SCCA Racing

[rednecks70]

Yesterday I attended an SCCA Novice school for autocross. It was fun and had a good time. The ZL1 turns very well but traction on the rear tires (Nitto 555, 320 tread wear) was an issue, I was sideways a lot of the time which is fun but not the fastest way around the course.

A few instructors suggest I may enjoy Track Night in America at Pocono Speedway. My concerns are tires and brakes. I'm in the process of looking for a new home and selling my current home so I need to limit my expenses until the move is complete. Just wondering if anyone has done one of these events with Dot3 brake fluid, stock brake pads and tires with similar tread wear. My concern is spending more time letting the brakes/brake fluid cool off than being on the track. It looks like I would get three 20 minute sessions on track.

[SS Performance]

Track Nights are inexpensive and fun. For a novice you can run them on your set up ok. As you advance then you need to look int upgrades.

The ZL1 brakes are very good a more aggressive pad would help.

Any other upgrade would depend upon how serious you are. I have a second set of wheels that I have my track tires mounted on, NT01's. I really like them. Brake fluid DOT4 or better is a must if your serious. Just remember that the higher the boil temp the more frequently you need to change the fluid. Higher temp fluids are more prone to absorbing water.

I would also recommend finding a organization that provides in car instructors for novices. I found both NASA and Chin Motorsports had very good instructors. I know NASA has events at Pocono.

Good luck and enjoy. It's a blast.

Craig

[craigk777]

I would definitely swap out the brake fluid for DOT 4. Depending on the track, your brakes will start to fade very quickly with DOT 3.

[ZMEnow]

Originally Posted by rednecks70

Yesterday I attended an SCCA Novice school for autocross. It was fun and had a good time. The ZL1 turns very well but traction on the rear tires (Nitto 555, 320 tread wear) was an issue, I was sideways a lot of the time which is fun but not the fastest way around the course.

A few instructors suggest I may enjoy Track Night in America at Pocono Speedway. My concerns are tires and brakes. I'm in the process of looking for a new home and selling my current home so I need to limit my expenses until the move is complete. Just wondering if anyone has done one of these events with Dot3 brake fluid, stock brake pads and tires with similar tread wear. My concern is spending more time letting the brakes/brake fluid cool off than being on the track. It looks like I would get three 20 minute sessions on track.

Back in the day when I tracked mine a lot, ( about 800 laps) it only took one session for me to learn my lesson. I had just finished a 22 lap session and was starting another when I was coming off the mini stretch which takes you into a 180 slow turn about 97mph to the main stretch where I was hitting 134. Needless to say I felt the peddle dip ever so slightly even though the brakes grabbed I just didn't feel good about it. So I hit the flashers turning on to the main stretch and whined up 1st and hit the brakes and they went right to the floor. Stayed on 1st and exited the track using the hand brake. A quick thermo gun check and they where at 650. Might not be here if I had taken that main stretch.

Don't let anybody tell you can run DOT 3 if you are going to run consecutive laps, I have seen enough cars go home on a flat bed for those who were told the same and believed it.

As far as loosing traction at the rear did you air down before you started laps, remember GM suggest hitting the target after you are warmed up not starting out at PSI. There was a good You tube video that GM had for pre check before running laps I will see if I can still find it. Just remember you have to change DOT4 every 2 years as it will pull in water and cause rust..

[rednecks70]

Thanks guys. I will definitely swap out the dot 3 for dot 4 if I decide to run the Pocono event.