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Just when I think I’ve got everything close to dialed in, someone opens up and makes me aware of how primitive my sound system plan is gonna be hahaha. Thanks for the insight guys, had no idea these Bluetooth amps/remotes were even a thing. I’ll add that to my growing list of projects lol.
I thought about a non traditional headunit but ended up just picking a simple one up and for the very brief time I've used it I'm reasonably happy with it. I got a cheap Alpine headunit from crutchfield: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500UTE...omnews=2982777
I play music off my phone via bluetooth and the backlighting has a multitude of color options (adjustable RGB values) so it can match the dash. Sound quality is decent.
That's more the direction I thought I was originally gonna go with the head unit. Haven't given it much thought because of... all the go-fast projects. Maybe later this month I'll come around to it.
If anyone wanted to see something sad this morning, here's a pic I had to send Michael to confirm that I wouldn't be using the cracked manifold again. New manifold is on the way and should be here Thursday. Gonna try to get my new tires and track pads installed at home this week and send it out to Streets of Willow this Sunday.
Of course one of my manifold studs stripped out during removal last night so I have to contend with that as well. Luckily I found that 2013-19 Ford Explorer manifold studs, which I have tons of, are M8x1.25 on both sides, and can be subbed in for my current manifold studs. I cut one down to fit and was able to get a little more thread depth on the manifold side than my previous stud, while still leaving about 1/8" before the stud would be bottoming out. I'll grab another set of inconel studs soon. This should work short term.
I also had a super slow day at work and it was raining so I didn't take the car (gotta figure out a hood vent cover or something to keep the air filter shielded from rain). I ended up deciding I'd start tearing down my dead transmission so here we are.
More on that later. I'll probably get a chance to pull both shafts out today and take some pics. Might make a separate diagnosis thread on here as I have only the most basic feel for what I'm looking for.
Popped the front cover off of my old transmission that was having the 5th/6th shifting issue and found the small c-clip for the countershaft unattached and floating around, obviously damaged. Anyone think that could cause my issue?
Separate thread to come later once I’m home and have a little time
I thought the circlip mod had to do with one that was actually on the main or countershaft (wherever fourth gear resides). Gotta do some additional research. It sounds like most peoples' failures regarding the circlip are different than mine was (car drove fine except I'd get locked out of 5th and 6th after a top speed pull).
Didn't have to worry about a replacement stud after all. Michael was nice enough to send the replacement manifold with new studs, nuts, and a T25 gasket. I still used my stage 8 locking nuts but used the new studs. No gasket between the manifold and turbo, just a touch of copper-infused high temp anti seize.
Swapped out 3 of my 4 tires today too and slapped in my track pads. 50% chance of making it to Streets of Willow on Sunday but I'll 100% be out at Chuckwalla for the first NASA SoCal TT of the season next weekend.
Streets of Willow yesterday was a success! I absolutely hate the stock 6 speed shifter and was missing 5-4 shifts all over the place, and f*cked up my brake bias before the last session causing my rears to lock up before my fronts, but managed to pull a 1:23.20 PB! Was hoping for a 1:22 but with a few setup tweaks and a little driver improvement, I know the car can pull it. The car ran great yesterday aside from my (minor) shifter woes and some brake pad knockback/fade, but the powertrain was solid!
Shoutout to redursidae for the new camera mount. This angle is perfect.
Honestly I was surprised I got the car ready in time for Sunday. Ever since I corrected my intake cam timing, I've had to retune my Boost control settings for 91 octane (I'm still running 91oct/17psi for ~270whp at the track, not gonna bump it up to 300whp on e85 just yet. Yes, I know running e85 for track is more ideal). However, I've had e85 in the tank for weeks and haven't had a chance to fully finish it off and refill with 91. I finally got my ethanol content under 10% last week and was able to go out one night to retune the 91 octane fuel and boost maps. Fueling was a quick fix for the most part, and I only had about 30 minutes to dial in the boost table, so I put the controller in open loop, dialed in a baseline table that would hold pretty close to 17psi at full throttle across the rev range, then put those numbers into my bias table, put in the same PID settings I was running for closed loop before and sent it. Surprisingly, the settings worked pretty well yesterday. The car seemed to hold 17psi in all gears across a range of air temps as the day progressed. I saw a couple spikes up to 18psi around 5krpm or so but not many fluctuations aside from that. More tuning needs to be done, but it's useable for now.
Got up to Willow Springs around 9 on Saturday night. Camping in the cold is the best. I've got a handful of blankets and a zero degree sleeping bag in the back of the van during the winter. I honestly sleep better in here than in my own bed most nights.
Weather was perfect. It was about 40 degrees out when the first session started, a little cold for optimal traction, but it slowly crept up into the high-50s later in the day. Coolant never got over 210*f and my oil temps stayed at or under 225*. I tested trans temps with and without the cooler just to get a baseline for what was going on back there. First session, the coldest one and definitely my least aggressive driving exhibition, trans temp registered at 197* peak after I turned the car off and ran the pump for ~15 seconds (sensor is on the feed line and reads low until the pump is activated, sucking hot fluid past it). With the pump on in the later sessions (warmer, driving more aggressively), temps were stabilizing in the high 170* range. The cooler is definitely doing something but I suspect it needs more airflow. I've got too many things on my to-do list before the Chuckwalla TT this weekend, but plan to add a fan in and see what that does for temps. Also, the temps I'm currently seeing suggest that the trans cooler is almost completely unnecessary at this power level, something I was fairly aware of before. Still, I'm gonna leave the system on. It's certainly not going to hurt anything once I feed in more power and/or it gets hotter out.
Tire carnage. Most of those boogers/worms are from the tire itself, but the track entrance was covered with boogers that got flung to the outside of the corner and I was picking up lots of them at the beginning of each session. During one session, I picked up so many that I thought I had put a flat spot in my wheel.
Did I mention I hate the stock 6 speed shifter? It's more likely that I just suck at adapting to new things, but I could not get a perfect read on the shift gates on that thing yesterday. 3-4 and 4-3 shifts were no problem but I think I missed the majority of my 5-4 shifts. I even missed a 4-5 shift going down the front straight and over-revved the poor girl above 8k for a split second. Going 5-4, the 4th gear gate just seems to disappear. Even popping the shifter into neutral and then pulling straight back, I couldn't find the thing. Luckily all of the 5th gear downshifts on track are actually 5-4-3 shifts in my car, so I eventually just began to shift 5-N-3 instead since 3rd was easy to find. New shift lever is on the to-do list now.
Also, my car seems to be experiencing a brake pad knockback/fade issue. I've only ever had pad knockback at Buttonwillow, occurring at the entrance of Bus Stop and occasionally at Sunset. I've never had it at Streets of Willow but was getting fairly consistent fade or knockback right before the bowl and the entrance to the skidpad. It's weird because it doesn't feel like fade, but won't start to surface until I'm 4 or 5 laps in. It seems to happen specifically following long sweeping corners where I'm on the throttle and turning for a long period of time. The following corner, the pedal will go to the floor or very close to it. Usually, a few left foot brake taps before the corner will alleviate the concern, but sometimes not. It's strange because it has all the symptoms of pad knockback, but won't occur at the beginning of a session, as if it's fluid fade. I won't experience fade in hard braking zones after long straights, and when it happens, it's not generally following an extreme braking zone. I'm currently running Motorcraft Dot 4 fluid and am going to swap to the Motul stuff just for peace of mind. Otherwise, I'm sorta stumped on this one. I'm running a Supermiata 11.75x1.1 Wilwood BBK with 3" ducts, BMW e30 front hubs, a Wilwood prop valve, master cylinder brace, and sport rear brakes. The only other factors I'm thinking might be affecting my setup are my stock master cylinder (7/8" I believe), the fact that I don't have a check valve in my brake booster line, or maybe my rear hubs are getting old and flexy, causing knockback in the rear? Any insight from the smart guys on here would be appreciated.
Anyways, just a little TLC this week and the old girl should be ready to race at Chuckwalla this Saturday! More updates to come.
Yeah, you're right. Optimal way would probably be to make another tune with a boost map that targets 14-15psi on e85. I'm not gonna have time for that before Saturday but will probably start working on it the following weekend. I'm five track days deep running 17psi/91oct and have yet to see any signs of det on my spark plugs. Every one of those days has been pretty cold out, though, so I probably have a little cushion from that. Come Spring/Summer time, I really don't wanna be running 91 on track.
I ordered a 3.6 torsen as well so I'm gonna try and get that installed once it shows up in a couple weeks. Got the car dialed enough to run this past weekend but I'm still gonna have my hands full with projects for the next few weeks hahaha.
Streets of Willow yesterday was a success! I absolutely hate the stock 6 speed shifter and was missing 5-4 shifts all over the place, and f*cked up my brake bias before the last session causing my rears to lock up before my fronts, but managed to pull a 1:23.20 PB! Was hoping for a 1:22 but with a few setup tweaks and a little driver improvement, I know the car can pull it. The car ran great yesterday aside from my (minor) shifter woes and some brake pad knockback/fade, but the powertrain was solid!
Shoutout to redursidae for the new camera mount. This angle is perfect.
Lookin good man! Looks like you're having fun out there! Impressive how you break stuff and right back out there the following weekend! Good to be young in some respects (I remember staying up all night helping friends prep their cars). I like that camera angle as well. The ones mounted on the bumper or dash you don't get to see what's really going on behind the wheel. Were you not running the stock 6 speed shifter prior?
Heck yeah dude! Props on getting it done. What a way to start the season.
Sucks about the 6 speed woes. A minor issue after all the stuff you just fixed/replaced. Is this an NB1 or NB2 6 speed? Are both equally bad shifters?
Originally Posted by Z_WAAAAAZ
Also, my car seems to be experiencing a brake pad knockback/fade issue. I've only ever had pad knockback at Buttonwillow, occurring at the entrance of Bus Stop and occasionally at Sunset. I've never had it at Streets of Willow but was getting fairly consistent fade or knockback right before the bowl and the entrance to the skidpad. It's weird because it doesn't feel like fade, but won't start to surface until I'm 4 or 5 laps in. It seems to happen specifically following long sweeping corners where I'm on the throttle and turning for a long period of time. The following corner, the pedal will go to the floor or very close to it. Usually, a few left foot brake taps before the corner will alleviate the concern, but sometimes not. It's strange because it has all the symptoms of pad knockback, but won't occur at the beginning of a session, as if it's fluid fade. I won't experience fade in hard braking zones after long straights, and when it happens, it's not generally following an extreme braking zone. I'm currently running Motorcraft Dot 4 fluid and am going to swap to the Motul stuff just for peace of mind. Otherwise, I'm sorta stumped on this one. I'm running a Supermiata 11.75x1.1 Wilwood BBK with 3" ducts, BMW e30 front hubs, a Wilwood prop valve, master cylinder brace, and sport rear brakes. The only other factors I'm thinking might be affecting my setup are my stock master cylinder (7/8" I believe), the fact that I don't have a check valve in my brake booster line, or maybe my rear hubs are getting old and flexy, causing knockback in the rear? Any insight from the smart guys on here would be appreciated.
Try some DOT 5.1 fluid before digging further into the hardware. Your issue sounds like what I experienced in my Stealth RT/TT (~300whp, 3700lbs of awesome), and switching it to Motul DOT 5.1 eliminated the issue, even scolding it downhill in the mountains. I also run it in the Miata, but that's only ~100whp, which even with my braking habits doesn't tax the hardware much.
Haha thanks dudes! Honestly it’s just been too long since the car’s last track day (seven weeks but who’s counting?) and I wasn’t gonna let another week of our prime track season slip by.
In regards to the 6 speed shifters, my previous 6 speed was a late-model VIN that started out with a homemade short-throw shifter, and then a MiataRoadster short shifter. Honestly, both worked great and I never had an issue finding the right gear. My current 6 speed is an early model so I don’t have another shifter to toss in currently.
That being said, I might be having issues adapting to change after having run short shifters for seven months. I don’t remember ever having this issue with the stock shifter on my 5-speed though.
Red, I’m gonna give higher temp fluid a try for sure. I’ve been meaning to swap to a 1” master cylinder ever since I installed the BBK last year and am thinking I’ll do that and a fluid change at the same time. No harm at all I’m going overkill when it comes to something like brake fluid haha.
Yeah, you're right. Optimal way would probably be to make another tune with a boost map that targets 14-15psi on e85. I'm not gonna have time for that before Saturday but will probably start working on it the following weekend. I'm five track days deep running 17psi/91oct and have yet to see any signs of det on my spark plugs. Every one of those days has been pretty cold out, though, so I probably have a little cushion from that. Come Spring/Summer time, I really don't wanna be running 91 on track.
I ordered a 3.6 torsen as well so I'm gonna try and get that installed once it shows up in a couple weeks. Got the car dialed enough to run this past weekend but I'm still gonna have my hands full with projects for the next few weeks hahaha.
I'm sure it's fine, sorry to be such a doomer. I tracked mine on pump 91 for a while with a way too aggressive timing map and it held up fine. ****, a buddy at the track that sent a whole session on his rotrex b6 with no coolant, it got so hot it had no compression and wouldn't run for a bit, but when it cooled down it started running fine again. He's still tracking that same motor. Anyways, the bp/b6 stuff is super bulletproof for the most part.
I've yet to run mine on high boost on track for more than a lap or two at a time, so your antics are inspirational. Keep it up!
No way man, I appreciate any and all feedback. Left to my own devices, I’ve been known to do some pretty stupid stuff the plan is definitely to be on e85 only for track days (still targeting ~270whp) once it starts getting hot out.
Was your buddy running no coolant intentionally? How’d that happen? That’s gnarly! I’m glad to know another example of these motors getting beat to hell and still surviving.
So I decided I’d pick up a 1” master cylinder to go with my brake fluid change this week. Sometimes I wish 949Racing wasn’t just down the road from my work. Makes dumping money into this car too easy.
Heat shield removed for install access.
Got it all installed and bled today. Holy hell, the brake pedal is FIRM! Really excited to see how it feels on track. Between the Motul RBF600 fluid and the master cylinder upsize, I’m hoping to see some improved braking performance. If what I’m getting is pad knockback and not fluid fade, I’m hoping the larger master will at least combat it a little bit by moving more fluid per stroke. I already wanted to replace my stock 7/8” master to go with the brakes, so this is just more justification in my mind. I still anticipate having to do some more diagnosis if it truly is a knockback issue.
No way man, I appreciate any and all feedback. Left to my own devices, I’ve been known to do some pretty stupid stuff the plan is definitely to be on e85 only for track days (still targeting ~270whp) once it starts getting hot out.
Was your buddy running no coolant intentionally? How’d that happen? That’s gnarly! I’m glad to know another example of these motors getting beat to hell and still surviving.
Got it all installed and bled today. Holy hell, the brake pedal is FIRM! Really excited to see how it feels on track. Between the Motul RBF600 fluid and the master cylinder upsize, I’m hoping to see some improved braking performance. If what I’m getting is pad knockback and not fluid fade, I’m hoping the larger master will at least combat it a little bit by moving more fluid per stroke. I already wanted to replace my stock 7/8” master to go with the brakes, so this is just more justification in my mind. I still anticipate having to do some more diagnosis if it truly is a knockback issue.
Haha, not intentional. He had a wild rear-mount radiator setup he was working through and it air locked and just ran without coolant. It literally ran until it got so hot it had next to no compression and wouldn't run. Then he let it cool down in the pits and it fired right back up. He said compression was fine on it after he got it home and did a comp test.
We had another young kid at the track do something similar with his stock-ish 1.6, ran a session completely dry. That motor survived too, just was less surprising since it was on stock power.
IN to see your results, I'm going with almost exactly the same brake setup and was planning on keeping the stock M/C to see how it feels first, then upgrading if necessary. Depending on your results, I might just upgrade right away.
Keep up the good work, this has been a fun thread!
02-04-2024, 11:47 AM
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the plan is definitely to be on e85 only for track days (still targeting ~270whp) once it starts getting hot out.
