Wrenching for consistency...?
10-03-2006, 09:21 AM
#1
Routine Maintenance...How much is the right amount?
I am not the best driver in the world...I’m not even close to being the fastest at my track. But, I do get in as much practice as possible. When I am in the pits on practice days I notice some of the guys are almost tearing down there cars and rebuilding them. I have see pit photos of big races and see many cars that are in a state of being rebuilt. So that makes me wonder what they are working on. I make setup changes to my car but it doesn't require me to almost rebuild my car. And, I do all of my maintenance wrenching before I hit the track...So am I missing something?
What I would like to know is what do you do between runs to make sure your car is consistent run to run? What's your routine?
What I would like to know is what do you do between runs to make sure your car is consistent run to run? What's your routine?
Last edited by PitNamedGordie; 10-04-2006 at 07:38 AM.
10-03-2006, 09:41 AM
#2
Originally Posted by PitNamedGordie
make setup changes to my car but it doesn't require me to almost rebuild my car.
additionally, alot of factory guys are testing new parts, some of which are integral to the build. new arms that require new blocks and pin mounts, that kind of stuff. that's not overly common, but sometimes you have to do it a a big race where traction unduplicatable at a club race.
between rounds the best cars probably don't get touched. rotate or put new tires on the car, check tweak, that's it. if it came off driving perfect, it should go back out perfect. prep your car before a big race, and you should not need to do much maintenance during, provided you're not walling it every round.
i took this philosophy a little too far last year. i wouldn't ever rebuild my car, unless i needed to to change something (toe, spur, etc), replacing bearings only when that part of the car was apart. half of the time, my drive train wouldn't spin, but the chassis was dialed!
i'll be more dilligent with rebuilds between the big races this year.
10-03-2006, 10:01 AM
#4
For offroad, my car gets torn down completely after everyrace day, parts get washed, shocks get new seals (really dusty track), and everything goes back together. I rebuild the tranny about every 3 or 4 race days. Things deteriorate quickly in offroad so its best to keep everything as clean as possible.
For onroad, everything gets inpected after every raceday. I pull the shocks off and make sure the suspension moves freely and that nothing is bent. I pull out the motor and spin the drivetrain to make sure everything is free. Complete teardown every other raceday with shock and diff rebuilds.
For onroad, everything gets inpected after every raceday. I pull the shocks off and make sure the suspension moves freely and that nothing is bent. I pull out the motor and spin the drivetrain to make sure everything is free. Complete teardown every other raceday with shock and diff rebuilds.
10-03-2006, 11:11 AM
#5
I'm also far from the best driver in the world, but I do like to keep a well maintained car.
A few years ago I used to do regular total rebuilds (not mid-meeting, no time for that!). But then I started to find that the car would drive differently after the full rebuild, when I had spent the previous meeting getting the setup just right. Plus you increase wear on the parts (particularly screw threads), so they start to wear or become loose.
Then I switched to rebuilding when the car felt "wrong". After a big impact or after a disappointing race meeting. Good news was that this got the car back to where I wanted it.
Now I have a baby daughter I don't touch the car between meetings, don't even touch the cells! Still gets round the track, but I know that spending a bit more time with the car would be worth it in terms of performance. But I suppose priorities change a little as life happens.
So anyway, my advice is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
A few years ago I used to do regular total rebuilds (not mid-meeting, no time for that!). But then I started to find that the car would drive differently after the full rebuild, when I had spent the previous meeting getting the setup just right. Plus you increase wear on the parts (particularly screw threads), so they start to wear or become loose.
Then I switched to rebuilding when the car felt "wrong". After a big impact or after a disappointing race meeting. Good news was that this got the car back to where I wanted it.
Now I have a baby daughter I don't touch the car between meetings, don't even touch the cells! Still gets round the track, but I know that spending a bit more time with the car would be worth it in terms of performance. But I suppose priorities change a little as life happens.
So anyway, my advice is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
10-03-2006, 11:40 AM
#6
Tech Adept
Originally Posted by seaball
well, it depends on who's in the pictures. some of these guys cars are so bad at the big races, that they don't tweak the setup, they start from scratch every round. it's not a good practice to get into.
additionally, alot of factory guys are testing new parts, some of which are integral to the build. new arms that require new blocks and pin mounts, that kind of stuff. that's not overly common, but sometimes you have to do it a a big race where traction unduplicatable at a club race.
between rounds the best cars probably don't get touched. rotate or put new tires on the car, check tweak, that's it. if it came off driving perfect, it should go back out perfect. prep your car before a big race, and you should not need to do much maintenance during, provided you're not walling it every round.
i took this philosophy a little too far last year. i wouldn't ever rebuild my car, unless i needed to to change something (toe, spur, etc), replacing bearings only when that part of the car was apart. half of the time, my drive train wouldn't spin, but the chassis was dialed! i'll be more dilligent with rebuilds between the big races this year.
additionally, alot of factory guys are testing new parts, some of which are integral to the build. new arms that require new blocks and pin mounts, that kind of stuff. that's not overly common, but sometimes you have to do it a a big race where traction unduplicatable at a club race.
between rounds the best cars probably don't get touched. rotate or put new tires on the car, check tweak, that's it. if it came off driving perfect, it should go back out perfect. prep your car before a big race, and you should not need to do much maintenance during, provided you're not walling it every round.
i took this philosophy a little too far last year. i wouldn't ever rebuild my car, unless i needed to to change something (toe, spur, etc), replacing bearings only when that part of the car was apart. half of the time, my drive train wouldn't spin, but the chassis was dialed!
i'll be more dilligent with rebuilds between the big races this year.
10-03-2006, 12:15 PM
#7
I used to also tear my car completely apart after each week of racing. This was primarily when I raced nitro, and towards the beginning of electric. After awhile, it go to be more of a chore, and did not feel I got any benefits from it, other than finding that one bearing that was seized from time to time. Complete rebuilds do take their toll on hardware (screws) over time, unless you are replacing them with each rebuild.
I will normally set up my car at the beginning of each race day on a Hudy. After each round, check the car for tweak and obvious signs of wear / damage, and make any repairs necessary.
Most of the people you see at big races tearing apart their cars the PRO drivers, usually running MOD, where wear & tear are more likely to happen. They also have full factory support, so replacing belts / bearing / etc. each round does not effect them as much as the average joe racer. Also, with up to 4-6 hours between rounds, you need something to do
I will normally set up my car at the beginning of each race day on a Hudy. After each round, check the car for tweak and obvious signs of wear / damage, and make any repairs necessary.
Most of the people you see at big races tearing apart their cars the PRO drivers, usually running MOD, where wear & tear are more likely to happen. They also have full factory support, so replacing belts / bearing / etc. each round does not effect them as much as the average joe racer. Also, with up to 4-6 hours between rounds, you need something to do
10-03-2006, 12:38 PM
#10
I'll usually do a basic tear down after each race week. Not a complete tear down, but clean everything up, make sure there's no bearings blown, CVD's are all OK, that kind of thing. Every 3-4 weeks, or when it needs it, I'll re build the diff, re build the shocks, etc.. At big races, like Chris said, between rounds, if there's nothing wrong with the car, just check things over. Do a full setup check, (ride height, droop, tweak, camber, toe etc...) make sure everything is straight and in one piece and you should be fine. I have seen guys at big races replace just about everything on their car every run but that's really not necessary and can be very expensive if you have to pay for it yourself.
10-03-2006, 02:09 PM
#11
New car for practice, new car for qualifying, and new car for mains FTW!
j/k
j/k
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