Bemused and Confused

Well, things didn’t go so well for the Rat or me at the April BMWACA HPDE. I was only able to get one session in because of the oil leak. I lost almost a full quart of oil in one session. So, I had to park the car and just watch.

Again, there were few signs on or around the engine that I could see that showed where the leak is coming from. There are a few drips on the ground, but they come from places where oil is going to pool and drip off no matter where the leak is. Plus, it is never very much.

The plugs are getting fouled. I checked them earlier and cleaned them all off. After my first session at the track I checked again, and they were fouled again. Very oily. But you can see where the oil is mostly on just one side of the plug. When I started the car back up after the session, it did belch blue smoke (oil burning smoke). But this cleared up in a matter of seconds and didn’t come back while the car was running.

Again, the car lost no oil on the way up or on the way back. It only loses oil at the track. I do suspect that the valve cover gasket is leaking some and possibly the cam gear seal. I find it hard to believe that it could lose that much oil that quickly, but I was pushing the car a lot harder than the first track day. It was also dry most of the time so I had a lot more grip which leads to higher g loads.

So, I will most likely try to get the block cleaned up better so maybe I will have a hope of seeing the leak. I probably should get the valve cover checked out and that cam gear seal. I suppose I should have replaced that when I did the timing belt, oh well. I hope that is the extents of the problem, but unless I can see where it is coming from, I can’t really do much except to throw parts at it and hope one of them stops the problem.

Track Time

Unfortunately, I didn’t get my video camera started properly (I can’t tell if it is on or off from the driver’s seat) so I didn’t get any video either. Not a great day at the track.

But, I did get a pretty good session in the car and I am enjoying it. It is definitely more nimble than the Silver Slug. It is more engaging to drive as well. I am still feeling it out and trying to see if I run into any vices, so I wasn’t going 10/10ths out there. The car seems to want to over steer a bit in the longer corners, but that might be just me not being used to a car that will actually turn.

I was also very easily hitting the rev limiter in third gear prior to turn 4. It is close enough to the corner to make it ineffective to shift to 4th gear, so I have been banging against the limiter for a second or so before braking.

The car also feels a bit squirrely under braking, even though I am not hitting the brakes as hard as I could.

Which leads to the brakes. I am not happy with them at all. The pedal is mushy and has too much travel (sounds familiar? Same as the Silver Slug). Again, I am not sure if that is just the way it is, or if there is something wrong. I sure don’t feel confident using the brakes. They work, but they don’t seem to be as effective as they should be. I have stainless lines and brass sliders on the calipers. I have fresh fluid that has been bled very well. I suppose the master cylinder could be replaced, but I am reluctant to do that without some confirmation that there is a problem in the first place. It could be the pads too I suppose, but I really don’t think so. They wouldn’t contribute much to the mushy pedal or pedal travel. They might contribute to the lack of braking force that I am feeling. Ah, well. One more thing to look into. It could be fun

Other Stuff

Now, on to less fun things. Some of my loyal readers may have noticed that I have not posted in a while. That is because I haven’t really been doing anything with the car. I have not attended any more HPDE’s either. That is because there is some major instability with my current employment. They have attempted, through a nefarious and slimy tactic, to move my job to Colorado. Because of my personal situation with my family, I simply won’t move. So we have been negotiating for a while now and it doesn’t look good. Come September, I could be sans a job. So, I have been more careful with my money, hoarding against the (somewhat unlikely) lengthily job search. We’ll see what happens. Right now they need me desperately so they are letting me stay on.

Video on Request

Below is a video from the first track day with the rat. The track is quite wet at the start of the session and then starts to form a dry line. The speed starts picking up, but then it starts to rain again.

This is the first session in the Rat so I am taking it very easy, trying to get a feel for it. Plus, it is a wet track and this was my first experience on a wet track. There had already been one Porsche plant itself into a wall. I didn’t want to experience that particular event myself.

I am taking it very easy in the braking zones so I let up very early and carefully work the brakes. My times are very slow, but not too bad considering the weather and the newness of the car to me.

There were also some cars out there that were painfully slow. They were going down the back straight at 75 mph. I am sure these people drive faster than that on the freeway in the rain… In the corners, some were painfully slow. But, they were higher horsepower cars so they would get away from me on the front straight, but then I would catch them again going into turn 1. It was a bit frustrating, but it is better to be safe than sorry, especially in the rain. Oh, and I know the wind noise is a bit bad, but the engine does sound pretty cool. I think the stock exhaust is worn out, but it is also because most of the sound proofing has been pulled out of the car.