[kdm123]

Okay yes I know I'm posting about a 4th gen in the 6th gen forum, but I searched the appropriate 4th gen forums and there's not much recent discussion related to racing.

My question is has anyone used a 4th Gen Camaro for track days? Most importantly, how did/did not the brakes hold up? How were the coolant and oil temps?

I recently bought a '94 Z28 1LE as a cheaper way to get seat time compared to my '18 ZLE. I'm hoping to have to do as few mods as possible, but I figure I'll have to put money into brakes. I just wish I could get away with not using expensive pads or, worse yet, having to do a BB upgrade.

[MatthewAMEL]

Is this the car you bought?


https://ls1tech.com/forums/market/1944144


If so, it sounds like it was already pretty well sorted for HPDE use.

[kdm123]

Yup, that's the one.

I want to get a lot more seat time this year, and I just can't afford it with my ZLE or my vintage race car. Mainly the tire costs are killing me.

Any advice on tracking these 4th Gen cars would be appreciated. Thanks!

[mblum]

My first track car was a 1997 Trans Am, which I still have today. I still enjoy driving it and don't see me getting rid of it. My 4th gen is highly modified (440rwhp) so really isn't a direct comparison to your 1LE which from I can tell from the link you posted has some suspension mods but no internal engine mods, which is a good thing for track survival.

The 4th gen is a pretty decent platform but defiantly has some design drawbacks that really are difficult to overcome without spending a ridiculous amount of money. Most of those issues become more relevant when you increase the HP levels significantly over stock. At stock HP levels it's a pretty decent car on the track.

Here are some of the weakest points to keep an eye on that are pretty well documented on some of the popular forums:

-The stock power steering tends to over heat and puke fluid. The 1LE has a better unit from the factory than regular T/As and Z28's and it sounds like your car has a turn one unit, which is better yet. Running full synthetic power steering fluid (like Redline) does help as well. Keep an eye on the reservoir between sessions.

-Front wheel bearings. These are marginally acceptable and if you run any tire wider or stickier than stock plan on replacing them often. Unfortunately, for the front wheel bearings at least, this platform responds very well to a square tire setup. With the stock front wheel bearings and sticky wide tires the bearings get sloppy quick you will have noticeable pad knock back and trouble keeping alignment specs. I run 18" rims with 315 slicks on all 4 corners and the grip is quite impressive. To run a setup like this you really want to upgrade the front wheel bearings to some aftermarket units that are designed for track use. Again not cheap.

-Brakes, they are marginal when compared to what modern cars come with. The 6 piston monsters on the ZL1 were considered exotic back when the 4th gen was dominantly roaming the streets. Big brake kits are expensive and will effect the rims your able to use and most likely will not clear the rims you currently have on the car. But if your car is stock (less HP means less speed to shed) and you plan to autocross or run at a track that's not terribly hard on brakes you have a shot at making them work.
Here is the brake setup that I run and while it's still a far cry from the 6th gen its about the best your going to get with the 4th gen setup without a big brake kit. High quality smooth rotor blanks. Stainless steel lines. Castrol SRF fluid, Hawk DTC 70 pads in the front and Hawk HPS pads in the rear. Smooth brake modulation into the brake zone is a must and cooling the brakes slowly after a session is critical to not cracking rotors. I've cracked a lot of rotors by not doing this in the pits after a session.

-While this is not an issue to watch for it's worth mentioning. I briefly mentioned above that this platform does very well with a SQ tire setup. These cars are nose heavy and tend to understeer, so a lot of tire up front helps this issue and makes the car more balanced.

-Run as much negative chamber and positive caster in the front as the suspension adjustment points will allow. This is typically -1.5 camber and +7 degrees caster depending on production variances.

Engine and trans temps really are not a huge issue, while not as bullet proof as the 6th gen I haven't had too much issue, just keep an eye on them while on track. The 1LE should have some extra coolers that the regular 4th gens didn't have.

As long as you have realistic expectations for a 25+ year old design I think you will really enjoy the car. Mine is still very fun to drive and feels nothing like the ZL1 and is fun for different reasons. I've also come to realize how amazing the 6th gen platform is in stock form and how well balanced it is.

[mblum]

Forgot to mention, if your in need of parts I would go to Stranoparts.com

Sam was instrumental to developing parts for this platform. He will give honest advice (whether its what you want to hear or not) and help you make the right decision based off your goals.

[Msquared]

I can vouch that Turn One steering pumps are great on track. Before I bought my 2020 1LE, I had a 96 Corvette with one of their pumps in it. With 11" wheels and 315 tires front and rear and a stock cooler line, that car could run laps until it ran out of gas on a hot Texas summer day and never have any steering issues.

My C4 had the same front bearings your car has. As already noted, they suck. It used to be that you could at least get some life out of them if you used expensive OE bearings or one of the other big name brands. But now they are all made in China. Luckily they are very easy to replace, but who wants to jack around with that in the middle of a track day? Strano sells the kit you'll want, which adapts SKF X-tracker hubs to your knuckles. I think it's about $1000 for both fronts. Consider yourself luck: the C4 also has shitty rear bearings, with no upgrade options!

The rebuilt optispark from "optidoc" is the best way to address that issue. Most replacement units these days are garbage, but Petris and AIP are supposed to be pretty good. The MSD cap and rotor that optidoc put on yours are great, but the MSD opti replacement is junk. Optidoc uses original Mitsubishi sensors and tests each one. The bearing on these doesn't live forever, but if you keep your engine stock and never go past redline it should last a long time.

I wish I had good info for you about the oil temps. I'd probably want a cooler added if I were you. My C4 had a nice Setrab cooler in front of the radiator. It was a 396 with heads and cam (would pull a stock C6 Z06), yet oil temps never got high on track. You may be able to do without that given less power. Only way to know is to try it.

[kdm123]

Thanks so much for all your advice! That does help a lot. The car has some of the mods you mentioned like the Turn 1 pump, but I'll have to look into the wheel bearings. Thanks again.