How often do you guys change the fluids in your racecar? I've been told that it's a good idea to change the oil and tranny fluid after every race/ track event.

I just finished changing the fluids after last weekend's advanced school and noticed only a slight darkening of the engine oil and the tranny oil (MTF) looked brand new.

Do you think I should change fluids after every race weekend or can oil stand up to a few events?

Thanks

 

It's better to change it as often as possible. On a street car it is ok to drive it until the oil turns darker, but on a racecar it's not such a good idea. Small particles in the oil is what changes the color and in race conditions at high RPM you want the cleanest oil going through your engine and fast moving parts as possible. So there is no set rule really, it depends more on how meticulous you are at maintaining your car.

(Last year we would change the oil after every weekend, which most of the time included both a sprint and endurance race.)

 

Changing the tranny fluid after every event is way overkill, but there's nothing wrong with it if you don't mind dealing with that smelly ****.

Warren

 

On my RX-7, I do the tranny and diff once a season, or when stuff breaks. The engine oil is every other race, or every race if there are autrocrosses between regionals. I also do the plugs every few races. The cap and rotor twice a season. And brake fluid flush every few races, with bleeding (2 or 3 pumps to make sure no bubbles) twice per weekend. Pads and rotors get visual inpection every session, as do tires and lugnuts.

 

If your schedule doesn't include changing the transmisssion sauce after each race, at least stick a jar under the plug and drain a sample. You can sometimes catch problems by seeing "sparklies" in the oil (or chunks if your karma isn't good) and do something before you have a huge problem. If you use a magnetic plug (cheap insurance) you can check it too, if you have your younger brother or someone stick his/her finger in the hole while you have a look...

Kirk

 

how long do you go between water/coolant flushes?

 

Once at the beginning of the season and once in the middle is all I plan on doing.

More often if you inadvertantly create a new drain hole.

Warren

 

Well, since there is already a huge as smagnet in the bottom of the tranny case, i doubt the magnetic plug is gonna help too much. But it is a good idea to change it a couple times a season.


[Modified by nfn15037, 8:16 PM 4/13/2002]


[Modified by nfn15037, 8:17 PM 4/13/2002]