dizwiz24

This is just a reminder to those guys racing older cars out there to change your radiator / coolant rubber hoses as preventative maintenance.

In 2004, my near-mint condition 1993 upper radiator hose sprung a leak on turn 1 at nelson ledges. The leak was such that it was hosing my front drivers side tire.

I did not notice this, and spun out on turn 1 at about 85 MPH. Amazingly, the car stayed on the track and no serious harm was done.

When I took it into the pits, I noticed the coolant leaking out (and also had some pissed off people bc they had to wait for the coolant leaked around the track to dry).

I could have ended up with a wrecked car due to a mechanical failure, but got lucky.

So be aware of worn rubber hoses/ components and the effect they could have on you out there on the track!

c4cruiser

Good to hear that you recovered from the spin and didn't hurt anything except for maybe the seat bottom disappearing

Always a good idea to closely check all of the hoses at the start of a season and also checking the clamps. Old lower hoses can collapse too and cause a lack of coolant flow.

It's a good idea to run only water in the cooling system for track days. Antifreeze can be slippery on a track surface as it may not readily evaporate after a spill. PITA to clean up too.

sothpaw2

Is this still an issue for the C5's and newer cars? I thought that hose manufacture has improved? I blew the main hose on my 1993 in May 2005. What was funny about that was that I was a newbie not driving hard and had just asked the mechanic about the hoses. He declared them great and ready to run

sebdavid

Same thing for power steering hoses...
http://youtu.be/Z6StHMUTdvE See the end.