DIYBrad

I am sure some of this has been beat to death with a wooden spoon but i figure why not beat it up some more. I just bought my 2011 Z06 Carbon about 2 months ago and i am ready to start putting it on the track. I am virgin on the road coarse and i am looking for guidance on which track (Sebring, PBIR, Homestead) is the best for learning and which organization i should go with (Chin, NASA, PDG)? I am open to all three tracks and all three organizations but looking for experience from people that have done it before.

Also, on the car set up, i am leaving it 100% stock performance wise for the time being. I can see its already going to be more car than i can handle on a track for quite some time. I am about to order stainless brake lines and flush/upgrade the brake fluid along with fresh fluid in the diff, trans, clutch and engine. I just put new MSC2 tires on the factory 20/19 wheels but i need to do an alignment. Is there an alignment that is acceptable for the track and street or will i just need to suck it up and do an alignment before and after each event (car will be driven to and from the track up to 300 Miles each way to Homestead). I plan on doing 6 -7 events this year based on my budget.

Next are the brakes. This car had 5700 miles on it when i bought it and i can guarantee the brakes were never burnished. Should i do this before or after i do the stainless lines and fluids? When doing this, do all 30 0-60-0 stops need to be back to back? Are the factory carbon ceramic pads up to the task? And lastly, for a novice, how many track days should i expect out of the ceramic rotors and pads? Since new pads and rotors cost around $5k, I am budgeting $500 for rotors/pads per HPDE. Is this over/under/pretty close? If i get addicted like i expect, i may swap to Essex AP Racing BBKs once these rotors are done.

How many track days can a novice plan on getting out of the MSC2s? I budgeted for 4 HPDE events or 8 days/16 sessions. Is this realistic?

I am contemplating race seats that i can swap in and out for each track day but i am not completely sure yet. If i did swap seats, what seats and brackets does everyone recommend? I am 5' 10" 190lbs if that helps. I will also need a harness bar and harnesses so any recommendations there would be of help.

Heads aren't addressed yet but i am trying to decide what direction i want to go here. Not sure i can talk myself into opening the engine up and not doing mild cam while in there but then headers, manifold, throttle body etc would happen and i could kiss $10k bye. i know opinions are this are a dime a dozen but my top two choices after reading would be AHP or Katech.

I am open to any suggestions, comments and criticism.

Brad

SIK02SS

Leave the car as is for now, but definitely get the heads addressed. AHP or WCCH would be the way to go imo. Every track is different, and with that comes different challenges. Sebring has a lot of walls. Homestead has a very intimidating wall as well.

As for setup, keep it as is. Everyone’s driving styles and habits are different. As is there pace in “getting up to speed”. While the padlets aren’t the best option, they should be plenty for your first couple times at least. I would recommend changing brake/clutch fluid out to Castrol SRF (or Motul) as the car will prefer it over stock. Oil change if you haven’t already. Otherwise it just comes down to seat time, learning the track, and how to control the car on track

DIYBrad

By padlets, i assume you mean pads..? If the factory pads that come on the ceramics aren't the best option, what would be? I am not worried about my skill but more so a pad that prematurely wears the ceramic rotor due to my lack of braking knowledge.

rocsvette

I trained GM engineers in C6 ZR1s at various tracks as part of the HPDE program I started. those cars had the carbon ceramic rotor/pad combo you refer to. they are more than sufficient for your purposes although we quickly found that solid bedding was essential. we did several runs of 100-0 on the VIR front straight until smoke appeared and that did the trick but I think later GM actually came out with a lower speed method. we had 2 engineers sharing each car and at the end of 2 days the brakes were just fine, that's for 16 + run sessions on a long and high speed track with elevation changes. Here in Florida you eliminate the elevation aspect and even with the length of Sebring, you should be fine. These brakes are an entirely different animal from the stock metal rotor brakes and if you had those on your car I would recommend ditching the drilled rotors and going to Carbotech XP10 pads for the track (1-piece pads instead of those padlets)

topmover

You have a great car for what you want to do. I've tracked 3 cars with CC Brakes and I have a good bit of Florida experience with the tracks and groups you refer to. If you send me a PM with your contact info I'll give you my insight. I may or may not be able to get back with you today but will get with you as soon as I can.