Page 20 - KCRPCA March-April

TECH ARTICLE
20
Mar / Apr 2018
Karl Wilen
to many of the other series we support. While PCA allows the owner of the ve- hicle to perform their own tech inspec- tion and sign off on it, I can’t recom- mend enough having your local race shop do your tech inspection well BE- FORE your rst event of the season (not 2-3 months beforehand, but more like 3-4 weeks as this will give you ample time to repair any issues found). Hav- ing to sit out your paid HPDE or club race event because your car did not pass a surprise tech inspection will ruin your weekend. I’ve put together a list of com- mon items I nd during tech inspections that would need attention before hitting the track! Not all of these items will ap- ply to HPDE cars which are not required to have things like roll cages, etc. that the club race cars must have.
1. Roll Cages:
The number one safety component in your car! There is a lot of science that goes into building a proper cage. Tub- ing thickness, diameter, composition, and race car weight all play roles in a proper cage build. The biggest issue I nd here are old roll cages. Sanctioning rules 20 years ago were a little different than they are now. Rules are constantly changing to ensure driver safety, and of- ten that translates to cage updates. Rule
to spec. I have caught numerous cages with the diagonal bar of the main hoop running the incorrect direction, or not having the intersection at the top of the main hoop behind the drivers head being within 12” of the corner. So check the rules, double check your cages to make sure they are legal! Make sure your welds encompass all the way around the bar so there are no gaps! Sometimes it is a real bear to get it fully welded due to pillars, roofs, etc.
2. Brake uid:
I can’t stress this enough, especially for a heavy street car! Quality HIGH TEMP brake uid, ushed every event. Period. The last time I ever instructed (and the main reason I have passed that torch), I had two students each with new Cor- vettes. I asked each driver what brake uid they had put in the system, and I received blank stares.....”it’s a new car, it doesn’t need it,” were the responses. Somehow they had passed their tech in- spection.FYI,tryingtosupportthatclub (Not PCA), we went out and didn’t have brakes in either car after 7 laps in either car. There are a lot of great uids out there. I prefer Castrol SRF as we have never had brake issues while running it, even in the high hp and heavy cars like the Mustangs, Vipers, etc.
Tech Inspections
CTOMMON MISTAKES
he 2018 season is upon us, and changes in number of door bars, door asashop,Iwillbedoingalotof bar positioning, diagonal bars, etc. have HPDE and club race tech inspec- changed over the years, so it is impor-
tions for the Porsche club, in addition tant to make sure your cage is 100% up