im looking to get into Track days, HPDE, road racing etc. (no desire to autox)
ive got a typical street strip car now. no suspension mods though.

car info:
00 SS
Forged/Heads/Cam LS1 @ 467hp
Moser 12 bolt w/ 4.10s
Sportlines with dragshocks
chrome 18s w/ 275/295 KDW 2
Hawk pads, ebay rotors



from my research some of the parts i have are the worst possible choice for road racing. sportlines, drag shocks(obviously) etc.

also the biggest thing ive noticed recommended when starting out is the driver mod. seems that track time is far more important than the car build.
so first mod will be going to a bunch of events, and getting instructor ride along lessons etc.

so once i finally get good enough to start knowing what im doing, be able to push the car and want more from the car, thats where i have questions.

the car will be a track only car. dedicated racer. only driven on street hand full of times a year.

1. sway bars. what is recomended here? brand and sizes? will i need anything special to clear/mount my Moser 12bolt? would adjustable rear be helpful down the road? is this the best way to tune US/OS?

2. Springs: recomendations for track car?

3. Brakes: what pads are recomended? anything else? lines etc i need to know about?

4. Shocks: recomendations? do i need adjustable?

5. Tires: whats a good tire? what sizes/width stager to people prefer? 17" seems to be the most popular diameter and affordable. but is it worth going 18" right away in prep for CTS-V brakes?

6. Cooling: is stock suffecient? its hot in Texas, what needs upgrading? brand recomendation?

7. SFC: are they worth the money and weight?

8. STB: do they really help?

9. Forums: besides this one, any recomended forums to read up on parts, setups, events etc.

10. Texas Tracks: anyone know what tracks are here and where to find events and instruction?

any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. looking forward to getting deep into this side of the sport.

-Cory

 

YeeeeeHHHAAWWWWWW!!!!!

 

www.thedriversedge.net
www.apexdrivingacademy.com
nasa.com

Texas tracks listed within reasonable driving distance to Killeen (nearest to farthest) ...

Texas World Speedway in College Station
Harris Hill in San Marcos
Motorsports Ranch - one near Ft. Worth ans one south of Houston
Eagle's Canyon near Decatur

With 479hp and a 12 bolt, you are fighting a losing battle. Been down this road ....

You will be money ahead if you buy a high mileage beater Camaro, strip it of weight and go have fun ... WAY ahead.

The cost of keeping a nice car nice while open tracking it is astronomical. The weight of a fully laden street car alone will chew through tires and brakes at an alarming pace.



here you go .... http://houston.craigslist.org/pts/3808098782.html

 

yeah i know. 12 bolt weight and gears are gonna kill me. times and goals change. maybe ill find someone and swap for a stock 10 bolt/3.42 and use the cash to buy more turning parts?

i do plan to do full weight reduction/gut interior. no plans to keep it nice. ive had the car a long time and been threw the car show, cruise night thing. im over that. i want to gut and thrash on it now. actually enjoy driving the crap out of it.

any advice on the parts above?

 

1. sway bars. If you keep the tire sizes close front and rear - Stranos with an adjustable rear. Might have a problem fitting the 12-bolt. If you go with a 275/315 setup, I'd look at the BMR 35/25 bars to reduce understeer.

2. Springs: Strano or BMR. Flip a coin. Or you can step up to true coilovers from LG. Big $$$.

3. Brakes: People claim stock brakes are fine. They are horrendous. For street or AutoX they are merely adequate. Having a Nissan I race, the Trans Am is LAUGHABLE in this department. Having said that, you can still make them perform ok. For track, I' look at Carbotech XP12/8 combo front and rear and Racing Brake slotted rotors. Then I'd do Techna-Fit or Flynebye stainless lines (they are coated - exposed stainless lines can collect debris). I don't think the C5 kit is much better - C6 might be a step up with a stiffer PBR caliper and a much larger rotor. The better option is a CTS-V caliper and an SS rotor enlarged to mate to our hub (correct offset). Or again, Racing Brake has two piece rotors. But that's too much $$$ for a track car. I'd just get NAPA blanks and get them bored out. The CTS-V calipers are Brembo 4-pots and have a wide variety of pads avail (Ferodo 3000 would be a good baseline pad). Other options are StopTech and Wilwood. And of course the Brembo kit itself, but the CTS-V/SS Rotor is equivalent for like 1/5 the price.

4. Shocks: Koni Yellow Single Adj. I wouldn't do Double Adj. Just more variables to mess up the balance of the car. Or if you do Coilovers like the LG, you get custom valved aluminum Bilsteins.

5. Tires: R888 you can run on the street and track. Not the best track, but great all around tire. And I'd step up to 18s for the CTS-V. Lightweight 18s if you can get them sized for big brakes. I have Nitto NT05 on my car now and Yokohama AD08s on my Nissan for daily tires. These tires work well for handling, and the AD08s are pretty close to some DOT tires. But the R888 and then stepping up to the Michelin Sport Cups, Nitto NT01, Yoko AD48s, and the Hoosiers will all blow away any street tire. Goodyear slicks if you're extreme.

6. Cooling: Ron Davis Aluminum Radiator with oil and trans cooler. Big $$$ - but will allow you to lap all day.

7. SFC: MWC full length true SFCs would be the only ones I'd run, since they actually tie the subframes together. I don't know what the others are doing. Adding weight?

8. STB: meh

9. Forums: frrax

 

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I am installing bilstein hd shocks with eibach springs and eibach sway bars with umi phb and lca with relocation brackets to upgrade the suspension du to my bird being over 10 yrs old. I have only done the rear shocks and springs with phb and it is significantly lower in the rear..the front still has the 4x4 look so it's a very noticeable difference. Will tackle the front this weekend and finish the rear with the lca and relocation brackets. The point is I notice the passengerside is lower only because of the gap on the rear tires from the fender. Looking at it from the rear I can't tell but I did read on one of the threads on ls1tech that gm purposely made the passenger side lower to compensate the weight of the driverside when you sit in it. Dunno how true it is. It is just what I have read researching on this site.

 

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Real quick if anyone on this site has had experience with the rear sway bar. I installed the rear sway bar and my question is when you line up the bushing with the d clamp on the factory rear end the passenger side bushing seems to out of alignment. What I mean is the top part of the bushing goes to the left and the bottom to the right. Is this normal and if not would it be wise to it inward on to where it lines up? I saw pics on umi's website on the installation section but for a drag sway bar and on that sway bar it looks like the bushings and d rings/clamps are closer to the center of the rear end as oppose to the sock sway bar. Any advice or experiences will help out a lot. One thing I think I can do is wipe of the grease that was provided. Maybe I put too much. Dunno been breaking my head.

 

Oh, couple of other things to add: Get a watts link and ditch the panhard bar.

 

lots of great specifics Jake. tons of awesome info. time to go look it all up and do more reading. many thanks!
if you think of anything else please post up. even stuff i may not have thought of.

 

what is that track on 377 on the way to Grandbury?

 

Boo thanks for the info.... maybe I'm on the

 

Personally I would buy a clapped out Z28, stick some Konis and good brake pads on it, and then hit the track. That way your nice car stays nice and you don't have to "undo" all the mods you currently have on your current car.

 

If he's going to do that, might as well buy an RX-7 or Miata and just drop an LS1 into it.

 

I was just stating what I would do because I've done it. VIR is a 45min drive from my house. So to keep my SS minty fresh I bought a clapped out raggedy a** 96 Z28. I stuck Koni's, stickier tires, some CTSV brakes, and went to a track day. Since then I've added a watts link and replaced the clutch. I've got around $5K in the entire car.

 

This.

Big brakes, big HP, big shocks, big springs sound great and make for a great signature on the internet.

But the two biggest things one can do to drop lap times is remove weight and gain experience.


Motorsports Ranch _ Cresson

 

Experience...I need to gain more of that...for weight I gotta drop 20 lbs..