As they say, a failure to prepare is preparing to fail. And yet, a shocking number of our fellow track brethren completely ignore that. So today we’re going over how to properly baseline your track car, because before you start growing as a driver or firing the parts cannon, you need to know where you’re actually starting from.

Some of this will be a no-brainer to the veterans, but a lot of it also translates directly to your street cars and tow vehicles, so stick around. Here’s how we’ll break it down: the what, the why, and my personal recommendations.

Alright, let’s get into it.

If It Fails, You Crash

Wheel Bearings

Wheel bearings are literally one of the main things holding your wheel on the car. With the car in the air, grab your tire at 12 and 6, then 3 and 10, and move it back and forth to feel for any play. Really get after it too. If something breaks from your own human strength, it wouldn’t have lasted on track anyway. This one gets overlooked a lot until you roll into tech at a track day and realize that pulling you felt on the street wasn’t just a crown in the road or your alignment being off. If they are bad, don’t cheap out on them. SKF is my go-to brand if I can’t go OEM.

Brake Hoses

Have you ever had a brake line burst? It sucks. If your car is newer, you typically don’t have to worry about this, but as I covered in my Brake 101 article, these do have a shelf life, believe it or not. A cheap insurance move is to swap in stainless-steel braided lines. This keeps the hose from deforming under hard braking. I always recommend Goodridge. Their testing exceeds that of almost every other company in the US, and they have the certifications to back it up.

Brake Calipers

While you are in the wheel well anyway, pull the caliper off and give it a look. If you have a sliding caliper, meaning only one side has pistons, make sure you grease the sliding pins and confirm they are not seized. A seized pin causes uneven pressure on the rotor, causing the car to pull to one side under braking.

Suspension

Everything that’s rubber or has a piston needs to be checked. You cannot take an “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” approach here. Check all the bushings for cracks, and try moving the components they attach to in the same direction to see if anything is torn. A lot of the time, you won’t find it without prying on things and getting physical with it. Ball joints will make a popping noise when you pry the knuckle up or down. The same goes for sway bar end links. Do your due diligence, even pull control arms on multi-link setups if you have to. Bad suspension components have caused so many headaches at the track, from losing time to having to relearn the car and develop bad habits, to writing one off completely. If your shocks have oil or grease on them, believe what they are telling you because they are leaking.

For bushings, my rule of thumb by region is Lemförder or Meyle HD for European cars, genuine OEM for Japanese cars, and Moog or ACDelco for American cars. For shocks, the brands I have had the best luck with are KYB and Bilstein, with Monroe as an honorable mention.

If this is a dedicated track or race car, I recommend replacing bushings with sphericals wherever you can, but this is a baseline article, so I wasn’t going to say that out loud. Damnit.

Subframes

This one is mainly aimed at my European brethren, but cars like the F82 and E90 have aluminum subframes, and there are a few things to watch for. Look for tears and cracked welds, because the people who owned it before you may have tried to jump it off a curb. Ask me how I know. Aluminum can be tricky to spot cracks in, so clean the surface well and look for dark lines. Shining a light at a low angle helps a lot. Also, check for any irregularities in the surface. If you find a cracked subframe, I just replace it with a new OEM unit entirely to be safe.

If It Fails, You Stop

Fluids

You should have seen this one coming from a mile away, but change all your damn fluids. I know it sounds stupid that I even have to type that, but no, transmission fluid is not a lifetime fluid, and no, you should not be going 10k miles on that oil change. Change your oil with a quality synthetic and the filter to match. Change your coolant, too. A quick note on that: the colors do matter, so make sure you get the right one for your car. Check the owner’s manual or look it up online, and try to avoid the universal green stuff. Diff, trans, brake, and power steering fluid should all be fresh as well. You are about to beat the piss out of all these systems, so give them the best chance to survive. You know that feeling right after an oil change, where you swear it made another 10hp? Let all your systems live their best lives.

Before anyone loses their mind in the comments, these are my personal preferences. For oil, I like Valvoline and Motul. Gear oil, I go with Valvoline synthetic, and I really do love the squeeze bags. For coolant, I like Peak and Valvoline, and for a dedicated race car, I use deionized water with a water enhancer like Water Wetter to prevent corrosion. Transmission fluid, I always go OEM even on manuals. Brake fluid, I like Motul, but the absolute best is Castrol SRF; it is just expensive. Power steering fluid, whatever your OEM recommends.

Test the Cooling System

Grab a cooling system tester. It is typically a hand pump with different caps that fit over your radiator or expansion tank. You pump the system up to the pressure rating on your radiator cap, and it will expose any weak hoses or clamps fast. They will either start leaking or, in one extreme case I dealt with, a smaller hose tore completely in half. Ideally, you want the thermostat out for this test, but you can also do a cold test with it in place, then bring everything up to temp and visually check for leaks. Again, you are about to beat the piss out of this system, so take your time here.

Belts

I replace all my serpentine belts, and if the car has a timing belt, I do that too, regardless of what the previous owner claimed. If you have owned the car for a while and already handled those, at a minimum, inspect them for fraying or any signs of damage. It would be pretty embarrassing to snap a belt because you could not be bothered to look. Also, make sure your auto tensioner is actually tensioning. I have thrown belts myself because I was too lazy to confirm they weren’t just hanging out doing nothing. My go-to brands are Aisin because I am a Toyota fanboy, Gates, and Continental.

Thermostat and Water Pump

I just replace the thermostats as a rule for peace of mind. If it gets stuck, you are having a bad time, and if the water pump impeller explodes, you are having an even worse one. This pairs perfectly with your coolant change, since you already have coolant all over your floor anyway, so go for it. I stick with Gates and Aisin here. If you have a BMW with an electric pump, I have used a Pierburg pump.

Brake Pads and Rotors

This one is tricky because I do not want to just tell you to go buy race pads. As engineers love to say, it depends, and here it really does. For a baseline, I would start with entry-level track day pads from a brand you trust, whether that is Hawk HP Plus, Pagid, G-Loc, or Paragon. The choice is a matter of personal preference, and I rock with all four. You want something that can handle sustained heat because most street OEM pads are cooked after a lap or two of hard driving. If you have never experienced melted brake pads, I promise you it is terrifying, and depending on where it happens, it can be deadly.

For rotors, make sure they are not cracked and have decent life left. An easy way to check is to look for a lip or groove forming on the surface and outer edge, which means they are getting low. If you have drilled rotors, some small cracks between the holes are normal, but if you are seeing cracks running from mid rotor or the bottom out to the edge, those are done. My go-to is Paragon, and I almost exclusively run two-piece rotors. For single-piece, I like DBA and Zimmermann, and honestly, some people run Duralast for the warranty. If you know, you know.

If it Fails it Will Slow You Down

Spark Plugs

Ignition is one of the three things your engine needs to make noise, so make sure you have quality plugs. I prefer NGK Iridium; it’s best, in my opinion.

Filters

Just like your fluids, make sure everything can breathe and be cleaned properly. Fuel filters get clogged more than people think. Modern cars have moved them inside the fuel pump housing, so you usually do not have to worry about them. If yours is external, make sure it is in good shape. The same goes for the air filter; clear of debris, you might as well change it while you are at it. Fresh oil filter with that fresh oil we already talked about. I also swap the cabin filter in my track cars. I have done enough off-roading to know I like clean air in the cabin. I love Mahle and Wix for filters.

Tires

Check the build date. If they are over 10 years old, toss them; Bridgestone, Pirelli, and Continental will tell you the same thing. Under 5 years, you are good to go. In that 6 to 9-year range, replacement is still recommended, but it is not as dire as it is past 10. Also, toss them if you have bubbles or cracking on the sidewall. Flat spots can develop from sitting too long as well. Watch for cracking in the tread, too, which is common in that 7 to 9-year window.

Misc but Still Important

Scan Tool Deep Dive

With a quality scan tool that can read all your OEM modules and ideally fire ABS, do a full deep scan, and figure out what issues are going to give you a headache. I cannot tell you what to fix since my personal pain tolerance has gotten a little too high over the years, but if something is going to affect how the car runs or stops safely, get it handled. I use an Innova 5610 for about 90% of what I need and only break out the advanced scan tool when I am genuinely stumped.

Battery / Grounds

Make sure it is in good health. You can get it tested for free at most parts stores, or use the scan tool we just talked about, which will test it for you. AGM batteries last around 5 years, while traditional acid batteries last around 3. Also, make sure it has a tie-down so it doesn’t move, and cover the positive terminal with the plastic that should already be there, or wrap it in electrical tape.

Most cars have at least 3 main grounds. Everyone knows the battery one, but there are typically two on the block as well. One ties the head to the chassis, and the other ties the block to the chassis. On a steel subframe, the block ground usually runs to that or near the lower frame rails. Head grounds are typically around the shock towers, but they vary, so look yours up. Grab new grounds from the OEM or make your own with ring terminals and some 2 to 6-gauge wire. I have personally experienced a no-start situation because the ground was not heavy enough to support the starter’s load.

Know Your Chassis

You know those things called forums, young folks? Most have a pinned section covering all the commonly known issues for your specific chassis. BMW, for example, is famous for leaking, so the community has mapped out exactly which parts go first and where to look on every generation. Facebook groups are full of this information, too, so do a search, browse around, and start reading before you assume your car is fine.