Mike Murphy

My buddy insists that I bring spare brake pads to this event. My logic is that "anything can break," since my 1999 C2 Cab is bone stock, and I'm concerned about quite a few items, including the possibility of having the original IMSB, original water pump, original clutch, etc.

The oil has only 2,000 miles on it and still looks like new (clean), and the other fluids all look great. But I plan to replace the brake fluid and maybe even buy those pads for te event.

What else should I be prepared for? I think it's good to be prepared, but then again, when the clutch failed on the last DE event I was at (10 years ago, different 911), there's not all that much that can be done to repair or prevent that sort of thing. I had a space DME relay back then - a known fix for the 3.2 Carrera weak point.

roadblock

Better brakes - a must - Hawk or PFC and put better fluid or fresh bleed on brakes - FVD has a deep sump pan/ baffle ( carousel) turn - new oil for sure Joe Gibbs - DT 40 - make sure your suspension is at least ok for track - wheel bearings ect - this is a long track 4.2 mi - not as hard as a short track on brakes - tires make a big difference on how the car handles- my favorite track

Sneaky Pete

FIFY. DT40 is not meant for the track. To the OP...RA is great track at 4 miles.

Paul Waterloo

To the OP:

I have a set of track pads for the car if you want to buy them. I bought them a few years back, did one track event at Blackhawk with them and I don't think I'll ever track the car again. I'll have to look to see what they are....but I believe they are Hawk pads. You'll definitely need track pads for any track, but especially Road America with turn 1 and most importantly turn 5 and Canada corner.

Make sure you bleed the brakes with new fluid and definitely go with fresh oil. When I ran my car at Blackhawk, going around the back side of the track where the long left hand sweeper was, the oil pressure would come off 4-5 bar after about 6 or7 laps, it would drop down to 2.5 bar or so. I would then pull my car off the track. This only happened after the oil heated up which took those 6 or 7 laps.

I did buy a FVD oil pan that I have yet to fit to the car, but was planning on it some day. Just never got around to it.

Let me know about the brake pads.

Sneaky Pete

And if you would like to sell it I would be interested.

Paul Waterloo

I think for now I'm just going to keep it. Funny that the last guy who owned it never installed it and he got it from the first guy that bought it that never installed it.

Mike Murphy

If I replace the 0w-40 street oil I'm running with Joe Gibbs for the track, do I have to swap it back to street oil when I'm finished?

David993S

You probably don't need full track pads, but something upgraded from stock isn't a bad idea. They should last you through the weekend without problems. RA isn't that hard on brakes except going down into T5.

There's lots of good advice on here about how to prep your car (bleed brakes!) and what to take (torque wrench, tire guage, etc.), so search around a little. My advice is watch your oil pressure, listen to your instructor, take it at your own pace (i.e. don't compare yourself to others....it's irrelevant), and enjoy a fabulous track. RA is not very technical, so it's actually fairly easy to learn - just take the Kink at a reasonable speed until you're comfortable building up speed. It's about the only place on the track that can give you a pucker factor.

Be safe and enjoy.

Paul Waterloo

Murphy:

Here's what I've got. Porterfield R-4's....on each pair one has more wear than the other, but I would say you could get 2-4 weekends out of these, lots of life left. I bought them used and used them for 50 track miles or so. If you want to come and pick them up from my house, $150. Looks like the AP 776's are about $180, and the AP 738's are about $140. I'm in Forest Park right off the Ike.

I have a set of no squeal pads for the fronts if you want those with them. Fronts:









Here are the rears:

Sneaky Pete

The XP series oils are good for 700 miles or so. You might just change it to a 5-40 weight but not the DT-40. It will fall apart fast at track temps. And no this is not an oil thread!

Paul Waterloo

That is good to know...I'm sure I was running DT40 during my stint at Blackhawk.

Mike Murphy

Do a lot of folks run race oil for track events? Seems to me that any decent oil should hold up at least fairly well, no? I guess it depends on the track and how hard folks will push their cars. I'm not sure I'm inclined to push my 18-yr-old bone stock original car to 8.5/10th.

cuttinsod

If this is your first DE, then don't change anything....not needed.....porsche stock brake pads are fine for the track...tires....whatever you run on the street....oil.....0W-40 is fine....

I ran my first 12 track days....going from never been on on a track to advanced in 2 years with a completely stock 2001 C2 with all season (michelin AS+) tires, stock brakes, and Mobile 0W-40 oil....that was between 60-90K miles.....

at 102K miles, I am still tracking it, but use better tires (RE71R), upgraded suspension (after left front strut failure at 85K miles...Bilstein performance shocks w/H&R racing springs), and PFC 08/11 pads....semi solid engine mounts (the original ones were sagging almost an inch), but still using mobile 0W-40 oil....

The only change I would recommend is changing the brake fluid to a high temp (i.e. supergold 200) version....

Drive it to the track, run all day, drive it home....no issues....then drive it to work the next day....

You can go to the extremes, but until you get some time in, the basic stock car is going to handle more than you can throw at it....basically...drive the crap out of it until something starts to give, and then upgrade....

Mike Murphy

I've done a few track events, but not more than 5. I only want to upgrade something if there's reason to believe it will fail or break down. I guess if I keep an eye on temps and pressures, I should be fine. I'll do the brake fluid for sure.

fpena944

Was going to say the same thing. Until you progress a little further up the ranks the car is not the limiting factor here - the driver is. I'd say a stock Carerra will probably suit most novice drivers just fine without anything more than filling up the tank of gas.

Once you start to build up speed then yes the brake pads and fluids need to be upgraded and then you can start the slippery slope!

I run mine in a white (intermediate with red and black above) with a modest suspension upgrade, upgraded pads, and upgraded brake fluid - that's it!