Sponsorship NASA Road Racing Greg Collier 1st Race 2006

[underradar92]

Hey Greg, have you started to dig into the cause of last wknd's engine mishap? Just curious. wannabe #2296

 

[Greg Collier]

With the car finally off the trailer in the garage I did a coolant system test. First I drained the radiator to find less than a quart of water. I then filled up the system and attached the pressure tester. Before I reached five pounds of pressure water began pissing out of what seemed to be the rear of the motor. Upon further inspection I discovered the rubber plug I had been using to close off the heater hose had failed. Three years of service and then absolute disintegration.

After a compression test I was looking at 30 pounds at each cylinder. I literally destroyed the motor. I may have fried the pistons or destroyed the rings. Who knows what the cylinder walls are going to look like? The head may be warped without a doubt. I felt like a wrecking ball swung down and knocked me on my ass. A frigging 25-cent part has taken its toll on this beautiful piece of machinery. Maybe if I hadn't taken that last lap thinking I could cool down the engine, this wouldn't have happened.

I called Mitch and gave him the bad news. His reaction was, “pull the motor and send it back to Chicago, we’ll have you back up and running in no time.” Here I blew up this man’s work of art and his reaction is, we’ll deal with it and move forward. He is by far a better man then me…

Greg

 

[Slapnut]

GAHHHHHHHHHHHH r.i.p 2.4


btw to all of you racers out there... Saftey Saftey.... this is a link to a video of cars that are like ours... size wise http://theync.com/vbcrash4.shtml sorry greg for the high-jack, but i thought it fit, i don't want to see anyone hurt!

 

[underradar92]

To Greg, ouch. Tim, Thanks, I want to think all those rules are cr*p, but it sure is nice to see the real reason for them. Live to drive another day.

 

[terefic181]

I'm sorry to hear that Greg, you had so many last minute things that had to be done. Little things seeem to plague us sometimes and it's so hard to catch them all. Mitch is a real stand up guy, and I enjoyed meeting and talking with him, this past weekend. As he said, I'm sure you'll be up and running before you know it. Just hang in there.

Tom

 

[1990EclipseGSX]

After a compression test I was looking at 30 pounds at each cylinder. I literally destroyed the motor.

Wow, that is a real bummer... Makes me want to cry.

 

[mavisky]

Ouch, been there and done that my friend. Here's to getting her back on the road

 

[Slow old poop]

Ouch, been there and done that my friend. Here's to getting her back on the road

Hear, hear. I know exactly how you feel. All that work, all that money, and it goes up in a cloud of smoke. You gotta start all over -- pull the motor, send it off, get it fixed, put it back in, break it in, back to the dyno, tune it up again -- just to get back to where you were a week ago. I've blown a motor and several transmissions, and taken a broken car home on a trailer from the race track several times.

It's enough to make you want to throw up your hands, sell everything, and go fishing.

But we racers can't do that, can we? Crikies, if I didn't have my car to work on and my car buddies to hang out with, I dunno what I'd do with my spare time. Watch TV? Go bowling? Fishing? Kill Bambi? Yuk. How dreary is that? I'd be a textbook suburbanite like everybody else out there, with their drab, wretched lives.

Car racing is a cruel mistress. Exciting, but heart breaking and expensive.

Your disaster supports the advice I give my buddies who want to build track cars and get into road racing: Don't mod the car! Change the brakes and tires, but don't do anything to the engine. Keep it as reliable as possible. You don't want to spend all weekend fixing things like boost leaks or, worse, taking it home on a trailer. At this stage of your racing career, you need seat time, not wrench time.

Now I can add: Look at what happened to Greg Collier, the best DSM racer of them all, who has the best possible equipment and years of experience building race cars. The cruel mistress of racing bit him, too.

As we used to say in rallying, press on regardless.

Rich

 

[Black95TSIawd]

So sorry to hear, greg. Brings a tear to my eye.

 

[logic]

Three years of service and then absolute disintegration.

Yikes. That sounds similar to a friend of mine who lost an engine a couple of seasons ago; he made it to about the 60' mark when the FPR vaccuum hose popped off, and a rod let go.

You can buy the best equipment money can buy, and it can still be wrecked by a $0.99 piece of rubber or a zip-tie.

How long do you have until your next event? Actually, nevermind, don't answer that. You have an engine to pull so you can get the banana back on the track!

 

[Greg Collier]

Yikes. That sounds similar to a friend of mine who lost an engine a couple of seasons ago; he made it to about the 60' mark when the FPR vaccuum hose popped off, and a rod let go.

You can buy the best equipment money can buy, and it can still be wrecked by a $0.99 piece of rubber or a zip-tie.

How long do you have until your next event? Actually, nevermind, don't answer that. You have an engine to pull so you can get the banana back on the track!

Engine is out 3 PM California time. We're boxing it up getting ready to ship it back to Mitch at Engintecs in Chicago. (I know you know that ED... it's for the people that don't) I think Mitch got more pissed of at me for being so depressed about the motor being wrecked, then he did when I wrecked it. All will be good... the time line will be; It's done when it's done and not a second quicker.

Sending the engine to Mitch will literally be the first down time I've personally had in two months. I'm looking forward to the rest...

Greg

 

[underradar92]

Sending the engine to Mitch will literally be the first down time I've personally had in two months. I'm looking forward to the rest...

Greg

Attitude is everything.

 

[ldstang50]

With the car finally off the trailer in the garage I did a coolant system test. First I drained the radiator to find less than a quart of water. I then filled up the system and attached the pressure tester. Before I reached five pounds of pressure water began pissing out of what seemed to be the rear of the motor. Upon further inspection I discovered the rubber plug I had been using to close off the heater hose had failed. Three years of service and then absolute disintegration.

After a compression test I was looking at 30 pounds at each cylinder. I literally destroyed the motor. I may have fried the pistons or destroyed the rings. Who knows what the cylinder walls are going to look like? The head may be warped without a doubt. I felt like a wrecking ball swung down and knocked me on my ass. A frigging 25-cent part has taken its toll on this beautiful piece of machinery. Maybe if I hadn't taken that last lap thinking I could cool down the engine, this wouldn't have happened.

I called Mitch and gave him the bad news. His reaction was, “pull the motor and send it back to Chicago, we’ll have you back up and running in no time.” Here I blew up this man’s work of art and his reaction is, we’ll deal with it and move forward. He is by far a better man then me…

Greg

Wow, this hard news so early in the season for you Greg.
Atleast you have time now though to pull it and get it rebuilt.
Mitch and his company sound like great people.
Good luck with everything. I look forward to another update.

Liam

 

[Greg Collier]

Attitude is everything.

You're absolutely right... attitude is everything. You have a problem, deal with the issue, then move forward.

The new setup on the car has already proven itself and its potential. No stone will be unturned triple checking all the systems from this point out. We will conquer and divide

Greg

 

[Microrcdude]

Greg why werent you at the thunderhill trackday thursday? I was hoping you'd be there

 

[Greg Collier]

Greg why werent you at the thunderhill trackday thursday? I was hoping you'd be there

The chain on my bicycle broke...WTF

 

[logic]

Greg why werent you at the thunderhill trackday thursday? I was hoping you'd be there

You did see the whole "his engine is headed back to Engintecs" thing up above, right?

 

[mavisky]

Greg why werent you at the thunderhill trackday thursday? I was hoping you'd be there

I would guess the combination of no motor and it not being a points race for the most part. But as he said, apparently his bicycle chain broke as well.

Just curious though Greg, what is your daily ride to work when the bike's down

 

[Greg Collier]

So the motor’s on it’s way back to Chicago as of this morning. As I was pulling it out I looked for other problems (and or potential problems) that might have developed from my install. I discovered that the dump tube from the external wastegate was melting the front polyurethane motor mount (see photo below). Both Mitch and Scot had made a comment about either turning it back into the downpipe, or extending it beyond the oil pan when we were at the track. By the looks of the mount it was another catastrophe just waiting to rear its ugly head. I found a water pressure switch (indicates low water in the system), that will illuminate a big flashing red light on the dashboard to help avoid another incident like this. Mitch likes the idea…

Greg

 

[RichCaccese]

i admire the persistance of the DSM lifestyle, it's apparent on every level of enthusiasm. keep on truckin brutha..

 

[Greg Collier]

Just curious though Greg, what is your daily ride to work when the bike's down

I have one of those crome plated foldable skateboard scooters that I usually though in the back of my Dodge Ram 2500 8.0 liter Viper-V10...

 

[Greg Collier]

i admire the persistance of the DSM lifestyle, it's apparent on every level of enthusiasm. keep on truckin brutha..

That is a fantastic complement and is truly appreciated!

Greg

 

[mavisky]

I have one of those crome plated foldable skateboard scooters that I usually though in the back of my Dodge Ram 2500 8.0 liter Viper-V10...

I was thinking Razor Scooter like that or possibly a Vespa

 

[tstkl]

will you be going to the infineon super unlimited race? would you mind posting which events you'll be going to so I can follow you around like the loser I am . seriously though, I kinda want to do my HPDE 1 at infineon while your there, so that while I'm not racing, I can come check out your yellow artwork, and maybe even sit behind the wheel if you don't mind. (yea I mean just sit behind the wheel, I don't let anyone else drive my car, and I'm sure if I tried to drive your car I would probably die of a heart attack, so when I say sit behind the wheel, I mean sit there just to see what a full race set up car feels like to sit in, not drive one, not there yet...)

just wondering if I should do my HDPE 1 or just come to watch. I'm assuming if I just came to watch they wouldn't let me near you, so thats why I want to do my HDPE 1 that day too, but my shocks are completely shot, so I dunno if it would be a good idea or a waste of money.

 

[Greg Collier]

will you be going to the infineon super unlimited race? would you mind posting which events you'll be going to so I can follow you around like the loser I am . seriously though, I kinda want to do my HPDE 1 at infineon while your there, so that while I'm not racing, I can come check out your yellow artwork, and maybe even sit behind the wheel if you don't mind. (yea I mean just sit behind the wheel, I don't let anyone else drive my car, and I'm sure if I tried to drive your car I would probably die of a heart attack, so when I say sit behind the wheel, I mean sit there just to see what a full race set up car feels like to sit in, not drive one, not there yet...)
just wondering if I should do my HDPE 1 or just come to watch. I'm assuming if I just came to watch they wouldn't let me near you, so thats why I want to do my HDPE 1 that day too, but my shocks are completely shot, so I dunno if it would be a good idea or a waste of money.

No, I won’t be running Infineon as it’s a Nor/Cal event and I wouldn’t be receiving any points for the race. It’s not that I wouldn’t love to run that track but do to our financial commitments it’s not a part of our 2006 schedule…

As far as running HPDE-1 you should go for it. The majority of people running the event with you would be their first time out on the track. The instruction and instructors are great and let you progress with what your comfortable with doing. There’s no passing allowed in HPDE-1 so you have no concerns about someone screwing with you. If people are too aggressive they chance losing their track time. I’ve never seen that happen!

The furthest north we'll be going this year is to Button Willow, that's about 30 miles north of Bakersfield. If you want to make the journey down there you’re more that welcome to hang with us and check out the car. That’s the cool thing about the road racing series is the paddock and garage areas are open and accessible to everyone.

Greg

2006 Socal NASA Event Calendar
March 10-12: California Speedway Season Opener!
April 8-9: Buttonwillow Raceway Park
May 6-7: Willow Springs International Raceway
June 10-11: Buttonwillow Raceway Park
July 8-9: Willow Springs International Raceway
August 5-6: Willow Springs International Raceway
September 11-17: National Championship Event @ Mid Ohio
October 14-15: Buttonwillow Raceway Park
November 11-12: Buttonwillow Raceway Park
December 2-3: Thunderhill Raceway (25 Hour)