I have begun to track my car and had a couple of basic maintenance questions that I am sure any semi-gear head would know the answer to right away.

1) I just had the two service bulletin fixes done to my car (new countershaft for 1st and 2nd gear and replaced clutch disc). I assume that both the tranny fluid and the clutch fluid were drained for these procedures and replaced with fresh. Is it possible to do this work without doing that?

2) With the TSB replaced clutch disc - is this like having a new clutch or are there other parts that wear (such as the "clutch pad")?

3) I just replaced a relatively new set of Porterfield R4s that I wore through at the track. There was about 2-3mm left on the pads (I think new they must be at least 10 or 12mm). I was beginning to hear a metallic grinding sound coming from the brakes and a visual inspection showed that very little pad was left. What is a "safe" mm depth to wear your brake pads down to? If anyone is familiar with R4s, they were worn down to the groove in a couple and just over on a couple others (note: groove is a lot deeper than on the stock pads).

4) For people who are tracking their cars, how often do you change the oil, diff fluid, air filter, brake fluid, tranny fluid, and clutch fluid? I have 12,000 miles on the car, have tracked it one day and about to do another. I have changed the oil 5 times since purchase 14 months ago, the brake fluid was upgraded to Super Blue for the track a month ago, and I think the tranny and clutch fluid were just done at the time of the TSB service. The air filter and diff fluid have never been changed.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

Elton

 

1) The transmission is disassembled to perform the TSB, so it has new fluid in it. The clutch hydraulic fluid does not need to be drained to do either TSB procedure. Is that what you meant by "clutch fluid"?

2) There are three components to the clutch, the flywheel that mounts to the engine crankshaft, the clutch disc (replaced under the TSB) and the pressure plate. Unless the flywheel and/or pressure plate showed wear, only the disc was replaced. The flywheel can be resurfaced if worn, but the PP needs to be replaced if it shows wear or burning.

3) Sounds like the brake pads were worn out. Remember, the pad absorbs heat from braking and when thin, transfers more heat to the caliper increasing the likelihood of boiling fluid. So, the pads may have some life left in them, but I'd toss them before using them on the track again. I don't know what the metallic sound was. I use R4Ss and get 3-4 track days out of them, but brake use is pretty track (and driver) dependent.

4) Track use is pretty severe on your car, so changing fluids more often than normal is considered good practice. I use synthetic oil in the motor and change it every 5k miles (usually 1-2 track days included in this interval). I sent some of the used oil to Blackstone Labs for analysis and they reported that the oil could remain in service longer.

I change the transmission fluid every 10-15k miles, but you should have new fluid in your box.

Since you haven't done it yet, you should change the differential fluid now. You wouldn't believe the appearance of the goo that came out of my diff at around 12k miles.

I'm not familiar with Super Blue brake fluid, but if it's like many other racing brake fluids it deteriorates quickly when exposed to humidity. I'd change it every 4 months to keep it healthy, timed so that changes occur as close as possible to your track event. Be sure to beled when appropriate.

The air filter can be changed when dirty (just inspect it) or switch to a performance filter such as Comptech, JR, K&N, etc. and never buy another filter again. Just clean, lube and re-use it.

5) Also, be sure to check your valve clearance and spark plug torque. These settings have been off in quite a few new cars.

There are others around here with more technical savvy than I, but this should do as a start.