Chapter 7 with a Caterham SVT

[redursidae]

Yes I did mean Celsius. Roughly 96-98 Fahrenheit at the track yesterday.

 

Good to have confirmation on this, thanks. I'll run a 5w-40 first, and then a 50 if the pressure still drops too low.

 

Were your Zetecs dry-sump or wet-sump? Man that's kind of a bummer, as I was planning to do a couple of trackdays this year with the local group of Caterhams. Well, only one of the near tracks has long corners, while the others are more like a big autocross with straights. Think it'll be fine for the latter? At any rate, my Miata will continue to be the dedicated trackcar, and the Cat is more of the 4-wheel motorcycle for me.

 

The thermostat is either 90 or 95C, but I don't know for certain. I think the thermostat is working because on the street and for those first 4 sessions it stayed right at 90C, which is near the thermostat temperature. The fan is on a thermoswitch that runs at 90C, and shuts off at 84C. Those may not be the exact numbers but is close. I saw it printed on the switch when I did the radiator but failed to take a photo. But the fan does work, and it starts near the 80C mark on the gauge (which is why I know it reads low), and it was running the whole time at autocross. One thought I had was that there is no baffling between the radiator and the bodywork, so a lot of the air is going around it, and the fan may not be doing much. The new radiator also pushed the fan away compared to the original, which I have to imagine also reduces the efficiency of pulling air through it without baffling. But yes, I'll investigate further, and use the OBD scanner next time to check the real readings too.

[KnifeySpoony]

What is the oil cooling setup on that?

[Croc]

8 hours ago, redursidae said:

 

Were your Zetecs dry-sump or wet-sump? Man that's kind of a bummer, as I was planning to do a couple of trackdays this year with the local group of Caterhams. Well, only one of the near tracks has long corners, while the others are more like a big autocross with straights. Think it'll be fine for the latter? At any rate, my Miata will continue to be the dedicated trackcar, and the Cat is more of the 4-wheel motorcycle for me.

 

 

Mine were wet sump with baffling - Raceline pan.  

 

If you want to try give it a go but keep close watch on the oil pressure gauge and adjust your driving accordingly.  Long rights do have a tendency to force oil into combustion and you end up with a smoke screen out the back as you add throttle back for a straight - no harm unless you are following and getting second hand smoke.    

[redursidae]

8 hours ago, KnifeySpoony said:

What is the oil cooling setup on that?

No oil cooler on mine.

 

3 hours ago, Croc said:

 

Mine were wet sump with baffling - Raceline pan.  

 

If you want to try give it a go but keep close watch on the oil pressure gauge and adjust your driving accordingly.  Long rights do have a tendency to force oil into combustion and you end up with a smoke screen out the back as you add throttle back for a straight - no harm unless you are following and getting second hand smoke.    

Alright, same setup as this one.

 

I’ll think about it. What’s considered a long right in this context? It should be fine in my local track and at Grand Junction, as those are like a big autocross. My concern is Pueblo Motorsports Park and La Junta. Those have longer corners.

[pethier]

1 hour ago, redursidae said:

 

I’ll think about it. What’s considered a long right in this context? 

The Carrousel at Road America?  

[KnifeySpoony]

Ah ok without any oil cooling it makes perfect sense. You may be able to get by doing autox with heavier oil, but i think you will definitely need a cooler for track work.