[swizzy]

Hi all, I've had my 1ss 1le for two weeks now (1300 miles) and I'm excited to attend my first track day on the 24th! I will be changing oil and diff once I hit 1500 miles. I've never been on a track or had a car like this so I just want to be as prepared as I can be. Here are some questions and concerns I have.
1. What is necessary to do and change on the car before I track it?
2. What should I do about an alignment? I don't daily my car It's 80% used for very spirited mountain roads and probably one or so track days a month.
3. I saw something about removing the front break splash shields? Does that apply to 1le?
4.If anything what should I bring with me?
5. Any good advice, videos or reads I should be aware of?
I know this is a lot but I just want the car and myself to be as prepared as possible.
Thanks for any and all help in advanced!

[rdoggy]

1. GM does publish a track prep guide. https://my.chevrolet.com/content/dam...tion-guide.pdf

2. Personally I'd run a track friendly alignment.

3. At least on my 2017 that does not apply to 1LE cars.

4. Water, Helmet, clean teeth. There will be lots of grinning.

5. Too subjective and too many to list.

I'm far from an expert but I had a blast in mine last year. Another month until track season starts by me.

[nasbagoat]

4. Personally I bring 10 extra gallons of fuel so I don't have to pay for fuel at the track, lawn chair.

5. Get a full nights sleep, don't drink to excess, don't worry about being fast just go out and enjoy your self, fast will come later. You will have a overload of information to learn. Flags/flag stations/safety rules and SOPs/lines of the track/limits of the car.

[pbsinternet1le]

Be sure to use correct oil. 0 w40 or 5w 40. Dealer will charge xtra and most likely not have it and use 5w30
When you get an alignment give them specific numbers. See track alignment specs. Dealer will most likely not know what you are talking about when you ask for track alignment..shoot for -2.0 or more camber in front. -1.5 in rear.
Watch tire pressures.
Use sport 1 ptm...
Ck sway bar end links and loctite. They work loose.
Only issue I've had is knee pad comes loose on driver side.
Factory alignment will have a good bit of understeer.

[nasbagoat]

He is right for the alignment. Even if they do have track alignment data in the computer it will be for the SS not the 1LE.

Also maybe I was just being conservative but using dry PTM with all its intrusion I found helpful my first couple sessions while I was learning the car.

Originally Posted by pbsinternet1le

Be sure to use correct oil. 0 w40 or 5w 40. Dealer will charge xtra and most likely not have it and use 5w30
When you get an alignment give them specific numbers. See track alignment specs. Dealer will most likely not know what you are talking about when you ask for track alignment..shoot for -2.0 or more camber in front. -1.5 in rear.
Watch tire pressures.
Use sport 1 ptm...
Ck sway bar end links and loctite. They work loose.
Only issue I've had is knee pad comes loose on driver side.
Factory alignment will have a good bit of understeer.

[pbsinternet1le]

Be sure to use correct oil. 0 w40 or 5w 40. Dealer will charge xtra and most likely not have it and use 5w30
When you get an alignment give them specific numbers. See track alignment specs. Dealer will most likely not know what you are talkinh about when you ask for track alignment..shoot for -2.0 or more camber in front. -1.5 in rear.
Watch tire pressures.
Use sport 1 ptm...
Ck sway bar end links and loctite. They work loose.
Only issue I've had is knee pad comes loose on driver side.
Factory alignment will have a good bit of understeer. Forgot to add.. use dot4 brake fluid. Dot 3 will boil.

[1LExtreme]

The most important thing is to change the brake fluid. For some strange reason GM still uses DOT3 brake fluid, but recommend DOT4 for track. I use Castrol SRF and would highly recommend it. However there are cheaper options that work as well.

[pbsinternet1le]

Originally Posted by 1LExtreme

The most important thing is to change the brake fluid. For some strange reason GM still uses DOT3 brake fluid, but recommend DOT4 for track. I use Castrol SRF and would highly recommend it. However there are cheaper options that work as well.

Plus1..

[JK001]

Originally Posted by 1LExtreme

The most important thing is to change the brake fluid. For some strange reason GM still uses DOT3 brake fluid, but recommend DOT4 for track. I use Castrol SRF and would highly recommend it. However there are cheaper options that work as well.

Anyone had a good or bad experience with ATE 200 brake fluid?

[baron95]

Originally Posted by JK001

Anyone had a good or bad experience with ATE 200 brake fluid?

I have been using it for almost 10 years on track. Never a problem across multiple cars. It is the cheapest, easiest to find high-temp brake fluid. For most cars, there is little sense in paying a lot more to get an extra 20C in boiling point headroom.





Some more dorky notes:
I put heat strips on calipers and rotor temp paint on every car I track. So I know exactly what temps are being reached (costs ˜$50 to do 10 cars) and I also have a brake fluid moisture content gauge (costs ˜$20). Most people spend hundreds of dollars on high temp fluid and flushing them out regularly, but won't invest $50 to find out what temp you reach and how much moisture is in your brake fluid. I don't know why.

Hint: I kept an open container of ATE200 in my garage for 3 years and the moisture content never exceeded 1%.

Not discouraging anyone from buying the best brake fluid that money can buy. Just passing along my experience.

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by swizzy

Hi all, I've had my 1ss 1le for two weeks now (1300 miles) and I'm excited to attend my first track day on the 24th! I will be changing oil and diff once I hit 1500 miles. I've never been on a track or had a car like this so I just want to be as prepared as I can be. Here are some questions and concerns I have.
1. What is necessary to do and change on the car before I track it?
2. What should I do about an alignment? I don't daily my car It's 80% used for very spirited mountain roads and probably one or so track days a month.
3. I saw something about removing the front break splash shields? Does that apply to 1le?
4.If anything what should I bring with me?
5. Any good advice, videos or reads I should be aware of?
I know this is a lot but I just want the car and myself to be as prepared as possible.
Thanks for any and all help in advanced!

go to www.sobmw.ca then schools tab upper left then additional info...
this will give you all the info you need in terms of how to prep, what to bring etc.

as suggested already the only thing worth doing on these cars is fresh and proper dexos 2 motor oil and diff fluid change, high temp brake fluid plus alignment. Here id strongly suggest going further than High Performance Supplement suggestions and this means maxing the front camber to about 2.6F and 1.6R with toe suggestions per the manual.

Also follow the said manual's cold and hot tire temp guidelines.

Wear soft sole shoes so you can feel the pedals. If you get hooked then a pair of driving shoes and gloves do make a difference.

Get Michael Krumm's book Driving on the Edge. It is the best one out there right now and he gives excellent advice which is easy to read and follow.
Note that his advice may differ from "school" practices which often teach slightly different basics and that's ok. But it is also good to know how fast guys really drive. For your first few times just listen to your instructor, focus on learning proper vision, be smooth with controls and learn proper circuit line.

That will be sensory overload already but dont sweat it. Dont try to be "fast" just focus on doing the basics well. Pace comes with experience and ability to feel the car. The latter comes with tons of seat time so focus on that vs any mods which are completely unnecessary on a 1le.

And most of all: have fun!!!

PS As to the brake fluid, any "race" grade fluid will do imo. I have always used Willwood Racing Fluid on all my cars and never boiled it - yet it is "only" DOT3. Id use whatever your mechanic uses for other track cars, or what experienced members use here. Several good products to chose from and all will do well imo albeit everyone seems to swear by their own choice lol!

[TrackClub]

Another suggestion: spend some time on YouTube to try and familiarize yourself with how the track flows. pick somebody experienced if possible perhaps a vid of a race or top group run vs a beginner group if thats possible. the idea is just to familiarize your senses with how the corners flow. Also look up a track map via Google and study it in terms of corner flow: are they tight and slow, or sweeping and fast? This might be a bit premature until you get more experience but is always a good idea imo. You will get more out of it once you learn different corner types and what lines they usually require but a bit of prior prep even at this stage wont hurt (especially vids).

[swizzy]

Thanks for the advice! Concerning the oil is 0/5w 40 a must or could I go my first track day without it? I just bought 5w30 (can't return) and wouldn't want it to be for nothing. And I'll check the end links while doing fluids, do you happen to know the torque spec for them?

Originally Posted by pbsinternet1le

Be sure to use correct oil. 0 w40 or 5w 40. Dealer will charge xtra and most likely not have it and use 5w30
When you get an alignment give them specific numbers. See track alignment specs. Dealer will most likely not know what you are talkinh about when you ask for track alignment..shoot for -2.0 or more camber in front. -1.5 in rear.
Watch tire pressures.
Use sport 1 ptm...
Ck sway bar end links and loctite. They work loose.
Only issue I've had is knee pad comes loose on driver side.
Factory alignment will have a good bit of understeer. Forgot to add.. use dot4 brake fluid. Dot 3 will boil.

[swizzy]

I appreciate the advice! I'll give the ATE a shot then. Do you know how much I should buy/have on hand?

Originally Posted by baron95

I have been using it for almost 10 years on track. Never a problem across multiple cars. It is the cheapest, easiest to find high-temp brake fluid. For most cars, there is little sense in paying a lot more to get an extra 20C in boiling point headroom.