Is this fuel starvation or other?
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Is this fuel starvation or other?
Hi all...looking for help with what I think was fuel starvation.
Background: 2002 c5 z06 with 35k miles.
Discovery: Yesterday at Sebring during HPDE day I noticed a loss in power about three times. The first time was coming out of T17 where I am normally in 3rd gear and I started pressing down on go pedal with no power...I eased off and was able to get power again. Then it happened again same lap in T10 and then again after T13. I got a point by exiting T13 and i couldnt even make the pass. This all happened on the same lap. After it happened the first time I checked oil pressure and temp. Pressure was good and temp was 293 (I know that is high, I have DRM cooler waiting to go on soon). So, after it happened post T13, I decided to pit. As soon as I got back to pit I noticed I was on reserve fuel and range said low. I assume this was the problem, it's just never happened before. I refilled tank at lunch and I guess I went further into happy hour than before...thus almost running out.
Since oil pressure was good and no warnings came up, could this just be a low fuel issue? I didn't notice anything ACH related....seemed smooth in all those corners and I was in Competition mode.
Thanks all for your insight!
Background: 2002 c5 z06 with 35k miles.
Discovery: Yesterday at Sebring during HPDE day I noticed a loss in power about three times. The first time was coming out of T17 where I am normally in 3rd gear and I started pressing down on go pedal with no power...I eased off and was able to get power again. Then it happened again same lap in T10 and then again after T13. I got a point by exiting T13 and i couldnt even make the pass. This all happened on the same lap. After it happened the first time I checked oil pressure and temp. Pressure was good and temp was 293 (I know that is high, I have DRM cooler waiting to go on soon). So, after it happened post T13, I decided to pit. As soon as I got back to pit I noticed I was on reserve fuel and range said low. I assume this was the problem, it's just never happened before. I refilled tank at lunch and I guess I went further into happy hour than before...thus almost running out.
Since oil pressure was good and no warnings came up, could this just be a low fuel issue? I didn't notice anything ACH related....seemed smooth in all those corners and I was in Competition mode.
Thanks all for your insight!
#4
Race Director
C5's commonly starve for fuel as they get low. Especially at high throttle tracks like Sebring, the ventury pump that balances the tank cannot refill the master tank fast enough to keep up with demand. In other words, there isn't enough return flow to pull fuel from the spare tank into the primary, so it just sits in the spare tank while your primary runs dry.
Keep the levels higher, definitely above 1/8 tank.
btw, in some ways this is a good thing. A C6 will run down to NOTHING, literally leaving you sitting on the side of the track if you aren't paying attention!
Keep the levels higher, definitely above 1/8 tank.
btw, in some ways this is a good thing. A C6 will run down to NOTHING, literally leaving you sitting on the side of the track if you aren't paying attention!