anth115

Hey all,

There's usually lots of commentary on what to buy/modify before bringing your car out for lapping/HPDE etc., but I haven't seen much discussion on what to check or self-tech inspect at home before heading out.
I run with BMWCCA and even though we have mandatory tech inspections, I feel like there may be more I can check at home where I can take my time and hopefully be a bit safer out there.

So for you more experienced track rats, share your thoughts on the following:
1. What to check (e.g. torque on brake caliper bolts)
2. When to check it (e.g. every season, every track weekend, every X mi/km/hours of tracktime).
3. Torque spec/other relevant details (e.g. 125 lb-ft for the caliper bolts, C5/C6/etc.).

If this catches on, it might become a pretty useful resource for us going forward.
I did search, but if this is already documented in another thread, feel free to let me know.
Thanks!

67Ranger

Every Session:
Lug nut torque
Visual of tires and brakes
Look over the car for anything out of the ordinary in general

Every session or two:
Clean windows as needed
Check fluids

Before or after every weekend:
Pull wheels and look over all suspension and brakes
Check suspension and brake torques - I put torque seal paint on all the critical fasteners so I can just do a visual check

Yearly/When I feel like it needs to be done depending on use:
Change all fluids (Brake, oil, diff, trans)

Probably a few other things I'm forgetting

GoatHead

I looked around, and I couldn't find one myself. It would be nice if one of the track rat residents volunteer sometime and write a comprehensive list or what they do before each track event.

BigMonkey73

What to check can span a pretty broad range because everyone has different set ups and things they've modified.

Brakes and fresh fluids is an easy one, especially brake fluid/pads and engine oil. Check brake pad to make sure you have enough. 50% or more life left is a general rule of thumb, but if you're novice you might get away with a little less depending on the car. If your engine oil temp gets hot, you don't want to run too many events before changing the oil.

Torque your wheel lugs for sure. Checking guide pin torque on your calipers is a very good idea (ask me how I know). Make sure you have good tread on tires. Check to make sure you're not low on coolant. You can top off with distilled water if you're slightly low.

You really just have to learn your car and start making a check list for yourself on what you're going to need to tend to regularly if you intend to do this continuously. A good starting point is to find a forum/facebook page with others who track the same car as you and find out what their routine is. You'll find your rhythm soon enough.

Dan H.

Part of my pre track self tech is to check all the suspension bolts. I've had them all out for one reason or another. When I install them and torque them, I mark them with white out. Makes checking everything very easy for a pre track inspection.

davidfarmer

when in the air, check tie rods and hubs for play. These are regular wear items on Corvettes. Flush brake fluid, inspect pads. Another common problem is loose batteries.....the local shops that offer "free installs" are notorious for installing the tie down tab incorrectly (or not at all).

Crawl under the nose and inspect the radiator for debris, especially grass trimmings (up between the condenser and radiator is also common). I've found soda bottles jammed up in there also. Corvettes are cooling limited anyway, get things as clean as you can.

These are the common items I run across at tech

NASA SFI Tech

Spaggs

If you have a C5, this is a must!!!!

I'm going to make up a laminated sheet of paper with all of the above so I make sure I cover everything.

The bottom breather C5 gathers all sorts of stuff. I'm sure that there is some debris collection with the C6 and C7, also. Use Compressed Air with a an Extension that has a 90 Degree Turned End. I can spend a 1/2 an hour spraying and respraying and still not get every bit.

Also, Very Important For High Speed Stability: Check your alignment to make sure that you have minimal amount of Front Toe Out and even smaller amount of Rear Toe In. Personally I like 1/8 th out in Front and 1/16 in the Back. You might find other numbers you like better. Also, make sure that when you go from Street Tires to Track Tires that you measure the Rake. It should measure at least have a 1/4 " Difference from front to rear, making sure that the Rear is Taller than the Front.

Lots of good stuff to check out before you get on track. Make a list of stuff you do before you go to the track, stuff you do while you are at the track and stuff you do when you get your car back home after the event.

Good Luck. Thanks for starting this Thread. I'm going to formalize this stuff so I don't forget.

Spaggs

davidfarmer

most prefer more toe in the rear than the front....1/32-1/16" out in the front, around 3/32-1/8 IN in the rear.

This is not a tech issue however, more of a setup issue.

truth.b

In my opinion I would not re-torque the lug nuts through out the day but only at the beginning of the day. I usually take my tires off over night to check brakes and the suspension and then the next morning finishing putting everything back together for the day.

Spaggs

OK, you got me thinking. I thought that the toe in the rear was for stabilization at high speeds and the toe in the front was for easier turn in. Why the extra toe in the rear?

Thanks (sorry for the hijack)

Spaggs

BrunoTheMellow

Don't torque hot lugnuts between sessions. You'll overtorque the **** out of them. At the beginning of the day and maaaaaaaybe after lunch break.

67Ranger

They rarely move between sessions, and I've never had stud/lug nut issues. To each their own.

BrunoTheMellow

Then why say that ?

Bill Dearborn

I check them each morning. The nuts on my car are torqued right now but it is going on the trailer today and I will be at the Glen on Friday. I will check the torque one more time before I head out on track. That is also when I do the final adjustment on my cold tire pressures.

Bill

arthursc2

Front toe OUT: sharper turn in, more mid corner to corner exit understeer. Good for tight tracks, can be mean to tires with high speed sweepers

Reat toe IN: increased stability, less chance for lift throttle oversteer, sometimes can make it easier to steer the car with throttle application (that last part depends on toe gain/loss during suspension travel and is entirely geometry specific)

My list is simple:
-wheel torque: night before. I don't touch it unless I pull a wheel at the track
-brake life, line routing, caliper/knuckle torque
-ALL fluid levels
-I like the bleed the clutch so that I have fresh fluid for the event. Can be the night before, or several street days before
-I don't hit the track on old oil, 50% life or better: based on 5000mi intervals, NOT DIC (matter of opinion only)
-trans level: full is full, more full is not better

at the track I make sure oil stays full, coolant stays full and nothing leaks

0CSM Performance

Definitely check over your alignment, last thing you want is an unstable car at 100+ mph! I don't want to dive into the lug nuts topic for liability reasons but from an engineering standpoint if you torque them when they are significantly hotter than normal it will result in higher tensile force/stress in the lug stud/nut once it cools off. This is the same reason people check them, as they heat up they expand resulting in a lower clamping force on the wheel on top of all of the vibrations and side loads. To give another perspective people do torque lug nuts in the summer when its 90 degrees outside and drive in sub zero climates without issue and vice versa.

Colton @ CSM Performance LLC
https://csmperformance.com/home/

BrunoTheMellow

Going from 20 degrees to 80 degrees is still much cooler than the lugnuts get from rotor heat. I just did this. I think it shot up to 150 ft lbs.

0CSM Performance

Agreed! It's all about the amount of temp change. If I get a chance I can sit down and go through the math and estimate it, it's all thermal and mechanical stress changes.

C5 Hardtop

If you had suspension work done, check the A-arm bolts. The rear-end of my '04 Z, stepped out on T1 at SIR (Seattle) doing 136 MPH. It felt like I hit oil. Self-tech tip #2, don't take your car to Speedware Motorsports in WA.