Hello, pleased to meet you all and hope everyone is well!
I have a new SR3 XXR 1340 cc, and i read a lot that XXR series does not have Spin-safe Clutch (SSC) on its option.
I have some dumb questions, and i need advices/guides/experience sharing from anyone regarding this matter.
So.... i spun my car and *thwack* i accidently release my clutch when the car do 180 --- and running backwards. The sound was bad, metal-to-metal sound can be heard loudly. Busted the starter motor and the 1st starter idler gear. And..... it won't start. Ruined the whole day. It was the first time that i forgot to press clutch.
So, does SSC improves safety of starter motor when we spin the car or it doesn't have any impact at all? Is SSC only protects transmission system? I also saw some guys from another country around spun the car and did not press the clutch but still, their starter motor parts were safe (i think), some of them were able start the car again immediately. Am i happened to experience an unfortunate incident? Or is it a common issue in Radical Cars?
Aftermath was: i found some debris inside sump, but no debris in oil filter and laminova. I already flush sump and clean all remaining visible debris too.
Suppose if i replace the broken parts, is it safe to start the car again? or..... am i missing something? is it possible unseen debris reach another parts inside the engine or transmission/GDU?
Well... that all my questions. for now.
Thanks!
Hi @agengw20, welcome to the Registry. Congratulations on your new XXR! Sorry to hear about your spin issue. SR3's are very sensitive to front / rear balance and will spin if the balance isn't right. I have to admit that when I was learning the SR3 I spun it quite a bit, but once you get used to the balance they are amazingly solid in the corners. With these cars it is essential to get both feet to the floor immediately when you spin. There are different degrees of damage when this happens. If the idler gears are not damaged and the damage is contained to the starter it is typically alright to replace the starter and everything should be fine. The XXR Manual does a good job of explaining what to look for after a spin that damages the starter, and if any damage is found to the idler gears you should bring it to a Radical engine shop for inspection. I would strongly recommend consulting your dealer / Radical certified engine shop about this.
With that said, I reached out to a friend of mine at a Radical certified Engine shop and he told me that it was very good that the car didn't restart because the metal particles should be contained to the sump area. He said that you "Should" be alright to clean out this area well and put the engine back togethering, however, once metal particles are loose in the engine there is no guarantee that you are able to find and remove them all. He said to be careful when cleaning the area to make sure you don't wash out the #5 bearing because that can cause issues when you restart the engine. He also suggested that once you have thoroughly cleaned and reassembled the area to crank the engine with the ignition off to ensure that you get adequate oil coverage and pressure before starting the engine.
To be safe, it is always best to consult your Radical dealer with issues like this.
Welcome to the forum!
Looks like you have covered the repair and as always Charlie has you sorted with information!
The reason that you damage the starter motor during the spin is because the SR3 uses an engine that was originally from a motorbike, there is a one way gear on the bottom of the crankshaft that engages to turn the crankshaft when the starter motor is used. Once started the crank takes over and this gear is not engaged. The starter spins the engine over at say around 500 rpm. When you spin the engine direction reverses and this engages the one way gear which then reverse drives the starter motor. Say you are doing 5000rpm then this drives the starter motor at 10x its normal speed and it is not design for this. The internals of the starter motor then break up eventually causing it to lock, once locked the starter gears are still turning and that is why the teeth are stripped from the gear.
Motorbikes do not spin the wheels backwards with the drive engaged so it is not a problem for them.
The wording above isn't the best, apologies, but hopefully that makes some sense!
The easiest way to avoid this damage is to get on the clutch pedal, this stops the crank turning backwards to do the above. It would also work by locking up the brakes to stop everything turning but this could destroy a set of tyres. Even if you are slightly slower getting on the clutch you may just damage the starter but catch it before you damage the gear.
The XXR uses a new version of the engine and this has a slightly different gearbox set up so I believe the spin safe clutch does not fit, hence it not being offered as an option, but it was fitted for this reason. Maybe it will be an option in the future.
Hello Everyone,
Finally solved the problem and become 'familiar' with pressing clutch when spun out and having some starter motors / gears on the shelf.
thank you so much for the replies, Charlie, Dan.
