So I am getting ready to take my ss/tc to a track day. Right now my car is bone stock except that it has some Direzza Z1 Star Specs on. Basically I want to know from people who have done this before, what should I do to get the car ready? My main concern is the brakes. Will the stock pads hold up to track duty? If not what replacement pads would you recommend? Should I swap out my brake fluid? What do you guys think?

 

Some organisations require you to change the brake fluid. If they don't, just change the oil and go have a blast!

 

Good choice of rubber! Just keep an eye on your edges if you are running stock camber.

Your stock pads will be fine for 15 or so hot laps. Have fun and take some vid!

 

WOW! Just got back from Sebring. Second time for HPDE the first being a couple of week ago at Homestead/Miami. A real adrenaline pump. My mods are below and I did change the brake fluid to DOT 4. Compared to Sebring, Homestaed was a piece of cake. NOVICE cake! Every kind of turn imaginable only missing some hills, but hills don't exist in FL. I talked one of the experts into taking me for a ride in my own car. He was one of the few that had some experience with FWD. He was driving, need I say it, a Porsche. He was truly impressed with the car. He was amazed at the power, thought the suspension and handling were as good, or better, than any stock FWD he'd ever driven. He also thought the Direzzas did a great job but he'd love to try the car again on slicks. I personally did much better than I had expected to do. I managed to hit 120 at 3 places on the track. I'll be at either Watkins Glen or New Jersey MSP next month depending on schedule and funds. This is truly addictive.

My only concern, which is shared with my expert, is the torque steer. I'm doing some research on the subject and am finding out the only true fixes are totally out of MY ball park. So I'm looking at some ways to, at least, limit it some. I'm asking for and hoping somebody can offer some suggestions. If I have to live with it I guess I'll have tolearn to live with it but I hope there is some secret somebody will share before I start spending good money after bad. Driving on the street it really doesn't raise it's ugly head. Coming out of a hairpin turn on the track is very different.

HELP!!!

 

OTTP Mounts.. will help.... for track the stage 1 will be fine, don't waste it on stage 2 unless you do drag

 

Good for you man glad to see you had a blast, I am jealous lol, can't wait for my first run But I gotta read the rules and what not to see where I would fall in classes lol... Keep up the good work!

Nice I am going to look into this as well thanks for the help.

 

There are no rules. you can bring your 67 Chevy wagon, or whatever, and get on the track. You join a club, pay the fees for the track and instructor depending on the club you may be required to have an "instructor" in the car with you for the first 3 or 4 track days till they think you're not a danger to yourself or others.

http://www.chinmotorsports.com/

This is the club I joined. Great bunch of people. Very safety oriented. You can get an idea what it's all about on here. There are clubs all over the country, just search for Motorsport clubs. Good luck. It's worth every penny.

 

Sounds like you had a blast! I love reading stuff like this

As for TQ steer, it is pretty bad in our cars if you are not tuned for open track. I had Vince do two tunes for me, Short Track at 20 PSI and Long Track at 22 PSI. Vince cleaned up my Short Track so the power comes on softer in the midrange and I think he also remapped my gas pedal. You have to contact him for details, I just told him what I needed and a couple logs later he nailed it. She feels pretty slow on the street with this tune, but on the track she comes alive.
I only use the Long Track on Mosport GP where I am in 3rd and 4th most of the time.
Then I also run aggressive toe out on the track to help with TQ steer...

hope this helps
Riaan

 

I am looking for a good open track near MI for cheap, also would those 245 dunlops be ok the stock rim and work well and i'm guessing 245/40/18's i have only autocrossed 3 times but i am addicted and doing well for a newb, i've beat every Cobalt SS, and Mazdaspeed 3 i've come across

 

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely look into this. I does make sense to take a little power out of the car through the turn. As it is now 2nd, 3rd and 4th are all I need. I think I'll need one more day with an instructor just to be safe. Riding in my car with the expert showed me a LOT about the cars capabilities in the hands of an eperienced driver. I also took a ride with my instructor in her, yeah a female instructor, Miata. TOTALLY different ride and she WAS fast but again I learned a lot. Depending on my schedule and finances I'll be at the Glen or New Jersey MSP in Oct. This **** is ADDICTIVE!!

I had my 1st off road excursion at Sebring. Managed to keep it in a straght line through the grass. No harm, no foul but it's not going to look good on my resume.

The 2 links at the bottom are also very good.

LONG LIVE THE SEDAN!

 

I haven't seen or hard of anybody with 245's on stock wheels. Mine are on an 8" rim. There are NO clearance problems. And Tire Rack has a sale going on Derrizas right now. I'm thinking about picking up another set just to put in stock.

I really should try some autocross. The instructors I've talked to say autocross is a better way to break into road racing. But I've always been the one who dives in head first. Sounds like you're doing better than I am on the road course. But I'm making Cobalt believers out of a lot of people.

 

haha thanks for the info i've hear the 245's can fit on stock rim but not good for turning response and so on, so i will be running 235 star specs next season, and i'm 100% stock other than K&N drop in... only people in my class who have been me (D Stock) have been running R compound hoosiers on stock rims and i'm on stock factory tires... and trust me all your power mods would have been useless on this last autocross i did, i had to run 2nd gear near almost less than 2k rpm to help wheel spin out of tight corners and i dropped 1/2 a second over my 4 attempts and shifting and down shifting .... u learn alot in the small courses.... i just cant wait to use it in some more speed

 

Keep it in first gear at 5k, that's the sweet spot and will work best if the course is small.

 

So not 100% thread jacking!!! but.... Did my first open track Test n tune!!! was $60 for (3) 20 min sessions had alot of fun! here is one of the unedited vids

Gingerman Raceway Southhaven MI

YouTube - 09 Cobalt SS/TC Gingerman Test N Tune

 

Looks like you had fun. I'd suggest finding an instructor your next time out though. You're leaving a bunch of time out there.