Can I take my V6 stock Camaro to the track ?

[191185]

This is a serious question.

I know I can take it their, but what i mean is, after one day at the track, will my tires, breaks and anything else be completly shot ?

for people who do take their camaro to the track, can it pretty much not be your daily driver anymore from all the abuse the tires and breaks get ?


or is my car not even designe to be beaten on like that ?

What would it really do to the engine and everything else ? is it really that hard on it ?

[KaBoom1701]

Yes you can!

And I do go all the time.

But as you can see from my mods listed below it gets fun adding mods along the way.

[Demon War Horse]

When you race a car, you will break something eventually. Is eventually as soon as you go down the track, it can be.

Generally you will be very tough on tires, transmissions, drive shafts, etc. But you shuold be fine for a few passes.

You can break anything with enough abuse. And sometimes cars just break and do not have to be during a race or immediately after. In my 99 Formula I had a few years ago I blew the torsion (posi trac unit in the differential) coming off of a stop sign at idle. One of the bolt heads sheared off, bounced around the ring and pinion gears, chewed them all to hell and then threw itself balistically out of the rear end cover. LG Motorsports had never seen one break like that, and they race a lot. This was just a part failure. I had the same thing happen on a Z06 Clutch. Blew all of the center springs out of it, but you could read the part number on the clutch material itself just fine. Just a bad part.

This was not hot dogging or anything. Sometimes parts just fail.

Racing is addictive. I doubt you can do a few passes and quit. Just be ready for tires, and lots of them.

I recommend auto crossing too though so you know the cars limits laterally as well. You will learn exactly what the car can do, and when you will be pushing the limits of traction vs. speed.

[DarkObsession]

Can't believe nobody asked this yet. What sort of track? What sort of racing do you plan to do?

Road racing is much harder on a car than drag racing. If you want to drag race, just do it. It likely won't hurt your car (the worst part of drag racing on your car is the launch).

Road racing can cause issues to tires, brakes, fluids, etc. You can still do it, just need to keep an on on things.

[191185]

oh, I assumed drag racing would be no problem. I meant like around a track , I have no idea what kind as I've never done it before, but thought it would be something i want to look into

[Evergreen6]

Originally Posted by 191185

oh, I assumed drag racing would be no problem. I meant like around a track , I have no idea what kind as I've never done it before, but thought it would be something i want to look into

If you're doing an intro racing school, if you can afford it, I'd see if I could rent a car from the track. You'd never feel bad or have to deal with the consequences of missed shifts, warped rotors, or anything else. Road course racing is really hard on a car to begin with....to learn it for the first time until you build real skill, can be REALLY hard on the car.

Like the guy above said, stuff will eventually break. It causes accelerated wear on everything- wheel bearings, brakes, tires, suspension bushings, engine/trans/clutch, etc. If you really get into the sport, you'll be swapping parts for more robust stuff depending on the classes you race in.

To take a few passes at the drags or to do a hot lap around a course with a pace car...no big deal. But if you're going to get into competitive racing ala SCCA or semi-pro kind of autocross or road racing, it's a very expensive sport if you own a modern vehicle. The guys who don't have a lot of money-- they do all their own work, and some cars are a lot cheaper to run than others (old, paid off, bought already set up for race, etc).

[Norm Peterson]

Running around a road course is only as hard on the car as you choose to make it, and it isn't nearly as abusive on the powertrain as drag racing.

It is hard on tires (maybe especially front tires) and brake pads (and brake fluid and ultimately rotors). Wheel bearings and ball joints . . . maybe, though I haven't heard too many reports of them being worn out because of this.

What it isn't is a race. Every track day entity I've ever heard of strongly encourages driving no faster than what you're comfortable with. And what you're comfortable with does include how hard you're comfortable pushing your car. I've been given point-bys from people driving Porsches that should have been completely un-catchable on any part of any track if all you looked at was the car.

Don't let the fact that your car is a sixxer get in the way, as that's not the handicap it is at the drag strip. Driven well, and perhaps tweaked a little here and there, it'll get around a track better than many people would expect. Your car has about the same amount of power as my little 4.6L V8, maybe even a few more . . . and over a hundred more than what's in the Miatas (which when well-driven their drivers will expect you to point them past).


Norm

[Norm Peterson]

The above said, you should at least run one of the better and higher temperature DOT4 brake fluids (not all brake fluids have the same dry or wet boiling [points, and boiled brake fluid is something you really, really, REALLY don't want to experience). ATE 200 and Motul RBF600 come to mind (I've used ATE, now using the Motul for its slightly higher BP's). You might be able to do a carefully driven introductory day or two on your OE pads, but I'd really rather see you on some entry-level track pad. Plain rotors, don't even think of using drilled ones no matter what the advertising suggests.


Norm.

[pickwithaustin]

Originally Posted by 191185

This is a serious question.

I know I can take it their, but what i mean is, after one day at the track, will my tires, breaks and anything else be completly shot ?

for people who do take their camaro to the track, can it pretty much not be your daily driver anymore from all the abuse the tires and breaks get ?


or is my car not even designe to be beaten on like that ?

What would it really do to the engine and everything else ? is it really that hard on it ?

If you are asking things like this, you probably should not be considering racing your car around a track. Just saying...

[191185]

Originally Posted by pickwithaustin

If you are asking things like this, you probably should not be considering racing your car around a track. Just saying...

Why ? Then how do you learn how to do new things ?

[191185]

Originally Posted by Norm Peterson

Running around a road course is only as hard on the car as you choose to make it, and it isn't nearly as abusive on the powertrain as drag racing.

It is hard on tires (maybe especially front tires) and brake pads (and brake fluid and ultimately rotors). Wheel bearings and ball joints . . . maybe, though I haven't heard too many reports of them being worn out because of this.

What it isn't is a race. Every track day entity I've ever heard of strongly encourages driving no faster than what you're comfortable with. And what you're comfortable with does include how hard you're comfortable pushing your car. I've been given point-bys from people driving Porsches that should have been completely un-catchable on any part of any track if all you looked at was the car.

Don't let the fact that your car is a sixxer get in the way, as that's not the handicap it is at the drag strip. Driven well, and perhaps tweaked a little here and there, it'll get around a track better than many people would expect. Your car has about the same amount of power as my little 4.6L V8, maybe even a few more . . . and over a hundred more than what's in the Miatas (which when well-driven their drivers will expect you to point them past).


Norm

thanks, that was alot of help.. that's exactly what I want to do, just drive as fast or slow as I want around a racetrack .. I have no interest in ever competing, I think I'm the oposite of competitive.

What is the " point to pass " or " point - by's " you are speaking of ? is there a signal that the driver in front of me would give me to go ahead and pass him ?

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Someone really needs to start a "sticky-able" thread in the road course section like the Drag Techniques and Drag Racing for Newbs threads. Hint. Hint.

OP, here is a pretty good thread about some things to consider in terms costs, especially wear and tear.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=371233

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by 191185

What is the " point to pass " or " point - by's " you are speaking of ? is there a signal that the driver in front of me would give me to go ahead and pass him ?

It's all about communication between the driver who may be about to be passed and the driver who may want to pass him.

Basically, there is no passing allowed unless and until the driver ahead acknowledges the presumably faster driver behind him and specifically directs him to the side he wants to be passed on. Point straight left out the window to indicate a pass on the left, or up and over the roof to the right for a pass on the right. Big, whole arm movements, not just a hand or a pointing finger sticking barely as far out as the side mirror.

One point-by, one car. A point-by given by the second car ahead of you to the driver directly ahead of you does not extend to you; you have to wait for your own separate signal, which may not come until the next passing zone (typically the longer straights). If you're the driver being passed, it's the same deal. It's not a good idea to either give or accept late point-bys. When the upcoming turn is getting too close - the driver doing the passing could well end up going in too hot for what their experience can support.


Norm

[Destructo09]

Originally Posted by 191185

thanks, that was alot of help.. that's exactly what I want to do, just drive as fast or slow as I want around a racetrack .. I have no interest in ever competing, I think I'm the oposite of competitive.

What is the " point to pass " or " point - by's " you are speaking of ? is there a signal that the driver in front of me would give me to go ahead and pass him ?

If you're talking about doing a HPDE you will have an instructor in the car with you along with class room time as well. They will explain all this.

I would swap your brake fluid and get some half way decent brake pads such as some Hawk HP+ that aren't too pricey.

It will eat up your tires some but you can be just fine driving them on the street.

I assume you have summer tires of some sort? If not you might chew up all seasons pretty bad.

Do you already have an event or place in mind for this? Autocross is another good thing to try to learn some good car control and it's easier on the brakes since you don't get going as fast.