Beyond the obvious (brakes, wheel bearings, leaks, etc.), what are the potential failure points on an Evo8/9 that are less obvious? I heard yesterday about an incident where an Evo power steering pulley issue somehow led to coolant lighting on fire on the manifold. I have to say that I don't routinely pull the accessory belt and check how everything turns/sounds, but maybe I should?

Are there parts that tend to loosen up? Should I be retorquing all of my suspension arms regularly?

Yesterday, i went to put gas in my car after a session and one of the filler neck screws had backed out completely and the other was about to fall out. Those have never been touched. It made me wonder what else might be backing out on the car below the surface.

Please share your experiences with unforeseen failure points that surfaced with track usage.

Also, what spare parts do you bring to events, just in case, beyond brakes, rotors, oil, etc.?

Thanks!

 

There are two things that worry me and that is fuel supply lines leaking ..... and the fact that I no longer have balance shafts .... I'm always worried about my oil pump taking a crap or some other bolt working its way loose from vibrations.

As for spare parts ... I don't bring any... I grab my AAA card and I'm off to the races.

 

Battery tie down.

Coolant overflow

 

I haven't really had issues except a wheel coming off due to cheap china wheels studs.


I do empty my coolant reservoir before track days. When the cooling system heat soaks to 205, it will overflow even though you're not actually overheating.

 

Failed front wheel hub(s) at 100mph, transmission overheating, oil cap coming loose, dipstick flying out, dipstick oring failing (in the block), about every kind of coupler/hose clamp failing, cracked exhaust manifold(s), all manner of exhaust bolts backing out, oil pan bolts backing out, loose battery grounding out on chassis (that was a fun one), fire system seal broke loose and leaked, failed ECU's, all sorts of electrical studs vibrating loose, windshields fogging up, driveshaft brackets banging into exhaust pipes, multiple stripped studs/nuts on shock adjustment points/plates, oil leaks from more places then I care to remember, and the biggest pain - failed front O2 sensors. I could go on lol.

 

Oh yeah, front O2 sensors. Those seem to go dead on me after 2 track days. Luckily they're only $50 from rock auto.

 

we had a weird one that i never saw coming: the starter motor power wire shorted out and killed the car due to the heat from the exhaust melting away the insulator. i haven't torn it apart to find what exactly melted, but yeah, sucked pretty bad.

edit update: tore it apart today to find that none of the wiring had melted/shorted. the motor was definitely toast, but it could've been because it got soaked in oil a couple weeks prior. hard to say.

 

I get a full track inspection before and after each event and fix what needs to be fixed. Last track day a coolant hose let go on me thankfully in a low speed section of the track. It was a 12 year old OEM hose...replaced all of the hoses after that incident. That's the only action I've had to date.

Oh and this:

Rotors should be inspected ahead of time and it's predicable how much they should wear on the track so those shouldn't surprise you. Ditto brake pads.

 

Hmm sounds oddly similar to what happened to me at Watkins Glen 2 weeks ago, what a coincidence. Yeah, I had the AC pulley break on me, which destroyed the belt. Luckily it happened going into turn 10. I noticed when the power steering was gone and pulled into the pit. By the time I made it past the garage the radiator cracked and shot coolant onto the manifold which caught fire. It was such a small fire I probably could have just blew on it and it would have gone out but I grabbed the extinguisher anyway.

I was pretty disappointed but who would expect the AC pulley to break on you. I still cant understand how it broke to be honest. The pulley is still attached but it rattles around on the shaft. I just got a shorter belt and said screw it since its about $250 for a new one.

 

balance shaft belt snap taking out timing belt. i know two case where this happened on track. so every engine that i put in the evo since the oem has been with balance shaft delete.

wheel bearings tends to go out quicker when you're running sticky tires like hoosier or BFG

turbo manifold nuts come lose and blow out the gasket. i bring spare gasket to track. but they haven't come loose since i start using norlock washers. same for o2 housing nuts.

brake line blew
oem wga diaphragm broke
ICP clamps
ICP hose ripped
caliper brake pad pins
cross thread lug nuts
IACV went bad, car wont stay idle
MAP sensor
ignition coil

i bring all those spare parts to track now.

 

Ah ya good old brembo pins. I STILL have my clip setup on the rears but ya I lost those at Barber back in like '08? Had to put bolts in place with the ends cut down with a dremel and limp home.

On that note, if you're not comfortable with someone else driving your car, then you shouldn't be comfortable with AAA or anyone else towing it home FOR you for something as silly as a cracked hose etc. They're for the truck and trailer, of which I hardly trust even that. In my experience if you're not in the 'bring my garage to the track' game then you need to hire one of your local shops to bring it for you and support any repairs.

 

The only things that have kept me sidelined are:

Oil temps (I was on a stock pan and oil cooler at the time)
Couplings popping off. A lot of them. Almost every session.

I run waterless coolant, so don't have pressure/overflow issues, but that would be a concern for me, otherwise.

I now make sure I pack extra hose clamps. I also stopped being lazy and clean the couplings really well before re-installing. I swap out my clamps after I've tightened them twice. I haven't had a problem since. I keep forgetting to look up "constant pressure clamps" or something like that. I hear they are awesome.

Other than that, the car has been absolutely solid. No complaints.

 

Get tbolt clamps.

 

Also battery charging, can't tell you how many times I've ran into issues with small batt's and literally no space in a cramped paddock to bump start or you start last.

 

Dang. What in heck are you drawing off that thing?