tools for a track day

[jumare]

What tools do you take when doing a track day?

I've only done a couple of track days I and my wife came with me in her car so i was able to take along a selection of tools (which didn't get used). I'm doing a track day next week without her support and I was wondering what tools people took along.

I was planning on a selection of sockets/spanners etc, some gaffer tape, tie wraps, disposable gloves, water, oil, brake fluid... However there's a limit to what can be done without spares.

[anonymous-user]

Don't forget a jack, jubilee clips and tyre air compressor..

[meatballs]

Quite often if you are desperate you can beg steal or borrow many tools at the track. It's always worth bringing stuff specific for your car - like the jack stand adapters for my BMW unless you don't mind them getting crushed by normal jackstands.

If you are with friends you can get a lift to a local autotactors if nearby for bits and pieces, but you are probably only going to be doing simple repairs or replacing brake pads etc.

Last track day we had to fix a broken coolant hose connector so pliers were a must for the spring clips. LED torch was helpful.

Track day before we had brake disc catching on heat shield and needed to borrow a jack and stands to investigate, and then a torque wrench to retorque wheels properly. A long screwdriver could have been helpful to bend it back a bit in the centre.

I would take torque wrench, breaker bar and sockets for wheel nuts at a minimum. Almost certainly be able to borrow a jack, but they are quite heavy/bulky to chuck in, so this is what I am cheeky with.

Then:

Socket set and pliers.

Screwdriver or two.

Spanner set.

Cable ties.

Gaffer tape.

Gloves.

Paper towels, baby wipes.

Jack and stands.

Edit: oh and a tyre pressure guage with quick release to drop pressure as they warm up - and a pump for the return trip!

[ChevronB19]

meatballs said:

Quite often if you are desperate you can beg steal or borrow many tools at the track. It's always worth bringing stuff specific for your car - like the jack stand adapters for my BMW unless you don't mind them getting crushed by normal jackstands.

If you are with friends you can get a lift to a local autotactors if nearby for bits and pieces, but you are probably only going to be doing simple repairs or replacing brake pads etc.

Last track day we had to fix a broken coolant hose connector so pliers were a must for the spring clips. LED torch was helpful.

Track day before we had brake disc catching on heat shield and needed to borrow a jack and stands to investigate, and then a torque wrench to retorque wheels properly. A long screwdriver could have been helpful to bend it back a bit in the centre.

I would take torque wrench, breaker bar and sockets for wheel nuts at a minimum. Almost certainly be able to borrow a jack, but they are quite heavy/bulky to chuck in, so this is what I am cheeky with.

Then:

Socket set and pliers.

Screwdriver or two.

Spanner set.

Cable ties.

Gaffer tape.

Gloves.

Paper towels, baby wipes.

Jack and stands.

Edit: oh and a tyre pressure guage with quick release to drop pressure as they warm up - and a pump for the return trip!

WD40 and/or freeze spray.

A hammer.

[jumare]

ChevronB19 said:

A hammer.

Would you recommend, club, sledge or ball pein?

WD40 is good suggestion though, hammer if it's mechanical WD40 if it's electrical.

[meatballs]

I have ball pein and rubber mallet in my bag, but only used the mallet in anger to put up the gazebo to keep out of the sun

[brillomaster]

My tool kit normally is:
Low entry jack, wheel nut wrench, torque wrench
Socket set
Basic toolkit (screwdrivers, pliers, gaffer tape, wd40, cable ties)
12v tyre inflator, tyre pressure gauge
Water, spare oil, spare brake fluid
Spare brake pads
Old footwell carpet for kneeling

Though as others have said, there will always be people with more stuff than you, though perhaps not stuff specific to your car. Most common thing i do trackside is replace pads, so i have the 7mm allen key socket and a 4" g clamp as they're specific to my car.

[Camoradi]

I take a random selection of nuts and bolts, washers, self tapping screws, pop rivets and jubilee clips. I've never needed them myself but have helped a few other people out with issues.

Also one of those magnets on a flexible thing (whatever they are called?) Proved useful to retrieve a dropped screw from a hot engine bay

[21TonyK]

Aside from anything else just to reiterate a torque wrench even if its only used to re-torque your wheels each session.

Last thing you want is a wheel coming off, and yes, I've seen it happen.

Fortunately no-one was hurt.

[geeks]

A spare 10mm

[E-bmw]

Just for a bit more length, obviously.

[Viperz888]

Don’t you have to keep your tools in the car, unless you have a friend with another car to keep them in, or are there places to leave them? Is the best strategy to just strap them down securely in the boot? Wouldn’t want a jack or stands sloshing about on corners.

[meatballs]

Some tracks have garages which are either rented or on first come first serve basis. There's also usually some odd patches of grass around pits to dump kit.

[E-bmw]

Viperz888 said:

Don’t you have to keep your tools in the car, unless you have a friend with another car to keep them in, or are there places to leave them? Is the best strategy to just strap them down securely in the boot? Wouldn’t want a jack or stands sloshing about on corners.

No, you can't leave stuff inside the car when on track, just set your stall out where you park up & get chatting to those around you, never heard of anything going astray in 15 years of going fully equipped on a TD.

[nigelonich]

I try to limit things to the following but bear in mind most is just as important for towing to and from the track as what the needs might be when you are there:


Tools:

Jack
Breaker bar
Torque wrench
deep/alloy wheel sockets
Metric 3/8 drive socket set
Metric Hex keys
A set of metric ratchet spanners with flexible ring end.
Pliers.
Multimeter
torch
Terminal block and some wire.
Screwdrivers inc a big one to use as a pry bar
Hi viz waistcoat
Tyre pressure gauge
12v dc pump.

Other
Spare wheel(s) (useable)
Three VP 20L fuel cans The time/money saved at somewhere like the ring by having your own fuel is significant.
1l of suitable oil.
suitable brake fluid
A water bottle filled.
Tiewraps
T Rex gaffer tape (wonderful stuff)
Wonder wipes
PTFE tape
Coveralls

[QBee]

All the above posts are good and pretty well complete - I think I have carried much of that stuff to/from the track.
I do find a battery impact gun handy when I have taken several sets of wheels/tyres with me, and never forget your wheel brace.

Last track day I did, a friend in a similar car to me had his power steering hose burst. This was fixed by cutting the hose at the site of the leak and inserting the correct sized long thin socket from his socket set into the cut ends, finishing off with a couple of jubilee clips. The fix was completed by 3pm, but he decided not to risk it on track, and drove the 150 miles home instead.

So definitely include a couple of jubilee clips in your spares kit.

Another friend had his throttle cable break in the second session of the day. To my amazement, he carried a spare in his kit and proceeded to fit it, no mean feat for a man in his 60s in a TVR.........



So a few small, inexpensive, but essential spares could be handy.

[jumare]

In the end I took a tool box full of tools, oil, brake fluid and few other miscellaneous bits and didn't use any of it. The best thing I took was a small tent (beach shelter) to put everything in and to sit in out of the sun.

Edited by jumare on Tuesday 16th July 12:32

[meatballs]

We were at Abingdon a couple of weeks ago, scorching hot sun. We were the only group who had a gazebo - I would hate to see the sunburn on everyone else there as I didn't see a single application of suncream!

[Burny16v]

I've only done airfield track days with another person and hill climb before, so there's been plenty of space to dump stuff on grass etc and setup your own little space, and always someone to watch over it whilst the other is on track. Is this the case at all tracks, you essentially claim your own little area? I'm going to Combe for a track day on my own, so was wondering where I could leave my stuff without it getting nicked or my space in the paddock taken, but by the sounds of it from this thread, you do just claim a little patch as your own?

[jumare]

Burny16v said:

I've only done airfield track days with another person and hill climb before, so there's been plenty of space to dump stuff on grass etc and setup your own little space, and always someone to watch over it whilst the other is on track. Is this the case at all tracks, you essentially claim your own little area? I'm going to Combe for a track day on my own, so was wondering where I could leave my stuff without it getting nicked or my space in the paddock taken, but by the sounds of it from this thread, you do just claim a little patch as your own?

There's plenty of space at Combe to claim an area, when are you going?