Anyone have a SS/TC out on a road course on a hot day yet? Frontal openings are sized well, but the radiator looks pretty puny......not to mention the the air having to contend with the intercooler as well as the condenser. The tracks by me are almost entirely way out in the desert.......which shouldn't be a problem this time of year, but I'd rather plan ahead.

I'd like to hear some info about water/oil/ambient temps/engine & cooling upgrades. Please also post if you're also on factory coolant as well.

Additionally I'd like to hear if any of you guys are having any problems with intercooler soft pipes or vacuum lines.


Thanks!
Mike

 

A stock car can definitely benefit from an intercooler for safety reasons, but beyond that, I don't believe much should have to be changed.

 

?? It already has a large intercooler from the factory. I apologize for being so blunt, but are you guessing?....or have you actually had a SS/TC out on a hot day?

 

How long do you plan on driving non stop in one HPDE session?

Most clubs have session between 25~30 mins, unless there is already a problem with you car i stock form, it should not be a concern.

If you have a lot of power mods and still on stock cooling, then it might be a problem.

 

20-25mins is the norm here. You might have missed the part about the tracks being out in the desert here where it's normal for the AMBIENT temps to be 105~115, much less the track surface temps. I had no problem overheating my stockish 2004 z06 (ecu reflash & intake only) , even after adding a Ron Davis water/oil cooler combo, I was seeing water temps in the high 240's F and oil temps in the 300+ F range ; this was 80% water and water-wetter btw. (at this point I melted the brake dust boots despite the brake ducting, melted the tie-rod ends and triggered the factory trans temp warning after about 15 minutes ending my session early. Even in my 190hp stock engine 1996 Maxima got hot enough to where the (buffered) factory temp gauge gets towards the red even with the heat on full blast.

Just because it's stock doesn't mean it will not overheat, especially on an FI motor and FMIC.

Let's please end the speculation. Has anyone actually had their SS/TC on a a track on a hot day and let's hear some empirical data.

-Mike

 

LOL, so if your "stockish" Z06 have all kinds of problems, what makes you think a cobalt will fair better? Does everyone in that HPDE all have overheating issues or is it just you?

BTW, if what you said is true, your Z06 is 100% not safe for the event there.

 

Huh?? Read my first post again, I'm asking for heat management data.
But to answer your question anyway.....slower/lower grip platform (less time on the gas), less speed to scrub off, less weight (less stopping force req'd), less power (less heat), bigger frontal vents, brembo made calipers & rotors vs GM.....I can go on.

You've obviously never been to the track before.

What would be unsafe is continuing to drive the car in the same manner and assuming all is fine. Do some research, you'd be surprised how few fast cars are turnkey ready without any issues whatsoever outside of Porsche.

 

I also plan to take my TC out on Mosport GP in June (usually +30c). Did you find any info
on the cooling upgrades?

 

Absolutely zero useful references. Planning on taking it out Saturday, but that data will be limited with the ambient temps topping out in the high 50's. Running it bone stock, with the only exception being brake fluid.

-Mike

 

The stock TC intercooler is plenty big enough....

 

i wish Western Canada had some road courses

 

Race City comes to mind....for one more year

It may be falling apart but it's better than Deerfoot.....less cops and drive bys

 

indeed. all the cars we build have simple heat shields for the ball joints and tie rod ends. Dust boots on brembos burn up so sad too bad...most drivers over use the brakes especially on track days its a rookie thing...the TC front suspension will lay over at the flca trailing inner joint and the left or right (depending on course config) outer rib will rubbish in20 laps of hard driving and end your day or start you rotating tires... make sure the chin spoiler is intact that is important for engine radiator cooling... etc..

240 degress wt and 300 oil temp degress F is ok. Mobil 1 normally can run well up to 300degress centigrade oil temp

 

Thanks Mike and good luck Saturday! Keep us posted...

qwikredline, are you building/working on any of the Grand Am Cup Cobalts by any chance?

If you don't mind, I have a few questions...
My Cobra went into "limp mode" at 250 coolant temp once and scare the crap out of me and I had to do a Grand Am Cup rad with full ducting and a larger opening to keep things stable.

Is there anything like this on the TC to keep it from overheating and at what IAT2 will the ECU start to pull timing? Also what do you see for average coolant temps on the track? I was really hoping for 210 - 230 max.
Do you think it is a good idea to do the GM Stage kit if I want to Open Track it?

thanks
Riaan

No road courses... that is just SAD! I have 3 within 3.5hrs driving. TMP, Dunneville Autodrome and Mosport!

check out my Mosport in car clip with the Cobra.
http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...Mosportavi.flv

 

Don't forget about Shannonvlle!

 

Never, but lately it is to far for me (5-6 hrs drive with a trailer)...

In 2005 we had the Solosprint Nationals on Shannonville Pro Track.

 

qwik:

That's really funny, I was just watching the scca t3 national runoffs re-broadcasted, and they showed the outer edge of the SS/SC tires down to the wires. Any fix that you're are of for the TC?

-M

 

No fix for it on the TC, and youll see that on lots of Balts again this year as the fix is illegal in almost every SCCA class except the "mod" classes(and maybe prepared)
heres the fix for the major portion of the problem:

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/suspension-67/time-attack-rack-spacers-sneak-peak-149524/


If youre gonna be heavily road coursing your car and are willing to sacrifice a little ride quality(and about $1000) you can get the Time Attack/Koni CHallenge spec lower control arms with spherical bearing rear joint and delrin front joints, eliminates lower control bushing deflection.

The Koni cars now run aftermarket radiators(stock was used for the supercharged cars I beleive) but these cars are subjected to races of 200 miles or more on a regular basis, and championships and thousands of dollars are at stake.

 

I live in Texas and was out in Sept of 08 - had no heat issues and it was warm out - maybe 95'ish?

the water was 217 I think. Overall no issues.

All was well.

JK