anti freeze alternative

[ninjabones]

scwaters wrote:

Having flown off the front straight at the Zone 2 VIR this year based on antifreeze dropped I have to state that the majority of the spills I have witnessed are from GT3s . So if we are going to ban something . . . .

Seriously, Geza made the most proctical statement. Maybe we could remind everyone at the drivers meeting or an article in our magazine that cars that are tracked should have some profolactic maintenece not required on a street car.

Not to throw the GT3 guys under the bus, but I can't remember a club race or DE when at least one run session over the weekend wasn't affected by a GT3 spewing coolant (without mentioning any names, one particular car leaked coolant on track on at least 4 different occasions last season alone).

There is a well documented defect in the GT3 coolant system (glued fittings and crappy engineering on the collant manifold). Here's a thread from rennlist with more than 90 posts with an attempt to create a registry of GT3 owners who have experienced coolant system failures mostly while on track, and many of which were catastrophic failures. All of the guys that I know that own GT3s have had it happen (perhaps Terry, Kenny, or Graham can chime in on their experiences). I think we've just been lucky that none have (yet) resulted in serious injury.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/99...istry.html

As others have mentioned, coolant leaks can not be justifiably compared to oil leaks both due to the available alternatives and in terms of the frequency of failures.

If mandates about use of water are not going to fly, then perhaps at least a forceful educational campaign (even specifically targetting GT3 owners) with regard to available proactive solutions (welding the manifold fittings), use of watter, and proper inspection procedures and frequency would be warranted.

Perhaps even changing our tech form is warranted to include a line item about what type of coolant is in the car and a written "recommendation" that water be used in stead of antifreeze while on track. Also would provide an opportunity during tech for the inspector to discuss the issue with the owner.