wstar's Journal

tranceformer · 05-07-2011, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

That was kind of my gut feeling at the track, too. What's particularly strange with those two runs is that my second run with the better ET had a slightly lower trap speed

. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I'm misjudging where the official end of the 1/4 is and getting off the car too quick at the end heh.

Losing MPH when you lower tire pressure is normal.

How does the car feel towards the end? Did it feel 'slow' at the top of the last gear or two towards the end? What was your oil temps when you made those runs? I usually let my car cool off MINIMUM 30 minutes between each run. Ideally 45 min to 1 hour, or as long as it takes to get the oil temps back down to 150 160 degree range. Any hotter than that and I can feel the car lag at the top of 3rd gear (6MT). Can you tell I'm a track junkie?

IIRC they calculate trap speed by measuring how long it takes to cover a measured distance (which starts from the end of the 1/4 mile mark). Just because of that I stay on it until about 115-120 just in case.

wstar · 05-07-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tranceformer

Losing MPH when you lower tire pressure is normal.

Ah I didn't think of that, makes sense.

Quote:

How does the car feel towards the end? Did it feel 'slow' at the top of the last gear or two towards the end?

Beats me, it all happens so fast it's hard to remember. I know on both runs I smoked my random competitor for the first half of the race, and then first one caught up by quite a bit near the end, and the second one ended up overtaking me.

Quote:

What was your oil temps when you made those runs? I usually let my car cool off MINIMUM 30 minutes between each run. Ideally 45 min to 1 hour, or as long as it takes to get the oil temps back down to 150 160 degree range. Any hotter than that and I can feel the car lag at the top of 3rd gear (6MT).

I had a good hour between runs, but about half of that was idling in line (I did shut down during a couple long waits for other car classes to try to prevent heat soak buildup). My oil temp was 180 at the start of each run (in the evening the car tends to stabilize there at idle with my thermo'd oil cooler + oil pan spacer), and the coolant around 188-190. At the end of the run the oil would be closer to 200-210 when I looked while turning off the track.

I could get it down to 160 if I tried (harder) to avoid prolonged idling after my cooldown/off period, but I figured I didn't want the oil too cold, but I guess I'm just being paranoid about ideal temps there. I'm running 5W30 anyways, I'm thinking I should start switching to 10W30 in the hot summers here.

Quote:

IIRC they calculate trap speed by measuring how long it takes to cover a measured distance (which starts from the end of the 1/4 mile mark). Just because of that I stay on it until about 115-120 just in case.

Yeah I definitely didn't stay on it past the 1/4 mark, and I might even be letting off early, I guess next trip in a few months I'll try to stay on it way past where I think the mark is and see what happens.

wstar · 05-07-2011, 11:34 AM

Oh another random thing that's probably important, ~84mph is almost exactly where I redline in 3rd and switch to 4th. Could be I'm too late or too early on that shift, too.

tranceformer · 05-07-2011, 01:33 PM

what gear are you in when you finish the 1/4?

wstar · 05-07-2011, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tranceformer

what gear are you in when you finish the 1/4?

I'm pretty sure I'm still in 4th gear crossing the finish, and I flip to 5th when I start decelerating. I double-checked on a gearing calculator and at my current tire sizes I should be hitting the top of 4th at ~123mph.

wstar · 06-05-2011, 06:50 PM

Ran the car today at an SCCA-styled event put on by the BMW CCA here in Houston. Belsavis tipped me off to this, since he's been going with them a while. It was a blast, I highly recommend trying out an SCCA event if you haven't and get the chance.

This was my first time in one, and aside from being fun it was a real eye opener on the capabilities of the car. They were short on ride-along instructor types for us novices. I did 4 runs, but I was on my own for the first three and then picked up someone to help me out on the 4th. My times went down progressively from 98 seconds on the first run to 88 on the last. But for example Belsavis said he was running about 75s on this same course, he's got more experience at it. The fastest cars (e.g. very prepped Miatas on slicks) were running something like 68-69s. I never touched a cone the whole day though, so that was my little personal victory. The ridealong guy on the 4th run said I was doing great for my first day. His main points that he said I needed to work on was:

(1) using late apex corners correctly (there were a few on this layout where a very late apex followed by a sharp turnin was best, but I kept apexing early and trying to shape it like a "normal" corner).

and (2) He said I was driving a bit too conservative for this event (which is I guess why I didn't hit any cones) and that I could basically do exactly what I was doing with a lot more throttle and the car would make it through without losing control. I'm chalking my lack of balls there to the street-vs-track mentality adjustment. My internal barometer of safety margins given the random-ness of a city street (unpredictable drivers, random objects in the road, the amount of damage you can face if you hit a curb, etc) are just more conservative, and it's hard to make myself feel comfortable pushing the car all-out without a large margin for last-minute corrections, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, so I have things to work on for next time. Mechanically the car held up great. The Conti DW's had tons of grip, stock rotors/calipers + Hawk HPS pads worked reliably and predictably, although I noticed I could hear one of my wear indicators on the way home, they were all fine before the event. Good thing new pads are already in the mail. After the first (colder) run, the next three were pretty stable on oil temp profile. It would peak around 232-236 near the end of the run, and in the (very) few minutes I shut down between runs, it would fall back to about 220-ish for the next run. Weather was ~101F outside today, it was unbearably hot all day.

wstar · 06-12-2011, 08:08 AM

7AT cooler installed, finally. Started out with Stillen's kit. The fittings and hoses they ship give you 3/8" hose ends where it connects to the car, and the car's hard line fittings are 5/16", and I just didn't feel comfortable with that. I emailed Stillen about it (twice, 2 days apart) and never got a response, so I figured I was on my own best judgement.

I kept the M22 -> -6AN Male black fittings they shipped that screw directly into the Setrab (and still used their bracket to mount the Setrab), but from there on I used separately sourced fittings and hose. The fittings are these part numbers from Summit Racing:

2x AER-FBM2978 - Aeroquip 90 degree swivel -6AN F-to-F
2x AEI-15635 - Aeromotive -6AN Male to 5/16" hose barb

And then some Gates J1019-rated 5/16" ID hose and 4x quality hose clamps. The rest of the process/parts is basically as Stillen's directions indicate. I've given it a short-but-aggressive test drive and an hour of highway driving coming home last night, and no leaks or issues so far.

One more mod crossed off the list, next up is probably the new brake rotors, I think they'll arrive here before my LTHs do.

nynhex · 06-26-2011, 05:36 PM

I'd ask you how it's driving with the 7AT cooler installed but I think you're out of town at this time.

Bless the oil cooler you installed though, otherwise your OTs would have probably his 250-260 pretty fast.

I seriously need to get this mod, even the guys at Baker South Nissan said don't hesitate to get it.

Great progress on your car!

SPOHN · 07-05-2011, 07:21 PM

Looking good. Great mod to have.

wstar · 08-04-2011, 08:54 AM

Finally got my FI Long Tube Headers installed. Now I really need to get an UpRev-based dyno tune on this car soon. Only driven ~1hr and mostly in traffic since, but so far everything seems peachy.

I chickened out on doing it myself for once, Baker did the headers install (and also swapped out my 7AT fluid while the car was in there).

Many thanks to Jason and Paul @ Baker Tuning for handling this install. This was the first time I've entrusted my car to an outside mechanic for a parts install, and they did an awesome job and were a pleasure to work with. Highly recommend them

nynhex · 08-04-2011, 09:35 AM

Ah you're back! The headers seem like a pretty intense job. Are you using Baker for your uprev too?

wstar · 08-04-2011, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynhex

Ah you're back! The headers seem like a pretty intense job. Are you using Baker for your uprev too?

Yeah, the headers are definitely the toughest bolt-on job on this car, outside of FI-related stuff. Lots of room for complications too (needing to replace studs, issues getting O2's off without damage, etc) that a fully equipped shop can deal with easier.

I haven't really settled on where to get the tuning done yet. I don't think Baker has a dyno though, so I'm not sure if they can help me on this. I guess I should ask their opinion though.

wstar · 08-13-2011, 12:15 PM

Installed the A.M. Performance baffled oil pan today. The install is pretty easy, and their detailed instructions cover it all well.

I had some extra difficulty with removing my existing AAM oil pan spacer. It's easy enough to separate the OEM oil pan from the spacer, but separating an installed spacer from the engine is kinda rough, because there's really no flex or give between those two solid aluminum parts to get a gasket separating tool to slip into and break the Ultra Grey.

For anyone else removing a solid aluminum oil pan spacer, my tips are: (1) scrape/cut as much of the edge of the gasket as you can with a razor blade, all along the inside and outside edges, (2) liberally apply brake cleaner or any other volatile chemical that might help break down the Ultra Grey gasket, again all along the edge inside and out, and (3) use a long prybar to separate them. When you look at the situation, you'll see there's an aluminum "tab" sticking out of the engine block side that doesn't mate up with the oil pan spacer, and the spacer has an edge that sticks out too far nearby as well. The trick is just getting the prybar wedged between these two aluminum outcroppings so that you can solidly pry them apart (without trying to shove anything between them at the gasket itself).

AAM oil pan spacer and OEM pan after removal (note the squared off aluminum outcroppings on the spacer near the blue oil fitting plugs, these are what you can pry against):

New oil pan, installed (and yes, it definitely gives better clearance than the spacer solution did. we're back to the lower brace under the engine being the lowest point rather than the oil pan). Also note the two aluminum tabs with empty holes sticking out the front of the block, above the pan. These are the other side of what you brace the prybar against to help remove an old spacer.:

wstar · 08-13-2011, 12:30 PM

Oh one more note for anyone swapping out an existing AAM (or similar) spacer kit for the AM Performance pan. AM Performance wants you to re-use the two stock bolts for the oil pickup. The AAM kit supplied new longer ones, and I have long since misplaced the original bolts. The correct replacement bolts from a hardware store is a pair of M8-1.25 x 20mm, class 8/8.8.

SPOHN · 08-13-2011, 01:25 PM

That's very nice. You have any pics of the baffle itself or inside of the pan?

05-07-2011, 11:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Oh another random thing that's probably important, ~84mph is almost exactly where I redline in 3rd and switch to 4th. Could be I'm too late or too early on that shift, too. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

05-07-2011, 01:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
tranceformer A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Palm Beach, FL Posts: 1,213 Drives: 2009 370Z PW 6MT Rep Power: 268	what gear are you in when you finish the 1/4? __________________ Ray 2009 370Z Base Sport 6MT / 12.860 @ 109.09mph / 1.921 60ft / street tires official 1/4 mile track times

06-05-2011, 06:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Ran the car today at an SCCA-styled event put on by the BMW CCA here in Houston. Belsavis tipped me off to this, since he's been going with them a while. It was a blast, I highly recommend trying out an SCCA event if you haven't and get the chance. This was my first time in one, and aside from being fun it was a real eye opener on the capabilities of the car. They were short on ride-along instructor types for us novices. I did 4 runs, but I was on my own for the first three and then picked up someone to help me out on the 4th. My times went down progressively from 98 seconds on the first run to 88 on the last. But for example Belsavis said he was running about 75s on this same course, he's got more experience at it. The fastest cars (e.g. very prepped Miatas on slicks) were running something like 68-69s. I never touched a cone the whole day though, so that was my little personal victory. The ridealong guy on the 4th run said I was doing great for my first day. His main points that he said I needed to work on was: (1) using late apex corners correctly (there were a few on this layout where a very late apex followed by a sharp turnin was best, but I kept apexing early and trying to shape it like a "normal" corner). and (2) He said I was driving a bit too conservative for this event (which is I guess why I didn't hit any cones) and that I could basically do exactly what I was doing with a lot more throttle and the car would make it through without losing control. I'm chalking my lack of balls there to the street-vs-track mentality adjustment. My internal barometer of safety margins given the random-ness of a city street (unpredictable drivers, random objects in the road, the amount of damage you can face if you hit a curb, etc) are just more conservative, and it's hard to make myself feel comfortable pushing the car all-out without a large margin for last-minute corrections, if you know what I mean. Anyways, so I have things to work on for next time. Mechanically the car held up great. The Conti DW's had tons of grip, stock rotors/calipers + Hawk HPS pads worked reliably and predictably, although I noticed I could hear one of my wear indicators on the way home, they were all fine before the event. Good thing new pads are already in the mail. After the first (colder) run, the next three were pretty stable on oil temp profile. It would peak around 232-236 near the end of the run, and in the (very) few minutes I shut down between runs, it would fall back to about 220-ish for the next run. Weather was ~101F outside today, it was unbearably hot all day. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details Last edited by wstar; 06-05-2011 at 06:59 PM.

06-12-2011, 08:08 AM	#7 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	7AT cooler installed, finally. Started out with Stillen's kit. The fittings and hoses they ship give you 3/8" hose ends where it connects to the car, and the car's hard line fittings are 5/16", and I just didn't feel comfortable with that. I emailed Stillen about it (twice, 2 days apart) and never got a response, so I figured I was on my own best judgement. I kept the M22 -> -6AN Male black fittings they shipped that screw directly into the Setrab (and still used their bracket to mount the Setrab), but from there on I used separately sourced fittings and hose. The fittings are these part numbers from Summit Racing: 2x AER-FBM2978 - Aeroquip 90 degree swivel -6AN F-to-F 2x AEI-15635 - Aeromotive -6AN Male to 5/16" hose barb And then some Gates J1019-rated 5/16" ID hose and 4x quality hose clamps. The rest of the process/parts is basically as Stillen's directions indicate. I've given it a short-but-aggressive test drive and an hour of highway driving coming home last night, and no leaks or issues so far. One more mod crossed off the list, next up is probably the new brake rotors, I think they'll arrive here before my LTHs do. Nut_N_Much likes this. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

06-26-2011, 05:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
nynhex Base Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Houston Posts: 247 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 371	I'd ask you how it's driving with the 7AT cooler installed but I think you're out of town at this time. Bless the oil cooler you installed though, otherwise your OTs would have probably his 250-260 pretty fast. I seriously need to get this mod, even the guys at Baker South Nissan said don't hesitate to get it. Great progress on your car! __________________ \|Berk\|Konig\|Nismo\|

07-05-2011, 07:21 PM	#9 (permalink)
SPOHN A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Covington, GA Age: 46 Posts: 14,844 Drives: Waiting on next Z Rep Power: 222	Looking good. Great mod to have. __________________

08-04-2011, 08:54 AM	#10 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Finally got my FI Long Tube Headers installed. Now I really need to get an UpRev-based dyno tune on this car soon. Only driven ~1hr and mostly in traffic since, but so far everything seems peachy. I chickened out on doing it myself for once, Baker did the headers install (and also swapped out my 7AT fluid while the car was in there). Many thanks to Jason and Paul @ Baker Tuning for handling this install. This was the first time I've entrusted my car to an outside mechanic for a parts install, and they did an awesome job and were a pleasure to work with. Highly recommend them __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

08-04-2011, 09:35 AM	#11 (permalink)
nynhex Base Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Houston Posts: 247 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 371	Ah you're back! The headers seem like a pretty intense job. Are you using Baker for your uprev too? __________________ \|Berk\|Konig\|Nismo\|

08-13-2011, 12:15 PM	#13 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Installed the A.M. Performance baffled oil pan today. The install is pretty easy, and their detailed instructions cover it all well. I had some extra difficulty with removing my existing AAM oil pan spacer. It's easy enough to separate the OEM oil pan from the spacer, but separating an installed spacer from the engine is kinda rough, because there's really no flex or give between those two solid aluminum parts to get a gasket separating tool to slip into and break the Ultra Grey. For anyone else removing a solid aluminum oil pan spacer, my tips are: (1) scrape/cut as much of the edge of the gasket as you can with a razor blade, all along the inside and outside edges, (2) liberally apply brake cleaner or any other volatile chemical that might help break down the Ultra Grey gasket, again all along the edge inside and out, and (3) use a long prybar to separate them. When you look at the situation, you'll see there's an aluminum "tab" sticking out of the engine block side that doesn't mate up with the oil pan spacer, and the spacer has an edge that sticks out too far nearby as well. The trick is just getting the prybar wedged between these two aluminum outcroppings so that you can solidly pry them apart (without trying to shove anything between them at the gasket itself). AAM oil pan spacer and OEM pan after removal (note the squared off aluminum outcroppings on the spacer near the blue oil fitting plugs, these are what you can pry against): New oil pan, installed (and yes, it definitely gives better clearance than the spacer solution did. we're back to the lower brace under the engine being the lowest point rather than the oil pan). Also note the two aluminum tabs with empty holes sticking out the front of the block, above the pan. These are the other side of what you brace the prybar against to help remove an old spacer.: __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details Last edited by wstar; 08-13-2011 at 12:19 PM.

08-13-2011, 12:30 PM	#14 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Oh one more note for anyone swapping out an existing AAM (or similar) spacer kit for the AM Performance pan. AM Performance wants you to re-use the two stock bolts for the oil pickup. The AAM kit supplied new longer ones, and I have long since misplaced the original bolts. The correct replacement bolts from a hardware store is a pair of M8-1.25 x 20mm, class 8/8.8. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

08-13-2011, 01:25 PM	#15 (permalink)
SPOHN A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Covington, GA Age: 46 Posts: 14,844 Drives: Waiting on next Z Rep Power: 222	That's very nice. You have any pics of the baffle itself or inside of the pan? __________________

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