[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by X25

Finally did my first track day with the car!

• Michelin Pilot Super Slows were awful. They do provide great grip for 2, perhaps 3 laps, and then they overheat and grip drops! I was all over the place whole day! I had to do cool-down laps due to this every few laps.
• When I updated my routing for brake ducting, it turned out my driver side was a little bit short for the new route. I didn't think it would be an issue, but it actually ripped during my trip to the track. This meant that the driver side brakes were not cooled as good as the passenger side.
• All calipers' color darkened a little bit. I remember this happening to my '11 EVO's brakes, too, which were also Brembos, so I presume this is normal.
• The brakes did never fade during the day. I was able to smell them, though, so they were getting hot.
• Engine oil quickly climbed to beyond 266 degrees. Fortunately, I was able to track the oil temp using a Bluetooth OBD II reader, and Torque app on my Android phone. The oil temp settled around 280-285 degree range, and never got beyond 289 degrees. That said, I had to do quite a few cool-down laps due to overheating tires, so it might have exceeded 289 degrees if I could push it more without a cool-down lap.

Action items:
Brake pads:
ST43 pads worked great with no issues, but they do SCREAM! Scream as in wife of an SUV driver turns her head to me and says "Oh my god!", in utter shock of how loud my brakes are. Scream as in a firefighter's siren, only in more annoying higher pitch.

• I made a quick experiment by replacing the front pads with stock ones, leaving the race pads in the rear to see if it's the fronts or rears (or both?) that make the noise. It did not help much, if at all. The rear brakes were still screaming like there is no tomorrow.
• At this point, I am considering trying a different pad. Any suggestions? ST43s were loud on my EVO as well, so perhaps this is something common with these Brembo pads' shape, at least for this kind of brake pad.

Engine cooling:
The radiator by itself did not keep the engine oil temps satisfactorily cool enough. The coolant never exceeded 220s F, but engine oil quickly got to 280s F within few laps.

• One option is to use the larger Z/28 liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger. If it could keep the temps at 260 degrees or less, I would be a happy customer.
• The other option is to add an air-to-oil cooler. The problem with this solution is the possible oil leak or clogged thermostat issues, not to mention having to add plumbing for the cooler, etc. It is also about $800 when you build a kit to last and perform well.

Tires:
I knew PSS tires would not help much, but I didn't expect such a bad performance. Or perhaps I am just spoiled by all the R-compound tires I've been using on my former cars and the Miata. I am still undecided on what to do on this. I can:

• Buy Nitto NT01 in stock size; $375/tire.
• Buy 19"x11" wheels all around and find a good matching tire. The candidates are Trofeo R, Michelin Sport Cup 2, R888 to name a few. They are around $550/tire(!!!), except the R888, which is about $390, but I don't want that tire!

New mod: yellow Chevrolet decal! :P


Here is the video from the day. I was all over the place. Still, the time was not too bad at all. It gives me hope that it can do wonders once the car's set-up is dialed in, and it is shod with appropriate tires. 2: 02.12 was the best lap of the day.


Same track with my Miata (counter-clockwise):

Man love the way that Mazda handles compared to the 1LE. I'm getting me one of those Miatas.