After a year on track, what do I need for spares

[ddozier]

I am putting a pit box together and am thinking of all the spare parts I may need for a track side repair, here is what I have so far. A lot of these parts are OEM parts that were removed for an aftermarket piece so the takeoffs will be in the spares kit. If you guys can think of anything that I missed let me know.

1. GR3Z-1125-H (2) Front Rotors New (2) Used
2. FR3Z-2C026-A (2) Rear Rotors
3. Carbotech XP-20 Front pads
4. Carbotech XP12 Rear pads
5. FR3Z-5K483-A (1) Front Sway Link
6. FR3Z-1104-B (1) Rear Hub
7. FR3Z-1104-A (1) Front hub with longer wheels studs
8. FR3Z-3B477-B (1) Front hub nut
9. CCPZ-3B477-F (1) Rear axle nut
10. Axle shafts left & right side (takeouts from GT350 shafts installed)
11. FR3Z-9F472-C (1) Front O2 Sensor, Denso No. 234-5176
12. FR3Z-3A130-A (1) Tie Rod End
13. BR3Z-8620-R (1) Serpentine Belt
14. Fuse Assortment
15. Spark Plugs Motorcraft SP-548, NGK LTR6IX-11
16. BR3Z-1229-A (1) Ignition Coil
17. BR3Z-6C315-B (1) Crank Position Sensor
18. Lug Nuts and Studs (Short and Long)
19. Metric Nuts and Bolts Assortment
20. Brake Lines
21. Brake duct hoses

Dave

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[johnson.ba]

What about brake lines and radiator hoses and assorted fluids for the car

 

[Plimmer]

Wow, thats more than I would consider, but I'm just a HPDE guy. In to see the final list

 

[Norm Peterson]

Spare brake cooling hoses?


Norm

 

[wildcatgoal]

I'd have a spare rim (or two) with tires that I can drive the car on (if no car-carrying trailer is in the mix). In the ideal world, I'd also have me a nice pick-me-up truck and a trailer with hot babe waiting for me inside, or at least a loyal dog that doesn't bite people and get me sued. Know what, let's go with the dog... girl will cost too much and I need car parts.

 

[tom_sprecher]

Rule of thumb for racing is whatever you bring as a spare won't fail at the track. ;)

Actually I brought less and less to the track as the car got sorted out. Toward the end I was down to calipers and carb gaskets.

 

[gtorpedo]

[MENTION=20846]ddozier[/MENTION] Good info here and interesting to see some of the items in your list.

I know anything can happen at the track but is it really common for the O2 sensor, crank position sensor, ignition coil, spark plugs etc. to suddenly fail due to track abuse? Just curious why these made the list, if you've had experience with any failures, or if these are more of a CYA item?

Thanks!

 

[ddozier]

[MENTION=20846]ddozier[/MENTION] Good info here and interesting to see some of the items in your list.

I know anything can happen at the track but is it really common for the O2 sensor, crank position sensor, ignition coil, spark plugs etc. to suddenly fail due to track abuse? Just curious why these made the list, if you've had experience with any failures, or if these are more of a CYA item?

Thanks!

O2 Sensors with long tube headers are know to fail, depending on fuel type being run it is more common than you might think, a new 02 is $41 so for piece of mind I would rather have it than not. They are interchangeable from side to side so you only need 1 spare.

Plugs and a coil are never a bad thing to have with you, if you have a misfire the first things to check are plugs and coil. I would hate to loose out on track time for a cheap item like a $4 spark plug. Coils running at 6500-7500 rpm for prolonged periods of time will fail much sooner than a street driven car that lives at 2500 rpms for 90% of its life.

Crank Sensor is not a common failure but they do fail and it is not likely to be an easy find at small town auto parts stores, its a $14 item and takes up little space in the trailer. On other cars I have owned I have had them fail. I take care of another local guys track car, its a C6 Z06 and it eats them for dinner, we always have a spare for that car. In 5 years of heavy track use it has had 3 crank sensors put in it. Apples and Oranges I know but it is cheap insurance.

I started this thread to find out what others have had issues with so I would have a good idea what to pack in the trailer. All the normal stuff like oil, fluids and wheels/tires are always in the trailer ready to go. With the S550 being still relatively new the dealers are not stocking common failure parts yet because Ford does not know what items to stock until they see enough failures to find a trend. For an example in a city as large as Atlanta with a very large number of Ford Dealers there was 1 Drivers side axle shaft available within 120 miles of Road Atlanta when I had my last failure there. Had I not been able to get that shaft my weekend at Road Atlanta would have ended after 2 sessions on track, its a 10 hour haul to Atlanta from STL. None of the auto parts stores that I called even had the part available in their system yet. In 5 years this will be less of an issue as more parts will be stocked for these cars but for now you need to plan ahead as best you can.

I may be overly worried since I came from tracking a 14 year old NSX that Acura only stocks parts for in California if they have them in the US at all. Everything takes 5 days+ to get for that car. After owning and tracking three of them I had one hell of a spares bin for that car. Fortunately its was a Honda so things rarely broke and there are enough guys tracking them so we had a good idea of what was likely to fail. Not that I want to but I can fix almost anything at the track if I have the parts available.

Dave

 

[apex15stangPP]

As much as I like your list, it scares me too..LOL I've beat the shit out of my car for 13,000 miles and nothing has failed other then a half shaft. (fingers crossed) Seeing your list make me think I need to start stocking some things..thanks!

 

[Optimum Performance]

Dave, you likely already have it on your trailer but blue Loc-Tite, Zip ties and racer tape. Spare Oil Filter.
Spark Plug Number is SP-548

 

[ddozier]

Dave, you likely already have it on your trailer but blue Loc-Tite, Zip ties and racer tape. Spare Oil Filter.
Spark Plug Number is SP-548

I am not bragging but I have the best assortment of wire ties and racing tape, period!

All of the HPDE guys that run with us from STL know who to go to for racing tape in the paddock. I carry every color needed to keep my car and my friends cars on the track and looking good for the video camera. We once taped the entire front end of a ACRx Viper back together after he hit a barrier at COTA on the first day of a three day event. We had all the tape colors to match his paint scheme and in the pictures and videos from the event you would be hard pressed to tell what was before and after the repair without looking at the dates on the images.

I have added the Motorcraft number to the list above along with the NGK number for the plugs I run, I do not know why but I have an aversion to Motorcraft plugs and prefer NGK. I liken it to Coke and Pepsi, they are both soda but I prefer Coke over Pepsi with my rum.

Dave

 

[ddozier]

As much as I like your list, it scares me too..LOL I've beat the shit out of my car for 13,000 miles and nothing has failed other then a half shaft. (fingers crossed) Seeing your list make me think I need to start stocking some things..thanks!

I hope all stays that way for you and me, but when you start running Hoosiers and Pirelli slicks the suspension stuff starts to take a real pounding.

I am lucky in some respects that I live in the mid-west in the middle of some great American historic tracks but the closest real track is 3 hours from me, and my favorites are between 6-10 hours away. This is an expensive hobby and the cost to do an event that is 10 hours away is only made palatable by getting to run an entire event. I do not mind making repairs at the track but I hate not being able to repair something and loosing out on track time because I do not have the part to fix something.

I have seen the spirit of many guys sucked right out of them when their car is broken on track, they are preparing to pack it up and by some miracle someone in our group has the parts needed on their trailer to get the other guy back on track.

Dave

 

[ddozier]

In the ideal world, I'd also have me a nice pick-me-up truck and a trailer with hot babe waiting for me inside, or at least a loyal dog that doesn't bite people and get me sued. Know what, let's go with the dog... girl will cost too much and I need car parts.

Unfortunately pets are not allowed in the paddock or pit areas. Hot babe's are not allowed either unless they can drive, then they are more than welcome but be prepared as every guy in the paddock will be stopping by your pit area to see "how the car is running". ;)

Just so you know in the paddock a 6 that can drive is now an 8, and an 8 that can not drive and sits around wondering when you are going to be done is a 5.

Dave

 

[Plimmer]

Just out of curiosity what wheel bearing life are you guys expecting?

I've got less than 10k on my car and I've had to replace the rear wheel bearings and my front left sounds like its rumbling as well, so I might as well put a spare in the tool box.

 

[ddozier]

Just out of curiosity what wheel bearing life are you guys expecting?

I've got less than 10k on my car and I've had to replace the rear wheel bearings and my front left sounds like its rumbling as well, so I might as well put a spare in the tool box.

So far with one season down I have not had any issues yet, I carry both front and rear spares with the longer studs already in the spare front unit.

For me it will come down to the type of failure, if the bearings just get loud and have a little play when they fail then I will replace as needed. If the failure is one that could be catastrophic on track then as cheap as they are I will just put new hubs in all around every year as a precaution.

Dave

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