Cars of Technology

People have finally realized that the 1990 R9G Corvettes are really a part of the Corvette Challenge history. A lot of people assumed that these Corvettes were actually designed for the SCCA World Challenge. They drank the GM Kool-Aid and never looked back. It’s not a real good idea to believe everything that GM tells you. There’s no small amount of irony that one of the key figures in unearthing the true history of the R9G Corvettes was Lance Miller’s father Chip Miller. Chip was a huge supporter of the Corvette Challenge series. He was also very knowledgeable when it came to the history of the Corvette Challenge series. The R9G was slated for the 1990 Corvette Challenge series. At the very last minute GM pulled the plug on the series. It’s not easy to go back up the chain of command and tell  people that you no longer need that special production run you fought so hard for. It’s far better to simply let the production run take place and then exclaim to the public that you have ...

Track Events - Part 2 Brake Lights This one might seem a little silly until you get on the track. I really want to know when you're slowing down. I would love to see when you're starting to brake. On a lot of tracks, you'll be slowing from 140 mph to below 45 mph. It's a good idea to make sure the driver behind knows you intend to slow down rather quickly. It only takes a few seconds to check the operation of your brake lights. Do it. Steering Here we're talking about excessive play in the steering components. You should put the car up on jackstands and check to see that the tie-rod ends are in good condition. You can also check for bearing play while the car is up in the air. I prefer to check my own tie rods rather than have a shop do it, but you may have found a shop you trust. You should also consider using synthetic power-steering fluid, as it mitigates any possible heat breakdown. Synthetic fluid withstands severe temperatures much better than conventional flu...

Track Events and Going Fast Today's track-day events are crowded with race cars and a lot of wanna-be race cars. When I started running track events, sometime in the last century, most of the cars were driven to the track. Last month at Sebring, I looked down the tech line and there must have been over a dozen race cars in line. One driver even complimented me for bringing a vintage Corvette out to the track. Hey, it's a C4 Corvette for goodness  sake. Dedicated track cars are becoming very common. The problem is they require a trailer and a tow vehicle. Make sure you really enjoy track events before you buy a dedicated track car.  A track event is where a group of people gather together and rent a racetrack for the day. Sure, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. It's not racing, and no times are taken. The emphasis is on driving fast and not wrecking your car. If you're new (and at one time we were all new) the event organizers w...

Rotor Preparation No one talks about brake rotor prep, but it's a really big deal. You can't just take a brand new rotor out of the box and throw it at the car. Even worse is to take a used brake rotor and install new brake pads without any rotor preparation. This is just asking for trouble. You run a huge risk of brake squeal, and you're not getting the maximum effectiveness out of the new brake pads.   Most suppliers of bench lathes and on-car lathes say sanding after turning isn't necessary as long as proper feed rates and sharp lathe bits are used. The finish should be within specifications and cause no problems.  Proponents of sanding claim that sanding improves the finish by making rotors smoother. Sanding knocks off the sharp peaks as well as torn and folded metal left on the surface by the lathe bits. Sanding may improve the surface finish 2 to 5 microinches. This will give you better pedal feel, quicker pad seating, and improved overall brake performance. I san...

Eighty percent of the brake rotors sold in this country are made outside the United States. A lot of the companies making these rotors are only concerned about fit. They believe that if the rotor fits on your car then it's a good rotor. The actual performance of the rotor is secondary. They all know that a lot of car owners always shop for the lowest price. This brake rotor thing has gotten so bad that rotor companies are starting to sue each other. The Bingham Farms-based Affinia Group Inc. and its subsidiary Brake Parts Inc. recently filed suit in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia, claiming Dura International is falsely advertising its brake rotors as meeting the specifications of automakers. Dura responded by stating, "No government standards exist specifically for rotors. Each and every manufacturer is independently responsible for producing quality product meeting acceptable standards in fit, form, and function." This one will be in court for years. Eric Bolt...