Maintenance of F1600 HPD L15A7 Engine

[ATTBOT]

Hi all. I'm wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what a person can expect in the way of upkeep, inspection and maintenance of a Honda F1600 engine over the course of a typical season to keep it competitive? Particularly what is needed after each race weekend and what is needed at season's end. Any insight would be very much appreciated.

[problemchild]

You will tend to get better responses if you post in the proper class area of the forum.

Maintenance is minimal with the engine used in F1600 and Formula F.

I try and change the oil and filter every 6-7 events, and adjust the valves at similar intervals.
I get the cylinder head cleaned at QSRE every few years (25-30 events), but Britain West is right near you and can provide that service (and others).

The only real threat to the engine is overheating by operator error. You need to visit the pits after every off-track adventure to clean out the radiators. The engine won't show any power loss until you cook it, it which point it is junk, so you need to watch WT and have alarms set that the driver obeys.

[cjsmith]

As Greg mentioned, the engines don't take well to over heating. It can be a hot day and you can see 210 deg F water temps, you can also see 210 deg F water temps with no water in the system. I had a water line come loose, didn't see it in time..... I have since added a low water pressure light.

[alangbaker]

First of all: Welcome!

Second: Greg is right. There is a section of this website dedicated to Formula F and with that, a forum called:

"FF: Honda Fit Conversions"

There is lots of really good information regarding the care and feeding of the L15A7.

Third: You're going to find that the Honda is very easy to keep running properly. I've now run for 3 season (16 race weekends) and I've only changed the oil twice (it's due again for the start of next season), and made sure that I've kept a careful eye on the water temperature.

Having the Honda has made my racing more enjoyable, because I spend more time thinking about the racing and less time on carefully maintaining a 1960's technology engine, running far beyond its design limits for power and RPM.

[alangbaker]

I try and change the oil and filter every 6-7 events, and adjust the valves at similar intervals.
I get the cylinder head cleaned at QSRE every few years (25-30 events), but Britain West is right near you and can provide that service (and others).

Greg, I hadn't thought about valve adjustment, but I guess hydraulic lash adjustment isn't as simple on a single overhead cam.

Just for my education, am I right in assuming that the lash tends to grow over time, reducing power slightly?

[problemchild]

Just for my education, am I right in assuming that the lash tends to grow over time, reducing power slightly?

I have no idea. Mine has never been more than a thou out with no pattern. Others tell me theirs needed adjustment. I expect operator error, but don't know whether that is me or the people that keep adjusting. Every time I do it, I feel that it was unnecessary, but an hour and a half worth of work every year or so never hurt anybody.