Getting Ready for the 2006 Race Season...................

[Greg Collier]

THATS WHAT WAS HOLDING IT ON? we were trying to get the wheel off our parts car and it just would not come off. I couldn't see anymore screws holding it in, but it just wouldnt come off. O well, doesn't matter now.

The steering wheel itself is only held on by a nut and lock washer (then use a steering wheel puller). Then there's a snap ring and bearing spacer as you get down to the column switch. The serv. manual says to use a hacksaw to cut through the steering lock bracket bolt. So "no" the steering lock has nothing to do with removing the wheel.

 

[Greg Collier]

Spent the weekend dealing with a bunch of minor issues before the motor comes back. I re-mounted the air foil to push air up through the radiator and re-positioned the aluminum water over-flow bottle where the OEM I/C piping came up through. Some re-wiring and oil blowby cleanup...

EDIT: Added seat head restraint install pictures.

 

[Poloturbo]

Wow, never saw and intercoller a bit tilted like that. Very hard to do? Any incresed level airflow to the rad like that? Great job.

 

[Greg Collier]

Wow, never saw and intercoller a bit tilted like that. Very hard to do? Any incresed level airflow to the rad like that? Great job.

Because I’ve been able to remove so much of the front end (turn signal light housings, front bumper, A/C and mounting brackets, oil cooler and brackets, hood latch and mounting brackets, etc) I was able to fabricate a new raised FMIC system to keep a good flow of air through the radiator. With 400hp at 12PSI and 220 degree engine temps at full throttle it seems to be doing the job…

And thanks

 

[steve]

With 400hp at 12PSI and 220 degree engine temps at full throttle it seems to be doing the job.

As long as you can keep coolant in the system.

You having withdrawls yet?

Steve

 

[Greg Collier]

As long a you can keep coolant in the system.

You having withdrawls yet?

Steve

Ohhhhhhh mannnnnnnn... and yes, it had to be said Mitch literally cried when I told him it was a faulty plug, and Scot Gray scolded me for even using one

WITHDRAWLS???? WHO ME!!!! I feel like a frigging racehorse in a outhouse. I've been able to watch a lot of SPEED TV and my buddies racing the GrandAm series when I'd normally be out on the track Even my wife is getting antsy to get out to the track

 

[terefic181]

Greg, I know I've asked several times before, but how's the engine coming along? Are you going to make Buttonwillow next month? I think David and I will probably wait, and try to conquer, Willow Springs again, in July. Hopefully, Ken will be finished with his car by then and we will have 4 Lasers out there . If I'm not mistaken, I believe, you need at least 5 races completed, to be able to go to the Mid-Ohio Nationals in September. I hope you're still planning on going?

 

[terefic181]

Ohhhhhhh mannnnnnnn... and yes, it had to be said Mitch literally cried when I told him it was a faulty plug, and Scot Gray scolded me for even using one

WITHDRAWLS???? WHO ME!!!! I feel like a frigging racehorse in a outhouse. I've been able to watch a lot of SPEED TV and my buddies racing the GrandAm series when I'd normally be out on the track Even my wife is getting antsy to get out to the track

I don't know whether you were watching today or not, but your racing buddy, Dwain Dement just won the Laguna Seca Grand Am in the 03 Steve Bernheim car!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Their coming up in the world!!!

Ain't that a Hooooot!!!

Tom

(edit) Here is a pix with Greg and one of the Bernheim cars at Cal Speedway this year.

 

[Greg Collier]

Greg, I know I've asked several times before, but how's the engine coming along? Are you going to make Buttonwillow next month? I think David and I will probably wait, and try to conquer, Willow Springs again, in July. Hopefully, Ken will be finished with his car by then and we will have 4 Lasers out there . If I'm not mistaken, I believe, you need at least 5 races completed, to be able to go to the Mid-Ohio Nationals in September. I hope you're still planning on going?

Yes, Mitch said we'll be up and running for the June race at Button Willow and I know I can count on him. As far as the 5 races completed prior to the Nationals I need to make sure I don't have any DNF's to screw up the possibility.

I don't know whether you were watching today or not, but your racing buddy, Dwain Dement just won the Laguna Seca Grand Am in the 03 Steve Bernheim car!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Their coming up in the world!!!
Ain't that a Hooooot!!!
Tom

I saw the whole race on SPEED TV and was totally cheering Steve and Dwain on. Dwain got the car at the drivers change pit stop and ended up coming out 33rd in class on the track. He went from 33rd to first place driving really hard and smart. Dwain definitely deserves this win... he's a hell of a nice guy! His interview was so cool too, he gave Steve all the Kudos for letting him drive on the team.

Another guy from NASA (Brain Lock) was running in the ST-Grand Am class and came in 6th in class which is an awesome drive for his team too...

 

[eclipse2via]

What kind of oil and water temps are you guys seeing in the summer heat?

At Buttonwillow last week the air temps were 100 deg. And I was seeing a too hot 270 deg oil and my water temp was rising until I turned on the cabin heater, which made it pretty uncomfortable. I have a fmic, koyo rad, plus a ps cooler and 8x11 oil cooler mounted in the driverside fender well inplace of the washer bottle. I run a 90 oil filter bracket so there is no oil water heat exchanger. I think the cooler is mounted a little high but I think I would need a smaller cooler to make it fit lower. Overall I think the water temps are stable until the oil gets too high. It sucks only doing 4 laps at time before I have to slow down short shift and drive half throttle in fifth down the straights.

I added some water wetter today and my next trackday is tomorrow with forecast of 83-84 high. So it won't be much of a test. In street driving it never overheats the coolant.

 

[Greg Collier]

All I can tell you is about my old setup with the side mount and Fluidyne. Oil about 220 to 230 and water never over 200 degrees, running 15-psi at 300hp. I run a full bottle of water wetter only as anti-freeze is not allowed per race requirements.

I'll be at Buttonwillow in a little over two weeks with the new set up, (PTE) "V" mounted FMIC and new PWR 52mm radiator.

Let's not forget the (Engintecs) motor will be making its 2nd debut after the first abuse. It'll all be interesting to say the least... "SO DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL!!"

 

[drivemusicnow]

Have you tried any ducting to force air through the radiator/oil cooler? you want to make sure any air you're going to "hit" (ie drag) is at least useful to you in cooling something. Brakes, trans, oil, rad, intercooler... Something!

I'd also put a temp sensor in your tranny and see how it is doing. I've hear that is a big problem with AWD dsms and is why i'm going with a tilton lube pump and cooler with an trans temp gauge to keep track of things.

270* oil temps are TOOO hot.

Greg,

I know almost as much as you do how busy Mitch is. I'm considering other machinists because I need to get my engine together. I just posted a long winded "what do I do" in the engine tech section. I'm sure your motor will be even more spectacular than before. 400 hp at 12 psi...

 

[Greg Collier]

Greg,
I know almost as much as you do how busy Mitch is. I'm considering other machinists because I need to get my engine together. I just posted a long winded "what do I do" in the engine tech section. I'm sure your motor will be even more spectacular than before. 400 hp at 12 psi...

It is a quandary when you want to move forward but you need to rely on others for their specific expertise. Mitch is always swamped because not only the performance of his endeavors but for their long-term reliability. Mitch isn’t unique, as all of my dealings with RRE and especially Mueller have been lengthy processes, assembling some of the top-notch components. I’m also aware of how much time these guys spend in their shops trying to make some of the people happy some of the time, but usually everybody is pissed until the end user becomes instantly aware of the incredible job he got.

Somebody PM’d me and asked why I didn’t just slap my old motor in for the last two races. First off my competition this year has excelled two fold, and secondly I’m trying to excel, pushing the car to it’s fullest potential and never settling for status quo. It takes time to develop something of true value and patience is the key element.

I wish I had an answer for you, all I know is that I’ve had a lot of “should haves, could haves, and would haves,” in my past. Now, it’s all about “trust” and absolutely positively knowing what works

 

[Slow old poop]

I know almost as much as you do how busy Mitch is. I'm considering other machinists because I need to get my engine together. I just posted a long winded "what do I do" in the engine tech section. I'm sure your motor will be even more spectacular than before. 400 hp at 12 psi...

You could try AutoMotoSports, right there in the Chicago suburbs. They built my 2.3 stroker motor and, although I haven't had a chance to really push it yet (don't ask), it seems to be running strong, even at a mere 10 psi boost. A DSMLink is ready to go in for the final tune, when we'll kick it to 20 psi and try it out at our first NASA event coming up at MAM on the 17th of June

Rich

 

[Greg Collier]

I picked up a cheap set of aluminum 17 x 9 - w/ 24mm offset Mustang Cobra rims off e-bay. They were a manufacturer screw-up without any finish so I painted the outside faces black. The bolt pattern and hub size were perfect. I was also pretty surprised to discover that they only weighed 22 pounds each which is still a whopping nine pound more then my 2-pc Bogarts, but I figure with all the extra hp I’m running it’s not going to make that much difference.

 

[mavisky]

Those look really good Greg, I hate to say it, but I prefer those over the dry wheels on a looks alone basis. Obviously though a 36 pound weight drop makes the Bogarts worth it though.

 

[Greg Collier]

Those look really good Greg, I hate to say it, but I prefer those over the dry wheels on a looks alone basis. Obviously though a 36 pound weight drop makes the Bogarts worth it though.

Thanks Kyle, you'd be disgusted if you knew how little I paid for them. The other positive about them is how much air I'll get through them with the brake ducts I'm fabricating, and the Stop tech’s have a huge amount of open area to breath...

 

[mavisky]

I'm sure I would Greg, I always seem to miss out on all the best deals. Only one I've caught lately was the $460 18g brand new from FP

I expect a bunch of pictures on this brake ducting setup as I'm hoping to start mine sometime soon as well.

 

[Greg Collier]

I expect a bunch of pictures on this brake ducting setup as I'm hoping to start mine sometime soon as well.

Yep... I started photographing from the very begining

 

[Slapnut]

Good Day All,

I would like to start by saying the best of luck to Greg and to all the other racers for the rest of the year. I haven't been on in awhile, due to depression about my racing this year being over after 1 race, but O-well, there’s always next year On to the fun stuff.... I think it was me that asked Greg about his old motor getting him by for the last 2 races he missed and the only reason that I brought it up was some points are better than no points. I know that in the dirt car that Myself and friends have we have extra parts out the butt, even motors... 2motors and 2 transmissions along with a truck load of other misc. parts. I realize that this may not be practical have 2 racing motors due to cost. I can only speak with my experience from dirt cars on this point, but some teams swap out their engines every month... 1 gets ran, the other gets rebuilt and waits. The motor that Mitch built / is building, I would say is a "prototype" great horse power that is reliable. Most of the "import" engine work done is for heavy horse power for drag racing, not reliability. Anyway, enough of my babbling.... I can't wait to here the Collier stories to come.

 

[Greg Collier]

Good Day All,

I would like to start by saying the best of luck to Greg and to all the other racers for the rest of the year. I haven't been on in awhile, due to depression about my racing this year being over after 1 race, but O-well, there’s always next year On to the fun stuff.... I think it was me that asked Greg about his old motor getting him by for the last 2 races he missed and the only reason that I brought it up was some points are better than no points. I know that in the dirt car that Myself and friends have we have extra parts out the butt, even motors... 2motors and 2 transmissions along with a truck load of other misc. parts. I realize that this may not be practical have 2 racing motors due to cost. I can only speak with my experience from dirt cars on this point, but some teams swap out their engines every month... 1 gets ran, the other gets rebuilt and waits. The motor that Mitch built / is building, I would say is a "prototype" great horse power that is reliable. Most of the "import" engine work done is for heavy horse power for drag racing, not reliability. Anyway, enough of my babbling.... I can't wait to here the Collier stories to come.

Hey Tim, sorry to hear about your bad luck with your car, but yeah... that's racing.

It was you and about a half dozen other people wondering about throwing another motor the car. All you guys are absolutely right and I should have gone for the points... no excuses

It looks like we'll be on the road again here shortly with the motor going in this weekend. Next Friday we'll be testing at Buttonwillow Raceway and then racing that weekend. There's this new guy that races a Viper in my class that's been razzing me on the NASA forums, so it's gonna be a put up or shut-up race

I can't frigging wait!

I've had a real interesting last couple of weeks that put me in the hospital emergency room and then in physical therapy every other day since. You'll get the whole story as a prelude to my next race commentary... SO STAY TUNNED

 

[missouri_dsm]

stupid vipers! I beat one last week on 17psi and pump gas in my awd(usually 28psi on 118). It was a new one too. Anyway Good luck Greg and I cant wait to see your next write up.

 

[drivemusicnow]

Greg... Are you running an external transmission cooler? if so are you using the Tilton pump to push the fluid around? or how are you doing this.

Also, have any extra oil coolers you could sell j/k

 

[Greg Collier]

Greg... Are you running an external transmission cooler? if so are you using the Tilton pump to push the fluid around? or how are you doing this.

Also, have any extra oil coolers you could sell j/k

Hey Greg, no I'm not running a tranny cooler but a couple of months ago John Mueller told me I should. Ad-on tranny coolers that I've seen, run a coupling and line from the drain plug to a sump , then pump, then to the cooler and back to the filler plug with another line and coupling. It's like the same setup as the power steering pump configuration but at radically lower pressure. I know Mitch has been looking into this for a while...

I had another Canton cooler but it was pierced in a race incident a couple of years ago, so nope I don't have any extras. I may be changing to a new Earl’s cooler so if I do you'll be the first to know

 

[underradar92]

Greg... Are you running an external transmission cooler? if so are you using the Tilton pump to push the fluid around? or how are you doing this.

Also, have any extra oil coolers you could sell j/k

I too am curious about this type of thing, as I've read about reliability glitches under prolonged high gear loads. Granted a 20 min. track session isn't exactly full race distance but its more than a drag race. ^^^^ And there is my answer, nice timing.