Couple good pics from Saturday.. 
Couple good pics from Saturday..
Got to drive this.... Determined its wicked nice, definitively not autocross suited.
few more pics from last weekend. Last couple pics are of our reigning overall champ taking a couple runs in the kart to wrap up the day. He couldnt quite put a solid run in, spun first time out. then he felt he braked too early on most the elements on the second go.
Finally.
Finally snagged a Fast Time of the Day (FTD)!
And it was by a large margin, nearly 3 sec. I actually posted the top 5 fastest times of the day. Somewhat comically, the first FTD wasnt with my SCCA club, it was at a local Corvette Club event. There were 40+ cars entered, included some well prepared C5-C6-C7s.
I dont think it was any coincidence that this was my first event on Falken RT660s (instead of toyo R888r) either. They were phenomenal from the start. Smaller, now running 275 on the rear, down from 315, and cheaper than the toyos too. The front end never pushed and rear slip was very manageable. The grip inspired confidence and i pushed them hard. My times dropped consistently from 45.5 sec first run down to 42.5sec final run.
Link to video:
How did the corvette guys react to your car?
In reply to dculberson :
to my face, very positively! There was definitely more of a crowd around it during down time than anyone else!
The local newspaper printed an article about the event, this was the first time at that site.
Ole LS1-KART got the most press!! Funny stuff.
copy and paste:
While many residents of Camden County were attending the Scarecrow Stroll and related activities downtown this past Sunday, some may also have noticed some cars around town with numbers and cryptic letters on their sides. If so, that’s because the Jacksonville-based North Florida Corvette Association (NFCA) was conducting their first-ever autocross event at the old airport.
An autocross is a timed event where one car at a time negotiates an “obstacle course” defined by traffic cones, and this event used the southwest taxiway and western portion of the east-west runway. Some people compare an autocross to a miniature road race (think Monaco Grand Prix), but the course design changes from event to event and there is no passing. While drivers want to complete the course in the least amount of time, safety regulations require the fastest cars cannot exceed approx. 70. This is accomplished by placing different elements on the course that the drivers must negotiate. Hitting a pylon adds two seconds to one’s time and missing a gate entirely results in a Did Not Finish (DNF) for that run, so staying on course is paramount. And while viewing areas are well outside the competition surface, the entire course was visible from just about anywhere inside the airport gates.
This past Sunday, Oct. 24, 41 drivers from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina participated at the first-ever autocross in St Marys. While there were a number of local drivers in attendance, including several who are stationed at Kings Bay, many entries came from outside Camden County. Altogether there were more than 250 people on the property at one point or another during the day. The location got rave reviews from all the drivers, and many local residents who participated were pleased to see the airport in use.
There were 22 Corvettes but also 19 non-Corvettes ranging from other American muscle cars to Porsches, Fiats and Hondas, and each driver was allowed to make up to 14 timed runs. The Fastest Time of Day (FTD) of 42.559 seconds came from the open ranks and was turned by Kyle Younger of Fernandina Beach in his much-modified “Naked Vette.” Younger's vehicle originated as a production ‘98 Corvette, but over the years he has proceeded to remove many non-essential parts (including the body), added a huge rear wing, and moved the radiator behind the rear axle. Despite the dune buggy appearance, Kyle’s car remains street-legal, and he actually drove it to the event while many competitors came in on trailers.
By comparison, the fastest Corvettes of the day were Steve Goodbread of Melrose, Florida, in his 2002 Z06 with a best run of 45.200 followed closely by NFCA President Harry Way in his C7 coupe with a 45.321. Had Goodbread and Way started nose-to-tail on their best runs they would have been about 10 feet apart at the finish line. NFCA also recognizes the fastest time of the 11 women drivers participating, and that went to the 47.650 turned by Veronica Duys of Merritt Island, Florida, in her 2012 Grand Sport Corvette. And finally, the fastest non-Corvette was St. Marys resident Bill Traub, who clocked a best of 46.531 in his 2021 Mazda Miata MX-5.
For those interested, NFCA is hosting a two-day event at the airport on Dec. 4-5 and details will be announced soon. No firm plans exist yet for 2022, but both NFCA and the Jacksonville branch of the Buccaneer Region SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) have expressed interest in using the site. As mentioned, many of the participants are coming from outside Camden County, and will be spending money on food, entertainment, and lodging in the area.
(Article contributed by host organization NFCA.)
Latest progress towards increasing rear radiator air consumption... added an upper shroud / rear deck. its a work in progress, but good enough for some testing.
hooked up the go pro to do another round of air tuft testing.
obviously the upper shroud need much stiffening.
it seems air travels well over the roof and down the partition. though a ton of air comes around the side. though my initial intention was to box the tunnel from roof opening to radiator my thoughts now are to start with a centerline vertical partition to steady the upper shroud and try to flow more of that side air into the radiator.
I think you are on the right track with bringing in air from the sides. Look at where the intakes are on the modern rear engine cars like the C8: right behind the doors.
Any of the Buccaneer events scheduled for next year?
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
true.
Yep, rough schedule is hashed out, discussing with sites now, expect it to be released in a week or so!
Heres how the upper radiator shroud / deck turned out. added a divider down the middle, add rigidity too.
I have a panel mostly done that will be a top to the tunnel, not sure it will be necessary... we shall see.
took the kart out to our local cars and coffee type event. Someone going by alias VinnySushi took a nice pic. Huge variety of cars and people. My junk definitely gets noticed. Mostly positively.
Finished a lightweight polycarbonate upper duct panel that is easy to install/remove. THis pretty much concludes my effort to try and maintain water temps while on track. Need to find track time now!!
Constructed the frame out of 1/16 extrusion. Still working on my MIG conventional feed Aluminum welding. aint super pretty, and this was a bit cold, but its been effective.
Looks great! I'm shooting for an open track day towards the end of the month to shake some things down. January at The Firm should help keep those temps down.
Have you looked at the downstream side of the radiator? If the air is getting turbulent and slow there, could be reducing flow. Far from an expert, just an unsolicited thought. My other thought was that you have one fan pulling air right into some structural stuff, that can't be fast moving air. Maybe a single fan shrouded to evacuate air over the bumper?
Error404 said:Looks great! I'm shooting for an open track day towards the end of the month to shake some things down. January at The Firm should help keep those temps down.
Have you looked at the downstream side of the radiator? If the air is getting turbulent and slow there, could be reducing flow. Far from an expert, just an unsolicited thought. My other thought was that you have one fan pulling air right into some structural stuff, that can't be fast moving air. Maybe a single fan shrouded to evacuate air over the bumper?
Sweet, yea, its looking like next weekend or February for me. Always good to sync up other GRMers so maybe schedules will align.
Agree, there is some obstruction by the frame, but it isnt as bad as it seems in the pictures. there is a good sized opening under the frame. I intentionally made the top shroud extend past the aft side of the radiator by 6"+ thinking that may reduce the pressure on the backside of the radiator encouraging flow.. Need to do a tuft test of that region at some point.
This upgrade was much more difficult than anticipated...
Well, Event 1 is done. 2022 started like 2021 ended. Cold and wet.
The "preparations" i should have been making were to put the kart back on the trailer. Better yet, i should have left the trailer and kart at the house as i managed to flat a trailer tire at the airport with a lag bolt.
In brighter news.... i am going to Roeblling Road for a trackday tomorrow!!
In reply to Go_Gators (Forum Supporter) :
Major bummer but a track day at Roebling is pretty much always a positive way to end. I've been there more than anywhere else and I'm more than a little envious, I could really use some track time right now. How did your temps fare with higher sustained speeds? 6/7 is probably a wee bit of a wild ride in the Kart.
In reply to Error404 :
much more later... but. amazing. great experience. learned a ton about the kart and driving. temps were under control! i found T3 the most challenging. Ran track addict as usual, so results may vary.. but it recorded a 1:21, with a majority of my laps ranging from 1:23 - 1:25.
put in a bit more than 120 laps!
A lot to digest from my first RRR track day. First ....about the kart at 140mph.
The splitter, suspend by ¼” eye bolts (qty4) and 3/16 wire rope does provide a noticeable difference. After 40-50 laps, the eye bolts opened, allowing the cable to slack and the splitter to make contact with the ground. I tried a few bush fixes, but ended up having to remove it entirely. I can stand on it (~170lbs) without an issue, so clearly its making some force at those speeds. Since I had to remove it, I instantly had the feel of driving with it, then without it. On RRR sweeping turns I immediately noticed a bit of push with it removed and it felt a bit floaty on the front stretch. So, I will be upgrading the hardware and putting it back on.
Oil. where is it going!?!? I started the day over filled with redline 10w-40 and brought ~2qts of it. About the time of the splitter challenges I noticed severely decreased oil pressure in the one long left turn. Checking the oil level, I only found a hint of oil at the bottom of the stick. Added the nearly 2 qts I brought and oil pressure maintained. Oil temps stayed reasonable through out the day, plateauing in the 260degs range. By lunchtime I was in need of oil again. So I went to town to fetch the best oil I could find and more fuel of course. I ended up adding ~ 3 quarts in the afternoon. The bottom of the car is clean. presumably, I am burning the oil, hard to say. need to pull some plugs.
Speaking of fuel… I logged 120+ laps. Figure 250 miles of on track driving. The kart was full of fuel to start (think its an 18 tank system) and I brought my two 5 gal jugs. Finished the day having to refill the jugs and with only a ¼ tank left in the kart. My guess, 30-35 gallons used! Which seems, not too bad!!
The major improvement was the engine cooling arrangement. The coolant system responses to troubleshooting in the afternoon proved the recent changes worth. Through out the morning the coolant temps stayed right it should ~200deg. This was a major improved since my last FIRM trackday. The physical changes since then included the new roof panel with a sloped back, the lower partition from the sloped roof to the bottom of the radiator. A larger radiator shroud and an upper panel to trap air from the top of the roof opening to the top of the radiator. Additionally, I added an expansion tank to the top of the radiator.
During lunch I noticed the foil/scoop I added to the roof to direct air down towards the radiator had welds that were cracking. Back out on track there was a noticeable flapping noise at 100+ mph but I wasn’t sure the foil was the cause. This started a series of in and outs trying to identify the noise. However, as I removed and replaced pieces, the coolant system responses suggest that I might have nailed the design.
First I pulled the upper clear radiator duct panel thinking it might be flopping around, the noise was still there. But cooling remained the same. I don’t think its really necessary. Second I pulled the roof off. The noise went away, but temps got to ~240deg on my out lap! So, the roof went back on immediately and of course the noise returned. A few laps later, I was flagged to come in. the foil was literally hanging on by one last weld. I ripped it off and went back out. Noise was gone. But, water temps crept up, temp gauge was approaching the top of the sweep, ~220deg, but never past. I continued like that the rest of the day. Clearly, the foil did scoop some additional air into the radiator duct since the observable temp increase was sustained the rest of day. So, I need to beef it up a bit and replace it.
Sounds like a pretty awesome day of methodical shaking down! The oil consumption is curious- that's a lot of oil! I would assume at that rate that it'd be visible to other participants, but maybe I'm wrong...
Curious to see where it's going.
golfduke said:Sounds like a pretty awesome day of methodical shaking down! The oil consumption is curious- that's a lot of oil! I would assume at that rate that it'd be visible to other participants, but maybe I'm wrong...
Curious to see where it's going.
Yea, havent pulled a plug yet, but i would think it would have been visible (if combusted) too....
I figure the 250 miles on track I did in one day is near about as much as I have driven competitively cumulatively my entire life (adding up the autocross runs). I learned so much about driving. There was near zero traffic on course, but I wasn’t able to really follow anyone to better my lines as I was hoping to do. However, I was able to refine my lines based on the videos I had watched prior to the event that started to make more sense as I modified by lines through corners to see what worked. The kart, particularly with the splitter, was neutral. It had a tendency to be loose on entry if I entered with a bit of trail brake, but after gaining confidence, I found that the corners I was getting loose on entry in, most didn’t require brake application at all. Though, i am not sure it was quicker, i found i didnt need to brake for any corners other than 1 & 4... Letting off throttle was enough to transfer weight to get the car to turn for everywhere else, maybe it would have been quicker to stay in throttle longer, brake then turn than the easing out of the throttle that i was doing.. IDK...
Grip throughout was confidence inspiring. it would get controllably loose rolling back into the throttle, but I was always coming out of corners in 3rd gear so catching it wasn’t hard. I was entering the front stretch at 80+ mph and reaching 6k rpm by the end of the outside curbing, there was plenty more grip out there to be taken.
Tire wear was very even on the R888r-es, they are down to the wear bars now, but very even. believe the camber front and rear is at a good setting finally.
Finally got around to editing some video from RRR!
FIrst up is a side by side comparison of my best morning lap against my best after lap.
Seems i carried a bit more speed in 1 & 2 and came out of 9 hotter.
A couple more videos from RRR. First link is to a few "lowlights", of the day... Second link is a longer video of 3 of my shorter sessions.
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