SpecRacer.com

Hi folks. I owned a SRF for a few years in the early 2000's (ran in MARRSS mostly), but decided to sell around 2004 due to young children, etc.

I've done a lot of track days the last several years with street cars (NJMP mostly, some at Summit and VIR) and recently decided to switch back to a SRF for a track day car this year with the possibility of racing at some point (late 2018, maybe 2019).

So I just picked up a Gen2 in great condition (thanks Todd!) that finished top 10 at the Indy runoffs last year and had good results in other events throughout the year.

Looking through the car last evening, everything looks in good shape. My local non-CSR shop can't take me for a checkup for two weeks, and I have not heard back from my local CSR, so I'm planning to do a few things and then take it to my next track day next week.

Here are the things I'm planning to do just so I have a baseline for maintenance:

Safety check on all suspension fasteners
Change engine oil and filter
Change trans fluid
Replace rotors (front slots still visible, rears partly gone)
Replace pads
Flush brake fluid
Replace air filter
Top off water (add water wetter?)

My belts expired 2017 so I'll order replacements but will go ahead and run them (non-SCCA track day).

Can you guys/gals suggest anything that I've missed?

Thanks!

John

Just found these very handy checklists from Kanga. What a great resources!

http://www.kangamotorsports.com/maintenance-checklists/

Things most likely to disable the car NOW:

1. Wheel bearings.
2. CV joints (and boots).
3. Axle nuts (loose).

Greg-Cirillo wrote:Things most likely to disable the car NOW:

1. Wheel bearings.
2. CV joints (and boots).
3. Axle nuts (loose).

Perfect, I'll check these over the weekend.

Thanks Greg!

Calipers, rotors and pads are still from a 1983 Renault Alliance/Encore, right?

Since I'm not racing, but only running track days for now, I'm thinking of just getting Centric rotors and pads for about 25% of the price of Enterprises parts.

Is this a bad idea?

JohnSoPA wrote:Calipers, rotors and pads are still from a 1983 Renault Alliance/Encore, right?

Since I'm not racing, but only running track days for now, I'm thinking of just getting Centric rotors and pads for about 25% of the price of Enterprises parts.

Is this a bad idea?

For a track day car, I'd still get the Hawk Spec brake pads. I have two brand new non-vented rotors I'd be happy to donate to you.

On the subject of axle nuts, keep an eye on them.

At the front, always check the castle nut cotter pins. If they come off, then they snapped off. That means the bearing /hub is partially seizing, which precurses imminent wheel bearing failure.

At the rear, I suggest you swap out the outer nyloc nuts for fresh new ones. Torque to at least 160 lb ft. Check that torque every three or four runs. If you have to keep retorquing, and the wheel nut is fresh, you're looking at a rear bearing that could be any minute from failure.

I will take these words of wisdom also! Why is it that the bearings seem to be such shit?

John if you do decide to get rid of the Spec brake equipment let me know. I am still looking for brake parts for my build.

Coolant?

TrackBrat wrote:I will take these words of wisdom also! Why is it that the bearings seem to be such shit?

Hit or miss, actually. I've got a couple that are going on two+ full seasons. If you don't know their age or origin, you really have to expect the worst. I hear good things about the new-new bearings.

PS: I had made a habit of pulling new bearings apart, cleaning out the lube, and re-lubing with Moly-based synthetic. But the new-new bearings can't be pulled apart (at least not by me), so you're relying on whatever lube they used during assembly.