Going out for a track day this weekend. Any tips?
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Can't help you with gasoline availability.
General advice.
Show up with fresh oil in the engine. Engine oil level should be good. I prefer to run the oil level near the max level as hard driving can have considerable oil in suspension in the engine and this lowers the oil level in the pan. Under high Gs on the track there is the concern the oil pump may ingest aerated oil. Not good.
Check the oil level before you go out. Top up if necessary.
Car should be in good condition. No "slow" tire leak, no coolant leak, etc.
If the brake fluid has 2 years on it a brake fluid flush/bleed is highly recommended. Pads should not be under 50% worn.
Remove all junk/trash from the car. You don't want a water bottle to come out from under the front seat and get under the brake or clutch pedal. Nor do you want something rattling/thumping about in the glove box, center console, or trunk.
Tires should have good tread depth. For now just inflate the tires to the recommended 32psi cold pressure and get some experience on the track.
Fill up with fresh gasoline of the proper octane grade, at least. If you can better would be to fill up with 93 or even higher octane unleaded race gas. This to give the engine a bit more protection against detonation. Yeah, the engine controller will pull timing but on the track you want to derive all the performance the car/engine is capable of.
Be sure you have plenty of gasoline. The Hellcat can suck down gasoline at a ferocious rate. My experience with my Hellcat is at 1/4 quarter tank a high G turn leaving the freeway can have the engine die due to lack of gasoline. A few extra gallons of gasoline in the tank is not going to keep you off the podium, so to speak. But running out of gas on the track will.
Pay attention to coolant and oil temperatures and brake pedal feel and fade. Chances are the oil temperature will get pretty high. I have read reports of it getting to 260F. I'd consider cutting short the track session if the oil got above 250F. Take a cool down lap and then pit. If the brake pedal gets soft or the brakes show signs of fading time to take a cool down lap then pit.
Be sure you have proper insurance in case God forbid you lose the car and it ends up against a guardrail or you take out one (or more) other cars or some one takes out your car.
Ideally you would want a wife/GF or buddy to go with you with another vehicle. You can use this vehicle to safely stash your cell phone. It can carry drinking water, some snacks, and carry some extra oil just in case the oil level needs topping up.
General advice.
Show up with fresh oil in the engine. Engine oil level should be good. I prefer to run the oil level near the max level as hard driving can have considerable oil in suspension in the engine and this lowers the oil level in the pan. Under high Gs on the track there is the concern the oil pump may ingest aerated oil. Not good.
Check the oil level before you go out. Top up if necessary.
Car should be in good condition. No "slow" tire leak, no coolant leak, etc.
If the brake fluid has 2 years on it a brake fluid flush/bleed is highly recommended. Pads should not be under 50% worn.
Remove all junk/trash from the car. You don't want a water bottle to come out from under the front seat and get under the brake or clutch pedal. Nor do you want something rattling/thumping about in the glove box, center console, or trunk.
Tires should have good tread depth. For now just inflate the tires to the recommended 32psi cold pressure and get some experience on the track.
Fill up with fresh gasoline of the proper octane grade, at least. If you can better would be to fill up with 93 or even higher octane unleaded race gas. This to give the engine a bit more protection against detonation. Yeah, the engine controller will pull timing but on the track you want to derive all the performance the car/engine is capable of.
Be sure you have plenty of gasoline. The Hellcat can suck down gasoline at a ferocious rate. My experience with my Hellcat is at 1/4 quarter tank a high G turn leaving the freeway can have the engine die due to lack of gasoline. A few extra gallons of gasoline in the tank is not going to keep you off the podium, so to speak. But running out of gas on the track will.
Pay attention to coolant and oil temperatures and brake pedal feel and fade. Chances are the oil temperature will get pretty high. I have read reports of it getting to 260F. I'd consider cutting short the track session if the oil got above 250F. Take a cool down lap and then pit. If the brake pedal gets soft or the brakes show signs of fading time to take a cool down lap then pit.
Be sure you have proper insurance in case God forbid you lose the car and it ends up against a guardrail or you take out one (or more) other cars or some one takes out your car.
Ideally you would want a wife/GF or buddy to go with you with another vehicle. You can use this vehicle to safely stash your cell phone. It can carry drinking water, some snacks, and carry some extra oil just in case the oil level needs topping up.
Good advice from Rockster. I would add, take it at your own comfortable pace and work up to pushing the lines. It’s easy to be intimidated by faster, more experienced guys out there so just let them go by on the left and not pass in corners. Remember, we’re the fat lady out there. 
Have fun!!!
Have fun!!!
Yes on the course at the end of a session. But the recommendation is to start with the tires cold at 32psi (front), 30psi (rear).
"It is recommended that you target 40psi (276kpa) Hot Tire Pressure at the conclusion of each track session. Starting at 32psi (221kpa) Front and 30psi (207kpa) Rear Cold, and adjusting based on ambient and track conditions, is recommended. Tire pressure can be monitored via the instrument cluster display and can assist with adjustments."
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I agree with everything Rockstar said. As a former SCCA T1 and STO Corvette racer I would watch a couple of videos of the track and what a lap looks like. Not necessarily to learn the line, but to familiarize yourself with the layout, pit, corners, track entry, track exit, and even the flag stands if you're really studious. If this is your very first track day, then just take it easy and come home with the car in one piece. Then, and only then, will it be a successful track day.
As a novice you'll have an instructor in the car with you, unless it's one of the commercial venues that allows novices to drive alone. He'll be big on getting you to the racing line. You'll never totally please some instructors so don't worry about it. You'll probably have a soft brake pedal on the way home. Welcome to track driving. Check your oil before the drive home. If you were really hard on the car (think oil temp), then you'll need to change the oil when you get home. If the oil is dark or even black, then change it. Finally, make sure your helmet is whatever the current year requirement and configuration the venue requires. Have fun. Don't ball up the car.
As a novice you'll have an instructor in the car with you, unless it's one of the commercial venues that allows novices to drive alone. He'll be big on getting you to the racing line. You'll never totally please some instructors so don't worry about it. You'll probably have a soft brake pedal on the way home. Welcome to track driving. Check your oil before the drive home. If you were really hard on the car (think oil temp), then you'll need to change the oil when you get home. If the oil is dark or even black, then change it. Finally, make sure your helmet is whatever the current year requirement and configuration the venue requires. Have fun. Don't ball up the car.
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make sure you stay hydrated. Make sure you don't let your tires get over 40 psi hot. Bring some snack bars if there is no concession . Don't miss the drivers meeting. Bring a chair. Pay attention to corner stations they are you eyes ahead. Don't argue with your instructor. If you have a conflict or bad start with him or her ask the chief instructor for a switch.HPDE is not a race...leave your testosterones at home as a novice.
Whoa whoa whoa hold on now. Don't tell him that. It's not true. The manual says "set tire pressure in the rear to 30 (if on stock tires) and aim for 40 psi when they're warmed up from lapping." That's a paraphrase, but it's important to note the difference. DO NOT SET YOUR TIRES TO 40. YOU WILL FLY OFF THE TRACK AND DESTROY YOUR CAR, INJURE YOURSELF, OR DIE.
Edit: it says 30 rear, 32 front. But again, that's if your on factory tires. Other brand, other load index, etc will possibly change the required number.
People are assuming you're doing HPDE, I didn't see you mention that. If you are, like someone else said, you'll have an instructor. If you aren't, I've gotta say, maybe you should enroll in an HPDE course, I'd suggest with NASA, rather than SCCA. NASA allows full street cars, I'm an SCCA member and NASA member. The SCCA would not allow me to run my hellcat without installing roll cages, extinguisher, etc.
If you do NASA HPDE, which allows full street cars, you will start level 1, with an instructor in the car. Let me tell you, the hellcat is NOT a good car to learn track driving. It's difficult. I've been working towards my full competition licensing with mine, I also do solo racing with SCCA. Not for beginners. I would hate to see you wreck your beautiful car. Hellcats are beasts, and very very hard to tame. Just a heads up. Good luck with whatever you choose.
Edit: Oh by the way, make sure you have a SNELL certified helmet. They typically allow SNELL Motorcycle or SA 20** helmets. You don't need to worry about too much more than that.
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Jay, let us know how it goes. If you and your car come home in one piece, then all is good. Bleeding the brakes and de-glazing the pads will restore a firm brake pedal. Changing the oil and filter will restore your clean oil. Personally, I wouldn't track the Hellcat much. They're too heavy, and that big supercharger will get so freaking hot that, despite all of the supercharger coolers, will cause problems on the track and maybe damage the car. Buy a used Miata and go out and beat the crap out of it on the track. Keep the Hellcat for your nice street car. Just my opinion, based on years of being an HPDE student and instructor (PCA-MSR) driving a Corvette (yes a Corvette in Porsche Club) and racing in SCCA for 15 years.
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Morning after now,
It was more exhilarating and fun than I ever thought, and I was expecting a lot of excitement.
So the car is in one piece.
Still have a four hour drive back home though. LOL
10/10’s Motosports is the car club that put on the event.
They didn’t require me to have a roll cage either. As novice they do make you go with instructor. Surprisingly the instructor let me run the car in track mode from the start. After he got to know me. 🤷🏼♂️
He was my Mr. Miyagi.
The breaks did finally start to go on the forth heat, but the heats was approximately 30 minutes each.
Thanks for the advice. Truly helpful
It was more exhilarating and fun than I ever thought, and I was expecting a lot of excitement.
So the car is in one piece.
Still have a four hour drive back home though. LOL
10/10’s Motosports is the car club that put on the event.
They didn’t require me to have a roll cage either. As novice they do make you go with instructor. Surprisingly the instructor let me run the car in track mode from the start. After he got to know me. 🤷🏼♂️
He was my Mr. Miyagi.
The breaks did finally start to go on the forth heat, but the heats was approximately 30 minutes each.
Thanks for the advice. Truly helpful
I'm glad you had a good time. Don't listen to those who say you shouldn't track your car or it might cause problems. Many of us have been doing it for years. The car is very robust for track use if you run good brake fluid and change to a little more suitable tire.
Also, the factory oil has no issue with durability all the way to 300F or about 150C. The engineers run full durability cycles at 150C for hundreds of hours. I rarely see mine get above about 270F but it can get there on some hot days.
To me the car is not a beast if you just don't disable traction control and roll into the throttle as you start to straighten the wheel at corner exit.
If you start getting more serious the main disadvantage to this car IMO is the cost of tires and brakes and fuel. Other than that it's plenty fun.
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Jay, awesome job! Glad to hear you had a great time. 28 minutes at full power, separated by maybe 2 minutes of very hard braking is tough on any car, even race cars with upgraded/heavy-duty everything. Have a safe drive home.
I know "Trackday" says otherwise, but tracking any car, and going 10/10ths is very hard on all components. What would I know (15 years of SCCA racing). Keep that in mind. And that's if you don't wreak it. Type in HPDE accidents in Youtube if you want a little reinforcement.
I know "Trackday" says otherwise, but tracking any car, and going 10/10ths is very hard on all components. What would I know (15 years of SCCA racing). Keep that in mind. And that's if you don't wreak it. Type in HPDE accidents in Youtube if you want a little reinforcement.
You shouldn't be going 10/10ths at a HPDE. 😉 Racing is a whole different animal.
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Thanks...
That was fun to watch.
Did you have an instructor with you the whole time?
I haven't been to Putnam for close to 20 years now I guess. I think it was 2003.
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