TravisJB Journal

travisjb

thanks for your note... I actually did consider a vette... bondurant school is ~10 mins from my house and they were recently selling 2 year old school cars for $11k for base and $14k for z06 ! Trouble is, you can definitely end up with f'd up cars bent frame etc that way... but some folks definitely got great beater cars for the track

I like this car... it's that simple... like the way it drives, like the people that drive them, just don't like the way it cools oil ! I will keep it street legal for at least 1 year, then after that we'll see

travisjb

Some updates...

Got the car back from the shop... we had to re-run the baseline dyno, it was done with the wrong settings first time around, so it pulled 273-275 over three runs... calling it 274... will post pic later

As you can see below, a number of projects are done... stillen exahust sounds great ! my mechanic was cursing nissan for the drivers side stock manifold bolts and stillen for the PIA to get the y pipe installed, but we both agreed it sounds terrific ! I'll be posting videos, pics etc later...

Also, no 2nd dyno until I get the underdrive pulley and a few other bits done.

I'm still sitting at only 720 miles on odo, and only about 250 on new motor, so I'm going to have to go for a serious drive tomorrow to get some break in miles on the car before track event on sunday... on sunday, will probably only push it 80%, but aiming for one good hot lap to establish baseline

miguez

Hey Travis,

Great to hear you got the car back, and that you like the mods!

What did your car originally make on the dyno, with the wrong settings?

Thanks,

travisjb

277

theDreamer

Things look good travis, going to keep an eye on this thread.

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travisjb

I'm at the track today ! Phoenix International Raceway... car is running great ! Never above 255F, and I've been about 90% - never going above 7K rpm, usually shifting around 6K rpm... my times are consistently between 1:16.0 and 1:17.0... I believe before the Stillen upgrades I was running around 1:20.0... looks like this will be a 1:10 car easily at this track once I get to the suspension and tires, then better with serious weight reduction... Radicals and fully prepared Vipers / Vettes run 1:03 to 1:05 at this track, stock 997 turbo prob about 1:12... more later !

miguez

Wow, that 997 is not too far from you, nice!!!

Namir

That's good news! Glad you are having a good time. Any idea what a stock Cayman S runs at that track?

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travisjb

NOTE: I AM CREATING A NEW POST IN TRACK SECTION FOR DISCUSSION

Update... just got home - had two more sessions since my last post... first, this car is SOOOO much fun to drive when you don't have to worry about overheating ! Lots of control, feels very stable whether I was hanging it out occasionally in the carousel or blasting through the nascar turns on my way to ~120 in nascar straight ! I gained a lot of time going fast through bendies and deceleration zones b/c the car gave me the confidence to hold speed... acceleration was prob less than average for the group I was running with, lots of cars with weight / power ratios in the 6-10 lbs/hp range, but this car held it's own...

First three sessions I only saw max of 255F oil temp, last session I did see 260F... I think I'm going to upgrade to a bigger core than what stillen included in the kit - would like to see them offer two variants, one with an even bigger core and perhaps longer lines so it can be mounted drivers side... which is similar to the technosquare kit i believe

Stillen sway bars performed well, I could feel that the left and right were tied together... I ran firmest setting in the rear, and it wasn't tight enough... Recommend that anyone going with the Stillen sway bars select the tightest fitment for rear for sure... I look forward to getting my bc racing coilovers from DDM - I think I lost some time accelerating in transitions due to body roll... I could also tell the tires were taking abuse with the stock camber settings, they were def rolling over and getting excessively hot on the outside...

The engine performed well... others have complained about the vibration, but to me that's just another form of feedback from the car that tells me where my RPMs are at... I'm happy ! The stillen bolt on parts helped with the power and I could accelerate some in 4th on the big straight... I still want another ~15-20% in power/weight... I owe everyone an updated dyno, but I'm guessing based on where others are at with the same mods that I'm putting down about 305 right now... If I can get to 330 and lose 100 or so lbs on the car and my fat ***, then I should be in the sweet-spot for this chasis

Sound of the car!!!!!! don't know what to say other than WOW... I really love the way it sounds with the full stillen kit, and I think folks standing around the track enjoyed it too !

People have talked about getting a different final gear, but for this track, gears seemed to be PERFECTLY matched and I was shifting in all the right points... I think I'll pass

I am very frustrated with the mass of the flywheel... I'm convinced this is the source of my overrevving situation on upshifts... I've managed to get my timing down to where that's minimized, but it is still there even if I dump the accerlator 100% before pressing the clutch... lightweight flywheel will be added to my list

LSD... breakaway is predictable and controllable, but I think it can be better... new mech LSD remains on my list, but not a high priority

Tires held up okay... I've always been a fan of these since I ran them on my old boxster, but it's time to upgrade to some real track tires... if DDM can get those forgestar guys moving, I hope to have a set of 18s + R888s next time out (prob July)

Lots of folks coming up to the car for looks and discussion... and here's the best part ! I think I got a lot of people's attention in the fourth and final session (HPDE4) when I hung with a GTR for two laps and then PASSED IT ! I managed to get about 10 car lengths ahead before the session ended... woohoo... I think in my fourth session I may have been in the 1:15s, but I'm not certain - didn't have anyone timing

No video from me guys - sorry... I have a chasecam and traqmate on order through Shariff, but those won't be hear for a week or two... There will be videos and pics that other people take, and I will post them here and in track section once that happens

I used to run a 2002 boxster s at this track... before I had it set up, was running 1:20... after I had it set up was running mid 1:13s... I never got passed by a cayman... the Z, once set up, I'm confident it will be in the 1:10s or lower

RCZ

Awesome post Travis! I agree with you and I am happy to hear that the oil cooler held up!

Looks like we have similar goals as far as HP/Weight ranges. I can't wait for this weekend, I have a trackday as well.

I think the car could handle a little more power well though. 400 would be the sweet spot for me.

travisjb

Thanks... re oil cooler holding up, it did it's job... but I do want a little extra insurance, so I'll be upgrading to a bigger core... two cores for sale !

FYI... in case anyone cares to comment, discussion thread for this track event here Third trackday! All is good!

RCZ

What about running dual cores? just run lines between them ?

travisjb

interesting thought - there seems to be plenty of room ! also, can fans be used on these cores?

miguez

Great report Travis, glad you had so much fun!

On the oil cooler, do you know which of these ships with the Stillen kit?

Thanks,

travisjb

More discussion over in the track thread... Third trackday! All is good!