msm_s2k

How many times have you been on track? I wouldn't call it a tracked turbo based on an HPDE or two.

Chris_Lum

What else do you guys recommend to keep a turbo S2000 "reliable" at the track?

I have the greddy turbo kit and its a conservative kit (about 270-280rwhp) at ~7psi. And i plan on hitting up the HPDEs, nothing competitive. so maybe a few times a year.

What i had in mind was...

koyo aluminum radiator
greddy oil cooler

and maybe:
baffled oil pan (not sure if oil starvation is something to worry about on this car or not)
radiator breather tank
oil catch tank

& a vented hood just to let the hot air out..

any input on these parts and/or other suggestions?

msm_s2k

accurate oil and coolant temp gauges

Balance_Point

EGTs have been an issue. CB had problems that were never rectified to that end. Incidently, the new owner of his car did have engine problems within a short period.

Chris_Lum

oh right! i forgot about gauges. i wonder if there is a thread showing where everyone mounts the gauges...theres so little room in the cabin.

tstiles

There was a Green student last weekend @ TWS with a turbo car .... I don't think he had any mechanical issues and ran every green session.

Coop was his instructor , He was very impressed with the car ..... The car was hitting 130 @ S/F line with a green driver .... I'm getting about 130 , in the gas all the way to the transition ..... 130 @ S/F with a green driver is Huge !

Turbo track car is not for me , I'll let somebody else suffer with all the development issues ...... If I need to go that fast , I'll just get a vette.

cbender

Sometimes I feel like I should sew a Scarlet "T" on everything I wear, particularly at the track. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but here's my take on this question. If you want a great track car, go with one of the well-sorted supercharger kits. If you want to impress your friends, go the turbo route, but you'll find it an awful lot harder to keep the car running if you track it hard. Good drivers on the track will be in boost for massive amounts of time. and under that sort of use, you'll find that virtually everything pushes the limits of tolerance, including coolant temps, oil temps, exhaust gas temps (which means a water-cooled turbo center cartridge which adds to the thermal demands on the coolant system), under-hook temps, etc. etc. Plus, tuning a turbo for partial throttle and throttle transitions is much trickier than you might think. And, finally, the power-curve isn't optimal on the track. My car would snap your head back pretty much anywhere the boost came on. That made for a lot of (fun) sideways driving, but it wasn't particularly good driving and it could get scary. The supercharged cars are ultimately better track cars, although they aren't as fast. But fast doesn't necessarily mean "fun", and you'll be happier on the long run with a supercharger if you're looking for a track car. My two cents. Others may feel differently.

eflove

The "green" driver was me. coop rode with me. only problem i had was when my 2nd rad. fan stoped working. The cool temp would go up a bit when i would come in after a run. I was happy as i still use the stock rad. Oh and im not so green anymore coop moved me up.

Chris_Lum

I'm still wondering about this topic, so instead of starting a new thread, i'll continue this one.

After talking to more people and contemplating this myself, i'm still wondering how my car will do at the track, so maybe some of you guys can make me feel better. I know the biggest concern with a turbo track car is the heat, so what parts should i safeguard? and what other parts should i use to keep heat down? I'd appreciate any comments on the parts listed:

Current setup:
Greddy turbo kit, conservative tune using 7psi basemap.

Planned parts for track use:
Aluminum radiator w/ samco hoses
Greddy 10 row oil cooler
EGT, Oil, Water temp gauges
Vented Hood


What other stuff would be good to have? I'm thinking of ANYTHING, because i want this to be as safe as possible. Maybe an intercooler sprayer? heatwrap dowpipe & manifold? ceramic coat the exhaust housing? My battery is still in the stock location, should i build an enclosure for it?

With this conservative turbo setup and the proper oil and water cooling parts, running at HPDEs in socal, do you think my car will hold up pretty well during a 20 min session? or might i expect to only fit in 5 laps or so before having to get off track due to overheating? This is my first FI car, i've been HPDEs plenty of times, but with N/A cars only. I REALLY want to take the car out to the track to see what it can do, but if it's not very safe, i'd remove the turbo kit and go N/A again if i have to. Please let me know what you think!

cthree

You can do it and it would be fantastic but I wouldn't do it unless you have the skill, facilities and money to keep it running.