1st ever Sprint Race - 6-9-12 @ Gingerman!

After arriving about 10pm and drinking until 2:30am - morning came quick and I made the registration switch from PTA over to ST2 already.  I knew I didn't have a chance in ST2 w/o at least good tires but I wanted to be in the faster rungroup and get used to the traffic.  My goal was simply get the car through the weekend successfully and see how everything felt and reacted over the course of an entire race.  I prepped the car and went out for practice on street tires to feel out the brake updates.  Everything felt solid, although the car pushed hard on the street tires - which it has all year since the cage went in - I ran a 1:47 and had a car spin in front of me and 2 of us had to split to miss it in the track which was fun.  I was weighed afterwards and started doing to the math for the ballast I'd need.

I switched rims to the last of my leftover 2011 255 Hoosiers and stuffed the car full of fuel until it ran back out!  I only ran a few laps and qualified with a 1:41 trying to save the tires as they were pretty beat up from running hard TT sessions last year.  Last year pushing hard on the tire setup I ran a 1:38.8 (current TTA record) so I was in the ballpark.  I made weight, but not by much, so we definitely would need to add ballast.  Another issue was the oil temps.  In my effort to fix the brake cooling issue I admittedly borrowed from the oil cooler flow as well as fixing the hole in the rubbed fenderwell by adding a chunk of plastic.  I think the latter made things worse so I removed it and then worked up a special duct from the 'faux hole' around to the oil cooler.  I was fairly confident this would make things at least manageable. 

With a 3hr gap before the race I had some prep time.  I had a tire that was starting to cord, so I replaced it with an another used 255 I had.  I also was able to secure the ballast I needed, with the help of Jason from GP Racing we secured 25 lbs in the passenger side and another 30 lbs in the trunk.  I'd already topped off every fluid container in the car (oil, radiator, drink bottle, windshield fluid, fuel, etc).  Not knowing how much fuel the car would burn I errored on the heavy side as I didn't want a DQ.

The race went pretty well overall.  All of the ST cars lined up in the 1st of 3 waves; I was 9th of 12 in that group and started on the inside of a very tight T1.  I got a good jump, but all the big V8 N/A cars in front of me pulled harded off the line.  I also realized from my vid I should have been up closer to the car in front; so I'll learn.  I took T1 pretty slow trying to stay clean and dropped below boost in 3rd so I lost some momentum there.  I ran a few 1:42's and after that settled into a pace around 1:45-46 carefully eyeballing my oil temps the entire time around the 280-285 range.  I babied the car, avoiding the high rpms when I could by shifting early and pushing the clutch in to coast into braking zones - all tricks that I know help the oil temps.  Brakes felt good throughout and the tires stayed underneath fairly well since I wasn't pushing hard.  I picked up a few overall spots from traffic and I picked up the pace on the final few laps just to see how the car felt and the tires were giving up for sure.  In all the race lasted 17 laps and I covered about 43 miles.  As for the fuel, after the race I had exactly 1/2 tank but was not weighed.

Brake Cooling Project Update #3

The latest update has me going crazy....  I've had a few ideas; pretty much everything has failed. The failing reason has been constant; there's just not enough room in the front of the car to run adequate ducting on the OEM IX bumper. My larger upgraded FMIC blocks the middle, the piping blocks the little 'faux' holes. 
I have an old pic from I think an 03 Evo where they ran NACA ducts in the front bumper of the car for what I assume is brake cooling ducts. I'm not sure if the oil cooler is in the same spot, but I know this car did NOT have the ACD pump on the driver's side to deal with.  This post details my attempt to either run from the headlight holes - custom covers would be needed to block out the rest of the headlight gaps obviously, or from the top corner of the bumper. 


The problem with that idea on my 06 Evo is that the ACD pump clogs up the right side. Besides the duct routing issue, I think there's room to put the inlet duct in the mesh actually and not have to cut into the bumper at all. The ACD pump is an issue either way, but I think there's room to route behind and around it. You just get a quick downward bend unfortunately. (see 1st pic).

On the passenger side, I really don't see a good spot to jam the duct in really. The front bumper crash beam is a bit in the way, but you can probably still find room and/or remove it. You'd probably have to cut into or push the top rear corner of the oil cooler ducting a bit to find room to route the ducting. Or another option (like I show it below) is behind the oil cooler; this probably isn't as good an option but was easier to route quickly for a picture. Again, this side is doable I think but you get another quick downward bend unfortunately. (see 2nd pic).

4.21.2012 Qualifying at NASA Autobahn

So Saturday and the Evo....
I went out for the warmup session on street tires as I did not have time to change tires as we were first up! I tossed down a very eventful and sideways filled 1:38x on a cold green track in about 50 degree weather on 5yr old Dunlops on my 3rd lap and pulled in.  lol.  It was fun; and the car ran for the first time since the cage!

Qualifying was about 2 hours later. On my 1st hotlap I seen the debris flag at T6 - and quickly found the insanely huge OIL SPILL directly on-line from T6 through T10 when I actually passed said spiller on the backstraight still limping the car around.  IDIOT.  About 5 awesome oil-soaked drifts later for myself, about 6 offs witnessed from other cars and 1 car sitting a full 180 degrees backwards track-center - and just 3 laps - they tossed checker to end quals early. I had just a 1:40x.

I had a 4 hr gap until the race.  I worked on cleaning up some of the wiring from the gauges and getting my oil temp gauge hooked back up (Thx to Boostin Performance for the wiring fix).  I had time to update some of the decals on the car including adding ST2 designations for the race.  More to come...

The vid is from Qualifying.  Not too entirely eventful as most of the sliding action was in front me.

Izzy's Custom Cages - Update #4

More updates from Scott at Izzy's on the cage progress.  Here's the rear of the cage with the attachments into the trunk.  I'm really excited to see how much this stiffens up the car and how it'll drive and rotate differently.  And I'll find out quickly!  Our timeline is tight as I've got an event scheduled for Saturday April 14th!

Izzy's Custom Cages - Update #3

More updates from Scott at Izzy's on the cage progress.

 

Izzy's Custom Cages - Update #2

More updates from Scott at Izzy's on the cage progress.

TTS/ST2 class bump - The Downside...

Whether I race or not; a class like TTS/ST2 where it's completely open to mods can be very enticing. I just have to meet a modified power/weight ratio based on the size tire I run - and I can slide the power/weight up or down to my liking! 95% run in the 3050 - 3301 lb range as anything below that starts to get heavily penalized on low weight; plus would involve a lot of expensive weight reduction components!

TTS/ST2 can definitely be $ though. There's always going to be a part that's a little bit lighter or newer or possibly better out there. Do you buy it, test it, screw it? You know someone will...

In TTS/ST2 you also run into:

1. Full out engine builds. While they are legal, 400whp / 600wtq engines do run - and I'm mostly talking Vettes.
2. Full out developed aero
3. Full out carbon fiber bodies - or at least doors, hood, roof, trunk, fenders.
4. Full out developed custom suspension. We're talking 3-way, 4-way, remotes, nitrogen loaded, $7k-15k Penske, JRZ, Moton setups. Not to mention sways, endlinks, axles, lightened & stiffened rotating mass assemblies and every possible bushing upgraded.
5. People running the max 250 lbs of ballast in all the right spots and still on their minimum weight!
6. Vettes, Mustangs, Porsches with 335 Hoosier A6's on 13" wide rims! The Evo can maybe squeeze a 285-295 under stock modified fenders, but nothing past a 10" rim so it won't be ideal. Now per the rules, anything above a 245 or above 275 has to run less HP. But still it's menacing running head-to-head with a 245 tire for example!
7. MORE drivers with teams of people behind them; who never turn a wrench and pay others to.
8. Obviously.... bigger budgets!

TTS/ST2 - 2012 NASA classing change??

Playing with the multipliers and possible 2012 racing setups.  There's always the possibility that NASA can update the base class for your vehicle or change the value of certain mods that you are currently using.  Either of these updates can effectively bump you up to the next class.  Likewise, it's just fun to go faster; and that happens in higher classes!

2011 we ran in TTA.  The next class up and logical progression would be TTS.  It employs the same 8.7:1 modified power/weight ratio; but with unlimited mod options.  So there are lots more options and scenarios to build up your car which really helps, but also can really increase the costs to compete.

ST2 is a racegroup, it mirrors the TTS (Time Trials) ruleset. So I could prep and do both orswitch midyear as I work into wheel to wheel racing (w2w) or whatever. Both are 8.7:1 modified ratios.

Here are some example power & weight ratios based on the option of a 245 or 275 tire:

lbs  - ST2/245 - ST2/275
3301 - - 418 - - 395
3251 - - 406 - - 387
3201 - - 400 - - 381
3151 - - 391 - - 372
3101 - - 382 - - 364

• The numbers across the top (245/275) are the tire size I'd run. You get more hp for smaller tires - less hp for larger ones. The cutoffs are those numbers and smaller so you run the widest you can.
• The weights are post-race minimums. Meaning if you're going out for 30min you need to carry enough fuel (aka ballast weight) to still make your post-race minimum after the race. Same for the 15min TT session.
• The power numbers are dynojet whp. Torque is not checked.