How the Spring Mountain shop sets up their 4's

[Little Wing]

Hello new friends,

So about 13 months ago I ordered a CT4 Blackwing at my local dealership, and promptly reached out to Spring Mountain to ask about track setup: I was under the extremely naive assumption that I'd have my shiny new car in a month or two, and that I'd almost certainly be doing a few track days before attending V-Academy at their facility. About as wrong as one can get on point #1, but strangely accurate on point #2: Due to the long waitlist, I doubt I'll get to visit Nevada before hitting a few regional tracks with the car I finally took delivery of.

Anyway, I ended up emailing with Victor R., who is/was (it's been over a year - who knows?) Director of Operations at Spring Mountain, and he promptly answered all my questions below in bold. I'm sure every single one of these questions has been addressed hundreds of times elsewhere on this forum, but thought y'all might find it interesting what the guys who set this car up for a living think.

Share and enjoy!

• I'm assuming I have to change to high temp brake fluid for track work, yes? Yes. We use ATE 200
• Is there any special tricks (due to the brake by wire system) I need to know when changing out the fluid using a pressure bleeder, or will it be the same procedure as a standard hydraulic system? We need to use a special bleeder. Your best bet is to use a local dealer…
• Are the the stock pads durable enough to last an entire weekend (roughly four on-track hours by an intermediate driver), or are you using aftermarket pads? In our experience, yes. On our 1.5 mile tracks that we use for the training, we get about 3-5 programs out of a set of brake pads (front) and 5-7 (rear) of course, highly dependent on how fast the track is (long straights) and type of corners (hairpin/90 degree sequences etc) and how hard you drive it into the corners. I have seen people go through a full set of brake pads, or glaze them bad enough that they need replacement…on tracks like VIR, Watkins Glen etc…remember that you’re driving a street car, with track capability…
• Are replacement pads and rotors available somewhere? I can't find them online yet, but surely you've worn a few sets out at your facility already. Yes they are available at the dealerships. As well as online retailers. Look on gmpartsdirect.com as they’ll give a good discount. Make sure you select the heavy duty pads
• Do you set up the alignment different for the track than the factory settings? If so, what are the numbers you aim for? Yes

Front camber: -2.5 front toe: 0.1
Rear camber: -1.8 rear toe: 0.1

• What are the ideal tire pressures once everything is all warmed up? You want no more than 36-38 psi all around when hot. We typically start them at 30. But in the summer, if the students are faster, we start at 28. In the winter, we’ve gone as high as 32 cold, then bleed down a couple of pounds here or there…

 

[Carguyshu]

Almost all this info is in the owners manual. Yes you need a computer tool to fully flush 100% of fluid but you can do a standard bleed with a motive power bleeder and get out enough you’ll be more than fine. Just need to disconnect battery first. Cheapest place to buy the OEM pads/rotors is rock auto & it’s not even close

 

[StuckeyGR]

Thanks, good information here. I got to track my 4 twice last fall on the track alignment with Motul RBF600 brake fluid. I’m going to be at Spring Mountain 4/7-8 and I was planning to ask the shop guys for any insights about consumables, etc. I was happy with how the stock pads felt on track but I cooked the fronts on the second track day and had to replace them plus turn my rotors, so some more track focused pads are probably in order. Tires held up ok but I just got a set of Apex EC7’s and Kumho V730’s to have a dedicated set of track tires for the upcoming season. I’ve found I really enjoy having a tire I can lean on hard on track vs having to treat lightly, and I really liked these Kumho’s on my other DD/track car last year (Veloster N).

 

[Carguyshu]

Also I highly recommend Castrol SRF. It’s expensive, but you only have to bleed once a year with it. The wet boiling point is insanely high. Takes 1.5 bottles.

 

[Ricomann]

Thanks, good information here. I got to track my 4 twice last fall on the track alignment with Motul RBF600 brake fluid. I’m going to be at Spring Mountain 4/7-8 and I was planning to ask the shop guys for any insights about consumables, etc. I was happy with how the stock pads felt on track but I cooked the fronts on the second track day and had to replace them plus turn my rotors, so some more track focused pads are probably in order. Tires held up ok but I just got a set of Apex EC7’s and Kumho V730’s to have a dedicated set of track tires for the upcoming season. I’ve found I really enjoy having a tire I can lean on hard on track vs having to treat lightly, and I really liked these Kumho’s on my other DD/track car last year (Veloster N).

Stuckey,

I have run with several NorCal V-Club members with 4VBW and are getting to the end of the stock PS4 tire life. I recommended the V730 from my experience on my 2014 CTS V-Sport (LF3, 500hp tuned, and a little heavier with 275/35/18 square setup). I recommended they look at the Ecsta V730 for durability, speed, and a damned fine time.

Would love to hear your reflections a year+ onward.

Thanks!

 

[BimmerFan]

I'm not sure how good those GM "heavy duty" pads are, or if now, a year later, there are some good aftermarket options available. But a decent set of high temperature brake pads should certainly last more than a couple of days at the track. OE, yeah, probably not.

I'll just throw this out there for s&g; many years ago I had a track prepared Corvette with Brembo brakes, and even in 1999 the replacement pads from Brembo were something like $200, but as they weren't a direct fit, there was nothing else available. I traced the pad outline and sent it off to Performance Friction, told them which compound I wanted, and they made me a custom set of pads for less than $200. I did something similar with a different company for replacement rotors, which were also ridiculously expensive from Brembo (IIRC $350 each). 25 years ago. Dang, I'm old.

So there are options.

I don't know if this guy is still around, but this post made me scratch my head a bit:

... you can do a standard bleed with a motive power bleeder and get out enough you’ll be more than fine. Just need to disconnect battery first.

Why disconnect the battery? As long as the ignition is off, nothing should get activated... right?

 

[BTTBSS]

Newer cars still have a drain even with the ignition off. My C5 Z06 sits on a battery tender because the small drains add up and it will
kill the battery if I dont drive the car every week.

 

[Champale]

I'm not sure how good those GM "heavy duty" pads are, or if now, a year later, there are some good aftermarket options available. But a decent set of high temperature brake pads should certainly last more than a couple of days at the track. OE, yeah, probably not.

I'll just throw this out there for s&g; many years ago I had a track prepared Corvette with Brembo brakes, and even in 1999 the replacement pads from Brembo were something like $200, but as they weren't a direct fit, there was nothing else available. I traced the pad outline and sent it off to Performance Friction, told them which compound I wanted, and they made me a custom set of pads for less than $200. I did something similar with a different company for replacement rotors, which were also ridiculously expensive from Brembo (IIRC $350 each). 25 years ago. Dang, I'm old.

So there are options.

I don't know if this guy is still around, but this post made me scratch my head a bit:


Why disconnect the battery? As long as the ignition is off, nothing should get activated... right?

At Spring Mountain a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had swapped out front pads for Ferodo 2500s and didn't disconnect battery. The instructor told me I was lucky to not have any issues because supposedly the car does periodic tests on itself such as adding brake pressure to make sure they work, even when the car is off. I didn't experience anything like that while I did the pads but maybe I just got lucky?

 

[shbox]

If you ever sit in your car for an extended period with it off, you might catch the clicking and whirring sounds caused by some of those modules doing their periodic tests.

 

[BimmerFan]

At Spring Mountain a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had swapped out front pads for Ferodo 2500s and didn't disconnect battery. The instructor told me I was lucky to not have any issues because supposedly the car does periodic tests on itself such as adding brake pressure to make sure they work, even when the car is off. I didn't experience anything like that while I did the pads but maybe I just got lucky?

That is just crazy but good to know, thanks!