John B
GT Owner
- Jan 28, 2006
- 158
Track upgrades
My car is mostly used on the street but I do an occasional track day with it, and when I do so I tend to run it pretty hard. In doing so I have found it has both insufficient engine and brake cooling to cope with hard running on track. I am consequently looking to make some additional improvements to make it more track worthy and welcome advice from those that have conquered the same problems.
Here is what I have currently.
Engine:
Whipple Gen I
Ida exhaust & tune
709 rwhp w 19psi boost.
Brakes:
Ford Motorsport 2 piece lightweight floating rotors
Castrol SRF Fluid
Hawk pads
Tires:
Pirelli P-Zero Corsa System Assimetrico
F 235/40-18
R 345/35-19
Other:
Transaxle cooler
Short shift kit
Problems:
1) Engine cooling.
I have only done two track days since installing the Whipple but on both days the coolant would boil over after one hot 20 minute session. I did two or three track days "Pre-Whipple" and never had a boil over. I understand that more HP=more heat, but need to find a way to keep engine temps down with the whipple. On both occasions it boiled over the car came off track ok, with temps around 230. I would then shut it down and leave it sitting with the tail section open to help it cool, it would then boil over a few minutes after shut down. After the most recent boilover I let it cool down and added water and water wetter and went out again. I found I could run hard for about 5 laps then temps got to 230. I then ran a couple slow laps until it got down to 200. It would then hit 230 again in about 2-3 laps. This prevented the boil over but wasn't as much fun, especially when I had to slow while reeling in my next victim. Ambient temp was about 88 degrees.
2) Brake cooling.
I have warped my second set of rotors, the last being the Ford Motorsport two piece floating rotors. I really no longer have a problem of brake fade since I use Castrol SRF and Hawk pads, now the rotors are just toast after a hard day. They are ok for moderate street use but now vibrate under hard braking and do not feel as effective as they used to.
Current ideas:
I was just at the Kohler International Challenge at Road America in July. This year it was co-sponsored by Ford and they had a Ford GT's there from the engineering department to take VIP's some hot laps during lunch. I had the opportunity to take a good look at the car later and noted the following which I think are good ideas. 1) The fake front brake ducts had been converted to fully functional ducts directly to the rotors with tubing. 2) It had about a 3/8" wicker on the trailing edge of the bodywork where the air exits the radiator out above the hood. I think this creates a bit of low pressure behind the radiator that probably helps pull more airflow through at speed. It probably doesnt disturb the aerodynamics much. 3) It had nicely mounted shoulder harnesses going through the holes in the seats.
Another idea I have is to make it a point to always do a cool off lap, this will likely help reduce temps a little before stopping.
I welcome any advice from others in the area of brake and engine cooling.
My car is mostly used on the street but I do an occasional track day with it, and when I do so I tend to run it pretty hard. In doing so I have found it has both insufficient engine and brake cooling to cope with hard running on track. I am consequently looking to make some additional improvements to make it more track worthy and welcome advice from those that have conquered the same problems.
Here is what I have currently.
Engine:
Whipple Gen I
Ida exhaust & tune
709 rwhp w 19psi boost.
Brakes:
Ford Motorsport 2 piece lightweight floating rotors
Castrol SRF Fluid
Hawk pads
Tires:
Pirelli P-Zero Corsa System Assimetrico
F 235/40-18
R 345/35-19
Other:
Transaxle cooler
Short shift kit
Problems:
1) Engine cooling.
I have only done two track days since installing the Whipple but on both days the coolant would boil over after one hot 20 minute session. I did two or three track days "Pre-Whipple" and never had a boil over. I understand that more HP=more heat, but need to find a way to keep engine temps down with the whipple. On both occasions it boiled over the car came off track ok, with temps around 230. I would then shut it down and leave it sitting with the tail section open to help it cool, it would then boil over a few minutes after shut down. After the most recent boilover I let it cool down and added water and water wetter and went out again. I found I could run hard for about 5 laps then temps got to 230. I then ran a couple slow laps until it got down to 200. It would then hit 230 again in about 2-3 laps. This prevented the boil over but wasn't as much fun, especially when I had to slow while reeling in my next victim. Ambient temp was about 88 degrees.
2) Brake cooling.
I have warped my second set of rotors, the last being the Ford Motorsport two piece floating rotors. I really no longer have a problem of brake fade since I use Castrol SRF and Hawk pads, now the rotors are just toast after a hard day. They are ok for moderate street use but now vibrate under hard braking and do not feel as effective as they used to.
Current ideas:
I was just at the Kohler International Challenge at Road America in July. This year it was co-sponsored by Ford and they had a Ford GT's there from the engineering department to take VIP's some hot laps during lunch. I had the opportunity to take a good look at the car later and noted the following which I think are good ideas. 1) The fake front brake ducts had been converted to fully functional ducts directly to the rotors with tubing. 2) It had about a 3/8" wicker on the trailing edge of the bodywork where the air exits the radiator out above the hood. I think this creates a bit of low pressure behind the radiator that probably helps pull more airflow through at speed. It probably doesnt disturb the aerodynamics much. 3) It had nicely mounted shoulder harnesses going through the holes in the seats.
Another idea I have is to make it a point to always do a cool off lap, this will likely help reduce temps a little before stopping.
I welcome any advice from others in the area of brake and engine cooling.
