Car54

It's not so much oil temp that V is worried about...it's oil starvation. The design of most GM V8's is to sling oil away from the pickup. Smbstyle probably won't experience those problems at his first track event...and his instructor will have the same car. Hopefully they can talk through some upgrades that keep the motor lubed.

It's a great point to bring up. Smbstyle, be sure to post back what suggestions you receive so we can pass them along to our friend (with a G8 ).

smbstyle

what groups were they in? i would assume intermediate solo....

I also keep hearing that the torquey, RWD cars tend to find the wall a bit more than others... i always read about a Z06 or f-body hitting the wall at a track event.

smbstyle

no it does not. I do have an oil temp gauge though that I will be monitoring. from all the caddy forum guys who have done road courses, they say the only issue they have had with the V on the road course is brake fade (which is normal for a street pad) and staying planted in the seat (horrible lateral support).

smbstyle

absolutely! One thing on my list to bring is a pen and notepad, lol.

since this is an LS6 motor, I wonder if the C5 Z06 aftermarket dry sump kits would fit? (same motor). although that is probably a whole nother topic for a different day.

another thing I am thinking about is the NT-05's that I just put on the car about 1k miles ago, if I need to get some wear on them before taking them onto the track... i am hoping this week with PCA and next week with FCRC at Brooksville might get the tires a bit more broken in.

Car54

To help plant yourself in the seat there are a couple of things you can do.

Get some of that drawer liner stuff...it's like a foam waffle. It helps your butt grip leather. Just a 18"x18" piece for you and your co-pilot will suffice.

Try to put your seat back, both bottom and recline. Pull up very snugly on your lap belt and feed all the slack into the re-tractor. Now sharply yank on the shoulder belt until you feel the ratchet grab. Move your seat back into position and it should hold you tightly. This is great for autox as well.


As for your tires...don't worry about mold release and all that hype. Tires grip the most from the start (without getting into tread squirm, shaving tires, etc). Most (pro) race teams will start a race or qualifying with the stickers still on the tires.

Loren

Put an extra quart of oil in the car. Maybe even a full quart if it's a 5+ quart capacity. More oil in the pan reduces the likelihood of a starved oil pickup.

Definitely learn the seatbelt trick. Next best thing to having a harness, and it's free.

And I'll second "don't worry about the tires". If they started out brand new, they'll be broken in after about 2 laps. Do make note of your cold tire temps and how they translate to hot temps. Check for sidewall rollover after your first shared_session. Add pressure if necessary. Otherwise, by about your third session, you should be starting to get a feel for whether the car has significant over or understeer issues and you can tweak the tire pressures a little bit. In general, though... for a first time track event, set the pressures a little on the high side and just plain don't worry about them.

smbstyle

i think its just more of the bolstering than anything, because the entire center section of the seats are alacantra or fake suede.