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Log engine hours and know when to rebuild

Log run time after every session, watch the top-end and bottom-end rebuild countdowns, and keep every job, spare part and cost in one tidy record.

Mechanics Parents Drivers App Web portal 4 min read

Your engine builder says the top end comes out every so many hours, and the bottom end needs doing less often. After a busy test day nobody can remember how long the engine has actually run. With Engine Hours you log time after each session, see the countdown, and record each rebuild and what it cost.

Before you start

  • The app installed. Engine Hours works offline.
  • Your engine builder's rebuild intervals for the top end and bottom end.
  • On Free you can track 1 engine. Premium lifts the limit and backs your entries up to your account.

Add your engine

  1. On the Home tab, tap the PIT KIT card.
  2. Under Mechanic & maintenance, tap Engine Hours, then tap Engine.
  3. Enter a Name (for example, X30 #2 race engine).
  4. Set the Engine type, or tap Pick from the engine catalog when you have a signal.
  5. Check the Top-end interval (hours) and Bottom-end interval (hours). The starting values are 10 and 50 hours; change them to match your engine builder's advice.
  6. Tap Save engine.

Good to know: The intervals are typical guidance and fully editable. Your engine builder knows your engine best.

Log run time after each session

  1. Open the engine.
  2. Under Log run time, tap a chip: +5 min, +10 min, +15 min or +30 min.
  3. For an exact time, type it into Custom minutes and tap Add. To correct a mistake, enter a negative number.

Tip: Log the time while you are still in the awning. A two-second tap after each session is far more accurate than guessing at the end of the weekend.

Record a rebuild

  1. Open the engine and tap Log a rebuild.
  2. Choose Top end or Bottom end, then set the date.
  3. Add the Cost (optional) and Rebuilt by (optional).
  4. Tap Save rebuild.

A top-end rebuild resets the top-end counter. A bottom-end rebuild resets both, because a bottom-end job normally includes the top end. The rebuild appears under Rebuilds, and its cost goes into Season Budget as a linked line.

Reading the result

In the engine list, each engine shows how long is left on each end, for example Top 6h 30m left, or Top end overdue. The pill turns amber when a rebuild is close and red when it is overdue.

Open the engine to see its Total run time, Top end since rebuild and Bottom end since rebuild, with a pill for each end:

  • Top end healthy or Bottom end healthy: more than 20% of the interval remains.
  • Top end due soon or Bottom end due soon: 20% or less of the interval remains. Book the rebuild now.
  • Top end overdue or Bottom end overdue: the time since the last rebuild has reached the interval.

Whether to run an overdue engine is your decision, made with your engine builder.

Keep the rest of the maintenance record

Service Log keeps the smaller jobs.

  1. In the Pit Kit, tap Service Log, then Job.
  2. Pick the Item (for example Chain, Clutch or Brake pads) and type the Kart.
  3. Set the date, add a Cost and Notes (optional) if you want, and tap Save job.

The Last done strip shows when each item was last serviced, and highlights anything never logged. On Free you can log 1 kart, with as many jobs as you like on it.

Spares Inventory shows what's in the box.

  1. Tap Spares Inventory, then Part.
  2. Choose the Kind, then enter the Name, Spec, Quantity and Storage location. Tap Save part.
  3. Tap One fewer when you fit a part and One more when you buy one.

Tap the sync icon (Sync from profile) to bring in the engines saved on your profile as Engine part lines. Sprockets in stock appear as chips in the Gear Ratio calculator. On Free you can keep 25 lines.

See what it all costs

  1. In the Pit Kit, under Race day & travel, tap Running cost.
  2. Choose a range: This month, Last 3 months, Season, All time or Custom.
  3. Under Where it went, tap Budget entries, Servicing, Damage & incidents or Engine rebuilds to see each entry.

Amounts are shown in your currency as displayed in the app. You can also add Running cost to your Home screen. Tap the edit icon (Change range) on the card to pick the period it shows. Running cost has no limit on Free.

Free limits only stop you adding new entries. Everything you have already saved stays editable.

If your engine is run by your team

If you race with a team, tap the MY TEAM card on the Home screen and look under My kit. Engines your team manages show Total hours, Since rebuild and Rebuild interval, with a state of Rebuild due, Rebuild soon, In window or Not tracked. This view is read-only; ask your manager to change anything.

Do it on the web portal

On Premium, open Pit Kit in the portal sidebar and choose Mechanic. Engine Hours, Service Log and Spares Inventory sync with the app, so a parent at home and a mechanic in the paddock see the same hours.

Still stuck? Send us a message, with a screenshot if it helps.