I did Spring Mountain and really enjoyed being on the track.
So now I'm looking at a (2) track day trip to Watkins Glen, with (4) 40 minute sessions per day
I have a 2015 Z/51, M7 with under 2k miles and have a couple of questions;
1) For this first time, is it really needed to get the dealer to do the track alignment?
2) If so, I will be driving from Syracuse, about a 168 mile round trip, will the track alignment wear the tires bad?

I know that the oil needs to be changed before & after and that the brake cooling rings need to be installed before and removed after.
Spring Mountain advised flushing/ upgrading the brake fluid.

Anything else that I should look at doing, noting that I will probably only do this one track outing this year.

 

1) no
2) no


Basic rule on aliments..... If you add + - toe, you will eat tires....go for "0" toe and your tires are fine.

 

I would go ahead and upgrade the brake fluid (recommend Motul 600).
I boiled my brake fluid first time out.

 

change the pads,4X 40 minute is a long time and a lot of heat for the stock pads...jmo

 

40min sessions are way too long for a relative newer person to HPDEs. Mentally and physically 25 gets to be long if you are going 95% imho.

Track alignment wouldnt do anything negative to your street tires with a 200 mile trip, and starting out it wouldn't be that big of deal to not worry about alignment.

I'd do brake fluid, some slighly better pads up front (carbo xp8s), & the 15w50 mobil1 and go for it.

 

I would do the track alignment.
The two days on the track with stock alignment will eat your tires way more than the 200 miles of highway miles with track setup.
Brake fuild is a good idea. Stock brakes will fade and OEM pads will wear a lot over two days. A newer driver will likely be even harder on the brakes. So upgraded pads would help there and are worth security for the money.
Enjoy!!!

 

For first timer, track alignment isn't really necessary. Brakes will be your primary concern. The Glen can be very hard on brakes and novice drivers tend to overuse the brakes. So, install the cooling rings, upgrade the brake fluid (Motul RBF 600 is fine) .No need for first timer to spend $400+ on track pads until the addiction starts. Stock pads will work. Regardless of which pads you use, bring a second set for the fronts and tools necessary to change them. You will almost certainly wear out a set the first day. 15w50 oil is probably a good idea. You should have access to a quality tire gauge and torque wrench for the lug nuts.

Drink plenty of water, leave your ego at home and just have fun.

 

B Stead brings up a good point. Be sure to run with traction control off or you will likely wear out the rear pads as well.

 

I tracked my new Z51 right after the 500 mile break-in and continue to do so regularly. If you don't use more negative camber up front you will notice immediate wear on the outer shoulder of the front tires. Ask me how I know. I now have a second set of wheels and tires only for track use and I change alignments for each. I have a local speed shop who gives me a good rate for repeat business. I fully agree with all other recommendations such as Motul 600 RBF fluid and Carbotech XP10 front/XP8 rear brake pads and Mobil1 15W-50 oil, the regular, NOT the Extended Duty! Definitely run in Track mode with Traction Control off. I also agree wholeheartedly that 40 minute sessions will be too hard on you and the car, but you can simply run at about 75% to make the experience much more enjoyable. Or just cut your sessions a little short, nobody makes you stay out on the track the whole time. Don't fool yourself, tracking the car the right way costs money, you have to pay to play. Don't cut corners or you'll damage something...

JV

 

You must be looking at doing the Phoenix CMR event. I haven't been to it since 2013 but Joe used to have Novices run 4 20 minute sessions with Instructors riding along with them. With just Spring Mountain under your belt you aren't ready for running Open Track at the Glen. Spring Mountain is a simple slow speed course compared to the Glen where you can go through corners at speeds that are probably higher than you hit on the straights at Spring Mountain. You also want to have an instructor to learn the line, learn where the flag stations are (something Spring Mountain didn't have) and learn where the emergency run off and pull off locations are located.

The Glen is a great fun track to run but it is a World Class Track that is very fast and challenging.

As a novice just make sure the brake pads are close to new, change the brake fluid to something with a 500+ to 600+ dry boiling point (don't worry about wet boiling point). Get the track alignment done as it will reduce the wear and tear on your tires while running. You have a choice wear out the insides on the way to and from the event or wear out the outsides at the event. Change the oil to 15W50 as GM recommends.

Tell Joe Hi for me. I wanted to do his event this year but the schedule doesn't line up. I will be at VIR on the Fri-Sun before his Mon-Tue dates and there just isn't time to get there.

Bill

 

Definitely Motul or SRF brake fluid and track pads such as Carbotech XP10 and XP8.

 

Thanks to everyone for the advice & recommendations!
This is the event that I am looking at and the thing that I like is that there is some required class time and required instructor rider time. They determine when you can go solo.
The info packet also includes the recommended lines/ apex for the corners to review and at least get a basic idea before seat time with the instructor.
So, it sounds like I'll get the GM alignment, install the brake cooling rings, do the oil and brake fluid changes -I may wait on the pads, with only 1,800 miles on my car I'd hope that they would hold up and if needed I could replace them after the two days.
I have a truck, so maybe it makes sense to rent a trailer for the drive Vs worrying about the tires etc.
At Spring Mountain they had us set to Track, Sport 1 -so I'd probably go with that setting?

 

Thats was my first thought. I'm sure he can pit in and take a few minutes if need be. My first HPDE in the C7 was 3x25 sessions and towards the end of the 3rd I had a complete loss of focus moment but was able to snap back to reality. It's more mentally draining then one would think.

 

After track time with the instructor, this is definitely something that I will self monitor.
Thought the sessions are 40 min. long, I believe that I can pit as much as I want to and would not be on the track the entire time. I'm sure that it wont be at this this first real track experience, but I would hope that time and experience will allow me to build my endurance and stay on the track longer.

 

Thanks for starting this thread. I was going to ask some similar questions. I am going to Spring Mountain March 21/22, and then looking to do a Hooked on Driving HPDE at Roebling Road on April 29.

Another fluid change in the 2016 owners manual for competitive driving events, it states to replace the rear differential fluid after the first track event, then every 24 hours of track time.

Are folks upgrading brake lines to stainless lines? I did a search, but didn't see many threads dealing with stainless line upgrades.

I'm looking to get a set of dedicated track wheels. I was thinking of just getting a spare set of Z51 wheels. Is there a popular set of aftermarket wheels that folks typically run?

 

Regarding wheels:

Personally, I wouldn't get another set of stock wheels for the track. Go wider up front. Makes a huge difference. Better yet, go wider all around. But the fronts made the biggest difference for me.
I'm very happy with my CCW's. A bit pricey new, but I bought mine used (here on the forum) for $1,500 for the set. A number of C7 drivers report good results using four rear stock wheels from C5 Z06's.

 

Joe has been running events at the Glen for more than 20 years. I've been attending for the last 8 years with my Mustang Cobra. Unfortunately, I will be at Spring Mountain on June 12/13 and couldn't work it in this year.
Watkins Glen is Fast and wouldn't be my choice for a first event, but Joe runs a safe event with excellent instructors. listen to them and you will be fine.

 

You will be in Group 1. The instructor will evaluate you to determine whether or not you are able to move up to Group 2 Open Track. Each student has an evaluation sheet filled out and has to exceed a certain score before they can be moved up. You don't want to get into Group 2 too soon. It has people who have just above novice skill levels all the way up to people who are about to move to Group 3 Open Track. From a skill standpoint Group 3 is the Advanced/Instructor Group and there are some advanced level racers that come to practice with their cars since Joe gives so much track time.

Qualifying for Group 2 means you have a pretty good knowledge of the track, knowledge of flag stations and run off/emergency areas, have situational awareness, aren't over driving the car, can play well with others giving timely/appropriate passing signals and when passing being respectful of the other driver and not suddenly pulling in front of their car and hitting the brakes as you get to the braking zone for a turn. Novices moving into Group 2 can find themselves being passed by what seems rocket ships due to the disparity in skill levels so you have to understand you are at the beginning stages of playing with the big boys and accept that you aren't going to be as fast as they are.

If Kirk Olsen is still instructing with Joe get a ride with him to find out what is like making a very rapid lap around the track. The last time I saw him in 2013 he had a BMW prepped for BMW Club Racing but when he had his C6Z he was lapping with a basically stock street legal car in less than 2:05. His license plate was "Living It".

When Joe started doing the 40 minute session thing back in the early 2000s I would run close to 40 minutes at a time but that became hard on the car and me. The last few years I would take my time going out on track so would miss at least the first 5 minutes of a session and maybe pull in 10 to 15 minutes early. The first time I took my 03Z to his event I ran the 40 minutes and hit 319 degree oil temperature just before the checker flew so it is very hard on the car as well.

Bill