[Mcardenal]

Hello Folks,

Exited to report on my first track day.
I took part in one day event at Palm Beach International Raceway with the Hooked On Driving Club with six 20 minute sessions spread out the day.
All i have to say is......YEAH!
What a great day. I had so much fun and i was lucky to have a great instructor that was super cool and laid back. But still had his competitive juices flowing when he would encourage me to push a little harder so that i could pass the guys in front of me whenever the opportunity presented itself.

I pretty much decided i was going to go balls to the wall after the first 5 minutes of meeting him. I figured if i did something scary or stupid he would just let me know.


Pre track day prep:

- changed oil to Valvoline 5w40 Dexron2

- changed out brake fluid to ATS 200 DOT 4

- And had new Nitto NT555 G2s (in case it rained)

I didn't trust the Goodyears F1 in the wet. In the end it didn't rain one drop (oh well).


Track day report:

- Temp was a HOT and humid 91 degrees F without a cloud in the sky.
- All fluids stayed in safe operating temp range

The ATS 200 brake fluid held up like a champ.


Notes:

- Felt like the throttle response was just a little delayed from when i would actually depress the gas pedal.
(A10 Tranny)

Post track day prep:

- Change oil back to 5w30 Dexos1

- Change out rear diff fluid (already changed it our at 2500 miles)


Questions:
- Should i change the transmission fluid?

- I noticed the car now rides a little "bumpy". My instructor told me that its track debris/rubber that has accumulated on the tires and that its normal. Does it go away? Is there something i need to do like rebalance the tires?


Thanks


MC

[Stephen12ZL1]

leave the transmission fluid alone for now. Your instructor is likely correct about the tire debris and such.

[Blast2hell]

What setting did you race in? I did my first track day on Track/Race 1

I was a bit surprised at how fast I went through gas. And I didn't do a good job of managing my tire pressure. Was a great time though. I haven't been to that track yet, just Sebring but want to try it eventually.

[Mcardenal]

Originally Posted by Blast2hell

What setting did you race in? I did my first track day on Track/Race 1

I was a bit surprised at how fast I went through gas. And I didn't do a good job of managing my tire pressure. Was a great time though. I haven't been to that track yet, just Sebring but want to try it eventually.

That's funny!
I trailered my car there with a FULL tank of gas and actually ran out of gas near the end of the 4th session. I brought about 20 gallons of my own gas and little electric transfer pump, so no biggy.

A lot of the guys i met were surprised and joked that they weren't driving hard enough.

I used Touring, Sport and Track (didn't go into the sub menu). I had a blast on all of them.

Definitely want to get to Sebring one day.

[Mcardenal]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

leave the transmission fluid alone for now. Your instructor is likely correct about the tire debris and such.

Thanks for the quick feedback. What should i do to get rid of the "bumpiness"?

[Larrio Andretti]

No need to change back to 5W30. You can run the 5W40 year round down there. As the Mobil 1 ESP 0W40 Dexos 2 becomes available I’d switch to that. Join CHIN Motorsports and head over to Sebring sometime this summer.

What size Nitto tires are you running? I ask because they don’t make the OEM sizes for the ZL1.

Don’t forget to remove the front tire dams and the heat extractor for the next track day.

Did you buy track insurance?

[Stephen12ZL1]

Originally Posted by Mcardenal

Thanks for the quick feedback. What should i do to get rid of the "bumpiness"?

nothing...I would bet a 10-20 mile drive should clear the tire debris.

[Mcardenal]

Originally Posted by Larrio Andretti

No need to change back to 5W30. You can run the 5W40 year round down there. As the Mobil 1 ESP 0W40 Dexos 2 becomes available I’d switch to that. Join CHIN Motorsports and head over to Sebring sometime this summer.

What size Nitto tires are you running? I ask because they don’t make the OEM sizes for the ZL1.

Don’t forget to remove the front tire dams and the heat extractor for the next track day.

Did you buy track insurance?

Thanks for your feedback. I wish I had waited one more day, but I already changed out the motor and diff oil out last night. The motor oil looked good, so it would have been nice to not change it (oh well). However, the diff fluid looked really dark (darker than the first 2500 mile change) and had noticeably more little metal particles.

I found the Nitto 555 G2 in the following sizes (305/30/20 and 285/30/20). Those were the same sizes of the OE goodyears.
https://www.tirebuyer.com/tires/nitt.../p/TV154000624
https://www.tirebuyer.com/tires/nitt.../p/TV154000621

I removed the water guard underneath the hood (I think I read it in the manual). But I didn't know about the tire damns and heat extractor? Where are they?

As far as track insurance, I skipped it. It was about $400+ from Haggarty with a 15% deductible (about $9-10K).

[Mcardenal]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

nothing...I would bet a 10-20 mile drive should clear the tire debris.

Thanks again. I have driven it about 90 highway miles so far. Its still a little bumpy, but I think I feel it getting better.

[Laststandard]

How did you like those Nittos on the track? Thinking about switching to them after my SC3's wear out.

[Gurkha]

I've done three track days, I switched to Castrol SRF brake fluid before the track days, CarboTech pads XP-12's, PS cup 2 tires on track wheels and ran when the weather was high 80's and high 90's in North Texas. Recommend you check the "barrels" of your wheels to remove tire chucks, pic added. I didn't remove the rain guard for extra cooling and temps were fine. I also have the A10 but was in performance shift management the whole time and was okay on the shifts.. most of the time. I drive the car in Track mode, with Traction management in either Sport 2 or Race. Soooo muchhh funnnnn https://my.chevrolet.com/content/dam...supplement.pdf

[Ryephile]

Congrats!

Oh, just a typo, the brake fluid you probably used is ATE Typ 200. ATE is a big-name brake manufacturer for many OEMs.

Tire clag can take a while to wear/grind off. Very often after doing a weekend, my drive home is ~150 miles and I still have clag left on the tires. The more aggressive you are the quicker it wears off, of course, but driving easy w/cruise control means it'll take a while. Also to echo Gurkha, clag very often gets in the wheel barrel and all throughout the wheel-well housing. A good cleaning after every track day is smart practice to ensure everything is A-OK.

[Mcardenal]

Originally Posted by Laststandard

How did you like those Nittos on the track? Thinking about switching to them after my SC3's wear out.

They were fine I guess. I don't have any other frame of reference being that it was my first track event. However, I did push the car pretty hard and I felt confident with how they reacted (at least to my admittedly, novice skill set).

However, I did feel like the OE Goodyears were a little bit more planted and stickier when I drove "spiritedly" on regular DRY roads (terrible on wet).

But overall, I would give them a thumbs up

[Mcardenal]

Originally Posted by Gurkha

I've done three track days, I switched to Castrol SRF brake fluid before the track days, CarboTech pads XP-12's, PS cup 2 tires on track wheels and ran when the weather was high 80's and high 90's in North Texas. Recommend you check the "barrels" of your wheels to remove tire chucks, pic added. I didn't remove the rain guard for extra cooling and temps were fine. I also have the A10 but was in performance shift management the whole time and was okay on the shifts.. most of the time. I drive the car in Track mode, with Traction management in either Sport 2 or Race. Soooo muchhh funnnnn https://my.chevrolet.com/content/dam...supplement.pdf

Thanks for the great tip.
I need to learn my cars features a little more.
I didn't really dig into the settings as much as I should have. I probably left some seconds on the track because of it. I also couldn't get the PDR to record the laps. I have plenty of video but it didn't track my individual lap times.