[Catmaigne]

Howdy, I figured I'd post a couple vids of my Firehawk in action. I'm relatively new to track driving as this is only my second year doing road course stuff. I'm not a total newbie though as I've done some drag racing and autox in the past. Does Gran Turismo count as seat time? just kidding...

Pocono North/South course (typical TNiA layout) - 1:45.56 best so far
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Ch8dw3EfM

NJMP Thunderbolt - 1:36.75 best so far, although I feel I could definitely shave more time off at an event with less traffic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RwJho47DjM


NJMP Lightning - 1:16.56 best so far, hanging with a SS 1LE and a C7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCJhFHY5ztU
and 1:18.44 from last month https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQhoC0jkFtE

I'm working on getting a tow rig so I can make it to farther tracks next year. Summit Point, Glen, Pitt, etc.

Specs:
95 Firehawk
Stock SLP Bilsteins
UMI/BMR springs f/r
Hellwig 35mm front sway
Founders LCAs, Founders panhard, UMI torque arm
GW front upper A-arms
Kenny Brown subframe connectors
CTSV1 brakes and no ABS
Headers, a glasspack, and 1.7 roller rockers are the only power mods
18x10.5 C5z wheels with 315 Falken RT615k+ tires

This post has been edited by Catmaigne: Sep 22 2022, 04:32 PM

[mr.beachcomber]

I used a similar setup on my "72 Corvette race car (ex-GT1). I too blocked off the by-pass on my oil filter adapter to ensure all the oil went through the filter before going to the rest of the engine. My oil pump was the stock Chevy Z-28 performance model. The only real difference between our setups is I used an external oil temp sensor. The Setrab remote oil thermostat remained closed forcing the oil to by-pass the oil cooler until the oil had reach a temperature of 180F. Then the oil was routed through the oil cooler.

I'll have to look up the Derale setup because I'm not familiar with it's operation. I'm partial to Mobil 1 oil filters, but your Duramax should work fine with your setup.

What oil weights are you using , and how much oil does your setup hold? I used six quarts of Red Line 10W-30 for a while then switched to 15W-50 after I installed an oil temperature gauge. With the 15W50 oil, I would peg the oil pressure gauge immediately after start up. When the oil pressure got down to 45 psi at idle, I knew it was okay to drive/race the Vette.

Is there some way that you can determine is your thermostatic switch is working properly?

[Catmaigne]

I used a similar setup on my "72 Corvette race car (ex-GT1). I too blocked off the by-pass on my oil filter adapter to ensure all the oil went through the filter before going to the rest of the engine. My oil pump was the stock Chevy Z-28 performance model. The only real difference between our setups is I used an external oil temp sensor. The Setrab remote oil thermostat remained closed forcing the oil to by-pass the oil cooler until the oil had reach a temperature of 180F. Then the oil was routed through the oil cooler.

I'll have to look up the Derale setup because I'm not familiar with it's operation. I'm partial to Mobil 1 oil filters, but your Duramax should work fine with your setup.

What oil weights are you using , and how much oil does your setup hold? I used six quarts of Red Line 10W-30 for a while then switched to 15W-50 after I installed an oil temperature gauge. With the 15W50 oil, I would peg the oil pressure gauge immediately after start up. When the oil pressure got down to 45 psi at idle, I knew it was okay to drive/race the Vette.

Is there some way that you can determine is your thermostatic switch is working properly?

I blocked the filter bypass on the engine block adapter because my thinking was that it would allow oil to bypass the whole sandwich plate, cooler, and filter.

Weight is 5w30 and the system holds about 7.5qts total. The thermostat should close around 180F, but I don't have temp probes to verify that. Oil pressure seems pretty normal, like 60ish bypass and 25psi hot idle.

I have a couple current theories...

1. Sandwich plate thermostatic strip stays shut against the bypass hole until high RPM where it starts to bounce. The increase in oil pressure at the gauge is from the reduction of pump head loss?
2. Oil filter bypass valve bouncing causing the same phenomenon as above.
3. Crankshaft thrust bearing is worn and the pressure changes as the crank moves forward/backward. I was driving it yesterday and did notice the pressure would drop a few psi on throttle and rise off throttle, but only at a very specific spot around 1600rpm at very light load. Maybe this is crankwalk?
4. PCV system gets overloaded and crankcase pressure boosts oil pressure past a certain point.

I'm starting to think I should just ignore it until it grenades. I was ultimately planning on dropping the 370-380whp H/C stock shortblock motor from my Roadmaster into this car, but know the 10 bolt will explode lol.

This post has been edited by Catmaigne: Sep 22 2022, 06:27 PM