Multiple Track days in a year, what are the do's and don'ts?

toycar · Sep 26, 2022

All,
With the help of this forum I put together an o.k. and inexpensive STH autocross Fiesta ST (well in inexpensive part is relative). A few times over the decades I did some on track events, but never took it too seriously.
I recently took the STH Fiesta to a Time Trial / Time Attack with the intent of trying my best to be competitive. I was pleased with it, even with the amount of power on the straights and finished mid-pack in S4.

Question for you all. If I start doing this regularly in the next year (I'm guessing 3 to 5 times) what should I plan on in terms of maintenance and consumables and general do's and don'ts?

Mycooking · Sep 26, 2022

For consumables avoid the OEM brake pads at a minimum... Had a very big butt-pucker moment last year. Also tires I currently have the Firestone 500s and while great for light track duty and daily driving if you plan on getting very serious I'd get a set of wheels/tires for dedicated track use. For a quick and affordable brake upgrade POWER STOP has some decent pads and rotors and I love mine. The wear on the pads has been decent along with a nice linear initial bite, the rotors shed heat quickly and try as I might haven't had any issues with fade or the peddle hitting the floor. Also a radiator upgrade for peace of mind(Whoosh is awesome) along with a intercooler upgrade. Upgrading the RMM also is probably one of the best upgrades. I've only had my FiST for a year now so I'm still a little wet behind the ears. The previous owner did a hybrid turbo upgrade along with a whoosh intercooler(havent checked if its the V1 or V3) and I've had the car re-tuned as the previous tune didn't allow me to pass state emissions testing.

Jabbit · Sep 26, 2022

Upgraded radiator, rear motor mount, rbf600 or 660 brake fluid. Centric cryo blank rotors, EBC yellow pads, and braided brake lines at all for corners. Decent tires. Those will get you a reliable car and then find the weaknesses after 4-6 track days.

toycar · Sep 26, 2022

Jabbit,
Thanks for the input. I did watch temps, since I autox with the heat on high (directed out the windows) I did that during the time trials and heat was fine even running a tune, I appreciate that I am lucky in that regard. Brakes and wheels did get amazingly hot with stock pads, rotors, and fluid but I definitely plan on upgrading those as they wear.

Jabbit · Sep 26, 2022

Cooling is less of an issue on short autox runs but will be an issue with time attack or hpde. Torque vectoring can do a number on brakes so maybe that's what you experienced.

toycar · Sep 26, 2022

I did have all the traction control off, I realize it still has some torque vectoring going on. I think the brake heat was mostly from hauling the car down to make the sharp turn at the end of the long straight away (over 110 mph!). Also I was not the smoothest / most efficient in using the brakes. I blew off a boost pipe and back in the pits took off a wheel to reattach it - man those lugnuts were toasty, glad I brought gloves.

toycar · Sep 26, 2022

Mycooking said:

I just check my new parts pile, I do have OEM rotors in a box (I tend to put on a new rotors and pads late winter and order next years set at the same time). If a sale comes up on better ones, maybe I'll just keep them for reserve and order the upgraded. I did put a Whoosh V1 and am very happy with the power with a tune and the stock turbo - a hybrid one on track must really have a kick!

Mycooking · Sep 26, 2022

toycar said:

The hybrid has a bit more kick I can spin the Firestones from 1st-3rd with traction off and has a bit more head room for boost at the higher RPMs compared to the stock FiST I test drove about 4 or 5 years ago. Glad I waited until last year to get mine😁😁. I still want to upgrade my radiator and for the big upgrade of going to a mechanical limited slip differential.

ztrahan · Sep 26, 2022

I've heard the Falken 615+ have great balance of longetivy and grip (switching from RE71's to these, but haven't tracked them yet), OEM rotors and pads have held up just fine for me on multiple track days, and I'd just run a standard rotor with whatever (aggressive) pads you want. Consider oil changes and brake flushes after every track day if you're meticulous, or every other track day.

Biggest issue is engine heat and brake heat, so try to manage those best as you can and upgrade what you can afford.

Woods247 · Oct 1, 2022

I have a Pumaspeed hybrid with over 30k track miles. I change the oil with Liqui Moly 5w40 Hi Tech (910s oil filter) every three hours and run a large Mishimoto radiator and their thermostat. I attribute its longevity to this habit. I flush my brake calipers frequently (track dependent) with ATE Type 200 (higher boiling point than Motul 600) and swap Motul Gear 300 annually (MFactory LSD). Zero mechanical issues and I track 2-3 times a month at least. My brakes (ST40 front FoRS rear) aren’t popular here due to wheel fitment requirements so others will have better advise for stock setups. RT660 and A052 are fast lap 200tw tires but you probably already know that. I use 17” wheels so I’m limited..

Also, I did a bunch of cutting under the front fenders to fit 235s. It’s a lot of work but the performance gain was worth it. I have felt the inside two wheels come off the ground so be aware if you choose this mod. This was on RT660s too. With lighter A052 the car would be faster. Their just so damn expensive.

BD_Motorsports · Oct 27, 2022

Just a note on a the PowerStop Track Day spec pads. They're not good. Had a novice friend run through an entire set in two days (Midohio/putnam) running 300TW tires in his ST. On my GT350 they were trash and decent on a Miata with 200TW.

I'm a fan of Gloc/Carbotechs.

esp_martin · Oct 28, 2022

toycar said:

Just a heads up if you plan on tracking your car again you shouldn't wait until "as they wear" with those items. Everyone here who tracks the FiST considers pads, rotors and brake fluids to be consumables and the stock parts are the biggest point of failure in our cars. Tuners here go through that stuff like hot cakes and all of them are going through *upgraded* pads, rotors, brake fluid.

At least upgrade the brake fluid. I don't know the engineering behind it (still learning) but the brake fluid going REALLY hot could cause your clutch cylinders to wear really fast. Master cylinder is an easy replacement but the slave cylinder is in the transmission and you'll need to drop it to replace it.

edit: i know the physics behind heat = expansion = wear but i don't know how the brake fluid affects the clutch cylinders; i read that the Fiesta uses brake fluid for clutch fluid or brake fluid somehow supports those cylinders indirectly? if anyone can take the time to point to a forum post or write it out here that would be great.

Mycooking · Oct 28, 2022

To put it simply the the clutch shares with the Brake fluid reservoir.

Jabbit · Oct 28, 2022

BD_Motorsports said:

I used Powerstop Track Day rotors and pads on the rear of my car for about 8 track days, performed well. 2700lb car fully loaded, S280, re71r tires, etc. Never used the fronts, I suspect that 300TW and novice are contributing factors to increased brake wear. They aren't my first choice but they are decent. I do not run them in the rear anymore, just high quality blanks and either ebc yellow or blue.

M-Sport fan · Oct 28, 2022

Mycooking said:

Yes, so any of the aeration and moisture content buildup problems the brake fluid experiences or accumulates will negatively effect the hydraulic clutch system's operation, possibly even clutch master and slave cylinder wall/seal wear.

kevinatfms · Dec 2, 2022

BD_Motorsports said:

Ive used them multiple times without issue. They are sub $100 off the shelf track pads so i dont expect them to last 5+ events. 1-2 events is perfectly fine for what they are intended to do and i can buy 2 sets for the price of one premium set of track day pads from other manufacturers.

I went to Porterfields on the Fiesta after running them through a few races in Champ Car. Went with the R4 compound in lieu of the R4-E as i wanted more CoF over longevity. They worked great at a track day in September, even wear, great pedal feel with zero fade or overheating. The biggest issue with them is the price at $238. I could easily get another day or two out of them on the same rotors.

All this on stock rotors, Boomba air deflectors, Stoptech lines and RBF600.

the duke · Dec 2, 2022

esp_martin said:

Just a heads up if you plan on tracking your car again you shouldn't wait until "as they wear" with those items. Everyone here who tracks the FiST considers pads, rotors and brake fluids to be consumables and the stock parts are the biggest point of failure in our cars. Tuners here go through that stuff like hot cakes and all of them are going through *upgraded* pads, rotors, brake fluid.

At least upgrade the brake fluid. I don't know the engineering behind it (still learning) but the brake fluid going REALLY hot could cause your clutch cylinders to wear really fast. Master cylinder is an easy replacement but the slave cylinder is in the transmission and you'll need to drop it to replace it.

edit: i know the physics behind heat = expansion = wear but i don't know how the brake fluid affects the clutch cylinders; i read that the Fiesta uses brake fluid for clutch fluid or brake fluid somehow supports those cylinders indirectly? if anyone can take the time to point to a forum post or write it out here that would be great.

I concur.

DaleFredriks · Jan 2, 2023

I'm loving RT660s for tires and hawk DTC-60 front pads. I'm driving to the track on Firehawk Indy 500s and crappy R1 concepts pads, then swapping to the RT660s and Hawks at the track. Gotten 4 full days out of both so far with probably another 3 more left in both.

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Multiple Track days in a year, what are the do's and don'ts?

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