Just registered for my first HPDE...looking for advice

[Ayrton]

My first HPDE will be in a couple weeks in Homestead. I used to race on road courses back in the 90s in south america on small suzuki swifts, but after 14 years of no racing activity whatsoever I finally decided to get back on a track. I will be taking my regular commute car a 2003 SVT Focus.

 

I will be HPDE1, so don't expect to be pushing very hard, but after reading some of the forums I was wondering what people thoughts were on pads. As I mentioned this is my daily commute car, so I use the OEM pads and OEM fluid. I am having the brakes checked, should I upgrade pads?

 

What are people's thoughts on tires? Do you have a separate set of wheels and tires for track days? Anything else I am missing here?

 

Thanks!!

[Lucid Moments]

With your past experience it makes it kind of hard to say. I don't think you will need upgraded pads but you may want them, and to be honest IMHO there is not much downside to going with a decent set of street/track pads for a DD. There are several good pads out there, Hawk HPS, EBC YellowStuff are two off the top of my head but I'm sure there are others that are just as good if not better. If I were going to replace my pads anyway I would probably upgrade to something like those two instead of the OEM, but I'm not sure I would replace OEM pads with sufficient life left in them.

 

Other than that and bleeding your brakes well I can't think of anything for the car assuming of course that it is in good condition generally speaking. For HPDE1 just drive on your street tires. At least at first. As you progress up through HPDE you might well want to look into getting a second set of wheel/tires, but not for your first time back in 14 years.

 

For the driver, bring plenty of water and remember that you are out there to have fun, and enjoy yourself.

[krystar]

depends on how hard you're going to push yourself and the car.

 

if you're just out there for leisurely fun and squeeling some tires, it wouldn't be required. once the pads and fluid fade, just back off till they cool down and bleed them in the pits (bring bleeding stuff).

 

however if you're aiming to push and improve, definitely get better pads and fluid. fluid is cheap. ate blue or gold is $15 a can...and i think most cars can probably get away with 1 can to do whole system flush. but buy 2 to be sure. looks like tirerack has yer pads at $80 front $62 rear for Hawk HPS

[Ayrton]

Thanks to both for the suggestions. I am not planning to push too hard this first time. I just want to get familiar with this car in a track environment and shake my rusty driving skills. I am going to check my current pads and if they need replacing I think I am going to go for the Hawk HPS. I was looking at the HP Plus ones, but they might be noisier and most importantly harder on the rotors and since this will still be my daily rider I do not want to go there.

 

Agreed on the tire comment. Let's just see how this first time goes and then I can think of having a track sety of wheels and tires. I am sure I will get addicted to this again...

 

Appreciate the help!!

[[email protected]]

Don't forget to thoroughly check you car over. Check suspension bushings, condition of tires, hoses, etc. Don't forget to make sure your lug nuts are torqued to factory spec. If you need new pads before your event, Hawk HPS will be a nice upgrade from OEM and great for daily driver use. If you dive back in to track driving again, then you may want to consider some more track oriented pads, but for now the HPS will be great.

 

Don't forget to have fun!

[Ayrton]

Question on brake fluid. Would you recommend going all the way to ATE Super Blue. Just as with brake pads I don't want to use anything that might have an impact on daily commute use...

 

BTW apologies if these are very basic question, but truth is my technical knowledge is fairly limited (hoping this time around in performance driving I can also expand my technical literacy...)

[krystar]

yea ATE blue is fine for everyday use. autozone pads or full race pads.

[obzezzed350]

You will have a blast! Check out the Florida region forum for more information.

[[email protected]]

Aryton:

Use ATE Type 200 (Gold). Same as Blue, minus the Blue dye. And it won't stain your brake fluid reservoir.

[dbright007]

ATE Super Blue!

Upgrade your fluid.

[stevelaclair]

The best bang for your buck would be to pick up a set of duralast rotors from autozone, pair them up with HP+'s and flush out your fluid for ATE super blue.

[krystar]

or if u want to save a few bucks. order rotors from rockauto.com

[TRAK N]

Put the Hawk pads in...you'll be glad you did. And def flush out the old brake fluid and put in some fresh. Its cheap insurance. I use Motul 600 in my Mustang. Homestead is a fun track. Your street tires will be fine until you want to step it up a bit then eventually go with NTO1's. Great tire and they last forever. Last but not least, remember to have fun and listen to what your instructor says

[Cooper93]

My .02:

 

I have dedicated track brakes and wheels/tires.

 

I went to NAPA and got their Adaptive One pads ($85/fronts) and stock rotors. That set of pads has been amazing. It has been through 2 events, and I still have enough life on the pads to do one more event! Stock brakes (minus stock/street pads) are sufficient unless you are experiencing brake fade. I also upgraded to ATE Blue brake fluid.

 

I ran BFG G Force Sports (235/45/17) in DE-1. They did quite well. I am now in DE-2 and I run Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs(245/40/17) and they are much better, however, a little more expensive. When my current tires wear out, I will be moving up to something like an RA-1/R888/NT-01.

[littlebluewagon]

I was just about to post the same type questions. I'm also going to be doing my first HPDE-1s at Homestead, never having done any hpd. I have a 2002 WRX wagon which I've done some mods to. It is an automatic so I'm not sure how well I'll do (my ex-wife would need to drive it at times), but I intend to have fun learning. Back in May, I put on DBA 4000XS rotors all around (slotted/drilled), Stoptech stainless steel brake lines, Hawk HPS pads, and Motul 600 fluid. I also picked up a set of BBS 2004 STI wheels and Bridgestone RE960AS tires (225/45/17).

 

I'll be driving to the track both days, and intend to also take it easy around Homestead as I don't wan't to screw things up; it will also be easier to learn at slightly slower speeds.

 

Will I be OK with the above setup for the first time?

my car

[beerkat]

IMHO about any car is good for your first HPDE. As long as it is street worthy/safe

[08Bullitt0572]

I am still running my stock tires and pads for HPDE1. My Bullitt Mustang came with upgraded pads and decent tires, so I am still using those until I advance to HPDE 2. I thought about getting a set of tires for the track but right now I do not drive enough track weekends or drive fast enough to justify it. I would rather burn up cheaper tires more often than let an extra set rot.