SpecRacer.com

+1 Greg

This is one tool where the extra quality is worth the extra $$$
I have a kobalt from Lowe's they come with a 5 year replacement warranty and the battery stays charged forever.

But be prepared for other guys coming to borrow it when they have an issue.

I use a DeWalt driver. Torques the wheel nuts to about 70 ft-pounds. That gets them damn close to right (no chance of stripping) and I double check with a torque wrench. DeWalt sells a 3/8-drive mandrel for it that lets you attach a 3/4-inch, 3/8 drive deep impact socket just for wheels.

As the other guys suggest, whatever brand you buy, make it battery compatible with your other cordless tools.

Can I borrow your Kobalt Lee? Heading to VIR soon!

I have started a tools list and add to it as I go. School down about half the page past the maintenance articles:
http://www.kangamotorsports.com/maintenance-checklists/

+1 for impact driver I use a DeWalt Lithium and it is fantastic and lot faster.

Zealous wrote:I have started a tools list and add to it as I go. School down about half the page past the maintenance articles:
http://www.kangamotorsports.com/maintenance-checklists/

+1 for impact driver I use a DeWalt Lithium and it is fantastic and lot faster.

I have a my little class of tools I call "Hero Tools." These are tools with the capability to pull you out of a whole range of jams around your racecar. These include Vise Grips, crowbars, breaker bars, universal joint socket adapters and even the aforementioned 2x4 blocks.

I'd have to consider lightweight cordless impact drivers for inclusion in the League of Tool Heroes. My DeWalt driver is a ten year old 14V ni-cad battery piece and it still works great and holds its charge nicely.

Duct tape, pop rivets, scrap aluminum.

Almost forgot

There are galvanized plates that are used to reinforce trusses. They are about 6"x4" and are predrilled with 1/8" holes about every half inch.

These are great for repairing body work at the track. Bend them to shape drill through the predrllied holes rivet away and tape over everything and your good to go. The big box home repair stores carry them.

When they work they save a ton of time over cutting and drilling holes in scrap metal. I carry both.

dave wrote:Duct tape, pop rivets, scrap aluminum.

Duct tape in a color that closely matches your race car's paint. Pop rivets: 1/8 and 3/16 inch, various depths. And, of course, 1/8 and 3/16 drill bits, several of each. Hardware store radiator aluminum flashing works great for body repairs.

Way back in the good old Sears days, I bought a set of English and metric sockets in 1/2", 3/8" and 1/4" drives. Still great for our class. I love the newer style ratchet style wrenches too. A well built high volt impact wrench, 30mm socket for our rear axles, quick jack, various wood blocks, lots of pop rivets, spare knuckles, sheet aluminum (still using pieces from our ancient center section that separated brake from the clutch pedal), air tank, good analog air gauge, cordless drill and bits, Led light bar, funnels for fuel, tranny, and coolant.....

I'll mention a few of the 'tools' that haven't been mentioned here.

- To set your toe, you'll need alignment bars. I've found that the MSR alignment bars are the best (if you can find them), because they're light, durable, and work for both GEN2 and GEN3 without modification.
- To replace wheel bearings, there's a tool everyone calls the "Niederriter' tool, named for the creator, that is instrumental in pulling wheel bearings from your hubs.
- A decent fuel pressure gauge is required to set the proper fuel pressure on the adjustable fuel pressure regulator. You won't need this often, so maybe you can borrow one when needed.
- For brake caliper work, a good cylinder compression tool is helpful.
- Snap ring pliers for many parts that have snap rings.
- Cleko loc pliers and removable rivets if you're going to be doing any of the aluminum work on the car. (If you're going to replace the bottom pan or nose pan, you'll hate life without one of these tools)
- Safety wire pliers - there are enough things on the car that need safety wiring (like the springs on the header union) that warrant owning a pair of these.
- Pop rivet pliers or preferably pneumatic gun. My pop rivet pneumatic gun was probably one of the best cheap, Harbor Freight purchases I ever made.
- Torque wrench - a no-brainer as you won't be able to run without one.
- Oil filter "B" cap wrench - for removing the oil filter, which is in a tight spot in the GEN3. Mine says it's 76mm, 14 flutes. I'm not sure if this is the right one, but it works.
- Ball joint removal tool. The ball joints in the upper control arms and toe links are sometimes a bear to get out. If you beat the top of the bolt that goes through the mounting hole, you'll likely compress the threads and ruin the ball joint. This tool has a forked end that slips under the ball joint and compresses the bolt by tightening an adjusting bolt on the end of the tool. Ball joints pop right out with this tool without damaging them. I bought mine off Amazon. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll look up my purchase and send you a link. Good tool and cheap.
- 1/8" drill bits (and lots of them!) as you'll need this for nearly any pop rivet you insert.
- Grease gun for the upper control arms, toe link joints, and ball joints in the hangers.
- CV boot band pliers. You'll need these any time you repack or replace your CV joints.
- 3/8" brake wrench. Save yourself lots of time, frustration, and busted knuckles by getting a specialty tool for brake lines rather than using a standard combination wrench.
- 0-6" digital caliper. You can get these cheap enough now and there are a lot of uses for measurements (like rotor thickness).
- Nutsert tool. Many parts of the car are fastened to the frame with nutserts. You might not need this if your GEN3 conversion has already been done, but you will if not.

If you go crazy and want to spend more money, the following items are nice:
- A decent compressor. There are cheap ones, but a good compressor that can run air tools is nice.
- Pneumatic cutoff tool.
- Pneumatic angle grinder.
- Shop press (can get a cheap one from Harbor Freight)

I want to concur with the previous responses about a low profile jack, some sort of jack stands, and especially the impact gun. Ryobi makes an 18V model that has ample power, lots of battery life, and even has a nifty light at the tip of the gun that illuminates the objects of interest.