Help please for track outing this weekend!

[msos]

First DE event this weekend, and want to get feedback on some questions I have:

Car is 2011 with only 6 weeks & 1,800 standard break in miles, do I need to do a brake fluid change for this event?

As this is my first event in this car I expect to only be pushing car to about 80% of its braking, cornering capabilities in 4 track sessions (25 minute each) over the course of a full day so car will have plenty of down time for the car to cool off?

Car is stock 135i with MSport Package. Only mods are track wheels/tires (Byeyton GTS w/ Toyo R888). I put them on yesterday to get a good 100+ miles of wear on them before the event as I did not get the tires shaved or heat cycled....... I was told 95 pounds of torque is correct for this wheel, is this correct and what tire pressures should I start with and keep to during the event??

Lastly I had the wheels/tires mounted at a local performance car shop but will do the wheel change myself in the future. What type/model/specs do you recommend for a floor jack and torque wrench?

As always, thanks to the knowledge team at 1addicts!

[gotcone.com]

If you are looking for a jack, I would pick up some jackstands at the same time. Never a bad idea to put those under the car just in case, gives you some extra safety and protection in case the jack does happen to have a malfunction of some kind.

[JimD]

My torque wrench and my jack came from Harbor Freight - typically the lowest cost provider of this kind of stuff. I do not go under the car while it is on the jack so I also have plenty of stands (some also from HF). I need either a deep well 17mm socket for the wheels or a normal socket (six point preferably) with a short extension. You want a 1/2 inch drive torque wrench. My jack is 2.5 or 3 ton, I can't remember which. This is over sized for the 1 but that is what I want in a jack - plenty strong.

This is an interesting article on jacks:

http://www.vorshlag.com/tech_jacks1.php

I think Griotts sells the one they recommend. It looks nice but I have not convinced myself to spend that much - yet. The old HF is getting balky releasing, however, so maybe it will happen.

Jim

[nordique14]

Although your car is only 6 weeks old to you, it was likely built many months ago. Still, you should be fine for brake fluid but as TrackRat says, it would not hurt to flush it. I had my fluid changed about 3 months ago and am also doing a track day in a couple of weeks. I do not plan on changing it.

Toyo recommends hot pressures of 32-38PSI for the R888 tire. Of course optimum pressure depends on a lot of different things (weight of the car, camber, etc). I will likley start at 38 cold and then bleed down from there.

Like JimD, I also had the HF jack. It will eventually start leaking and stop working but it did provide a lot of useful life for not a lot of money. That said, I did buy a much nicer one when it came time to replace it.

Let us know how the car does on track. I have not heard of anyone hitting the track with a 2011 yet. Congrats on the new car!

[white911]

I would start lower then 38 cold, particularly for the outside front. I expect to gain 6-8psi cold to hot. But your 135 will really heat the outside front. When I ran the 888s they recommended 41-44 hot; but, I found it a little better just below 40 hot with the performance falling off above 40-42 psi.

[larryn]

Excellent advice from all. The only thing I would add is to at least borrow a torque wrench (if you're pretty sure it's calibrated) at least once during the day, but would recommend twice, and loosen and retorque the lug bolts.

Even at 80%, you'll be building up a good bit of heat, then cooling them off. Especially with new wheels you might get some slight movement of the lug bolts in the bolt seat.

I've had experiences where I had properly torqued bolts back out a full couple of turns, with new wheels, after a couple of sessions.

[Cisitalia]

Yes very good information by all. As Larry indicated check and recheck lug torque with a torque wrench at 90#. I will add that it's best to check or torque when the wheels are relatively cool and not when you come off the track when they are hot as hell. Conversely the first thing I always did when parked from a track session was to check and adjust hot tire pressures. That way they will be perfect for the next track session. When parked from a track session don't put on your parking brake, just leave it in first gear. That would be mean to your brake rotors and pads.

I always made it a habit to perform a quick check of the lug torque prior to each track session. As Trackrat indicated only use dry lugs with no antiseize. Use of antiseize on wheel lugs and brake caliper lugs is verboten. Lubed lugs will cause the fastener to be over torqued by about 25-40%. It's also a good idea to perform a quick "preflight" walk around the car as well including under the hood (fluid level checks - oil, coolant, brake etc.)

Also, listen to your instructor and keep a cool head and not be cocky. Communication is paramount. No red mist.

[msos]

Thank you all for the good advice. This is about my 15th DE track session (but first in the 135i), so I am familiar with some of the protocols at least. Great advice for the hot tire temps and torque.......will update you all after my day tommorow.