fd3virgin

i have een feeling guilty b/c i dumped alot of money on my vette lately. it's time for my baby. i want to start tracking it on road courses. besides all the fluid changes and pads what do i need to upgrade. i am in for the gb for the fuel tank anti- starvation cover already.
car has 80k... tein coilovers, kirk roll bar, single turbo t78 with a front mount. twin supra tanks with lots of fuel.

all your help is appreciated? this is for fun and i am not trying to win money. just safer driving on the track.

i will start?
1) harnesses?

rynberg

I would suggest you start doing some serious work on brakes and cooling. There is nothing wrong with running the stock belts and seats for a while.

I would run very low boost at the track until you get used to tracking the car with a single.

wrankin

Rynberg is correct that cooling is probably next on your list for car upgrades - an FMIC is not conducive to good airflow across the radiator. A good thick aluminum radiator (koyo or fluidyne) would be good to get in there. Also, I would recommend upgrading to a dual oil cooler setup, if you don't have one already (a used stock system is fine if you can find one in good shape). Finally, a aftermarket water temp gauge is a must in order to monitor things on the track.

Brakes? Get a good set of track pads and you should be fine. Search the forum for recommendations.

But I think that your initial thoughts were spot on - safety. Since you already have the rollbar in, I would recommend going with good 6-point harnesses for both passenger and driver (most HPDEs require equal protection for both). I assume that you already have a Snell SA2000 or 2005 rated helmet? Also, you should pad the rollbar near anyplace where it will come in contact with the head - and use high-density FIA-type padding, not the lightweight foam stuff. (if you can squish it between your thumb and finger and it springs back, it's not the right stuff).

Good luck,

-bill

fd3virgin

thanks, i have a helmet. i also have a fluidyne rad. i will be turning down the boost till i get used to the car. could i run the 6pt harnesses with the stock seats? i also have fuel pressure, water temp, boost, air fuel gauges. i might look into gettting a dual oil cooler from an r1. i might get some motul brake fluid. i already have the goodrich ss lines to prevent fade. thanks.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

SS lines don't really prevent brake fade. They prevent the expansion of the rubber in the stock lines when pressure is applied. To deal with fade, you have a few things to deal with:

1. Brake fluid
2. Brake pads
3. Airflow to the rotors

Don't even think about #2 until you've done 1 & 2 and still have fade problems.

wrankin

I disagree with your order there, Mahjik. I think a decent set of lapping day pads is a good investment even with stock airflow across the rotors. I'm not advocating Hawk blues, but a HP+ or similar pad is a good thing to have, and I would recommend it before going with any specialized brake ducting. If for nothing else than longevity.

-bill

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

That last line should have been "Don't even think about #3".

1 & 2 really go together. However, you can "get by" with just decent fluid for the first outting or two at a track, for a novice that is. Most people run decent enough pads on RX-7's where they might not be "track pads", but they'll take some novice abuse. The fluid however is a problem as most owners just get the cheap stuff from NAPA or Autozone and it won't hold up to even mild track work.

wrankin

Ahh, well now your making sense!

I agree 100% about the fluid. It doesn't even have to be that expensive. A full flush with a liter of Valvoline Synthetic will handle most cases just fine (at least with moderate pads and street tires).

-b

joe-c

iTrader: (2)

spend it on something you think needs to most attention for reliability.