In two weeks I will be going to Lime Rock for a Track Day Event. It is my first event in an EVO and any advice would be appreciated. Tire Pressure on Stock Tires? Settings for Rear Sway Bar? Boost level? Spray or not to Spray Intercooler? I think I am going to be getting a Schroth Harness. anyone have expereince with these? What would be considered dangerous EGT's? Thanks in advance

 

I'm a beginner and the PCA event I did at Lime Rock was my second event ever on a roadcourse. It is a perfect track to learn on, as its not very technical.

I would advise against using harnesses without a proper roll cage, if you roll it could be fatal.

Its a very nice track with great facilities. Have fun and be safe.

 

Flush your brakes with good fluids, motul or ATE. check your pads, if they are half worn or more, change them. Ferodo 2500 are pretty good for light track duty. I would set the sway bar to the softest setting and gradually move up. same as tire pressure, 33-35 cold all around that will give you some understeering but you can concentrate on learning your line without worrying about the rear stepping out. check all the fluid to see if they are top out. add race gas for safty margin. I wouldn't worry about spraying the intercooler cause you won't be able to use all the power you have anyway if you just start out. BTW, most club won't allow you to use a harness without a rollbar or cage. Have fun!

 

I have yet to track the EVO, but have tracked alot in the past.

Stick with your stock seat belt unless you plan on gettting a roll cage with a 5 point 3" harness.

Expect the tires to go up atleast 5psi during hot laps. So 35psi cold would amount to 40psi a couple of minutes into the session.

Cusco rear bar? if so start with the middle setting, adjust accordingly after first session if the car still feels unbalanced.

Keep the boost down as low as you can bare... it is amazing how hot turbo cars get at the track. Got an egt guage?

I heard the spray for the intercooler makes no difference, I'd empty the reservoir and forget about it.

Most importantly, if this is your first ime out... try to set up the car very generically... it is all about you and your driving, forget about the set up of the car since its your first time.... its all about your driving and not about the set up of your car.

BP... out.

 

First of all, congratulations! You're going to have a great time with this car on the track. BTW, which organization will you be running with?

I'm a driving instructor with the BMW CCA, BMW CC, SOCCI, and a few others. I have quite a bit of experience with the Evo in driving school settings on most of the tracks in the Northeast (including Line Rock Park). If you have any specific questions, please feel free to PM me.


Let me try to answer your questions one-by-one:

(1) Stick with stock tires. Assuming you have stock wheel alignment specs, your tires will work best when the hot temps are in the 39-41 range. Stock, the car understeers quite badly. I find inflating the front tires to 40 psi (hot) works best. Any more, and you lose grip...any less and your tires roll over a bit. Then set your rear pressures to something in the 41-42 psi (hot) range. This will keep the car pretty neutral. If you're afraid of oversteer, then stick with 40 psi all around (or even drop the rears down to 39 psi if you prefer gentle understeer).

(2) Sway bar settings will depend on how much oversteer you want. It's pretty easy to wreck your car at Lime Rock if you get sideways on the uphill or on the downhill leading onto the front straight. If you are not 100% comfortable with oversteer, then use a conservative swaybar setting!

(3) Boost level isn't a huge issue as long as your car is tuned well and you use good fuel. With Sunoco 94, my car can run at 20 psi all day long at high-power tracks like Tremblant and Mosport. But the guys at Turbotrix spent a lot of time setting it up. We have it running a tiny, tiny bit rich just for that extra safety margin. If you have any doubts, then stick with 19-20 psi max.

(4) Intercooler spray makes no difference at all. It seems to be a gimmick more than anything else. Don't waste you mental energy worrying about this! You have more important things to think about.

(5) Those cheap 4-point tuner harnesses are not accepted by most respectable driving schools. Check with them before spending any money. Personally, I don't mind if my student uses one (it's his/her life...not mine!) but I stay far away from them myself. But this is a whole other discussion...

(6) EGT's. Listen, you really don't want to be thinking about things like EGT's, boost pressures, sway bar setting, etc. when you're out on the track. There is a LOT to think about and focus on without all that distraction. Set your car up conservatively once and for all. Then forget about it. Tuning the car will come later. Focus on driving for now...not fiddling with the car. The few accidents I have seen among students have been due to students who were preoccupied with playing with the car instead of paying attention to what they were doing!

(7) There were a few things you did not mention that you really should think about. First of all, make sure your tires are in good shape. No cracks, splits, repairs, etc. And make sure you have enough tread depth to run safely in the rain.

Then, go through your brake system very carefully. Flush your fluid with a high-quality product like Motul RBF 600. Bleed the system thoroughly. Make sure you have plenty of pad thickness remaining. The Evo is a heavy car that goes mighty fast...that makes it REALLY hard on brakes! If you don't have enough pad thickness, replace your pads and bed them in properly. Keep your old pads with you in case you need a spare at the track. Look at your rotors very carefully. The stock pads deposit material on them very irregularly. This leads to hot-spots, which then lead to stress fractures. If you see any fine, spiderweb-like lines in your rotors, replace them immediately! These fine cracks lead to big cracks, which can lead to catastrophic rotor failure.

Finally, make sure you have a quality torque wrench and the proper 21mm long socket. You would be amazed at how much the lug-nuts back out after a hard session. I have seen more than one car get wrecked when a wheel fell off...there's no excuse for this. You need to torque your wheels after each and every session.

HTH. Again, if you have any specific questions, please feel free to PM me!

Emre

 

Since these guy's covered the good stuff, I'll cover the expensive stuff.

Turn down your boost controller, unless you run race-gas turn it down to 19PSI.

 

One note on Lime Rock. This track is all Right hand turns. So just watch the left side tires for more wear. If you were setting up for a race you would use a circle track set-up. First turn is a double apex long sweeper, this is where the tires will wear the most. have fun

 

for most people, the first time is information overload, So be sure to make time to have FUN...but make sure your car get a "pretech" and remember this is NOT a race, good drivers with low hp cars will pass you and make you "look" bad, so dont get caught up in it and make foolish mistakes...Have fun

 

This is great info. Thanks you all very much!! Keep it coming.

 

I'm also going to be at Lime Rock th 16th. My first track event with my Evo
Not sure if I have time to have someone bleed the brakes etc before then. Just had car dealer serviced 4 weeks ago and rotors resurfaced. How necessary is it to have this done?

 

I'd recommend it once a year regardless. Going on the track I would always recommend it. You can do it yourself with the help of anyone, a girlfriend could help you. All they need to do is sit in the seat and press down the brake pedal when you tell them to, toning those calves . I typically stick with Valvoline synpower brake fluid. It's cheap, easy to find and has good specs. I wouldn't bother with the other expensive fluids until you are doing some serious intense tracking.
I think different pads are more important then the brake fluid though. I've yet to try my Ferodo 2500s on the track, but I hear they're up to the task. They could be a good start for you. I've been using the 3000s and getting good wear out of them.
I think everything mentioned in this thread so far is great advice. HAVE FUN!!

 

Look like rain for Friday. What does this mean for tire pressure. Anybody?

 

No real difference. Just be careful not to overinflate them or they'll get greasy. And if you're not comfortable with oversteer, make sure the rears are 1-2 psi lower than the fronts.

Emre

 

Thank you all very much for the input! Kayaalp your help was greatly appreciated and I look forward to meeting you some time. It is now time for sleep as I am getting on the road at 4 AM. This board and it's memebers never cease to amaze me with all of the practical advice and opinions.

Thank You
Ed

 

I see your point but I have driven my fathers Evolution VI around a couple of tracks and with the standard seatbelt and the standard Recaro seat (I think it is similar to your Evolution VIII Recaro) I can not hold myself in the seat properly, even trying my hardest to brace myself with my legs. I end up hanging off the steering wheel which makes it very difficult to control the car, especially if it goes a bit sideways. I get thrown from side to side as I try to correct the slide and usually over correct because I can't use the steering wheel properly when it is also the only thing I have to hold me in place. The Lancer Evolution's can generate some forces in most directions .

My father has a 4 point Sparco harness fitted now (he finds the lower 1 or 2 points uncomfortable) and I have yet to drive it but I am sure it will greatly increase my car control and probably decrease my lap times by 1 or 2 seconds a lap.

So without a roll cage a harness is bad in a roll over but I think I would have less chance of getting into a roll over, or any accident, if I had a harness.

Aston