AMS Tuning!

Took the car up to AMS Performance in Chicago last Friday.  I had AMS replace some leaking seals, and a wideband A/R gauge for safety and retune the car. 

AMS last tuned the car in mid 2008, and there's been some parts switching so an updated tune was in order.  I also wanted to verify the boost leaks were the only reason my traqmate logs showed me down on power and not something more severe.

Results = Yummy!  (Vid below.)
Nearly 360whp / 380wtq on their Mustang Dyno in cold 20 degree Chicago weather. That's nearly 470hp if measured at the crank. I think that'll pull nicely.
Huge thanks to the team at AMS for taking care of me including Dan & Eric up front and Chris for the tune.

Boost Leak Testing!

Here's some pics from the boost leak test I setup. I did everything with the car still loaded on the trailer in my garage! Not ideal, but not impossible.

Here is a pic of the turbo 'cap' I built. (On the left is the air hose.) It's a way to enter metered air into the turbo. I use an compressor initially set to a stockish 20psi and let the system build up and started listening for major leaks. After tightening up a few intercooler hoses, I could hear major air leaking from around the injector seals.
Ideally I'd pump the system to just above what I'd run on the track - about 30psi - and it'd hold solid with no noticeable leaks. 

So thanks to this test, I'm planning on replacing the injector seals and then getting the car re-tuned to verify the horsepower!  The car goes to AMS Performance in Chicago at the end of the month.

Tentative Schedule for 2011

Here's an aggressive schedule for 2011.  It's basically the entire NASA MW/GL region events minus Brainerd - with the GRM UTCC weekend at VIR added.  I might trim one of the events in June depending on how the car is progressing throughout the year.  We'll have a lot of new parts to dial in!  Should be a good time.

• March:  TBD - Local Test-n-Tune
• April 8-10:  Mid-Ohio - NASA Great Lakes 
• April 16-17:  Autobahn Country Club - NASA Midwest Region
• May 14-15:  Putnam Park - NASA Midwest & Great Lakes Regions
• June 4-5:  GingerMan - NASA Midwest Region
• June 11-12:  Grattan - NASA Great Lakes
• July 9-10:  Autobahn Country Club - NASA Midwest Region
• July 15-17: Mid-Ohio - NASA Great Lakes Region
• July 22:  VIR - GrassRoots Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge (invitation only)
• July 23-24:  VIR - NASA Mid-Atlantic
• August 12-14:  Mid-Ohio - NASA Midwest & Great Lakes Regions
• September 8-11:  Mid-Ohio - NASA Championships 
• Sept 16-18: Autobahn - NASA Midwest & Great Lakes Regions
• October 7-9:  Road America - NASA Midwest & Great Lakes Regions

2011 Planning

Happy New Year!

2011 Planning is well underway for the 929 Evo.  We're planning our changes & updates for the upcoming season.  For 2009-2010 the car was maximized for NASA TTB; abiding by the modification point system and a modified 10.25 power/weight ratio limit.  This proved to be a good class for the Evo with many wins and track records.  With a few changes we competed well in higher classes as well, earning wins & track records in both TTA & TTS including a TTA Regional Championship in 2010.

Our build this year will focus on maximizing the car for TTA which along with a more generious allottment of mod pts has an 8.7 power/weight ratio limit.  I'm working on what assortment of mods is best suited for the car currently.  I've enlisted the help of a few suspension and aero techies and am bouncing around several different setup combinations at this point.  Stay tuned!