Cold weather....

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Going to a late season regional and the overnight temps are going to be near freezing.

What preventative measures do you take in case it get colder than expected?

Blanket the car? Not sure if inside the trailer will be much warmer!

[Rick Kirchner]

buttonwillow? get a garage, or park behind one where folks will give you power overnight. 1500W ceramic heater and a couple of moving blankets.

[David Ferguson]

We raced at Willow Spring when freezing temps were expected. We put a incandecent trouble lamp (60w? 100w?) next to the engine, and a moving blanket over the whole thing. That's enough to prevent freezing, and freeze plugs from blowing out since we didn't have any antifreeze in eitther the Pinto or GSXR engines.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

We raced at Willow Spring when freezing temps were expected. We put a incandecent trouble lamp (60w? 100w?) next to the engine, and a moving blanket over the whole thing. That's enough to prevent freezing, and freeze plugs from blowing out since we didn't have any antifreeze in eitther the Pinto or GSXR engines.

I like the idea but I think anything over a 40w incandescent bulb in Cali is a unicorn.

I'm thinking of getting these and sticking them on some small alum sheets and dropping them on each side of the engine.
May generate enough heat.

https://www.amazon.com/Engine-Silico.../dp/B09MQSL1G5

[jrh3]

I like the idea but I think anything over a 40w incandescent bulb in Cali is a unicorn.

I'm thinking of getting these and sticking them on some small alum sheets and dropping them on each side of the engine.
May generate enough heat.

https://www.amazon.com/Engine-Silico.../dp/B09MQSL1G5

You might consider a pad on the block and oil tank to have a happy engine at first start in the morning.
Worked well on the trunk in Alaska. Might be different in SoCal…
check the % antifreeze/ freezing chart. Only 15% can be quite beneficial.
Difficult to imagine a small percentage causing a problem.

[DaveW]

Get a 150W heat lamp (those are probably still available) and put that in the trailer aimed at the engine. Don't aim it at or put it too close to anything flammable.

[Rick Kirchner]

Get a 150W heat lamp (those are probably still available) and put that in the trailer aimed at the engine. Don't aim it at or put it too close to anything flammable.

That's why I like the little cube heaters. The forced air keeps them from getting anything close by too hot. When we have cold snaps before I have a chance to winterize the RF I put one between the bathroom and kitchen, and open the cabinet doors. Then I put one in the basement. Both set on low, they keep everything quite toasty.

They will also warm up the intake manifold enough to make the first start in the morning easy for a pinto - no more backing off the timing.

[problemchild]

Put antifreeze in the cooling system.

If you are capable of keeping engine oil, tranny oil, brake fluid, etc from leaking out, as well as securing wheels, suspension, etc, then you should certainly be capable of keeping coolant in the cooling system. Race cars around the world, certainly in much of the US and Canada, go on track with antifreeze in their cooling systems. We also need to protect our race cars when in storage and being transported.

Yes, the car in a closed trailer with shipping blankets on top, will certainly stay warmer than left outside.

[DaveW]

Put antifreeze in the cooling system.

If you are capable of keeping engine oil, tranny oil, brake fluid, etc from leaking out, as well as securing wheels, suspension, etc, then you should certainly be capable of keeping coolant in the cooling system. Race cars around the world, certainly in much of the US and Canada, go on track with antifreeze in their cooling systems. We also need to protect our race cars when in storage and being transported...

I don't and have never used antifreeze in my racecars because AF reduces the cooling capacity of the coolant mixture, and I want as much cooling cap'y as I can get to keep the head cool, etc., and as a safety factor if something (like grass covering the radiator intake screen) reduces it.

However, if your cooling system has enough cap'y to cool properly with an AF mixture, by all means use it if the situation (like below freezing) warrants it.

[group3]

How about a 12v heat blanket? One for the engine area and one for the radiator...if its away from the engine bay.

Electric Car Blanket-Outdoor Heated 12V Travel Throw by Stalwart (Black/ White) - Walmart.com

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Put antifreeze in the cooling system.

If you are capable of keeping engine oil, tranny oil, brake fluid, etc from leaking out, as well as securing wheels, suspension, etc, then you should certainly be capable of keeping coolant in the cooling system. Race cars around the world, certainly in much of the US and Canada, go on track with antifreeze in their cooling systems. We also need to protect our race cars when in storage and being transported.

Yes, the car in a closed trailer with shipping blankets on top, will certainly stay warmer than left outside.

You rebel. Yeah, understand but don't understand the banning of coolant.

I guess if the weather is cold, add some AF because you probably don't need extra cooling capacity.

[Steve Demeter]

Why not add AF for winter storage. Drain and refill in the spring since whatever you had in it is a year old.

[Vulnavia]

King size electric blanket. Low wattage. Won't light anything on fire.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Why not add AF for winter storage. Drain and refill in the spring since whatever you had in it is a year old.

It would never freeze at home - so I don't 'think' about winter storage.

Late race this year (and next) and then the season starts again in January so storage would be 6 weeks!

[Roland V. Johnson]

Coolant is banned by most sanctioning bodies and race tracks because it is hard to clean up properly. That is what a track manager told me years ago. Water dries up and evaporates. If you get a leak or damage a radiator you can make much of the track slippery.

[Mike B]

Coolant is banned by most sanctioning bodies and race tracks because it is hard to clean up properly.

I've looked and relooked and can't find anything in the GCR that bans antifreeze. Can you point me to the page that mentions no antifreeze?

To respond to the OP, I seriously doubt that you're at any risk for engine damage with straight water if the temps get near freezing. Temps would need to be well into the teens for an extended period of time for the water in the engine to freeze solid. I would run it up to temp just before bedtime and not worry about it. The value of that advice is worth what you paid for it.

[jcolley]

Coolant is banned by most sanctioning bodies and race tracks because it is hard to clean up properly. That is what a track manager told me years ago. Water dries up and evaporates. If you get a leak or damage a radiator you can make much of the track slippery.

I take care of prep on an Ultima GTR for a guy and this was his statement, most of the tracks he goes to, they have significant fines for leaks if they are anything more than water / water wetter. Any ethylene glycol, it's a pretty penny as it's harder to scrub from the track surface. I was always under the impression it was more to avoid track fines and reduce cleanup times than a hard regulation.

We go through this on his car every winter up here in Maine and drain / refill with antifreeze only to do a few flushes come spring. We've driven the car on the street a few times for testing with antifreeze and it seems to hold temp ok and that's a mid-engine high strung LS7 that's pretty hot to begin with.

If I were racing and it were possible for a freeze while there, I'd probably gamble it's not going to spring a leak and just run antifreeze.

From my power plant / cogeneration days, we always mixed the coolant to the lowest percentage possible to prevent freezing for the 100 year lowest recorded temp of the installation site. Specific heat capacity of water is lowered when adding antifreeze, so it reduces the thermal power capability of the heat recovery system therefore increases fuel usage for a specified heat output.

[Vulnavia]

It's not the water in the engine that might freeze. It's the water in the rad's small tubing freezing. It happened to me.

[problemchild]

I don't and have never used antifreeze in my racecars because AF reduces the cooling capacity of the coolant mixture, and I want as much cooling cap'y as I can get to keep the head cool, etc., and as a safety factor if something (like grass covering the radiator intake screen) reduces it.

However, if your cooling system has enough cap'y to cool properly with an AF mixture, by all means use it if the situation (like below freezing) warrants it.

I run distilled water (with some water wetter) from June to September as I want maximum cooling, especially with the Hondas that struggle in pack racing. The bottom line is I cannot tell any difference. It is one of those things that we all do for theoretical benefit, although we cannot measure that benefit.

Oil is a slippery product within our race cars and it is not banned either. I run separate catch cans for oil and coolant. It would not surprise me if some that would slam AF use, are the same people that have their supposed catch can hoses hidden hanging off the back of their trannies. With my team cars running 30+ events per year, I cannot remember the last catastrophic coolant system breach that would have dumped on track. Perhaps June 2013, but that was probably water.

Antifreeze is a lot cheaper than radiators or engines.