Essential Mods for a safe open track day?

[WhiteFords]

I am the proud owner of a 2015 OW FIST. The car is stone stock mechanically. I use it as my daily driver and have no intentions of getting too crazy with re-engineering the car with a lot of modifications. I already own two extremely modified Fox body Mustangs, and am enjoying a factory engineered car for a change, lol. But I am a track junky, and will be using the FIST as my backup open track car if my primary Mustang is out of commission on a particular weekend.

I have an open track event in August at Sonoma Raceway, sharing the car with a friend of mine who is a NASA Pro license holder and quite brutal on brakes.

What are the suggested base mods for better performance and safety at the track? We typically do five 20 minute sessions a day. I'm thinking of Stoptech flex lines and ATE Gold brake fluid. Was also thinking of the Cobb AP3, if not so much for the power increase but the ability to monitor fluid temps much better than the silly water temp 'gauge.'

 

[rodmoe]

The mods so far sound good and make sense .

You could pull the flaps out of the plastic radiator shroud for better air flow at speed if you want .
Spare pads and rotors would be a good idea as these car love brakes as it is and if you have a brake issue it puts a damper on the whole day.

If you are running stock wheel or after market for that matter watch them for heat and take out the plastic center caps I got a couple soft one track day and they deformed from heat. Also if running after market wheels with hub ring watch out for the plastic rings they could get soft too. should be fine if you leave them in till the wheel cools then take a look at them.

 

[WhiteFords]

Thanks for your input, rodmoe. I have been enjoying following your build!

I have been looking at the new Mountune pads. Are there any upgrade rotors on the market?

 

[rodmoe]

There are some cyro treated stop tech rotors on tire rack that served me pretty good but if you just have the plain set non cryo you should be good for track days Next time ill save the extra money and get the plain set for track use and see how that works with street pads I know the race pads use up most rotors but thats the price of having fun

 

[RAAMaudio]

Welcome aboard

It might help to remove the backing plates behind the rotors and one member is using some Porsche "fins" or whatever they are called as simple solution to blow some air on the brakes.

I am packing to move and came across my stock rotors with just 293 easy miles on them, fronts and rears, if you are interested in spares at a lower cost.

I decided to run Castrol SRF brake fluid, most highly rated, very expensive but known to last far longer than any other high performance fluid so ultimately should cost less.

Parts-Express has some 2.75" internal diameter port tubes for cheap that slip right into the fog light holes making an easy and effective place to hook up some hoses. It is a bit tight around the bottom of the washer bottle but will fit with some tweaking or use some silicone elbows, etc....

I have had to hook up hoses for an event with no time to make or buy backing plates so just wired the ends of the hose in place to blow as much air on the brakes as possible and it helped a huge amount until I could install proper plates.
Luckily it should not take Mishimoto too long to have their radiator available if you have coolant temp issues it would help a great deal of course.

I like to carry a Halatron fire ext I can reach. I have had two fires on track and put them out effectively before the fire crew arrived(I used to teach fire fighting so I just react automatically instead of waiting for the crew while things burn up) one from a blown engine and one from an oil line popping off(my mistake, mixed up some push on fittings and hose, wrong combo, now I always clamp them) My ext is mounted right in front of my seat and totally out of the way on the street and track yet easy to get to.

We might see each other at the track(s) this year as moving to Carson City NV next month

 

[BeansNCornbread]

What engine and trans oil viscosity are you guys running at the track?

 

[RAAMaudio]

Motul 300 gear lube, a great upgrade, shifts much better.

Factory oil for now, only 2300 miles on my 15 month old car, from much of what I have read the Pennzoil synthetic is a great oil for the cost and less deposits on the valves but I have not looked into it for awhile now so will need to go over it again before picking the full synthetic I will run and viscosity.

 

[ModBargains]

Brakes should be the #1 concern as you mentioned. Lines, new fluid, and pads will certainly help out. That's a real necessity to keep you safe on the track, everything else is more just to have a good time like new suspension or performance mods.

 

[WhiteFords]

Good idea on the fire extinguisher. I have a Safecraft hand held with a trick billet mount on my primary track Mustang. Safecraft makes some beautiful stuff.

I think removing the splash shields will be a great thing to do when I'm under there doing the next brake job.

 

[RAAMaudio]

This car is a huge amount of fun and quite fast on a race track totally stock and the brakes, depending on driving style, can handle a lot as the OA cars run stock brakes and do just fine but as Jurrian stated, brakes are the most important of all, the rest is more for the fun of modding(my version of what he said

I was going to do minimal mods on my car when I bought it but as usual for me way overboard and now I have a car that pushed to the limits and is fast enough to be a bit more than I need to have a great time on the tracks of my dreams I have always wanted to drive. As in other cars I have built I will turn over the keys to far better drivers than I am to see just what it can really do.

Do you have a link to your Mustang track car? I would love to see it

I have built up many cars but never a Stang and should do one someday but it would probably be a very early car or maybe even the Pinto based II as I prefer the low weight.

 

[BeansNCornbread]

Ok, Ty RAAM.

I was plotting out ducting from the fog lamp shroud keeping it in place but cutting to the side of the lamp with a snorkel to the wheel well directed at the brakes. Should be out of the way enough from the road and chassis movement I think but need to get under and measure. I haven't had brake issues yet, but to play it safe. Will add the extinguisher too now.

 

[MalkionX]

Welcome aboard

It might help to remove the backing plates behind the rotors and one member is using some Porsche "fins" or whatever they are called as simple solution to blow some air on the brakes.

I am packing to move and came across my stock rotors with just 293 easy miles on them, fronts and rears, if you are interested in spares at a lower cost.

I decided to run Castrol SRF brake fluid, most highly rated, very expensive but known to last far longer than any other high performance fluid so ultimately should cost less.

Parts-Express has some 2.75" internal diameter port tubes for cheap that slip right into the fog light holes making an easy and effective place to hook up some hoses. It is a bit tight around the bottom of the washer bottle but will fit with some tweaking or use some silicone elbows, etc....

I have had to hook up hoses for an event with no time to make or buy backing plates so just wired the ends of the hose in place to blow as much air on the brakes as possible and it helped a huge amount until I could install proper plates.
Luckily it should not take Mishimoto too long to have their radiator available if you have coolant temp issues it would help a great deal of course.

I like to carry a Halatron fire ext I can reach. I have had two fires on track and put them out effectively before the fire crew arrived(I used to teach fire fighting so I just react automatically instead of waiting for the crew while things burn up) one from a blown engine and one from an oil line popping off(my mistake, mixed up some push on fittings and hose, wrong combo, now I always clamp them) My ext is mounted right in front of my seat and totally out of the way on the street and track yet easy to get to.

We might see each other at the track(s) this year as moving to Carson City NV next month

Do you have photos of there you have the fire extinguisher mounted in your FiST?

 

[RAAMaudio]

I have not taken any that I recall so I will have to do so a bit later on.

It was a simple install, just right in front of the seat rails, mount bolted down, had to ensure nothing in the line of the drill when going through the floor, fuel, brake, etc...

I did have to bend the seat adjuster up a bit to clear it but that makes it easier to move the seat.

I can reach it easily and even more readily if I move the seat back which takes so little time and makes it easier to jump out of the car if it was on fire, etc.....

I highly recommend a Halatron or whatever is the latest and greatest agent that does not leave a bit mess to clean up, they cost quite a bit but worth it.

 

[SAR-73]

Brakes are the first thing to upgrade. The OEM pads work well enough, but wow, they dont last long. and it takes a week to get new ones from the dealer. I went through 2 sets in 6 events last year.

Trying out carbotechs this year.

 

[meFiSTo]

People seem to have you covered here, but I'll chime in too.

Most of the stuff I've done to my car arguably makes it more safe for lapping in one way or another -- quicker corner-exit when passing slow drivers in let-by zones, more composed turn-in at the handling limit of the car (or the driver), consistent/progressive threshold braking, etc.

BUT: There are specific things that I would recommend to make a largely stock car as safe as possible:

• Fire extinguisher -- I have a Halon bottle mounted to welded-in brackets attached to the horizontal passenger seat rail.
• Front and rear tow hooks -- Luckily Jim Pierce developed a front hook setup that helped hold the cost down for that one. Rear, not so much.
• Water/water wetter -- I try to keep the temperature down as much as possible. This is a cheap, easy way and does help.
• Braided, teflon brake lines -- I have StopTech, but apparently there are Goodridge brake lines that work as well.
• High-performance brake pads and fluids -- I'm using CarboTech XP8s and Torque RT700, but I have a pretty mild setup. I have found the XP8s to be great, progressive pads for my recreational lapping application. The Torque fluid held up well on my first track day and based on its rating I'm confident it'll hold up for me doing a few events per season. It fits in there somewhere between Motul and Castrol options. This setup had zero fade (on an admittedly mild day).

Some other stuff to think about:

• Given stock 3-point harnesses (and no cage), I'm contemplating buying the Simpson R3-style head-and-neck restraint system. TBD.
• Adding a little negative camber in the front end can help make the car a better handler (always a safety positive).
• Underinflating your tires at the start of the day (right/left, rear/front 30 to 32 lbs. depending on clockwise/counterclockwise setup) and making sure they all stay about 38 lbs. or so (for optimal tire patch) helps keep you on the track. That probably varies from tire to tire and for different wheel/tire setups, but that's the idea.
• I also add octane to reduce the likelihood of detonation. I used race fuel (like 100+ unleaded) with my old car (mixed with premium), but am trying Torco additive to take the Octane to maybe 94+. Might bump it up. TBD.

Temperature is the enemy on so many fronts.

 

[WhiteFords]

Thanks for all the great advice. This type of conversation is what makes a great forum: sharing of experience for the common good.

Few things will ruin a track day faster than overheating and part failure, especially if the issues are known to be prevalent to the type of car.

At this time it looks like my friend and I will be running our primary cars that weekend. But the Fiesta will have some mods by then to fill in for duty in a pinch.

 

[C. love]

+10000000000000000 on the extingusher. Saw a car burn two weekends ago.

 

[WhiteFords]

Pierce 6 point brace is now installed. Took a little help from a drift, but fits and looks great.

Braided lines and brake fluid are next.