Track mods?

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by Thor142

This is just my opinion and I'm not knocking anyone who wants to mod the crap out of their car to make it a track beast but I think way too many people start throwing money at their cars before their skill level has them driving the car at 100% of its capability.

Driver mod should be at the top of the list.

As I have been a Racing Instructor for 25 Years, I would agree!

After Driver Mods, I suggest Safety Mods, then Performance Mods

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by Thor142

This is just my opinion and I'm not knocking anyone who wants to mod the crap out of their car to make it a track beast but I think way too many people start throwing money at their cars before their skill level has them driving the car at 100% of its capability.

Driver mod should be at the top of the list.

I definitely agree with this. I've known this for years, but still often fall into the mod bug anyway. Maybe I can hold off Best money spent is on seat time and the necessary consumables and maintenance to make the seat time happen.

Thousands of dollars in mods and tuning would net quite a bit of seat time...

now I will be realistic with achieving 100% of a car's ability. That's not gonna happen unless you are an alien/pro driver. It's about the hobby and the passion. There is a point at which most drivers plateau (well below pro level for most of us) and then is when hey if you want to chase faster lap times sometimes it's easier to cheat a bit with mods

Me for example, in both cars and bikes at the track, I tend to plateau at a very fast intermediate to mid pack advanced run groups. From there I would need serious / expensive coaching to get better. Not sure it's worth that kind of investment, at least with cars since I won't be racing it. Probably. Bikes, now there I might do so, because everything is cheaper, club racing is doable and I have a lot more on the table in my pace so the plateau can be broken through with quality seat time and some advanced instruction now and then.

Anyway, overall I have to agree with you all. Adding power and other performance mods are just not necessary. Add reliability and safety, add seat time, and maybe help grip out a bit with good alignments...

Originally Posted by Olddudesrule

Gotta echo what Thor said. I changed out my brake/clutch fluid for Motul 600, made sure my tires and OEM brake pads were good to go, and whipped up on it for the first year. Added some front and rear aero mods (wickerbill and splitter extension), and BK harness bar and Schroth ASM 4-point belts, and will add SS brake lines next. May monkey around with the brake pads, but for now am pretty happy with the OEM brakes performance at the level I'm running it. On the order list for camber plates, and will probably have the alignment adjusted to a more aggressive street/track set up this fall.

Otherwise, I'm working on my skills. The car as it comes is plenty ready for a novice like me running HPDE.

Sounds like a good path to follow.

Originally Posted by BMR Sales

As I have been a Racing Instructor for 25 Years, I would agree!

After Driver Mods, I suggest Safety Mods, then Performance Mods

I hear ya.

Fact is, I could keep this thing stock, go as fast as I think is humanly possible for the car, then hand it over to a pro and watch the lap times drop by decades.

I'm 40 and hard headed. Will be tough to get past my plateau once I get there with this car. And that's ok for me, I'll enjoy it there and have fun with it.

Anyway I'm looking forward to getting some good use out of this car, maybe I can post some data up for the lap time thread.

[Thor142]

Originally Posted by bkevind

now I will be realistic with achieving 100% of a car's ability. That's not gonna happen unless you are an alien/pro driver. .

Don't be so quick to sell yourself short This car is really easy to drive really fast. You've already got some experience and there are some great instructors out there that are included with your HPDE fee when you run with certain organizations.

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by Thor142

Don't be so quick to sell yourself short This car is really easy to drive really fast. You've already got some experience and there are some great instructors out there that are included with your HPDE fee when you run with certain organizations.

We'll see how it goes! Since it's been a while (sheesh, I think 4-5 years now...) and I'm in a different layout car (rwd) I'll be placed in Novice/intermediate with an instructor for sure. Ok by me. Rather approach this car as a new experience and focus on smoothness.

[Thor142]

Originally Posted by bkevind

We'll see how it goes! Since it's been a while (sheesh, I think 4-5 years now...) and I'm in a different layout car (rwd) I'll be placed in Novice/intermediate with an instructor for sure. Ok by me. Rather approach this car as a new experience and focus on smoothness.

Another thing you can try to do is get a few ride along laps with different instructors throughout the day. They usually don't mind having a passenger and you'll get to see some different styles and approaches you may find helpful.

[backeddy]

SRF carbotech pads ducts done! If you are on a tight track like Laguna, you will probably need ZL1/6 piston calipers to displace the heat. My red 1le calipers were so hot ALL the red peeled off leaving raw metal. The 6 pistons never got hot enough to peel, but still they got VERY hot. The ONLY fluid that did not boil was SRF and I had to flush/fill each and every track day.

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by Thor142

Another thing you can try to do is get a few ride along laps with different instructors throughout the day. They usually don't mind having a passenger and you'll get to see some different styles and approaches you may find helpful.

Good idea. It's hard for me to passenger, but I've done it a handful of times. It is a great perspective.

Originally Posted by backeddy

SRF carbotech pads ducts done! If you are on a tight track like Laguna, you will probably need ZL1/6 piston calipers to displace the heat. My red 1le calipers were so hot ALL the red peeled off leaving raw metal. The 6 pistons never got hot enough to peel, but still they got VERY hot. The ONLY fluid that did not boil was SRF and I had to flush/fill each and every track day.

Ah forgot I used to run Carbotechs for the track, not Hawk. XP12 or XP16 can't recall (I tried different compounds). They were fantastic pads but I had to swap them back and forth with street pads, brutal screeching on the street. It was funny to me but the neighbors thought I was nuts

I used Motul RBF 600 fluid, it was fine but I did have brake issues when pushing for 3 time trial laps, could only get 2 before brakes went away. Was going to upgrade to stop tech bbk for the mazda but stopped the madness and got into bike madness.

Castrol SRF is pricey, but seems like a good investment for this car.

Ducts seem like a no brainer, too bad I can't fit the z/28 ducts in the '13.