Fun at oulton park(kind of)

bob the builder

bob the builder

New Member
Well just done an afternoon sesh at oulton.lots of nice motors, nice weather.
was looking forward to trying all the new bits that i have put on the car,suspension,brakes,seats,front mount.

started slow to get the car all warmed up and get the discs cleaned up.came in and checked everything over,all was well.
So went out to see what the old girl could do.All i can say is wow what a difference,it was like driving a completly different car.
i was last of the late brakers and it cornered like a winner.(i put this down to the great camber and toe settings cheers jim)
still need a bit of fine tuning on the damper settings and ride hight but not too far off.
came in after 5 laps as i was getting a bit carried away and wanted to let things cool off(oh and say high to the boy and wife lol)

After helping another person with his clutch pedal on his a3 it was time for another blast.
Went out all guns blazing and was loving it.with the r being a bit tail happy now it turned in great and and powered through the corners.
I was overtaking everything. lots of caterhams(they had 15 there with some company) a evo 10, sierra touring car, i was on fire(not literaly)
after about 10 glorious laps i looked at the oil temp and thought it was time for a break(120 on the gauge),but in the distance i saw the guy i helped and thought "i have to have him".
Just as i was gaining the unthinkable happened(or the inevitable),came out of the chicain and noticed a loss of power, and a dreaded knocking noise.
i quickly slowed down and limped back to the pits, where while it was cooling down there was a clunk and it stopped. BOLLO*KS

So that was end of day.
think it dropped a connecting rod as it was still running and wasnt smoking, but will have to wait for a closer inspection.

Despite how the day ended i am still chuffed with the car and how it performed. cant wait to fix the old girl and get it back on track. hopefully with some slicks next time.
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
stevepudney

stevepudney

GTiROC CHAIRMAN
Staff member
Nice one :thumbsup:

Despite the potential damage i must say that your enthusiasm is infectious :-D:-D brilliant :thumbsup:
 
vpulsar

vpulsar

Well-Known Member
Sounds like a fantastic days racing Bob, I don't know you spec but I found cooling the SR20 was the most vital thing you need to work on, A bigger rad and good sized oil cooler being essential for longevity, What oil where you using on the day ?.

Another thing to look at to add cooling is the power supply to fuel pump, I think Steve's the one to explain that mod because I hate electrics but you need to wire it straight to the battery through a relay I believe to get a constant 14 volts.


John
 
bob the builder

bob the builder

New Member
engine is just standard internals. running about 280bhp,on 1.2b boost and front mount.
water temp was spot on all the time never getting more than half way.
was using some shell fully synthetic not long been in.
 
vpulsar

vpulsar

Well-Known Member
bob the builder said:
engine is just standard internals. running about 280bhp,on 1.2b boost and front mount.
water temp was spot on all the time never getting more than half way.
was using some shell fully synthetic not long been in.
Click to expand...
Have you got an oil cooler fitted ?, the oil temp was probably the issue, I remember throwing a rod through the block on my first pulsar lol, At least you got away with just a broken rod maybe ;-).



John
 
red reading

red reading

Active Member
MarkTurbo said:
So for the sake of around £100 or so you could have saved yourself an engine rebuild!
Click to expand...
Or for the sake a bit less bravado and lifting off to let the poor engine cool off!:lol::lol: Live and learn. At least you had good fun, fit a oil cooler and a larger radiator (there is a oil-water heat heat exchanger on the oil filter housing,so more cool water will help too)
 
darkyGTI-R

darkyGTI-R

New Member
That's quality mate it is amazing at how well these old cars perform on the tracks,I would so love to put mine on a track just to have ago:)
 
gtir_pimp

gtir_pimp

New Member
how many will break on the gtiroc track day? these things always break on track. my mates lasted 6 laps before the bottom end started knocking, the guy in the black pulsar who took it on the track at silverstone jts a few weeks ago also had a bottom end issue and still tried driving it home which put the piston out the block on the motorway in front of me, now bobthebuilders got problems, whos next?
 
vpulsar

vpulsar

Well-Known Member
gtir_pimp said:
how many will break on the gtiroc track day? these things always break on track. my mates lasted 6 laps before the bottom end started knocking, the guy in the black pulsar who took it on the track at silverstone jts a few weeks ago also had a bottom end issue and still tried driving it home which put the piston out the block on the motorway in front of me, now bobthebuilders got problems, whos next?
Click to expand...
You have to remember just how old these cars are now, And who knows just how good or badly the previous owners have treated the cars over the years, The SR20 isn't weak engine but being abused over the years with extra boost and hard launches and cheap oil takes it's toll :cry:.

As I said in my first reply in my own personal experience cooling these engines properly is the most important modification you should be spending your money on, I had a 19 row oil cooler but I think a 13-16 row would be ample for most people.

You must bin the standard rad on any car heading for track use and Absolute radiators do a very nice cooper rad that is twice as thick as the standard plastic rubbish fitted to the car at a very reasonable price.



John
 
P

PulsarLee

New Member
Hiya,

Has anyone any thoughts on the bonnet vent blanking plates.? should these be removed at this time of year / for trackdays?

thoughts please

ta

Lee
 
P

pulsarboby

Guest
gtir_pimp said:
how many will break on the gtiroc track day? these things always break on track. my mates lasted 6 laps before the bottom end started knocking, the guy in the black pulsar who took it on the track at silverstone jts a few weeks ago also had a bottom end issue and still tried driving it home which put the piston out the block on the motorway in front of me, now bobthebuilders got problems, whos next?
Click to expand...


that engine that let go on the way back and threw a rod through the block was a 2000 mile forged built engine which mark had built himself, its also totally destroyed his new 3071r tubby that was a week old, prior to jts the engine was running a peach with good oil pressure and comps.

im inclined to once again agree with whats said above..... cooling! its paramount that the oil, charge and water temps are kept down (especially on a hot day).
but theres another thing also which is a killer of bigends and pistons....thats bad mapping.
mark had recently had the car mapped and it was running very rich which means fuel will bypass the rings and mix with the engine oil in turn causing very diluted oil, now couple this with high engine temps and the engine will lead a very short life.

ideally you need to be running a wideband lambda and egt sensor.
both these items will give you a good indication of what the engine/fuelling is doing. the wideband will let you know if shes running rich or lean on boost and egt gauge will let you monitor how hot the temp is at manifold....if its very high then theres a good chance the engine is detting or ignition advance is not correct.

very hard to get a car to be reliable for constant use on circuit (ive destroyed loads of engines built by myself:lol:, hiteq and norris as well as a few others over the years) yet the engines are fine for road or sprint use, soon as you put them under real stress its boooom time:doh:.

i personally think anyone running over 350bhp on a circuit and driving the car on its edge will always have problems, the design of block and head waterways and oilways i think is just not up to scratch to handle that volume of power for 20-30 minutes of racing probably 6 or 7 times in one day, which is what you are doing on a trackday unless you drive like miss daisy lol

the new car were building will therefore be within boundaries above but with much faster spool time, this should make up for the overall power loss.
 
johnsy

johnsy

Active Member
your starting to put me off going on this track day now!

i maybe ordering a oiler cooler sooner rather than later now!

do you have a link orcontact number for the rad place
 
grim_d

grim_d

Member
pulsarboby said:
i personally think anyone running over 350bhp on a circuit and driving the car on its edge will always have problems, the design of block and head waterways and oilways i think is just not up to scratch to handle that volume of power for 20-30 minutes of racing probably 6 or 7 times in one day, which is what you are doing on a trackday unless you drive like miss daisy lol
Click to expand...
But in your opinion (experience?), can the R be used on track reliably as long as the power is kept to a sensible level and cooling is taken care of?

Big power laggy cars would be no use for tight circuits anyway I imagine!
 
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