OK this may have been covered already but, should there be any changes made to a car that is boosted and forged to go enjoy a road course (watkins glen)? I have never raced my car and might want to push it on the track. I know cooling is going to be a huge issue and I figured I'd just pull off once it gets really hot. Not looking to be competitive, just to have fun with my car. Here are the details of my car: ysi/2200r novi blower, peak boost is 17-18lb, twin nozzle alky, forged rotator, Texas built L33 short block, ported 243 heads, double core radiator, nitto nt01 tires, twin disc mantic, 12mm torque tube, trans brace, c6 z06 brakes. The car makes 838hpand it runs on pump gas but, I'd probably fill it with race gas for safety that weekend. Is this a terrible idea to run a road course or do you think I should try it like walking on thin ice?

 

That is a ton of power for the road course. Cooling will be a huge issue, NA guys still have cooling issues on track and don't have an IC blocking airflow to the radiator. You will be braking extremely hard into corners if you plan to use even half of the power you've got so I'd consider some better brake fluid and pads at the very least.

 

Depends on the course really.

Long or short ? fast or slow ? It could be hard on some parts more than others.

Make sure it is tuned well, and that the meth injection is foolproof and cannot fail.

Ultimately how hard you can use all the power and for how long will depend on the road, grip available and how crazy the driver. If it's just to have fun, you don't need to go mad to have a lot of safe fun.

 

I'll pull like 200+hp out of it. especially if you're meth dependent.

but this is a good example of tracking with boost.

 

Why not give it a go and see how you get on? Don’t Rev to the Rev limit to reduce risks and heat build up. If you have problems you can address them next time. Might be worth taking a few belts in case one is thrown and add some race fuel / octane booster for some added safety.

do you have any other mods to brakes etc to help?

 

The belt idea is a good idea but probably not going to help. Since I have a flip drive the blower/water pump belt is so short that I don't think I could get it on without being on a lift. With the tesioner trapped all the way open I have to pry on the belt just to get it on. Not a fun exercise even when I am standing under the car. If I went to the next size bigger the blower tensioner won't open the stock tensioner. A&a and ecs both use a blower tensioner to open the stock tensioner all the way so that when the blower is really sapping up the hp through the belt that it can stretch and not slip.

My brakes are just the 6 piston front and 4 piston rear fixed calipers that came on the c6z06. Not that this matters but they are crossed drilled and slotted powerstop stuff.

Right now I am thinking about an off to the side oil cooler (obsessive about oil pressure) or just saying the heck with it and enjoy the car without trying to break it. Track days just look like another more advanced/fun way to enjoy your car no matter what you drive. What it really comes down to is that I spent 3-4 times what the car was bought for on these mods to make it useless in most conditions. I was chasing a number/dream that made me not look at the big picture and what the car was turning into. You know like these people that look like their face melted because of all the "enhancing" cosmetic surgeries.

 

Track days are mega fun. What brake pads do you have? I’d do quality brake fluid and possibly pads for sure. As far as the thermal capacity of the engine and cooling system, your plan of monitoring is the best thing. Short shifting will help too. I’d mostly be concerned with having so much power, so little traction, and the car power oversteering into a guard rail if you are too aggressive on the throttle.

 

That happened to me and I sold off my forged LS2 and V3-Ti setup and threw a HCI LS7 in my car so I can go enjoy it more often.

 

i've tracked my TVS car plenty of times, and it's a TON of fun.
you'll have to become intimately more familiar with the various gas pedal positions between OFF and FLOOR, and cooling can become more of a concern depending on how hard you're pushing it (combined with atmospherics of the day)... but the beauty of boost is that you don't have to lay into it as hard to go fast.

on the brakes, you might consider swapping in some non-drilled rotors if you plan on braking hard all weekend... i've read over the years that the cross-drilled ones are more prone to cracking when you get them hot.

 

Road racing an FI car is so much fun, but as much effort you put into making the HP is a much effort you have to put into cooling it. It absolutely can be done and when done right you can be on track for hours.

I have simply changed my driving habits on cars that did not have the cooling 100% up to speed with the HP by short shifting and or staying a gear higher than I would in an NA car, but you're still making more power there than an average NA car so passing is passing in my book.

Coincidentally I'm in the middle of rebuilding my dedicated road race car to a high HP forced induction build just to do everything everyone says you can't or shouldn't do.

 

you are wanting to go have fun and run some hero laps. Just know that with that much torq you will need a very talented set of shoes to modulate the throttle.

too much torq will take you off track in no time so "sneak up on it" and go bang some gears.

since you are willing to pull off when hot, just do "cool down" laps at lesser speeds until you can upgrade the cooling.

think about running e85 as the engine will run cooler. Upgrade the brakes!!! tires!! and of course brake fluid.

blower and turbo cars build torq so quickly that they are fun but tricky to track well.

 

@DOUG @ ECS please please please start a build thread around this! I’m sure it will be epic!

 

Thanks, I am hoarding parts away now and deciding what engine to use. I have an LSA and an RHS 427. I'll have to change the reluctor on either or upgrade my ECM, decisions decisions. I'll start a build thread when I start the install.

 

no replacement for displacement...

 

used to be true, now boost a muv to compensate for that feeling of being too small

duttweiler built some destroked LS engines for Poteet that changed my way of thinking.

make the engine make max cyl pressure, give it the fuel and timing needed and strength to survive

duttweiler started back in the old buzzin half duzzin buick days and showed folks how 231 > 500 in pro stock (not really fair IMHO)

the big stuff will for sure make more power, but the little stuff works for me!! It's easier to get it to hold together at max cfm

 

When I hurt a rod bearing in my boosted (8psi) stock ls1 I opted at that time to stroke it to a 383. Hindsight is 20/20. I would have destroked it to a 323 (5.3L) and boosted it to the moon. The 383 does fine but kind of falls on its face mid range. Actually now that I'm typing this I probably would have just dropped a 427 and stayed N/A. The boost game is like having a whole other engine strapped to its back to keep maintained and happy. Peace of mind is probably worth the 200hp lol. Now I am asking how do I make my crazy boosted, built engine survive when a N/A car would love to do it every weekend. Pros and cons for sure.

 

it still depends on how you want it to drive when you're part-throttle (which is the vast majority of the time on a road course with a boosted car).

a high-boost, small engine making the same power as a low-boost, large engine won't have as consistent of a feel or as flat of a power curve because it's having to be more conservative on the low/mid range to keep it alive (or conversely working harder on the top end to make the same power).
case-in-point: my stock LS1 at 11psi (TVS blower) made about 530h/540t and was really even-keel on the throttle. after i ported the blower & built the heads/cam for higher-rpm power, it makes almost 700h/680t on 13psi but is comparatively sluggish below 3000-3500ish rpm & then takes off... but had i did a 402 swap with a less-aggressive top end like a couple other guys here, it would've made about the same numbers but on a flatter power curve like what i had before.

i realize using a centrifugal blower's a little different story because it's inherently got a steeper power curve (without restrictor plates & such) because it builds boost linearly, but the overall concept holds true, at least from the way i've always understood & seen it play out. additionally, pushing more boost on a smaller engine means more heat to have to dissipate.

 

you also have to consider how much power's really usable on a twisty track...
700 to the ground is a bit excessive for a street car without extensive suspension, tire, and brake upgrades. i could honestly be much faster with 500hp because it'd be easier to drive/control... but then again, i only track it every once in a while.

 

the turbo torq swell is load based and much harder to control and modulate as it tends to come on like a nitrous bottle. A cent blower tends to build the power more linear but the torq also comes on too quick to really use well.

A build 427 with a big cam and heads will bleed much of the low end torq off so you won't blow the tires off as often. I think a boost by speed setup with turbos might work out pretty well as that track attack car shows clearly

look at all they did to manage the heat!! That car is more vacant panels and gills and fins than body work!! That said, I love it. It's mean and it goes!!