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Track day, now with details/pics, May 6th post

7K views 25 replies 7 participants last post by  CasperCobra 
#1 · (Edited)
As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ll be taking Clutch on a High-Speed Autocross (HSAX) day on May 3rd. I’m putting together a list of what Clutch will need for race day. I had two rear tires that were getting low on tread, just about to the tread wear indicators. A couple of the guys at the NSSCC meeting said I should use these for the fronts, for better traction and reduced risk of “chunking”, which is what it sounds like, chunks of street-tire tread getting torn off during hard driving. I got their replacements put on the car, and I saw that one of the “racing tires” is too far gone, there is hardly any tread left in the center. So there goes that idea. Upshot: I won’t have to buy rims to put them on. Bank.

The track guys also recommend flushing the brake fluid and using higher-temp fluid. Good advice for daily use as well, I would think- I have no indication that the brake fluid has been flushed on my car, and he’s 6 years old now. The brakes work fine as they are now, except for some apparent front rotor warpage. I’m going to put in new front pads and rotors for the track day, and flush the brake fluid in favor of something with higher temperature resistance, haven’t decided what yet. I’ve heard that the Motorcraft stuff is a good value.

I had been leaning towards a full 4-wheel set of slotted/drilled rotors with ceramic pads, as low as $175 or so from Brakemotive on eBay, they sell Powerstop stuff. But honestly, that’s overkill on a couple levels. I can’t push the car that hard on the track, since it’s my DD and I can’t afford to kill it. And I won’t even be AX-ing it regularly anyway, maybe 3 or 4 times a year at most. Add to that the increased pad wear that results from d/s rotors, and the risk of their cracking, and I think my best braking investment right now will be a set of high-quality, name-brand, blank front rotors and ceramic pads, and high-temp brake fluid.

Other things to do, mostly on race day:
- pump the tires up to about 36-37psi
- maybe put a tiny bit of extra oil in the engine
-empty out the random stuff I carry in the car, like my son’s booster seat, my tool bag, R2-D2 USB charger, etc. Rules dictate that you remove the spare tire and jack for your track runs.
-fill the fuel tank. I’ll have to remember to reset the fuel economy gauge when I get to the track, it’ll be interesting to see.
-buy/make my number (121) and class info. I might just bring a roll of black duct tape, and white for the windshield markings.

I will not be going full-on at this track session (or any other), because I need to protect the car. Me, I can heal, but the car can’t. Similarly, Blue Cross/Blue Shield won’t care what happened where, but State Farm will.

And in preparing my own self for track day, I’ve learned to heel-and-toe in Clutch. My very first car was a manual, and I learned it back then (late 80s), but never got good at it. For the last 17 years before buying my Fusion, I drove an automatic. I finally started trying to heel and toe again, and I figured it out. So very cool, just in time for HSAX! I’m doing it all the time now, for the practice. Still need a lot of practice. And, my helmet came today! Big white full-face job- I am The Stig's novice American cousin!

I can imagine, several years from now, when the car is paid off and I have another car to daily-drive, stripping Clutch's interior, caging him, getting a race suspension set-up, and working over the engine and drivetrain.
 
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#4 ·
Make sure to properly bed in the pads/rotors when you install them. Definitely do a full flush with DOT4 fluid, like ATE or Motul. I ran ATE Super Blue in my Fusion, but that's discontinued now.

If you've done any suspension work or removed any bolts from critical fasteners on the chassis, I would check torque on all the bolts the day before you go for the track day. On our race car, we nut and bolt the entire chassis every time the car goes out for a drive.

If you feel it necessary, look into the CG lock. It's a way to keep yourself planted in your seat, with keeping the stock 3-point belt. Keeping yourself planted if very important for both feeling what the chassis doing, but also so your mind isn't making sure you're not falling out of the seat.

Do an oil change before and after the track day, but don't add more than the manual calls for.

If I remember correctly, I would run right around 38 psi in the tires for autocrosses, a little higher in the rear than the front to promote oversteer. For reference that was with 235/40/18's on 18x8.5 wheels.
 
#10 ·
Make sure to properly bed in the pads/rotors when you install them. Definitely do a full flush with DOT4 fluid, like ATE or Motul. I ran ATE Super Blue in my Fusion, but that's discontinued now.
I purchased some StopTech 600 fluid from TireRack and it worked fantastic.

If you feel it necessary, look into the CG lock. It's a way to keep yourself planted in your seat, with keeping the stock 3-point belt. Keeping yourself planted if very important for both feeling what the chassis doing, but also so your mind isn't making sure you're not falling out of the seat.
I used these (one for instructor, one for me) on my open track event and they worked amazing. No more sliding around. I may see if I can get the 4-point harness from my Cobra to install in the Fusion for the next track event.

If I remember correctly, I would run right around 38 psi in the tires for autocrosses, a little higher in the rear than the front to promote oversteer. For reference that was with 235/40/18's on 18x8.5 wheels.
I ran at 32psi for the open track, higher speeds than autocross....
 
#5 ·
Wow, never heard of the CG Lock, looks good. My leather seats are slippery, I can imagine sliding around at the worst possible moment on the track. Thx for the tips!
 
#8 ·
gwitt, I don't know if the stock center caps would count as removeable. I might just pop them off when I do the brakes. I can always jam them back on at the track if they say it's OK.

I finally decided on some brakes, the KOE200 4-wheel set from Powerstop. Blank rotors all around, and the Z16 ceramic pads. $193 shipped from Amazon, can't beat the price. If you have experience with these parts, please share.

The car just needs fresh brakes to start out this HSAX thing. If I should find that they don't meet my track needs, I might make some changes and keep these parts as spares or off-season brakes. Honestly, though, I can't imagine that. I still need some DOT 4 fluid for a full flush, good fluid will be critical.

Thanks for your tips!
 
#9 ·
Just an update. I got the front set of Powerstop brakes yesterday, and installed them today. Followed the bedding procedure, got the smell they said you should get. They feel good, haven't really gotten on them yet, of course. I'm supposed to get the rears tomorrow, I'll install them later this week. I was going to bleed the brakes myself, but screw it, I'll let the dealer do it. I have a coupon and I hate brake fluid almost as much as antifreeze.

(Off topic briefly now.) My daughter, 9, helped me install the fronts today. It's really awesome to be able to pass along a skill like car maintenance to a child, esp. a girl. Funny, though, she and I were at the parts store and we saw a woman in her 20s getting something, and then she got into a lowered Civic with big wheels and tires, wing, etc, and a bunch of pink racing stickers on the backlight. You GO girl! Can't wait to teach my girl to drive a manual.
 
#11 ·
Shifty - good to hear that you purchased blank rotors all around as slotted/crossed-drilled are not recommended for tracked cars.

As far as brake fluid, you can go with ATE Type 200 Amber brake fluid, which is the same as the now unavailable ATE Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid.

Unfortunately I can't make it to this weekend's track event. Hopefully I'll see you at Sunday's ChiTownMeet's Season Opener in Schaumburg!
 
#12 ·
Thanks for your thoughts on the CG Lock. I definitely want one, but not for this track day. Too much expense already- membership, brakes, helmet, etc. Future track events won't cost so much all-told. CasperCobra, are you in the Chicago area?

It's coming down to the wire! I'm taking half a day off work tomorrow to install the rear brakes, check all the fluids, pump up the tires, etc. The dealer wants $150 to flush the brake fluid, screw that! I'll try to do it tomorrow, but honestly, I probably won't get to it. Again, though, this will be my first time out, and I can't and won't be pushing too hard, not to worried about the brake fluid. Not trying to set any records, just have fun and keep all the sheet metal straight.
 
#14 ·
CasperCobra, are you in the Chicago area?
Unfortunately I'm East of Tulsa....Roadtrip?? :wink:

It's coming down to the wire! I'm taking half a day off work tomorrow to install the rear brakes, check all the fluids, pump up the tires, etc. The dealer wants $150 to flush the brake fluid, screw that! I'll try to do it tomorrow, but honestly, I probably won't get to it.
above all else, I would HIGHLY recommend putting in new brake fluid and having it bleed properly. This will help tremendously, especially if it hasn't been done in 6 years. I'll be bleeding mine before next month's track event just to make sure all is good.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I'm back from the track day.

Holy crap guys, that was the most amazing thing I've ever done in a car in the entire 27 years I have been driving. There were 3 other cars in my class, 2 Miatas and an 05 Focus. I came in last, but improved on my first lap by 4.2 seconds by my last lap, 2:10.6 vs. 2:14.8. For reference, the Focus came in 3rd at 2:06.3, and the class-winning Miata at 1:58.8.

More details and pics and video later, but I will say this: I whipped the snot out of this car and he kept coming back for more. The DOT 4 brake fluid really did the trick, the brakes were solid the whole time. And the Hankook Optimo H727 tires did a decent job, despite having a treadwear rating of *700*, which I believe is slightly softer than an industrial diamond. Lots of howling but no surprises or rolling onto the sidewalls.

Off the top of my head, I'd say that brake fluid, tires, and brake pads are the 3 things you need to upgrade to do well on the track.

You guys really need to try this.
 
#16 ·
You guys really need to try this.
Glad you had a blast man!!!!

Have you not seen my open track videos where I get point-bys from Mustangs & Corvettes???

I topped the speedo out at 120mph on the front straight. Fresh brake fluid, R compound tired and the Steeda suspension helped tremendously. I do have a 5 foot piece if 3" brake hose which I'm going to test fit behind the bumper to see if there's enough clearance for some brake cooling ducts.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Hot damn that was fun! I really wailed on this car, it felt great. The engine really wakes up at higher RPM, approaching redline- on the street, I don’t rev it nearly that high because I’m usually not trying to beat a previous lap time. There was actually less shifting than I thought there’d be, it was mostly 3rd gear, with a little 4th at the end of the long straight, and one or two turns in 2nd. Since the beginning of the timed lap is just before a turn, I didn’t have time to hit 3rd, so I entered the first turn in 2nd at about 6500rpm. The other was a pair of tight turns called Patience (for obvious reasons) leading into the long straight. I had taken it in 3rd for 3 of my runs, but tried it in 2nd for the last two, it must have helped. Heel and toe in a real timed track environment is awesome. Here's the track:



OK, so here are some pics, just Clutch sitting in the paddock before and between runs. 121 is my car number, DS is my class (D Stock), and N is for Novice (not Newbie):








Video! Sorry it's in portrait, it's the only way I could get it to work with my phone bracket. And sorry too about the wind noise, they make you run with the front windows open. But listen to the mighty roar of the 2.3! EDIT- sorry, video is secure, I'll get it hosted or something, maybe Youtube.

Like I said before, the car ran great. Those tires have GOT to go, though. I have some stuff going on for the next few weeks that will cost some money, but come Fall I’m going to get a set of stickier tires, some kind of summer compound. These Hankooks worked OK, but with a 700 treadwear rating, there’s a lot of room for improvement. I will say, though, the Hankooks were very good, if not very sticky. No rolling over onto the sidewalls, no sudden slipping. Very predictable.

I’m glad to see I went about prepping the car the right way. The new pads, rotors, and DOT 4 brake fluid made for great stopping power. Honestly, outside of panic-stops in traffic, I’ve never used the brakes that hard in any car. Triggered the ABS a few times, I forgot to ask my instructor if that’s something you want to do. He said I was very smooth in my inputs, but I need to unlearn my street driving habits for the track: accelerate until you need the brakes, no coasting; turn late to hit the late apex. He said (and showed me) that he uses the accelerator like an on/off switch- if he’s not accelerating, he’s braking for a turn. Much more aggressive than I’m used to, but I got it by my last lap, my fastest of the day. I could smell my brake pads during each run, earlier and earlier each time- a good sign. Here are all my times, I’m at the bottom:



They go in order from top row, left to right. I was pretty consistent, except for my second run, I made a few mistakes. By the last lap, I was pretty aggressive in braking and had gotten used to turning really late as compared to street driving.

So yeah, I came in last in the slowest class of the day (there is in fact a slower class, E, but no entries this time). But that wasn’t the point- I now know what both the car and myself can do on a track, I know what I’ll need to improve upon (myself and the car again). I’m hoping to get back to this track again this season so I can compare my times.

I hope I’ve convinced some of you to look into this. I joined the North Suburban Sports Car Club, one of the member clubs of the Midwest Council of Sports Car Clubs. You can go to mcscc.org to learn more, or just ask me here in PMs. I’ll tell you up front, it’ll take some cash up front to get started. I spent the following:

Helmet: $155
New brake pads, rotors, fluid flush: $260 (I paid about 75 for the flush, you could do it yourself and save)
NSSCC membership: $55
Materials for car numbers: $20
Track day: $160

Most of that is start-up cost. I can make new numbers out of the vinyl tape I bought; eventually I’ll have some magnetic or reusable vinyl numbers made. The helmet is mandatory, but car prep is up to you. The only rules are that your car is safe, in good running condition, with no fluid leaks. Of course, if you want to do well at all, not to mention have brakes left at the end of the day to get home on, you’ll want to upgrade them. I’m told most track days cost about the same, between $140 and $160 for members of a club within the MCSCC umbrella.

The NSSCC has monthly meetings in the suburbs; it used to be at a restaurant in Rolling Meadows, but they had to move. Check out the NSSCC site for updates: nsscc.org.

Thanks for reading!
 
#21 · (Edited)
Sorry, and thanks for the heads-up. I'll get it public.

Yay Miatas!
Ha, forgot about you and your Miata tendancies. :chuckles: Here's a fun story: my instructor took me on his practice laps in his Miata, and I had to make him stop after 3 laps, I got big-time car sick! Kept everything down, but it was close. His car is just so low and corners so hard! I kept banging my helmet on his rollcage. And that's a stock one, too, no major mods, just later-model Miata springs, sway bars, etc.
 
#25 ·
The 2-day events are split into High-Speed Autocross (HSAX, what I ran) on Sat. and wheel-to wheel on Sun. W-W is a completely different thing, you need a w-w license, lots more safety gear etc.

That said, you could come out for HSAX and spend the next day watching the race.

Rob, I def want a Gopro, but I need to keep this new hobby on the cheap. I might want to get a set of summer tires on rims first.
 
#26 ·
I'll think about that event Shifty!!!

I put a GoPro adhesive mount on the very front of the sunroof for my March event, it held up, provided a great view, and still have it on there.

This weekend I will be test fitting some brake duct hose and removing the 4-point Schroth harness and test fitting them in the Fusion.
 
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