Track day report + pics

[vette427sbc]

I went to a track day at NJMP this weekend with the Pro-touring forum. Overall, I had an absolute blast, and I even learned a thing or two!

First off, I had recently overhauled my whole oiling system. Ditched the eBay oil pan and high volume pump. Put in a Canton 7qt RR pan, melling high pressure pump, and switched to synthetic 5/30 in an attempt to get my oil pressure closer to 10psi/1k RPM at temp.
The Canton pan is awesome and the oil pressure barely budged under hard cornering. Oil pressure was near perfect, although nearing the end of the 20 minute session, the temps started to climb higher than I would like (260+)



I still have to put this oil cooler thermostat on... it appears that it will be able to sit with the oil lines facing the front of the block (Ive heard some will not) :nuts:


The vette performed awesome (most of) the day. I was able to really push it hard and learn its limits. I got TONS of seat time, and had a NASA instructor give me a bunch of really good pointers. The difference before and after that was night and day.

From 9am to about 2pm, I was either on the road course, or doing auto-x with a few cool downs in between. During my last session, I was on the straight nearing the top of 4th gear, and I get a nice coating of coolant spray on my windshield. I had the car towed in with coolant pouring out of my sidepipe.

Had a (really!) nice guy tow me home for a tank of diesel


The only other thing that happened was some pretty bad brake fade. I never completely lost my pedal (just got a bit low), I just noticed the bite was far less. I guess that would mean the pads were fading? Not boiling the brake fluid? If thats the case, what pads would you recommend? I dont care about dust or noise. They just have to be streetable. I think I have Hawk HP+ pads on there now.

And some pics:



Close group during the first few laps!


Brake fade:


Eating a few cones on the Auto-x





Would you believe I still had a smile on my face the whole ride home even after I blew the head gasket! Road racing is too much $fun$ :crylol:

 

[69427]

Hey man, glad you had a good time. There's few things more fun than burning up fuel and tire life out on a track.

 

[bobs77vet]

looks like fun....good for you

 

[big2bird]

That's what it's all about. Get her out there, and run the crap out of it.:bounce:

 

[turtlevette]

I The only other thing that happened was some pretty bad brake fade. I never completely lost my pedal (just got a bit low), I just noticed the bite was far less. I guess that would mean the pads were fading? Not boiling the brake fluid? If thats the case, what pads would you recommend? I dont care about dust or noise. They just have to be streetable. I think I have Hawk HP+ pads on there now.

People keep saying that modern brake pads don't outgas. I don't believe it. I am surprised that you are already using a good performance brake pad. You might try drilled and slotted rotors. Losing pedal is a symptom of the sloppy sealing system on the stock calipers.

If you go to a race pad, they won't stop right on the street.

If you are going to keep doing track days, wilwood calipers will save you a lot of wasted track time and your car or life. Please don't stay on the track with brake fade. I used to come in early when i had the stock calipers.

I feel pretty good about driving my car everyone says is a piece of shit 600+ miles to Mosport Ca beating the crap out of it and driving home without a glitch. I guess it'll catch up with me sooner or later.

 

[vette427sbc]

People keep saying that modern brake pads don't outgas. I don't believe it. I am surprised that you are already using a good performance brake pad. You might try drilled and slotted rotors. Losing pedal is a symptom of the sloppy sealing system on the stock calipers.

Any (easy) way to test for bad seals in my calipers? They are rock solid (manual) until they get real hot. I feel like I am the minority that has not experienced any of the common sealing issues with C3 brakes. I checked my fluid, and I havent lost any at all.

If you go to a race pad, they won't stop right on the street.

If you are going to keep doing track days, wilwood calipers will save you a lot of wasted track time and your car or life. Please don't stay on the track with brake fade. I used to come in early when i had the stock calipers.

When I do upgrade my brakes, I have a set of brembo mono block calipers that Ill retrofit onto my car.
Isnt there a more track oriented street pad I could look into that will have more resistance to fading? Hawk HPS? And as soon as I got the brake fade I headed right to pit lane to put my car away for a good cool down. Im not racing for position so its not worth it to stay out and risk my car, or someone elses.

I feel pretty good about driving my car everyone says is a piece of shit 600+ miles to Mosport Ca beating the crap out of it and driving home without a glitch. I guess it'll catch up with me sooner or later.

I do love having a versatile car, driving it to the track, beating on it all day and driving home is great, but Im realizing that nothing is "track-proof"

.

 

[turtlevette]

People keep saying that modern brake pads don't outgas. I don't believe it. I am surprised that you are already using a good performance brake pad. You might try drilled and slotted rotors. Losing pedal is a symptom of the sloppy sealing system on the stock calipers.

Any (easy) way to test for bad seals in my calipers? They are rock solid (manual) until they get real hot. I feel like I am the minority that has not experienced any of the common sealing issues with C3 brakes. I checked my fluid, and I havent lost any at all.

My stock system would start getting spongy with longer pedal before the end of a 20 min session. Let it cool down and the pedal would be firm. Did you change brake fluid right before you went? I think mini vapor bubbles form then recombine when it cools.



If you go to a race pad, they won't stop right on the street.

If you are going to keep doing track days, wilwood calipers will save you a lot of wasted track time and your car or life. Please don't stay on the track with brake fade. I used to come in early when i had the stock calipers.

When I do upgrade my brakes, I have a set of brembo mono block calipers that Ill retrofit onto my car.
Isnt there a more track oriented street pad I could look into that will have more resistance to fading? Hawk HPS? And as soon as I got the brake fade I headed right to pit lane to put my car away for a good cool down. Im not racing for position so its not worth it to stay out and risk my car, or someone elses.

That's the trick. Find a pad that works great for track days but won't send you past the first stopsign at the end of you street. Performance friction is the other way to go. Autozone has the hi po version. I don't think they're better than Hawk HP though. About the same?



I feel pretty good about driving my car everyone says is a piece of shit 600+ miles to Mosport Ca beating the crap out of it and driving home without a glitch. I guess it'll catch up with me sooner or later.

I do love having a versatile car, driving it to the track, beating on it all day and driving home is great, but Im realizing that nothing is "track-proof"


You want to give Mosport a shot? COMSCC has a track day and time trial at the end of July. Mosport really lets you open it up. There is a Mario Andretti straight that is 1.5 miles long. I'm going to try my best to go. I could meet you there. http://www.comscc.org/ Oh, and Mosport has no noise reg so you could uncork those sidepipes!!

 

[Sam Cogley]

Any (easy) way to test for bad seals in my calipers? They are rock solid (manual) until they get real hot. I feel like I am the minority that has not experienced any of the common sealing issues with C3 brakes. I checked my fluid, and I havent lost any at all.

Which fluid do you have in your brakes?

 

[vette427sbc]

Which fluid do you have in your brakes?

ATE super blue. It's been in there for a year so I'll probably flush it out before my next track day

 

[Sam Cogley]

I wonder if the higher boiling point of DOT 5.1 (not DOT 5) fluid would help.

 

[vette427sbc]

You want to give Mosport a shot? COMSCC has a track day and time trial at the end of July. Mosport really lets you open it up. There is a Mario Andretti straight that is 1.5 miles long. I'm going to try my best to go. I could meet you there. http://www.comscc.org/ Oh, and Mosport has no noise reg so you could uncork those sidepipes!!

Id love to... but 10+ hours with no overdrive makes it a no go for now. I would definitely meet you at lime rock though :drink:

 

[vette427sbc]

I wonder if the higher boiling point of DOT 5.1 (not DOT 5) fluid would help.

The ATE fluid has a wet boiling point of 377* vs the DOT 5.1 WBP of 375*. The dry boiling points are almost the same as well. 536 vs 518. If anything, Im a few degrees "safer" with the ATE.

 

[Sam Cogley]

I wonder if the higher boiling point of DOT 5.1 (not DOT 5) fluid would help.

The ATE fluid has a wet boiling point of 377* vs the DOT 5.1 WBP of 375*. The dry boiling points are almost the same as well. 536 vs 518. If anything, Im a few degrees "safer" with the ATE.

Hmm. Everything I saw online had the ATE listed as DOT 4, when it seems to be more of the 5.1 spec. This kind of stuff gives me headaches.

 

[turtlevette]

[. I would definitely meet you at lime rock though :drink:

Yea, If you can get me into Lime Rock. Its gone private club but they still do allow clubs to buy 1/2 days or something like that. I've done Lime Rock several times over the years.

I need to get to Watkins Glen, and down to NJMP too. It's my goal to hit all the east coast tracks at least once.