I dont have much cash at the moment and have about 2 months to pull perhaps a grand towards this:

Ok. I a racing at Willow springs on January 11th.

I have a 2002 Camaro Z28 M6

Mods in sig

LT, ORY, LM, Lid, Aluminum flywheel and LS7 clutch, Spohn LCA.

I also have nittos. what I am planning to do is buy 2 rims and put different tires on them, because I dont want Nittos when I race there.

Besides the cost of the rims and tires, what is the best way I can spend a good 1000 dollars or so for optimum performance on the track?


Should I spend it on suspension? and if so what?

brakes? if so, what is a good brake company for F bodys

and for my tires, what should I use for a good track tire.

I currently have P245/50 R 16 Nittos on Snowflake Z28 rims. But am planning to run some Zr1 or Z06 rims with a good tire. so what should I get?

Thanks for all the help?

Also will I compromise drag racing if I get certain suspension components that are good for track racing?

 

Racing or participating in a HPDE? My guess is a DE ... I will also assume this is your first time on a road course.

While your stock shocks will really suck, you will kill your $1000 budget and then some on shocks and springs.

And for a first time participant, getting race rubber is probably overkill.

I would suggest the following, having been exactly where you are ...

BUy a set of Carbotech XP8 pads for the front. $250 They have good heat performance and are easy on the rotors. Be prepared to install new rotors after the event, though. chances are good you will stress crack or warp them. $60 a pair at Autozone

Replace your brake fluid with something more "high performance". If this is a one time deal, use Valvoline Syn-power ($10). It's a good street fluid with good hydroscopic properties. If it's an on-goig deal ATE Super Blue or Motul are the next step up ($30). You can usually find these locally at motorcycle shops. And the ultimate is Castrol SRF. Literally, install it and forget about it ($80).

Get a good alignment. Get as much negative camber and as much positive caster as you can with zero toe. Your car will be much more stable. $100

Install a 5 pt. harness. You can get a decent G-Force 5 pt from Jegs for $125. Use of a harness in a street car has been debated over and over. It is my position that me having better control of the car while in high G manuevers is much safer than the probability of me pancaking the roof of the car. JMHO.

Change the oil and filter before and after the event. $100

Add an extra quart of oil. I ran 7 qts with a stock pan and never had an issue. At that level, it will use it, so keep an eye on it. High G left handers could cause oil starvation. You have a 2K2, so the liklihood is lessened, but we're talking about spinning a rod bearing. $10

Make SURE you have clean coolant and all your hoses are in good shape. $100 if you change.

Replace your power steering fluid with Redline synthetic. Your PS pump seals will thank you. $25

So, for under $800, you now have a car that is well prepped for a weekend on a road course. and preperation is key for an enjoyable weekend. Nothing is more frustrating thatn have nagging gremlins keep you off the track or send you home on the hook.

Once you get a couple DEs under your belt and begin feeling where the limits aof the car are and pushing those limits, then it's time to start looking at shocks, springs, tires and suspension components ... in that order.

Again, JMHO

 

Racing rented with a few friends, So I will get lots of runs...

Thanks for all the useful info. Anything or anyone else?

also is it worth getting a tune for a bolton car at this point?

 

Help!!!!!!!!

 

there has to be a 2nd member that can answer this. I just need more input.

 

Bump!

 

You need to get with Sam Strano. I'm sure he can help some.

 

I agree with everything that mitch said. Its pointless to throw parts on a car if you cant drive it to its full potential as is.

 

One last thing, install a fresh serpentine belt and take the old one as a spare (or a spare new one). Losing a belt at the track sucks. And, it's a cheap and easy thing to take along with you.

Mitch pretty much nailed it. Though I think you'll have closer to $150 in the front Carbotech XP8's and not $250 (you should be able to do both ends for about $275).

Be safe and have fun. You have a lot of car already, learn to drive what you have before you worry too much about upgrades (though a set of Koni's will do wonders, as will many other things). These cars are much faster around a road course than people give them credit for, even in stock form. Do the reliability upgrades Mitch suggested, take a spare belt and check your oil levels (take extra oil, possibly several quarts of it, it will use oil when running 7 quarts, but it's cheaper than replacing a rod bearing). You might throw in a fresh air filter while your at it.....

Be safe and have fun!

 

Ok thanks guys. I now will be broke

 

I did a Performance Driving school back in the spring and the car did very well. I think I did well too but just because I had a great instructor. My only suspension mods are LCAs, SFCs, and Bilstein HDs. I think the SFCs and shocks really helped. IMO, good brake pads are the #1 thing. I have ceramic pads and could not have ran as fast as I did without them.

I ran my street tires - BFG KDW. They did great as well. I agree that you don't need track tires to start out. DRs are probably not a good choice either. Also, run the same tire at all 4 corners.

There is some technique in getting these cars around a corner fast. Brake before the turn and start getting back on the gas as soon as you can in the turn. That settles the car. If you get it right, these cars are fairly impressive on a road coarse.

 

I just installed some EBC red stuff brake pads, but my damn rotors I machined were right at discard spec ( after machining) that is for the right fron and the left front is .01 thicker than the right.

how bad is this?

Im going to change my rotors in 5 weeks, So I dont think I can worry.

Also I used Dot 4 brake fluid( Valvoline Syn power) and We used the machine at our school to bleed it, but the fluid was almost out, so we decided to bench bleed it. We bled it manually and I think I got most of the fluid out.

When I pump the pedal, should it stiffen up, when Im bleeding out the fluid, because we did each tire so many times, until we saw almost no bubbles at all. But it still felt too spongey, But after I drove it, they seem to hold decent. Im just unsure If Im gettingthe full potential out of them. The pedal feels like it engages very slightly lower than before, but that could be because of how thin I machined my rotors. and the brake pads like I mentioned, seem to be holding dlightly better than OEM pads. So IDK, any input would help.

 

If it's at all possible, I'd put new rotors on it and keep those as spares. You want all the mass you can get for heat absorbtion. And, I'd fear that they could (slight possibility) crack if you use them hard enough (since they are so thin).

 

I know, but Im on such a limited Budget. I will do what I can.

Yes Trackbird what you told me is exactlyy what I would have done, if money was abundantly available.

I also want to get my pulley installed while I get a new belt and keep the old one as a spare. But like I said, time and money are scarce as of this moment.

 

Ok Im ordering stuff. Its on this thread

https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...25#post6098725

 

If it's not too late, do NOT get the drilled/slotted rotors. They are for show only, they don't help stop any better. All you're doing is cutting down on surface area and making the rotor even more suseptable to cracking. Around 8-10 yrs ago, brake pads were made with a different compound, that produced a gas when heated. Then you needed the drilled/slotted, to vent the gas. Now, pads are different, and don't make the same gas which would effectively insulate the pad from the rotor. The best rotors are Brembo blanks, meaning solid, plain rotors. There are many threads on this, plus pics of all out, no expense spared racecars, running SOLID rotors. With full race pads probably costing several hundred dollars a set, they wouldn't skimp on rotors.

 

Donaimian, you tried.....

It appears that you disregarded most of the information that we gave you. And it's not so much that I care how you spend your money, but the advice you were given was an effort to keep you safe (which is why we didn't ever mention a 25mm rear sway bar....anywhere) and to assist your learning curve. Someone once told me "you can do it right, or you can do it over". Most of us have done it over and were trying to save you the headaches we've encountered and the money we spent.

Again, I don't care how you spend your money. But I make these suggestions in an effort to keep you safer on a race track. I predict that this car will be a handful and there will be a greatly increased chance of you finding something solid with it. I hope not, but the stock shocks are "fair" (ok, they are mostly crap when they are new) and with lowering springs they are very poor. So far you've built a nice signature, but a poor track car. Again, I'm not trying to make you mad, I'm trying to keep you and the car in one piece. They call it "tough love". You bought enough stuff that you didn't need that you could have put a set of Koni's on the car with stock springs and been far better off.

Koni SA's
35mm front bar
Brake pads/fluid and new serpentine belt (durability mods)

That's about $1,000, give or take a bit and you'd have been far better off. If you want to build an impressive sounding car, you're on your way. If you want a car you can drive quickly and safely, you're headed in the wrong direction.

One more thing. Your thread title says "racing". HPDE days are NOT, I repeat NOT racing. If you start to think it is racing, you'll greatly increase your chances of bending the car. Many have fallen into that trap and many cars have sufferered because of it.

Just my thoughts.

Be safe out there.

 

too late for me

edit: No big deal I will just get different rotors and use the cross drilled for after the track day when I crack my rotors. so should I just use OEM rotors for track day or what?

 

Ok well, thanks a lot for the info. but no offense. I tries taking your advice, but I probably put a few peoples advice together and ended up with a bad combo.

Just tell me this.

I should get different rotors, not install the rear sway bar and get new shocks. would that make it a much better track car?

and after my track day, would it be good to install the drilled rotors? I will be running them with the yellowstuff pads.

edit:

I read the bold lettering in my quote. Ok

I will keep the 5 pt harness and race seat

I will install Konis, and different rotors.

I will not install the rear swaybar.

and I think thats about it.

Im also going to get different rear tires as well. I think this should help me a lot.

Also is it worth changing my battery?

Ill probably have under 900 available, excluding the parts I already rdered, because this year CHristmas is being generous

So the rotors, new tires, shocks should be affordable. Sound good?

 

I'd run solid rotors (OEM) and either send back the drilled rotors, or (if you must) use them for street use (I'd dump them all together if it were me). I'd run the 35mm front and leave the stock rear bar on the car, yes. However, the problem is that the 25mm bar is huge for these cars and there are very few situations where you'd want that bar (and most of them involve cutting, welding and more serious modifications that are far beyond bolt on suspension stuff). So, since you'll probably not have a real use for it ever, I'd swap the sway bar kit for a single 35mm front bar and pocket the change. Again, trying to save you money and keep you from dealing with a car that's a handfull.

And I do feel that you'll be far better off with a 35mm bar and Koni SA's (and pads and good brake fluid) on a track than with the combo you've outlined. The shocks control the car in transition and the stock stuff is sloppy. The car will feel (and be) far more stable and predictable on the track with the Koni's. The 35mm bar will increase roll resistance which keeps the car flatter, it also helps prevent camber loss (the car loses camber as it rolls) and by preventing the camber loss, it helps keep the front tires tread face flat/flatter on the ground and working as they should. This helps total grip considerably.

My thoughts.