{"id":4261,"date":"2020-02-09T23:43:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T23:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leithcars.com\/blogs\/1421\/?p=4261"},"modified":"2020-02-09T23:43:02","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T23:43:02","slug":"get-your-car-ready-for-track-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/?p=4261","title":{"rendered":"Track-Day Checklist: 8 Ways to Get Your Car Track-Ready"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, you want to drive your own car on a racetrack? Well, here are 8 tips on how to get your car track-ready. Whether you\u2019re planning to drive your car \u201cfactory stock\u201d or you want to get it prepped for ultimate performance with some upgraded parts, these 8 tips will be a good starting point for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4283\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4283\" style=\"width: 960px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4283\" src=\"#BLOGPATH#\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/8-Ways-to-Get-Your-Car-Track-Ready-LeithCars.com-Blog-Alfa-Romeo-1.jpg\" alt=\"Alfa Romeo 4C Spider at VIR\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/8-Ways-to-Get-Your-Car-Track-Ready-LeithCars.com-Blog-Alfa-Romeo-1.jpg 960w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/8-Ways-to-Get-Your-Car-Track-Ready-LeithCars.com-Blog-Alfa-Romeo-1-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/8-Ways-to-Get-Your-Car-Track-Ready-LeithCars.com-Blog-Alfa-Romeo-1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4283\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Get your car track-ready before heading to the road course with a track-day service inspection.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">After you\u2019ve decided what racetrack you plan to drive at, like our favorite \u201chome track\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/virnow.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Virginia International Raceway<\/strong><\/span><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">near Danville, getting your car track-ready means<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">having a trained technician, preferably one representing the automotive brand that built your car, do a service check for you. Whether you drive a BMW, Porsche, Audi, Alfa Romeo or some other performance brand car, you should make an appointment with your favorite brand technician first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Here&#8217;s a short video on some of the things our technicians look for during a pre-track day checkup:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Track Day Tech Tips: Getting Your Car Ready for VIR\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IAkfWIb9IRU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A factory-trained and certified technician will <em><strong>check to make sure your belts and fluids are recent<\/strong>.<\/em> Running your car for just a few hot laps on the racetrack will put your car&#8217;s mechanicals under much more stress than they experience during your daily commute.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Flushing your brakes and adding new fluid is highly recommended too. They should also check that your brake lines have no cracks and that the brake pads look good. Running your car well on the track at high-speed won\u2019t mean a thing if your brakes and related components aren\u2019t up to the task of stopping you safely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>A good set of summer or all-season tires with a safe amount of tread life is\u00a0recommended,<\/strong><\/em> but if you have excessive wear on a tire or tires or have had a tire patched, you\u2019ll need to plan on getting them replaced. The racetrack is not where you want to drive on a patched tire and depending on the track event you want to drive in, you\u2019d most likely fail inspection with a patched or tread-worn tire anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Inside your car<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0your factory-certified service technician will\u00a0check your seat and seatbelt to make sure they&#8217;re\u00a0securely attached and in proper working condition. This is even more important for older model cars headed to the track. As always, safety first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">During your car&#8217;s track-service inspection,<strong>\u00a0<em>your car\u2019s steering wheel will be checked<\/em><\/strong> to make sure it turns easily from lock to lock.\u00a0Everything happens faster on the racetrack than on the street, so your steering and related components must be up to the job. There should be no\u00a0excessive play in the\u00a0shock or strut mounts, trailing arms, roll bars\u00a0or other suspension pieces as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Under the hood<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(or the trunk if your car is a Porsche) there shouldn\u2019t be any leaks\u00a0from the engine (or anywhere else)\u00a0allowing liquids to fall onto the track surface, for the safety of others and you. If the track inspector discovers a leak under your car, your day will be over before it even got started.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Your car\u2019s battery<\/strong><\/em> should be properly secured with a strap or harness, and make sure the\u00a0battery posts are covered. This is for your protection in the event of a rollover and for the safety of first responders approaching your car.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are a few things you can do too as the car\u2019s owner, like making sure there aren\u2019t any loose objects\u00a0like floor mats, garage door openers, mobile phones, etc. in your\u00a0car. Driving fast on a road course like VIR will toss anything loose across your interior, and an unsecured floor mat could get stuck under your gas or brake pedal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be sure to <em><strong>clean your windows<\/strong><\/em> thoroughly as the sun can be blinding in certain spots on the racetrack. A clean view will also aid you as you find your line through the turns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Check your tire pressures before, during and after your track day<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0using your owner\u2019s manual as a guide for proper inflation. Weather, elevation and how many laps or sessions you run will affect tire pressure. Be sure to pay attention to it to keep safe on the track and afterward on the drive back home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Finally, try to find a motoring friend who has already driven their car on a racetrack or especially the track you\u2019re planning to run. Area car clubs who are active on the course you\u2019ve chosen can be a great resource too. We\u2019d also recommend watching a few \u201ctrack day\u201d videos to help you prepare for what you\u2019ll eventually see from behind the wheel of your own car.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our high-performance brand locations like Leith Porsche, Leith Alfa Romeo Maserati of Raleigh and Leith BMW have factory-certified experts who perform track-service certifications on a regular basis for their customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Many of these same Leith technicians take their own cars up to VIR on track days, so they are highly experienced when inspecting or servicing your car. Having them perform your track-day service will save you time and give you the peace of mind knowing your car is track-ready when you arrive for your track-day inspection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, are you ready to drive your own car on a racetrack? Then go ahead and schedule a track inspection service at your local<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"#WEBSITEURL#\/dealership-directory.html\"><strong>Leith Automotive Service Center<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Written by LeithCars.com Media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So, you want to drive your own car on a racetrack? Well, here are 8 tips on how to get your car track-ready. Whether you\u2019re planning to drive your car \u201cfactory stock\u201d or you want to get it prepped for ultimate performance with some upgraded parts, these 8 tips will be a good starting point [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4,12,14,17,20,22,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-automotive","category-cars","category-classics","category-events","category-italian-cars","category-lifestyle","category-nascar-automotive","category-zero-to-60"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}