Stock Car Maintenance - The Secrets Of Staying Fast

Even if you don't suffer any wrecks, racing is a rough sport. By midseason your car will need a thorough "checkup" to make sure things don't start falling apart on you in the second half of the season.

Even if you are only running 20-lap features, attempting to race for an entire season can often turn into a bit of an endurance adventure. Assuming that you suffer no wreck damage, wear and tear still accumulates over time, and the high-stress environment of stock car racing only accelerates that pace.

For a well-prepared race team, some things should be checked just about every week. These include your suspension settings such as camber and toe, your engine timing, the condition of your tires, and even your safety equipment. But unlike Cup teams, few of us actually have enough time-or enough volunteer help-to completely tear their racecar down and rebuild it before the next race. In reality, most Saturday night race teams struggle just to keep ahead of the biggest items on the checklist, and the rest is left for "later."

Well, the mid-point of the racing season is coming up fast, which is an excellent time to check on all those things you put off until "later." With that in mind, here are ten tips for prime areas on most racecars that need a little midseason maintenance. It's the stuff that can help you make a strong push in the standings going into the last half of the season. Everyone's maintenance practices on their racecar are a little different, so some of these tips may be a part of your regular routine. Some may not even apply to you. But these are a good general guideline that can be applied to all race classes. After giving them a read, strike the ones that don't work for you, add a few that you know need to be done to your racecar, and then get out in the shop for what's (hopefully) going to be a great finish to your racing season!

Shocks And Springs

No components on the chassis of a racecar show as much disparity between the top touring teams and lower-level racing classes than the shock and spring packages used. Top teams in the touring classes may often invest in high-end double adjustable shocks, or even shocks with custom-built valving setups, and-as you might expect-they spend a lot of time and effort making sure those shocks are maintained. But if you are racing in a class that only allows stock replacement shocks and struts, it can be tempting to bolt up a set and forget about them. After all, there is no adjustability, and everybody is running the same stuff, so what's the point?

Sometimes springs can unexpectedly lose strength, and if it isn't caught it can throw off your entire setup. The easiest way to catch this is with a spring rate checker.

But you do at least need to occasionally make sure that your setup isn't being hampered by a shock that's not performing up to par. Take the time to pull the shocks on all four corners of the car and inspect them for damage. You primarily want to make sure the shock shaft hasn't been bent from hitting a pot hole or bumping wheels with another car. Compress the shock and make sure both the compression and rebound motions are nice and smooth. If you are running racing shocks and can afford it, try to have them checked out by a professional on a shock dyno to ensure the rates are still the same as new.

Now is also a good time to check the springs to make sure they are still rating out the same as new. If you don't have a suspension spring checker, ask around. Many teams will have one and you probably can find a team willing to allow you to use theirs for no charge.

Fluids

You probably already have a regular schedule set up for changing the oil in your engine and topping off the water in your radiator. And you probably also regularly bleed the brake lines, but there are many other fluids in a racecar, and they almost all slowly break down in high-heat environments (like racing).

Midseason is a great time to flush and replace every lubricant, coolant, and other fluid in your racecar. This includes power steering fluid, radiator coolant, transmission fluid (whether you are running an automatic transmission or a manual), gear lubricant in the rearend, and brake fluid.

While you are working in those areas, make sure to inspect the components themselves as well. For example, you may not need to rebuild your rearend yet, but you can use the opportunity to inspect the rear gears for cracks or bluing from excessive heat. If you are running a quick change, pull the rear cover off and take a good look around. If the rearend is running too hot, the oil will be "burned" and you will smell it immediately. If this is the case, you may need a complete teardown of the rearend and inspection.