Best Fluids for Occasional Track Use

Hey All, It seems a good amount of members here track their daily driven 996's occasionally, and wanted to get some insight on things like fluids for my completely stock, new to me, 2000 C2. I'm also relatively new to tracking (2 full days right now, can not wait for the next). First of all, if I'm only planning on at most 6 track days a year, are the OEM fluids fine? I've searched around and can't seem to find much insight in this area. What fluids are you guys using in your DD's that see track time? For brakes, it looks like Motul 600/660 or 5.1 is popular, but many run a nice DOT 4 as well. What about oil? Saw redline 5W-40 mentioned. I don't trust the stock Mobile 1 anymore now that walmart carries it. Transmission Fluid? I was going to completely drain coolant and run distilled water w/ water wetter. Bad idea? For brakes, I was going to get a dedicated set of track rotors to swap in the night before, along with track pads. On somewhat of a budget, but willing to spend more on things like motor oil just for longevity/protection. Sorry, bit of a long post, but curiosity gets the best of me. TIA guys.

Water and water wetter is a slightly safer alternative (it's still shockingly slippery if you dump it on a hot track, but it at least will dry up on its own without a cleanup crew). Personally, if I were sharing a track with you, I would be more concerned with the integrity of your hoses than what was in them, though -- if they're original, consider replacements. the '99-01 cars are a little harder to cool than the later ones, so I would consider adding a switched bypass to your fan relays and running the fans with the car at idle for a few minutes when you come back off track. There are several example DIYs out there. Also in my opinion, the only thing anyone can tell you credibly about oil on the internet is that new oil is better than old oil, so bear this in mind. Motul RBF600 is an excellent choice, and reasonably priced. In a dry climate, a season of use with only a quick bleed (not flush) before each event is reasonable.

I would recommend the following: - brake fluid: ATE Type 200-> RB600 -> Castrol SRF - I like Motul 5w-40 and have been using it for almost 10 yrs now with good UOA reports. Just change it out after each track weekend to be safe. May want to add magnetic drain plug - Transmission fluid - use genuine Porsche - Flush the coolant and use genuine Porsche coolant (buy from Sunset Porsche www.porschpartshub.com )

I like Prospeed RS683 brake fluid for the type of duty that you describe.

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Great advice so far, keep it coming! OEM or is there a better aftermarket you recommend? I'm all ears man. this is exactly the advice I look for. again, this is exactly the kind of info I like. You are the MAN! Definitely will look into this. Also, cleaning the radiators is on my list for this weekend, weather permitting.

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Really? you must be joking. There may be reasons to use one oil vs another but the fact that Walmart sells it has no bearing on anything other than saving you a few $$

lol I'll admit that was said with a bit of humor laced in. Was waiting for a comment on it.

you also shouldn't use Walmart distilled water in these cars. Only buy distilled water from your local Porsche dealer. It is well worth the $15 / gallon premium over that horrible stuff that Walmart sells. I mean cmon, this motor will cost you $50K to replace you have to treat it well.

As long as the brake fluid has the appropriate DOT rating as specified in the manual or on the reservoir cap, it'll be fine. IMO the freshness of the fluid (and thus the absence of water) is much more crucial than the specific brand of brake fluid.

Looks like you have gotten plenty of good info regarding fluids.......but let's talk track tires. DON'T DO IT right away. I used street tires for my 1st 4 DE seasons. Yes I burned them up but it taught me how to drive thru a slide and showed me how to throw the weight to front for steering thru the corners and back to the rear (read throttle steering). If you do go track tires look at a deeper sump pan or an X51 pan.....the added grip will carry the G's and throw the oil to one side on a long sweeper and you don't want that to happen. Ask me how I know.

Pete: good info. I do not plan on doing tires for a while. Like I said, I'm on somewhat of a budget. My previos track days have been in an e36 BMW on 10 year old cracked all seasons. The stock 996 will be a HUGE jump in performance, to the point where the first session in april will be VERY slow compared to what I'm sure the Porsche is capable of. It will be a year or two before I think about a dedicatied set of tires. I'm not trying to go as fast as possible (yet). Would rather become a better driver first. The purpose of this thread was just to make sure I'm doing what I can to protect the car. Everyone so far has contributed great info. Kepp it up, awesome people!!!

If you are worried about temperature, you can also add the third (center) radiator to cars that are not so equipped. Pedro has a cool write-up for this: http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/I...tructions.html As far as hoses - the OEM hoses are fine, you just want to replace any dry/cracked hoses. Buy a new coolant tank cap if yours is still original. My Boxster's 10-year-old cap crapped out and puked coolant all over pregrid between laps at one autocross.

GATORADE! oh, i misunderstood LOL seriously - yo've gotten some real good input - have fun and remember...rubber hoses usually go bad from the INSIDE...best to change out the doubtful ones preemptively

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Why yes, yes I have. And oh I will. I can NOT wait until April 4th. Thunderhill West for those in Nor Cal

Thumble, Mobil 1 formulation changed in 2000 according to the experts on Bobistheoilguy. The consensus is the change was negative. That may give the JGDT40 recommendation even more credence. It comes down to the specs of the additive package not so much the base oil. There are very few suppliers of these additive packages but many marketers of blended/branded oils. Hence much confusion. There seem to be two limiting factors on the oil choice for the M96: 1. thermal shear characteristics -inferior oils deteriorate rapidly in severe high temperatures and their lubricity becomes marginal or worse. The M96 seems intolerant of such compromised oil. 2. Foaming - Higher detergent oils foam.Foam won't lubricate adequately.The M96 engine configuration creates foaming under some Track conditions. This can be ameliorated with deep sumps/baffles/external oil pump . All the above have been discussed here and if you research each issue you'll find a wealth of ideas and info. It depends how deep into tribology (and your wallet)you want to go.