First track day supplies

#1

I could use some of the people here to help guide me for my first outing. I’m looking for tips on what all I need to do or bring.

I got the car last week and signed up for a 2day track event next weekend to shake down the car and get familiar with it and everything including the RacePak. I believe the car is pretty well sorted but I will go over all things making sure everything is torqued/tight.

It has a fresh rebuilt diff, fresh oil, etc and I’m taking a 1 race weekend set of tires and a fresh set just in case. Also taking the requisite normal tools, jack, stands. I will have some various spares as well.

The question is, what else will I need?

#2

I’ve got some worn tires you could thrash instead of those good tires. Don’t put the good tires on until you’re ready to start pushing hard. We’re only getting 2 or 3 weekends out of our tires so heat cycles are precious.

There are some old threads on this, but it’s been a while since it was discussed.
Since there’s usually a bunch of us at each event, no matter what you need, someone will have it. But at a DE things are obviously iffy for spares.

Not only will you normally be surrounded by spares, but you’ll also be surrounded by guys that have all sorts of experience working on the cars and the tools to do it.

So what to bring on your maiden SpecE30 voyage? Gas, brake pads, a brake rotor, a big smile.

#3

You mention pads, currently I have brand new rotors and pads on. First session will be bedding them in, but after that, :slight_smile:

How many weekends do we get out of the pads? I have Cobalt XR pads on as the car came with them.

#4

I don’t know anything about Cobalt pads, but as long as they are race pads, they should make it thru the weekend.

Pad use depends a lot on the track. Roebling is very easy on pads, CMP is kinda hard on pads, and RA is in between. I haven’t pad much attention to pad usage rates in a while. All last year I ran on “almost used up” pads that I’d been collecting forever in a box and I got tired of carrying them all so I got one or 2 more sessions out of each pad and then tossed it. It made for a lot of brake pad changes but it amused me to get the last mm of life out of them.

Maybe 4 events on front pads and twice that on rear. Replace a front rotor when a crack is wide enough to catch a fingernail and goes to outer edge. Front rotors prob last 4-5 events, rear rotors last years.

I think most folks are using PFC, Hawk or Carbotech pads. For rotors buy the cheapest ones you can find. If you pay more than $20 shipped, keep it to yourself because you’ll get hit with derisive hoots of laughter.

#5

I haven’t heard of Cobalt pads so I looked them up. They have a handy chart that compares them to the other popular brands.

[URL=http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/Richard_Bratton/media/cobaltpads_zps5d790565.png.html][/URL]

#6

Just order Carbotech XP22 front, Carbotech XP10 rear, you can get them prebedded too. Bring a front and a rear rotor, and bring a few spare tires in the event you flat spot or puncture one.

#7

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice. It’s great to have a bunch of people running a similar car and setup. I have plenty of spare rotors so I should be good as well as some pads that only have a couple races on them for backup.

I’m intrigued by the Cobalt pad site (they are race pads) so I will give them a run and see for the DE. If someone else who has a ton of experience with different pads wanted to see what they think as well that would be cool, if anyone is in the experimenting mood. My setup was run and podium’d previously so it should be descent. Pads are xr2 and xr5.

#8

You haven’t mentioned your safety gear as far as I’ve read. Obviously you need a helmet, but since you’ve got a finished race car you may as well buy everything required for racing. A cool suit, a camelback latched into your seat and a roll of nonabrasive TP will make for a more comfortable weekend. You should also mount a camera or two.

#9

Excellent point. I do have the cool suit and drink bottle setup in my car as well as fire suppression. I bought a cool shirt and will test it out this weekend. I need a new hose for the drink bottle as I dont wan to use the one that came with the car, so i need to get one of those. I have a helmet, but I did not have all of the necessary clothing. I am in the process of trying to find a suit that fits well. That’s been a hassle as I’ve ordered 3 different ones so far and have returned 2. I have a 4th on the way and will hopefully chose from the one at my house now and the one that should be here next week. I have hans, sfi5 gloves, shoes and the suit will be as well so that I don’t have to wear unders. I need to go get a cheep gear bag for the track to haul all this stuff in. I only have one camera and I am not sure how I will enable it with this car. I haven’t researched if my dash(racepak iq3) will or if I need to use the GoPro wifi control, one more thing to do on Saturday morning. TP, that I haven’t thought of but a good idea.

Keep it coming guys, I’m loving all the hints, but they are giving me things I have to do… ha!