Race Mechanics Thread
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You are currently reading a thread in /o/ - Auto
Hey guys, long time no see.
I guess I would make another one of those threads since most of the seasons went live and people start remembering that Motorsport exists.
But first, the important bits:
>how do I find a job in Motorsport?
Apart from applying to your local teams and work your way towards better places as you gain experience, here are some extremely good sources.
These are places where very important teams all over the Motorsport spectrum post their job vacancies, most of them require some previous experience, but sometimes basic stuff pops up that is not excessively demanding for beginners
http://www.racestaff.com
The most complete and by far the most up to date, it has jobs for everyone, but mostly focuses on top tier jobs for both mechanics and engineers. It's your go-to source if you already have experience in the field.
http://motorsport-jobs.autosport.com
Very good source, it gets most of the vacancies that are posted on racestaff, but with more low-tier jobs as a bonus. Both for mechanics and engineers. A good place to look for stuff if you are a first timer.
http://www.indeed.co.uk/m/jobs?q=motorsport&l=&from=home%2Cwhatauto
UK based site, occasional top-tier vacancies pop up, but it specialises in mid-low tier jobs from UK teams and companies. Very good for engineers, maybe a bit lacking for mechanics, especially if you want to be a freelance. Still a good source if you live or are willing to work with bongs
Right now it's a bit too late to look for Motorsport jobs because everyone is racing already and pretty much all the teams are done with looking for crew members.
The golden moment to apply is usually in winter, where everyone is preparing for the next seasons, or by the end of summer for winter championships (like Formula E, which starts testing in September). You might still be lucky and find a vacancy during the rest of the year, so don't forget to keep your eyes open anyway.
>what skills do I need to work in top series?
- For mechanics: good wrenching abilities, good ability to live and work closely with other people, willingness to work stupid hours, suffer from heavy sleep deprivation and be away from home for weeks.
Working as a street mechanic is not strictly necessary, but it helps in picking up with the pace if you never worked with race cars. Also some positions (like pit stop crews) may require you to be in shape and follow some kind of physical training.
- For engineers, mech engies are good for actual race engineers (the people who decide the setup of a car), electronic engies are good for telemetry, data/performance engineers and pretty much everything that is not strictly a job for the race eng. And trust me when I say there is a load of work to do for electronic engies, especially at high levels.
- For everyone else, welders are super important, accidents happen all the time and a good welder can make the difference between fixing a car by dinner time or going for an all nighter, if you can work fast and good, you will be a fucking superstar. Carbon fibre and composite materials experts are also very, very important. Truckers, carpenters, electricians, chefs or machinists may not be directly involved with cars, but are still required in small and big teams alike.
Now on to my personal blog:
Winter has been fucking boring as always, staying at home for 3 months straight takes its toll on your patience. Luckily I've been able to nail a couple of jobs interviews in the meantime so, if everything goes according to plan, this year is going to be PACKED with work. I can't name names, but I'll be working with F4s and touring cars, as long as the usual WEC stuff and a few minor races with Porsches and Ferraris, feels good to start working with more than one or two teams at a time and to take a break from the whole "world championships" stress.
General Race Mechanic thread, post your questions or share your experiences
![thumb[1].png](https://i.imgur.com/9hTy46Q.png "thumb[1].png")
>>14882062
>welder
so i know how to weld, not perfectly though
apart from becoming a certified welder, what else would i need to become a race mechanic, a degree in automotive engineering or something like that?
also im not from an english speaking country, do you know any mechanics in a similar situation? is a certificate in an specific languag necessary? i would like to imagine japanese teams speak japanese and italian teams speak italian
>>14882155
>apart from becoming a certified welder, what else would i need to become a race mechanic, a degree in automotive engineering or something like that?
A welding certificate doesn't grant you a spot as a race mechanic (I'm talking about high levels with organised teams, if you go to your small local hillclimb team you might as well apply for a race engineer position if you know vehicle physics), but you can still do lots of stuff in and out of cars, from the fabrication of equipment to damage repairs on cars, keep in mind that aluminium is everywhere so you should learn how to work with that.
To be a mechanic you don't need a degree, you need that for engineering positions (again, this "rule" may not apply for low level racing where teams are small and cars are simpler).
You just need to know how to wrench and be a fast learner at that, most of what you do in your typical racing weekend is setting the car up a million times, follow your engineer's directions and repair damages. You don't even need to be a street mechanic to start, but it can help so you can at least know most of the tools you will be using and how to identify parts.
>also im not from an english speaking country, do you know any mechanics in a similar situation? is a certificate in an specific languag necessary? i would like to imagine japanese teams speak japanese and italian teams speak italian
Yes, most teams tend to hire people from their own country, for example AF Corse is mostly made of Italians, Rebellion is mostly made of bongs, Audi is mostly Germans and so on, but nothing stops you from working with them. I personally know many mechanics and engineers that come from countries different than the team's.
I was expecting a little bit more interest in this thread, I guess I just picked the wrong time of the day.
I'll check back later to see if you guys have something to ask, otherwise I'll just let the thread die and will pick a better time to post again.
Later, fellas
Majoring in software engineering here. Are there any spots for a car guy who's into computers?
>>14882863
Doesn't Bosch lend its people's out for traction control modifications?
>>14883582
Also, does Bosch have a monopoly on competition TC?
>>14882863
Does your SE degree cover stuff like control systems and real time systems or is it all bloated OO webscale garbage and communicating with indian code shops?
I've always wanted to get involved with motorsports. I'm the guy all my friends turn to if they need mechanical work done. I've done everything from bodywork, engine rebuilds, brakes, suspension installs, minor electrical stuff. I've also got 4 years or so with composite materials (carbon fiber and Kevlar as well as fiberglass) molding and lay up. Problem is I'm only 21 and I feel like this is a hinderance. People don't like to trust my skills because of my age but I perform well under pressure and learn fast. Should I just throw myself out there and see if I can land a position somewhere? I live very close to Pacific raceways in Kent as well as the ridge motorsports park in Shelton. I feel like there are some good opportunities there. Any info would be appreciated.
>>14882461
What's pay like? I have my degree in mechanical engineering and I'm currently rated as a second engineer (glorified diesel mechanic) by the uscg. I'm doing about 85k a year currently but I'm looking to get out and spend more time on land. I love cars, but I just don't want to start from the bottom again.
>>14882863
Well, you can't really apply for a team on the premise that you are a car guy that knows computers.
I'm not that much into computers myself so I can't really tell you what specific programs you'll be using (apart from the usual Magneti Marelli's Wintax diagnostic program and Motec stuff), but you should at least be familiar with reading data from a car, setting up networks and possibly be specialised in various kinds of subsystems (like hybrid stuff, power train management and so on), but that is for when you aim for really high levels like P1s or F1s.
Nowadays race cars all have some level of data logging which will need to be downloaded after a session (or streamed during one) So the very basic role you will be covering is the one of the "performance engineer", which is a very vague term to describe the guy who downloads data from a car and can explain it to the pilot in order to show him where he can improve his driving, other than helping the rest of the team with understanding how the car performs.
Anyway, there is always the need for a guy who can do some programming and maybe getting his hands dirty when electrical problems arise on the car, so go for it, small teams may have a spot for someone like you, while big teams definitely have one, but it will most likely require previous experience.
>>14883582
Yes, most engineering firms involved in motorsport send a bunch of people to tracks all over the world to assist the teams with their products, especially to places where they have the exclusive on every car, like Abarth does with the Italian F4 or Ford with the British F4 championship.
P2 teams, for example, all have external people coming from the engine supplier to assist them with telemetry and troubleshooting.
Chassis manufacturers (like Oreca, Dallara, Tatuus etc), as well as tire and gearbox manufacturers, also offer trackside assistance. So there is a lot of people working on the cars that are not directly working for the teams.
>>14883868
Your composite skills alone are extremely valuable as there are not many people willing to get cancer from grinding carbon all day, use that as leverage if you really like working with composites.
Otherwise just visit teams and ask if they need people.
The problem is that teams that are already racing, have probably their staff covered, so you should really start hunting when winter comes and going directly to their headquarters rather than to the track.
Roaming the pits and throwing resumes at everyone is of course not going to hurt, but you risk losing a lot of time like that.
And don't get your hopes too high, you will probably never open a single engine for your whole career in Motorsport, at least if you only work during races.
Also, look for the links in the OP, a few guys I know found dream jobs with those.
>>14883946
I can't really give you specific numbers because I'm not an engineer, but just for reference, freelance mechanics (as opposed to full-time mechanics that only work for one team, who have a whole different paying system and it's what most top level mechanics are) get from as low as 100€ a day (which is fucking nothing) to 400+ a day, with figures varying wildly depending on the taxing system of your country.
Your qualifications and your current involvement with the automotive world will surely give you an advantage when looking for jobs, but I mostly see mech engies taking care of setups, so if you are still fresh on vehicle dynamics and have a good understanding of how a car reacts to the modifications you make to it, then you can easily apply for a race engineer position.
I'm honestly not that informed on the racing situation there in the US, but here in Europe most mid-tier championships have teams accepting people with limited experience because the competition and the cars are not that demanding, despite not being a total entry level. I would suggest starting with touring cars or the US equivalent of formula Renaults.
>>14882053
One of my good friends from HS and college, his older brother was on the pit crew for some Sprint Cup teams for years. Not sure if he's still with them.
That friend is kinda retarded when it comes to sports and/or motorsports so it's worthless asking him about it but I would love to ask his bro some questions about it.
Livin the dream OP. At least you don't have to worry about rusted as fuck suspension components.
>>14882062
Can Americans get into this, or do you have to be European?
>>14884082
>>14884094
You make it sound like a lot of teams are hurting for people. Isn't working for a race team the kind of thing where every opening has 1000 qualified people applying?
>>14884101
Well it's not like America lacks Motorsports.
>>14884120
In a way, yes.
The job itself is demanding both physically and psychologically, which is what keeps most people away from it. Not everyone is willing to put up with being away for the better part of a year and work for 15+ hours a day when you are lucky, despite the pay. There is fewer applications than you might think.
It's a job that changes your life, because the traveling basically prevents you from having a stable job at home (doing this as a hobby is really difficult unless you stick to very low level of racing) and takes its toll on the relationships you have, which is another thing that scares people.
Maybe I'm a bit biased because I was "lucky" to start my career working in the WEC and I mainly do endurance so I am used to one of the most abusive form of Motorsport short of rallying.
Anyway, every year when seasons are about to finish I always hear of teams looking for people, of course there are not many open spots, but you will never get in there if you don't even try, right?
Try to check the OP links, they are basically dead right now, if you check by the end of the year they will be fucking full of job vacancies.
It's one of those jobs where people just assume you need to be part of some hyper mega specialised elite of people to work and they simply refrain from trying.
There is also the fact that many teams can't afford to teach people to do the job, because if you fuck up something on a race car, it's going to cost a ton of money in damage and reputation, so there is also that.
People already in the business have little problem finding jobs, while it's a bit more difficult for first timers, but I always encourage people to apply whenever and wherever they can because you don't need to be a car guru to change springs, add/remove camber spacers or to check a car's height.
P.S: I'm out of OC pics so you'll have to live with googled ones
>>14884094
Composite guy here. Thanks for the info, I realize the season has already started and I probably wouldn't go hunting through the pits unless I'm desperate. But yeah I've always been super interested in materials science/engineering and I'm hoping to transfer to WWU and their composite program if I don't make it to UW. Thanks for the links in the OP, I'll be sure to save them.
Recognize this OP?
>>14884367
>Well it's not like America lacks Motorsports.
Nobody seems to want anything to do with our drivers. Even stateside, most of our pro national open wheel and endurance drivers are foreign.
>The job itself is demanding both physically and psychologically, which is what keeps most people away from it. Not everyone is willing to put up with being away for the better part of a year and work for 15+ hours a day when you are lucky, despite the pay. There is fewer applications than you might think.
Maybe you can answer something for me I am super curious about.
From watching F1 documentaries I have gotten the impression that pro race teams are very proactive about dealing with problems. If something is wrong there isn't a ton of ass covering, it's 'hey this isn't working well, how do we fix it?'. Everybody has the expectation that thing should run like a well oiled machine. Good enough is not good enough, things should be as good as they can be.
If something preventable happens, management doesn't look at it like 'well whatever sometimes things are going to go wrong' its more of 'what can we change to prevent that, and if it is reasonable, consider it the new way of doing things'.
I am willing to sacrifices a lot of my leisure time for the right job, but experience has proven I can't do it and stay sane when management isn't as focused as I am on finding improvement wherever possible. I can not stand it when an easily preventable failure occurs more than once.
Would I be a good fit?
>>14882053
Are you the guy who is on the Asian challenge series?
>>14882053
Though you learned your lesson last time you were here.
OP is no race mechanic. OP hasn't even been involved in any race related stuff.
OP is a fake. OP is a troll and an attention whore.
> sage in all fields
>>14884478
I proved this shit every time I made a thread like this (the last time being over a year ago), if pic related is not enoguh for you, then I don't really give a shit because I am at home right now and I can't really timestamp myself working on a car. You are free to leave at anytime if you don't believe what I say.
>>14884459
Being a mechanic at those levels is really a matter of following directions and being scrupolous rather than being proactive. There are loads of people paid to think of strategies and contingency plans for most scenarios.
Yes, at those levels everything needs to be perfect and, especially in endurance where a damaged car doesn't automatically means that you can't finish the race, you really need to be ready for every occurrence.
Good enough is not good enough, there is a checklist for everything, there is too much money involved for things to be left unchecked.
During the weekend every team does some crew practice sessions where mechanics try to change something in the shortest time possible, it usually involves changing bodywork, brakes and suspensions both in the pit lane (where crew is limited by rule) and inside the garage.
If you followed last week's WEC race, you might have heard that the winning Audi was disqualified because a piece under the car was too thin, they took a risk, it paid off in terms of performance, but it ended up with a huge hit. I'm sure more than one person was fired for that.
Your attitude sure is super useful in this field, but you need to be able to follow orders because the higher you go and the less your opinion counts.
>>14884473
Yup, not doing that anymore (for the moment)
>>14884455
I am assuming that comes from some street/challenge Ferrari, but I can't really tell you where it comes from as I only really worked with late 458 (from when they introduced the rear wing on the challenge). Is that from a 430 perhaps?
>>14884478
>t. bus rider
>>14884692
Forgot the trip, but whatever
>>14884692
It's from a 458 Challenge that went off turn 6 at Sonoma, I heated the area around the airjack with a torch and banged it out with a 5lb sledge, very precise work. Keeping the underbody cover to put on a Lemons car.
>>14884692
Thanks for the info. Totally hear you on following orders, that comes with being on a team and functioning as a cohesive group.
My last manager said "the key to enjoying working here is to realize the fundamentally stupid in the organization is unchangeable" I almost went insane at that job.
I watched the WEC race and heard about the skid plate. Was that a career ending decision to run the reduced ride height or thin plate for those that got fired over it?
>>14884809
You're never going to be happy in the auto world working for someone else, I used to be the same way, just do whatever you can within your own job to do the right thing, don't go on campaigns to fix the whole system or other people's jobs. If the experience is worth it keep with it and get what you can out of the job, if not the put wheels on toolboxes for a reason, once you are wrenching it's easy to move to any other shop especially in racing/high performance. Open up your own shop someday if you are the kind of person that wants to make everything properly from the top down.
>>14884734
Do US challenges have different bodywork or is that from before the EVO aero package?
Because the ones I worked on (Asian market with EVO pack) didn't have those four air inlets that close to each other, the only air inlets I remember were on that big ass piece of shit that sits under the engine and goes around the two rear airjacks. Pic related, they should kill whoever designed that retarded thing.
>>14884809
>I watched the WEC race and heard about the skid plate. Was that a career ending decision to run the reduced ride height or thin plate for those that got fired over it?
As far as I know, the plate is standard so it can only get thinner by scraping the ground, thus being an entirely ride height related fault (or a driver's fault, but I think you can trust Audi's drivers to not be retarded on curbs).
I don't think it would be a career ending decision, whoever was fired for that (if any) will probably never work at Audi again, but everyone understands you need to take risks sometimes and it's rarely a one-man decision.
You usually always hear of a few key people, but you don't know the names of everyone in the team.
If that was the fault of some mechanic fixing the plate improperly, then I don't think his name will be blacklisted by everyone else, even if he deserves it.
There have been worse decisions being made by low profile people (sending cars out after a pit and having it crash in another car going in the fast lane, improperly changing a wheel and losing it after a couple of turns and easily preventable stuff like that which costs a lot) and those guys are still there working on race cars, so this skid plate problem will hardly impact anyone's career outside of Audi
>>14882053
I visited UNOH's open house. If you don't know they offer classes for motorsport mechanics that seem very interesting and even have a student run dirt modified team, and an active autocross club. Anyone hear of anyone who's been through it? seems too good to be true
>>14884942
We have those in Europe too, France seems to have one of the best racing schools around here, it lasts a few years and they make you build a car from scratch and race it as a sort of final exam, think of it as a sort of formula SAE, but without actual universities behind it.
You also get an official certification at the end of it, which is something that not many schools or courses can do, even if they teach you the same thing.
I work with a few people coming from that school and it really sounds like a very serious thing, but it is quite expensive, like multi-thousand euros expensive.
I myself started with a similar training course that lasted a lot less (a few months) and only really taught us the basics, but had the benefit of giving you an internship with one of the many partner teams and it paid off for me.
I wanted to add it to the OP, but I have a tendency to write text walls and I felt the links I added could be more useful than "go and find your local racing course" without any useful source.
>>14884941
Non Evo, it is different due to having a different splitter and diffuser. They aren't even that different from the street cars which is why they are a PITA to deal with, the street cars have a few more bolts around the wheelhousings and the only duct IIRC is for the alternator. The more annoying covers are for 360s and 430s because the lift point is a cutout in the underbody cover, so we lift it, undo all the bolts except two, drop the back wheels on to two trashcans, slip the cover out, then lift it back up
>>14884692
Oh, wow, a pass that anyone with some dough can buy.
That proves shit dickhead. Just like last time you proved nothing. You're a fraud trying to get some e-acceptance.
GTFO
>>14885112
Considering anyone with money can buy seat in a car I don't know if your objection holds up.
>>14885011
I know challenges are meant to be cash cows but Jesus Christ they could at least put some effort in reducing the amount of fasteners that car requires.
Even the fucking 458 GTE has bolts all over the place, nothing is easy on that car.
The front bumper, for example, is conveniently held by four dzus screws, which are fenomenal for quick jobs, but then you have no less than 10 tiny fucking bolts holding the front splitter to the bumper.
Pic related, count the bolts and tell me if that is not retarded beyond belief, especially on an endurance-focused car.
It's like Michelotto (the manufacturer that actually builds ferrari GT race cars) never saw a fucking race car in his whole life.
>>14885112
>Oh, wow, a pass that anyone with some dough can buy.
Yeah please tell me where you can find full-season team passes for any amount of money, smart guy. You sure got me.
>>14885139
I heard the same things about the 575 GTC vs the Prodrive 550, replacing parts on the 575 supposedly took 5x longer. I like the Challenge cars but they definitely still have a lot of street car left on them (which on the other hand does make them easier to own as far as sourcing parts and people that can work on them, any Ferrari tech can work on them no problem)
>>14885178
I'm already hearing horror stories about the 488 GTE being so cramped that you need to pull the engine if anything turbo-related that is not an intercooler breaks.
I still haven't touched a single Ferrari this year, but I fear the moment I will have to work on the 488, considering how uncomfortable the 458 is, there is no way they improved anything on the 488
>>14885112
>>14885139
A full season pass, all access is available and will set you back 68.651€ and 14 cents. Price quoted at this precise moment.
So yeah, your pass proves shit. If they're available for F1, YOU BET they're available for anything else down the ladder.
So no, a pass photo proves nothing. Just like last time your proved shit.
>>14885246
They're just trickling in for PDIs now but there's already campaigns on them, but 458 was the same but they turned out to be good street cars, we'll see. Definitely going to be hard to access a lot of the engine
>>14885246
I'm looking forward to it.
200 or so more hp through the same gearbox as before... lots of work for me.
>>14885334
You work at Getrag?
>>14885258
Please give me a source on the availability of a team pass to the general public and tell me you honestly believe I spent 68k on a card so I could pretend to be a mechanic on 4chan
>>14885337
GTEs use Hewlands
>>14885340
Anyone that spends that kind of money wouldn't be on 4chinz.
Photos on the other hand are easy to get.
You still haven't proven nothing.
I don't need to prove anything else. Plus the info I've posted is readily available to someone through Google.
YOU WERE A FRAUD LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE. YOU ARE A FRAUD ONCE AGAIN.
>>14885337
Nah, but I help change those bitches out when they turn into 3 speeds.
>>14885351
I thought that was another poster that was just a normal tech. Most of the trans in the street 458/488 isn't serviceable at dealerships, they didn't even want shops changing sensors on them until they went wrong on tons of cars and they didn't have a choice but to let them be fixed, initially they wanted the whole trans to be replaced for any problem.
>>14885370
Sure mate, keep telling yourself that
Tell me what kind of timestamp you want that doesn't involve me being identifiable and I'll give it to you when I'll be in Spa so I can shut your little mouth just like every other time.
>>14885420
Just like the other time you haven't shut anyones mouth and instead just disappear cause you got caught in your lies?
Sure m8.
>>14885447
More like you simply have no argument to refute my knowledge, no links to prove team passes are even publicly available, no request for a satisfactory timestamp that I'm more than willing to give to you, nothing whatsoever except anger for some reason I can't understand.
Great contribution m8, you sure saved the board from another shit thread.
Now go, I'm sure there is a camaro vs GTR thread waiting for you
>>14882461
I'm interested but I'm a NEET with no qlf or even wrenching experience apart from replacing air/fuel filters.
I'm 99.3% sure nobody would take some skinny dumb faggot to work on a race car.
>schumaker st
>>14885351
It stands to reason that an actual race car couldn't get by with that 400lbs getrag
Do the GTEs have any modifications done to the power steering system over what the challenge cars have?
>>14885477
Why so much damage control?
The passes are publicly available, a simple Google search proves that.
A request for something that might get posted in the future proves nothing.
Theres no anger. So you can stop projecting.
You're the one edgy because you seem unable to provide any more proof other than a photo of a scrawny looking pass.
Just like last time you were here, you write a lot, but facts to back up your claims are inexistent.
You haven't said anything that anyone with a decent enough experience in the car world is unable to know, so nah. You were a fraud then and you still are one. A sad one. Needing to come to 4chinz to get peer approval is just sad.
Plus, the brule de creme, anyone doing what you claim to do, wouldn't be wasting time on a shitboard like /o/. And thats a fact.
>>14885480
Steering racks are different (although I don't know the specs or the ratios), also GTEs have a bypass for the electric pump so you can use power steering without having to run the engine like the GT3 does, super fucking useful when moving the car for scrutineering or general garage/truck manoeuvring, considering you can't just run the engine whenever you want like a GT3 or a challenge.
>>14885505
>The passes are publicly available, a simple Google search proves that.
A simple Google search that you are failing to provide
>A request for something that might get posted in the future proves nothing.
How so?
>Theres no anger. So you can stop projecting.
So what is it, jealousy? Are you that much of a child?
>You're the one edgy because you seem unable to provide any more proof other than a photo of a scrawny looking pass.
You still have to tell me what kind of acceptable proof you want
>Just like last time you were here, you write a lot, but facts to back up your claims are inexistent.
If you can correct me or prove anything I say is wrong then I'll be happy to listen
>You haven't said anything that anyone with a decent enough experience in the car world is unable to know, so nah. You were a fraud then and you still are one. A sad one. Needing to come to 4chinz to get peer approval is just sad.
Which is what I said many times, you don't need to be a car guru to know how to wrench on race cars.
I also gave links to help people finding jobs in the field, which is a huge contribution you conveniently avoided to list.
>Plus, the brule de creme, anyone doing what you claim to do, wouldn't be wasting time on a shitboard like /o/. And thats a fact.
Nice evidence on that "fact", I guess all the guys who post bread on luxury cars are also fake because only financially unstable and underage people post on 4chan right?
>>14885370
jesus you autistic fuck, who cares
>>14885543
Stop responding to him lol
>>14885543
Oh, it's electric! That's way better.
The challenge/street ones are on the accessory drive and are driven at near 1:1 speed with the crank (way too fast)
They're a weak link. I think 3 of ours crapped out last year. one so far this year.
>>14885576
I like doing 9 point turns every time you pull a challenge car into the rack since full lock is half the steering angle of a street car. 458 Challenges are a bitch to load on a trailer too since you can't leave it in gear and there's no parking brake, can't do it by yourself.
>>14885605
>no parking brake
wew Ferraris sure are good xD
>>14885617
The challenge has no parking brake, but the street version obviously has one.
The parking brake on the challenge is usually a piece of wood or Teflon jammed under a wheel
>>14885605
The ones with less than 4 wheels are even harder to deal with.
>>14885617
The challenger version has bigger calipers that forgo the little parking brake pad. Though the gearboxes have a lot of drag when the engine isn't running, so they don't roll around too much.
>>14885631
Those self venting dry breaks are awesome.
And air jack locks work good too
What kind of experience do people look for? I'll be graduating with a masters in Mech Eng soon and have done placement with a biomed company.
But I've been heavily involved in the SAE competitions, starting with basic grunt work, and this year taking the Chief Engineer position for my Uni's team. I'd love to get some work in any of the Moto or Formula teams, but would also be open to going with a specific company (Showa, Ohlins, Bosch etc.)
>>14885758
Being a chief engineer, even if for a small uni team, is a very good starting point; it means you probably know how the car works, how to do some quick problem solving, how to give orders, how to interact with the driver and how to take care of the car's bureaucracy, which are all useful qualities.
If this is the case, then you have more than enough experience for pretty much every low to mid-tier trackside stuff you can think of.
If you know how to deal with data logging and have experience with the role of "performance engineer" mentioned here >>14884082, even better.
Check the links in the OP, there is always something for engineers in there.
>>14887639
What happened to the #66 car at Silverstone why was it DQ'd?
I am interested in this thread OP
>>14888223
I don't know what you are talking about, the #66 (Ford GT) is still classified as normal, right behind its sister car and they are still in second place as a manufacturer.
Are you referring to the disqualified #7 Audi, perhaps?
For anyone interested, this is the part that got Audi disqualified, it's basically a big plank that runs longitudinally from one axle to the other, it's supposed to be the first and only thing that touches the ground when the car runs over curbs or bumps and needs to have a minimum thickness by rule.
>>14888762
And this is the actual rule that defines the skid block.
Pretty much every prototype or formula car has one of those planks (usually made of wood).
Since ground contact is often inevitable during a session, the skid block is allowed to wear out within a certain margin, what got Audi disqualified was the minimum thickness in the front part of the plank, meaning the car was most likely running too low or too soft, scraping too much with the ground
Holy shit are you the guy that was here a looong ass time ago posting about motorsport jobs? Shit, I saw your thread sometime around the time I entered college and now I'm finishing my second year. I'd still love to get a job working with a team.
OP do you remember on the 430 Challenge when you put the windows in is there a bracket that goes from the bottom of the window frame to the door somewhere or does the bottom of the frame have vestigial captured nuts from the street car and you just let that hang loose? Should have taken a picture, I will later if you don't understand what I'm saying. Nobody in the shop remembers what it's supposed to look like and I can't find a diagram.
>>14889313
As I said, I only worked with 458s from the EVO pack onwards, so I can't help you with the 430.
The 458s have like 2 or 4 bolts on the rails and that's it, but I guess you have a fresher memory than mine, as the last time I had to adjust a window on a challenge was like two years ago.
Can't you use the exploded view from the part catalogue? I solved many misteries about bolts and brackets with those.
>>14889064
Yup, the last time I made a thread was probably more than a year ago, I don't know if someone made similar threads in the meanwhile.
I wish you luck for you future, try to see if your uni has some kind of Motorsport programme like FSAE or a local equivalent, it will sure help when/if you want to look for jobs in motorsport
>>14889460
I just figured it out by calling another shop, there are two L brackets, I'm going to make some instead of trying to track them down
>>14889548
What do you do heartbreaker? I always like your posts but don't think I've ever seen enough to figure it out. Or can't into reading.
Is anyone of you fagets going to Spa for the next race?
>>14890721
he drives a piece of shit, rides bicycles and pretends that rich people like him.
>>14893896
Whoa m8 why so angry?
>>14894506
just a brief summary of the facts
>>14890721
This
>>14893896
also a mechanic
>>14895934
>>14895941
Project Binky BTFO
>>14882053
Cool thread. Thanks for the info op
>>14895941
Quality genuine Ferrari parts©
Also could you do me a favour? Do you have a 458 challenge with a VBOX (or whatever other video recording equipment) installed? I want to see where you get the current for that, because I usually had to fix a load of shitty installs that took current from all over the dash but I'm not sure where you are supposed to take it.
The usual place is a flying connector dangling from the central console, which I have no idea what it is supposed to do but it seems to come straight from the battery and works good enough most of the time.
Fuck VBOXes, I hate those things, especially the cameras that come with them.
>>14895975
No probs m8, I probably should have made the thread before a race rather than after it so I could upload some good OC while stuff happens.
Also weather at Silverstone was very shitty this weekend so I didn't really felt like roaming the pit lane to take pics.
I doubt this thread will be alive by the time Spa happens so I'll probably make another one.
Hope the info helped
Fun fact: wheel nuts on P1s are torqued to no less than 900Nm and they use modified air guns with electronic control that automatically cuts air supply when the correct torque is reached. The base guns are about €5k a pop, plus the electronic equipment for several hundreds each.
so I did a bit of research about training for engineers and technicians with the objective of adding this stuff for a next OP for everyone to enjoy, but my knowledge is limited and I invite you guys to give me some good sources if you know one.
Right now I only know about Italy and France, which I admit is not much, especially considering the heavy american presence of this board and site, but it's a start.
France:
Auto Sport Academy
http://www.autosportacademy.com/index.php?page=devenir_mecanicien
Based near Le Mans, it offers driving courses as well as courses for mechanics. Contrary to what I remembered, the course for mechanics is actually part of the national education programme, so you can get it for mostly free if you are French.
Italy:
Motorsport Technical School
http://mtschool.it/?lang=en
Based in Monza, offers courses for race car mechanics, race bike mechanics and race engineers, plus a bunch of seminars on various racing-related stuff.
The price ranges between 5 and 6k euros depending on the course.
Apparently it is not part of any official educational programme so it should be open for everyone as long as you speak Italian I guess
Motorsport Academy
https://academy.experismotorsport.it/eng/
Based in Maranello, offers high specialisation courses for engineers in various racing related topics, those courses have a price, but a quick look at the site didn't return any number.
Looking at the course descriptions you can probably expect higher prices than those found at the MTS above as they look way more specific and advanced.
They also offer free courses for unemployed techicians but I guess you have to be an Italian citisen to take advantage of those.
The company is part of the Manpower group so it should at least have europe-wide connections, even if the courses seem to be aimed at Italians (I don't know if they have divisions in other countries though)
>>14897557
I expect the UK to have something interesting considering the strong Motorsport culture they have, also Germany will probably have something too, but I can't speak nazi so I don't even know what to look for.
All the three sources I mentioned above are valid as far as I know, especially the French one, which is the only one to have an actual team and puts people in charge of managing cars that do actual races. I personally know mechanics and engineers that come from each of those schools.
If you know something about any other country, hit me with a source and I'll try to do some additional research so I can add it to the list.
If you think this might look too much like shilling, then I'll remove all this stuff from any future thread.
>>14896152
The R stands for Ricambi Originali. I'll take a look at the camera, I feel like the power on the one I saw was taken from the little center console that has the cutoff switch and the reverse button but I can't picture it in my head.
We have to use nitrogen tanks to get center locks off with a 3/4" impact since normal air pressure isn't high enough, our torque wrench only goes to 600 ft/lb though, hopefully a P1 doesn't roll in.
>>14897678
Yes, there is usually one of those black and yellow male connector dangling from that area which I have absolutely no idea what it does, but it carries a stable +12 current so it works.
Since I assume you work for a dealer, I was wondering if there was any "official" place where VBOXes are supposed to be connected.
I once saw one connected straight to a random fuse with the positive wire jammed between the fuse and the fusebox to get current, scary stuff..
