Colonel Red Racing 2005 STI Race Car

Using an all electric steering system isn't possible?

Using an all electric steering system isn't possible?

It may be but the feel (reportedly) is not nearly as good as the 2015+ STI rack. And I'm not sure how the fitment works. The Mooresport you order configured to work with the 2015+ rack.

 

You'll have to take it for a spin sometime! ORP club days coming up Sept 4-5-6 if you want to come down as my guest for one day. I the guest fee is $200, unlimited track time on and off 9:00 AM to Noon, then again 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

 

I hope to have the 818 and the STI there! You must have one running track capable car? Do you still have the LGT Race Wagon?

It may be but the feel (reportedly) is not nearly as good as the 2015+ STI rack. And I'm not sure how the fitment works. The Mooresport you order configured to work with the 2015+ rack.

 

You'll have to take it for a spin sometime! ORP club days coming up Sept 4-5-6 if you want to come down as my guest for one day. I the guest fee is $200, unlimited track time on and off 9:00 AM to Noon, then again 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

 

I hope to have the 818 and the STI there! You must have one running track capable car? Do you still have the LGT Race Wagon?

 

7 vehicles and only one runs. And ppl make jokes about Fords. Race Wagon is still in the shop, surrounded by 3 engines in parts. I was actually making progress when covid happened.

 

I'll talk to the boss, as I miss driving at ORP or any track for that matter.

Regarding the 818 but applies to the STI and all Subaru race engines:

I didn't realize that I never posted how September testing went in the 818R. It was a fail. The oil ran hot and the pressure dropped off dramatically. The same problem as before. We thought we could replicate it on the dyno but what worked there didn't work at the track. If we drove at 80-90% it was fine, but when I pushed it to 100% effort it failed.

We (Joshua Murray at Arcflash and myself) decided the scavenge pump with two stages just wasn't keeping up with even the 10mm pump. So we worked with John at Aviaid to come up with a new solution. He designed a 3 stage scavenge only pump where the third stage isn't as wide as the two main stages. That makes it possible to fit it in the A/C spot in front of the intake manifold. We figured why not try putting the third stage to the heads instead of a 3rd sump port? So we experimented with it. The third stage has a -10AN line to a Y, and from the Y it has two -6AN lines, one to each cylinder head cam cover. Arcflash in Bend welded in -6AN fittings to the cam covers and setup the new scavenge pump. That was the only engine change made, but what a change it made.

 

Friday we went to ORP and ran the heck out of the car all day. What a difference having the heads scavenged made. Here's the summary of temps on my fastest lap of the day:

 

 

The full graph:

 

 

ECT is Engine Coolant Temp. Crankcase Pressure is in PSI, to convert that to Inches of Vacuum you multiply by 2 (approx).

My Engine Coolant never went over 185 degrees all day.

My Oil Temp hit one high of 205 F once, the rest of the day it was 197-199 F at most.

Oil Pressure was excellent, never going under 50 for the entire lap. Hot idle at the end of a session was still 19 psi.

Trans Temp is also solved for sure with the tail lowered, it maxed out 185.

And Crankcase Vacuums of 11" to 16". Wow. In all my dry sumped Subarus (all with 2 stage Aviaid pumps) I've never been able to keep that much vacuum at full boost!

Yippe Skippe!

 

Here's the -AN fittings in the cam covers:

 

..

 

Over the winter we are going to make the same mod to my STI enduro racer for sure. The STI cam covers will require a little more finesse for the AN fittings but it can be done.

 

And on another note, we switched out the 818 springs for 500F / 700R. That cured the tires being ground down by the body at high compression loads.

 

Next Up: This weekend is the annual Cascade Festival of Endurance at Portland International Raceway. Josh and I will be driving my STI in the 2 and 4 hour races on Saturday.

The 818 is probably done for the season, we may try to squeeze in one more track day before the snows hit. It's already snowing in the passes.

Hands down the most interesting post I’ve seen anywhere recently.

 

Food for thought but I’ll have to dig up the previous oil system development posts here first for context.

 

I’m sure I’ve seen active heads scavenging before, but the application used, iirc, an oil pump similar to what’s used to return oil from a low mount turbo drain pan: this one addresses blow-by and oil surge (in the heads) and crankcase. Kudos!

Edited October 20, 2020 by bigBADbenny

We ran the Cascade Enduro again this year at Portland International Raceway. We took 3rd in class in the 4 hour enduro. We were held back by oil temp issues identical to the 818R. I think the solution is a 3 way scavenge like we did on the 818, so that is being done now.

 

The Mooresport Front Subframe Kit with a 2015 STI P/S rack and Volvo electric P/S pump worked great! No overheating issues, the steering feel was awesome.

 

We can't wait to get back to Non-Covid racing next spring!

This is going in the STI very soon:

This is going in the STI very soon:

 

what is it? cam-driven oil pump?

My guess would be a dry sump system.

thit you had a dry sump in the sti?

We modified the 2 stage dry sump pump to a 3 stage. 2 scavenge lines to the pan, the third line splits to each cam cover.

does that method keep the breather lines on the upper side of the head?

does that method keep the breather lines on the upper side of the head?

 

Yes. We put -AN fittings in the cam covers for the scavenge lines.

We have another solution for the breather lines involving a one way valve from those lines to the dry sump tank. As long as vacuum is present the breather lines act as a balance system between the heads and the crankcase, but do not vent. If for some reason we lose vacuum and actually go positive pressure the one way valve opens and they vent to the dry sump tank.

New DS pump installed, lines to cam covers connected, and one of our new Colonel Red Racing modded oem 10mm pumps installed too.

 

Guess I don't understand. I thought dry sump pump replaced the stock oil pump?

From what I understand the pump just empties oil from the sump and the head and feeds it to a canister that the engine pump draws oil from. Then that canister have a better shape to avoid the engine pump sucking air when cornering, accelerating and braking.

Iirc the Blue Saki Bomber Sti is a hybrid wet/dry sump setup: all the potential configurations are on the Aviaid website.

Guess I don't understand. I thought dry sump pump replaced the stock oil pump?

 

From what I understand the pump just empties oil from the sump and the head and feeds it to a canister that the engine pump draws oil from. Then that canister have a better shape to avoid the engine pump sucking air when cornering, accelerating and braking.

 

Iirc the Blue Saki Bomber Sti is a hybrid wet/dry sump setup: all the potential configurations are on the Aviaid website.

 

Correct. The BSB & 818R (and my former LGT Race Wagon) use a hybrid system. The Aviaid Dry Sump empties the pan and now the heads to a tank, the tank supplies the oil to the oem oil pump. The new twist is the third stage for the heads. That was only made possible in the former A/C compressor location by using the smaller third stage so it will fit up next to the intake manifold.

 

Subaru Kits

ARE (Gary Armstrong), Cosworth, and Aviaid use the hybrid style.

 

The Roger Clark Motorsport, Dailey Engineering, and Magnus are full on dry sump systems, replacing the oem pump.

My Volvo electric P/S installation is not something you would do in a street car. Because it's a full on race car with no passenger seat too, we mounted the pump to the passenger side floorboard, close to the oem ecu. We drilled holes thru the floorboard to the Mooresport rack, which makes for very short lines. We remote mounted the reservoir up on the dash bar where it's easy to see the level and add fluid. Sorry no pics, I'll post a couple later.

 

On the rack we used the Mooresport AN adapter:

 

We have an issue with the Mooresport subframe fitment, it rubs on the steering rack rubber bellows and during the course of the race we wore a tear in it. We noticed this when we first setup the rack in the subframe and hoped it would take a lot longer to cause a problem, but no. We are hoping to find a smaller rubber bellows that will fit and not rub.

 

Lots more upgrades happening over the winter. To start with we are probably going to entirely redo the wiring and gauges with the new AIM PDM + Display + Logger. Most of the aftermarket gauges will be replaced with AIM sensors and the display. Also a mount for the new Garmin Catalyst. We doing CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) now to see how they will all fit.

AIM PDM/Logger

https://www.aim-sportline.com/en/products/pdm32-pdm08/index.htm

and

Garmin Catalyst

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/690726

 

In the spring I'll be giving y'all a review on both products.

 

We are also having an issue with boost creep. It doesn't show on the dyno but it does on the track. It may be related to the dyno being at 4,000' and racing at sea level. We have talked with ATP and have some options on how to fix that issue.

 

Other mods: We are replacing the -AN line from the DS tank in the trunk back to the oem oil pump intake with solid tubing most of the way. More flow, less restriction, less weight.

 

Rear Diff Pump & Cooler and sensor to the AIM logger.

 

The windshield has taken a beating over the years and has a couple of cracks. We are debating replacing with a polycarbonate windshield from racingshields.com. We made our own rear poly windshield so we may make our own front one too. The issue is scratch resistance in a car that could go several hours racing in the rain with the wipers on. Racingshields makes strong claims about their scratch resistant coating.

 

The flat bottom has some off track disturbances to it that need to be fixed.

Thanks for the updates,

Saturday at ORP was a downer. The STI was running lean and still has boost control issues despite installing a new downpipe and re-plumbed the Tial EWG. A compression test showed fine, but the leakdown test showed a leak in an intake valve. I have a spare engine ready to swap in, so we called it a day and took it to the shop to start the swap.

 

We spent Easter Sunday at Oregon Raceway Park running the 818R. It ran great other than a minor gas leak around the fuel sending unit when the tank is overfilled.

5 sessions. The first was with no wings, no engine covers, just to see if anything had sprung a leak or come loose over the winter. Then I did 4 more sessions testing wing configurations.

It was a cool day, in the 50s and 60s, and very windy in the afternoon which made the aero testing not very valid. But I was sure pleased with the engine/tranny data:

 

Coolant Temps under 190 all day, mostly in the 170-180 range.

Oil temps 190 to 196

Oil Pressures rock solid thru all the high G turns tracking with RPMs, from 55 psi to 65 psi.

Trans temps averaged 145. Never went over 155.

Crankcase Vacuum was excellent, its stayed in the -8psi to -3.5 psi the whole time. It never went positive.

 

It's so nice to track all day with solid temps and pressures!

 

I hooked up my new Garmin Catalyst, along with my AIM data and Racelogic Video HD2 Vbox. Up until now I've considered the Video Vbox to be the best driver improvement tool but I think the Garmin has changed my mind. There's nothing quite like having the little Garmin lady's voice in you ear, "At next right turn brake later"; "At next left turn apex earlier"; "At next right turn brake softer".....and so forth. She seems to speak to you on no more than three places on the track on any one lap so she's not overloading you on instructions. And she even gives compliments when you follow her instructions!

And the post session review process is so much less complicated than AIM and Vbox.

It's miles better than an AIM Solo. It doesn't have al the capabilities of the Vbox, but the Vbox doesn't talk to you while your cooking around the track either. The Vbox has a predictive lap timer, and so does the Catalyst, but having the voice is incredible.

 

It has an internal speaker and hooks up to Bluetooth thru your car's speaker system too, but in a race car there's no way to hear the internal speaker. So I bought a set of Bluetooth earbuds. They are uncomfortable under the helmet at first until the helmet liner compresses around them. but then the first time she says "Carry more speed thru the corner" she has you hooked.

 

I haven't figured out how to download the data or save the video. Still working on that. Garmin wants you to save it in the their cloud account.....

 

Next up is Test & Tune on Friday April 30 at Portland International, then racing on Saturday and possibly Sunday too in the 818R.

Edited April 5, 2021 by Sgt.Gator

Scargo and White Zombie asked a couple of questions over on my NASIOC thread that I thought would be useful here too:

 

Curious to see/hear the Garmin video overlay experience if and when you get around to it.

 

I've been looking for a more seamless video/data overlay than my iPhone/Harry's Laptimer/GoPro. It worked awesome for a few seasons, but now I'm getting all kinds of frustrating connection and data overlay issues.

 

Good luck on sorting the car issues out soon!

 

Great info. I have my Aim EVO4S and GoPro but that's it. What you have sounds interesting. What G's do you sustain? I don't like my data going to a cloud that I have to pay additional for.

Thanks and keep up the info and feedback!

 

The Video/Data integration is outstanding if you are using the Review function on the Garmin device. The AI software shows you specific places on the track where it suggests you can improve. Awesome!

 

I looked further into downloading the video and data to post on YouTube and have on my laptop at the track and desktop at home. It's Awful! There is no explanation in the Owners Manual on how to do it, but I eventually found one on the Support website under the FAQs. It's possible to download the video as MPEG 4 files, but the data doesn't come with it. It's just raw track video with no data overlay. And the process is very buggy, it failed several times.

 

There is a second micro SD card slot on the side of the Garmin where if you put in a card it will hold the video (they say). That would make it a lot easier to load the files in a PC/Laptop. I've loaded a card but not tested it. But it still won't have the data.

Garmin spent all their engineering resources on the AI in this device for this first version. I expect updated software will make the video/data export a lot better eventually.

 

The Garmin cloud account is not for video/data. It's a BS sharing web platform.

 

Scargo, the 818R on 200 treadwear street Toyo Proxes R1R tires was consistently generating 1.4 to 1.6 Gs lateral and 1.15 to 1.17 braking. I'm sure I can do little better on the late braking Gs, I have yet to lock them up front or rear. I'm pretty happy with the lateral Gs on the 200 TW tires.

Gator, exactly which radiator do you currently use on your car? You probably mentioned this before . Also, which one did you use in the Legacy wagon?

Also, have you been racing while the IATs are close to 100F? If so, what kind of coolant temperatures are you seeing when you're racing?

Prepping for the 1 hour Mini Enduro at Portland International Raceway on Saturday. We're taking the 818R and will be in the NWMECS P1 class. With R comps we'd be in P0, but we're trying out Toyo R1Rs 200TW tires which let's us drop down one class. There's several Spec E46 cars registered in P1 so it should be fun!

Gator, exactly which radiator do you currently use on your car? You probably mentioned this before . Also, which one did you use in the Legacy wagon?

Also, have you been racing while the IATs are close to 100F? If so, what kind of coolant temperatures are you seeing when you're racing?

 

The Mishimoto X-Line in the LGT and STI, although the Performance version would probably be fine. What I've figured out is that ducting into the radiator is most important, and extraction out the hood is also important. If you are running a TMIC the positive pressure it creates in the engine bay reduces the effectiveness of the flow into the radiator. I have an aero studies video where the air flow is actually going in reverse because of the big oem STI hood scoop. I've raced in ambient temps of 100 degress, the coolant temps stay fine around 200-220.

 

So make sure to seal up all the spaces around the radiator where air can bypass going thru the radiator.

 

And make sure you have the right caps in the right places. The one with ears goes on the burp/expansion tank, the one without ears on the radiator. That includes the supplied cap from Mishimoto. Here's what they say: "The provided Mishimoto radiator cap should replace the stock cap located on the expansion tank. The stock cap attached to the radiator should be installed on the Mishimoto Performance Aluminum Radiator. The Mishimoto radiator cap is a two way valve, while the stock radiator cap is a single valve. Due to the difference in construction, the Mishimoto cap cannot be used on the radiator. If the Mishimoto cap is fit on the radiator, overheating may occur."

 

Hope this helps!