Z06-Nomad

I know this is the Autocross and Roadracing section, but I'm pretty sure many non-racing trackday guys hang here too, some of them beginners.

I just wanted to politely ask that the "experts" here try to evaluate a bit more what the person that asks a question is trying to accomplish with their car.

It seems to me like some of the responses here seem exagerated. Some guy will post "I'm going for my first track day" or " I track my car 4 times a year". Soon after the "you HAVE to use an oil cooler, you NEED a transmission cooler, you MUST use a differential cooler, you MUST switch your brake pads to some super aggressive pad, you NEED some exotic / expensive brake fluid" you get my drift...

Some of us just go out there for the love of high performance driving. We don't race anyone, we don't go *****-to-the-wall all the time, we start the day easy and end up at 7/10ths at our fastest.

I tracked my first 02 Z for a year and a half and my current 02 Z off and on in the last year. Both cars were stock. I had/have no oil cooler (just changed the oil after each event), had no transmission cooler... have NEVER seen a transmission overtemp warning, no differential cooler...with no problems, my brake fluid costs $3 dollars at the Ford service counter...never boiled it, depending on the track I have successfully used the stock Z06 brake pads (do change to mild race pads for very high speed tracks) etc, etc, with no problems.

I know that all that stuff is needed for real racing. I'm just trying to add a little perspective from us amateurs...

Thanks,
MD

StArrow68

Nomad, I think they know what you are saying but as with any hobby
people get passionate and it comes out in their discussions. Those
that want can get a perspective at both ends of the spectrum and
some will over kill out of the gate while others will be more measured.
It is really up to the driver. You have a point but you can't kill the
passion in the process and for them, they need all that stuff ...
Randy

freefall

It's an individual's own responsibility to determine whether to use the advice given to them or not.

Z06-Nomad

Good point.

MD

Z06-Nomad

Completely disagree !

It is the responsibility of the more knowlegable person to give appropriate advice.

For example if I have never been rock-climbing before (which I haven't) and I ask on the rock-climbing forum what do I need to go practice on one of those artificial walls they have at the mall, and a bunch of experts tell me I need to wear special shoes, and buy a top notch harness, and bring extra rope and equipment; I am going to believe them ! Yes, real climbers need all that stuff, but if all you really need to climb the practice wall is to show up in shorts and tennis shoes and the rest is provided by the operator, the "experts" gave you bad advice. They should have known better. They are the hardcore climbers, and you are depending on their advice.

MD

73-84 IMSA Widebody

I have found that most advise is tempered to the audience, I usually see questions in the answers about how much or what they are doing. I also see five different opinions, none of them wrong but from different perspectives. If you come in this forum and ask questions without having "some" basic knowledge you won't be able to choose what is best for your situation. Your points are valid, but I think the asker needs to do more than take any answer as gospel in this section or any other. I seek opinions and experience from here and elswhere and hope I make a more educated decision for myself.

vms4evr

While I hear what you are saying.

I think it is also the responsibility of the person asking the question to be more specific. Using your own examples for instance.

A./ I'm going to the track and was wondering what I should do to my car?

B./ I've got an 02 Z06 that is bone stock. I'm doing my 1st HPDE this weekend on VIR Full course. Is there anything that I should do to make it a safe and fun weekend?

I would expect answers closer to what I really need to know with Question B vs A. Question A is a setup to hear anything from nothing to the kitchen sink.

Spend a little time in this section also and figure out who are the racers, DE/TT, casual DE, autoxr's etc...

In the end you're asking people for their opinion. Opinions and your mileage may vary

Z06-Nomad

Very true. A well formulated question would go a long way towards preventing confusion.

MD

meldog21

I think most of the answers are gauged to the person asking the question. Especially for someone asking first trackday, etc. Normally they get advice for brake fluid, tire pressures, look ahead on the track, and pay attention to what your instructor says.

I'm sure the "experts" don't want to sound condesending and say, don't worry about anything but your driving because you're too slow for the car. What they normally do is give the best advice they can.

When people ask questions about brake upgrades, coolers, etc, it is usually because they have more experience and are going faster. If you are having trans temp, water temp, brake fade.. then that person is looking for a little more advanced level advice.

There are a lot of opinions on the internet. I think it is everyone's responsibility to decide for themselves who they believe or take advice from. When you get that advice you have to use it according to your own priorities and budget.


Dog

varkwso

Most folks will not come close to what the car can do - stock -for a while. I am not a hardcore racer but I sure see a lot of track time and guess what - my cars are near stock. They last longer that way I think - but I do have a new rad/oil cooler I am going to install in my primary track car as soon as my seattime allows it.

I think there have been plenty of people here who say make sure your car is mechanically sound, you have decent tires and plenty of pad. I still run takeoff ZO6 pads when I can get them (or any other free consumable I can find)...

There are also many here who have a passion to see the max their car(and them) can do and for them it takes aggressive pads, r compounds, coilovers, T1 bars, stroker motors, coolers and many, many other items to scratch that itch...

But the question you ask makes a big difference also...

AU N EGL

I think this section does a far better job provided appropated information to the questionee then other sections of this forum. Even if it has nothing to do with HPDEs, auto-x or racing.

I think we spend more time telling ppl what NOT to do, then go spend 10s of thousands of dollars on mods.

gpm30236

Very much agree, this is a very balanced helpful section of the forum that serves a wide range of users.

i have benefitted greatly from some of the advice here

As many have said it is up to the reader to decide on the applicability of the advice to their particular situation .

Wicked Weasel

Overall I think this is one of the best sections on the forum (FI is up there too). For the most you dont have people chiming in with no knowledge of what they are talking about.

that being said it is sometimes hard to figure out the experience of the person asking a question for the first time in this section. regulars in this section kind of know the experience level of other regulars so they can give better answers/suggestions to their questions, but with new people it is really hard to figure out their experience level.

I do know lately I have been trying to answer questions from 2 different view points. One is a guy that goes to the track for the first time and the other is for someone that is looking to advance at the track. Yesterday on the Z06 forum I answered a guy this way. One answer was going to the track with stock tires and the other was using a track tire or more aggressive tire.

DOUG @ ECS

Point well taken,
Although I thought the same thing the first time I went out, "I dont need all the extra pads etc etc, I'm just a weekend worrior at best". Well half way through the first hot session I completely lost my brakes to overheating without any warning other than a bright blue wall coming at me at Watkins Glen.(luckily just missed by maybe a foot in turn 9) So take the advice as you need it, if you know your an agressive driver...listen! If not take some things with a grain of salt, only you know best.

NoOne

There is a balance to this answer.

I am a 'casual' track dayer.

As an examplel when someone asks what they should do my personal feeling is I'd recommend a track pad over a Z06 pad.

Does everyone need a true track pad...no, will most get by with a Z06 pad...maybe.

But here is what comes in my mind, your spending $200 or so to goto a track day. Way more if your travelling, hotel, etc.

Your looking at a premium for a track pad, but used track pads are a great deal.

So do you tell someone they can get away with Z06 pads, and they might, only have them have fade problems in the 1st session and lose the rest of your day having fun.

My philosophy is don't skimp on $50-60, even if you don't need it, if it might ruin your day and then your out a couple of hundred.

A lot of people don't like that answer. I've had plenty of people want to come to my track days and I tell them, buy some fluid and some pads. They don't like the idea of doingit...I could get them to come to the event if I didn't mention anything but then they'd smoke their pads/fluid in the first session.

MattW_VA

Best to err on the side of safety in my opinion. Track compound brake pads are *safer* than street pads because they are less likely to fade badly and leave you with no brakes. "exotic" brake fluid is *safer* because it is less likely to boil and leave you with no brakes.

I agree somewhat with freefall here, folks need to take whatever advice they get and apply as they see fit. We're talking about driving 3000 lb vessels made of steel and glass (well, and plastic too I guess) that will be travelling in close proximity to one another at triple digit speeds. A little bit of cash spent on making your brakes more reliable is probably a damn good idea. Hopefully it will be like insurance, you don't want to ever have to need it but you have it just the same, right?

gonzalezfj

You make some good points, although I think that replies in this section are pretty much on target.

One area where we need to be very cautious is in our recommendations regarding braking systems. Z06s (both C5 and C6) have brake systems that are more than adequate for street and light track driving. But since I don't know how aggressive the poster is in his or her driving, I tend to err on the side of caution.

I am one of those guys that recommends a good DOT4 brake fluid (I use AP, but there many other good ones) and better pads. These are not really expensive mods and may well save the newbie from hitting a wall somewhere.

Being newbies, they may not be aware of (or may not be alert for) the signs of impending brake failure, fade, fluid boiling, etc. Better to have them spend some money on the brakes early on, than run the risk of hurting themselves or their car. If they continue to improve their driving, they will soon need better fluid and pads anyway, so the early expense would not be a waste of money.

My $0.02. YMMV.

Frank Gonzalez

Timz06

You are getting free advice on the internet. People giving advice have no obligation whatsoever. Obviously, you will get a wide range of responses, it's up to you to sort through this info and figure out what applies to you.

Bob 33

Overall, I have found that the advice posted on this forum is on-target and thoughtful, refreshingly free of the uninformed bs that is posted on some websites. Note how often the recommended solution to most performance problems is "seat time." Also, safety, cooling, and related topics that are unlikely to fire the passions of the hotdogger or bs specialist. Bad or questonable advice is quickly (and politely--no flaming) corrected. Note also how often newbys are asked to clarify their objectives so that better answers can be provided. Most here appreciate the simple joys of blowing by cars with 20k worth of performance shop upgrades with their stock rides. I do!

Bob 33

Lancer033

borrowed from www.boortz.com