Colonel Red Racing 2005 STI Race Car

[Sgt.Gator]

You're coming to Pacific to test? Don't leave before I get there with my checkbook and trailer. :-)

 

I was looking for a checkbook but you FTA!

[Sgt.Gator]

ICSCC Enduro Race at Pacific Raceways Saturday. I took 2nd in class. (After the 700 HP Viper dropped out at 40 minutes). The under-tray worked well, maybe too well. My left front brake duct popped out I think due to the splitter pulling down harder than ever, see pic.

 

I had oil temp issues, at least partly due to the new asphalt at Pacific throwing oily grit up. I had to clean off my race suit after every test session but it didn't occur to me to check the oil cooler inside the trunk..after the race I noticed it was at least 50% blocked off by the grit coming off the rear tires, in thru the NACA ducts and closing up the cooler vanes. Coolant temps were fine, but I still had to run 85% throttle to finish the race. Which was a strategy that worked when the Viper dropped out. I'll probably move the NACA ducting up to the rear quarter window.

 

The fresh asphalt caused another problem, when it got hot the oil came to the surface and a few race cars will never race again. Particularly Turns 3A thru 6.

 

Next races in Spokane, I'll be in ST and ME0. I have to get the oil temps fixed perfect, it has the longest straights in the PacNW!

 

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[Sgt.Gator]

And a modification I wish I'd done years ago, mandatory with a flat bottom. I have lift points and lift bars in 4 places now.

 

[GTEASER]

And a modification I wish I'd done years ago, mandatory with a flat bottom. I have lift points and lift bars in 4 places now.

 

 

 

We had those on a GT3 240SX that I used to pit for. Best mod ever for a racecar. Edited May 29, 2019 by GTEASER

[Sgt.Gator]

Next race is Spokane this coming weekend. I'll be in the ST class sprint races and the ME0 Enduro. Any of ya'll in eastern WA come on out!

 

Next post will have some pics of some minor changes.

 

The 4 Continental (Hoosier) closeout tires are finally worn out. They were the best race tires I've ever used. They lasted thru 6 hours of racing and didn't give up hardly any time as they wore down. I have 4 more new ones I'll save for the fall 4 hour Enduro. At $150 each I wish I'd bought 40 of them!

[Sgt.Gator]

The Blue Sake Bomber took First Place in Class and First Place Overall at the Northwest Motorsports Spokane Grand Prix Enduro. Special thanks to Subaru of Bend, your support over the years has been great! And thanks to Surgeline, and Arcflash for your help.

 

..

[shralp]

Hells yes, congrats! Way to stick with it through the saga that has followed both you and this car for the last 18 months!!

[Sgt.Gator]

On another front....the 818R was finally ready for serious track time after chasing oil leaks for awhile:

 

The test & tune at ORP started off really well. The oil leaks were all gone! Once that was confirmed we started pushing it a little harder and harder.

 

Later in the afternoon when the track was at least 100 degrees or more, and with the help of another 818 builder, we did hot pit tire temps with a needle pyrometer. I was very pleased with the temps on my new Hoosier R7's. Very consistent 160-165 degrees across the treads. I was expecting them to be quite a bit hotter, Hoosier recommends 180-220 degrees for optimum stick. That's telling me that going to a wider tire is not going to help, at least not until I really start hammering on it hard.

Front: 225/40/17

Rear: 245/35ZR18

 

Then it happened. The 2004 WRX with Cusco 1.5 LSD trans broke. Loud clunking and an awful thump emanate from inside it now. We haven't taken it apart yet to see the exact damage, that will be later this week.

 

Then insult to injury: On the tow in the tow line came undone, the rope went under the right front wheel and wrapped around it, smashing/cracking the fiberglass fender out from the inside, and tearing off the brake line!

 

So back to the shop for fender repair, brake line repair, a rebuilt 5 speed, and this time a trans cooler package. I knew I should have done the cooler, and I can't say it would have helped for sure, but I will do it now that it's getting re-done anyway.

 

A few pics here, a one lap video later this week:

 

........

[Max Capacity]

Glad to see your enjoying the summer time at the track.

[Sgt.Gator]

One lap at ORP. Sorry no sound, I forgot to plug in the mic!

[Sgt.Gator]

After the high point of the season, winning the Spokane Enduro, things went downhill badly for the Blue Sake Bomber. The Turbo fried and came apart, the head gasket leaked, and general bad news. All of it traced back to the helicoil repair on the block. So out with the old and in with the new. And what's the point of a rebuild if you don't do some upgrades!

 

Outfront Motorsports V3 Closed Deck 2.5L Shortblock

BC Stage II Cams

ATP Gen II 3576 EWG Turbo

Dom's Cyl #4 Coolant Mod

Outfront Valve Cover and Block AN fittings for the breather hoses.

Radium Engineering Surge Tank mounted in trunk.

Electrical wiring cleaned up and better connectors.

Reroute breather hoses.

Heat shield for the Vehicle Speed Sensor in the Tranny. I've melted two of them now!

Re DEI wrap the headers.

Ongoing mods to improve the flatbottom undertray and dry sump tank breather system.

Additional gauges to monitor Diff Temp and Crankcase pressures.

 

We've fired her up and run in the cams for 20 minutes, then let her cool off before putting her on the ArcFlash dyno for another couple of hours of break in and engine tuning at wastegate spring pressure, around 12 psi, with a RPM limit of 5650. At that pressure and RPM it made 338 HP / 327 TQ. I'm looking forward to the full potential of this turbo and cams.

Coolant and oil temps were excellent.

 

The Plan: Go up to Oregon Raceway Park for a full track day of break in at wastegate on Friday. If that goes well then get up early Saturday and head to Portland International Raceway for the ICSCC race where I'll enter the Enduro in ME0, still running wastegate pressures. Then back to ORP Saturday night for a day of track time on Sunday with the BSB and some time in the Acura Integra, Rocky, that I still half own.

 

And a side note: The new tranny for the 818R has arrived from ZF Design. All new syncros and LGT gearing. AN fitting in the top rear for a transmission cooler return. That should be back on track next week. We have another Time Attack race at ORP set for Oct 5th, I hope to have the 818R in that one.

 

I'll post up some pics and hopefully a track video from the Enduro early next week.

[SAABaruu]

Most 5 speed failures are the result of the weak case which flexes too much. Grab a set of Moore blast plates.

[shralp]

Went with Dom’s #4 cyl mod huh? Seems like he’s figured some stuff out and it seems like a particularly good idea if you going closed deck? Edited August 15, 2019 by shralp

[boxkita]

The dei wrap on the headers doesn't hold up. Look at the heat shield products basalt solution. 2000F sustained vs 1100F sustained for dei.

[Sgt.Gator]

Went with Dom’s #4 cyl mod huh? Seems like he’s figured some stuff out and it seems like a particularly good idea if you going closed deck?

I think so. We're trying it on both the STI and 818.

 

The dei wrap on the headers doesn't hold up. Look at the heat shield products basalt solution. 2000F sustained vs 1100F sustained for dei.

I'll check it out. We're also looking at some rigid but form-able stuff. Similar to Zircoflex. But not F1 pricing.

[Max Capacity]

Sounds like a busy weekend. Good Luck.

[gkinslow]

I'm very interested to see what that turbo ends up making.

 

I was talked out of it during my build.

[Sgt.Gator]

We had some shake down problems at ORP. We weren't able to control the boost to 13-14 psi and over-boosted a few times. Luckily the fuel had Boostane in it and the tune was setup to keep the AFR fueling going beyond the normal boost levels so no damage.

 

The excellent news was the coolant and oil temps stayed just right! the new Dom's cyl #4 seems to work, although water temp hasn't been much of an issue so hard to say for sure.

 

We are experimenting with a different system for the crankcase/block/dry sump vent system. It seems to work great with two major benefits:

1) The block NEVER goes into positive crankcase pressure. It typically stays around 12-14" of vacuum. And even while on full boost, even over-boost, the crankcase& heads stayed at 4" of vacuum.

 

2) The heat in the oil is reduced so that I never saw more than 220 degrees of oil temp.

 

Excellent!

 

We are setting up the 818 dry sump with the same system. If both cars have good results I'll post the details on what we're doing, but not until I'm sure it really works.

 

The excitement of the weekend was that two different cars caught fire while on the track. The first was pretty badly damaged, but since everyone had practice on the first one the second was saved much more quickly. And people ask me why I ALWAYS put on my fire resistant driving suit before I go out to run just a few laps to test some minor tweak.... No drivers were injured in these incidents.

 

Then it was off to PIR for the Enduro. That was not good. About 45 mins before I had to go to the grid I filled the main tank and Aux tank to the brim. I walked away, then came back 10 minutes before time to head to the grid and figured a few air bubbles may have come out and I could get another 1/2" of fuel in the aux tank. I popped the lid off and what do I see, almost no gas in the tank? What? There should be 3.5 gallons in there!

 

I looked under the car and sure enough there was gas dribbling at a very good rate on to the ground. I was parked in the dirt, so instead of it running out from under the car it just absorbed into the ground. And it was dribbling slow enough that it made a very small puddle. There wasn't time to trace down and fix the leak so that ended my race weekend.

 

The Blue Sake Bomber is back in the shop to figure out what was leaking.

 

There's always something, but at least I didn't go up in a giant fireball!

 

Amazingly I am still in first place in the Mini Enduro championship points race.

[wpmarky]

818 is going to be my next build - your thoughts on its handling vs a wrx/sti/lgt?

[Sgt.Gator]

818 is going to be my next build - your thoughts on its handling vs a wrx/sti/lgt?

 

Completely different driving experiences!

 

Heavy front engine AWD tin top vs light mid engine RWD open top.

Power Steering & Power Brakes vs old school Manual Steering & Manual Brakes.

 

The good news is the light weight means brakes/tires/hubs last a lot longer than a track car WRX/STI/LGT.

 

If you are thinking of it you need to join the Factory Five 818 forum and read everything you can before you buy either a kit, a donor, or someone else's half or fully completed 818. I have a build thread there, and there are many others, some of whom are master machinist fabricators.

 

It's a tremendous amount of time and effort to build a car. And cost. The problem with the 818 vs say a Factory Five Roadster (Cobra) or Coupe (Daytona) is you can build a Roadster or Coupe for $40K and sell it for $50K. An 818 you build for $40K and sell for $15K!

 

Don't believe the FF line that you can build one for under $15K....well you could but it would be a trashy donor piece of crap car. Figure at least $25K for a decent build.

See: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?28549-Budget-for-818-Build-what-have-I-missed&highlight=build+costs There are several more threads discussing the actual cost of a build. IMHO skip the donor, just get the kit and buy new/rebuilt parts.

 

IF I were considering building a FF kit it would probably be a Gen III R Coupe which is the Track/Race version: https://www.factoryfive.com/type-65-coupe-r/

 

The in process GTF design is interesting but I doubt I will fit, the headroom looks tight, as bad as the GTM ( which I don't come close to fitting in!). https://www.factoryfive.com/whats-new/sema-preview-day-4-of-7/

Edited August 22, 2019 by Sgt.Gator

[wpmarky]

Thanks for the info! I probably wouldn't start from scratch, I'd rather buy one that's made and transfer my LGT powertrain over (STI 6mt + EFR 7163 +closed deck forged block).

 

There was a local one for sale for $10k, but the panels weren't that flush. I'll probly keep lurkin until I see the right one come up for sale again. Or if you guys plan to sell yours ; )

[bigBADbenny]

That’s excellent crank case vacuum!

From where is the vacuum pulled; and are you using a vacuum relief valve?

[Sgt.Gator]

That’s excellent crank case vacuum!

From where is the vacuum pulled; and are you using a vacuum relief valve?

A by product of a good Dry Sump system is vacuum. I have a Peterson vacuum relief valve in case it goes over 14", it's in an adapter in the former oil fill hole. It's a leftover piece from my Cosworth DS system. Until now I couldn't keep the vacuum from going positive under full boost. That's the secret sauce we are testing (how we do it).

[Sgt.Gator]

The Blue Sake Bomber fuel leak is fixed and further break in was finished up using the dyno. Then we did 5 tunes ranging from 92 Octane Wastegate 15 psi 330whp/285tq to 102 Octane 24.5 PSI 470whp/450tq.

The one I will default to is the full time flash is 92 Octane 18 PSI 375whp/390tq.

 

Much better than the previous turbo, and the pump gas 92 Octane is really great! That will significantly reduce my racing cost and simplify my life at the track. I doubt I will run the 470 HP tune except for a couple of hot laps in a Qualifying session, and even then it's not likely. Maybe in some sprint races I will run the 415 HP, but for the multi hour Enduros 375 HP should be good. Not having to mix Boostane in every jug of fuel is nice, especially if other people are fueling the car for me.

 

Next up: I'm an instructor for the Team Continental Time Attack race at Oregon Raceway Park Oct 5, and then the next day is a Star Projects HPDE track day. Between the two I should get some good testing in on both the STI and the 8181R.

 

Ya'll want to get some end of season track time or try out a little time attack competition? No competition license required! See: https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/team-continental-track-time-trials-hpde-oregon-raceway-park-tc-187137

 

And the Star Projects track day: ORP Track Day Sunday Oct 6th. $275 includes lunch. 7:00 a.m.: Driver check in, track office. You must be Intermediate driver or above, or have been signed off by instructor at the Team Continental HPDE/Time Attack event the day before. There is a 20% discount for this event if you are in the TC event on Saturday

 

8:30 a.m. Drivers meeting (mandatory).

9:00 a.m. Open track format / C.C. Direction / Full Course / Passing

with point by only.

Noon: Cold track / Lunch (see note)

1:00 p.m. Open Practice.

5:00 p.m. Checkered flag.

Registration Questions

Bill Murray, Event Coordinator, 503-358-2617 - 10 a.m. to Midnight.

and

Track Office: Brenda, 541-333-2452 - info@oregonraceway.com

 

Then the next Saturday, Oct 19th, is the Cascade Enduro at Portland International. For now I'm entered in the 2 hour and the 4 hour races. I may possibly enter the 8 hour too if I can nail down a couple of co-drivers. The 2 hour race will decide the NWMECS Championship.

 

Boxkita do you want to co-drive in the Cascade Enduro? Is your ICSCC license current?

[shralp]

Wish I had the tires or the funds for the Time Attack on the 5th but alas, I have neither Putting her to bed for the season. Man, I need to get my license, love to co-drive in that enduro!