[Coded4SS]

I tracked the 1le in 120+ heat. Car held up no problem. DOT4 brake fluid, throw water on your shirt you'll be good. Watch those PSI and tire temps.

[Eric10905]

I just put in new DOT 4 fluid. RBF 600. Kind of wish I had the 660 for tomorrow. I will definitely not push on weary brakes.



The motul advertised dry boiling temp of 600 vs 660 for example is 594F vs 617F - not a big deal difference. So having FRESH NEW hi temp fluid is more important. Paying attention to the brake feel as you note is important. ;-)
To date I track in the Texas heat as SR71BB noted as well, and use fresh 600, without issue, fwiw. Cue the Castrol RBF or go home folks now. LOL

[5.M0NSTER]

Originally Posted by Eric10905

I just put in new DOT 4 fluid. RBF 600. Kind of wish I had the 660 for tomorrow. I will definitely not push on weary brakes.



The motul advertised dry boiling temp of 600 vs 660 for example is 594F vs 617F - not a big deal difference. So having FRESH NEW hi temp fluid is more important. Paying attention to the brake feel as you note is important. ;-)
To date I track in the Texas heat as SR71BB noted as well, and use fresh 600, without issue, fwiw. Cue the Castrol RBF or go home folks now. LOL

Castrol SRF For The Win!

To be perfectly honest, I’ve used both. They both perform very well and I couldn’t tell the difference. The only thing is you need fresh RBF every year due to moisture absorbsion. Castrol doesn’t really care as it’s wet boiling point is still very high @518F. The fluid doesn’t need to be fresh to perform. I’ve had the same flush of Castrol for over 3 years with no issues during hot track days. Used this approach in my BMW M2 when i was doing Nurburgring hot laps, and now on my Camaro as well. So the deciding question is do you want to change brake fluid every season, or are you lazy like me?

[Eric10905]

Originally Posted by 5.M0NSTER

Castrol SRF For The Win!

I’ve used both. They both perform very well and I couldn’t tell the difference. The only thing is you need fresh RBF every year due to moisture absorbsion. Castrol doesn’t really care as it’s wet boiling point is still very high. The fluid doesn’t need to be fresh to perform. I’ve had the same flush of Castrol for over 3 years with no issues during hot track days. Used this approach in my BMW M2 when i was doing Nurburgring hot laps, and now on my Camaro as well. So the deciding question is do you want to change brake fluid every season, or are you lazy like me?

well, that didn't take long. LOL

TBH, I am considering changing to castrol as well. I've "heard" the motul stuff gathers moisture more quickly. But will agree as well that the Castrol has a much higher advertised wet boiling point, which is a good selling point. I have not verified that all these manufacturers are using the same procedure, so that is still a question to me at least. Nor have i reviewed compressibility, and other properties.
I just wish Castrol would sell the stuff in less than L bottles. Since, well, I'm a chicken i suppose. I'd like to be lazy but just not there yet. I bleed some off every caliper after every track day. Overkill, most liekly, but keeps my head clear while on the track. ;-) And as such, opening and using part of a L bottle, and then worrying about storing it or throwing it away. With the 0.5L bottles, i just use the whole thing each time.

guess this is high jacking the thread. But he's having a blast at the track today anyhow.

[5.M0NSTER]

Originally Posted by Eric10905

well, that didn't take long. LOL

TBH, I am considering changing to castrol as well. I've "heard" the motul stuff gathers moisture more quickly. But will agree as well that the Castrol has a much higher advertised wet boiling point, which is a good selling point. I have not verified that all these manufacturers are using the same procedure, so that is still a question to me at least. Nor have i reviewed compressibility, and other properties.
I just wish Castrol would sell the stuff in less than L bottles. Since, well, I'm a chicken i suppose. I'd like to be lazy but just not there yet. I bleed some off every caliper after every track day. Overkill, most liekly, but keeps my head clear while on the track. ;-) And as such, opening and using part of a L bottle, and then worrying about storing it or throwing it away. With the 0.5L bottles, i just use the whole thing each time.

guess this is high jacking the thread. But he's having a blast at the track today anyhow.

I hear ya. Peace of mind is worth a lot. I guess I just don't worry and let speed happen. I have been doing this for a decade now with 3 different cars. But I get what you're saying. Some wash their car every week, some once a year. It's all good!

O.P. Enjoy your track day! Have fun and let us know how it goes!

[PB19ZLE]

If oil temps are getting high, upshift a gear or two higher. I noticed 10-15 F lower temps during an afternoon, 40 min. session by using gears 4-5-6 @ VIR compared to morning, 25 min sessions using gears 3-4-5. Tried going 5th, or even 6th for a whole lap, but acceleration in 6th gear from ~50 mph was just too lackadaisical. Also works well for quiet hour laps... just pretend to be a big miata for a bit.

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by PB19ZLE

If oil temps are getting high, upshift a gear or two higher. I noticed 10-15 F lower temps during an afternoon, 40 min. session by using gears 4-5-6 @ VIR compared to morning, 25 min sessions using gears 3-4-5. Tried going 5th, or even 6th for a whole lap, but acceleration in 6th gear from ~50 mph was just too lackadaisical. Also works well for quiet hour laps... just pretend to be a big miata for a bit.

I don't worry about oil temps. I've heard a few times that these motors are designed to run at and are quite happy at 275°.

[beworthy3]

Yup im addicted. Ive done tons of autox but being out there on an actual road course was special. Car was bulletproof and was right at home. I think my oil temp crept up to 275 but thats as far as it got. Whoever is responsible for the 6th gen camaro isnt paid enough. This thing punches way above its weight class. But lets be real. We all already know this lol

Everybody out there was really cool. I had a little issue with traffic in the first 2 sessions but that was somewhat expected since I was in the novice class. The 3rd session tho, felt like I was out there by myself. Just incredible.

Still tons of room left for improvement!

Thanks again to all that gave me some advice!

[5.M0NSTER]

Originally Posted by beworthy3

Yup im addicted. Ive done tons of autox but being out there on an actual road course was special. Car was bulletproof and was right at home. I think my oil temp crept up to 275 but thats as far as it got. Whoever is responsible for the 6th gen camaro isnt paid enough. This thing punches way above its weight class. But lets be real. We all already know this lol

Everybody out there was really cool. I had a little issue with traffic in the first 2 sessions but that was somewhat expected since I was in the novice class. The 3rd session tho, felt like I was out there by myself. Just incredible.

Still tons of room left for improvement!

Thanks again to all that gave me some advice!

Awesome! Glad you had fun. Welcome to the addiction :-)

[cdrptrks]

Originally Posted by sr71bb

If you feel your brakes are FADING because of the heat, DO NOT continue on to try and deal with that situation. It is best to simply cut your sessions shorter. Your first few track sessions in the morning and afternoon will typically be faster than those later in the day.
...
As others have indicated HYDRATION is the key. Energy drinks, soda, and anything with sugar or caffeine in it ARE NOT good hydrators.

Powerade and Gatorade are good hydrators with electrolytes that you won't get from drinking just water. I bring Powerade and water bottles with me to every track day and haven't ever had a hydration issue. The amount of sugar in those sports drinks is not the most healthy thing to consume every day and there are zero sugar versions available if you don't mind sucralose/splenda.

If you are getting pad fade, a cooldown lap or two with significantly lower top speeds might be enough to get you some more push laps without ending the session early depending on the track. If the brake pedal gets long or goes to the floor then absolutely don't continue.

If you know the track well and it has been sunny all day, the first flying lap of the session is your best shot at a fastish lap before the tires to get greasy and a slow cooldown lap or two will get you part of a fast lap before the tires get greasy again on the stock SC3s in hot summer weather. Agreed that morning sessions are generally the fastest due to lower air and track temperature. I went to Barber for the first time recently and actually got my fastest lap of the weekend on SC3 tires during the hottest part of the day when it was 86°F but it had gotten cloudy about an hour before that which probably helped lower the track temperature. It was on my 7th lap after a cooldown lap that was about 11 seconds slower. I tried for faster laps the next morning but couldn't manage any.

Be careful about spraying water on radiators...I wouldn't recommend it. It could crack or warp your hot rotors if it gets on them. Also I used a hose to clean grass out of the front of my car after an off and promptly did a full 360 when I went back out for the next session even though I was going about 30mph slower through that curvy section than usual. I was on cool SC3R tires which didn't help but I suspect some of the water didn't drip dry while I drove back and forth in the paddock a bit and as soon as I sped up on track it ended up on my rear tires. Hopefully I didn't drop enough water to affect anyone else driving during that session. The SS and ZL1 Camaros have very stout cooling systems and I have done multiple track days at different tracks near 100°F without overheating anything.

[cdrptrks]

Originally Posted by Eric10905

I bleed some off every caliper after every track day. Overkill, most liekly, but keeps my head clear while on the track.

Yes definitely overkill for stock tires and pads. I went about 9 months on some Stoptech 600 without any additional bleeding of fluid and had no issues even though my last event on that fluid was at ECR in near 100°F sunny weather. I might have been pushing my luck though. But if I remember correctly, my cheapo brake fluid moisture tester still showed less than 1% moisture in that fluid in the reservoir which was the same reading as the brand new fluid I replaced it with.

Now I have SRF and don't plan to replace it for at least a year. Many orgs have tech sheets requiring brake fluid to be replaced within the last 6mo or 1yr though. The 1L bottle is just the right size to have a little leftover after a full flush on our cars.