Socalconstruction1

I have a 2011 Grand Sport with Catback and Intake on stock GY runflats. Juts tracked my car for the first time at Autocross Speedway and slid around a bunch, got worse each lap. Wanted to upgrade my tires and some suspension. I have ZR1 rims and PS2s that Inrun in the street and I put my stocks back on for the track, (I know my PS2s are much better) I don't want to damage my ZR1 rims on the track so I'm looking to buy some good tires for my stock GS rims. I don't want to go with pure race tires such as Hoosiers because I don't want to buy tires every 50 laps. So was thinking of getting some sport cups, I will only run them on the track, maybe I'll drive the car to the track with them on but that's all, other than tracking I will have my ZR1s on the car. The other mods I was thinkinking about are listed below;

Sport Cup tires in GS rims
Stage 2 sway bars from WCC 550$
Bilsteen shocks 500$
Control arm bushing kit WCC 500$
High temp brake fluid
Hawk Blue race brake pads. 360$
Track/ street alignment.

Can anyone help me out with advice, are the products and or parts I have listed worth installing or are there better brands? Will I see significant gains or are some of these not worth the money specifically for The shocks, bushing kit and sway bars, I want to stay in my price range for each and maybe my GS already has ample equipment??? I plan on tracking the car maybe once a month or every other month and I only drive the car maybe once a week on the streets. I'm very novice and don't know anything about performance parts other that what I've found online. Any advice is greatly appreciated.





My street look





My track look

dizzy8085

I run michelin pilot supersports in stock sizes on my stock grand sport wheels on the track.

Great forgiving but grippy street tire for a beginner.

In your position, I would do the michelin pilot super sports in stock size or possible 285/345 oversized combo some are running. By the time you wear these things out on the track, then you'll be ready for some R compounds.

For brakes, I run and carbotech xp10 front/xp8 rear and really like them, but am looking forward to stepping up to a big brake kit.

I swap pads and rotors back to stock for street.

My suspension is stock as of now, but I am starting off with just sway bars as the first upgrade. That way I can feel how each individual component changes the dynamics of the car.

Socalconstruction1

Thanks for your input, just curious, why choose the PSS over the Cup tires? Aren't he cups better for track? Also, I thought the GS GS the same brakes/ calipers as the Z06, and they were good enough for the track? Are the bigger brake kits that much better?

Maybe I'll jus start with the sway bars as well, and do upgrades in steps, sounds like a god idea. Plus it will satisfy my need of buying something new for a longer period of time hahah

Also, what is the diff in track and street brakes and rotors? Why not juts leave the track setup on all he time?

sccaGT1racer

You should put some good tires on it and set the alignment up for track use. when you outgrow that put some slicks on it. There is no reason to start throwing parts at a car that is probably considerably faster than you are at this point.

ROBMARZ

PSS are long wearing tires that provide good predictable grip - great for beginners+

Track brake pads listed are noisy and dusty and wear the rotors faster than street compounds. FWIW I run the very same combo on my GS - XP10/XP8 with slotted rotors (holes tend to crack) and PSS

deepcj7

I have cup tires, JOC shocks and sways, ST43 Raybestos pads. I've been extremely happy.

Socalconstruction1

Thank you Guys for your input, it's greatly appreciated. I know the car is way fate than me right now, I think my new plan will be;

Tires
Brakes pads/fluid
And still get the sway bars.

Is it better, or any different running the 19/20" rims compared to the 18/19" rims, performance and handling wise? I will try and get stock size tires for my GS stock rims.

Soloontario

Michelin PSS are better tires to learn with than Sport cup 2s.

I would not suggest you bother with bushings or sway bars yet but really suggest you use some stainless steel brake lines.

Do NOT use Hawk blue pads. They are really old tech and can destroy rotors in no time, especially with any street driving.

Socalconstruction1

I see everyone is telling me to go with the PSS over the Cup tires, but the cup tires have more grip, I will only be using these tires on nice dry days at the track, no street use, so I'm juts curious as to why everyone prefers to get a less sticky tire?? Can someone elaborate on this for me...

The SS brake lines sound good, I think I'll do that as well. And thanks for the tip on the Hawk Blue pads. I'll only use the pads for the track, but I'll try getting same as the guys listed above

troyguitar

I'd just run Nitto NT01's or Bridgestone RE-11's over either of the Michelins. Better heat tolerance and response than the PSS, better price than the sport cups. That with a bigger front sway bar (stock rear bar is fine) and an alignment should be more than enough to gain a lot of stability and cornering speed.

I had good luck with the carbotech XP12 pads and would run them again with stainless lines, good fluid, and whatever blank or slotted rotors you feel like buying - just avoid drilled.

Socalconstruction1

Another question, why stagger the break pads? Why not run the same in front as back? Isn't the car already set up to use less in the rear? And why do so many people run so many different ones, 12. 10. 8.???

dizzy8085

These guys are recommending PSS because they will be more forgiving than the stickier R compound tires. They'll make more noise before they go.
Like I said before. Once you go through a set of PSS then you'll be ready to step up to some R compounds.

I prefer the brake feel from a bit more aggressive pad up front than rear.

Soloontario

What he said.

The Super sports are much more forgiving and can be slid more with an easier recovery. They are also very resistant to heat cycling so they will be consistent which makes it a lot easier to learn. You will learn more with less overall grip at the beginning and the car will get out of shape at slightly lower speeds.

Socalconstruction1

Thanks for clarifying, I think I'll go with the SS and then move onto the RE-11s when their done. I talked to a guy at WCC and he said the REs are the way to go, he's been racing for 15 years. He also said to not buy a bunch of parts at once, juts better tires, brakes, break lines, fluid and alignment, said I should spend my first year learning to drive and then decide what I want or need and set my car up for my individual needs. So I'll start there.


Thanks to everyone's input, it's all been very helpful.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

My suggestions are below. If interested in Carbotech brake pads I will be happy to help we also sell the fluid.

Tires = PSS

Brake Fluid = Castrol SRF 1 liter $79.95

Front brakes = Carbotech XP10 $309.70

Rear brakes = Carbotech XP8 $265.05

truth.b

I would go with 18/19” because you'll have more tire options and they shouldn’t rub while at the same time being marginally lighter.

Staggering the brake pad compound is primarily due the temperature delta you will generate front to rear. By running and lesser compound in the rear you will have a greater chance of maintaining proper operating temperature. At my last track event I ran the 1-piece XP10 fronts and XP8 rears, and they were great.

My thoughts & recommendations:

• I would start with the RE-11's, my research has led me to believe they are a better tire than the PSS and you should learn more and get better life out of them. I run the Pole Positions because I daily my car and I don’t have a 2nd set of wheels yet.
• After tires I would buy seats & harness before upgrading any suspension hardware.
• I use the stock brake lines, but I did change out my fluid for DOT 4 (brakes & clutch)
• Below are the alignment specs that I use, and a video of my last outing.
• This was my first time using running XP10/XP8 so I chose not to compress my braking zone.
• For the entire 2-day event the brakes were solid and in hindsight I feel I could have waited at least 3 markers on both of the big straights and made the corners.

Driver: Intermediate
Car: Stock Engine & Suspension
Tires: Bridgestone Pole Positions




My "custom" Alignment that fits my driving style:




Video with Mild Track Alignment:

Bill Dearborn

Before buying tires you should check a few things to make sure the type and brand of tires is the problem with the sliding around..

The GY EMTs aren't all that bad of a track tire especially for novice and intermediate level drivers. When they are hot they stick pretty well. I ran a set of EMTs that had about half their tread life left (5/32) for 10 track days and they did very well. I pulled a few 1.3 G corners at the Glen running them. I don't bang shifts on a road course so didn't really notice any acceleration issues but for a street tire they provided great stopping and cornering grip. They didn't do badly until the rear tires started showing cords.

What were your starting tire pressures and what were your hot tire pressures? Also what were your wheel alignment settings? Make sure the tires were the problem and not the car setup. You want to avoid purchasing new tires and still having the same problem.

Changing to the PSS tires should be somewhat of an improvement over the EMTs since the Michelins have better grip. You could also do what I did and get some PS2 Run Flats. I have used those for a couple of track events where I had to drive over a thousand miles to get to the event. They did very well.

I don't know your driving level but doing things to the car's suspension before getting some seat time is probably the wrong way to go. I recommend holding off on bushings and sway bars at this time.

The first thing you should do for your brakes is increasing the amount of cooling air that gets fed to the front brakes.

The second thing to do is to use a higher temp brake fluid such as Wilwood 570 or 600 Plus. A low cost fluid that has a 500 degree dry boiling point is the Ford DOT3 fluid that is available at all Ford dealerships at a very reasonable price. Don't just think DOT4 since there are DOT3 fluids that outperform DOT4 fluids when it comes to dry boiling point and the Ford fluid is one of those.

I don't think you are ready for Hawk Blue or higher pads especially when running street tires. The Blues are an older compound that Hawk first started selling back in the mid 90s and have been surpassed by various DTC compounds. However, if you want a pad that is good at resurfacing your rotors while driving around town the Blues are the ones to use. Just be sure to thoroughly clean the iron rotor dust off your wheels when you get back.

Before jumping into race level pads I would recommend the lower cost Hawk HP+ which should suit a novice level driver. I used those for a couple of years even though I would over heat them toward the end of a session.

If you are going to continue tracking the car for a few years I would recommend going with aftermarket BBKs front and rear and the sooner the better. I spent a lot of money trying to get the stock system to hold up to the rigors of track use and that money would have been well spent paying for the BBKs I eventually installed like every body else told me to do when I first got the car. You get more money for your stock calipers and it is a lot easier to sell them if they are not all screwed up with embedded brake dust.

I have been tracking my 08Z since 2009 and have done a lot of track days with it. It is still all stock other than DRM shocks which I installed to help with corner exit on some bumpy corners at the Glen, Wilwood front and rear BBKs and CCW wheels/R compound tires.

Bill

TrackAire

I've had really good luck with the Nittos NT01's....they wear very well and most importantly they are very stable and predictable in hot temps. I've found my Michelins (PS or Sport Cups) tend to get greasy after hard laps if the temps are above 90 degrees and driven hard. Get a second set of wheels for your track tires.

I'd put your money into brake pads, brake fluid and alignment.

Since you are new to the track day thing, I found that the best modification that can be made was to the driver. I signed up for Bondurants 4 day Gran Prix driving course in 2011 and drove a C6 GS for 3 days and an open wheel formula Mazda for 1 day. Best money I could ever spend and it really showed me just how much faster these cars are than what 98% of the drivers out there can handle.

Your car is capable of so much with just the basic mods listed above, there are very few cars that can keep up unless their drivers are exceptional.

Because of the potential temps you drive in, the next round of mods would be brake cooling and upgrades to the motor cooling as you get faster and more aggressive. I wouldn't worry about anything else mod-wise until you start seeing brake issues, etc. Then it may be time to upgrade the brake system to different rotors, BBK, etc.

One you get there with more driving experience, then start thinking suspension upgrades, etc.

Good luck and have fun.

Socalconstruction1

Man your car sounds awesome! And your flying! Cool video. Is that stock exhaust?

Thanks for your input and info.

truth.b

Thanks. Yes the engine and exhaust is completely stock. NPP with the baffles always open, I use an external mic near the tag to the help combat wind noise.


If you ever interested in what you car can do in various situations check out my Youtube page. I got clips of Track Days, Drag Strips, and spirited mountain driving.

https://www.youtube.com/user/truthtbrown/videos