Getting air before the first session, Photo by Costas
I go out for the first session and work on regaining my old form. The car ran pretty good. Air temps were in the mid 70's, and my coolant and water temps were the best they had ever been. I upgraded my cooling system by adding a large, all aluminum radiator with a built in oil cooler back in Chapter 24. The peak coolant temps were 195 and the oil never got above 235. This is quite a change from with my old setup, and the new engine is making a lot more power. I still need to do some sealing on the upper radiator shroud to make it as good as it could be, but right now it's already significantly improved.
One problem I did have was mystery smoke coming out of the car on some corners. It's definitely some kind of oil burning, but I'm not sure exactly where it is coming from, namely is it coming from the exhaust pipes or burning somewhere else. It only occured on a few corners, but it was definitely disturbing. I was black flagged just to let me know, but the car was running well, so I kept going. After the first session, I could see that I still had an issue with my PCV/catch can setup. It still blows oil out the breather/catch can, so I think this is not a good setup for this car. I had previously thought it was related to a lot of blow-by on the old engine, but now I'm not so sure.
I ran sessions 2 and 3 without any big issues, but the smoke was still there, and it got pretty bad in session 3. I thought it was related to engine oil getting out of breather vent line that was now hooked back to the throttle body per the factory setup. Session 4 came up and I got to grid early to hopefully avoid traffic. Yellow group was slow as balls, and I was passing everyone in sight and no one had passed me. I got to grid second, and the only car in front of me was a nice, shiny C6 Z06. I followed him closely for the warm up lap, and as we got onto the front straight I was ready to see what my engine would really do and try to pull on him down the straight. As we get to the start/finish line, I look in my mirror to see a HUGE trail of smoke behind me. This is the most smoke of the weekend, and there is no way I can stay out. I have to let the Z06 go. Tragiclly, I now have to complete a full lap to get back to the pits. I notice in turn one that I no longer have any power steering, which could certainly explain some stuff. I let all the cars pass me, take the short course, and limp back to the pits. Now it is clear that power steering fluid has been spraying all over the engine bay and the entire underside of the car. Great... My day is done.
A few days later I dig into my power steering system to find that the pressure hose has cracked right where it comes out of the pump, again. I have already replaced this hose once for a very similar issue. It's under warranty, so the fix is free, but does not speak well for overall reliability. Still, even with the problems, I have to rate the first day as a sucess. The engine ended the day with as much oil pressure was when it started, and I kept all 4 wheels on the track. I really wanted to pass that Z06... This update got written because the semester finally ended, and there is another track day coming up this weekend. I still have plenty of drive credits saved up, and I plan to go back on Sunday.
Getting air before the first session, Photo by Costas
Middle of turn 10, Photo by Costas
Middle of turn 10, Photo by Costas
Coming down the hill from 9 to 10, Photo by Costas