4/24/2010
First race of the year and I'm back in the pits trying for another year to complete a Novice License attempt. What is it now, 3-4 years??!?! Aaargh.
But first...Drama!
On Wednesday the 21st, I find myself still chasing an electrical demon that won't allow the car to run well. If the Field is plugged into the alternator, the car runs awful (ammeter pegs at 30). I ran the HPDE without it, so I knew I had a back-up for the weekend.
But, me and my infinite wisdom, I choose to totally, yes totally, rewire the car. New fuse block, master switch, fuel switch, wires, connections. I'm going to root out this problem and fix some other troubling items in the process. Also, I'll have a wiring diagram to work with as a result.
In 6 hours, everything was rewired and the master/kill/alternator combo was per the kill switch wiring guide (Longacre). But, it failed. Connecting the Field wire on the alternator quickly bogs the motor down. More on that later. Because I had a race to go to.
Car is "ready" with 100LL in the tank to avoid pinging, engine recently rebuilt and Accusump accumulator primed with 2qts of 40psi Mobile 1 synthetic oil. Car is purring like a kitten, warmed up and ready. I'm now strapped in, Hans, arm restraints, and the other usual accouterments. Mirrors adjusted, time to head to grid. "10 minutes early guys!" the Novice director says. So I'm there, midway down the grid, Miatas everywhere like locust. A few Pro3 BMWs and a couple REALLY fast stock cars and GTIs.
5 minute warning. The sun disappears behind a dark, very dark cloud.
1 Minute warning, car starts right up and the drops begin to fall. We head out. By lap 3, the rain is pouring. The only sollace is that everything from my neck down seems to be in the dry (speed good!). But there's no grip on my older, hard near-treadless Advans. The high speed turns are treacherous. 50 MPH sideways is thrilling, but not when the front straight wall is coming at you.
Three more laps and the water is getting deeper on the track. I pull into the hot pits because I don't want to crash me or hold up the others. "I'm waiting to see if it lets up!", I tell the pit steward. "Only 2 minutes left in session!", he yells over the remaining cars going by. So I return to my spot in the pits (under my nice new canopy I got for last year's attempt).
Hour later and the sun has returned, track is dry. "Qualifying" run goes well, but the engine won't rev past 6k and full throttle seems to bog down the engine as the session goes on. But, no oil leaks, pinging, blown head gaskets. Even the brakes are much better. I'll race today!
Race was at 4:30ish. The car ran the whole 30 minute session without major issue. Yes, I finished dead last, but I have not overdriven the car and saved hurting it in the process. I pull into the pits, shut the car down, and a wave of emotion comes over me. I sit there for 5 minutes, just realizing that the car and I finally made it through a complete Practice, qualifying and race set.
FINALLY! And I'm spent. Mentally spent. I check in with the race director 20 minutes later, and there's no issues with me from the Senior drivers reviewing the Novice Race. Job well done.
Time to pack up and go home.
FINALLY!!!!!!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
She's ALIVE !
New year with new expectations of finally keeping things together to complete the Novice Racing Program with Cascade Sports Car Club. We (car and me) ran all 4 sessions of the first High Performance Drivers Education (HPDE) on March 20th. Weather was perfect ! Yeah! And in Oregon even!
More on the run day in a bit, because there has to be drama with this car first, right!?!?!?!
During the engine initial start-up, after it's total rebuild, the thing wouldn't really run well. The builder tried everything he could think of. After an hour of futzing and frustration, I noticed the Ammeter was pegged to one side. The builder unplugged the alternator and instantly things were running better.
There was/is also a strange knocking noise that seems to emanate from around the water pump. It does not sound healthy (or death eminent). It didn't get worse or better and the engine guy said he didn't know what it was and that it was at my risk to run it. Un-belting the water-pump as a test didn't fix the knock.
Being fed up with missing the entire race season last year waiting for my engine to be rebuilt, waiting a month and a half to start the car up (bye-bye dyno time), I wasn't about to jump on his suggestion to pull the engine and pulling it apart (we'll see if that turns out to be a bad decision). I had planned on start-up since early February when it was reassembled, but the builder was booked. Now it was the Tuesday before the run and I was seeing red mist!
Screw it! I'm running on battery only and damn the knock!
Saturday morning arrived and it was chilly, but sunny. Wife, kid and good friend Steve came by to over-see the melee around lunch time. Wife took pics, kid had lunch in the hammock in the trailer and Steve thoughtfully ensured I got my harness belts on properly (among other little but crucial details).
The 2 morning runs were great. I took it easy and felt the car out, slowly increasing engine speeds and turn loading. Things were all right!
More on the run day in a bit, because there has to be drama with this car first, right!?!?!?!
During the engine initial start-up, after it's total rebuild, the thing wouldn't really run well. The builder tried everything he could think of. After an hour of futzing and frustration, I noticed the Ammeter was pegged to one side. The builder unplugged the alternator and instantly things were running better.
There was/is also a strange knocking noise that seems to emanate from around the water pump. It does not sound healthy (or death eminent). It didn't get worse or better and the engine guy said he didn't know what it was and that it was at my risk to run it. Un-belting the water-pump as a test didn't fix the knock.
Being fed up with missing the entire race season last year waiting for my engine to be rebuilt, waiting a month and a half to start the car up (bye-bye dyno time), I wasn't about to jump on his suggestion to pull the engine and pulling it apart (we'll see if that turns out to be a bad decision). I had planned on start-up since early February when it was reassembled, but the builder was booked. Now it was the Tuesday before the run and I was seeing red mist!
Screw it! I'm running on battery only and damn the knock!
Saturday morning arrived and it was chilly, but sunny. Wife, kid and good friend Steve came by to over-see the melee around lunch time. Wife took pics, kid had lunch in the hammock in the trailer and Steve thoughtfully ensured I got my harness belts on properly (among other little but crucial details).
The 2 morning runs were great. I took it easy and felt the car out, slowly increasing engine speeds and turn loading. Things were all right!
Car ran well, albeit it ran battery only (aka a "total loss")...meaning w/o an alternator. But, I had a nagging problem with the car not wanting to rev past 5300RPM. Oh well, I was getting seat time and I could fix that later. Smooth first, speed later. Brakes too were finally working well ! Yeah!
The after lunch session was good with the family taking smug pictures. Last session of the day I had some 1-year old 100LL fuel to use up. I put it in, cranked the carb needles to be more rich, and headed out. By the third turn though, knocking was creeping in and I know how quick that will blow things on this motor. I up-shifted to 4th to lower the revs and puttered in. Too bad it pings only when the engine is loaded up. A dyno tuning session would have helped mitigate that kind of adjustment need.
The after lunch session was good with the family taking smug pictures. Last session of the day I had some 1-year old 100LL fuel to use up. I put it in, cranked the carb needles to be more rich, and headed out. By the third turn though, knocking was creeping in and I know how quick that will blow things on this motor. I up-shifted to 4th to lower the revs and puttered in. Too bad it pings only when the engine is loaded up. A dyno tuning session would have helped mitigate that kind of adjustment need.
I figured I had had a good day, and it was time to thank the car by letting her off easy. That, and I know not to push my luck too much.
So, in the following weeks, I have time to address some issues before the Rose City Opener on April 24th!
Meanwhile, some pics from the day.
So, in the following weeks, I have time to address some issues before the Rose City Opener on April 24th!
Meanwhile, some pics from the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)