I was just wondering if anyone of you guys ever go to the local road corse for track days or even all out road race your LT1's. My engine builder is big into road racing vette's and has convinced me to go to a track day with him at B.I.R. in april. My final question is what would you guys recomend for amild susp. setup?

 

well your gonna need a good set of tires, id shoot for something with a Zrating.. i like BFGs.. and so do alot of road racers/drifters.. eibach springs, strutbars, sway bars, new brakes and rotors... if the sky is the limit get some baers. I took most of that out of the latest issue of Camaro Performers magazine. Those parts should help turning etc and can be found just about anywhere that sells camaro parts.

 

I just bought an '023.8L togradually build into a track car, but haven't had the chance to geton the track with it yet. I have been racing a 240SX in SCCA Improved Touring for the past two years however, and I believe the transition from street to track should be pretty comparable. The general rule in preparing a car for track use goes: 1) make it stop; 2) make it turn; and 3) make it go.

First thing to look at is tires, if your budget allows. Since they have an effect on both stopping and turning, you want the stickiest tires you can afford. But since you may not want to invest in tires just for this one outting, you might want to ask your eingine guy if he has an old set of mounted tires you could use for this one day. Even a nearly worn out set of race tires will be much, much better than any street tire you can find.

As far as stopping, depending on your budget you could go as far as a full brake system upgrade, but I think you'll be surprised at how much you can gain from just afew minorupgrades.Get something like the Hawk HP+ pads and you should see a noticeable gain in stopping power, and you shouldn't have a problem with fade. Add a set of slotted rotors if you really want to make sure you'll stop when you want to. For the class I race in we can't even change rotors - just a set of racing pads, braided lines, and a high quality brake fluid and that's about it. We are allowed brake ducts, but I've never used them on the Nissan and have never had a problem with overheating.

For suspension, again your budget is what limits what you can do. Sway bars and better shocks/struts are a good place to start, and if you want go with springs do so but keep in mind if you lower the car you'll have to get an adjustable panhard bar and re-center the rear end. Also, I assume since it's an LT1 your car came with a lsd? If not, you definitely want to look into getting one.

Also, there are a few adjustments you can make that should help out once you get to the track, but they kinda depend on how mechanically inclined you are. First, you can add some negative camber at the front wheels. I'm not sure what the factory spec is for the Camaro, but if you can get -2 degrees of camber you shouldsee a tremendous increase in front grip. Just keep in mind when you change the camber you'll need to check the toe, so unless you have the tools/knowledge to do this (or have a friend who does), you might not want to mess with it. Another thing you can do, if you have adjustable struts/shocks is to set the front struts much stiffer than the rear.One lastthing you'll want to do is make sure the tires pressures are up. Most race tires are designed to run in the high 30s to low 40s when hot,so an educated guess would say you should be starting with pressures in low-mid 30s. Of course, keep an eye on the tires & pressures (check after each session when they are still hot), and if you start sliding around too much you may need to drop the pressures a little on the end that is sliding, but that is probably a good starting point.

Most of all, have fun - there is nothing like getting out on a real track and letting it rip!

 

Wow Earl your the man! Just talked to my builder and he said he does have a mounted set I could use. I also just ordered a set of Hawk pads. Also because the car is a T-Top car he is going to fab me up a roll bar.