help me cross over to the dark side. i've decided i want to track my car. Mods are in my sig. right now the suspension and brakes are stock. i'm coming into some money shortly and I was looking for a recommendation for a good starting point for the first mods in my quest to lap some vettes. so how would you guys do it from the ground up? first mods to last in order of importance and improvement. i cant afford to buy it all at once so im looking for "steps". thanks for the input guys!
Road race guys
- Thread starter ABrown
- Start date
For starters, hang out in these forums and do a LOT of reading and searches:
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=203
Secondly, keep in mind the greatest mod of all is the driver mod. Your car, completely stock, is WAY more capable than you are. Drive it stock! Learn to drive before you mod.
The most important mod is front brake cooling. Then a good helmet. That's about it for starters.
There are few things we love more than popping cherries of virgin track ho's.
Good luck!
:thumbsup::coolman::beer:
Listen to ac427cobra. The more seat time the better. A friend of mine (student about a year ago) has done about 30 track weekends last year. He started in hpde 1 and progresses to 3 and he's ready to go to hpde 4 and time trials. I watched as he progressed and seems to have really good judgement, he talked to many instructors, asked for rides in fatser cars, came to the downloads in other groups, asked question all in search of more knowledge.There is very little you need to do in order to pass up some of the vettes.
I have a friend that has raced some of the older fox bodies in SCCA events. She told me to think twice before tracking my car because it would become a looose, squeeky rattle-trap if I ran even a half-dozen events with it.
What say you guys who have done it?
What say you guys who have done it?
My car is too loud to hear any squeaks or rattles! :lol:
Subfames are good, 6 point cage connected to the roof helps but those fender aprons are downright scary :uh oh: Torsion is your worst enemy.
AC remember our agreement
AC remember our agreement
6 point cage connected to the roof?:shrug: Is this correct? If so got any pic's?
To prepare the car and yourself I would
1. Install subframe connectors.
2. Flush your brake fluid and make sure they are in good working order w/ a good amount of pad left.
3. Check the rest of your fluids and parts for soundness and proper operation.
4. In car camera mount. Looking back will really help you learn some of your mistakes, IMO.
As AC427cobra stated, your car is more capable than you. It was hard for me to accept the first time I OTed as well. Once you go out for your first time you'll realize that you are not as good of a driver as you thought. At least that was my experience. After you have a few OT events under your belt then you will start to appreciate your car for the ability it has stock.
Warning, prepare yourself for an addictive hobby, your everyday thoughts are about to change.
1. Install subframe connectors.
2. Flush your brake fluid and make sure they are in good working order w/ a good amount of pad left.
3. Check the rest of your fluids and parts for soundness and proper operation.
4. In car camera mount. Looking back will really help you learn some of your mistakes, IMO.
As AC427cobra stated, your car is more capable than you. It was hard for me to accept the first time I OTed as well. Once you go out for your first time you'll realize that you are not as good of a driver as you thought. At least that was my experience. After you have a few OT events under your belt then you will start to appreciate your car for the ability it has stock.
Warning, prepare yourself for an addictive hobby, your everyday thoughts are about to change.
That's the part the upper shock towers attach to under the fenders
thanks for the info. im not the greatest driver and i tracked my last car on road atlanta. it was an eye opener for sure. im just trying to get rid of all the weak links in the car right now. i'm not going for coilovers or anything until i can drive the stock suspension for all its worth.
For sure do the brake duct kits first. This will allow you to use a street/track pad and they will last longer too.
Less chance of boiling your (no more than 6 days old) FRESH brake fluid. These are heavy cars, as you know.
I ran for 2 years(1 event per year) just like that... though I did put FLSFCs in early on, they are certainly not required.
Read the open track primer in the open track forum. It is a great read. I've read it several times and still go back from time to time.
Running a pulley car is going to be an adventure in heat management.
If you have a flash tuner with user adjustments, I would add some fuel(11.2 a/f), and pull some timing out(less advance). This will help keep the heat down a little.
Shifting early at about 4 to 4500 will still get you around the track quickly but won't get you hot as fast as ripping it right up to 6 or beyond.
Buy a set of pads and carefully bed them in before your normal street pads are gone. NEVER throw out your used pads! They may get you though a track event or home some day.
Don't go mod happy until you have done at least 2 weekends with this car.
There are some issues these cars have that you may want to target your money to.
One would be a REAL TEMP GAUGE!
Another would be caster camber plates.
Later we can talk about cooling mods and such.
With these few tips you should be set to have a blast. Learn how to monitor engine coolant temps via the cluster odometer test read out (in Celsius) so you can back off when you need to
Less chance of boiling your (no more than 6 days old) FRESH brake fluid. These are heavy cars, as you know.
I ran for 2 years(1 event per year) just like that... though I did put FLSFCs in early on, they are certainly not required.
Read the open track primer in the open track forum. It is a great read. I've read it several times and still go back from time to time.
Running a pulley car is going to be an adventure in heat management.
If you have a flash tuner with user adjustments, I would add some fuel(11.2 a/f), and pull some timing out(less advance). This will help keep the heat down a little.
Shifting early at about 4 to 4500 will still get you around the track quickly but won't get you hot as fast as ripping it right up to 6 or beyond.
Buy a set of pads and carefully bed them in before your normal street pads are gone. NEVER throw out your used pads! They may get you though a track event or home some day.
Don't go mod happy until you have done at least 2 weekends with this car.
There are some issues these cars have that you may want to target your money to.
One would be a REAL TEMP GAUGE!
Another would be caster camber plates.
Later we can talk about cooling mods and such.
With these few tips you should be set to have a blast. Learn how to monitor engine coolant temps via the cluster odometer test read out (in Celsius) so you can back off when you need to
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Not in your case. Sorry dude.
Are larger oil pans a necessity? :shrug:
A fox body car started out its life as a loose, squeaky rattle-trap. Whats the difference between one that has seen track time and one that hasn't?
No. I would simply add an extra 1/2 to 1 quart of oil. To start anyway.
Great thread! Im very interested in tracking my car also. I know i have alot to research and most importantly need seat time.
No but it's a nice durability mod if you feel you are gong to be going semi hard core.
It makes ZERO extra power. but I have seen at least 2 guys with 01s spin rod bearings from oil starvation, shortly after going to R compound tires(high G loads).... I did not want to go there. Plus I don't have a BIG A$$ air to oil.... oil cooler.
We have the same pan and pickup as 99/01s.:dw:
"a necessity?" you decide.
..
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