I am running I for the first time next weekend at ACC. Got my coolant flushed and filled with Engine Ice and bought black RTV. RTV - How do I apply/how much do I apply? Before applying a ring around the outside of my drain plug and filter as a wild ass guess, I figured I'd take a moment and ask before I do it wrong.
Best bet is to go ahead and safety wire drain bolt. Just take drain bolt to local shop and have them drill it for you if you don't have the tools. If you don't have safety wire someone can do it at the track for you. It takes less than 5 minutes. Oil filter is easier, just put a hose clamp around the filter and wire from that. THAT IS THE BEST WAY! You can save your weekend and everyone else's from an oil spill.
you dont have to run a ring of rtv around the cap, just a vertical line from the cap to the cover. it is a ton easier to go to the hardware store buy 4 (yes 4) 1/16th drill bits (they break easily). drill the cap, and drill a close bolt or bracket. pull the drain bolt, have a friend plug the hole with their finger, till you can get the bolt drilled 9if you are not changing the oil at the time). no need to go through the whole bolt head, just angle the bit and go through the side to the top. habor freight has nice an inexpensive wire pliers, and wire. or if you have them pre-drilled, someone at the track can help. +1 on Brett's suggestion for the hose clamp and wire on the filter as well. Ski
Thanks for the responses - watching safety wiring video now. Wouldn't kill me to do an oil change on the bike while its on stands with all the plastics off.
I'm in novice and put a hose clamp and safety wired the filter. I have the fill plug and drain plug with a bead of rtv at the moment. When I change the oil this winter I'll drill both for safety wire.
K&N Oil filters have holes in the nuts on the end for safety wire, saving the trouble of using a hose clamp.. (I said, "Hole", and, "Nuts"):jester:
why change the coolant out? Engine Ice is glycol based (which is the reason for dumping the coolant to being with).. There is a reason its not allowed in WERA, AMA, as well as other TD orgs. Glycol is glycol, whether its in antifreeze or Engine Ice, shit still leaves a slick spot on the asphalt for the rest of the day if it were to spill.
regular coolant/anti freeze is ethelyne glycol, which is hazardous to consume, and very slippery. engine ice is propelene glycol which is biodegradable, and not as hazardous to consume (look at the ingredient label on Mio water flavoring). it still is slippery but, cleans up easier and faster than ethelene glycol but, not as fast as plain water, or water and water wetter. for us in the north we would have to switch antifreeze at least two times a season if we ran straight water. Ski
yep, it is. And IMO, i dont care how many times you have to change out your coolant each season, thats just the price of riding on the track, and considering its everyone elses day youve just F'd up when you spill ANY glycol based substance on the track, well, im sorry, i just couldnt do that to my fellow track riders.
Why not just make it so you have to run water, safety wire every bolt, and ditch street fairings before showing up for Novice? Because your track day org would be broke and a whole lot more weekends would be ruined. I asked a simple question about RTV. If you have beef with the policies why not take it up directly with STT instead of whipping out your soapbox here?
yea, i keep forgetting, in 15 years of doing this, how people dont seem to care about the safety of other folks out there on the track. so youre riding novice? sorry, i read Intermediate in your original post. Let me say this, then i'll step away from my soapbox and this thread. running water/water wetter isnt about YOUR safety, its about EVERYONE else out there that rides that track, thats EVERY single group, not just novice, intermediate or advanced. safety wiring every bolt? naaa, even i'm dont think thats a necessary thing, UNLESS you plan on doing many trackdays a year. One or two? Sure, its not needed, your "odds" of effecting anyone else are slim. Wiring the OiL DRAIN plug and OIL FILL? If its your first trackday and youre checking out the TD scene to decide if thats what you want to start doing, fine, RTV will "suffice", as long as its done correctly, IE, your shit cleaned off and the stuff applied the day before so it has time to dry. In 15 years ive tech'd probably 5000 bikes, and personally seen a greasy/oil covered drain plug smeared with RTV the morning of the event more times than i can count. If you think that will stop that drain plug from vibrating out, well, then youre not as smart as you think you are. Ive handed many a customer a can of brake cleaner and a rag, and made them clean that area and re-do the RTV before ive issued a tech sticker. Why? Not because im trying to be a dick, but as a TD org, its not just ONE person's safety we have to be concerned with, its EVERYONE'S safety, and if one person is too damn lazy to do the job RIGHT, then sorry, dont need that kind of customer and if the org. goes broke because of that, then so be it. Street plastics vs. race fairings? Again, makes no difference to me what kind of bodywork you run, NO ONE elses safety is in jeapordy cus you crash and F up $2000 worth of bodywork or crash and F up $500 worth of fiberglass. There are no SAFETY issues involved with that. Last but not least, again, im not trying to be a dick here, i just care about the safety of everyone on the track, the $$$ an org makes at the end of the day comes LAST. Ive personally had 5 close friends DIE in this sport, and one that is paralyzed from the chest down (he's paralyzed cus he didnt wire or rtv his brake lever bolt, it came loose, bolt fell out, and he crash at about 180mph at Barber). Granted, no one requires THAT bolt to be wired or rtv'd, its still something that if youre in this sport long enough, you see that type of thing happen. So, do what ya want, sorry i pissed on anyone's parade here. I'm out.
if you are going thru the hassle if you are going to be doing thru the effort just use water wetter, same level of work and its a better way to go.
People all care very much...not sure who said what to elicit that comment. Additionally, STT makes it very clear how safety focused they are and I have returned to STT repeatedly because that is what I saw at the track. First time running inter, hence the bike tech question. I mentioned Novice because I just got into the sport this summer like many others. People who want to get involved and want to see if its for them. Those novices, that this and all motorsport orgs desperately need, are out there running with complete reckless abandon for everyone and everything according to you. Again, this is an STT decision. You have some off hand statistic of how many people show up unprepared with ill-prepped bikes...I am here ASKING to avoid one of your rant justifications. You talk about "Nahhh, not every bolt" then go on to mention safety and your friend who died (sorry to hear that) with something completely unrelated to your original grievance of "people not caring about the safety of others". I have worked (volunteered) as Fire/Resuce for SCCA, been a first responder at accident scenes and cleaned up just about every fluid you could imagine. I've seen what's left of a GT1 car that misses the kink at Road America and cleaned up an ENTIRE LAP of oil around Blackhawk Farms. No one has disagreed with you, including me - just not sure why you choose this as your battleground.