style DE events where former students are turning around and helping the newbies through the process. But the bottom line is it's pretty hard to get decent at driving without someone there pointing out your mistakes, telling you how to improve, and harping on the basic habits. And that's not just the mechanical skills of the situation, but the psychological ones too. Things like lifting up your vision and scanning constantly to be aware of traffic and flags and incidents way ahead of time, and not letting your ego (or stress, or emotional state, etc) control your decisions on the track. That part was especially difficult for me at various stages. You have to be driving exactly to your rational capabilities, which also implies being able to rationally evaluate yourself first; you can't be driving harder than your skill allows for due to ego overload, and you can't be driving weaker than you're capable of due to fear or stress either - both of those mistakes can send you off the track if they hit you at the wrong time. These things carry over into other areas of life as well.

No matter how awesome a driver anyone thinks they are in everyday life, the first few real track events are always a real eye-opener as to how bad you really are at driving and how much there is to improve on. I really think everyone who owns a sportscar or is into cars owes it to themselves to at least do a handful of light DE weekends at some point. You don't have to stick with it as a major hobby, but you get so much out of just those first few experiences that they're always worth it.

Amen Bro!!! :tup:

GSS138 08-25-2014 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlitos_370z (Post 2942098)
Amen Bro!!! :tup:

I agree as well, if every driver on the road was just do 4 DE track days, the world would be a better and safer place.

bbenj10 08-27-2014 07:04 AM

Can I run with just the factory oil cooler on the 2014 model? I'm not sure how effective it is, but if I'm not pushing it to 10 on the track and ambient temps are low (60s), I should be okay right?

madwi 08-27-2014 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar (Post 2939902)
...You have to be driving exactly to your rational capabilities, which also implies being able to rationally evaluate yourself first; you can't be driving harder than your skill allows for due to ego overload, and you can't be driving weaker than you're capable of due to fear or stress either - both of those mistakes can send you off the track if they hit you at the wrong time...
.

:tup: Thanks for that great information. I especially found the quoted part above helpful. :tiphat:

Rangerz 08-27-2014 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbenj10 (Post 2944402)
Can I run with just the factory oil cooler on the 2014 model? I'm not sure how effective it is, but if I'm not pushing it to 10 on the track and ambient temps are low (60s), I should be okay right?

It really depends on how hard you push it. I ran mine a few times on the factory cooler and was fine. If you stick with it though you will quickly find out you will want to upgrade the cooler. :tiphat:

synolimit 08-27-2014 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbenj10 (Post 2944402)
Can I run with just the factory oil cooler on the 2014 model? I'm not sure how effective it is, but if I'm not pushing it to 10 on the track and ambient temps are low (60s), I should be okay right?

Depends like said. A properly vented hood will only help!

SurfDog 08-30-2014 11:19 AM

I did not see what was looking for with the obligatory search...

Question: (I've run a few setups with brakes at the track but am still a bit of a tech noob.)

I'll be changing my pads from hawk ceramics (which I run for DD) to hawk plus pads for my track day this week.

1. Do I need to "resurface" my rotors when I change my pads and how do I do it... (a bit of light sanding??) Or can I just swap and do a few quick "pad bedding" maneuvers to get my pads ready to run?

2. It's been about 6 months since my last fluid bleed. I have a few bottles of RBF 600 on hand. How do I know when I've bled out all the old fluid and have new dry fluid all the way through the lines? (I hear new dry fluid is a good safety tip to avoid boil off/fade)

I could have some brake shop do this stuff for me, but I'd actually like to start doing it at the track between heats (if i notice my pads wearing down on track weekends) and be able to swap my pads at home. (before and after track days.)

cossie1600 08-30-2014 01:03 PM

Just do it yourself, buy a one man bleeder and spend $100 on tools to make job faster. With the hp+, you will be changing rotors soon anyway

wstar 08-30-2014 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SurfDog (Post 2947976)
I'll be changing my pads from hawk ceramics (which I run for DD) to hawk plus pads for my track day this week.

1. Do I need to "resurface" my rotors when I change my pads and how do I do it... (a bit of light sanding??) Or can I just swap and do a few quick "pad bedding" maneuvers to get my pads ready to run?

You probably don't need to muck with the rotors. Technically it would be more-ideal to kill the previous transfer layer first, but honestly you're more likely to do harm than good trying in many cases. Definitely don't have a shop put them on a lathe. If you do decide to try it, just scrub the surfaces with garnet paper (not sand paper), ~200 grit.

Bedding the new pads will be important. The mfg will have directions for how to do it, and with HP+ you can definitely do it on the street before you get to the event.

Quote:

2. It's been about 6 months since my last fluid bleed. I have a few bottles of RBF 600 on hand. How do I know when I've bled out all the old fluid and have new dry fluid all the way through the lines? (I hear new dry fluid is a good safety tip to avoid boil off/fade)
If you fully bled the fluid 6 months ago, you'd probably be ok to just bleed the calipers this time around. If you really want to flush the whole thing, just guestimate and use about a bottle per corner as you bleed the calipers (more in the rear than the front; longer lines). If the fluid's truly aged, you'll see the color change from darker to lighter when you start pumping out new fluid.

Quote:

I could have some brake shop do this stuff for me, but I'd actually like to start doing it at the track between heats (if i notice my pads wearing down on track weekends) and be able to swap my pads at home. (before and after track days.)
Swapping pads on our cars is relatively easy. Doing it yourself is always better if you can, because nobody cares about your car more than you do (especially not some random dude at a brake shop).

SurfDog 08-30-2014 07:40 PM

Gosh I hope not! I've got the 2 piece floating rotors from z1. Rebuilding them seems like a PITA. I'll definately try to cool them well before parking to minimize warp. I'd like to get at least a year out of them.

Shotta 09-01-2014 02:24 PM

If your going to be using real track only pads that will be rock hard when cold then use them with repeated stops at slow speed to scrape the transfer layer off from your street pads. Follow that by bedding your track pads.

Once done at the track do the same thing to scrap the transfer layer off again with cold racing pads then put your street pads back in and bed them.

Running real track only pads while cold is pretty much the same as using a lathe on your rotors, one of the many reasons you should not daily drive with real track pads.

SurfDog 09-01-2014 03:03 PM

Awesome advice. Track only pads only on the track though

Rusty 09-01-2014 03:05 PM

sub'd. :driving:

martin82 09-01-2014 07:20 PM

Don't be this guy please, my buddy is driving his z06 at an Extreme Speed hpde day, see what happened https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...909&id=6815164

MightyBobo 09-01-2014 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martin82 (Post 2949531)
Don't be this guy please, my buddy is driving his z06 at an Extreme Speed hpde day, see what happened https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...909&id=6815164

Can't see it. It's private.

carlitos_370z 09-02-2014 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyBobo (Post 2949583)
Can't see it. It's private.

same here cant see it....

MightyBobo 09-02-2014 12:01 PM

Sounds like a cool story though. lol

osbornsm 09-02-2014 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyBobo (Post 2949583)
Can't see it. It's private.

Stop looking at his Privates. :stirthepot:

SurfDog 09-24-2014 06:14 AM

Pad update. Hawk+ amazing on track borderline undrivable on streets (very grabby, not to mention dusty and loud lol). Ceramics going back in till spring (track season)

wstar 09-24-2014 09:58 PM

Speaking of Hawk, I've been pretty impressed with their DTC-series pads so far. With DTC-70 front and DTC-60 rear, the rear bias is a little high leading to a bit of ice-mode tendency, but it's not horrible. Aside from that: they bedded well and they've held up well, they feel pretty good under modulation, and they're not over-grabby. DTC-70/30 or 60/30 might be the ticket for those pads.

clintfocus 09-25-2014 12:32 PM

When I can first started tracking my Z, I did DTC-60 front and stock rear, worked well and no ice mode issues. Now I'm on Winmax W6 front, W2 rear.

thekinn 09-25-2014 01:02 PM

No offense guys, but please keep this thread on-topic. Brake pads are important. Brand, variety, etc is a great topic to discuss - just in a thread of its own. For example - http://www.the370z.com/track-autocro...rake-pads.html

I think that the concept of being aware of your pads, fluid, and the option of race pads is certainly a topic that has been covered in here for the purpose of being a 'best practice'.

Cool?

wstar 09-25-2014 07:05 PM

Well we're 16 pages deep now. The original belongs in summary bullet points on the first. (BTW, IMHO that front page should recommend Carbotech in XP10+8 rather than 8 all around - that seems to be the consensus for tracking a reasonably stock-ish car and not having ice-mode issues).

osbornsm 09-26-2014 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar (Post 2978763)
Well we're 16 pages deep now. The original belongs in summary bullet points on the first. (BTW, IMHO that front page should recommend Carbotech in XP10+8 rather than 8 all around - that seems to be the consensus for tracking a reasonably stock-ish car and not having ice-mode issues).

I can work with that... editing currently... :tup:

cossie1600 09-26-2014 08:47 PM

I call bs by the way, I get ice mode regardless what rear pads

wstar 09-27-2014 03:10 AM

Stop driving on ice! :p

Dcocci 09-27-2014 11:42 AM

What are you guys running for oils? motor and drivetrain.

martin82 09-27-2014 12:34 PM

Motul and Motul gear


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