New Company Car

[RotaryDiagnostics]

Greetings all,

Our new company car is finally ready for the upcoming HPDE season. I picked up the car last summer and I've been refurbishing and upgrading it for track duties. This is a basic S5 Turbo with "standard" intake and exhaust upgrades putting out 222 hp and 206 lb.ft. of torque at a modest 7 psi. First event is the TrackDaze event at the SP, Shenandoah Circuit in mid-May. Then it's down to VIR in June for the Mazda Sportscar Club of Washington event in June. If you haven't tried an HPDE event yet, you should. These events are sponsored by several organizations and are held at most roadrace courses across the country.

So, if you find yourself at Summit Point or VIR this year, look me up and stop by to say hello. I will have a sampling of our tester systems available to check out. And time permitting, I would be happy to demonstrate one of our systems on your vehicle to determine the basic health of the engine.

Larry

[RotaryDiagnostics]

Well, the company car (and I) didn't fare too well in it's maiden HPDE event. Spent day one trying to adjust out significant understeer. And to top that off, I noticed a CEL after the last session of the day. Turned out to be a failed TPS so I loaded up the car and headed home Sunday. Have since replaced the TPS and repaired a small oil leak that I noticed while working on the car. Ready to go again.

I'm off to VIR this weekend for a two-day MazdaDrivers event utilizing the Grand course--4.2 miles of Heaven. I'll be working on the understeer problem with tire pressure adjustments and shock settings. May have to spring for the R-compund tires and coilovers next season. Then there is the question of more HP/torque. Never ends does it.?

[PortedRotorTuner]

So how was VIR? I Love that course. It’s one of my favorites!

[RotaryDiagnostics]

Originally Posted by PortedRotorTuner

So how was VIR? I Love that course. It’s one of my favorites!

Yeah, VIR is the best. However, my performance was less than stellar. Had several offs, although minor, and the engine went sour after the first day. The problem turned out to be the little hose that connects the BAC valve to the TID. Took me several weeks of off and on troubleshooting to find the split in the hose that was on the back side of the hose. In the process of troublshooting I disconnected the SAFCII so now I need to get back to PFS for a dyno session. That probably won't happen 'til Spring since I want to get BNR to upgrade my turbo later this year.

Unfortunately, VIR is a bit of a haul for me. It's a 6-hour drive with a few "hills" along the way that test the tow vehicle. It's not too bad going down, but returning on Sunday evening on I-81 is a bear after a day on the track. Will probably limit VIR to one event per year and go with Summit Point otherwise.