Just wondering what kind of maintenance should be done after a track day. And by track day I made 3 fifteen minutes run yesterday. It's a 2014 Z51, I have owned it since July 1st of this year. I read some Z51 break in document yesterday that says you should change your oil after a track day. I have only put on like 700 miles in 2 months.

Overall car was fantastic! However on the last run towards the end I could feel the brake pedal getting soft so I hit the pits and called it a day. I'm guessing upgraded brake pads for the track and a higher temperature resistant brake fluid would be beneficial?

 

Did you do the GM published track prep prior to the event?

 

Officially GM wants you to change back to 5W30 after a track day but Tadge has a good response on this and if you read between the lines it's for fuel economy and cat converter protection. IMHO, changing oil after 45 min of track time is a waste and most people just leave the 15W50 in during the summer. You'll find that your oil life % won't drop substantially from track use.

Regarding brakes I hope you put in high temp brake fluid. If not do that, if so then it's time for a track pad change.

One other maintenance to not forget is the rear diff but I think it's like 24hrs of track use but I plan to just make it an annual maintenance item.

 

Before a track day:

Flush the brake lines with fresh (500º+) fluid.
If oil has more than 1,000 miles on it change the oil.
Check and top up the differential oil.
Check and top up the transmission oil or ATF.
Check the brake pads for wear and rotors for width.
Check tire pressures and tread depth.
Check coolant level.

After a track day:

Change the oil.
Check tires for pressure and tread depth.
Schedule a transmission oil change,
Schedule a Differential oil change,
check brake pads for wear and rotors for width.

 

Did you change the 5W-30 to 15W-50 before you went to the track?

I had an HPDE on AAA track in Fontana, but didn't change to 15W-50 before hand. Threw a rod, destroyed the block, and the oil hit the catalytic converter and flashed. GM said, "Too bad. You didn't follow owner's manual instructions. Your fault. No warranty. Not our problem." For me it's been an expensive ordeal. Bottom line: Read every word of the manual, and do what it says, or GM will leave you high and dry, without a kiss.

 

I don't think not changing the oil was the cause. Most that do track days with the C7 don't bother.

2015 Procharged z51:
I have ran numerous track days (three 20 min sessions) with 5W-30 hitting near max coolant and oil temps on 100 degree ambient days (and I drive the **** out of it) with no problems.

All I have done for track prep for the past 2 years was high temp brake fluid. And after every 2 track days or so, i'll bleed the brakes.

I am getting a bit more serious and now finally changed to 15w-50 on my next track day and since I live in Texas and only drive it during warm days, i'll never go back to 5w-30 and will change at the intervals the car asks for (if below 30% or so, I'll change before the track day). I also have track pads that will go in this time around.

In my opinion, unless you're an high intermediate to advanced level driver, then all you need is high temp brake fuild. If your track has long straights (120+ mph), then you'll also want track pads but its not necessary, you just have to be smart. A soft pedal is brake fluid, a normal pedal and no bite is pads, try to get used to knowing the difference if you don't know it yet. You don't need to change the oil before/after each day, that's overkill unless you're trying to keep GM repairing it. Like Pete said, change to 15w-50 and keep it in if you plan on doing multiple track days, if not, whatever.

Otherwise.... do all your visual fluid and wear checks including rotors. Check your tires for wear/damage, if you plan on doing more track days, you probably want some camber. Put your tires back up to proper pressure (hoping you lowered them before going on track).

 

Makes sure that's negative camber.

You should always have new fresh brake fluid from an unopened bottle before your track day. If you haven't already, learn how to bleed (flush) the brakes yourself, and save a whole bunch of money. Plus, dealerships don't always do it the way you would. I had them do it once on my C4, and they left the wheels on, getting fluid all over the wheels. I bitched at the tech about it, and then made them do it again because they put in the wrong stuff. I noticed that he took off the wheels the second time.

Oil changes should be more frequent, but the advice given above is probably spot-on. I wouldn't bother with the 15W-50 unless you were in a hot climate, but hey, it's cheap insurance so why not?

Racing brake pads are probably only needed for advanced drivers or on really high speed tracks like Road America. Back when I would swap pads between street and race, I'd also have a dedicated set of rotors for the different pad materials.

 

There have been multiple reports of GM not covering engine failures on track of your don't run the specified 15W50 oil. It doesn't matter what you did this last time but if consider that essential going forward.

As far as what is required now, I believe the owners manual specifies to change the diff fluid after your first track day. Changing the oil or trans fluid after every track day seems excessive unless you just plan on doing one a year.

 

You ran so little on the track I'd not worry about it. If the brakes where getting soft most likely you where riding them too much. At a 15 minute session even with stock fluid, which you should change out the brakes should not be going soft. Riding the brakes hammering them right through the corners will fade the brakes. Brake before the corner not before and during.

But get the 50W oil in next time. I have heard the GM warranty denial a couple of times because the car was on the track with stock oil.

 

Not to belabor the oil point but I was just flipping through the owners manual PDF looking for something else and found this quote under the "Track Events and Competitive Driving" section:

"Not changing the engine oil to
15W-50 may cause engine
damage. Engine oil must be
changed to 15W-50 synthetic."

 

Thanks for all the info everyone. First time I have ever tracked a car. I pretty much just showed up at the track and went racing. I plan on ordering some track pads and some daily driving pads (low dust). Engine oil was Mobil 1 5W30 that the dealer put in before I took ownership (July 1) and car has about 700 miles on it since then.

I plan on upgrading the brake fluid to a high temp fluid which I believe is OK to leave in the car. Meaning it's not going to cause any issues using high temp brake fluid for daily driving.

Is the 15W-50 better do to the higher RPM's and constantly being on the throttle? The track I did was the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway, so you have an inner road course section which doesn't have any straights really or time to cool the brakes. Once you get on the oval you are flying along around 140mph. Coming through the tri-oval around 120 and having to slow down to about 40 to make the hard left hander.

My 3 runs were about 15 minutes each. Car is a Z51 with 22K miles (2014) with 7 speed.

 

I was there, too. Silver Z06. For point of reference, I changed to 15W-50, DOT 4 fluid, and Ferodo DS2500 brake pads before the event (not a true racing pad; I wanted to drive on the street between track days). Hope you had as much fun as I did!

 

I know some people do this but it is a little excessive. There is no need to change the oil after each track event whether it be one day or three.
You can easily go several events without changing the oil.

There is no need to change transmission fluid that often on an M7. I did 16 track days last year and have 10 so far this year and haven't touched the trans fluid in my M7. It still shifts fine after a couple thousand track miles.

Other than the first diff fluid change which is required after the first track event it is only required to change diff fluid after each 24 hours of track usage.

Considering you get about an hour and half or less of track time during a typical track day you can plan on doing 16 track days between diff fluid changes.

Bill

 

Too bad GM can decide to not cover an engine failure even if you do use the specified oil, but certainly don't give them an excuse. Don't even think about going on the track without the 15W-50 oil.

 

That works. The Ferodo DS2500 is a great pad for dual use. It holds up pretty well on the track and is just as good as the OEM pads on the street (if not better).

 

I agree. I run the DS2500 as the street pad with my AP Racing kit. However, I was at VIR once and ran out of DS 1.11 so I put the DS2500 in and planned on just taking it easy. I didn't have to as the DS2500 really held up well to my hard braking without fade. It the best street/track pad I've tried.

 

Is 15w-50 ok to leave in? Or is it literally just for a track day, then pour it out and throw 5w30 back in?

 

I run it all year long. It takes a little while to get any heat in the oil. But other than that, no problems.

 

It sounds like changing over to the 15w-50 for track day is cheap insurance against a claims denial should engine issues arise.

 

So no issues running 15W-50 year round? I do not drive it in the winter. Sits in garage on a battery tender and under car cover. Never run that weight oil before, always 5W30 but if this is better for the engine, I'll swap that out. Just wondering what the down sides are to running it year round.

Just ordered some street/daily driving brake pads. I noticed I have had a squeak ever since I got back from the track. Not sure if I abused the stock Z51 pads or not.