Your owner’s manual includes the procedures on how to maintain your racing car. The maintenance of your car may depend on the brand or type of your car. However, there are maintenance tips which apply to all racing cars. So if in case the manual is lost, maybe these tips can help.
No one can question this: regardless of the type, category, brand or segment of car you have, its cleanliness is a big necessity. A clean car implies a careful owner. Racing cars need not be dirty just because they are used for racing. Moreover, you can easily spot any car problem if every single detail in your car is organized, in place and clean. A large natural-hair bristle brush can help in removing dust from the chassis and the interior. A denatured alcohol can clean off tires and even the asphalt marks on the exterior that ruins the paint of your car. A motor spray can also do this task.
Checking the differentials plays a big part in maintaining your car. The differentials allow the outside wheels in a turn spin faster than the interior wheels. This, in effect, maintains right path when turning.
Shock absorbers must also in the list of your priorities. They soak up bumps and maintain tires in constant contact with the road surface. In case of any leaks, rebuilding the absorbers is the best way to solve the problem.
The air intake system of your car conditions the air used by the car. A deteriorated air intake system may imply poor performance. Check the system and its parts including parts like the
air scoop regularly to assure your car’s quality performance.
Using a hobby knife, go check the teeth of each drive pulleys. A dental pick is an alternative. Pulleys turn the belts or the other way around.
As a race car owner, you should provide a path for power to be transmitted from the gear shafts to the different drive pulleys. In case you see a wear or tear on the drive belts, they should be replaced. Loose belts with no amount of tensioning helping it to be tightened should also be replaced. A periodical replacement of these belts can help a lot in achieving good performance.
However, take not that belts need not be tightened firmly nor loosen much. They need just enough tightness to be moved up and down. In most cars, only the front belt needs to be adjusted periodically.
On rotating car parts, brushing is more advised than direct contact between them.
Ball bearings’ task is to minimize almost the entire resistance which bushings have. Checking them regularly is also a big help.
The gear mesh, on the other hand, links the primary drive gear (pinion or clutch bell) and the secondary drive gear (spur gear). By using a small piece of any paper, you can already set the right gear mesh on electric cars. Put the paper in between the pinion and spur, and then tighten the motor onto the motor or engine mount. Then remove the paper. Meanwhile, on Nitro cars, the gear teeth are much larger than those in the electric cars. Using the same procedure, fold the paper once then put it in between the gears.
Having these tips as a guide will surely make your car worthy of any race.
