My S2000 Weekend/Track day warrior

[chaumeh]

Nice update and pics Pete! the track looks so technical from the video.

[powerrangers]

Epic thread! I read from start to finish. I hope you continue to update it

[eskimo_firefighter]

Nice update and pics Pete! the track looks so technical from the video.

Thanks Thanh! Haunted hills is one hell of a exhilarating track, I really enjoy driving there!

Epic thread! I read from start to finish. I hope you continue to update it

Thanks mate! I have been really busy, but that doesn't excuse me from updating this blog. I have some time over the weekend to update it. I have a lot of stories to share since the last update!!! It's been a wild ride to say the least.

[powerrangers]

Thanks Thanh! Haunted hills is one hell of a exhilarating track, I really enjoy driving there!



Thanks mate! I have been really busy, but that doesn't excuse me from updating this blog. I have some time over the weekend to update it. I have a lot of stories to share since the last update!!! It's been a wild ride to say the least.

Looking forward to the updates, it's much more interesting reading informative threads like yours rather than browsing the random Facebook groups.

[eskimo_firefighter]

21/05/2019 - Wakefield Park Raceway + Sydney Motorsport Park

With the success of the 1:28 at Winton and a 58 at the figure 8 Haunted Hills track, I was on a high, more motivated than ever. Content with the cars capabilities and reliability which led me to book in the most epic adventure a double track day. Combining Wakefield and Sydney Motorsport in one trip.

First things first, I wasn’t confident that the Cleib 70mm would pass the strict noise limits at Wakefield. Friend of mine lent me his ASM 70mm catback exhaust, which sounds beautiful while not being obnoxiously loud. Big thanks for entrusting me with such a nice piece.



The plan - 21/05/2019.

– Drive up to UNITED Sutton on 98Octane, Fill up a full tank of E85 and 4 jerries of E85 then drive to Goulbourn. A total of 630KM from Melbourne to Goulbourn.



22/05/2019 - Wakefield Park Trackschool Open Pitlane Track day
23/05/2019 - Drive up to Sydney – ClubITR catch up with the Sydney crew.
24/05/2019 - Sydney Motorsport Park.
25/05/2019 - Explore Sydney + more catch ups.
26/05/2019 - Drive back from Sydney to Melbourne – 880KM
27/05/2019 - Back to work.

The last time I’ve been here would have been 3 years ago, with a PB of 1:07.9.



Within the first session I had set a 1:06.0 with traffic. Confident that a 1:04 was on the cards.

1:27.9031 1:21.8933 1:23.3103 1:19.2105 1:06.8030 1:07.5017 1:25.4436 1:26.9901 1:06.0099 *:**.****



Then next session a 1:04.4 popped up! Ecstatic. But I knew a 1:03 was possible.

1:19.4695 1:08.6627 1:04.4212 1:18.0681 1:31.4881 1:11.9716 1:13.5114 1:22.2649 1:05.6103 1:05.0058

Next session I didn’t get to put down a lap due to the traffic. Experimented with a few different lines and then bailed.



1:23.8647 1:27.6781 1:17.3343 1:17.8303 1:45.2180 1:23.0241 1:50.0039 1:35.8080

By lunchtime a 1:03.9 popped up!!!! At this point I knew a 1:02 was possible as I was discovering new gearing and driving lines.



I was hopeful for a 1:02 with all the discoveries I found throughout the day.

Notes as below.
T3-T4 – Instead of downshift into 3rd, I can carry 4th through here. Less braking, more bravery and more speed.

T8 (fishhook) – Can take this in 3rd instead of 2nd. Easy to overshoot the braking zone, get on the power and straighten up the car ASAP in preparation for T9 until T10.




But then out of nowhere, disaster struck.

On cool down lap then powering out onto the main straight with no warning, the engine gave up on me. A loud bang from the engine occurred, metal shards was flying all over the engine bay with smoke coming out of the engine bay. I thought yep this is it, we’ve finally cooked the F20C after almost 6 years of abuse.



To add salt to the wound, further damage to the body work was caused by an inadequate tow point. We’ll get to this later. But upon further inspection, the car was not drivable. 650KM away from home, I had to improvise. But with thanks to kind people, I was able to find a way to Sydney.

A friend booked me a plane ticket, picked me up from the airport. Another friend even offered to drive his tow car to pick me up all the way from Melbourne. My brother then lent me a hand with towing the car back. Plenty of friends offered a helping hand to get the car back on the road, times like these I can’t help but be thankful for the great support I have. Thank you all.

Despite the sombre conclusion to this trip, I was proud of what I have achieved with this car. To put this package together and then to continuously hone my driving and cars setup then to do what it has done, I was somewhat content. After some reflection, I have been one hell of a lucky bastard to have made it through all these years with no issues, 6 years worth of track days driving to and back from the track. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had done 1000+ laps. Despite this, the damage seemed catastrophic and it looked like a long road to getting this car back on the road. It was time to assess the damage and see what it would take to bring it back to life. With Motorsport, the highs are very high and the lows can be crushing. This was the latter.

It was time to take a break.



It’s down but not out.

P.S apologies for organising a ClubITR meet up and other catch ups in Sydney and not rocking up! Haha.

[chaumeh]

It’s down but not out.

So good! next chapter please!

Thank you for continuing to share your journey Pete!

[powerrangers]

That sucks! Will be interesting to see what caused the failure.

[eskimo_firefighter]

Post Wakefield Damage Assessment. August'ish 2019.

Demoralised from the Wakefield trip, I left the S2000 on the back-burner for about four months until I summed up the motivation to get this back into action.

The damage - What the hell actually happened?

With the mindset that the engine is cactus after hearing the engine knock on start up with the engine debacle, I began to assess the carnage.

Old coilpack + Sparkplug. This had melted together, the spark plug and coilpack were inseparable.





Broken Coilpack cover from the coilpack/sparkplug ejection.



I had purchased a flexible camera to inspect the bores.



Upon closer inspection within the engine seems the cylinders and cylinder walls were undamaged. This brought me great hope that the engine was still OK. I inspected the spark plug threads and saw that they were shredded. Seeing this made me jump to the conclusion the spark plug slowly backed, allowing heat to escape, eventually melting the coilpack to the spark plug and then shoot out of the engine. If this theory is true, this engine may still have life left in it!

I used an old spark plug to test this and borrowed a coilpack. The spark plug threads were totally destroyed so I was only able to loosely install the spark plug in there then install the coilpack. I then started it up briefly to hear for any odd noises.

The engine started up fine with no knocking noises! This engine is still good! Providing that I could fix the spark plug threads.

Spark plug threads were fixed; this was the sketchiest job. Not going to go into too much detail with this but it requires the cylinder head to be tapped, to install new threads which are made by Timesert.





Once this job was done, I installed new spark plugs + OEM Denso K series coilpacks. Took it out for a drive after 3 months of inaction. The car was rapid as I remembered it, it was great feeling to get this thing back on the road!

It's unfortunate that such a small issue such as under-torqued spark-plugs had snowballed into such a kerfuffle, especially after being so pedantic with the general cars maintenance. I have accepted my mistakes, learned a lot in the process and hope this doesn't happen again. The car was given a new lease of life and I was just grateful to drive this thing again. The last time spark plugs were changed according to this blog was just over a year ago, it's now part of my regular pre-track day checks.



It was time to get this thing back on the track but there were a lot of uncertainties with the reliability still being that the engine repairs were all DIY.

Despite that I was motivated again.

[eskimo_firefighter]

Broadford hillclimb - Victorian Hillclimb Championship - 31/08/2019

With the car seemingly all good to go with the recent repairs, I booked myself a spot for a hill climb event at Broadford.

I was quite anxious approaching this day on whether the repairs were adequate, with hope that the Timeserts would keep in place. Only one way to find out. Otherwise this is the closest track to home, if a tow is required, it's only a one-hour tow opposed to 7!

Today's hill climb track at Broadford was in reverse configuration from a typical hillclimb format with a standstill start which finished about halfway through the course. The track is challenging with a lot of variety, a blind corner, a lot of elevation changes with not too much run off. The track surface was very slippery of which in a hill climb format made it that much more challenging to get a good lap in with the consideration of cold tyres from the start.

Quite intimidating being surrounded by hillclimb spec open wheelers, thankfully the drivers were very friendly!





The first few laps I went out in a gingerly pace, weary about the repairs I opted to gradually increase my pace throughout the day. However, this wore off by the 3rd lap.

The car felt as good as I remembered it and I was having a blast.

Very happy to report back that the car survived the day with no issues at all. It had won its category with a 47.9 and placed 7th overall over 67 cars.

From somewhat of a dire situation with the car as a result of the Wakefield misadventure to having a day like this, it was satisfying be back at it again.

Thanks to the Vic Hillclimb Championship crew for holding a great day out!

With full trust regained with the car it was time to resume full track duties again.

It was good to be back.

[eskimo_firefighter]

Phillip Island GP Circuit - MSCA Round 8 - 21/09/2019

With the cars reliability confirmed from the previous Broadford hill climb day, I booked a spot for the PI MSCA day. The last PI day in the supercharged setup was in 2018 with its PB of 1:47.2645 (Nov 18 2018), the car has changed significantly since then with it being converted from 98octane to E85 and in addition other small changes which cumulatively was a massive change.

The car ran well, unfortunately the weather and traffic conditions was not ideal. Groupings were bunched up and it eventually rained out.



Once I was able to get a clear lap. A new PB of a 1:44.3660 popped up! This being the only clear lap I was able to do for the whole day. I knew there was much more in the car.

Comparison of the 47.36 (Dark Blue line) vs the 44.37 (Light Blue Line)



Due to the changes in the car, the car clearly has much better acceleration and is carrying more cornering speed throughout the track which netted 3 seconds over the previous PB.

Despite that I felt like there was much more in the bag at PI, I was pretty keen to head back. The was handling pretty well at this very high speed track but I wanted more clear traffic to gauge what needed to be improved in terms of driving and car setup.

[eskimo_firefighter]

Winton Raceway - Nugget Nationals - 27/10/19

With deciding to miss out on Septembers H nationals 2019 even due to sickness and organisation of the event, I was seriously itching for a Winton event.



The car had remained unchanged since the 28.7 PB set in March early this year. With the Dunlops well past their prime having done multiple days with plenty of street driving, including a drive up to Wakefield from Melbourne. Despite that I knew there was plenty of time left in it after analysing the previous PB lap.



Session 1 - 2:03.6750 1:32.2800 1:30.2520 1:28.7330 1:55.1530 1:45.6330 1:28.7510

From the get go a new PB of 1:28.7330, down from the 1:28.7930.

Session 2 - 2:00.3430 1:28.3140 1:47.9230 1:40.3900

A new PB of 1:28.3140!! At this point I knew a 27 was achievable, I pushed hard later in this session then the S2000 had its biggest off track moment at Winton. Approaching the sweeper in an odd line and a lot of speed, the car had understeered off and went off that track at 140km/hr+. With being off the tarmac, brakes didn't function. The car had kept going until it hit a large ditch in the middle of the infield, it caused quite a bit of damage to the front bar. Thankfully it's a replica front bar and nothing else was damaged, even the alignment stayed true! Lucky! Lots of red duct tape was used to bandaid it up.



Despite almost destroying the car that session I was keen for another round, the car had suffered no mechanical damage, so onward and upwards.

I had made a few setup changes to alleviate a bit of understeer. I knew this was going to make the car slightly more difficult to drive as the rear end would be more willing to rotate.



I had increased the rear dampening by 2 clicks. Decreased the front tyre presses by 2PSI. Effectively aiming for 28psi hot and 29-30psi hot rears. This should allow the car to have better turn in at the possible expense of rear end stability.



With those changes I was able to hit a new PB of 1:28.0780!!!!

Session 3 - 1:57.8870 1:28.0780 1:45.4330 1:29.6340

Unfortunately for the remainder of the day I was unable to PB any further! I was very close to a 27 numerous of times but unfortunately got some traffic.

Overall, was extremely pleased with the results.

Where did the improvements come from? Notes for future reference.



28.07 (light blue line) vs 28.7 (dark blue line)

Based off the Racechrono data. A bit of time was made up in quicker shifting, as the graph on the main straights shows a sharper increase in speed without as much of a stall in acceleration. Slamming the gears in can save time but obviously can increase wear and tear on the gearbox.

Better sweeper lines, with the car seemingly having better front end grip with the tyre/damper changes. I was able to take a better line, not compromising speed on the latter half of the sweeper as evident from the data.

The corner leading onto the main straight I was able to carry more speed in. A dab of the brakes and a mash of the throttle while keeping steering inputs nice and smooth seems like the fastest way through here in this car. Any oversteer or unnecessary steering inputs will cost a lot of exit speed which costs a lot of time leading onto the longest straight at Winton.

After a lot of review of the data and footage, I am confident of a 27 at Winton. But we might be aiming higher next time around!

As always big thanks to the NN crew for holding another great day to remember, good banter, fun times, you guys are the best. Thanks Taku mode for the stellar shots in this post.

[DJDOC]

Awesome thread! keep updates coming so we can be entertained during COVID-19 period!

Just a quick Q if you don't mind - Can you share the part number and where you sourced the coil pack for K series? I am also considering an update.

Thanks in advance.

[eskimo_firefighter]

Thanks mate, I've been meaning to update this blog. Somehow I've still been keeping myself busy during these times! Do not fret, updates will come. It will really test my memory as I try to recollect everything that has happened in the past 6 months with this car!

No problem, happy to assist. Here are the part numbers for the Denso Coilpacks. Denso 6732301. I ordered them from RockAuto, should be about $150USD + 15USD for shipping. Too bad the exchange rate sucks right now!

[eskimo_firefighter]

Phillip Island – MSCA Round 8 Phillip Island - 16/11/2019

Not satisfied with the previous PI track day with the poor weather and traffic conditions I aimed at doing another PI day ASAP. However, with having that big off at Winton it prompted me to do a thorough spanner check to ensure the car was still held together.

Confirmed still intact, day booked.
The goal today was a 1:43, based on the previous data acquired from the MSCA track day in September. The car was more than capable of it.

As I went through the day, I noticed the rear end feeling extremely twitchy at the limit. Being a high speed track this dampened my confidence which caused me to be a bit more cautious. Coming into the pits, checking the tyre pressures, all was well on this front. Inspected the wing stands and the boot, I spotted that the trunk was starting to bend due to the prolonged downforce from the wing.

The boot must be compressing under high speed, altering the wing angle, thus causing rear end instability.

Active aero anyone?





The end result from the day was a new PB of 1:44.1487down from 1:44.37. I pushed as hard as I felt it was safe enough to do so. Thoroughly enjoyed the day with mates and felt like my track knowledge and knowing how to handle PI has improved despite only a 2 tenth gain in time with a wild rear end to tame. With this in mind, I was more keen than ever to head back only after I sort out the cars tendency for high speed oversteer.

Light blue line (1:44.1) vs dark blue line (1:44.3)

The main corner that the rear instability caused a huge reduction in potential lap time was the last corner leading onto the main straight. In the video it shows me clearing wimping out on the throttle mid corner.





Lap times for the day.

2:40.6031 1:49.9972 2:01.0392 1:49.0125 2:46.4793 1:44.2039 1:46.5518 1:47.0402 2:11.4283 2:31.2714 1:45.8266 2:09.3136 1:45.3249 1:45.5513 2:25.6187 1:46.2013 1:44.4048 2:17.7122 1:44.1487 2:37.1799 1:59.9336 2:40.3546 1:54.6002 2:08.0334 1:46.0317 1:49.3108 1:46.6077 1:44.3618



Thanks Ying.B, Kam and Co for the company. Good times.

[eskimo_firefighter]

Dunlops DZ03G M5 retired.

After quite a fair few track days and street driven KM’s the Dunlops have worn well down. These tyres has been outstanding, providing consistent grip throughout its life. Even when worn down it was still able to provide some PB’s as evident by the previous Winton + Phillip Island post despite having quite seen some mileage on the road, including grocery runs and a casual 700km trip to Wakefield Park from Melbourne, albeit a very noisy trip!

Massive thanks to Loc from Dunlop for providing me these tyres, 100% PB success rate with these tyres.

Rear right – this tyre was the most worn, the rear right seems to wear a lot faster ONLY at Phillip Island. PI seems to have an extremely abrasive surface and it wears tyres a lot faster than other tracks.



Rear left – still looks good. Would have kept driving on them if the rear right wasn’t so shagged. The fronts look similar to this. This indicates the cars suspension and alignment is pretty well balanced if the tyres are worn relatively evenly.



Yokohama A050 G/S

It was time to try a new tyre. A tyre that is very well regarded in the Time Attack scene. The Advan Yokohama A050.

I opted for the G/S compound which is a soft. It wouldn’t be a fair comparison to compare to the Dunlops given that they were a compound between Medium and Soft, but I was expecting great things from these.