Back in the shop... for some maintenance

So back again today to the shop. Alex, Sumi-san and myself.

First we lifted the car up to do an oil change. And took the opportunity to check things out underneath.



Nothing seemed amiss, just found some melted tire rubber and grass on the underside. After the oil change, we took off the wheels (to replace with the Yokohama DNA rubber, so we could save the Dunlops strictly for race use) and then decided to look at the front discs and brakes.


What we discovered was, the design does NOT allow for any air to be sucked into the disc rotor, at least not from the front side - there is a small lip on the rear, but clearly this is not enough during the race.


This is what lead to overheating fluid, brake fade - and maybe warped rotors. At the very least, afterwards the brakes felt spongy and there was brake shudder. We decided maybe a cut out would work - but when we fitted the rotor on, the cut away area was not enough - it still did not allow air passage to the center of the rotor.

So, Sumi-san had a good idea - let's try drilling holes! Here he is in action:


Why were we concerned - take a look at these brake pads. Yes, they are the Endless endurance pads, but the material had turned yellow in some places, and was crumbling!



This can't be good, can it? So the plan is, once Miguel can get ahold of some air scoops, to install cooling hoses to the fronts. Maybe we will remove the metal plate altogether, in which case we will need to apply heat protection to the softer joints and rubber. May not pass shaken though? Meanwhile, as our spare pads were really thin, we decided to go ahead and reuse these pads for the time being (but this is an item we may need to reorder before the next race). We also replaced the brake fluid - Sumi-san reported a LOT of air in the fluid. And replaced the worn rotors with new ones (heat treated).


Then, right before we were done, we diecdied to check out the member bolts again to make sure they were secure. I was able to tighten a couple by hand, so obviously, they had worked themselves loose. So, out came the pneumatic socket wrench - and some Loctite!


Sure hope this works...having such loose bolts can't be safe...

So the car now drives very, very smoothly, the brakes feel great. We need to organize the items relating to the car a bit better - we found some plastic containers being sold on base for about $3, so these may work well.

In anycase, the car is ready for its next outing... who's next?

Thanks to Sumi-san and Alex for spending their day doing this.