John
The advice above is spot on. Personally, I would recommend Hoosier Street TD's to start. A little less grip, a little better to control in slip angle. But Slicks at $100 ea are cheaper, and nothing to be afraid of. You could even check around the local racers for take-offs. The real racers will dump tires after 2 or 3 heat cycles, to stay competitive. Those tires will be fine for you, and more predictable.
BLEED YOUR BRAKES!!!!! Most important. Change over to Castrol LMA at a minimum, Wilwood 550 is better but requires bleeding more often, especially if you still drive your car on the street (it absorbs water faster). NO SILICON FLUID!!! Get a set of Performance Friction race or Super Street pads. Or Hawk or...
Your car will go like he!!, but won't stop worth a damn with regular pads and old fluid. And brakes are a good thing.
Do you have adjustable shocks? Set them on medium hard to start. Do you use the roller style Lemans gas cap? Bring a tennis ball (or a rubber ball that will stopper the inlet) as these caps will spill gas all over on hard left turns. What
oil pressure does your FE run? Change your
oil to a 20-50W or straight 50W racing
oil like Valvoline or Kendall GT-1, and get a high pressure oil filter, rather than the standard one. FE's that live love oil pressure. Go over the car with a wrench and be sure its all tight. If Andy Dunn has had anything to do with your car, put double hose clamps on the radiator hoses (lol). Call Shelby for alignment specs for on track, generally 3/4- 1* neg camber/+4* caster, 1/16 toe out in front, -3/4* camber and 0 or 1/16 toe out in rear if adjustable.
To bring to track: A jack and stands, A basic tool set for your car to do minor adjustments and fixes. Something to lie on when doing the above basic adjustments, and a fender cover. A torque wrench for lugnuts, or a lead hammer and safety wire for knock-offs (check your wheels after every session). DUCT TAPE. General chemicals like gasket cement, carb cleaner, wd-30, for the odd malfunction. Spare plugs, don't have to be new, just good useable ones, just in case. A spare brake light bulb, and fuses too. A GOOD TIRE PRESSURE GAUGE, ACCURATE IN THE 20-35# RANGE FOR BIAS PLY TIRES. Bias tires like to be about 28# hot. White liquid shoe polish (a dab on the edge of the tire will show how much roll over your getting) also good for emergency number marking. Got one of those lightweight pop-up canopy's? A couple of chairs, a large cooler with water and your choice of sports drinks to hydrate you after every session. A bottle of Malox to calm the jitters, and maybe some asprin if you should have a boo-boo.
Most important. Get a good nights sleep, eat well and drink fluids. The one thing you can improve the most in your rookie days is yourself, so take care of you . Be a little scared, very aware, confident in your actions and open to the instructors direction but don't do anything you feel is wrong for you or your car (it's your neck and $ out there).
Welcome to Club Cranky
McFEZ