Sam CS 05

I mean not necessarily "abused" rather than looking at a car what are some signs of having track history.
TIA.
Sam

MechanicalEng

It is usually hard, particularly if the previous owner took good care of the car. Some signs could be excessive pitting on the windshield, excessive discoloration of the rotors (due to high temps), extreme alignment (lots of camber up front). I also look for signs of helmet scratches under the driver’s side headliner area. The other test that could be done (but is mostly for cars that have been on the track a lot) is the hours of operation vs miles test, you will have to plug the car on a OBD2 machine and check see the hours of operation, divide the actual mileage of the car by that hrs of operation and you should get something in the 30sMPH range for a street car, if it’s a lot higher than that it could mean that the car was used mostly for track/high speed events.

ltc

Another suggestion:
PST2/PIWIS interrogation will display the #/type of overrevs. From that, you can infer track useage (since people love to run into the rev limiter on the track....much more so than the street).

Last930

The brake rotors on a street car are usually pretty smooth; when tracked the tend to get pretty rough and grooved.

Sam CS 05

Thanks MechEng., ltc and Last930...your info.has been very helpful.
regards,
Sam

puma

i wouldn't worry about a car that was tracked, they were made for this. Usually people who track their car take better care of their car than what other might do. More regular oil change, coolant, brake fluid, closer inspection to the car before going to the track, replacing any bushing or bearing that might show some sign of wear, etc.

obviously it always depend on the owner.

raineycd

One of the best ways to tell if the previous owner tracked the car is the huge smile on his face... :-)

Macster

Besides the other good suggestions look for gravel or grass or dirt or rubber tire ***** on top of underbody trays.

If tires not brand new check for tread abrasion on the very edges of the tread from the tires prossibly rolling over some under very hard high speed cornering.

And ask owner. Lead him to believe you like the idea of tracking and are considering using the car for this purpose and wonder how it would be? Do not be negative or react in any way but a favorable way as he talks about the car's performance. Gently let the conversation go where it will but when there is silence avoid trying to fill it. Get the owner talking about the car and keep him talking.

Try to establish an email contact with him and then google his email address or his online name and see if he posts of his track exploits.

Sincerely,

Macster.

jbossolo

A sure way to spot one is if the ad says "never been raced".
Seriously, when I bought my X50, I discovered that the previous owner had removed a bolted full rollcage (bolting points covered below rugs) before selling it to me. I was LIVID, mostly because he didn't LEAVE IT IN THERE!!!

ltc

You can also speak to the PCA DE Chair or CI and ask if anyone recalls seeing that car at the track, remembers the owner, etc....if you really want to get to that point.

ShokWaveRider

IMHO Not so true. I tend to have a lead foot in the low gears and run into the rev limiter, (by mistake and not intentionally) but only in the low gears, especially first.

0-60 is all I care about these days. I do not abuse my car at all, in fact quite the opposite. But I do hit that rev limiter. I do not consider the rev recorder to be a true and accurate measurement of abuse. At least not in my case. I have never been over 90mph in the car and probably will not for a while and I certainly will not track it at all.

I am sure some guru will dissagree with me but I do not consider the 1 & 2 over revs a big deal. I could be wrong. I have about 1400 or so of the level 1s and 2 or so level 2s at the moment.

Here is my durametric Log:

Number of ignitions range 1 1467 / 267h
Number of ignitions range 2 2 / 264h

Oak

a simple brake inspection will tell you alot.

TT Surgeon

Wow, that's a little much, you must work for the CIA. I'd just ask him flat out and look at the rotors.

Macster

Rotors can be replaced. And owner could lie.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Oak

check rotor/pad condtion in relation mileage. wear can't lie in relation to mileage.