Okay, so once we received the new racecar, this was the perfect time to start keeping record of every component on the car. Tracking every component even if it seemed menial, was essential to the driver’s and everyone’s ongoing safety.
We keep a record of the run-time on all the components because there is not always an obvious answer as to when a component needs to be replaced before failure, the signs of impending failure are not always apparent.
When a component has reached its usable life span, we call this “houred out” or “aged out” meaning the component has reached the limit of time that is allowed for it to be safely run.
Sensitive data coming, here is the problem, the manufacturer does not always give you a real estimate of when a component should be replaced, meaning either because of the overall cost estimates of running the racecar, or because they might not even know.
I have seen ridiculous estimates, like a recommended 5,000 mile engine oil change, on a racecar, this is ludicrous, the engine oil and filter on a racecar should be replaced every test or race session, period. Every time the engine oil and filter are replaced, the engine oil filter should be cut open and inspected for any debris and the engine oil should be analyzed by a Tribologist, we trust Lake Speed Jr at SPEEDiagnostix to let us know what’s happening inside the engine.
Another unknown or misnomer is about engine oil analysis testing. You should not just test your engine oil once, that does not tell you much, you need a cluster of test points to see what the trend is, what is happening over a period of time.
How do the manufacturers learn; we, the pro race teams, are usually the ones that the manufacturer learns from. You know the old saying, “Race (or Win) on Sunday, Sell on Monday!”
Okay everyone, we just arrived back into Memphis, TN and we’re headed to Barber Motorsports Park, so time is short, more soon.