For you guys who have taken your car off the streets and made it into a dedicated track car, how do you guys break in new parts. Like when you change a clutch, first couple hundred miles must be taken easy. Or when bedding in new pads/rotors, where do you guys do all these stuff? surely not on the streets...

 

I used to keep the ITA CRXs licensed for the street even though they had full war paint and open exhaust just so I could bed in brakes. I could drive out of the neighborhood at near idle then do the minimal stopping and go home. I never got pulled over although one low speed run was beging followed by a cop whom I'm sure called in the license plate. Just make sure you have the paperwork with you. Not viable on a handgrenade engine or a finicky, cammy one. Finally stopped when the insurance cost was greater than the value.

 

Mechanical bits like a clutch: go to an HPDE and drive it easy in the instructor group. I also have been known to drive around the block over and over. For the last clutch I actually did some heel-toe "launches" with the car up on stands. Put it in gear, foot on the brake. Declutch and use the same technique for heel-toe braking to engage the clutch a bunch of times.

Brake pads, tires: go out for a practice session and go easy. With tires I scrub new ones in by putting them on the back of the car for practice. For brakes, I just drive 'em until they fade and I bring it in and let them cool off.

 

Here is a pic of Karl breaking his his new clutch

 

Industrial 500!

Our shop is in a heavy industial zone, so whe just take the car out for a couple of "laps." There was a profesional team in ALMS that did this with an LMP900 too

 

One test day is good for just about any kind of a break in, brakes, motor, tires, clutch, etc. (including the driver!)

 

my miata is liscensed and registered, and if i need to take it out for a day to bed brakes or whatever, i just call my insurance agent and i can get coverage for the day for free.

that's about the "most legal" and conveinent way of doing it i know of.

 

A few laps around the neighborhood, or I'll run the highway @ 4AM.

I've really never had to do it much, but I drove around my recent Datsun 510 for about 300 miles without plates. Not the best method, and not responsible, but you have to do, what you have to do.