RXRacing

Were fabricating the new front bits. The new front end actually has a 1.5″ 0.065″ tubing “bumper” which ties straight to the frame rails of the car. This should offer some front protection in the case of an incident. On the bad news front I dropped my grinder on the rad while I was relocating the coolant tubing and as such had to spend around three hours trying to weld the holes up. I think I managed to get the holes sealed up, but I won’t know for sure until I fire it up and ensure it holds water. The Rad is looking a little beat from the last six years, so a replacement might be a good idea anyways.

Now I chopped the front off the frame rails. The plan is to V-mount the rad and intercooler.

Here is a pic of the car after I stripped the bodywork and then after the front end rework:

We just finished a great 2010 Eurasia Cup GT race and managed a third place in GTP2. The car ran out of fuel on the last lap, but I had managed to lap the fourth place car. Oil temperatures were very high due to a return line AN fitting touching the exhaust, but the car ran quite good. I had to back off when the temps got too high, but it all worked out in the end. Big thanks to Rahul and Kyle for all the help all weekend.

I’m happy to say the #27 has once again belched foul smelling smoke out of the tailpipe (and under-hood exhaust leak).  The new engine is up and running with only minor oil spillage and odd smells.  The new setup has about an hour of idling on it and an hour of lapping the track.  If I can get the time I’ll try to put three or four more hours on the motor before the GP to ensure it is broken in gently.

-Trent

Managed to get a day in working on the car. We managed to get the housings ported and get the motor together. The new setup is basically S5 irons and housings and S6 (third gen) rotating assembly. We used the Rotary Aviation seals again and the solid corner seals so the motor should be as solid as the last one. Upgrades are a new Pineapple Racing oil pan and a new to me oil cooler to replace the old bent up one. When I put the new motor in I’ll likely re-think the front end ducting to the oil cooler, radiator and intercooler. We just need to see how my time works out before the Indy. Looks like I’ll be running the Cayman at another Time attack on Monday night.

Cheers,
-Trent

Well, it is official. What felt like a rear rotor bearing in the engine was exactly that. The rear rotor bearing in the engine was destroyed. The center and rear plates of the motor are junk, but the rest of the engine is in good shape.  Credit me feeling the car was “wrong” and trailering it before the damage spread.   I just have to figure out my plans and check availability of parts to figure out how to fix (and upgrade) it.  You just know it has to go together faster and better than before.

I was just looking through the times again (and appreciating Matt’s sense of humour with the comments) and I wanted to highlight the last event.  Some serious hardware showed up and the times were quite good.  I think my slicks may have started to harden up as I couldn’t equal my previous best times, but the car was still sticking quite good.  Here are the times:

Race Tire Class
1. Trent Oster – 63.221 – Mazda RX-7 Turbo
2. Travis Kittlitz (Dynacor Media) – 64.586 – Nissan 350Z Turbo
3. Russell Timmons – 65.741 – Porsche GT3
4. Dave Whiting – 66.294 – Nissan 300ZX TT
5. Mitch Lalonde – 67.903 – Corvette Z06
6. Philip Kieley – 68.179 – Mitsubishi Evo X
7. Dean Burnam – 69.067 – Nissan 300ZX TT
8. Brian Sinfield – 70.335 – Mazda Eunos Turbo

Some pretty heavy hitting hardware there, most cars in the 400 hp or better range
Since Conroy is now done his shop I’ll have to get out there and start pulling the car apart ASAP. I’ve got to beat my 2009 record and get under 62 seconds. My long term goal is to lap Stratotech under 60 seconds, but I think that might be out of reach for the current #27. We’ll have to see.

Here is a link to the Time Attack standings through 2009.  It took until quite late in the season for me to truly get up to speed. http://straightpipe.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=384

The #27 is sitting out, waiting for a certain fellow to complete his shop.  Once we can get to work on the car there are a few items in need of attention.  At the end of the Speedway Performance Time Attack season (which I won (Yay)) I think it may have turned a rotor bearing in the engine.  I had severe oil heating problems at the Indy, seeing 270 to 280 degrees and a general smell of burning. and it was still an issue at the time attack.  I think I overdid the lapping at the end of the session.  In my defense, the Porsche GT3 had just pulled out and I *really* wanted to pass him.  After passing him I naturally wanted to build a huge lead, seeing how much distance I could build per lap.  About six laps in I lost power.  It fired back up and ran, but it didn’t quite feel right after that, so I put it on the trailer.

Here’s the 2010 plan:  Pull the engine and transmission, pull both apart, inspect and re-assemble if they are both fine.  Fix if not.  Find a bigger intercooler and install it.  Find an oil cooler that isn’t all blocked off and replace the existing one which is mangled.  Figure out how to fit the 17×9.5″ rims and 260 slicks up front.  The push at the Indy made me feel there was some corner speed left on the table with a better balance of rubber.  Get new slicks for the 2010 Indy.  Get some time behind the wheel and be ready for the Indy.