I plan to take my 04 Z Roadster on the track (not dragstrip) at VIR in a few weeks. I have tracked the car before the turbo but need to know what precautions to take now that the car is FI. Is this a bad idea?

I have heard about a heat issue in the engine bay (cooking things) since I do have a TN setup. Any ideas on helping that out ?

The car is tuned with UTEC, has 440CC injectors, AAM fuel return system, and seems to be running pretty well. My EGTs and A/F stay steady at full throttle.

Any suggestions on how to make my track day go a bit easier.

 

Keep those temps down!

 

open wastegate might add some re-assurance as well as some other things like better radiator and some heat wrapping where it may not be, vented hood etc..

 

I hope you have an oil and coolant temp gauge.

Keep the boost down.

Overoctane for what you're tuned for.

I've seen a few FI 350s toast at the track, and many of them on the sidelines because of hi temps. Thankfully, the ambient temp is still cool, so that should help a bit. What have you done for cooling upgrades?

 

Just curious here - if you are running meth would that help both the octane and heat issue? Does that make the car safer to track?

 

I do have an open dump wastegate setup - it was done when the turbo was put in dumps to the ground. I have everything also heat wrapped in the area.

As for the vented hood...anyone have any good ideas that dont look too ricey. The car other than the wheels looks completely stock and I like it that way.

 

Boost will be at the 8 it was tuned for. I will put high octane in at the track.

I dont really have any cooling upgrades other than open dump and everything is heat wrapped... any ideas

I dont have oil temp and coolant temp gauges- only boost , egt and AF. I guess i should probably get one.

 

Seibon has a bunch at decent prices check those out for sure..

 

You should be fine, just watch your gauges of course.

 

Those gauges wouldn't hurt, nor would a good rad and oil cooler. If you are going out for easy tracking a few times a year, maybe not necessary with some diligence.

 

not sure what the consensous was but apparently using water wetter was proposed and motul has a similiar product. i remember there was a whole thread about this.

+1 on oil cooler
+1 on higher octane
also would flush all fluids

i would check placement of a.c. line and wrap it since they burn through on those kits, and also ive heard about ps line burning through on the PL kits, but dont know if they share similiar pipe layouts

 

On the TN kit the AC line will be done even without going to the track. My first one lasted 3 months and 2K miles before it melted.

 

I would go lower boost + higher octane( not much higher than what you tune for)

Raise the stock hood with thick washer or adapter what ever you wanna call it.
to raise the hood look so rice so honda JDM blah blah... but it helps a lot. In case you don't wanna spend on aftermarket vented hood. There are only 4 bolts.

keep looking on your tepm and press in any gauge you have on your car.

 

A little more on doing this?

 

make sure you have no leaks at all. and I would richen up your AF about 5% in the certain load that you will mostly be in.

 

I would limit the number of laps at one time so you can bring it in and check things out. I found about 8-10 laps was good and any more she got pretty hot. Cool down for about 20-30 min then back out.

My power stearing fluid seamed to cavatate or boil if I was out to long.
I have the APS twins on my ZR and it did get hot in the eng bay.

I added a larger AMS Rad, Siebon vented hood and better break pads on my second time out. Next I will be adding an oil cooler, larger powerstearing rad, pluss I had the turbo exhaust manifold and parts ceramic coated.

 

Did you move the PS cooler out in front of the radiator with the hoses in the kit? I have the Stillen front and the cooler is right in the vent on the passenger side.

 

An oil cooler is always a strong idea even on an NA car when hitting the track. I would start there as this will protect the engine and turbo from overheating the oil and burnt oil sucks at protecting anything.

An upgraded radiator is a good idea too if you're going to be tracking often or tracking on hot days. Coolant temp is crucial in aluminum engines and you don't want to risk warping a head under the combination of boost and high cylinder temps.

Upping the fuel octane is definitely another great idea. Certain fuels also cool better than others. If you have access to VP Fuels C-12 or C-16 are both excellent choices, C-16 would give you even more head room and has additional cooling properties. They also have a fuel called Late Model + that was designed for circle track racing where cylinder temperature is a major concern and the cooling properties of the fuel is critical. It's a 113 octane fuel with a fast burn rate that contains additives for cooling.

 

i was doing track days with a bone stock car plus turbonetics kit. no other upgrades.

i just had to keep an eye out for the oil temperature gauge. i didnt have any problems (except for brakes lol).

oh and dont forget the bottle of water wetter. worked good for me.

 

Not sure exactly where it will go yet we hav'nt even got the eng in yet LOL. I picked one up last year from Summit, delivered to my door for ~35 bucks including a free Summit hat because it was my first order with them and from what I can tell looks the same size as the stillen.