Track Day Prep+Insurance

[MaX PL]

What are some important things we should all bring with us to an event?
I was planning to simply bring a helmet, tire gauge, and some water.

Coolant: Should I bring extra? Is it heavily consumed after only a few sessions.

Secondly, for track insurance. They ask for value of vehicle. I'm tempted to place the value a bit lower than the depreciated value of the vehicle to keep the premium low.
How exactly does this impact anything when it comes to making a claim? Is it only a factor if its a total loss?

Thanks.

[Reid]

Originally Posted by MaX PL

What are some important things we should all bring with us to an event?
I was planning to simply bring a helmet, tire gauge, and some water.

I'd add to that list:

torque wrench with socket for lug nuts (it doesn't hurt to verify torque between sessions)
quart of oil
sunscreen
spare brake pads and all tools required to change them out
folding chair(s)

[chillindrdude]

I use Lockton for track insurance. I do blue book value plus value of my mods. 10% deductable.

More expensive? For sure, but thats the price I am willing to pay for peace of mind

[MaX PL]

what about fuel? do people bring their own, go to a local station, or purchase track fuel?

whats most typical?

[MaynardZed]

Originally Posted by MaX PL

what about fuel? do people bring their own, go to a local station, or purchase track fuel?

whats most typical?

I bring a 5 gallon jug of race fuel with me if its a track that doesn't have race fuel near by. You will go through a full tank of gas if you're able to run four 20 minutes sessions hard.

On the insurance, it pays only the value that you enter for your car (minus deductible). Keep in mind, it wouldn't take much of an incident to make this car a "total loss" considering how new it is.

[ChipB]

Here are the essentials, in my opinion, based on attending over 30 DE events:

Helmet
Driving gloves - not really essential, but I find them to be very helpful
Tire pressure gauge. I also bring a portable compressor, but in reality I rarely use it at a DE event since in general you will be reducing pressures, not increasing them.
Torque wrench with appropriate socket for checking lug bolts.
Oil - 1 or 2 quarts
Windshield cleaner and towel
Folding chair
Tarp (to protect your stuff if/when it rains)
Umbrella and/or rain jacket
Sunglasses, sun screen, hat
Water - 3 or 4 12-oz bottles per day, in a cooler with ice

Other stuff I bring just in case but rarely have actually needed to use:
Light weight jack and 2 jack stands. I have used these only once at the track when I needed to bleed brakes (see below), and have probably loaned it out to others a half dozen times.
Brake bleeder, brake fluid, and appropriate tools - have used these myself just once at the track, but have helped others several times.
Extra set of brake pads, and tools to change them.

I do not transport fuel - I fill up in the morning on the way to the track and run into town at lunch time or between sessions if need be. In a pinch if you run really low most tracks sell race fuel (100 octane or higher) at ridiculously high prices - it's a last resort if you're on fumes and need one or two gallons to get to town.

As for insurance - check your policy to see what it excludes. I believe all insurance policies exclude damage that occurs in competitive or timed events, or in practicing for a competitive event, which is one reason why the clubs that run DEs are careful to not provide any official lap timing and are clear that the event is a driving school, not a race school. But some policies are even more onerous, excluding damage that occurs while driving "on a surface deigned for racing," which means DEs are not covered. And some even go so far as to exclude damage that occurs anywhere on a property containing a racing facility - such as a fender bender in the parking lot. So read the fine print on your policy. Many people (me included) get track day insurance even though my carrier covers DE events - I do it because my carrier also has my personal liability and homeowners. and I really don't want to get into a situation where they may cover damage to my car at a DE but then drop me.

The most important thing is to prep your car before hand. Check your brake pads to make sure they have adequate thickness (if you don't know how to do this someone at the track will be glad to help), torque the lug bolts, check that the tread on your tires is good, get rid of floor mats and loose stuff in the car, and make sure your brake fluid is relatively new - should be no more than 1 year old if you have stock brake fluid in the car (less than that if using high performance racing fluid). Some clubs require brake fluid to be no more than 6 weeks old, so check the rules.

[Sapper_M3]

Originally Posted by Reid

I'd add to that list:

torque wrench with socket for lug nuts (it doesn't hurt to verify torque between sessions)
quart of oil
sunscreen
spare brake pads and all tools required to change them out
folding chair(s)

Food for thought: It actually may hurt to "verify" torque on wheel lug bolts/nuts between sessions. Your studs/nuts or bolts will be plenty hot if you're driving like you should, and you can over-torque them this way, especially if you do it immediately after pitting along with checking tire pressures.

EDIT: But I'd definitely bring the torque wrench to the track. I torque before my first session and usually again before the first after-lunch session when the wheels are cool.