[dpevans]

I track my 2016 LGX M6 RS. When I started a couple years ago I did a lot of research. I upgraded the JL9 Brake RPO code (single piston) with G Loc R10/R8 pads and kept stock rotors. Pads are expensive but well worth it. I use Castrol SRF fluid and do a complete flush on the first pad swap of the year. I swap pads and don't use track pads on the street they squeal and the brake dust is crazy. I also invested in stainless steel brake lines. I got rid of the run flats and bought Goodrich g-force comp 2 A/S, they held up ok. I never experienced any brake fade and pushed them hard. This year I invested in a set of SS staggered rims wrapped in Eagle F1 SC3 rubber to get better bite on turning and braking. The only disadvantage with the V6 is you don't have the power on long straights but overall it is an excellent car for tracking. Next year I might invest in coil overs. I was thinking about upgrading the front brakes with 4 piston Brembos but a little hesitant to pull the trigger cause you cannot upgrade the rear due to having different EBrake systems and the design of the brake system as a whole the car is well balanced and using the upgraded track pads does a good job. When buying rims for this year I was looking for 19s but I came across such a good deal on a set of 20"SS rims i couldn't pass on it. From research I think 19s work better for auto cross and corner off at the track. I do use 0w40 at the track and change after every two track days and after each session I check the dip stick and have never used oil, and I have never lost oil pressure in the corners so I would suggest not overfilling before track days and I have never seen GM recommend overfilling the LGX on track days only the 6.2. I also change the rear end fluid at the beginning of the year and the trans fluid. The M6 is easy to change. The only other disappointment is a safety harness, I would like to upgrade to a 4 point system but with our OEM seats you cannot loop a seatbelt over the top and no one makes a system for the Camaro unless you have a roll bar.

[Paulman]

Originally Posted by AZIROC

Id assume they would, but I honestly don't know. Again, it would be a thing you would have to feel out while on the track. If anything, again id just swap out to a better brake fluid and maybe upgrade ur pads. Past that, id just drive and have fun. Stay in the lower (slower) group and just learn. Ask others if u can follow them to learn better lines. Hell, a good friend of mine is out there racing with us in his maxima. And he's keeping up just fine. Granted he is driving the ever loving shit out of it .. but he's doing it.


Also look for what racing clubs are in your area and their rules. Some have very strick rules as far as what mods you can and can not do. For me there are 2 solid racing groups. 1, where I'm at, is more based on driver skill. The other is based on the cars performance. Since I still consider myself a novice, id probably be a liability if I was in the other race group because I'm in a zl1 and id be going up against guys MUCH fast than me. Where the group im in now, I could go up a "level and still be fine.

Thanks for the advice. I agree it's always wise to run with people who have the solid experience and can lead the way with the correct line. Especially if I'm in a new or different car.

[Paulman]

Originally Posted by Msquared

I need to re-word what I wrote, because I forgot that you could option this stuff on the order sheet and it would show up as a factory option on your window sticker. The problem is that SCCA specifically bans the lowering kit and 6-piston brakes from the car in F Street class where the V6 and n/a-V8 Camaros go. Here is the wording from the Solo rule book:

OTOH, the V6 1LE is allowed in that same class. That's the way to go, IMO, especially if you want the big brakes. However, I think Chevy stopped building V6 and 2.0T Camaros with the 1LE package, so you'd have to find one used.


No worries about the questions. All autocrosses are by definition a time trial. It's all a competition where they try to minimize car advantages and put the emphasis on driver skill determining outcomes. The thing to do would probably be to look at classes for modified Camaros: SSR, STU, E Street Prepared, or CAM-C. Honestly, most people these days are looking at CAM-C if they don't want restrictions on mods. You could run any size wheel and tire you want as long as the tire has a UTQG treadwear rating of at least 200, and almost any other mod goes. Considering that power isn't really a major factor in most autocross courses, you might do pretty well in a lighter V6 Camaro with 10.5-11" wheels and tires. You could either order that factory lowering kit or - if you are serious about track and autocross performance - go with a full coilover setup and camber plates from a place like Vorshlag. That lowering kit factory option is $2100, which is probably half of what a really top-notch coilover kit would cost. That's the route I'd take. I would select the big brake option for track use, though. Maybe add aftermarket rear toe links so you could get more rear camber, too. That would be an interesting experiment!

Thanks again for the advice. I would prefer to just find a gently used V6 1LE but since the market is so crazy I was thinking trying to order something is the next choice without finding something as cheap as possible and bolting everything on myself.

I like the way there’s several classes you could enter.

So you’re thinking the 6 piston brake setup is worth the $3300 factory upgrade?

[Paulman]

Originally Posted by dpevans

I track my 2016 LGX M6 RS. When I started a couple years ago I did a lot of research. I upgraded the JL9 Brake RPO code (single piston) with G Loc R10/R8 pads and kept stock rotors. Pads are expensive but well worth it. I use Castrol SRF fluid and do a complete flush on the first pad swap of the year. I swap pads and don't use track pads on the street they squeal and the brake dust is crazy. I also invested in stainless steel brake lines. I got rid of the run flats and bought Goodrich g-force comp 2 A/S, they held up ok. I never experienced any brake fade and pushed them hard. This year I invested in a set of SS staggered rims wrapped in Eagle F1 SC3 rubber to get better bite on turning and braking. The only disadvantage with the V6 is you don't have the power on long straights but overall it is an excellent car for tracking. Next year I might invest in coil overs. I was thinking about upgrading the front brakes with 4 piston Brembos but a little hesitant to pull the trigger cause you cannot upgrade the rear due to having different EBrake systems and the design of the brake system as a whole the car is well balanced and using the upgraded track pads does a good job. When buying rims for this year I was looking for 19s but I came across such a good deal on a set of 20"SS rims i couldn't pass on it. From research I think 19s work better for auto cross and corner off at the track. I do use 0w40 at the track and change after every two track days and after each session I check the dip stick and have never used oil, and I have never lost oil pressure in the corners so I would suggest not overfilling before track days and I have never seen GM recommend overfilling the LGX on track days only the 6.2. I also change the rear end fluid at the beginning of the year and the trans fluid. The M6 is easy to change. The only other disappointment is a safety harness, I would like to upgrade to a 4 point system but with our OEM seats you cannot loop a seatbelt over the top and no one makes a system for the Camaro unless you have a roll bar.

Really appreciate you sharing your experience. This is probably the biggest reason I got interested in Camaros, after owning several generations of Mustangs. The Mustangs needed tremendous work just to become track worthy but the Camaros chassis is perfect for track work. That’s great you had immediate fun with the car without having to do too much to it. I forgot about the stainless steel brake lines. That’s a good mod for pedal feel especially for 20 plus minutes of hard braking

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by Paulman

Thanks again for the advice. I would prefer to just find a gently used V6 1LE but since the market is so crazy I was thinking trying to order something is the next choice without finding something as cheap as possible and bolting everything on myself.

They are out there. A quick search on Cars.com shows a fair number for sale with fairly low miles and prices between about $27k-36k. That may be worth it if you want to keep the car stock and run it in F Street autocross class (I have no idea what that does for any track time trial classes, though). The only real downside I see is that the V6 1LE came with 4-piston front brakes that are smaller: those are fine for autocross use but might be lacking on track compared to the pimpy 6-piston Brembos. Maybe some others can chime in here if they've tracked the 4-piston brakes.

So you’re thinking the 6 piston brake setup is worth the $3300 factory upgrade?

That's a good question. First, it depends on how badly you really need the upgrade for track duty, and again I have no experience to say. Second, of course, it depends on how much it would cost you to do a similar (or the same) upgrade yourself. It looks like you can get the exact same parts to do the upgrade yourself for a little over $2500. That doesn't include labor, of course. Maybe that would be a better way to go if you are handy enough to do the labor. You could skip the brake option on the order form and see if the regular brakes on the V6 are good enough for track duty (you'd still want to flush the fluid and put in good hi-temp fluid, and pick some good track pads). Then if you decide you want the bigger front brakes, buy the kit. Either choice has merits.

[Paulman]

Originally Posted by Msquared

They are out there. A quick search on Cars.com shows a fair number for sale with fairly low miles and prices between about $27k-36k. That may be worth it if you want to keep the car stock and run it in F Street autocross class (I have no idea what that does for any track time trial classes, though). The only real downside I see is that the V6 1LE came with 4-piston front brakes that are smaller: those are fine for autocross use but might be lacking on track compared to the pimpy 6-piston Brembos. Maybe some others can chime in here if they've tracked the 4-piston brakes.


That's a good question. First, it depends on how badly you really need the upgrade for track duty, and again I have no experience to say. Second, of course, it depends on how much it would cost you to do a similar (or the same) upgrade yourself. It looks like you can get the exact same parts to do the upgrade yourself for a little over $2500. That doesn't include labor, of course. Maybe that would be a better way to go if you are handy enough to do the labor. You could skip the brake option on the order form and see if the regular brakes on the V6 are good enough for track duty (you'd still want to flush the fluid and put in good hi-temp fluid, and pick some good track pads). Then if you decide you want the bigger front brakes, buy the kit. Either choice has merits.

Definitely a viable choice to save money up front with the base stock setup, see how it goes with good pads and fluid, then upgrade later as others have done here like DPEVANS. He had good pads complimented with good tires.
The only info I can find is the V6 1LE doing very well with its 4 piston caliper setup at the Lightning Lap competition.

Since the V6 is lighter I’m wondering if 6 piston calipers are overkill and add too much weight up front. This option would be financed into the price but it would be warrantied and save me some wrenching time.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by Paulman

Definitely a viable choice to save money up front with the base stock setup, see how it goes with good pads and fluid, then upgrade later as others have done here like DPEVANS. He had good pads complimented with good tires.

It's worth mentioning that the grippier your tires on track, the more heat the brakes will have to shed. OTOH, it's also worth mentioning that you don't have to late-brake-bonzai every corner of every lap in a non-competition HPDE event. You can extend your braking distances a bit and then make every third or fourth lap a "personal best" attempt, which helps reduce the load on the brakes during a full session.

The only info I can find is the V6 1LE doing very well with its 4 piston caliper setup at the Lightning Lap competition.

I don't know how many continuous laps they do for those tests: if it's only maybe three before a cool-down lap, then it's not going to torture the brakes like a 20-minute session with all full-bore laps would. Still, it's important to keep in mind that even the "base" 4-piston setup is worlds better than any brakes on cars from 80s and probably even 90s. For example, a 90s-era 1LE or Corvette ZR1 still came with two-piston PBR sliding calipers, and yet somehow they managed to road race those things in sprint and endurance showroom-stock classes. We are spoiled these days.

Since the V6 is lighter I’m wondering if 6 piston calipers are overkill and add too much weight up front. This option would be financed into the price but it would be warrantied and save me some wrenching time.

Good questions, I just don't have the good answers. Someone would ideally run the two brake setups on otherwise-identical cars for a lapping session. If anyone has tried that, I haven't seen it. Next best would be the same car on the same track with the same driver before and after going from stock V6 brakes to the 6-piston upgrade. That driver would have a good sense of how much the upgrade improve braking capacity over a session. It would be worth searching the forum here to see if anyone ever wrote up a review like that.

[Paulman]

Originally Posted by Msquared

It's worth mentioning that the grippier your tires on track, the more heat the brakes will have to shed. OTOH, it's also worth mentioning that you don't have to late-brake-bonzai every corner of every lap in a non-competition HPDE event. You can extend your braking distances a bit and then make every third or fourth lap a "personal best" attempt, which helps reduce the load on the brakes during a full session.


I don't know how many continuous laps they do for those tests: if it's only maybe three before a cool-down lap, then it's not going to torture the brakes like a 20-minute session with all full-bore laps would. Still, it's important to keep in mind that even the "base" 4-piston setup is worlds better than any brakes on cars from 80s and probably even 90s. For example, a 90s-era 1LE or Corvette ZR1 still came with two-piston PBR sliding calipers, and yet somehow they managed to road race those things in sprint and endurance showroom-stock classes. We are spoiled these days.


Good questions, I just don't have the good answers. Someone would ideally run the two brake setups on otherwise-identical cars for a lapping session. If anyone has tried that, I haven't seen it. Next best would be the same car on the same track with the same driver before and after going from stock V6 brakes to the 6-piston upgrade. That driver would have a good sense of how much the upgrade improve braking capacity over a session. It would be worth searching the forum here to see if anyone ever wrote up a review like that.

All good points, Matt.
Since all of my cars for HPDE have been street driven and I don't have a truck and trailer, I've been using the "80% rule" for making sure I try not to keep up with faster cars and limit the car to 80% of flat out so I can get it home in one piece.

I hear ya on being spoiled by what's out there now. I thought upgrading my Fox body Mustang to SN95 Cobra brakes was the best thing in the world until I woke up and tried something else.

I guess it will come down to experimenting with things over the course of a few HPDE events. I think the V6 is a very capable setup from what everyone is saying.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by Paulman

Since all of my cars for HPDE have been street driven and I don't have a truck and trailer, I've been using the "80% rule" for making sure I try not to keep up with faster cars and limit the car to 80% of flat out so I can get it home in one piece.

Exactly the same for me. The way I say it is: "At track days I'm an 8/10s kind of guy."

[conemark]

To give you an idea of what goes into a Street category SCCA autocross campaign, this thread (though for a 2.0T) gives lots of insight - https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=477232

[Paulman]

Originally Posted by conemark

To give you an idea of what goes into a Street category SCCA autocross campaign, this thread (though for a 2.0T) gives lots of insight - https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=477232

This is really helpful. I read through it. Thanks!

[Autosenses]

I am in the exact same boat. I want a nice weekend mountain carver to mess around with and go to AutoX/track days with friends. Not daily. I daily my MK7 GTI.

I've been trying to get my hands on a V6 for a while now. Obviously I'm looking full time for a used 1le v6 but I also just gave another dealer (3rd dealer actually) my build summary.

I also go back a fourth on break upgrades (4piston vs 6 piston). Honestly, for a V6 camaro staying below $34k is ideal. So configurating a build with the $3k break option eats up a lot of that budget.

I tend to build my V6 like this:
1LT manual
RS (you get the wheels that fit both break options)
Dual exhaust
4piston breaks and oil cooler
Front lip aero
tech pk
Swede interior
$34,075

or

1LT V6 manual
6 piston break (fits with those ugly base wheels) but then get Apex Sm10's ($2500)
Satin Black appearance package- you get a small rear lip and black mirrors
Swade interior
Tech Pk.
$34,025

One opinion I do have to share- The breaking system on my 2019 STI was PHENOMINAL. We all tend to get caught up on handling, power, speed, accelerating, whatever, but experiencing a VERY good breaking system is also very cool.

I'm constantly changing my mind...but its fun. lol

[Paulman]

Originally Posted by Autosenses

I am in the exact same boat. I want a nice weekend mountain carver to mess around with and go to AutoX/track days with friends. Not daily. I daily my MK7 GTI.

I've been trying to get my hands on a V6 for a while now. Obviously I'm looking full time for a used 1le v6 but I also just gave another dealer (3rd dealer actually) my build summary.

I also go back a fourth on break upgrades (4piston vs 6 piston). Honestly, for a V6 camaro staying below $34k is ideal. So configurating a build with the $3k break option eats up a lot of that budget.

I tend to build my V6 like this:
1LT manual
RS (you get the wheels that fit both break options)
Dual exhaust
4piston breaks and oil cooler
Front lip aero
tech pk
Swede interior
$34,075

or

1LT V6 manual
6 piston break (fits with those ugly base wheels) but then get Apex Sm10's ($2500)
Satin Black appearance package- you get a small rear lip and black mirrors
Swade interior
Tech Pk.
$34,025

One opinion I do have to share- The breaking system on my 2019 STI was PHENOMINAL. We all tend to get caught up on handling, power, speed, accelerating, whatever, but experiencing a VERY good breaking system is also very cool.

I'm constantly changing my mind...but its fun. lol

These are nice builds. I keep doing a build over and over too, trying to stay in a budget. The 6 piston brakes chew up the budget.

I daily drove a GTI too for 3 years - my mistake was getting an the S trim with the single piston brakes and no LSD. I said I would never cheap out again on that if I want to put a car on the track.

Maybe the 4 piston brakes (which are really SS brakes?) would be enough with good pads and fluid? Would an equivalent to Hawk HP Plus be enough for a V6? DPEVANS above mentioned a GLOC pad with single piston brakes and had success

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by Paulman

Maybe the 4 piston brakes (which are really SS brakes?) would be enough with good pads and fluid? Would an equivalent to Hawk HP Plus be enough for a V6? DPEVANS above mentioned a GLOC pad with single piston brakes and had success

DPEVANS is swapping out his street pads for dedicated track pads for each track event. That's not a bad way to go, and it guarantees you can have pads that will work in the track-induced heat range. It's probably not too difficult on those brakes. I am not hip to the best track pads these days.

OTOH, if you want pad to do everything, it will always be a bit of a compromise. I'm kind of spoiled because my SS 1LE comes with a good do-it-all pad: the Ferodo DS2500. Maybe that's worth considering for the smaller brakes too, or maybe there's an even better choice out there. Hopefully some others can chime in.