Blue Battery Triangle - tips and advice required.

Hjt · Postby **Hjt** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 12:42 am

I have a small dilemma.

I'm looking to place a stick set with the regular CAMS requirements such as tow here and the blue triangle for track days.

Although i'm currently not participating in CAMS events I intend to soon, and my vehicles requires the battery triangle even at club days being in class 8 (?).

I was using a magnetic p plate and covering it with a vinyl but it has gone down the drain, the magnetic part failed etc..

Should I be worried about the stickers provided ruining my paint work, or would a decent cut/polish/wax renew any damage down the line.

Any other tips, like covering it with blue tape work?

Thanks in advance.

Postby **NitroDann** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 1:55 am

I have pulled paint off completely removing one of those stickers before.
Make sure you heat it a lot when removing, if you intend to keep it on there a while.

Dann

michelin man · Postby **michelin man** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:38 am

Hairdryers seem to work well when removing stickers.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:12 am

Apply some wax but don't buff it off, then apply the sticker over that. It will stick well enough and will come off reasonably easily.

You might have to replace the stickers every now and then but still cheaper than repainting!

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:44 am

Get another magnetic P or L plate and paint it blue on the outside only. I've been using one for 3 years now and it still holds on at 175 km/hr.

zero00 · Postby **zero00** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:59 am

I use a magnetic square with numbers for track days, but because I worry they will fly off at speed I tape around each edge on both sides

I use tape from 'Supercheap' and have had no problems, I peel it off slowly after the meet and no residue is left - make sure you have polished at least that area before attaching

I will post the product name of the tape this evening when I get home

BadBong · Postby **BadBong** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:58 am

Or you can use 'delicate grade' painters' tape mate.

zero00 · Postby **zero00** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:50 pm

hjt

The brand of tape I use is 'HENKEL' bought it from Supercheap - never lost any paint BUT the surface is always clean and frequently polished

Smokinscotty · Postby **Smokinscotty** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:00 pm

Do it in vinyl, chances are if you sell your car down the track, they will want to do track work too!

Should do it in matching blue to suit the bar and wheels!

minipete · Postby **minipete** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:36 pm

When I did track days in my road car I used to make a triangle out of insulating tape. Scrutineers were happy with it.

You don't need to fill it in, 3 bits of tape do the job. Marshalls just need to know where to go to cut power in an emergency.

It never affected the paint.

Hjt · Postby **Hjt** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:01 pm

thanks all for the good responses, i'll update when i finish my solution!

Hellmun · Postby **Hellmun** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:05 am

I've done it a few different ways. First I just bought a roll of blue contact and brought a rule/scissors to events so I could make 150mm triangles and discard post-event. Then I started pre-cutting them for events so I just had to peel them on, then I found a signage business in the Shire who made magnets for me which was like $4-$5 I think. Alternatively you could probably combine the two very cheaply and just buy a big fridge magnet, cut it down to shape and contact wrap it. I was still using the original magnet I got 4 years ago until 3 months ago and I just put a single line of duct-tape on the leading edge for peace of mind. Right now the car just happens to have the tow/triangle etc as stickers since I didn't remove them after competing in the Wakefield 300.

PeterB · Postby **PeterB** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:21 am

Just a reminder that if your blue triangle indicates that the battery is in the boot, you should have a spare key in the boot lock whilst competing (with a safety strap to stop it flying out) so that the fire crew can easily get the boot open and get to your battery to isolate the car in the event of an incident.

Hjt · Postby **Hjt** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:43 am

Just a reminder that if your blue triangle indicates that the battery is in the boot, you should have a spare key in the boot lock whilst competing (with a safety strap to stop it flying out) so that the fire crew can easily get the boot open and get to your battery to isolate the car in the event of an incident.

Good advice, could I just have a battery isolator/kill switch in the vehicle, or would this not be a feasible solution.

I don't look at other peoples boot key holes much, but I can say at the club days I have never noticed a key hanging out.

PeterB · Postby **PeterB** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 1:39 am

Race cars are required to have an isolation switch, with a cable release external to the vehicle so the safety crew do not have to reach into the car to isolate the power - this is usually a cable coming out through the scuttle.

Supersprint cars are not required to have an isolation switch, but it can't hurt if you wish to put one in.

MX5 trackdays do not require a key in the boot and supersprints used to, but I haven't had one checked for a while, so I guess it is good practice, not mandatory. The other benefit is that if you lose your keys you have a spare handy.

I think the desire is that the safety crew should not be put at risk reaching into cars to try to find a way to open the boot if they have to kill the power.