So it's been a while since I had a minute to show some updates!
B16A stuff came back from machine shop:
HPDE at VIR is 3 weeks away. Still got quite a bit to do on the car with the time I have available to spend on it recently (which isn't much), baby steps.
I installed my externally accessible kill switch, with FIA decal:
Still don't have the solenoid permanently mounted, but I hooked it up exactly like I wanted for testing and it works well. The latching solenoid disconnects and connects ground at a momentary flick of a switch. Tapping the momentary toggle up powers the car ON, and there is a small blue LED inline with everything that indicates the car is powered. Inversely tapping the toggle down disconnects negative.
I've been thinking of getting a small fire extinguisher and mounting it inside the car somewhere I can easily access it from the driver's seat, because I've seen a few horror videos of oil fires... They have small generic Kidde BC extinguishers (good for oil, gas and electrical fires) for like $25 at Home Depot/Lowes.
Also finished tucking away my wiring for the Flex Fuel converter box, wires that should have been secured a long time ago since the dyno session (been lazy as F since haha):
Making a new mod to my wastegate piping. The flange I had warped when I welded it a year ago, and I'd been meaning to fix it. Bought a new flange, and started the pie cut process all over again (only in a short section):
Last, but
certainly not least, I went down a rabbit hole on types of engine oils I should use for the track. I have no doubts with the Rotella regime I've been using, but I went in search of some answers because higher temps and longer load times have me worried about my crankshaft on track day since I'm still running the Y8 crank. I have no issues currently, but I started doing some research on engine oils and found a thing!
You know this post is going to be good when I start it by asking YOU questions haha:
Do you guys think my posts are long? Do you enjoy lengthy reading that probably kills brain cells whilst trying to absorb the knowledge? Ever wonder more about your oils, how they work and how people test them to make sure they stand up to their snake oil advertising claims? If you answered yes to all the above questions, then head here at your own risk:
The date June 20, 2013 just above, is the date this Blog was first started, NOT the date of the information included. It is regularly updated with the latest information, as indicated by the date s…
540ratblog.wordpress.com
That link leads to a blog maintained by a guy with the nickname RAT540. It contains by far one of the best engine oil reviews I've ever had the pleasure of reading. There is also a lot of other very good information beyond just engine oils in there, any serious gear head needs to read that blog top to bottom, as it is a wealth of experience. The guy is a mechanical engineer, member of SAE and ASME and a gear head to top it off. He places lots of engine oils under his own version of an oil "torture" test that goes far beyond many of the API required stress testing conditions. The results of this testing show a ton of different oils all performing under the same conditions, and actual real world environments. He even tries extreme edge case test scenarios, something NO oil manufacturer dares to test and publish (besides Amsoil). His goal is to separate truth from snake oils, and he sure as hell does a really good job at it.
I invite everyone on this forum to read it, if you haven't done so already.
In any case, the read was convincing enough to make me dump my Rotella T6 5W-40 with ZDDP additive regime and go for something high up on his "Wear Protection Ranking List". I've never personally seen anything quite like this list before. A ton of time and effort went into testing all of these, and it was amazing to see where some of the "best" oil names in the industry fall on it and what their actual wear protection capability is.
This is the oil I've recently upgraded to
Read this blog snippet to find out why:
3. 5W30 Amsoil Signature Series, synthetic = 134,352 psi
The bottle does not have an API symbol, but it claims the oil can be used in applications that require API SN, GM dexos 1, ACEA A5/B5, A1/B1. It also claims to provide 75% better wear protection than required by the API SN specification (though it does say that claim is in reference to their 0W20 Amsoil Signature Series synthetic). And it claims 50% more cleaning power than Amsoil OE motor oil.
zinc = TBD
phos = TBD
moly = TBD
This oil was tested Fall 2017.
The psi value of this oil, which came from testing it at the normal operating test temperature of 230*F, put it in the FANTASTIC Wear Protection Category. And it produced the highest psi value ever seen in my testing, from any 5W30 motor oil just as it comes right out of the bottle, with no aftermarket additives. Very impressive. My test results confirm that Amsoil’s claim of this oil providing exceptional wear protection, is true. This oil could well be “THE MOTOR OIL OF CHOICE” for most High HP engines, including Bad Boy traditional American flat tappet pushrod engines, or for virtually any engine where 5W30 is used.
And I also went on to test this oil at the much higher temperature of 275*F. At that elevated temperature, any hotter and thinner oil is expected to experience a drop in Wear Protection Capability. This oil had only a modest 7% drop in capability. But, even at that elevated temperature, it produced an impressive 124,573 psi, which still kept this much hotter and thinner oil in the FANTASTIC Wear Protection Category.
In addition, I also tested this oil at 130*F, which is an oil temperature in the middle of the range of the Sequence IVA Wear Test (ASTM D6891) = 123,882 psi, which still had it in the FANTASTIC Wear Protection Category, even though this value is about an 8% drop from the normal 230*F test temperature’s psi value. NOTE: An engine warming up, will transition right past this temperature as it heats up to its normal operating temperature.
So, here are the three temperatures I tested this oil at, put together for easy comparison:
130*F = 123,882 psi
230*F = 134,352 psi
275*F = 124,573 psi
As you can see, there is no meaningful difference between these three psi values, and as mentioned above, all three psi values are in the FANTASTIC Wear Protection Category. So, none of these temperatures had any negative affect on the oil’s wear protection capability.
I also tested this oil to find out its onset of thermal breakdown, which was 295*F.
As it stands in Fall 2017, Amsoil Signature Series synthetic motor oils, hold the top two positions in my Wear Protection Ranking List for oils just as they come, right out of the bottle, with no aftermarket additives. Motor oils have to be EXTREMELY GOOD to perform that well in my Engineering torture test on motor oil. Amsoil knows what they are doing, and they have set the bar to a new very high level.
This stuff is NOT cheap, 2 gallons cost $100. Good thing this car isn't a daily driver haha. Coupled with a NAPA Gold filter, which is made by WIX, and is arguably the best screw on parts store oil filter on the market, we should be good to go to race weekend!