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A buddy of mine has procured a 1986 base (iirc) that was prepared for SCCA Improved Touring S back in the 90's, and is still in ITS trim. We wish to go endurance racing with it in the World Racing League (WRL). Does anyone have any general advice regarding preparing a car for 8-24 hour races and other platform specific experience that would be beneficial to know? Maintenance schedules, suggested event prep and/or anything of the like?
We are planning on looking everything over and replacing some things i.e. fire system, oil cooler, rebuild w/ a street port and ITBs. Shooting for 180 WHP to conform w/ class specified power/weight ratio but we may add ballast.
Apologies if what I am asking is common knowledge but this is my first time messing with a logbooked race vehicle, and I have not found much platform specific info with respect to this application aside from SCCA sprint race events.
neat! how long are the races? the longer the race the more prep you should be doing.
the FC is actually really tough, once you take off all the plastic street car stuff the FC is a really well balanced durable machine. i remember one 25 hour we did where we were pitting every hour or so to change batteries*, and fill it with water cause we had blown the head gasket, but the guys who bought Silkworms ITS FC just ran it the whole time without any trouble at all.
*seasonally (maybe two), you want to replace the main power switch, they go bad. keep the old one as a spare. that is what happened with ours, battery stopped charging, we thought it was the alternator, so we changed it and still no joy, it was the damn switch. wheel studs and lug nuts are another wear item that should get changed periodically. we like to use the 949 Lug nuts, which are aluminum. if you had steel lug nuts you probably can go longer.
on the FC the front hubs are kind of a PITA, if you keep the stock ones, they probably need packing after each event, and for a longer race you might have a set of spindles that are built and you just swap em.
on the hondas we used to repack new bearings and axles with better grease (i like the Redline CV2, but there are plenty of other good choices), and i think if you did the rear bearings on an FC they would just last forever, lol
the Rotary lasts forever as long as you have an air filter and temps aren't too crazy.
neat! how long are the races? the longer the race the more prep you should be doing.
the FC is actually really tough, once you take off all the plastic street car stuff the FC is a really well balanced durable machine. i remember one 25 hour we did where we were pitting every hour or so to change batteries*, and fill it with water cause we had blown the head gasket, but the guys who bought Silkworms ITS FC just ran it the whole time without any trouble at all.
*seasonally (maybe two), you want to replace the main power switch, they go bad. keep the old one as a spare. that is what happened with ours, battery stopped charging, we thought it was the alternator, so we changed it and still no joy, it was the damn switch. wheel studs and lug nuts are another wear item that should get changed periodically. we like to use the 949 Lug nuts, which are aluminum. if you had steel lug nuts you probably can go longer.
on the FC the front hubs are kind of a PITA, if you keep the stock ones, they probably need packing after each event, and for a longer race you might have a set of spindles that are built and you just swap em.
on the hondas we used to repack new bearings and axles with better grease (i like the Redline CV2, but there are plenty of other good choices), and i think if you did the rear bearings on an FC they would just last forever, lol
the Rotary lasts forever as long as you have an air filter and temps aren't too crazy.
J9, appreciate the information! I knew the FC was a solid platform, but I wasn't sure if there was anything specific required (or strongly advised) for endurance events.
I believe the races range from 8 to 24 hours in length.
Do you think the front hub replacement interval is related to the amount of heat that will radiate from the brake rotor? I remember hearing of a similar issue w/ track FDs experiencing wheel bearing failures due to lack of ducting in that area.
With respect to the spindles, are you suggesting that there is a specific advertised competition part for them, or that we should just repack them with different grease?
I will be sure to make note of the advice regarding the wheel studs and lug nuts. What intervals do you like to replace those at?
Just curious, how often should we expect to be changing brake pads? Should we have spare calipers to switch out during events?
Not sure what compounds are available for the pad shape so I will have to research that.
i'm not 100% sure what the problem with the FC front hubs is, but IMO i think its because they are aluminum, and when they get hot the bearing clearance becomes wrong. there are hubs made from steel that should fix the problem, https://www.rhdjapan.com/search/engi...ings-and-bolts
for a really long race where you'd be changing the brakes anyways, its easier to build spare spindles, because swapping those is 5 bolts, plus the caliper. versus having to change a hub when its hot
we change studs when the car is built, and then maybe those go a couple/few seasons, again we use the 949 racing lugs, and change those at most every other season
pads really depend a lot on the compound. we used to use Performance Friction, we usually budgeted to change those about half way through a 25 hour race, but they would almost go the whole way.
calipers we would replace/rebuild before the 25, and then they would do the 25 and the next season, and maybe more.
with like bakes and hubs and such you need to kind of budget the time to change them in the pits, vs the car being slower with worn out stuff. i'm not sure we ever did it, but we were kind of thinking to try and bring the car into the garage about half way through the race, and just change brakes, tires, driver etc, and then that driver gets a more fresh car than they would have if we just did 1 tire at a time, in the hot pits.
the strategy is different for an enduro too, that is a big part of it. and the length of the race matters a lot too, for a 3 hour, we didn't do anything to prep the car, and its only one fuel stop (for me to screw up)
I would focus on cooling. Refresh all rubber under the hood and have the radiator and oil coolers professionally cleaned and tested. Reducing in cabin temperature from the exhaust will be important as well.
brakes and hubs can be changed in a short about of time, but blowing a motor or heat exhaustion will ruin the weekend.
if the car has a 5.12 rear, then you will want a diff cooler as well.
run a couple of races and focus on your weak spots.
I would focus on cooling. Refresh all rubber under the hood and have the radiator and oil coolers professionally cleaned and tested. Reducing in cabin temperature from the exhaust will be important as well.
brakes and hubs can be changed in a short about of time, but blowing a motor or heat exhaustion will ruin the weekend.
if the car has a 5.12 rear, then you will want a diff cooler as well.
run a couple of races and focus on your weak spots.
Gilgamesh, appreciate the guidance.
The car previously had a 5.12 ring and pinion but was unfortunately sold before we got a hold of the car. It currently has a 4.30 out of a GTUs iirc. Will relay the info on replacing an/or checking all soft parts/hoses and coolers. A diff cooler and cool suit setup are in the works too.
I believe some track days (and test days) will be booked in order to shake the car down. I will also relay the recommendation regarding running shorter races first. Would hate to spend all the monies on entry fees and all other associated costs to have it break. I personally have no issue dismantling the entire car and redoing everything for that very reason, but we will see how things go.
Relayed the recommendations posted by you all. We have been able to implement some of them as of late. We were able to revise some of the oil cooler ducting. Also replaced some stuff. The Momo seat I bought for my car now rests in the FC and all of the safety equipment has been replaced for new/in-date stuff. New fire system will also be going in shortly.
We will be at NJMP on the 12th (99.99% sure) for some vehicle shakedown and familiarization. I would also be driving, but being that this is a real race car that rolls around sans interior and with a cage, I need a fire suit, HANS, and every other fire-resistant garment I can get my hands on. All of this costs money and I am in the process of preparing my FD chassis for more fun stuff so it will have to wait. I'll still be there supporting the operation, though.
10-14-23, 08:21 PM
