In June of 2024:
In April, I went out for my first HPDE of the year and the first since the entire engine build from this past winter, with NASA mid Atlantic at Summit Point in West Virginia. First lap, of the first session I was full throttle in-between turns 2 and 3, top of 4th gear, and all of a sudden the car's throttle was not responding. The car ended up going into a limp mode, limiting RPM to 4k, and running a little rough. I get back into the pit, I turn the car off, let it sit for a moment, the restart it thinking that maybe the ECU just got freaked out by something and simply needed a power cycle. Upon restart, the car was still running rough and it was clear something was not right. I get the car back to my paddock spot and start to try to diagnose. After sitting for a little bit, and after attempting to restart the car again, now the car does not start. It cranks, and seems to start for a split second, but doesn't fully start up. I am able to confirm that it has spark and is getting fuel from the LPFP. I end up having to winch it back onto my trailer and end my weekend, being unable to get the car started back up. A couple of weeks later I take it back to Redline in MD, and they are able to diagnose that it is the high pressure fuel pump that had died. We get a new one installed, and the car starts right up, no further issues. A bummer for sure since I was not able to get any track time that weekend, but in the end, it is all good.
Fast forward to to this past weekend, June 22 & 23 (2024), I am back at Summit Point, once again with NASA mid Atlantic, for another HPDE weekend. This time, the car performs amazingly, and boy is it a rocket now. Over the course of the weekend, I was able to manage a new personal best time of 1:23.23 and a new top speed on the front straight of 161. During the second session of the first day, I did start to notice that my engine oil temperatures were much higher than last year, coming up on being dangerously high at 280-290. I know the ambient temperature, along with the hybrid turbo, and not having any ducting in the front end of the car to force air through the factory auxiliary coolers all had parts to play in this, but I am working to get some ducting back into the bumper to help with this before my next track event. A few other changes that I did since my last HPDE a year ago that have had a HUGE impact on the car's performance, is the Wavetrack front diff, and upgrading the brake pad compound that I am running on the car. The diff let's me get back on the accelerator so much sooner, it feels like the car is just clawing it's way out of corners, and it's able to put the power down, the acceleration is brutally fast. For the brake compound, I am running Ferodo DS3.12 in the front and DS2500 in the rear. These brakes are neck snapping, able to slow the car from 160 down to 50ish in a matter of a couple hundred feet in order to make turn 1 at Summit Point.
My next HPDE will be in August, once again with NASA mid Atlantic, this time at VIR. It will be my first time at VIR, and I am super excited to see how the car and myself do on track that weekend!
I have a ton of photos from the weekend that I've started sharing on IG and FB, along with GoPro video footage that I am starting to publish on my YouTube channel, for anyone interested in watching.
Comments