Report: Autocross Car on a Road Course

[Tom Grossmann]

So I finally got the 87 Novakar on a road course, we had a track/test day yesterday and they were allowing open wheel cars. As many of you know I plan to get it out at vintage races for 2020 and the test day came in handy.

I took the alignment settings back to the set up sheets from when the car ran at Waterford Hills. The only exceptions being I kept the 7.5" front tires as those were fairly fresh, I changed the gearing to 15/50 in an effort to keep the revs down on the AMW motor and I left the brake bias as is (mistake).

Las Vegas is usualy in the upper 50s lower 60s this time of year but the temp was on 48F so I wasn't expecting to learn anything about the handling.

First the AMW motor survived the 30 or so laps I did without issue. I put this down to my jetting it fat and the fact that the motor never revved over 7K due to the tall gearing. Fuel mileage was 9-10 mpg so the smalll 4 gallon cell will just be enough to get it though a race (34-36 miles)

For autocross I have a lot of rear brake bias which helps the car rotate but for the road course it was waaaaay to much even for me. On lap 4 of the first session, the tires finally had some heat on them, I was braking hard from 120 down to 60 and at the end of the brake zone the rears barked and around I went in an instant. A tweak of the steering spun it back the right way and I continued on my way without ever leaving the track. I adjusted the Tilton regulator and this made it manageable for the rest of the day. I will obviously change it for it's next journey on track.

Despite the low temps the water temp was getting up to 175F; AMW specified 180 max. While the Honda Goldwing radiator we installed fixed the colling issues for autocross it's not going to be sufficent for the 80-100 degree temps we typically see on race weekends. So that will need upgrading.

The other big issue was the seat; I'd not poured a seat, instead I used some hard foam padding which works OK for autocross but it became apparent pretty quickly it wasn't working on track. Not only was my right elbow fowling the foam (a distraction) but the higher Gs had me moving around (I'm 5' 7" and 140lbs). Time to pour a seat.

Overall the day went well; I never pushed the car past 75% as it was cold and there were door slammers on track at the same time.

I will pass along one interesting tidbit; I came up behind a friend driving his 2018 Mustang GT (460hp 10 pseed automatic) and he didn't realize I was behind him. He accelerated off the 45mph haripin and down the back straight and the F500 stayed right with it. I knew these cars aren't slow down the straights but I was a little suprised that it kept up, espcailly considering my car has the AMW motor, which makes all of 85hp (his car will do 0-60 in under 4 seconds and high 11 second 1/4 mile times) and so I found that kinda of cool.

[t walgamuth]

Sounds like fun! Thanks for the report.

[DanW]

"I will pass along one interesting tidbit; I came up behind a friend driving his 2018 Mustang GT (460hp 10 pseed automatic) and he didn't realize I was behind him."

You have to assume someone in a street car CANNOT see you. You are likely below their mirrors, even if they look back and turn their head to either side they still can't see you. I've run some Lotus club track days and even though a Europa or Elise is very small, they often can't see you in their mirrors. A Mustang or Corvette is huge in comparison.

[Tom Grossmann]

Dan, yes I was operating on the principal that I was invisible same as I do when riding a motorcycle on the street. I hung back in braking zones as well, even with the brake bias issue I was still way later on the brakes (as on would expect).

Having not been on track in a single seater for years it was nice to do so again even keeping it to 75%.

[Jon Jeffords]

Despite the low temps the water temp was getting up to 175F; AMW specified 180 max. While the Honda Goldwing radiator we installed fixed the cooling issues for autocross it's not going to be sufficient for the 80-100 degree temps we typically see on race weekends.

Does the coolant system have a functioning thermostat? If so, that is what is controlling the water temps to 175F.

[Jamesbe]

180 max seems low, no?

I usually get worried at 210, 220 is max for most modern engines.

Not sure what engine you are running though so sorry if I'm way off.

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

[Tom Grossmann]

As far as I now there is no thermostat in the system.

The motor is an AMW, the manufacturer is no longer around, 180F is max per the manual. I have a Rotax motor for when the AMW finally goes kablamo and the Rotax motors being snowmobile engines need to run much cooler so an upgrade is in order.

I think I also failed to mention that being so low in the car most of the reference points I'd normally use are from the Datsun. You'd think the issue would have been due to the F500 being so much faster but it was the fact that there are enough dips in the track that I couldn't see the exit kerbs in a few paces. The last time I drove that track in a single seater was my D-Sports way back in 2002. I actually set the DSR lap record then but that was 17 years ago (where does time go). It took me several laps to fully sort the reference points

Additionally I'd purchased a new adjustable HANS with the quick release hooks. My original HANS is a 20 degree (no good in a formula car) and it has the original sliding latches and fixed tether. The sliding tether is so much nicer and I can do up everything myself.

[lance3556]

That sounds good, when you plan to come to Portland? The temperature is pretty high for that cool outdoor temp, a couple years ago I updated my Radiators on my KBS to a nice (expensive) 2 row custom that brought my temps down to 150 range on pretty warm summer days and helps the power.

[Tom Grossmann]

My sister lives in Vancouver but it's a bit of a haul from Vegas but the Portland Historics could be great fun.

I've found that several companies make 4 core radiators for my application (Honda GL1100) and they're only $189.00.

I'm 3 1/2 months out from my first vintage race of 2020 so I'll be able to get a seat poured and upgrade the radiator in plenty of time.

[jefnvk]

They let caged cars and open wheel run together???

[Tom Grossmann]

Jeff it was a mix of road cars (no cage) and prepped cars like Spec Miata and Honda S2000s. The big thing is passing was only by point by and only on the straights. Some track days allow one passing, I would not have run if allowed passing in corners.

I only waved by a few cars; that was mostly because I was cycling through the the dash board screens on the short shoots and I'd be totally off the gas. If someone even remotely caught up to me I waved them by as I didnt want them behind me in brake zones. I didn't want some wiener in a 2 ton muscle car running into me becuase they miscalculated.

[jefnvk]

Jeff it was a mix of road cars (no cage) and prepped cars like Spec Miata and Honda S2000s.

Sorry, perhaps "cage" car was poor terminology, meant fully enclosed cars, not sports racers and such

Just didn't realize there was anyone who would let a thigh high open wheel car on the track at the same time as something you can't see out of like a modern muscle car! Sounds like an insurance nightmare.

[Tom Grossmann]

The date was billed as a test day and any dicing/racing/chasing was strongly discouraged. Addtioanlly the two of,us in open wheel cars as well as the door slammers were all very mindful of the mix.

Not sure they will ever do this again but I got a test day in. The track we vintage race at is 67 miles from my house so having a test day 9 miles from the house was a huge deal.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

What track do you vintage race at? SpringMountain?

[Tom Grossmann]

Yes Spring Mountain is my home track so to speak. Other than local SCCA autocross we seldom have events at LVMS.

My normal mount for VARA is my Datsun 1200 that I run as either C-sedan with 1200cc motor (slaughtered by Minis) or GTL with 1500cc motor (slaughtered by B-sedans); they used to run me in with the small bore group and I'd manage top 5 overall but in he B-sedan group, even with the 1500 motor I have to drive like an animal to even make the top 10. At Spring Mtn on the 3.4 w/chicane the best I've managed is 2:54 flat. I you've ever seen me drive the 1200 you'll know I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm driving the wheels off it. As the suspension is good the solution is simple; spend $$$$$ on proper race motor, something I'm not willing to do.

If I'm going spend money to make a car faster, which will also mean it needs more care and feeding, I might as well run a single seater. The running cost for the F500 isn't much more an for a open wheeler the maintenance is pretty minimal.

I'm not sure what run group VARA will stick me in; likely in with FF but possible in with the S2000 & FC cars. Either way I'm good as enjoy the car. The F500 is just fast enough to not be boring, it's not as fast as my DSR but it's also not slow. Also while I love driving single seaters historically I've hated owning them due to the extra maintenance. The F500 is a nice compromise between the two.