Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

hey guys,

im going to pop my track day cherry soon. i was just wondering what you guys do before hand and what you recommend in doing/getting done to the car beforehand.

ive got a few questions of my own:

what size oil cooler core would be best?

will the factory radiator be fine?

do you pull out a headlight for cool air or use a CAI?

any tips would be helpful.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/169956-track-day-riturals/
Share on other sites

My ritual is to get pissed the night before.

preperation is usually done a few days before that..............come to think of it, I've never had to do much preperation at all. Just bring some Engine oil, jacks, brake fluid, coolant and a box of tools. Credit card too just in case things fall to pieces.

No worries!!

Oh, and to answer your questions

1. Oil cooler - I havent got one....I've got one on the way! but for the last 11ty track days/events ive done I havent had one so you "should" be right!

2. My factory radiotor has held up - yours should be fine!

3. Id leave light in for safety

Best thing to do is 1st two laps - warm up - go hard for a few laps and then take a couple cool down laps so everything gets a good cool down!

Oh and what day you going to?Wheres my invite? :P

No worries!!

Oh, and to answer your questions

1. Oil cooler - I havent got one....I've got one on the way! but for the last 11ty track days/events ive done I havent had one so you "should" be right!

2. My factory radiotor has held up - yours should be fine!

3. Id leave light in for safety

Best thing to do is 1st two laps - warm up - go hard for a few laps and then take a couple cool down laps so everything gets a good cool down!

Oh and what day you going to?Wheres my invite? :P

the sau nsw track day!

Bleed the brakes. Check you have 50% meat on pads.

Top up the oil or replace it if it's more than 3000k's old or if it's had a track day already.

yeah i'll be changing the pads as well as giving it an oil/filter change too.

yeah i'll be changing the pads as well as giving it an oil/filter change too.

Make sure the brake pads are bedded in properly before hitting the track.

Don't put the handbrake on after completing a number of laps - let the rotors cool down first.

Edited by writeoff
My ritual is to get pissed the night before.

Same here! Every time I've got a track day on, I seem to have a birthday or a work function the night before. :closedeyes:

In all seriousness, I'll check my fluids (I don't flush the oil as often as some, but my car's NA so its not quite as critical) and pads. Clean out all the garbage from the car. Probably give it a hand wash, since that way you go over every inch of the vehicle and you might see something amiss rather than find out on the track. Also make sure everything I need (license, tyre pressure gauge, jack, spare tyre) is in the vehicle.

On the day after I sign in I'll empty the other stuff I don't need for the track (spare tyre, etc) and check my tyre pressures.

The other thing to remember is (especially when you are still new to track day stuff) just before you get into your car to go out on the track - GO AND TAKE A PISS.

If you don't you will put your helmet on, go up to the dummy grid and suddenly you'll think "Damn I wished I'd taken a leak".

Then after your session you'll be all fired up and get back and forget you needed to go. Then the next session will come and the same thing will happen.....

:closedeyes:

The other thing to remember is (especially when you are still new to track day stuff) just before you get into your car to go out on the track - GO AND TAKE A PISS.

If you don't you will put your helmet on, go up to the dummy grid and suddenly you'll think "Damn I wished I'd taken a leak".

Then after your session you'll be all fired up and get back and forget you needed to go. Then the next session will come and the same thing will happen.....

:(

best advice.. EVER!

My advice, never EVER leave anything to the last minute! There is nothing worse than getting to the track and having to bleed your brakes before you head out, or having to fix up things for scrutineering.. making you late to sign on, late to scrutineering and late onto the track!

Rushing makes you forget little things!

the take a piss advice is a good one. also, take a 2 litre bottle of water and a choccolate bar or two. you will need the water to hydrate and the chocco for energy.

I have even bailed out of my car when lined up in dummy grid to go and have an emergencey leak. nothing worse than hitting the track whilst busting for a pee. and race suit warming is not reccomended.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Yeah kids certainly add a whole another dimension to your life.  Life ceases to be about you and more about them for a while!  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love watching them play sport and make new friends along the way. Wow, sounds like your mate is a good guy to know!!!  He's got some serious toys in the toy box!  Yes it would be lovely to be able to do stuff to your car without getting all tied up in boring shit like how to pay for it!!  I would describe my spending style as "aggressively spontaneous and logical but regrettable purchasing"....  That will hopefully make no sense at all which would be appropriate given that is how I buy stuff.  I'll decide at the drop of a hat that I'm buying something expensive, research the living shit out of it for 2 days straight then go out and buy it.  Then I'll have instant buyers remorse for 2 days which generally passes by the time it turns up on the front step!  If I'm feeling ballsy sometimes I'll tell my wife.  Other times it just makes its way silently passed the house and out the back to the shed, never to be spoken of again...
    • My extinguisher mounted like this unscrewed a little (Maybe from the chair sliding forward) and dumped a bit of white on my mats. I'll need to get a more narrow one for future.
    • I totally couldn't do the whole kids taking up my life thing! 😮 I find it bad enough doing 45 hours in 4 days, and then fitting normal adulting life into the other 3 with no kids! As for my mates race cars, they're AMG C63 setup for production racing. The original is what has just been stripped and a brand new shell built. The original is then going away to have some panels straightened, then it will be put back together again. Then there's a third that will shortly head off to have a roll cage put in, then build it up too. And potentially a fourth to be built too... Oh, and he has two Renault Clio D class production cars, ha ha. And when he's not racing them in the Australians and QLD production championships, he's been racing one of Chaz Mostert's Lamborghini's in GT4. They just won GT4 at the 12 hour in the Lambo. We're pushing to finish the new AMG as it has its first round (and potentially its first shakedown/outing) in under w weeks for Round one of QPC, and that round is really the shakedown to make sure it's all good for the Bathurst 6 hour, which I'll be at too. Ha ha ha Working on my project is different to his, I slowly tinker and work ways to make things happen on a shoe string budget. Hes in a good position that he has a massive workshop full of parts and tools, ha ha. He also looks after me. When his air compressor died, he just needed it working, so bought himself a new one and gave the old to me. Sand blaster unit too, and a 20t pressing. And pretty much all the shelving in my shed too as he upgraded all of his (the stuff he gave me is the expensive black Bunnings heavy duty stuff)!   I enjoy working on his stuff. No decision paralysis, and anything that's needed parts wise is just there. Plus, then I get to be hands on at the track in real racing, not just club day stuff.
    • I know which one I'd prefer to have in my garage, and which one I'd actually drive as intended
    • Yeah mate, no probs. Just swap the email addresses?
×
×
  • Create New...