I didn't think I was ragging on FI Z's. I respect your opinion. In other threads, I just see it as me bringing up info I've read about other people's results and wanting to get people talking about it. Some people seem to be bothered by that. I do a lot of reading and research. I have 24k in the bank right now and then I don't know how much in credit cards to do whatever FI I want to the Z and I'm doing research. When I ask people about their FI system they're happy to talk about it, but I'm honestly not sure a FI Z will do what I want it to because of it's design. I guess you could say for all the whp and wtq a FI Z has, I think they should be able to use that power and put it to the ground in an easy way.

I know a guy with a C3 corvette auto that does 10.7-10-8 1/4 mile and ANYONE can do it. IMO that's awesome to have controlable power that anyone can make use of and none of the "You need to have elite drag racing skillz just like me" stuff going on. Everyone respects skill and it's of course important, but when some dude goes to the track and blurts out a 10.8 without even really trying because the car is a better drag car in the first place, i dunno it's just a different class. Like someone in a hummer bragging about his mad driving skills cause he pulled a 16.3 at the strip when all other hummer drivers are doing 17's - it's like, um ok cool? I mean it DOES mean SOMETHING, but still at the end of the day, the Z is doing 11's in most cases which seems slow for cars with over 500-600whp

and yeah the Z has a power steering cooler. It isn't enough at the track though for a lot of people and need a bigger one. I should have choses my words more carefully - a BIGGER PS cooler. Kinda like how stock Z's have an "oil cooler" as worded in the service manual

 

I've seen plenty of stock (N/A) cars on the track that resulted with higher than normal temps during HPDEs... mine just happened to be instrumentated so i know what those numbers are..

almost everyone i knew boiled their power steering fluid...

i *DO* have the finned PE oil pan, along with a 1qt more oil capacity over stock pan. i even cut my underside tray to get air flow across the fins, but i removed the undertray after the temps soared after two laps... w/o the tray. it took around 4-5 laps for the oil to reach the higher temps.


Sentry65/BriGuyMax.... i appreciate the advice.. really.. thats why i got like a bazillion sensors in the car... so i know what i need to get and what i dont..

 

yeah no problem man, sorry for the drama....seems to follow me around in every thread lately.

 

the boiling isn't the problem (although that's obviously not good). the problem is that it can cause cavitation in the pump. this will lead to a failed PS pump. you will know when this happens because turning the wheel will cause nasty banging noises, which typically would get your attention enough to slow down / pull off the track.

i really only mentioned it because the fix (the nismo cooler) is relatively inexpensive (~$125). for people going FI who do track days, that's relatively cheap insurance. you have to take the bumper cover off the car to install, but all in all, a simple do-it-yourself fix.

the mod john runs a lightly modified (NA) car pretty damn hard, and i've never heard him complain of overheating. he's the only other z i regularly see on track. like i said, i'm adding water and oil temp gauges (and a monster oil cooler) to watch things. i'm very curious to see how the water temps hold up. won't have a real good test until next summer (when its 90+ and humid), but i'm guessing i'll need the fall and spring to shake out any niggling problems. i run pretty dang hard myself, and i've never experienced any overheating (of the water). i have had mobil1 15w50 show about 5psi of pressure at idle after a session however. given the additional thermal load the turbo is going to add, piecing together a real oil cooler for $150 looks like a no brainer to me.

its important to keep in mind that the factory temp gauge is basically an idiot light in gauge form. the needle's sweep is heavily damped (as it is in every new car i'm aware of), so there is a big range of temps that read 'normal'. if the needle moves any significant distance to the right, its time to get off the track and cool down - *DO*NOT* wait until it gets close to the red.

ahm

 

i was reading on Mobil1's website.. the flash point of 10w-30 is 435*F (224*C)
i guess the oil will be ok, i wonder how the VQ block will hold up to those temperatures...

for those interested in monitoring the temps thru the OBD2 port,
i use a simple electronic gauge from Techtom, CMX-100 N2.. which monitors not only water temp, but also ignition timing, MAF voltage, rpm, speed, battery voltage, and intake air temp. pretty good for less than $150. technosquare sells em...

http://www.technosquareinc.com/cmx.htm

 

I've witnessed only 1 and it was overheating... guy forfeited second day HPDE because he was uncomfortable. As I said, everytime I see someone having issues with heat at the track, it's someone with aftermarket FI. That is my firsthand experience. Honestly I Might be wrong about the 350z/G35, I don't have loads of data on FI 350z at the track (mind you, I did ask about tracked FI setups a couple weeks ago here and barely received any answers).

I plan on going FI in spring and track the car, I will take care of cooling first. I won't waste track time finding out how bad the car overheats.

BTW how often are you at the track? What does "I've honestly never heard of anyone overheating a Z" mean? Who exactly tracks his FI car that you have concrete data on? Does he have heat issues? What has he done exactly?

[edit]all mentions of "track" relate to road courses... not dragstrips

 

Most of the guys that track their cars, especially with FI aren't on the forums. I personally know of 3 different Zs in the Chicago area that are boosted and constantly track their cars.

I'm at the track (road courses) a couple times a year. Find some posts about guys with FI having overheating issues and I'll be impressed. The only ones you'll find are the guys in the 500-600whp range.

http://chicagoz.com/v-web/bulletin/b...pic.php?t=1498

Here's a guy who tracks his car regularly...APS TT. My car will be going to different tracks a bunch next year after I decide what wheel/tire combo I want to use.

 

Do you know if they have extra cooling capacity and what FI setup they have? Turbochargers, superchargers? And are you aware if any of them run oil coolers? that would be helpful to know

As for the threads about overheat and track, this is somewhat one of them. There aren't many, it's true... but the fact that there aren't many posts about overheating doesn't mean no one has overheated or no one uses significant extra cooling capacity. You realize that there doesn't appear to be lot's of track junkies here, and those who track their car don't seem to post much(here or elsewhere)... so finding anything about the track is a feat in itself.

 

and what do you think about the viscous properties of your oil at 434*F? What about the life of the oil? what about the oil filter? what about gaskets? what about etc...

it may not flash, but good luck on everything else staying together. A single bad overheating incident would already be too much imho...

 

Some people do have extra cooling capacity and others don't. Both Turbo and S/C. I don't know all the details about their cars...but I've got mine right here, and I'm running a bolt-on APS TT kit with not extra cooling capacity (either oil or coolant), and my car has never had any overheating issues. Sure I could get my peak coolant and oil temps down some..but they are nowhere near the danger zone on the track.

No it doesn't mean no one has ever overheated, but it does tell you that it's not a glaring problem on 350Zs with boost.

 

update,

ok. i measured where i needed to put my oil cooler as not to block my IC and it ended up i need to remove my windshield wiper water tank. oh well. i never use it anway..

i ordered a Setrab 25row, 13"x8"x2" -10an fitting oil cooler for about $190+shipping.

next up i will be mounting it to the car and then deciding what length of hoses and which angle fittings i will need.. i'll update with picts when the oil cooler shows up.

 

Oil Cooler has arrived, time to meausure for fittings, lines..

this cooler is big. bigger than the NISMO one by far...

for comparison, TechnoSquare built this racecar for a guy in Puerto Rico


note the dual Setrab coolers..


now here's mine..

 

Have you thought about relocating a washer tank outside the engine compartment? Perhaps in the spare tire well? Might be worth a shot, esp. if you decide to go with methanol/water injection down the road.

 

I've overheated my nearly stock-engined Z on the track a couple of times mid-summer in the desert.

Cheston,
I noticed that you said that you removed the stock undertray...no, no, no, no, no! It's there for a reason, and not just so you don't splash water on your oil pan.

The first time I overheated, it was right after I did an oil change. I was too lazy to put the undertray back on. At the time, it didn't register.

Next event...overheat again on Streets of Willow. I'm thinking WTF?!? I had run the same track, some config 2 months earlier, in similar weather...all else the same with no overheating.

Finally, I talk to Jackson Stewart at Unitech. One of the first things he says to me is, "did you have the stock undertray on?" Ding, ding, ding.

I put the undertray back on, problem solved. Now, I don't know how it will interact with your aftermarket bumper/hood. But, with the stock setup, the undertray is definitely evacuating air.

 

i know! i understand the benefits of the undertray in grip racing... i wanted it on there.. but i over heated the oil after two laps w/ the undertray, and then i was able to get around 4 laps w/o the undertray. My water temps were fine. i even have vents in my undertray to help draw air away from my finned oil pan, however i dont believe it is enough. hence my oil cooler is going back on as well as my undertray once everything is complete... there's no way i'm going to spend like $600+ for that ARC undertray.. i think i might make one myself from homedepot...

 

Love everything about that ARC undertray except the price. It would go with your ARC intercooler, tho.

 

Update..

well. the oil cooler will be the least of my worries after the cracked manifold but if you were still curious about what fittings i went with..

EARL's swivel pipe fittings.

used a 90* and 120* degree bend -10 fittings for the top of the oil cooler, need to find a thermastatic sandwich adapter and use either a 3/8 or 1/2 inch NPT threaded adapter with 90 degree bends, using EARLs superlite nylon holes (six feet worth) to route to the sandwich adapter..

re-routing the oil temp sensor probably to the block so the temps i am reading are MAX oil temps and not after the oil cooler..

i did a quick drawing since i didnt have my camera with me.

gotta love MS paint

 

That is exactly where I relocated my power steering cooler and oil cooler. I have a G35 and the Greddy front bumper so it gets direct air. If you roadrace your FI VQ then an oil cooler is a must. I wonder how many people are mistaking boiling their powersteering fluid with it rapidly recirculating through the system and bubbling(not boiling but circulating)?

 

you have WAY too much free time if you are drawing that on MS Paint

 

Yeah, seriously Cheston, what are you doing up there in the R buildings? I want to see some shading in the next picture. Stop slacking off.