Rob T's 818R Build Thread

[Rob T]

Happy Father's Day. Got this from one of my girls.
IMG_7540.jpg

[Rob T]

Track Day! I made it to the Carolina Motorsports Park for a track day yesterday. Weather was perfect with 70-80F temps and pretty light winds. About 10 cars in my run group. I ran three sessions and had a blast. More to come after I get a chance to analyze the data. Car ran very well. Water temp was about 85F, Coolant was 185, AWIC supply got to 95F with the Air Temp to the engine at 109, but I had no issues with timing being pulled.

[Rob T]

Here is an update from the track day. I drove a total of 27 laps, 21 of them "hot". At the end of the third session, it marked 43 heat cycles (sessions) on my tires. Still some tread left and still very consistent.

Best Lap: 1:53.349 - within a second of my best lap of all time.
Braking g - 1.02
Accel g - 0.78
Left g - 1.35
Right g - 1.42
HP (calculated) 252 in the third session.
TQ (calculated) 345 in the third session.
Max Speed - 113

Trans fluid got to 205 at the end of the third session.
12.45 gallons of gas burned - or 4.95 mpg (this includes some warm up time, moving the car to tech, etc...)
No issues with oil temp or pressure fluctuation with the third scavenge pump running. For this car....oil problems are solved.
Next Possible opportunities for me are 10/7 or 12/10.

[Rob T]

Here is a video of my best lap from session 2.

https://youtu.be/SW08BtCMO6c

I'm still learning to drive better....

[Rob T]

Track Day tomorrow at CMP. Weather looks perfect. 11 people in my run group. I've gotten a few pointers from Mitch Wright after my last sessions, so I have some new things to try. More to follow.

[Hobby Racer]

Man I'm jealous. It's going to be a long winter getting my car back to racing condition.

[Rob T]

Initial Report: Car ran great. Temps were between 55-75F. I pushed the car harder than I have, using Mitch's suggestions and ran the best lap ever at CMP. 1:51.8 Last time there was a 1:53.2 I also played "tag" with a Caterham driven by one of the instructors. I couldn't pass him, but he couldn't get away. He estimated we were running low 1:50's based on the fact that he works at the track. He said he was running hard....unfortunately, my Traqmate datalogging computer was not working that session, so I have no video or data. More to come when I process everything. When pushing hard that last session, my water temp was 195, Oil temp was 200 and the temp after the AWIC was 115, but there was no timing adjustment. It was a fun day.

[Sgt.Gator]

It's great you have the car sorted and can concentrate on driving it closer to the max. Now get your SCCA or NASA Competition License and do some Time Trials!

[Rob T]

Here are some stats from the track day:

Ambient Temp: 60-70
Highest AWIC water Feed: 95.8, corresponding to an air temp to the engine of about 115
Trans Temp - measured in the fluid line. 207
46 heat cycles on the tires at the end of session 3.

Best Lap: 1:51.830 - Best ever for me at CMP
Braking G max: 1.27
Accel G max: 0.73
Right G max: 1.28
Left G max: 1.49
HP max: 264
TQ max: 311
High Speed: 114.77
Avg Spd: 73.56
Theoretical Best Lap from all Session 2 Laps: 150.775

Probably My tightest grouping of decent time for the seven full laps:

1) 1:53.797
2) 1:53.418
3) 1:51.839
4) 1:53.274
5) 1:52.279
6) 1:52.301
7) 1:51.830

The last track day, my BEST times for three sessions were 1:55.388, 1:53.349 and 1:55.325. Thanks for the pointers Mitch!

I think session 3 was just as good as session two, but my data logging was frozen. Seems to be working OK now. Next possible track day for me is 12/10. Video to follow when I get it processed.

[Rob T]

Had the car on the lift yesterday for pre-season maintenance. Oil/filter, transmission fluid, brake fluid, general safety inspection. Found and repaired the drive pulley for the dry sump pump moving away from the pump on the shaft about 1/4". Hope to make a track day on Friday 2/24....

[Hobby Racer]

Good catch on the pulley, that could have been catastrophic. Here in the north east we won't be heading out to the track until April / May

[Rob T]

Had a good track day on the 24th. It was 75 and sunny. All of us there recognize how fortunate we are to be on track this early in the year. First session was a little tough. It had rained the night before and the track was still wet. Coming out of the carousel on the first "green" lap I decided I wasn't done "spinning" and got caught by - driver error (me), surging turbo boost (cool morning), cold tires that sat all winter, and a wet track. Result: Snap oversteer to full backward and off the track. I spent the rest of the session about 50 feet off the track because there was no safe way to get back on. No damage to the car. Expected damage to ego....Funny thing was I was really taking it easy. Clearly not easy enough. By the time the next sessions came around for me, the track was dry and things returned to "normal". That day for me was a clear indication of how "good" the "nannies" are - anti-lock brakes, traction control, yaw control, throttle blipping, etc. My car, by design, has none of those, because I wanted to really "drive". I got a really good lesson that day, for a good price.... I did talk to several HPDE instructors that day who told me that the "nannies" can do some amazing things but that they wished everybody had to learn in a bare bones Miata. More analysis and video to come. My education, AND fun continue.

[Rob T]

Headed to CMP tomorrow for a track day. Weather forecast is perfect.

[Rob T]

I had a good track day yesterday. I am feeling like the car is sorted out now and I can focus on driving. No issues with oil pressure, oil temperature, or coolant temps. There were about 10 cars in my run group at CMP. Temps were 60-75. I did three sessions in the morning with about 40 minutes in between. If you remember back a bit, my variable speed fuel pump regulator started to flake out. I bypassed it with a single relay and a switch on my dash. It works great for my purposes. I like that I can leave the fuel pump off and crank the car until the oil pressure comes up.

Some non-car data: I wear a Fitbit. During the track sessions my heart rate averages 122bpm and the Fitbit thinks I am "outdoor biking". My resting heart rate is 58....hard treadmill workouts are in the high 160's.

More track data to follow. The instructor at the driver's meeting made a great comment yesterday. He said "What are you here to learn today? This is HDPE. If you are not trying to learn anything, you are just wasting tires and gas. Pick a corner and try to learn something."

[J R Jones]

Googled it: High Density Poly Ethylene
I guess you had to be there.

[RPGs818SNA]

Maybe NASA's HPDE? https://drivenasa.com/hpde/

[Rob T]

Sorry for the confusion. I am a chemical engineer. I typed "HDPE" - High Density PolyEthylene" I meant to type "HPDE" - High Performance Driver Education. At CMP there are three run groups on TurnOne track days. A novice group, with instructors and classroom, a solo group and an advanced group. ALL passing is done by point by. In the novice group, passing is allowed on the long straights. In the solo group, anywhere the wheels are "straight" and in the advanced group, anywhere on the track. I run in the solo group.

[driveslikejehu]

Did you improve your time over last year? I see your best last October was a 1:51.8. Which I think is pretty good.
I've only been to CMP once, last May, with my Cayman. My best time was 1:54.3. Probably could do a bit better with more time on that track.
I'm always interested in what times folks are getting with the 818 compared to the Cayman.
Hoping for a first outing with the 818 next month at Blackhawk Farms here in Illinois.

[Rob T]

Track Day tomorrow at Carolina Motorsports Park. Hope to get three morning sessions in before 11:30. It supposed to be 95 tomorrow by the afternoon, but should be in the 70's when I start.

[Hobby Racer]

Track Day tomorrow at Carolina Motorsports Park. Hope to get three morning sessions in before 11:30. It supposed to be 95 tomorrow by the afternoon, but should be in the 70's when I start.

Good luck & Have fun!

[Rob T]

Sorry for the slow reply. I left for vacation the following day. Had three great sessions. The track was experimenting with a Monday track day. It was good for me. Only four cars in my run group, so basically an open track. Got to "play cat and mouse with a Corvette". He was a bit quicker on the straights, but I got it all back in the braking zones and the turns. He told me later that it was the fastest he'd run there. I was a bit slower than my best, but still OK and really fun. The weather was the hottest I had run this year. The last session was 90F. Highest water temp was 206, Highest oil was 204. The water to the AWIC after the front radiator and pump was 106 and the AIT was 124. No issues with timing being pulled, etc. as I monitor that on my COBB real-time. The trans fluid got to 206. Like Gator, my temp issues seem to be solved, although I am running 20 minute sessions, not hour long events. For calibration, this data was from my third session and there was about an hour between sessions. At there end of the day, there were 55 approximately 20 minute sessions on my tires....A great day overall.

[Rob T]

Headed to the track (Carolina Motorsports Park) tomorrow. Weather forecast is perfect. Start around 60 with high around 80. More information when I am done...

[Rob T]

Had a great track day yesterday. Weather was perfect. No issues with the car. Temps started about 60 and got to about 70. I did three sessions of about 20 minutes each. High temp for coolant was 190. Same for the oil. IAT high was 111. The supply of water to the AWIC hit a high of 91. High temp for the trans was 211 at the end of the third session. The three sessions were all in the morning with the first one starting 8:50 and the third one ending at 11:00, so the car never really cooled down during "breaks". I'll post some more performance data when I get it. BTW, running Redline Race 50wt (really 15W50) I am seeing no less than 85psi on the track and around 35-40 psi at idle after the session.

[Rob T]

A9_02582.jpgA9_01808.jpg

Some Pictures from my last track day.

[Dave 53]

Nice pictures. Any video you could share?

[Rob T]

Here is a link to my best lap on session 2. 57 heat cycles (20 minute sessions) on these Federal Tires.

https://youtu.be/B1U_dYLRvM0

[Rob T]

Track Day tomorrow. Carolina Motorsports Park. Cloudy skies, high 72. Data to follow afterward.

[Hobby Racer]

Man, high of 34 here tomorrow. Very jealous! Have fun.

[Rob T]

Good Day! Three sessions (my normal) and then packed up and headed home. Got sprinkled on most of the way home, so glad I didn't stay at the track. Conditions were very good. Started about 65 and got to 77F with some very gusty winds that moved the car a bit. Today I experimented with lower "hot" air pressure than I have been running. Lap times were a bit better, but what was most noticeable was how the car approached the limit. The tires felt much more linear as they started to slip sideways. More to come on that experiment. I'll post some data a video later.

[Dave 53]

Thunderhill West for me tomorrow. I'm used to 5 20 minute session with several run groups. Tomorrow is 2 run groups and 9 20 minute sessions! I'm gonna do my best to do all 9.

25 hours of Thunderhill starting tomorrow on the East track.

[BigDanSubaru]

Man, I bet the sound in the driver's seat is wicked with the intake right next to your ear. Love the Martini vinyl design.

[Rob T]

I have Chad Plavan to thank for the Martini design. I get a lot of complements. As for the sound, helmet plus earplugs are a necessity. Yes the sound is pretty awesome. If you go back a bit in my thread, you can hear it in the video. The camera/microphone is right behind my head, dead center.

[Rob T]

Here is a link to the video of my best lap at CMP on 11/10/2023.

https://youtu.be/kwI3drvcLT0

3 session Maxes:
Left g's: 1.29
Right g's 1.23
Braking g's: 1.14
Accel g's: 0.73
Max Speed: 112.1
Highest trans temp - fluid: 200F
Highest AWIC water feed: 100 with a 115 AIT.
Ambient Temp 65-75F
Oil Temp Max: 200F
Water Temp Max 195F

[Rob T]

Track days are fast approaching with my first potential day on 3/8/24 at CMP. To get ready I had the car on the lift this week. 1) Oil/filter change - fresh Redline 50wt race. 2) New transmission fluid in the 6 speed. 3) Rebuilt the rear Wilwood brake calipers. A few of the pistons were sticking. I swapped out a few new pistons and installed new o-rings all around. The first caliper took two hours. The second, under and hour. Very smooth operation now. 4) Replaced all of the hose from the remote brake fluid reservoir to the master cylinder. After 9 years the hose just cracked and I found it leaking after the winter. This lead to some tight space work and some creative reconstruction, but now good as new. 5) Got some new Federal FZ 201's. I got 61 20 minute track sessions on the old tires, so it was time for some new ones. Phil's Tire Service had a sale and got all four tires, heat cycled, shipped and mounted/balanced at a local shop for $750. 6) Cut the old oil filter for inspection. Not a single speck of metal found. 7) Did a thorough once over on the entire car - suspension bolts, bearings, brake pads, hose clamps, etc. Everything is ready to go. When I get the boots for the front calipers, I have the O-rings to rebuild those as well. I'm looking forward to getting back on the track.

[jforand]

Sounds productive! Be safe out there. That is some serious mileage out of those tires!!

Mine is getting close. It is rapidly coming up on 3 years since it grenaded at VIR with you and the others. Last trip home I got it to a tuner and dyno’d. Still more to tidy up and then shake down. Hope we can all get out there again sometime in the future.

[Rob T]

Track Day Update: I went to the track on 3/8 and stopped after the first session. There was a lot going on that day: New tires, track was cool and a bit wet, I'd rebuilt the brakes....anyway, during the first session, when I would accelerate hard or lift, the car would "step left". It was very unsettling. I was not sure what the problem was, so in an abundance of caution, I packed up for the day and came home. After talking to a few folks, I did a few things....I replaced the nuts on the rear axles and verified the torque. I had not done this since changing the hubs a ways back. I also checked the toe on the rear wheels. I found that the toe in on the right rear was about 5/8" and about 1/8" on the left rear. I made them both the same at 1/8". Then I took the car out on the local roads and it felt good. I don't know when the right toe changed, but when I think back, the car was always a little unsettling. I had chalked it up to wind impact on the wing.

Today 4/26 was another track day. I had the new tires, cool conditions, and the "repaired" toe in on the rear. The car felt "planted" and more stable than it has ever felt. As confidence built, I was able to push harder. My best time in the first session was 1:59.476. Second session was 1:53.994 and third session at 1:53.054. What was cool was the consistency in the third session: Lap 3 - 1:53.545, Lap 4 1:53.285, Lap 5 1:53.054 and Lap 6 1:53.093 The Theoretical Best Lap for Session 3 (the best time of each segment) was 1:51.885, so I know I have more to go get.

I recorded one of my fastest speeds on the track at 116.05, and was pulling 1.29g going left and 1.21g going right with 1.11g braking. It was great to be back out on the track. The three scavenge dry sump is working excellently and there is no drop in oil pressure at any point on the track.

I hope to get back out either 5/10 or 5/24, the next possible track dates.

[Hobby Racer]

Great to hear it's coming together for you!