Track Car Maintenance
 

Hello,

I have been tracking my car coming to 3 years now and I'm getting to the where I like where my car sits now, modification wise, and just do tweaks and maintenance to dial handling in. Not planning to add more horsepower.

I want to know what else you guys do to just maintain your car after each season.

Here is what I did to mine after each season.
1st year - Just mostly fluids, diff and tranny, upgraded brakes and suspension, oil cooler.
2nd year - Added Accusump and bolt in roll bar and did fluids again. Did spark plugs at 60k
3rd year - what should I do?

I will be going over my car this winter and check on bushings and any parts that might need replacing because of wear.
I am sure some of my bushing is getting old as I daily'ed my car for 3 years before turning it to full track car.


Here is a list of what I plan to do.

1. Cooling Fluid Flush and switching to Distilled Water
2. Replace all fluids again, Diff, Engine, and Tranny.
3. Replace Front LCA with Buddy Club LCA with the geometry correction kit. (My compliance bushing might be shot on my OEM.)
4. Doing Rear Sub Frame and Differential Bushing for more stiffness.
5. Solid Motor Mounts?
6. Rebuild my Stance XR1 Suspension


Here is the list of Mods I have.
Stoptech BBK
Gruppe-S UEL
Stage 2 E85 (Switched to 93 for Winter even though its just sitting)
Autopower Rollbar
Accusump 1.5 or 2 qt
Reinharte/Stance XR1 Coilover
Whiteline Transmission Insert
Oil Cooler

Everything else is stock.

Your regimen looks good, you might want to check and prepare to replace wheel bearings, studs, and stock suspension bushings (personally I don't worry about my ARP studs, but a couple of friends change them out every other year as a precaution).

Tell us more about stock suspension bushings. Just replace them all with OEM? I'm concerned some of mine are nearly replacement time and would like to go with something slightly more firm and durable, but without extra NVH.

I did forget to mention that I have all ARP studs. I don't care at this point since I trust them. But I will probably change them in a year or two.

Regarding wheel bearing I plan to change them when they brake but I do occasionally check them for play. I really don't want to change the rear since those have been problematic with my friends and end up damaging their wheel sensor and cause it to limp mode. I might get dealership to do that in the future and get the Wrx hubs so I can use 5x114.3 wheels.

I've had good experiences with the whiteline bushings. They're a little stiffer than stock but there isn't too much additional nvh (I didn't really notice much and if you don't compare back to back you can't tell there is any).

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Specifically, which Whiteline suspension bushings have you replaced?

The control arm bushings, subframe bushings, and diff inserts. I've used whiteline products in my previous WRX and eventually put in just about every bushing they made for the car.

I'm only curious about the suspension bushings. Which control arm bushings have you replaced specifically?

Plans to upgrade
 

Maintenance:
1. Distilled water is a very marginal improvement and almost not worth the work and risk unless you need it, which I highly doubt. Factory blue coolant is very good actually.
2. Replacing transmission and rear differential fluid once a year is good practice.
3. I see you want to replace your front LCA. I went there and back to factory. My SPL left one exploded and nearly destroyed my car so I am just not caring about any aftermarket LCA's anymore. Be careful with the buddy club ones as the geometry correction could end up hitting your aftermarket rotors in the inside. For sure it hits my AP Racing kit. Factory LCA's ball joints are good for about 40 track days. They are so cheap that you can replace the whole LCA again and again.
4. Rear sub-frame and diff bushings are great. I love the white line stuff.
5. Solid motor mounts are not really needed. I am still in the stock ones and I love them. My BRZ is fully caged. Inspect them and if they crack then get the Perrin ones.
6. If you are rebuilding your suspension and needs it, well do it. I have the same suspension and it is perfect after 4 years.
7. Check your wheel hubs regularly for play while in the air and be attentive for noises while turning on the track. When one goes, replace them all. They are cheap anyways. They last me about 40 track days.
8. Inspect all your steering and rear half shaft boots often while in the air. Look for leakage or tear into the rubber.
9. Look for root cause out of any trace of leakage.
10. Bleed your brakes as often as needed depending on the fluid you use.


My humble mods suggestions for you are:
1) Lightweight battery. Less weight is always better. Buy the best trickle charger for it and it will last you a long time.
2) Brake cooling ducts in the front. More life out of front pads and rotors.
3) Brake master cylinder brace. Better pedal feel by not warping the thin firewall on heavy braking.
4) Corner balance every year and find your mojo for negative camber and toe plus cross weights. It is a great way to wear tires even and balance your overall suspension wear. It feels so good when you drive a balanced car.
5) Oil pan baffle (Moroso). I know you have the accusump so you are probably OK.
6) Oil pressure gauge. A must do.
7) Consider thicker sway bars if it favors your driving style and preference.
8) Fuel tank door trap for lateral G's (Velox). Simple and nice mod to avoid fuel starvation on turns with high and sustained G forces.
9) If you are adding the fuel door trap change to a DW fuel pump of some sort. Anything is better than the factory fuel pump.
10) A/C delete kit including the A/C condenser. You do not need A/C on a track car. You need a cool suit. Removing it reduces drag in the belt and it will improve air flow through the radiator once the condenser is removed.
11) Consider down force. Front splitter, rear wing and a rear diffuser do amazing things for this platform or almost any platform actually. Be smart to choose a wing that does not drag too much since we have very little power anyways.
12) Roll bar is nice so you can use a 6 point harness but if you are going to have a dedicated track car you need a roll cage for adequate safety. It is one of those mods that really defines the purpose of your car. It took me 4 years to decide for it but I absolutely love mine. The car is so much better and actually lighter since all the interior is gone along with airbags. The downside is that I do not drive it in the street unless I am getting gas near the track because I still have a tag on it. Have it professionally built if you want it safe and up to a determined standard.
Good luck in your quest for better performance.

Tell us more about your experience with the SPL LCA. I presume you are referring to the front set?

^^ X2

Are you talking about Front or Rear LCA?
There is no way that rotor can hit the LCA. I have 328mm Stoptech and its no where near my LCA.

The taller ball joints from the buddy club on factory or buddy club front lower control arm (Which are the same) hit my AP Racing rotor when turning all the way and either way. The interference was severe and I am not the only one that has had that. I am not sure if it will hit with your Stop Tech but I wanted to raise the flag for it. It all depends on the offset of your rotors.
The left SPL front control arm broke in tight right turn. Luckily I had done most of my braking from 125 mph and I managed to stop before I hit the guardrail.
The failure appears to be caused by a defective material. I do praise SPL for dealing with this very professionally and accepting their part. Although they did not offer to cover any damage this caused to my car which was worth around $1,000 at least (I would not expect them to do that anyways), They did offer me a new set of front LCA's. I thanked them for it but since I do not really trust it, I went back to factory and I am totally fine with that.

Hello Andy !

I have had the same experience with the factory ball joints, and after killing two sets, and pressing in an extended buddy club set, just to have them hit my ap rotors (sprint kit), called it a day and got some from spl thinking my ball joint woes would be done!

Did a machined aluminum part manufactured by SPL fail, or was it one of the rod ends? You're not the first I have heard of have these fail (if it's a rod end) and I plan to replace mine at some interval. But after 20+ track days, they seem solid, even after a few excursions into "landscaping territory" lol

Hey Joe, I ran them for 1 year and for about 25 track days. In my left front LCA, one of the rod ends broke off. The one at the farther out position which is logical as it is the one that receives more torque. The fracture indicates a shear moment and it was definitely gradual. I did not have any previous signs of fatigue and I actually did not have any excursions through the life of these LCA's in my car, luckily (I have had my fair share of farming activities at the track for sure). I do use the track curbing a lot but not when it is rough and upsets the chassis. I do not really want to worry you or anybody with this but since you have them, check them before every event. I checked them only for my torque alignment marks and I am not sure I would have found anything in the rod ends but it is worth to look at them with more care perhaps looking for small hairline cracks on the rod ends. I really like these SPL control arms but I was not lucky with mine and I think they had some material defect that gradually fatigued and broke off. The rest of the control arm and the right one were perfect. As you suggested, replace the rod ends at some interval. The sad part is that you will need alignment after replacing them. Check your HEIM joints also, they wear out fast. Best of luck.

Copy that, appreciate the info Andy!

Looks like I'll be ordering that set of replacement rod ends in the near future !

You're the third case of a time dependant, fatigue related rod end failure on a rod end in an SPL front LCA I've heard of. There was evidence of corrosion on the outer portions of the crack faces of one rod end I saw first hand- it indicatied to me that the crack had initiated some time well previous to the failure - it finally propogated through the remaining ligament with no prior warning or indication of impending failure. Without pulling them and using some dye penetrate test or mag particle inspection, you may not find one before it fails. And if you're pulling them to inspect, might as well replace them...

Bummer! I've never seen any movement in my torque striping and thus have gone on my merry way...now I have to jack the car up again before this weekend lol ;)

end rods
 

Now that you mention it Joe, mine had corrosion too. I believe those end rods are the weak link. Said that, give them hell.:party0030:

So from my research. The AP Racing Sprint have 295 mm rotors. Stoptech have 325mm. How the heck do you rub? Maybe the offset of the rotor? I found someone that have stoptech and added the whiteline ball joint (before it got discontinued) that basically does the same thing the Buddy Club does and he didnt rub... and buddy club is just stock LCA with their ball joint.

Like magic after chiming in on this thread, I developed a minor clunk this past Saturday, that got more audible through the day's sessions. I jacked the car up and checked EVERYTHING i could get to at lunch, nothing. Went back out Sunday, and the clunk got bad enough during the first sessions to have a shop at the track put it on their lift and poke around. It only happened when the wheel was turned and the suspension has the weight of the car on it (i heard if for sure trail braking into a few corners - on and coming off the brakes) - but yep, the outside sphericals were shot. I have about a year on my SPL arms, and looking back through the calendar, that's 14 weekends on track. Rain, shine, probably 8 off track excursions chasing down fast guys getting "red misted".


I talked to Turner at SPL at length today on lunch, asking some questions about anti-squat and to order some new sphericals (and rod ends to be on the safe side ;) and he actually brought up your specific arms - you sent them back to SPL for failure analysis, right? Small world! It's worth noting too that they have worked with their supplier of rod ends and spherical bearings (FK currently) to implement more strength testing and QC, etc. They're taking it seriously.


Lesson - race car parts wear out folks. Replacement at safety dictated margins for high load parts is just part of the game. Just ask the spec miata guys about their hub woes! :cheers:

I am so glad for you Joe
 

Wow. I am out of words and I am so happy for you Joe.
Just to let you know, my buddy Ash from Austin who is buying my car will get a new set of SPL control arms as promised by SPL as an open standing offer to me a few months back.
Sean Farrah from SPL is a true honest and legit manufacturer with integrity and a man of his word.
Based on your findings, I would replace them every year when you do alignment so you only spend money once....

25 track days a year? Wow.

Yep :) instructing for 2 organizations that do 2 day weekends provides lots of opportunities to get to various tracks :)