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Dedicated track pad and 2 piece rotors

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
Very true. Plastic hub rings should never be used on track. I have burned myself on wheels checking pressures many, many times. The amount of heat the rotors can carry is insane. 1400*F is no joke!! However, if you bring that down by 200*, the difference is pretty huge.

Water would sizzle on the wheels when spraying the tires and sidewalls to cool them down between sessions. My 2019 stays much cooler with the VAQ, deflectors, and no shields. Like a ton cooler under same conditions.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
Water would sizzle on the wheels when spraying the tires and sidewalls to cool them down between sessions. My 2019 stays much cooler with the VAQ, deflectors, and no shields. Like a ton cooler under same conditions.
I totally agree, and have had similar experience.

I've sprayed water to cool things down before, but after finding a crack on a wheel I stopped. I'm not sure if the water is what did it, but I do know that cooling a metal too quickly can cause stress fractures to form as the metal doesn't cool evenly. Technically wheels are also "wear items" so if you plan on replacing them every 3-4 years as they go out of round, then it's probably not a huge deal. I have for a fact cracked a rotor spraying it with water :/. That ended my weekend quickly, but luckily i had a spare to be able to get home...

Instead of water, I now just drive around the paddock in 3rd gear and no throttle.
Fun thing to try if you have a manual, get into 6th gear without ever touching the throttle :). Teaches great clutch control!
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
I totally agree, and have had similar experience.

I've sprayed water to cool things down before, but after finding a crack on a wheel I stopped. I'm not sure if the water is what did it, but I do know that cooling a metal too quickly can cause stress fractures to form as the metal doesn't cool evenly. Technically wheels are also "wear items" so if you plan on replacing them every 3-4 years as they go out of round, then it's probably not a huge deal. I have for a fact cracked a rotor spraying it with water :/. That ended my weekend quickly, but luckily i had a spare to be able to get home...

Instead of water, I now just drive around the paddock in 3rd gear and no throttle.
Fun thing to try if you have a manual, get into 6th gear without ever touching the throttle :). Teaches great clutch control!

I wasn't trying to spray the wheels, just the tires, but water invariably would drip down. I didn't even think about the possibility of cracking the wheels. I'll have to get careful in the future. Thanks for the heads up.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
Good, I didn't want to say anything, but I was like WTF when you said that. :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

I was using the home depot style chemical sprayer filled with water, lol. Sometimes they spray really really wide. Someone distracted me for a second, i heard a hiss, a tick, and a "piiingggg". I looked down and the rotor had a crack you could fit your nail into :(....laaaame.
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
That'll ruin your day really fast. Hopefully they were cheap blanks.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
That'll ruin your day really fast. Hopefully they were cheap blanks.
Nope, girodisc 2 piece on my 370z. That car was expensive on consummables... 1600 to 2300 per set of tires twice a year and 800$ for brakes twice per year got old fast...
That's why I came to a gti (almost got an ft86 twin actually)... Everything is sooooo cheap in comparison!
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
Nope, girodisc 2 piece on my 370z. That car was expensive on consummables... 1600 to 2300 per set of tires twice a year and 800$ for brakes twice per year got old fast...
That's why I came to a gti (almost got an ft86 twin actually)... Everything is sooooo cheap in comparison!

Yep, that's why I chose GTI too. That and I could track it and actually daily drive it comfortably. Really not much out there with this cheap of consumables, inexpensive purchase price, daily civility, that I wouldn't feel too bad if I balled it up on track. I resisting getting an R with this new VW financing and heavy discounts for the last reason, but it's getting harder to resist by the day. Must resist.

Anyway, that's why I'm running cheap blanks and focusing on cooling, fluid and pad choice. Cheaper and good enough for me. I tend to be pretty mechanically sympathetic to cars on track. Tires and brakes start to go off, I just back off some. There's no trophy, paycheck or women at the end of a track day. lol
 
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SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
Nope, girodisc 2 piece on my 370z. That car was expensive on consummables... 1600 to 2300 per set of tires twice a year and 800$ for brakes twice per year got old fast...
That's why I came to a gti (almost got an ft86 twin actually)... Everything is sooooo cheap in comparison!
Ouch.

And I agree, the MK7 platform is indeed rather affordable to get on track. My RX8 was even more track friendly right from the factory and the operating costs for track days were comparable to the GTi , but that car doesn’t exist anymore and I’m not fond of tracking older cars. Sh*t breaks.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
Ouch.

And I agree, the MK7 platform is indeed rather affordable to get on track. My RX8 was even more track friendly right from the factory and the operating costs for track days were comparable to the GTi , but that car doesn’t exist anymore and I’m not fond of tracking older cars. Sh*t breaks.
Last year a well prepped miata set the track record at my local track (about 5 seconds faster than Ford Racing's pro drivers were doing on the same day in their race cars).

I'll keep tracking the gti for the "why the frack did that rabbit just pass me" fun, but I'm really eyeing a miata with a Chevy 230 right now. Those engines cost like 300$ and take 4 hrs to drop in, and your consummables cost is basically negligible compared to the actual event's costs... Miata is always the answer.

My decision on a track car changes weekly, lol. One week I'm thinking I'll just gut the gti and turn it into a track car, and then I realize how many things are nannied with stupid electronics. The next week I'm a dotted line away from getting an exige s, but then I remeber my son's college fund and UTMA are more important than a $60k toy. This week I've been talking to my mechanic about what's the smart choice to run... It's funny when a 30 yr Porsche specialist tells you to get a miata, lol.
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
What engine is the 230? Is that the Camaro V6? I think they call if LFX?
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
I'm pretty sure the LFX is light too. Bone stock 300hp all day long, but I think it's a more involved swap. The 2.5l Ford/Mazda MRZ/Duratec is pretty popular too, but seems like a lot work to get decent hp and reliability out of it.
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
Last track day my buddy in the paddock next to his NA Miata... “ these things are bulletproof!” Next session, yellow flag caution on turn 10. I see him on the side of the track. Tow truck heading towards him.

I tried campaigning an ‘87 944 around 2005. We prepped it. Full cage, track setup. First dial it in session at Summit Point. Kaboom. Cylinder 2 grenades sending a rod through the oil pan. All valves bent. From then on, only brand new cars in HPDE for me.

Going back to my buddy with his NA Miata- he’s mechanically inclined to swap an engine/ water pump/pulleys/belts, etc in 24 hours. He was back on track the next day. I don’t have the equipment or wherewithal to do such things. Swapping pads/rotors/fluids/suspension parts is my limit.
 
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