What do I need to do to prep a rental car for a track day?

I have a non-refundable track day this weekend and my car is out of commission; what needs to be done to prep a rental car for a track day? The brake fluid will be changed, do you think it needs front pads as well? Any experience with parts store brake pads at the track?

end well this won't

It's a rental... just call them at lunchtime to bring you a fresh one for the afternoon

it's the only time that I'll suggest getting the insurance. Actually come to think of it, with the cost and deductible of HPDE/track day insurance maybe rentals with rental insurance IS the answer.

A friend of mine's wife used a rented Mustang from one of the national companies for her first ever track day (HPDE) at Road Atlanta. They didn't have a suitable car and didn't think twice about it. Drove down, did the track day, tooled around Atlanta, came home. They aren't car people but "driving fast" was a bucket list thing for her.

In reply to captdownshift:

I can't imagine rental insurance would cover any kind of on-track incident...and it might be tough to convince them otherwise.

Knoxville's Prep:

Paint for a number 3 & 2 Blow-up Dolls

I don't even know what kind of car this is, but I know it was rented. The driver was only supposed to be puttering around to see where the track went. Uh, yeah.

Oops.

Gasoline wrote: Knoxville's Prep: Paint for a number 3 & 2 Blow-up Dolls

This is exactly what came to my mind.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Might possibly have needed a bit more air in those tires.

And maybe fewer handbrake turns with four people on board.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

that's never the solution.

Just bring these, and make sure they're sturdy...

captdownshift wrote: In reply to Keith Tanner: that's ALWAYS the solution.

FTFY.

I wouldn't imagine you'd need different brake pads. just get a good rental. sporty cars should have stock brakes that can take at least some abuse. plus, its good to learn how to recognize brake fade...

In reply to Bobzilla:

I meant that fewer was never the solution

My first track day was as a co driver in an Isuzu Stylus demonstrator. Not the RS version, but the base car. I used my Rabbit wheels with Yokohama A008Rs on it. We destroyed the front brake pads, but that was the only issue.

So, to answer your question, nothing. Unless you can source better tires.

rcutclif wrote: I wouldn't imagine you'd need different brake pads. just get a good rental. sporty cars should have stock brakes that can take at least some abuse. plus, its good to learn how to recognize brake fade...

I would guess the majority of rental cars don't have brakes that would last more than a lap or two. Orvernight a set of decent track pads from teh amazon. Or local speed shop if such a thing exists.

Remember to remove hupcaps if the car has them - they will massively deform/melt when subjected to high brake temps for a long time. (your track/organization probably requires it anyway)

If possible, rent a car that has a similar bolt pattern/offset to your out of commission car so at least you can use some good tires :)

Electrical tape to cover all the idiot lights on the dash, that if driven correctly will shirley light up! A friend of mine took a turbo Buick to Sebring, he would hammer it until it went into limp mode, idle around till things cooled down and than repeat. He had every light and chime going off, I laughed the whole 20 minutes, I do belive he complained the brakes werent working correctly and got 50% off when he returned it.

Most car insurance will not be valid once on track. Also read the fine print of the rental agreement. It may have specific exclusions. In short be prepared to purchase the rental if you wad it up.

I asked my agent about the insurance on my car a while back and was surprised to learn that as long as there was no racing going on then I had coverage. My agent said that this was defined as any official timing and scoring for the cars on the track. But any kind of open practice or driving school I had full coverage.

I would make sure to avoid anything that has GPS tracking or data logging functions. I have heard stories of track activities triggering calls from Onstar.

^^ This. AFAIK several car rental companies also may use trackers.

Didn't someone do a One Lap of America in a rented Shelby GT-H until they were met by a rather annoyed Hertz employee?

dean1484 wrote: I asked my agent about the insurance on my car a while back and was surprised to learn that as long as there was no racing going on then I had coverage. My agent said that this was defined as any official timing and scoring for the cars on the track. But any kind of open practice or driving school I had full coverage.

Did you by any chance get that in writing? I seem to have overheard that discussion at several HPDE events and the only thing people seem to be able to agree on is that they disagree about it.

Keith Tanner wrote: I don't even know what kind of car this is, but I know it was rented. The driver was only supposed to be puttering around to see where the track went. Uh, yeah. Oops.

Chevy prism.