Prep for track weekend (road course)
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,060
Likes: 80
From: Fort Mill, SC
Prep for track weekend (road course)
Im considering a track weekend.. kinda like my last bucket list item.. I have a lot of scca racing experience so I THINK I know what I need to do but.. maybe I am missing something specifically on a corvette.
My car is a 1996 automatic (yeah I know, but I managed to get into a motorcycle accident and am now somewhat handicapped in my right arm so I opted for automatic). Turns out after surgeries I could do stick now but.. aw hell.
It is pretty much bone stock except I lowered the rear a little (got rid of the luggage compensation).
So here is what Im thinking:
1. brake pads.. I have intentionally put autocross pads in the rear because on the street the rear does almost nothing with the factory bias which seems stupid to me with ABS but it is what it is. So Im thinking that they will get too hot and then fail. I dunno.. Im on the fence on this one. My thought is just bring pads and then look sad about it and hope someone will help me replace them
2. change oil (done)
3. Brake hoses.. I really dont want to do these.. must I? They look factory. Im thinking yes. They 'look' fine. I did replace brake fluid when I bought it with good stuff but if I do hoses will do fluid.
4. Im gonna have to bite the bullet and any hose that has hot coolant in it has to be changed or I may have a really crappy weekend.. including heater hoses.
5. I dont want to deal with the fuel pickup issue in the tank so I think as long as I am 1/2 tank or higher I should be ok? Seems to starve at 1/3 tank.
6. Like #4 Im thinking I need to bite it and do the trans fluid/filter.. I hate doing that because ive read nightmares about new trans fluid causing issues. thoughts? It is pretty red.
7. Clean out all the leaves and crap in front and behind the radiator (done)
8. tires.. should be ok there.
9. Im thinking I better go ahead and modify the fan turn on point.. it gets damn hot according to analog gauge (before fans kick on) but seems not as bad on digital.. is it likely the analog temp sensor is bad and where is it anyway?
10. New coolant. Its green now.. is that bad? Been green since I bought it in 2017. Please dont tell me it is bad.
11. Spend an afternoon "nut and bolting" it.. basically touching every nut and bolt I can find on the car to make sure nothing is loose.
Are there any steering or suspension joints that I should replace like a tie rod end? Bushings? Really dont want to take 4 laps and then have a suspension component go bad. Shocks are pretty new, albeit not bilsteins. I plan to take a drive out in the boonies and look for a large parking lot to do some hard turning to shake it out.
Well.. that is all I have.. did I miss something obvious or not so obvious? Im thinking if suspension joints are gonna need replacement Im gonna pass on this. Although I could just get my wallet out and have someone do them.
My car is a 1996 automatic (yeah I know, but I managed to get into a motorcycle accident and am now somewhat handicapped in my right arm so I opted for automatic). Turns out after surgeries I could do stick now but.. aw hell.
It is pretty much bone stock except I lowered the rear a little (got rid of the luggage compensation).
So here is what Im thinking:
1. brake pads.. I have intentionally put autocross pads in the rear because on the street the rear does almost nothing with the factory bias which seems stupid to me with ABS but it is what it is. So Im thinking that they will get too hot and then fail. I dunno.. Im on the fence on this one. My thought is just bring pads and then look sad about it and hope someone will help me replace them
2. change oil (done)
3. Brake hoses.. I really dont want to do these.. must I? They look factory. Im thinking yes. They 'look' fine. I did replace brake fluid when I bought it with good stuff but if I do hoses will do fluid.
4. Im gonna have to bite the bullet and any hose that has hot coolant in it has to be changed or I may have a really crappy weekend.. including heater hoses.
5. I dont want to deal with the fuel pickup issue in the tank so I think as long as I am 1/2 tank or higher I should be ok? Seems to starve at 1/3 tank.
6. Like #4 Im thinking I need to bite it and do the trans fluid/filter.. I hate doing that because ive read nightmares about new trans fluid causing issues. thoughts? It is pretty red.
7. Clean out all the leaves and crap in front and behind the radiator (done)
8. tires.. should be ok there.
9. Im thinking I better go ahead and modify the fan turn on point.. it gets damn hot according to analog gauge (before fans kick on) but seems not as bad on digital.. is it likely the analog temp sensor is bad and where is it anyway?
10. New coolant. Its green now.. is that bad? Been green since I bought it in 2017. Please dont tell me it is bad.
11. Spend an afternoon "nut and bolting" it.. basically touching every nut and bolt I can find on the car to make sure nothing is loose.
Are there any steering or suspension joints that I should replace like a tie rod end? Bushings? Really dont want to take 4 laps and then have a suspension component go bad. Shocks are pretty new, albeit not bilsteins. I plan to take a drive out in the boonies and look for a large parking lot to do some hard turning to shake it out.
Well.. that is all I have.. did I miss something obvious or not so obvious? Im thinking if suspension joints are gonna need replacement Im gonna pass on this. Although I could just get my wallet out and have someone do them.
Oil Producer
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 9,372
Likes: 2,736
Im considering a track weekend.. kinda like my last bucket list item.. I have a lot of scca racing experience so I THINK I know what I need to do but.. maybe I am missing something specifically on a corvette.
My car is a 1996 automatic (yeah I know, but I managed to get into a motorcycle accident and am now somewhat handicapped in my right arm so I opted for automatic). Turns out after surgeries I could do stick now but.. aw hell.
It is pretty much bone stock except I lowered the rear a little (got rid of the luggage compensation).
So here is what Im thinking:
1. brake pads.. I have intentionally put autocross pads in the rear because on the street the rear does almost nothing with the factory bias which seems stupid to me with ABS but it is what it is. So Im thinking that they will get too hot and then fail. I dunno.. Im on the fence on this one. My thought is just bring pads and then look sad about it and hope someone will help me replace them
———
i run what one eyed willie does which is dynamic friction active performance pads.
2. change oil (done)
3. Brake hoses.. I really dont want to do these.. must I? They look factory. Im thinking yes. They 'look' fine. I did replace brake fluid when I bought it with good stuff but if I do hoses will do fluid.
——-
i didnt until much later. i guess there is always a chance they could “let go” but personally ive never put new ones on. even my racer i put used stainless. i run motul 660
4. Im gonna have to bite the bullet and any hose that has hot coolant in it has to be changed or I may have a really crappy weekend.. including heater hoses.
——-
i didnt do this. but i was newb. i did chexk all my fitings though. u r an ex racer....so u may be much harder than me.
5. I dont want to deal with the fuel pickup issue in the tank so I think as long as I am 1/2 tank or higher I should be ok? Seems to starve at 1/3 tank.
——-
agree. i do take a fuel can to get me through and avoid having to go fillup.
6. Like #4 Im thinking I need to bite it and do the trans fluid/filter.. I hate doing that because ive read nightmares about new trans fluid causing issues. thoughts? It is pretty red.
—
no comment here. never taken an auto to track. will your hvac unit show you the trans temp?
7. Clean out all the leaves and crap in front and behind the radiator (done)
8. tires.. should be ok there.
9. Im thinking I better go ahead and modify the fan turn on point.. it gets damn hot according to analog gauge (before fans kick on) but seems not as bad on digital.. is it likely the analog temp sensor is bad and where is it anyway?
——
again, use hvac head unit to see actual temp. press up/down fan arrow together untill -00 comes on head unit. now press up fan speed arrow until you see -16. now press the button btwn the fan speed arrows and it will show u the coolant temp digital readout.
you may also be able to see trans temp this way. refer to shop manual.
10. New coolant. Its green now.. is that bad? ——
Been green since I bought it in 2017. Please dont tell me it is bad. if u r green now and its been fine just stick with it. i do believe the 96 was dexcool but do not mix them is what i was told. id leave it.
11. Spend an afternoon "nut and bolting" it.. basically touching every nut and bolt I can find on the car to make sure nothing is loose.
—
personally thats all id do to coolant hoses unless u see buldging
Are there any steering or suspension joints that I should replace like a tie rod end? Bushings? Really dont want to take 4 laps and then have a suspension component go bad. Shocks are pretty new, albeit not bilsteins. I plan to take a drive out in the boonies and look for a large parking lot to do some hard turning to shake it out.
——
again id just run it.
Well.. that is all I have.. did I miss something obvious or not so obvious? Im thinking if suspension joints are gonna need replacement Im gonna pass on this. Although I could just get my wallet out and have someone do them.
My car is a 1996 automatic (yeah I know, but I managed to get into a motorcycle accident and am now somewhat handicapped in my right arm so I opted for automatic). Turns out after surgeries I could do stick now but.. aw hell.
It is pretty much bone stock except I lowered the rear a little (got rid of the luggage compensation).
So here is what Im thinking:
1. brake pads.. I have intentionally put autocross pads in the rear because on the street the rear does almost nothing with the factory bias which seems stupid to me with ABS but it is what it is. So Im thinking that they will get too hot and then fail. I dunno.. Im on the fence on this one. My thought is just bring pads and then look sad about it and hope someone will help me replace them
———
i run what one eyed willie does which is dynamic friction active performance pads.
2. change oil (done)
3. Brake hoses.. I really dont want to do these.. must I? They look factory. Im thinking yes. They 'look' fine. I did replace brake fluid when I bought it with good stuff but if I do hoses will do fluid.
——-
i didnt until much later. i guess there is always a chance they could “let go” but personally ive never put new ones on. even my racer i put used stainless. i run motul 660
4. Im gonna have to bite the bullet and any hose that has hot coolant in it has to be changed or I may have a really crappy weekend.. including heater hoses.
——-
i didnt do this. but i was newb. i did chexk all my fitings though. u r an ex racer....so u may be much harder than me.
5. I dont want to deal with the fuel pickup issue in the tank so I think as long as I am 1/2 tank or higher I should be ok? Seems to starve at 1/3 tank.
——-
agree. i do take a fuel can to get me through and avoid having to go fillup.
6. Like #4 Im thinking I need to bite it and do the trans fluid/filter.. I hate doing that because ive read nightmares about new trans fluid causing issues. thoughts? It is pretty red.
—
no comment here. never taken an auto to track. will your hvac unit show you the trans temp?
7. Clean out all the leaves and crap in front and behind the radiator (done)
8. tires.. should be ok there.
9. Im thinking I better go ahead and modify the fan turn on point.. it gets damn hot according to analog gauge (before fans kick on) but seems not as bad on digital.. is it likely the analog temp sensor is bad and where is it anyway?
——
again, use hvac head unit to see actual temp. press up/down fan arrow together untill -00 comes on head unit. now press up fan speed arrow until you see -16. now press the button btwn the fan speed arrows and it will show u the coolant temp digital readout.
you may also be able to see trans temp this way. refer to shop manual.
10. New coolant. Its green now.. is that bad? ——
Been green since I bought it in 2017. Please dont tell me it is bad. if u r green now and its been fine just stick with it. i do believe the 96 was dexcool but do not mix them is what i was told. id leave it.
11. Spend an afternoon "nut and bolting" it.. basically touching every nut and bolt I can find on the car to make sure nothing is loose.
—
personally thats all id do to coolant hoses unless u see buldging
Are there any steering or suspension joints that I should replace like a tie rod end? Bushings? Really dont want to take 4 laps and then have a suspension component go bad. Shocks are pretty new, albeit not bilsteins. I plan to take a drive out in the boonies and look for a large parking lot to do some hard turning to shake it out.
——
again id just run it.
Well.. that is all I have.. did I miss something obvious or not so obvious? Im thinking if suspension joints are gonna need replacement Im gonna pass on this. Although I could just get my wallet out and have someone do them.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 4,648
Likes: 1,059
From: N.E. Ohio OH
Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
Joe,
There was a guy in the Corvette club we used to belong to that successfully campaigned an automatic. One thing that I do remember him telling me he did (I only met him once, mostly he was on the road) was he ran a fan cooled transmission cooler under the back end where the spare tire goes. I gathered that he fabbed up something to support it. I believe keeping the transmission cool will be important. Think about this.
Dave
There was a guy in the Corvette club we used to belong to that successfully campaigned an automatic. One thing that I do remember him telling me he did (I only met him once, mostly he was on the road) was he ran a fan cooled transmission cooler under the back end where the spare tire goes. I gathered that he fabbed up something to support it. I believe keeping the transmission cool will be important. Think about this.
Dave
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,060
Likes: 80
From: Fort Mill, SC
Thanks for all these suggestions. Im not so much concerned with safety (should be I know) but I dont know how many of you have prepped for a weekend like this but it is a LOT of work and the weekend itself can be exhausting. So if I get there and get 4 laps in and I break its gonna suck. I do plan to rent a trailer (have a truck) because my expectation is there is a 60% chance I will break.
One other question.. my 96 has 74k on it and is pretty minty.. is there a clear plastic shield I can temporarily place on some of the body work? Road courses have a lot of sticky clumps of rubber on them and stuff gets kicked up a lot. Really dont want to see lots of chips after the weekend is over.
Again, Id like to stress this one: does anyone have experience replacing trans fluid? Im really concerned about the impact on the trans.. Perhaps I just dont drop the pan but drain out much of it by disconnecting the connection to the radiator and running the car in neutral for a short period of time.. I would think the pump would drain 80% of it and then I just replace with same amount drained. Filter would be nice though.. ugh. Maybe just bring it to one of those quick lube places and watch them closely.
One other question.. my 96 has 74k on it and is pretty minty.. is there a clear plastic shield I can temporarily place on some of the body work? Road courses have a lot of sticky clumps of rubber on them and stuff gets kicked up a lot. Really dont want to see lots of chips after the weekend is over.
Again, Id like to stress this one: does anyone have experience replacing trans fluid? Im really concerned about the impact on the trans.. Perhaps I just dont drop the pan but drain out much of it by disconnecting the connection to the radiator and running the car in neutral for a short period of time.. I would think the pump would drain 80% of it and then I just replace with same amount drained. Filter would be nice though.. ugh. Maybe just bring it to one of those quick lube places and watch them closely.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 396
From: Northwest Ohio
Thanks for all these suggestions. Im not so much concerned with safety (should be I know) but I dont know how many of you have prepped for a weekend like this but it is a LOT of work and the weekend itself can be exhausting. So if I get there and get 4 laps in and I break its gonna suck. I do plan to rent a trailer (have a truck) because my expectation is there is a 60% chance I will break.
One other question.. my 96 has 74k on it and is pretty minty.. is there a clear plastic shield I can temporarily place on some of the body work? Road courses have a lot of sticky clumps of rubber on them and stuff gets kicked up a lot. Really dont want to see lots of chips after the weekend is over.
Again, Id like to stress this one: does anyone have experience replacing trans fluid? Im really concerned about the impact on the trans.. Perhaps I just dont drop the pan but drain out much of it by disconnecting the connection to the radiator and running the car in neutral for a short period of time.. I would think the pump would drain 80% of it and then I just replace with same amount drained. Filter would be nice though.. ugh. Maybe just bring it to one of those quick lube places and watch them closely.
One other question.. my 96 has 74k on it and is pretty minty.. is there a clear plastic shield I can temporarily place on some of the body work? Road courses have a lot of sticky clumps of rubber on them and stuff gets kicked up a lot. Really dont want to see lots of chips after the weekend is over.
Again, Id like to stress this one: does anyone have experience replacing trans fluid? Im really concerned about the impact on the trans.. Perhaps I just dont drop the pan but drain out much of it by disconnecting the connection to the radiator and running the car in neutral for a short period of time.. I would think the pump would drain 80% of it and then I just replace with same amount drained. Filter would be nice though.. ugh. Maybe just bring it to one of those quick lube places and watch them closely.
Honestly I might just run it as is and check it after each session to see if it’s darkening. If so you may then have to take it easy, if not you are likely not scorching anything. I would definitely consider changing it after the weekend.
Hopefully someone else has better advice backed with auto trans track experience.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 4,648
Likes: 1,059
From: N.E. Ohio OH
Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
If you don't want to drop the pan, but want to put in some fresh fluid, check the diameter of the tube and see if one of the $7.00 Harbor Freight transfer pump tubes will go down it and you can pump it out from on top, capture and put exactly the same amount back in. Won't get what in the torque converter, but will get what is mostly in the pan.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 432
Likes: 128
The trans fluid is a must, the autos get pretty toasty when pushed hard, especially with the old fluid in there. New fluid will not hurt it one bit. The trans will last longer, and run cooler with fresh fluid, even more so with the more modern Dexron 6 stuff. Between new fluid, and a small cooler, I saw much lower trans temps on my '96. Used to hit 220-230F with pretty tame mountain road driving, now it rarely goes over 200F when thrashing it, and it cools down much faster when cruising after a proper thrashing too(or a cooldown lap on the track).
Brand does not matter, if it's got the Dex 6 approval on the bottle it's good to go, no need to spend lots of money on it. The job itself is no big deal, it's just a bit time consuming. The only pain in the **** part was getting the shift linkage bracket off and back on, it's a tight fit. It's worth it to drop the pan and replace the filter. Have new pan gasket on hand, you'll need it. When I did this job, I had a new pan with a drain plug ready to replace the stock one, so that I can quickly and easily drain and fill once more after replacing and driving for a bit, just to ensure the bulk of the fluid is new. Makes future filter and fluid changes easier as well.
Brand does not matter, if it's got the Dex 6 approval on the bottle it's good to go, no need to spend lots of money on it. The job itself is no big deal, it's just a bit time consuming. The only pain in the **** part was getting the shift linkage bracket off and back on, it's a tight fit. It's worth it to drop the pan and replace the filter. Have new pan gasket on hand, you'll need it. When I did this job, I had a new pan with a drain plug ready to replace the stock one, so that I can quickly and easily drain and fill once more after replacing and driving for a bit, just to ensure the bulk of the fluid is new. Makes future filter and fluid changes easier as well.
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Race Director
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 13,961
Likes: 707
From: WI
The biggest issues I've seen are needing high heat brake pads, better cooling for water and trans. Replace PS fluid with red line fluid. Run all or mostly water anything that can help keep temp down. Synthetic trans fluid and a cooler.