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Originally Posted by Whooosah
Ya that was me. My first track day in the mostly stock car I roasted the front pads. This was the 3rd 20 minute session at portland international raceway when I was starting to feel comfortable with the car and track and started to push harder and deeper into the braking zones.
If you think you've got after market pads I would definitely Crack the calipers open and see what's in there for peace of mind and you can take notes on how well they perform. The pads were the first thing to fail on my car stock which forced me to pull in just when I started to really have fun. Managed to pass a couple faster cars like a wrx and new golf r by eating them up in the corners and braking. It's a bummer pulling in half way through the last session because you'll be probably at your fastest along with everyone else going for it.
Also if you have one get a go pro like camera. I got a git2 action camera for 150 bucks go pro knock off yet good quality and less than half price for same features. Get your mounting setup all squared away and do some tests on the streats to make sure it captures good. I mounted mine to the pax headrest so I could see myself and the outside. Having video to watch after is awesome for studying for your next track day to see where you can go faster and what lines to take.
Someone already mentioned an obd2 WiFi adapter too linked to your phone. I'm def getting a setup like that for my next track day. You can log tons of cool info and overlay it on your video.
I would bring a print out one or two copies of the track layout and a pen so you can take notes on where to brake and what line to take. Also ask some of the more experienced guys for notes too and write them down. The more you know and can apply on the track the more fun you'll have. If you can get an experienced driver to ride along and coach that would be better.
It's important to know the proper racing line and drive it even at slower speeds when you are first starting out. That way as you get quicker you can start adding more speed to your lines braking later and carrying more speed. If you get off line then you'll know how to adjust.
Sorry for the long post. I'm still buzzing from my first trackday I did last week and had a ton of fun. These are some of my thoughts and review of a first trackday. Hope you have fun and report back. Thunderhill looks like an amazing track!
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Usually the Stock brake fluid is replaced too. One of the more Popular Magazines like Motortrend were track testing a bunch of cars a few years ago. And of all the cars they had, a race version Nismo 370Z, boiled it's brake fluid after a few laps and ran off the track. Of all the Companies in the world offering a Track Car the still used normal brake fluid which was non high performance. And that's even with cars that don't require the changing of their stock brake fluid. It's just another one of those items you want to change when you really up the power of your car.