How kong will it last?

[Spartan_Stang]

I was curious how long a few things will last with DDing the car and AutoX.

- Brake Pads and Brake Fluid
- Any other fluids
- How much does oil life change? Can I trust the in car percentage reading?

Also, can anyone recommend a good brake pad for street/AutoX? Something that's not gonna dust like a track pad but will also perform well enough for AutoX.

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[Trackaholic]

AutoX is not going to heat the brakes up much, so your street pads should work fine from a temperature standpoint. If you are looking for more bite, then I'm sure others will have good suggestions for a streetable pad. I've always used Performance Friction PFC97 or PFC01 (in my 350Z) but they aren't very streetable.

Making sure the brakes are bled and the pedal is firm will probably be one of the more important factors, since you don't want to waste a bunch of time with a mushy brake pedal.

As far as oil is concerned, AutoX is once again very easy on the car. Typically the courses are less than a minute long, so if you are getting 5-7 runs then you are really only running the car hard for 5-7 minutes. I think the oil life monitor would be fine, but if you are running frequently, then you can probably change the oil after several events.

When I was doing AutoX, the brakes and oil were not really a concern, but the tires definitely wore more quickly. Lately I've been doing mostly track days, and those really wear the oil, brakes, and tires, so I'll swap pads to the ones mentioned above, swap tires to Toyo R888 (again on my 350Z), and change the oil after every couple of events or 5000 street miles (it was usually one track day and 5000 street miles).

For AutoX reliability I don't think you need to worry about too much. To be competitive with the best...well that's another matter, and I don't know much about that. I was always out there just for fun.

-T

 

[dontlifttoshift]

On a PP car I wouldn't change the pads. I like the way they feel, easy to modulate.

Oil I wouldn't worry about.

 

[15GTBEN]

kong:headbonk:

 

[Gearz]

In FS class the PP brakes and fluids are fine, no need to change them. If I manage to wear mine out I'll very likely replace them with OEM pads - I like them that much.

No need to change the oil more frequently. I do run the Motocraft Full Synthetic because it gets plenty hot in the summer and I prefer full synthetic to the blend, but it's probably overkill. Keep an eye on the oil level if you spend a lot of time on the rev limiter.

The only other thing that affects wear and tear more than normal driving is your toe settings. If a course is really transition heavy I'll add some toe-out before and then take it back to zero after.

-Brian Meyer

 

[Whiskey11]

In FS class the PP brakes and fluids are fine, no need to change them. If I manage to wear mine out I'll very likely replace them with OEM pads - I like them that much.

No need to change the oil more frequently. I do run the Motocraft Full Synthetic because it gets plenty hot in the summer and I prefer full synthetic to the blend, but it's probably overkill. Keep an eye on the oil level if you spend a lot of time on the rev limiter.

The only other thing that affects wear and tear more than normal driving is your toe settings. If a course is really transition heavy I'll add some toe-out before and then take it back to zero after.

-Brian Meyer

Agreed. I zeroed out all the toe on my car, both front and rear to help it be a little more agile. Might add a touch of toe in out back just to help with power down but right now the car is simply working too well to make too many drastic changes as we come into the home stretch to Mid Divs and Nationals.

 

[jasonstang]

I would say track miles x5 = road miles. If extra hot days and higher speed tracks make it 7.

 

[SteveW]

I've had my car for 11 mos now, have autocrossed an average of one weekend/mo I guess so far. I don't daily drive it but have somehow managed to put 11k miles on it. I have two hpde events but as instructor so not full days of track time on my car and with all that my brake pads aren't halfway gone yet.

I did put a track quality brake fluid in to resist fade and it does give me a smidge more feel and control of the brakes so I like that.

I would have fresh oil before a track day and in the past if I was over 2k miles between changes coming up to an autocross weekend I'd change it but that is probably overkill.

Edit - I bought a set of Bridgestones in January and it's looking like that set is going to make through Nationals in Sept amazingly.

 

[Norm Peterson]

I would say track miles x5 = road miles. If extra hot days and higher speed tracks make it 7.

I think the multiplier for HPDE-level speeds is a lot higher than either of those numbers. Like closer to 50 for pads (and around 15 for oil if you're stretching it out to a third event, 25-ish if you aren't). I'm fairly easy on brakes and I can't get 1,000 track miles out of a set of pads, and the 1000 or so street miles in between are insignificant in terms of wear.

I never found autocross to be anywhere near that abusive to pads or fluids.


Norm

 

[DickR]

I'm at almost 20K mostly highway miles on my 2015 GT PP. Well over 200 autocross runs. Lots of rev limiter time. Original fluids except engine oil which is Mobil 1 5w-20 changed at about 5K mile intervals. NO perceptible oil use between changes. Changed engine and cabin air filters last week for the first time. Brakes behave well in autocross but are a little touchy in very light slowing on the street.

 

[Spartan_Stang]

Too many posts to quote everyone, but all great info!

I changed my oil for the first time (my first time) and I had 5w-30 Full Synthetic put in, the sticker on the window gave me 5k miles till the change but the sensor in the car seems like I'll be able to stretch that quite a bit. At what % should I be thinking about changing the oil? I would usually change oil at like 7k with full synthetic..

Also, how difficult is it to change the oil filter on the PP cars? I was gonna change my own oil but it looked like a project when I first looked into it so I paid the stealership. The stealership charged my a crazy amount for the full synthetic 5w-30 though so I will probably just do it myself next time.... I dont like paying ~$10 for 1qt.... and labor on top of that... no thanks.

As for brake pads, all of that is exactly what I wanted to hear :lol: I'll be keeping the OEM pads on and like someone said I'll probably replace them with another OEM set as the brakes have felt great so far. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

 

[DickR]

There is a small hinged plastic access panel in the underbody splitter which gives decent access to the filter. Just unscrew a screw which has about a 7mm hex head and swing the little door down. Then use paper towels and a channel formed from newspaper to direct the oil to a drain pan and keep most of it off the various parts. It helps if the engine isn't hot since synthetic will drain well even when barely warm.

 

[Spartan_Stang]

Alright thanks, I will probably give this a go sometime soon. Here's to hoping I don't get oil everywhere :lol::lol:

 

[GTP]

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55750

Also, put a large ziplock baggie around the filter after you loosen it to catch more oil.

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