CT5-V Tracking 5BW Advice

[sonny200]

Potentially attending a track event in a couple weeks at The Rock (the storied former NASCAR track in Rockingham, NC). Will be running the newly repaved roval. From my reading, the 5BW is pretty much "track ready" but my vehicle only has the steel brakes & stock brake pads. I'll be in Advanced Run Grp as I'm a former Instructor & had a Comp License up until a few years ago. (Life got in the way & had to step away from the track for a few years.)

I've searched the Forum for advice on setting up the vehicle for the track but haven't found much.

Would appreciate any feedback/advice from those who have taken their 5BW onto the track. TIA!

 

[Head Hunter]

I read page 220+ of the owners manual and found a few things.

Before:
Wheel Alignment for Road Course (V-Series Blackwing)
. Front: -2.5 deg camber, 0.1 deg total toe
. Rear: -1.5 deg camber, 0.1 deg total toe
- good video on YouTube here

Make sure all your "brake cooling parts" are installed from dealer, or install yourself and make sure brakes are burnished
Have the transmission fluid set to the track specific oil level prior to track usage.
Tire pressure cold to 28psi or 33-35psi hot

During:
Utilize the ALR system (221) to get a more snug fit in your seat on the track

After:
Bleed brakes and change diff fluid after

Hope this helps, though I'm sure you know far more than I about prepping cars for the track

 

[sonny200]

I read page 220+ of the owners manual and found a few things.

Before:
Wheel Alignment for Road Course (V-Series Blackwing)
. Front: -2.5 deg camber, 0.1 deg total toe
. Rear: -1.5 deg camber, 0.1 deg total toe
- good video on YouTube here

Make sure all your "brake cooling parts" are installed from dealer, or install yourself and make sure brakes are burnished
Have the transmission fluid set to the track specific oil level prior to track usage.
Tire pressure cold to 28psi or 33-35psi hot

During:
Utilize the ALR system (221) to get a more snug fit in your seat on the track

After:
Bleed brakes and change diff fluid after

Hope this helps, though I'm sure you know far more than I about prepping cars for the track

My 5BW is a manual. Do I need to add 2 liters of tranny oil to it (like for a C8 Corvette) for track use? I thought that was only for the AT & not the MT.

Not gonna mess with the alignment -- too much hassle. I'll just deal with understeering on corner entry.

"Brake cooling parts"? What is it that you speak of?

 

[Head Hunter]

Page 220-226 will help explain - https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/servicemanuals/cadillac/2022-ct5.pdf

 

[poor-sha]

I've also tracked my 5BW in the advanced run group, although I do have CCBs. Make sure you flush and put in a quality DOT4 like Castrol SRF as the fluid is the weak link.

Both my buddy with a 4BW and I had issues with the clutch sticking to the floor on some shifts once the fluid got hot (the brake and clutch fluid are a shared system). I got a mity vac and used it to pull a vacuum on the reservoir to pull out any remaining air and it got rid of the issue. Somewhere around here I shared the procedure from the service manual, but worst case just use your foot to make sure the pedal returns.

I don't know if there are any track pads available for the iron brakes, but I suspect the stock pads will work but will wear quickly.

No need to add extra fluid to the transmission, but make sure you have the 1500 miles on the car. You are supposed to change the diff fluid after the first track day.

Here's one of the more fun sessions chasing a 911.

 

[A Blackwing]

I tracked mine recently. Did not know about the brake cooling parts. will be adding those for sure and doing track alighnment before next time. Understeer wasnt too bad for me.

I did replace the brake fluid with castrol 660

 

[poor-sha]

Potentially attending a track event in a couple weeks at The Rock (the storied former NASCAR track in Rockingham, NC). Will be running the newly repaved roval. From my reading, the 5BW is pretty much "track ready" but my vehicle only has the steel brakes & stock brake pads. I'll be in Advanced Run Grp as I'm a former Instructor & had a Comp License up until a few years ago. (Life got in the way & had to step away from the track for a few years.)

I've searched the Forum for advice on setting up the vehicle for the track but haven't found much.

Would appreciate any feedback/advice from those who have taken their 5BW onto the track. TIA!

You should sign up for the V-Club event at VIR late July. It's run as part of the HOD event and I just signed up for all 3 days.

 

[Carguyshu]

Put in Castrol SRF & you’ll only need to bleed once per year. There’s several threads on the brake cooling parts. Be sure to also remove the defectors in front of the front tires if you don’t have the CF splitter. I find the weak link is overheating the tires before anything else. The steels and CCB are equally track capable the CCB just have less unsprung weight. The stock pads are very good & unless you run into issues you should just keep with them since the car is brake by wire & all the electromechanical systems are programmed around them. Deflate tires to 28-29 before starting. I’d also do the track alignment. It def makes a difference. I just run mine in the track alignment all the time. The track wears the outsides of the tires faster and the track alignment will wear the insides more on the street. Helps balance it out. Once you’ve done all this is just a simple drive to the track and air up/down the tires every time and that’s it. The cars are incredibly capable

 

[Head Hunter]

You should sign up for the V-Club event at VIR late July. It's run as part of the HOD event and I just signed up for all 3 days.

I just signed up for Sunday - only day they had left

 

[Deneed4spd]

This is what setup spring mt had on their cars.

 

[MatthewAMEL]

Don’t forget we have a Track Thread AND a setup guide for the BW4 and 5.

Thread 'Unofficial Performance Supplement for Blackwing 4 & 5'
Unofficial Performance Supplement for Blackwing 4 & 5

 

[poor-sha]

I just signed up for Sunday - only day they had left

If you want to do all 3 days you need to sign up at the HOD web site. The V-Club part is only Sunday. I'll be there all 3 days.

 

[Deneed4spd]

When I was at spring mountain, they somehow had it setup where you push v button twice and it went in track mode with ptm sport. Anyhow know how to set this up? Right now I just have my v-mode as street but would be nice to be able to push v mode twice and go into ptm sport quickly.

 

[Carguyshu]

When I was at spring mountain, they somehow had it setup where you push v button twice and it went in track mode with ptm sport. Anyhow know how to set this up? Right now I just have my v-mode as street but would be nice to be able to push v mode twice and go into ptm sport quickly.

Just set the ptm mode you want it to go to with the second push while adjusting v mode settings

 

[Tall Steve]

This is what setup spring mt had on their cars.

I spy @OldGoat

 

[Head Hunter]

If you want to do all 3 days you need to sign up at the HOD web site. The V-Club part is only Sunday. I'll be there all 3 days.

Do you use track insurance? What company do you use?

 

[MatthewAMEL]

Do you use track insurance? What company do you use?

RLI is the underwriter for everyone except OpenTrack.

RLI best for single events.

RLI Track Day Insurance | RLI Corp

RLI Track Day Insurance covers damage to your car when you're participating in high performance driver education (HPDE) events.

www.rlicorp.com

If you plan on tracking a lot, consider a yearly policy.

OpenTrack | Track Day Insurance & Professional Driver Coaching

Enjoy less risk and more rush with OpenTrack's flexible track day insurance solutions for high-performance drivers. OpenTrack | Drive More. Drive Better.

www.opentrack.com

My last two years with my 1LE, I used OpenTrack because I was running 12-14 events a year.

 

[poor-sha]

Do you use track insurance? What company do you use?

Self insured

 

[MatthewAMEL]

Self insured

 

[Head Hunter]

Self insured

I was kind of leaning towards this option for VIR as (correct me if I’m wrong) it seems like a very open track (no walls) so if something does go wrong, it’s very unlikely to be severe/catastrophic and with most policies having a deductible equal to 10-15% of value (12-18k) and costing another $800-1000 for the event, I can’t see many scenarios where the damage I did outweighs the deductible. They strike me as “total loss” coverages and nothing more.