Back at Blackhawk Farms this weekend for my 3rd race of my sophomore season. First 2 races were DNFs after a rookie year of 11 races with no issues.
Well, I finished this one and also did a new personal best of 118.5, while being in the 1:18s a number of times, for the first time. Best was 1:19 last year with car basically stock + hoosiers. This year I've done a number of mods, and I know I can do quite a bit better, but I'm headed in the right direction. The fastest T1 guys have apparently been in high 1:15s at this track.
I qualified 4 out of 15 in group (includes ASR, GT1, GT2, AGS) and I believe 2 or 3 out of 10 in class (ASR). I finished 4 of 8 in ASR, largely due to being black flagged I had forgotten to lower the drivers side window. The race kind of sucked anyway as it was raining, but everyone drove respectfully and there were no problems.
Practice and qualifying were tons of fun.
Only downside was car is still running hot water temps (235) after about 15 laps (pushing hard during quali). Last race I DNFed as I pulled over at 250 degrees. I had installed a new fat aluminum rad, 160 degree thermostat, and still am running hot
Interesting field including Adam Malmquist of Speed World Challenge. He was shaking down his car, and will be back in SWC later this year. Good guy, fast car / driver.
My 12 yr. old crew chief is at overnight camp for 3 weeks and his replacement was his 8 yr. old brother. He had a ton of fun, but can't do as much work yet as his older brother, but I'm training him up.
Thanks for posting up. Hopefully someone will offer some insight into the heating issues.
Just want to add that while you're out there competing to win, you're already a winner in the eyes of a 12 year old and an 8 year old.
__________________
^VIR Turn 3 '08^-MungoZ06-'03 QS/ModRed - NCCC, NASA NCM Member - Z06 Fest IV,V,VI,VII
Thanks for posting up. Hopefully someone will offer some insight into the heating issues.
Just want to add that while you're out there competing to win, you're already a winner in the eyes of a 12 year old and an 8 year old.
Thanks for the comments. I am extremely lucky to have 2 great boys. About being a winner, though, yes in life, but in racing, they are even more competitive about it than I am. "Dad, you can't skip that race, you need the points!"
Pobably the best part with the boys is working on the car. In today's world, one can get by without ever getting ones hands dirty or learning how things work. Working on the car takes care of both of those for the kids...
I'm trying to make that race. Last w/e I was at Mid Ohio for BMW club race now trying to find a taller diff so I can run at RA. With my current diff car will top out ~140. What's a competitive time in ASR at RA? Never got any times at Blackhawk so I have no idea how well my car can go in the class.
Have you done the following for cooling?
1) remove the sealing strip in the engine bay in front of the windshield wipers? This will promote air across the engine and out in front of the wind shield.
2) judiciously cut out portions of the back of the radiator shroud to promote air flow.
3) heavier oil, like among others, 20-50 Amsoil.
4) pure distilled water and two bottles of Water Wetter in the radiator.
Then there is always the crowd pleaser: turn on the heater full blast and watch your feet melt! Just kidding...
I'm trying to make that race. Last w/e I was at Mid Ohio for BMW club race now trying to find a taller diff so I can run at RA. With my current diff car will top out ~140. What's a competitive time in ASR at RA? Never got any times at Blackhawk so I have no idea how well my car can go in the class.
drew
Drew -
Low to mid 2:30's is good in ASR I think. There is such a range of cars in ASR, that winning is a function of car and driver both, and from time to time a different (faster) car / driver will show up. You could probably look up times under "Crystal Tack Cloth Challenge" for last few years on mylaps.com. I was getting to about 145 last year at end of front straight, so 140 wouldn't be horrible, if you have the power to pull to it.
BTW what color is your new beemer again? (I'll look for you). There are 2 races 1 Saturday, 1 Sunday. We'll only be there Sunday...
Have you done the following for cooling?
1) remove the sealing strip in the engine bay in front of the windshield wipers? This will promote air across the engine and out in front of the wind shield.
2) judiciously cut out portions of the back of the radiator shroud to promote air flow.
3) heavier oil, like among others, 20-50 Amsoil.
4) pure distilled water and two bottles of Water Wetter in the radiator.
I have done 4), but use 1 bottle. In terms of 2) where? 3) I'm not sure about this what has subdriver said (I'll look it up, too)? I'll look into 1).
I just figured with fat rad, engine oil cooler, 160 thermostat, I would have no problem...
Just want to add that while you're out there competing to win, you're already a winner in the eyes of a 12 year old and an 8 year old.
I agree.
Your coolant temp issues would have me concerned as well.
As for the oil question, my personal thumb rule is to use the AMSOIL Series 2000 20w50 if you are seeing track oil temps over about 270F or so (or if your engine has been modified and your builder recommends a higher viscosity oil). I ran this oil throughout the 2004 season while racing in the hot Memphis summers.
However, this summer in slightly cooler temps I was running the AMSOIL SAE Synthetic High Performance 10w40 which has a High Temp High Shear rating of 4.3. For comparison, the Mobil 1 Extended Performance 15w50 has a HTHS rating of 4.43 so with the AMSOIL HP 10w40 you are getting nearly as much high temp protection but less internal friction which may free up a few HP.
I had recently discovered the AMSOIL SAE 10w40 Synthetic Marine Motor Oil when a customer asked me what he should be running in his inboard/outboard small block Chevy boat. This marine oil is formulated with very high levels of anti-wear additives to meet the continous high load requirements of a marine engine and has an HTHS rating of 4.6, which is higher than the 15w50 Mobil 1 EP. It does meet API SL standards which was the standard until 2001 when the API started putting lower limits on the ZDDP antiwear additives in automobile oils. I had actually ordered two cases of this and was going to change it out after my Saturday race on June 3rd in preps for the Sunday race. Turned out I didn't need it.
Low to mid 2:30's is good in ASR I think. There is such a range of cars in ASR, that winning is a function of car and driver both, and from time to time a different (faster) car / driver will show up. You could probably look up times under "Crystal Tack Cloth Challenge" for last few years on mylaps.com. I was getting to about 145 last year at end of front straight, so 140 wouldn't be horrible, if you have the power to pull to it.
BTW what color is your new beemer again? (I'll look for you). There are 2 races 1 Saturday, 1 Sunday. We'll only be there Sunday...
Aaron
cool i should be under 2:30 so should be competitive. here is a picture of my car from mid ohio.
Brad what is the relationship between viscosity and heat produced by the engine? i.e does a higher viscosity oil (more friction) create more heat?
I'm not sure that is an easy question to answer. I believe that if the oil has to low of a viscosity that you risk increased metal to metal contact, thus more friction and more heat (hence why none of us run a SAE 10 oil). Conversely, if the oil has to high a viscosity it increases pumping friction as the oil has to get squeezed through the small orifices, bearings, etc. This may cause increased fluid friction and HP loss.
A fluids viscosity goes down with heat. This can be seen on the product label sheets of most oils. Take the Series 2000 0w30 above. Its viscosity at 100F is 56.9 cSt, and at 212F it is 11.2 cSt. The stock engine is designed for an oil with a viscosity of about 10-11 cSt. When a 30 weight is cold, even as warm as 100F, you can see how much "thicker" it is and how much internal friction would be caused pumping that thicker oil through the motor. When 212F it is perfect.
Now consider the 20w50. Its viscosity at 100F is 128.1 cSt over double that of the 0w30 which is why you have to be very careful warming up an oil with this high an SAE grade. At 212F, its viscosity is about 18.3, still much "thicker" than the ideal. But as the oil warms up more its viscosity continues to drop. Somewhere around 270F it is just about 10-11 cSt, where as a 30 weight is down about 4 cSt - to thin.
I recommend evaluating this the other way around as I suggested above. Base the oil selection on the temps you are seeing and then re-evaluate. For my motor in the 70s to 90s a 10w40 is just about right.
I recommend evaluating this the other way around as I suggested above. Base the oil selection on the temps you are seeing and then re-evaluate. For my motor in the 70s to 90s a 10w40 is just about right.
I've been running 5W30 Amsoil all along. I've got quite a bit of it left....maybe I should go to the 10W40 though...
AutoForums.com is the premier network of enthusiast-owned
enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
We operate more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share
experiences and opinions as a community.
after a rookie year of 11 races with no issues.
The fastest T1 guys have apparently been in high 1:15s at this track.
I had forgotten to lower the drivers side window. The race kind of sucked anyway as it was raining, but everyone drove respectfully and there were no problems. 
and his replacement was his 8 yr. old brother. He had a ton of fun, but can't do as much work yet as his older brother, but I'm training him up.
Linear Mode
