So I have an 03 Track and I took it out the Willow Springs and it was absolutely unbelievable.

To anyone who has spent the money on this amazing machine: You cannot truly appreciate its capabilities until you get this thing out on the track. I you are on this board you obviously love your car, but take it for me; you can't and won't really appreciate it until you get it on the track.

With that said: HERE IS MY PROBLEM:

I just shredded my tires. They got so hot, that by the time I got home I noticed that the rubber just bunched up at the edges of the tread. Now, I new I would be ready for a new set of tires and brakes after the track but now I am going out on the track again and plan to as often as feesibly possible. At the same time I drive a lot of street miles daily and thanks to my wife and a brainless mechanic at the tire place my rims are scraped and dinged to the tune of $1000 to bring all four back to pristeen condition.

So what I am thinking is that I will use my current rims for the track and slap a decent set of racing rubber on them and pick up a relatively inexpensive set of wheels and cheap tires for my everyday driving.

What do you guys think? From a cost effecient perspective I found a place where I can do this for around $2000. I am looking at ADR M Sport in 18 X 8.5 in the front and 18 X 9.5 in the rear (See attachment)with spacers for the fronts to make room for the brembos. On those would go some cheap Ventus and for the track the guy is offering some Faulken.

What do you think, maybe I shouldn't use two sets and just spend the extra money on new tires more often?

Also what racing tires would you recommend that are sticky enough to last a few visits at the track yet cost effective.

Also what brake pads would you recommend?

Thanks

 

Anybody in SOCAL interested in coming to willow springs at the end of July , PM me and I will give you the details. Last time I was the only Z.

 

i track my car too, usually around 8 events per year.
i'll recommend u have 2 sets of rims.
1 with some R compound tires, and just use whatever for the 2nd set.this way, u'll save more money in the long terms. decent rubber are very very expensive and wears out super fast.usually takes me 2~3 track events to wear out the tires.(Ps. it depends on what tires u have and what track u goes to, and most importantly, how aggresive ur on the track) u wont want to waste it on the street.
i was planning to kept my track rims for track use, but turnes out i didnt even have more then 3k km per year on the street.so just decide to sell it.
just my 2 cents

 

Very true indeed. Why don't more people track their cars? To quote a friend of mine:

The problem is that so many people here view their cars as a way of life, status symbol and/or legacy to which they are measured. They get validation from their material posessions. They feel it adds character to themselves if they can say they work on their own ****.

You and I are people who see it differently. The mere fact that we track our cars knowing and understanding that at any point the cars can come home in a box shows our views on them. We see them not as sentimental attachments, but as tools to facilitate our personal ventures and self-gratifying activities.

Personally, I think if you bought a track model and don't track your car, you've wasted the car...

The way that rubber snakes built up on the edge of the tread blocks is normal with ANY street tire that has enough heat built into it. Your tires are far from ruined, and before you know it, the rubber snakes will have worn off.

Many organizations only allow the use of R-compounds in the advanced groups, and I agree with this rule. It's best to learn the car's thresholds on street tires, which are MUCH more forgiving than R-compounds.

As for brake pads, a lot of people recommend the Carbotech Panther Plus'. I'm not as big of a fan of Carbotech since the last time I checked, their pad material (on Panther Plus', XP8s, and XP9s) was molded at a density of 3-4 tons. I prefer Cobalt GTR spec VR pads which have insane gripping properties, a much more dense material (10 tons), rotor-friendly, and have a temperature range up to over 1500 degrees. A lot of people will endorse Hawk pads, but my experience is that they chew up rotors, and OEM Brembo rotors are $$. You should also bleed out the stock fluid for a better brake fluid. For intermediate drivers, I recommend ATE SuperBlue or Typ200. As you get faster, you will most likely want to try something like the Motul RBF600.

 

dbsinc,

Quite a few of us will be running big willow on august 7-8 with speedventures. Check out the SoCal forum for details and updates.

I actually ran it last time with 19" volks, but i'm looking into 245/40/18 shaved RA1's for my oem track wheels.

John > That's a great quote by your friend. I agree 100%. I bought the car with brembos to cook them, not to wear them as jewelry. Unfortunately that's not the case for many.

 

I can't seem to find the Cobalt pads anywhere, can you direct me somewhere and about how much are they?

Thanks for all of you input.

Also ZXSaint let me know when you find those tires, as I am also looking so maybe we can get a better price for two sets. How much do they usually run?

Also can you recommend a good shop for engine modifications?

 

I'm running Toyo RA1's as my track rubber. Great tire at a reasonable price. As for rims I run them on 17" (lighter) Enkei RPF1's which is a good track rim at a reasonable price.
Try coming out to the next SpeedtrialUSA event at Buttonwillow. I'm an instructor with them and would be happy to give you some pointers.
Glad to see another race fan!

 

Cobalt Friction

You would probably be better off starting with the GTS pads, which cost less than $200 for front and rear IIRC.

 

Thanks I just ordered the GTS and Superbue fluid.

 

on the track I use 17x9 Enkei RPO2J wheels and 274/40-17 Yokohama AO32R (the hard-compound) tires front and rear... on my OEM Track wheels I have Bridgestone SO2s

I've used street tires on the track and found the OEM RE040s to be weak on the track, they cannot handle the heat after about 4 hot laps and need one cool-down lap to keep going. I used TOYO T1-S for two events and didn't like the squishy sidewalls. Once I wore them out I put on the SO2s and bought dedicated track wheels/tires. I have not tried the SO2s on the track.

you can fit a 265/35-18 on the rear Track model wheel and a 245/40-18 on the front and use something like the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup or Pirelli P-Zero Corsa; both are long-lasting and highly grippy and can be driven on the street... for some really silly grip, use Hoosiers, but don't expect them to last more than one weekend

I think Kumho has 18" sizes that will work, but I wouldn't spend my money on Kumho tires... just my opinion... I used Victoracers on the Enkei wheels and they didn't even last one day, the compound is too soft and the Z is too heavy and the Texas summer heat (about 135 on the track) really kills them...

I've used Carbotech pads for years... had them in my Stoptechs on my Audi A4 1.8T and loved them. I use the Bobcat on the street and the XP front and rear on the track. I also have Motul600 fluid and Goodridge stainless lines.

Hope that helps.

PeteH

 

Do you leave the Motul in for street and track driving or do you just use it for racing, The site I read recommeneds Motul for racing only. Does it matter?

 

Motul RBF600 is fine for the street as long as you bleed them occasionally. I bleed mine during my track wheel swap. It's pretty easy.

 

I'm with John on this one. I've instructed with a number of different organizations, and I've seen too many bad things happen with novice track drivers and R compound tires. Get yourself a nice set of street tires (I like Kumho Ecsta MX's), check your ego at the door, and have a blast. You don't need to go faster to have fun! Work on your driving line, consistency, and overall awareness on the track. Speed comes with time and practice. Also, work with a good instructor every chance you get. Learn the car's limits as close as stock to possible before modding the heck out of it.

 

Ran Victoracers on Roebling Road last Sept and had LOTS of luck with them, and VERY forgiving.

Personally for the price vs. performance they are still a track fav.

Sounds like you were out tracking on a miserably hot day. If the temps are like that, I'll pass.

 

Need some?

 

 

very agreed!!!!
well said!

 

Front camber adjustment.

 

Check out the AutoX/Roadrace forum.

 

dbsinc.... yes, I run the MOTUL full time. It's been in there less than a year, so I'll have to flush it soon

PhoenixINX... I'm not a big fan of anything from Kumho, only reason I used them is they were already on the wheels when I bought them. It could have been they were never properly heat-cycled (previous owner used them for auto-x, not open track events) so I contributed to their demise by running them full blast all weekend without letting them properly cool. I used AO32R on my previous car and had lots of luck with them.... the H-compound is ideal for a heavy, high-hp, RWD car