My first TRACK day coming! HPDE @ Road Atlanta. A little help from my friends?

[yankeehick]

First, it's good to be here. I bought a used 2017 GT350 a year ago. It's catless, with kooks longtube headers and x-pipe. It's NASCAR loud but I absolutely love it. Anyway....

I've only ever street-driven the snake but then I took it to the North GA mountains for a quarantine Bbday celebration about a month ago. Some of the windiest roads I've ever driven - I was following my friend in his Porsche and was extremely impressed to say the least. Now I know why it was made for the track, why it's SO underrated and sadly, what will be taking dollars out of my wallet for the foreseeable future (and I haven't even tracked it yet!)

I'm excited to run Road Atlanta June 6-7 for an HPDE event. I've been there before and know the track fairly well but this will be an experience for sure.

I know there are track oriented threads on here and I don't want the forum to feel unnessarily repetitive in giving track advice however my hope was that someone here has driven Road Atlanta before. Other than this, I just have a few basic questions as I'm well aware of what is required from the tech inspection protocols I have been given.

Tires - I've decided I'm getting a new set. I'm leaning towards the Michellin PS4S as I've heard good things. I don't feel the need to go too sticky a tire as I probably won't be going back to the track for at least 6-8 months. Given this logic, are there any other tires I should be looking at?

Brake Pads - What are the best in your opinion? Have heard of Hawks but don't really know otherwise.

I will also be doing an oil change, (is brake bleed necessary??) and whatever else needs to be assessed from the tech inspection.

What else am I missing that would not normally be on a tech inspection? Is it worth to tape the front of the car to protect the paint from debris??

I appreciate it!
Marco

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[jmn444]

I've heard the 4s doesn't like heat as much as the PSS does, but no personal experience, the PSS lasts a long time on track and is a ton of fun though. My friends who work for tire rack have suggested the super car 3 (not the R) as a good longer lasting tire as well, but not for wet sessions. I'm currently running RE71R and they are amazingly fun to drive but till I compare the lifespan and laptimes w/ the supercar3 I can't offer much more advice than that since I only have one day on them... broke my previous best time i had on cup2's by about 4 tenths though on my 1st event of this year.

For brake pads, ST43 last forever have amazing bite and I love them.... I think I had over 15 track days last year on one set. downside, pricey up front and dust/squeel like crazy on street. I'm trying a set of Glock 12/10's on the car currently that I picked up for cheap and used between 3 and 4 mm of pad on my pass side front caliper in ONE DAY, so I probably won't try them again, but they do work well and are quiet on the street. Stock pads should be okay as well, just will also wear out quickly.

I'd bleed brakes and I'd probably just flush with motol 600 or SRF or something because guessing if the old fluid is good enough could seriously ruin your day.

I'm jealous, RA is on my short list and hope to get there next year to try it out!!

 

[proeagles]

I used to instruct at Road Atlanta and have raced there with BMWCCA Club Racing. It's a great track, very fast and will test your bravery. It's not particularly hard on tires so your tire choice should be fine. When I did the Ford Track Attack for Shelby owners in Utah, they told me they were using stock brake pads and brake fluid with no issues and I would assume the same would apply to Road Atlanta. You really only hammer the brakes once and it will be downhill at over 140+ mph, 5th to 2nd gear most likely. Just drive with what the car gives you and have fun.

 

[BoomBoy]

Tires- PS4S or PSS will do the job
Brake Pads- I recommend stock. Stay away from Hawks.
Brake Flush- Yes! You should flush before every track weekend! With Motul 600 or better

 

[yankeehick]

I've heard the 4s doesn't like heat as much as the PSS does, but no personal experience, the PSS lasts a long time on track and is a ton of fun though. My friends who work for tire rack have suggested the super car 3 (not the R) as a good longer lasting tire as well, but not for wet sessions. I'm currently running RE71R and they are amazingly fun to drive but till I compare the lifespan and laptimes w/ the supercar3 I can't offer much more advice than that since I only have one day on them... broke my previous best time i had on cup2's by about 4 tenths though on my 1st event of this year.

For brake pads, ST43 last forever have amazing bite and I love them.... I think I had over 15 track days last year on one set. downside, pricey up front and dust/squeel like crazy on street. I'm trying a set of Glock 12/10's on the car currently that I picked up for cheap and used between 3 and 4 mm of pad on my pass side front caliper in ONE DAY, so I probably won't try them again, but they do work well and are quiet on the street. Stock pads should be okay as well, just will also wear out quickly.

I'd bleed brakes and I'd probably just flush with motol 600 or SRF or something because guessing if the old fluid is good enough could seriously ruin your day.

I'm jealous, RA is on my short list and hope to get there next year to try it out!!

Really appreciate the advice. I'll look into the ST43 pads.

 

[yankeehick]

Tires- PS4S or PSS will do the job
Brake Pads- I recommend stock. Stay away from Hawks.
Brake Flush- Yes! You should flush before every track weekend! With Motul 600 or better

Thanks for the advice!

 

[proeagles]

One thing I've found reasonably true about the GT350 and 350R, they really are track ready right out of the box. Yes, you can can play with the camber settings to get the max, but the car itself is a brute force to be reckoned with.

 

[yankeehick]

I used to instruct at Road Atlanta and have raced there with BMWCCA Club Racing. It's a great track, very fast and will test your bravery. It's not particularly hard on tires so your tire choice should be fine. When I did the Ford Track Attack for Shelby owners in Utah, they told me they were using stock brake pads and brake fluid with no issues and I would assume the same would apply to Road Atlanta. You really only hammer the brakes once and it will be downhill at over 140+ mph, 5th to 2nd gear most likely. Just drive with what the car gives you and have fun.

Yea going down that hill into turn 10a and 10b looks pretty scary. For some reason I am more nervous about turn 12. I've seen guys lift there and it's game over.

 

[proeagles]

Yea going down that hill into turn 10a and 10b looks pretty scary. For some reason I am more nervous about turn 12. I've seen guys lift there and it's game over.

That is where the bravery comes in. You cannot lift there, you just have to commit and hang on and pray you got it right. With the speed of the GT350 you won't be going through there balls to the walls anyway but you will be using the throttle to steer the car through it. I've never done it with 526hp but I can imagine what a blast it will be.

 

[yankeehick]

That is where the bravery comes in. You cannot lift there, you just have to commit and hang on and pray you got it right. With the speed of the GT350 you won't be going through there balls to the walls anyway but you will be using the throttle to steer the car through it. I've never done it with 526hp but I can imagine what a blast it will be.

Well, I guess pray for me then? lol. I've got 525 whp from a dyno last week and can't wait to open her up on that straight away!

 

[proeagles]

Love to know the top speed you get with that much HP. Of course you car weighs almost 1000 lbs more than my 240hp race car. Interesting to know how deep you can go on the brakes.

 

[yankeehick]

Love to know the top speed you get with that much HP. Of course you car weighs almost 1000 lbs more than my 240hp race car. Interesting to know how deep you can go on the brakes.

I'm betting if I go balls to the wall in the straight, I can hit 140+

 

[proeagles]

Depending on your launch off onto the straight I'm betting closer to 150. I was easily doing over 130 close to 138 with half the horsepower. Of course it was BMW horsepower. I say that because according to the math my 95 M3 with a chip and 240+ hp (basically stock) could redline in top gear at 7300 RPM which was 160.

 

[yankeehick]

Depending on your launch off onto the straight I'm betting closer to 150. I was easily doing over 130 close to 138 with half the horsepower. Of course it was BMW horsepower. I say that because according to the math my 95 M3 with a chip and 240+ hp (basically stock) could redline in top gear at 7300 RPM which was 160.

It will be interesting to see how fast. I just can't imagine braking from 140+ into those downhill turns. I took my old Boss 302 with 800 whp to the GA half mile shootout and from a standstill to half mile, my fastest time was 160 flat. Then braking after that was sketchy and I had anoher half mile of room. However the Boss brakes feel like fisher price compared to the Shelby's brakes.

 

[matthewr87]

Who are you doing the HPDE through? Chin?

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