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@Blkbrd69 , taking out the afm has moved the filter and made me have to redo it. The filter is really close to the PS pump which is making it a PITA to seal off.
@emilio700
Summary:
1. 3 total runs of the DIY SPM intake - took best run @ 34 degrees timing
2. 5 total runs of K&N - took best run @ 32 degrees timing (test within 2 hours of SPM run)
3. IAT was 121 degrees (SPM) vs. 125 degrees (K&N)
4. SPM HP/TQ = 135/109 vs K&N HP/TQ = 138/112
The ignition map for the 32 degree run (add 2 degrees to the top row for the 34 degree SPM run)
Car updates:
Intake:
I picked the coldside intake as the final intake design. Felt like this had more potential than the K&N design. Still want a better fresh air supply as I think the coldside struggles with getting non-radiator air. My rationale behind that is the heatshield seals against the hood and I've noticed that my make MAP has dropped from 101kpa to ~99kpa on track. In ~81 deg F ambient my on track IAT was ~120-125 deg F during a 20 minute session.
Intake heatshield:
I removed the passenger headlight during fabrication for visual confirmation of fitment and the Amazon-sourced bulb gasket is sealed against the hood. Used HDR 0.019" thick aluminum. Intake temps dropped ~10 degrees. I elected to not do the gold foil tape as the engine doesn't radiate much heat to the heat shield. Assuming 2 ft^2 surface area, 200 deg F intake manifold, 100 deg F heat shield, I only calculated 5 Watts of heat transfer. Conduction of 200 deg post-radiator air was 1000x more energy being transferred. If anything, I would insulate the shield.
Road Atlanta:
One of my 2020 goals was to cross off a bucket list track and drive Road Atlanta. This weekend I rented a Ram 2500 with the 6.7L Cummins from Enterprise Truck and a U-haul trailer and did the 1100 mile round trip from Tampa to RA. The truck is rated to pull 18k pounds and it made my first time towing a breeze. 10/10 would do again.
The first session was intimidating, T1 is fast and you rely on the compression to keep you on track. You can't see the track when you crest the hill at T11 and you have no muscle memory of what it should feel like going into 12. Regardless, I had 2 solid days of running the car and got into the 1:49s on Sunday.
Car updates:
1. Changed intakes. I removed the SPM-based design intake and went with a design that puts the filter by the power steering resevior. 2.5" diameter, stainless steel, 109 degree bend, and a box that seals it off from the air off the radiator. Results were a few percent increase in required fuel at WOT. I'll take it.
Driving updates:
1. Drove with NASA-SE at Roebling and checked off for HPDE 3.
I love Roebling. In no particular order here's why:
1. I like the club course atmosphere sometimes compared to the more rigid setups of the bigger tracks (Sebring, Daytona, Road Atlanta). That said I love the bigger tracks too.
2. The concession stand has $3 chilli dogs that are pretty good. Sodas are $1. That is a $12 meal at Sebring.
3. The track layout is super fun. The % time spent cornering is very high compared to Sebring and RA. The turns are closer to one another and add more complexity than other tracks where they are more spaced out. Also, you have to really hang it out there to get the truly fast time and the amount of runoff you have allows that with an acceptable amount of risk.
4. There are turtles that live in the berm at T5. Always fun to stop by and say hi.
New helmet:
My HJC SA2010 was getting long in the tooth, so I called Discovery Parts in Atlanta and asked them to bring a few helmets to try on at the Daytona event. They spent a good 30 minutes fitting me out and good, bad, or indifferent it appears that my head best fits a Stilo ST5. They swapped out the cheek pads to dial in the fit, but I am amazed the difference between the "what size $300 helmet fits me the best" versus the "lets get a helmet that fits me the best" approach. Regardless, safety selfie.
Sebring (last event of the year):
I've been looking forward to this event for many months now. Haven't driven there since last year and I've added 15-20 HP with the ECU and intake and fresher RS4s. My best lap going into the event was a 2:45.9 so I was curious where I'd end up. They merged the last two sessions on Sunday and I went out in HPDE 3/4 to see what I could do. Was quite pleased that i put down 5 laps within 1.2 seconds of each other with my best being a 2:41.7 (4.2 second improvement).
Data analysis:
I decided to look at the AIM data to see where the improvements came from. The power definitely helped as a significant chunk of time was gained from the straights, but speed through the turns increased as well. Blue trace is my 41.7. Red trace is the 45.9.
Lastly, I looked at my friction circle between the two laps, and one of my goals going into the event was to improve brake release and trail braking in an effort to improve my Vmin in the corners and increase the combined loading on the tires. Couldn't be happier with the results. the blue dots are the 41.7 and I increased my braking, lateral, and combined accelerations.
Time for 4 and TT?
Fantastic job, serious times with street tires.
Sure is a nice photo in 17
Great, after seeing your data I have to buy an AIM.
However the flying GPS was amusing.
Is there a way to filter out concrete bumps in the data?
Thanks! Pondering 2021 goals, and I think HPDE 4 is definitely in the cards, but am not sure about TT. Feel like that is when I need some sort of trailer to get tires to the track.
I offered putting the AIM in your car... the first try is always free. As far as filtering out bumps, you can create math channels that can maybe do an average g calculation to smooth out some of the peaks. The bumps do create some interesting data though. I saw some 1.5 - 1.7 g peaks this week.
2021 Vehicle Plans
I've been working on the 2021 plans. 2020 updates were power related and was quite pleased with minor improvement in pace. 2021 will focus on handling and laying out a platform for grippier tires.
Revalved Bilsteins vs. Xidas
I looked at revalving some Bilsteins and going with Xidas. Both options supported the spring rates and alignment I wanted to move to. The Bilsteins supported the "baller on a budget" ethos of the car so far and I was 90% convinced to go this route. Typically everything has been purchased used and has focused in maximizing the value out of what was needed and skipping on the items that didn't contribute to on-track performance. However, this weekend while my wife did wife things and fell asleep during the movie she wanted to watch, I decided to check some Miata FB pages and saw a set of Xidas pop up in the configuration that I wanted. 2 hours later, the movie was over and funds were transferred. A set of Gen 2 Xidas with 800/500 springs and NB top hats are enroute.
I tried out the new Stilo ST5 helmet late last year, but cat gave final approval after extensive evaluation. Car health
SOP for the car is an extensive car-on-jackstands inspection each offseason. Calipers were inspected and relubed. New rear wheel bearings and hubs replaced the unknown history ones.
Leakdown test results have each cylinder at 2-3% leakage which is great considering I have 40 track hours on an unknown history engine. Suspension updates
After the xidas arrived, I did a lovely photoshoot with the shocks prior to install. I borrowed scales and used some vinyl tiles and a 6’ level to corner weight the car. Took about 90 minutes to dial in the corner weights to a “good enough” state. Final alignment specs are in line with Supermiata recommendations and will be the baseline for 2021
NASA support
Also this year, I'm hoping to do more work with NASA with grid and as pace/safety car driver. I did training in February for pace car and got to chaperone a dozen MX-5 cup cars around Sebring.
It has been a year since the last update and there's been some changes. 2021 had some unexpected plans that all worked out for the better. Ended up changing jobs at the end of the year and moving up to Atlanta area. Car-wise it is a great move as I'm a lot closer to a lot more tracks. I think 8-ish tracks within a 6-hour tow. Plus, new garage is about 40% bigger so things are not as cramped.
2022 plans:
I'm planning on 6 events this year at Road Atlanta, Roebling, AMP, and Barber. I've never been to AMP or Barber so excited to try out both. In preparation for the 2022 season, the car got a new set of V730s as the RS4s met their demise from a ugly lockup going into turn 1 at Roebling at the last event in 2021. With more events with the NASA SE region, I'm targeting an end-of-year check ride for HPDE 4. 2022 should be fun.
04-08-2020, 07:38 PM
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