Stock Car Temperature Control - Keeping Your Cool

Each summer, race teams across the nation dread the high summer temperatures. Days when the temperature reaches the high 90s are worrisome to drivers because of the added stress the heat causes on not only the engine, but every aspect of the car-including the driver. It can be extremely difficult to keep cool every piece that makes up the car. This is why teams at some local tracks can be seen running up to the car's radiator after a race and spraying it down with a fire extinguisher.

Teams go to any lengths to keep the engine cool. But there are other areas that you have to be concerned with or you will find yourself dropping out of races due to causes that could have been avoided. For example, I missed out on a Top 10 finish last year at Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia because of my brakes overheating. It's not limited to the car, though, as this applies to the driver as well. Drivers need to be concerned with the amount of heat in the cockpit.

Let's take a look a few places excess heat can cause you grief.

Speak with your tire manufacturer and learn the optimum operating temperature for your tires. During the summer months you might find yourself being extremely fast on short runs, but it's like a boat anchor is behind you once the tires heat up. Remember, the inside and outside tire temperatures are adjusted by camber, and the middle temperature is adjusted by air pressure.

Let's say, for example, that your optimum tire temperature is around 220 degrees and the right front of the racecar is reading 250/210/170. As you can see, the inside of the right front is overheated and the outside is relatively cold. This tells us that the right front has too much negative camber in it.

Then, after you make a camber change, and after some practice laps, the tire reads 225/235/215. This is a lot closer, but notice how the middle is hot. This is an easy fix. Simply drop two pounds out of the right front and you should be ready to go race up front.

You want to have your car running the best it can be once the tires are hot, not when the tires are cold. You might have to sacrifice a little speed in the beginning of the race, but what you lack at the beginning you will more than make up for in the last few laps.

Heat can break down even the best lubricator and cause friction, which any engine builder will tell you is the number one enemy of engines. There is hope, however. Your radiator and oil cooler (if you run one) are designed to alleviate that heat. The problem arises when you do not have enough air coming through the radiator. A blockage can occur when mud or some other type of debris covers the radiator. Also, in most instances, you should also be running some type of mesh that keeps rocks from being sucked through the radiator and causing leaks.

One of the smartest things you can do is to go to your local grocery store and purchase-for under a dollar a gallon-a jug or two of distilled water and run that instead of tap water. Distilled water does not contain impurities. If you use tap water on a consistent basis you'll see corrosion starting to form in not only the radiator, but also in your engine. Remember as well that distilled water is not the same as mineral water. Combine this distilled water with a product like Water-Wetter or 40 Below and you can raise the boiling point of the water and create a lower operating temperature for your engine.

The other thing to remember is that any hole in the radiator shroud is an escape route for air, so use duct tape to seal every area where air can escape. The goal is to maximize air travel through the radiator.