One of my friends and I are going to some place in Maryland to get taught how to road race by some professional drivers. My question is, we are racing our own cars and I don't want to look like a total fool as far as car swaying and stuff, what should I do to help me stick in the corners a bit better?

 

I'm sure you are gonna get "do this suspension mod, do that suspension mod" responses.

But the very BEST thing you could do. Get some good tires. And I'm not talking about some expensive normal street tire, but a REAL performance tire, either a DOT Road Race tire or perhaps a full slick.

Every suspension mod you can do won't do a bit of good unless you have some tires that are designed for the job at hand.

I'd also suggest making sure everything on the car is up to snuff. Any brake upgrades you can do would be beneficial as well.

 

go autoXing, and to an AutoXing school. you will learn way more and be faster than road race boy!

 

thats pretty much what we're doing. Theres a place somewhere in Maryland that teaches road racing. It should be pretty fun. Thanks Joe Brodman, I'll definitely consider that.

 

Like Joe said... the single biggest improvement will be with the proper tires. A good set of sticky tires will drastically improve your cornering ability.

But most importantly get some seat time.

Suspension modifications can be added later....our cars with decent shocks will handle amazingly well on a road course.

 

Does using a rear sway bar from a 3rd gen help out?
My brother is using my 4th gen rear with my 3rd gen sway bar and my bar is almost twice as thick as his stock one.
You should be able to get one off of an Iroc or Firebird WS6 for about $50 at a junkyard.

 

I have been attending driving Schools for a number of years in another car (M3) and I am in the process of preping a camaro.

You should not learn to drive a road course on R-Compound tires. They do provide much better traction, but you are learning and should learn first on street tires. The reason for learning on street tires is that they provide much more feedback when approaching the traction limit. You will hear a squeal when cornering and when you have reach the traction limit it will turn into a squall. Believe me you will notice the difference in the sound.

When learning you should not concentrate on speed. You should concentrate on the learning the braking point, turn in, apex and trackout points. Of course these will change as your speed increases.

Just make sure you have a decent set of ultra high performance or Max performance street tires to learn on and after at least two weekend events I would make the step up to R-Compound tires.

It is also better to learn to drive first and then begin moding the suspension of your car.

Just something to think about.

Have fun and be safe. Check the ego at the front gate.

 

I don't agree with the rear swaybar upgrade, if anything upgrade only your front. The other guys have good points about learning with what you got before going to the hi perf stuff.

 

I've definitely heard this plenty of times. I've heard its best to learn a road coarse while your car is stock. So that you get the feel first. I plan on doing this. I just really don't want to break anything. What are my weak points?

 

The only really weak point about road racing your car is the brakes.

You'll be fine your first time or two out, but eventually you want to lose the LT1 front brakes.

For your first time....just make sure you use good brake fluid with some decent pads.

I use Ford HD brake fluid.... it is cheap and very good. I flush my system before every event with new fluid.

For pads... I used PFC carbon metallic's and PFC 90's. Both did a fair job, except for one very brake intensive track I visited.


Another area that can be of concern for a higher mileage car...... Double check for any play in your front hubs. I did pop a hub at Texas World Speedway at around 100mph. It felt and sounded like a blown tire. Luckily no damage.

 

As indicted by All_Z_Way you should go with a High Temp Brake fluid. The HD fluid is good. I personally ran Ate Superblue fluid and was very happy with it. Do change your pads. I used the Hawk HP+ and they held up well.

Be sure to take the cooldown lap and try not to touch the brakes during this lap as this allows your rotors to cool evenly and as much as possible before parking it. Do not ever put on your evergency brake after returning to the paddock as this will for sure warp your rotors. After each run pop the hood and give a good inspection for leaks...etc..

Always check your lugs and tires between runs. You must think about your safety and the safety of others who are on the track with you.

Remember....Smooooooooth is fast.

 

Why dont you post in the RR/AutoX forum? A good number of them dont drop in LT1 Tech that often, if at all.

 

I've never noticed the Auto cross forum. I'll definitely repost there, and see the response I get. Thanks so much for all the response here. I definitely need to do brakes and some high temp fluid. Thanks again