Aardwolf

By way of example check my gauges in this video from this summer:



You may have to open a new window and watch it in HD. I was looking for room to time a faster lap but saw the two cars battling it out and decided to watch.


Edit, a harness bar was a huge improvement!!!

BOOT77

I use my car for drag but one of the 1st things I did was to change dex 6 fluid/filter, cast alum pan and smaller add-on plate cooler mounted just like Aardwolf(used his pic for a mounting guide).

FYI another good point is above about 30-40 mph the airflow is greater than the fan, so idk how often if any you dip below that for your type of event. Any add-on cooler will help some but larger is deff better for 20mins I'd think.

HandsomeMike

I'm surprised that 210 would be too high. In traffic on a summer day (TN) I cruise in the 190's and get to about 203 at a stop light. I figured 210 on a race track was great for how hard I'm pushing the car. A full head job was done last year. The top end should be strong.

As for temp gauge install, how accurate would using the test port for the sending unit be?

For a torque converter lock up switch, what gauge wire would you use from switch to ground wire?

I'm aiming to do a track day in March so I will evaluate these changes then and make more adjustments before my second one which probably won't be till September. I'll be in the novice group for the first one.

Aardwolf

210 water should be okay with your rebuild and if the tune is good. Extended WOT really builds heat! When I was starting out I put the gauge sender in the pan like pictured, I also put it in the trans case on the drivers side. I believe torque converter output temp will be around 20° hotter. The gauge I put in the dash while I still had one:



What track will you run? Any video? Enjoy it it's awesome fun!

Tom400CFI

Why to lock the converter.

I'd probably used 18 gauge wire.

HandsomeMike

Aardwolf - I drive at NCM. Here's the onboard of the other student in my group from the HPDI I did in August. Gives you a good view of my Red 89 in action. The Porsche in front of me is the instructor we are following and you hear his voice over the radios we had in our cars.


Tom, thanks for the wiring info! Now if you have a pic of the ground wire...

Tom400CFI

I can't see Handsomemike's posts until someone else posts.

Does THIS help?

HandsomeMike

Check out this thread - https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...up-switch.html

It suggests to ground pins A and F at the ALDL connector to get the TC to lock up. How would I do this with a switch? would it be a two post switch? One wire to pin A and one to F, and then when you throw the switch you have lock up? I'm no wiring genius as you can see...

Tom400CFI

You could wire into those pins in a number of ways; the "cleanest" would be from the rear, then run the two wires back with the ALDL harness into your dash/console and then obviously to where ever you want to mount the switch. You're right; any two pin, on/off toggle switch would work.

Aardwolf

Ahh nice! NASA is not having a Road America event for 2017 but there is a NCM event and I'm sorely tempted to drive that far for it.

I haven't had a real problem with lock up. After losing the 3/4 shift I started keeping the trans in drive as much as possible. I can't remember what the stock tune looks like for WOT lock up. It should be possible to edit your tune so as not to need an external lock up switch.

HandsomeMike

The NASA event in March at NCM is the one I'm planning to do. Then again in September.

A few more questions: does having to TC locked at all times on track hurt the tranny at all? Sounds like it's just going to keep it cooler. Does it put added wear on the TC?

Do I turn it on in 1st or 2nd? When braking into a corner, does the TC disengage and then re-engage when I take my foot off the brake?

Aardwolf

That is happening with me as well. Not sure what it could be!

Aardwolf

I do my own tuning and was planning to adjust the chip so it is locked above 4k rpm. A switch is fine though too. TC unlocks when brake is applied.

HandsomeMike

No added wear to the tranny by using a switch? Just benefit of cooler temp? Engage in 2nd I assume and leave it engaged during whole session?

Tom400CFI

The TC "lock" is literally a clutch similar to the clutch in a manual trans. When it's engaged or "locked", the input and the output are connected together like a clutch in a manual trans. No slippage/maximum efficiency.

When "unlocked", the converter behaves similar to a boat propeller in water. It allows for RPM flair/surge at launch (better for getting to more tq) but is always slipping. Where does that energy lost to slipping go? It turns into heat; it's wasted energy.

Launching a car at the strip, that wasted energy is offset by the increase in performance...and the heat built in the few seconds isn't detrimental, IMO (unless highly modded/high stall/against a transbrake, etc)

You can lock the converter in 1st gear, just like you can fully release the clutch of a stick in first gear. If you did, and drove around a parking lot in first, it would behave just like a stick in 1st. Including stalling the engine if you stopped. You could engage the lock up in any gear per your desire. To avoid forgetting (and then stalling the engine in the pits) *I* would probably have a routine; like I'd lock it every time I pit-out onto track and then unlock it every time I enter the pits coming off the track....or something like that. It won't hurt the trans to leave it locked and shift, although you'll probably feel the shifts more, with the converter locked as the engine and wheels won't be isolated by "mush" (the boat propeller in water) when the converter is locked up.


Side bar: One of the features that I like about European autos and I hate about 'Merican autos is the converter lock and shift strategies. In euro cars, like the BMW X5 for example, you can go to WOT and hold a gear with the converter locked, until you manually down shift, OR click the switch under the accelerator pedal commanding a down shift. In a 'Merican auto, you can never exploit the full tq of the engine in any gear, b/c long before you get to WOT, the thing down shifts and the converter is unlocked. So you're wasting fuel and building heat for no good reason. What is totally f'd about this is that in some cases, the trans' are the same unit! The auto trans in a BMW X5 is a GM 6L50 -obviously found in a variety of GM vehicles (such as the Chevy Colorado) that shift and drive like crap.

HandsomeMike

Great stuff Tom! This thread has been a big help and great learning opportunity.

Tom400CFI

Posting so I can see HM's post....

WVZR-1

I've seen that issue I believe recently myself - thread shows XXXXX as the "most recent" poster but when I visit the thread the post by XXXXX isn't included in the thread. I kinda' assumed that maybe the poster had deleted the post but after the thread got another poster the thread "seemed" to now include the post by XXXXX. The poster was usually the same poster in a couple threads that had considerable # of posts. I've no idea what creates the issue but I've only seen it here on the CF.

Tom400CFI

As usual, you "nailed it". That's been precisely my observation as well.

HandsomeMike

Thought of another question. Do I need an in line fuse on either wire running to pins A and F on the aldl?