Track Night Car Prep – Part 3: Make It Handle, Make It Go

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54) 04/27/2015 at 23:10 • Filed to: track day bro

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We’ve covered !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Now that we have the car under control we can move on to the fun stuff – making it faster by increasing cornering speed and power.

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Generally speaking, as long as your car is in good condition, you don’t need to make any handling or power modifications to take your car to the track. Sure, there may be some body roll, and a Corvette Z06 can pass you as though you were in reverse, but that’s OK. In fact, it may be better to do your first track event or a few in stock condition so that you can determine what your car’s shortcomings are, and then make a plan to address them. Or you may decide it’s perfectly fine as it is, which is OK too. This isn’t a race, so who cares if the Z06 laps you a few times each session?

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You don’t need to rush right out and buy a set of coilovers to prepare your car for the track. But there are a few things to check, and potentially replace or improve, before you venture out.

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Where the rubber meets the road has the most profound effect on your car’s handling. My Subaru BRZ comes from the factory with Michelin Primacy HP tires, “affectionately” referred to as Prius tires since they’re also standard equipment on some models. They’re good for making a lot of noise and drifting, but not for any kind of performance driving. I drove one autocross on them, then gave up autocross until I could put some decent tires on the car because there was no point. The slippery tires seriously held the car back. Since then, I’ve switched to the popular Michelin Pilot Super Sports. They’re popular for good reason – they’ve completely transformed my car. Traction control rarely complains anymore unless I do something stupid. I knew the car had more to offer than the Prius tires could provide, and now I can get that extra performance out of it.

This extra performance, however, made me even more concerned about the brakes. The wider, grippier tires allow me to apply more braking power and stop the car faster, but this generates even more heat. It was all the more reason for me to upgrade my brake pads, as I described in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Particularly for your first track event, your stock tires should be able to handle it. As with autocross, you may want to add extra air to them to keep them from rolling over onto the sidewalls in the corners. But if you have cheaper all-season tires, you may want to consider an upgrade before going to the track. My MR2 came with Starfire all-seasons. No, I’d never heard of Starfire either. I took it to an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! event at St. Lawrence Motorsport Park that’s basically a time trial on an outdoor go-kart track. By the end of the weekend, I had melted the outer tread blocks off of my tires. So be wary of that if you have cheap tires.

Fortunately, there are many good performance street tires out there these days. You don’t need an R-compound tire, or even one of the popular autocross street tires. Because it’s not a race, you don’t need to squeak that extra half second per lap to beat someone, so you can get tires that will perform well on the track and on the street. Even better, that will make your street driving a lot more fun.

Alignment

No, not that kind of alignment – I mean wheel alignment. Stock alignment specifications are designed for safety, stability, and long tire life. But deviating from stock specs just a little can improve your car’s handling, and even improve tire life during spirited driving.

I bought my BRZ’s summer wheels used, from another BRZ owner, with a set of worn out Dunlops on them, knowing I’d have to replace them. I could tell just by looking at the tires that the previous owner had autocrossed a lot. While the inner edges were in pretty good shape, the outer edges were all worn out. This is a sign of not only aggressive cornering, but insufficient negative camber. By adding negative camber – tilting the top of the wheel more inward toward the center of the car – the tires won’t roll onto their sidewalls as much, not overuse the outer tread, and have a larger contact patch under hard cornering. This means more cornering traction, which means higher cornering speed.

A popular trick for autocross is to toe out the tires for faster cornering response. That’s all right for autocross speeds, but at track speeds the last thing you want is a car that’s twitchy in the corners. A little toe-in, like the stock specs, or possibly zero toe, is better for track driving, where you want stability at high speeds.

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Though not as fancy as springs, shocks, and sway bars, bushings can have a significant effect on your car’s performance. In some cases, worn bushings can even be a major safety concern. For instance, E30, E36, and E46 BMWs are known for the front control arm bushings failing. BMW CCA was particularly concerned about this when I was taking their driving schools due to the loss of control that could occur on the track, and insisted that they be checked thoroughly before every event.

Over the years, rubber bushings break down, wear out, and allow excess play in components that aren’t supposed to have it. Replacing these with urethane bushings not only fixes the problem, but also upgrades the bushing to a stiffer, more durable material. Bushings can be replaced individually, or sometimes it’s easier to buy a part, such as the BMW control arms, with the new bushing already pressed into it. Then you can just swap hard parts instead of having to remove the old bushing and press the new one in, which can be tricky. Tavarish recently !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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While some handling tweaks could help on the track, you don’t need any extra power. Really. Think about it – Spec Miata is one of the most popular classes for racing, yet they’re running less than 150hp. Anyone can put their foot to the floor and drive in a straight line. But carrying that speed through the turns – that’s the challenge. I’ll never forget the day I got a point-by from a 240hp BMW M Coupe by outdriving him in the corners in my 1.6 Miata with half his horsepower. That’s fun.

That said, if you already have power mods, don’t bother taking them off. Power is fun – there’s no question about that. Just make sure that whatever power enhancements you’ve added can handle extended periods at full throttle. You’ll be using it a lot more than on the street or drag strip. But don’t feel obligated to add power just for the sake of track driving. You may have enough time to smoke an entire cigarette as you go down the front straightaway, but with practice and skill you can hang with much faster cars in the turns.

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With all that in mind, you’re ready to head to the track. SCCA’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! events are a good place to start. So are marque club events – !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , etc. run some excellent events as well. Search the intertubes for track events in your area, head on out, and have fun driving your car like you’ve always wanted to.

(Photo credits: Dan Mull, Allison Feldhusen, Justin Hughes, Retro RPG, BMP Design)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Justin Hughes 04/28/2015 at 12:13

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LOVE this rubber.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Justin Hughes 04/28/2015 at 12:14

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This is what I go for.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Justin Hughes 04/28/2015 at 12:18

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I’ll never forget the day I got a point-by from a 240hp BMW M Coupe by outdriving him in the corners in my 1.6 Miata with half his horsepower. That’s fun.

Word. It was so much fun getting point-bys from a ZL1, a Carrera 4s, Corvettes, etc. in my four-door family sedan. Granted, my car has slightly more horsepower than your old Miata - ha!

I’ve given a point to a prepped NA at my local track (Hallett). I’m not proud!

Justin Hughes > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/28/2015 at 12:18

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Me too! I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works on the track. I can't explore the limits of grip on the street safely or legally.

Justin Hughes > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/28/2015 at 12:23

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I think my favorite was the day that I, in my Saturn, and a friend in a 1959 Turner Mk. I vintage race car, we’re the only people in our run group on R-compounds, and street tire technology hadn’t gotten as good as it is today. He’d gain on me in the corners, and I’d pull away on the straights, but I never held him up. Best of all, we passed EVERYBODY - in formation!

It’s not a race, but wow that was fun. He and I were pumped the rest of the day, as well as over a couple of beers afterward.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Justin Hughes 04/28/2015 at 12:25

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Sounds fantastic.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Justin Hughes 04/28/2015 at 17:48

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Sway bars are an easy mod too. If you drive a low-spec version of your car, you can pick up a thicker bar from the “sporty” version (or from a platform-mate) at a junkyard and it’ll bolt right on with no fuss.

Justin Hughes > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/28/2015 at 18:59

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Great tip - I’ve done that myself.

Mmmmm > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 05/21/2015 at 16:27

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I just moved to Tulsa and ran my first race at Hallett last weekend. That is a pretty fun track. Also, sounds like it was just repaved?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Mmmmm 05/21/2015 at 16:41

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Yeah, repaved last year. It’s just awesome to me that we have such a nice track just an hour from my front door! Check out Hallett Racing Group, Caffeine and Gasoline Tulsa and Car Spotting Tulsa on Facebook. Hope to see you around sometime.

Mmmmm > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 05/22/2015 at 11:02

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Sweet, will do. Thanks

jofran > Justin Hughes 06/19/2015 at 22:05

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Great article. Bushings > shocks > springs.

Justin Hughes > jofran 06/19/2015 at 22:08

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Thanks!

Shifty McShifterson > Justin Hughes 06/20/2015 at 00:25

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I’m running Midwest Council of Sports Car Clubs’ high-speed autocross, on road courses like Blackhawk Farms and Autobahn Country Club. For now, it’s still on my Fusion’s stock-type Hankook Optimo tires. These things carry a 700 treadwear rating, I swear I didn’t know they went that high! They do OK, but I can’t wait to get some mildly performance-oriented all-seasons on there.