944 Turbo S at Laguna Seca – problems encountered
04-29-2014, 03:46 PM
#31
Race Car
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Austin TX, drinking beer in the garage
Posts: 3,602
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My exhaust turns down just for this reason, my car shoots lots of flame, still need to work on the AFR's in the moments between shifts. Its so frequent once the car is warm (every up shift, or any time I let off the throttle in boost), I'm a little concerned for the safety of my wideband sender.
04-30-2014, 07:07 PM
#32
Pro
Been there five times with my 86 turbo! Loved to see this thread. Some areas to cover, already covered more or less:
1) Brakes - I boiled the fluid on my first day too. Had to flush the system twice. Very lucky that a nice older guy with a 914 race car set me up with a bleeder and new DOT4 fluid. Made the changes listed below and I've never had a problem since:
*ATE brake fluid (and buy a Motive Power Bleeder, you need it).
*Brake ducts from Lindsey (can be a pain to install, but worth it. Definitely get a good brake duct kit for this track).
*Pagid orange pads. They're really bad for the street, but awesome at the track. I swap pads at the track when I arrive, and back to stock pads before I leave. It's surprisingly quick, less than 1 hr to swap all, and I'm changing wheels anyway so it's not that much more work for me. Some people will warn you that you shouldn't mix brake compounds on the same rotor due to interactions between the different compounds, so if you only go to the track a few times a year, find a good compromise.
*Rotors - I installed slotted rotors from Cryogenics. Excellent braking, and they just don't seem to wear much at all. Unfortunately, I think they stopped making them for the 86, but for the 88 they should be available. For you, it depends how hard you want to push it in the future.
These four items have given me as much braking as I need for my times (fifth event was 1:50-1:52 with Hoosier R6 slicks, K26/6, and the mods in my sig). I added stainless steel lines later on, but that was more for peace of mind. I love the brake feel after that upgrade though! It will give you more confidence.
2) Oil consumption - everyone else seems to think it's normal. I've never had to add oil at the track, and my mileage range between my five visits was 138k-155k. I put new 15W-50 in for every event. My coolant temps never go much above halfway. I don't have an oil temp gauge, so I'm not sure how high it's going.
3) Exhaust - our engine & exhaust setup is not comparable, so not much to add here other than I've never had these pops. My first three events were with a cat-back, AFM, and 951Max chip. Last two events were with Vitesse MAF system and Fabspeed 3" exhaust with CAT. My AFR's are right where they should be.
4) Tow hook - just keep the factory tow hook in the car. It's fine, unfortunately I know from personal experience. I had to use mine once, blew a head gasket and parked it at turn 6 (it was installed at 65k miles and corroding to pieces where the fire ring blew).
Other General advice: Install a catch can and see how much oil you're collecting. Maybe all that oil is being blown out due to worn piston rings. If that's the case, you definitely don't want to recirculate that, as you'll build up a lot of carbon in the combustion chambers. Check your intercooler pipes to see if they're heavily coated with oil. As others have said, focus more on suspension. Great brakes and set of track wheels w/ slicks will improve your times (safely) far more than add-on engine upgrades. When you get to that point, get a tire temp gauge (contact probe) and analyze tire temps after every run (across each tire, and the difference between tires). They'll tell you exactly what you need to change on your setup. If you do go for a MAF & injectors someday, the power will come on noticeably quicker (quicker spool).
Good luck! I'm jealous. Had to move away from CA and probably won't be back for another 6-7 years.
1) Brakes - I boiled the fluid on my first day too. Had to flush the system twice. Very lucky that a nice older guy with a 914 race car set me up with a bleeder and new DOT4 fluid. Made the changes listed below and I've never had a problem since:
*ATE brake fluid (and buy a Motive Power Bleeder, you need it).
*Brake ducts from Lindsey (can be a pain to install, but worth it. Definitely get a good brake duct kit for this track).
*Pagid orange pads. They're really bad for the street, but awesome at the track. I swap pads at the track when I arrive, and back to stock pads before I leave. It's surprisingly quick, less than 1 hr to swap all, and I'm changing wheels anyway so it's not that much more work for me. Some people will warn you that you shouldn't mix brake compounds on the same rotor due to interactions between the different compounds, so if you only go to the track a few times a year, find a good compromise.
*Rotors - I installed slotted rotors from Cryogenics. Excellent braking, and they just don't seem to wear much at all. Unfortunately, I think they stopped making them for the 86, but for the 88 they should be available. For you, it depends how hard you want to push it in the future.
These four items have given me as much braking as I need for my times (fifth event was 1:50-1:52 with Hoosier R6 slicks, K26/6, and the mods in my sig). I added stainless steel lines later on, but that was more for peace of mind. I love the brake feel after that upgrade though! It will give you more confidence.
2) Oil consumption - everyone else seems to think it's normal. I've never had to add oil at the track, and my mileage range between my five visits was 138k-155k. I put new 15W-50 in for every event. My coolant temps never go much above halfway. I don't have an oil temp gauge, so I'm not sure how high it's going.
3) Exhaust - our engine & exhaust setup is not comparable, so not much to add here other than I've never had these pops. My first three events were with a cat-back, AFM, and 951Max chip. Last two events were with Vitesse MAF system and Fabspeed 3" exhaust with CAT. My AFR's are right where they should be.
4) Tow hook - just keep the factory tow hook in the car. It's fine, unfortunately I know from personal experience. I had to use mine once, blew a head gasket and parked it at turn 6 (it was installed at 65k miles and corroding to pieces where the fire ring blew).
Other General advice: Install a catch can and see how much oil you're collecting. Maybe all that oil is being blown out due to worn piston rings. If that's the case, you definitely don't want to recirculate that, as you'll build up a lot of carbon in the combustion chambers. Check your intercooler pipes to see if they're heavily coated with oil. As others have said, focus more on suspension. Great brakes and set of track wheels w/ slicks will improve your times (safely) far more than add-on engine upgrades. When you get to that point, get a tire temp gauge (contact probe) and analyze tire temps after every run (across each tire, and the difference between tires). They'll tell you exactly what you need to change on your setup. If you do go for a MAF & injectors someday, the power will come on noticeably quicker (quicker spool).
Good luck! I'm jealous. Had to move away from CA and probably won't be back for another 6-7 years.
