Tormania

Funny how doing one track preparation activity leads to the discovery of other issues that ends up costing money. UGH!

Have a HPDE event this upcoming Saturday and after my last short track outing last month my brake pedal was getting a little long. I figured along with changing the brake fluid I should go ahead and get some fresh brake pads on the fronts, just cause I know I'll have more track sessions this weekend than the couple short stints I had in April. Better safe than sorry.

Was looking forward to my first attempt at replacing my brake pads myself so I initially was focused on removing the nut to swing the caliper down and remove the old brake pads and get the new ones ready to put in. (as it turned out the old pads probably would have been ok for one more track event but putting on the new pads was a smart thing to do).

As I turn back around to work on the driver side brake I notice the blue rubber dust cover on my Bilstein shock is deformed, like it got compressed up and then got stuck like that so it has pulled away from the top of the shock. Odd. So I wiggle it around some to see how it came loose from the top of the shock. It's then that I am squeezing the blue cover and I feel multiple pieces of something under it. Well that can't be good. I end up pulling out the rubber bushing in 3 pieces from under the cover and a metal washer piece falls down the metal rod and sits on top of the yellow tube. :yikes:

Well that can't be good at all!! I can't track the car like that! Who knows when that bushing finally failed, could have been like that last month when I was on the track! I have had these Bilstein Sports on the car for a LONG time, probably at least 8+ years and to be honest they are probably ready to be replaced.

So it's Sunday evening and now I"m trying to figure out where to get some Bilstein Sports and then get them shipped to me by mid week so I can have them installed before Saturday. So have to pay for 3 day shipping to ensure they are here in time!!

Glad that I opted to get the new brake pads which in turn led to my discovery of the shock issue. Not sure how severe a problem that could have been on the track, not sure if it would have just led to a tad decline in handling to a much more significant problem.

TheKomoman

I'm sure there's a vendor or 3 here at CF that can get you hooked up with some shocks ASAP. LG Motorsports is in the continent that is Texas and they may be able to help you out quickly. I've exchanged a number of messages with Anthony there and he's always been very responsive.

I would think the broken shock mount would have lead to some serious handling instability, that tire wouldn't be in steady contact with the pavement and made things.. interesting!!

Tormania

I didn't think about LG Motorsports, Ugh! I ended up calling Vette Brake and Products this morning and having them sent 3 day air.

Yeah I can imagine nothing good could come from that non-functional bushing in pieces. LOL!