Mishimoto Oil Cooler testing at Buttonwillow

[juliog]

Went to Buttonwillow again on 28/1/17 with the Fiesta:

[video=youtube;EgEXRoyYA8A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgEXRoyYA8A[/video]

Good:
- New personal best with the ST at this track (2:08.29). Still a mostly stock car. The only performance enhancing stuff is the Quaife LSD and the camber bolts, everything else is heat management.

Bad:
- OEM brake system isn't suitable for track. Brake fade after 1 hot lap, decolorated calipers, disintegrated dust boots, scored (a brand new) front inside rotor. I won't track the car again until I get a BBK. I won't spend $2K on a Stoptech kit (at $1500 I'd think about it) and not a personal fan of Wilwood so currently looking at solutions from Brembo and AP Racing..

- Even with the Mishimoto oil cooler, and ambient temperatures below 60F, I managed to overheat coolant by running 3 laps in a row at a 2:09 pace. Coolant went over 250F during the 4th hot lap and car went briefly into limp mode. So, a bigger radiator is also a must-have mod before I take the ST to the track again.

- Quaife LSD is not that effective at Buttonwillow when it's dry. I can't hug the inside of T2 (Buttonhook) on 2nd gear, otherwise I get wheel spin on the inside front tire. Certainly not as bad as when I ran with the stock open diff. So I'm forced to take a wider line than RWD cars and use 3rd gear to ensure traction. I'd love to have a mechanical/clutch-type instead, but it's not a priority.

- The Pierce Motorsports Rear Traction Bar doesn't make a big impact at Buttonwillow. Did not run it on this particular day and didn't miss it. I love it in the canyons however (2nd & 3rd gear corners). But it also makes the ride on the street *very* harsh, so I probably will only be using for select backroads and maybe tracks like Streets of Willow. It's also possible my rear shocks are starting to go, so YMMV regarding ride comfort and/or handling improvements.

 

[sidewaysallday]

Very solid driving/lap time!!

Thank you for the info as I'm just starting to toy with the idea of tracking the FiST (have a tracked e30) and looking into all of the cooling mods needed to run consistent power. Why aren't you a fan of Wilwoods? I've used them on other cars and they seem to do fine but interested in why you wouldn't trust them.

 

[juliog]

Just seen too much anecdata about issues with Wilwoods across platforms to trust them:
http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/9781-Wilwood-BBK-Seized-after-3-track-days

Not saying they don't work for most folk, but I'd rather spend more and enjoy the peace of mind. Kits from top tier brands like Brembo / AP Racing may be more expensive, but their resale value is typically also higher.

 

[sidewaysallday]

Got it. I never saw that thread. That's pretty bad! I agree you do get what you pay for in the world of brakes. Coming from the BMW world, AP's are very heavily used for dedicated track/race cars and everyone loves them. I didn't know if there was a AP kit for the FiST. I guess some more digging is in order!

 

[awwwww_shift]

I've also witnessed the piston seals on the wilwoods melt after one track weekend. Not to mention the flaming brake pads(not just glowing rotors, but literally flames coming out of the wheels)
Also, after driving my friend's corvette on a few setups(track focused car, mostly brake, suspension, and aero) the wilwood felt the spongiest. He went from wilwoods to stoptech, now has an AP setup on the car.
Money no object, the off the shelf AP option is where my choice lies. I'm toying with making my own setup(to fit under smaller wheels) with some off the shelf AP calipers that are cheaper(can you believe that you can pick up standard, radial mount AP calipers for like $350/each?)

Good info on the oil cooler as well. I'm looking into larger setrab cores to maybe retrofit with the rest of the kit, or maybe just build my own around a larger core.
Just for reference, is your kit the thermostatted one, or the non?

 

[sidewaysallday]

I've also witnessed the piston seals on the wilwoods melt after one track weekend. Not to mention the flaming brake pads(not just glowing rotors, but literally flames coming out of the wheels)
Also, after driving my friend's corvette on a few setups(track focused car, mostly brake, suspension, and aero) the wilwood felt the spongiest. He went from wilwoods to stoptech, now has an AP setup on the car.
Money no object, the off the shelf AP option is where my choice lies. I'm toying with making my own setup(to fit under smaller wheels) with some off the shelf AP calipers that are cheaper(can you believe that you can pick up standard, radial mount AP calipers for like $350/each?)

Thanks for the additional info. Looks like if I'm actually going to track my car I'll be looking to get AP or Stoptech brakes. Looks like PumaSpeed offers an AP BBK and with the pound (?) weak to the dollar right now you can get the kit for ~$1800 shipped from the UK.

 

[juliog]

Just for reference, is your kit the thermostatted one, or the non?

The one with thermostat.

The off-the-shelf AP kit is interesting but might remain undersized if I were to throw some real tires on the car (still on the stock bridgestones).

 

[awwwww_shift]

The one with thermostat.

The off-the-shelf AP kit is interesting but might remain undersized if I were to throw some real tires on the car (still on the stock bridgestones).

You'd be surprised what those "little" calipers can pull off. Keep in mind it's more in swept area and pressure exerted vs "size". I've been pleasantly surprised with calipers that were smaller than stock on other chassis....

 

[awwwww_shift]

The one with thermostat.

The off-the-shelf AP kit is interesting but might remain undersized if I were to throw some real tires on the car (still on the stock bridgestones).

You'd be surprised what those "little" calipers can pull off. Keep in mind it's more in swept area and pressure exerted vs "size". I've been pleasantly surprised with calipers that were smaller than stock on other chassis....

 

[KraZe]

So the oil cooler is not enough to keep these cars from overheating on track? Then what is more effective? Oil cooler or radiator? I can only afford one of them and I plan to track my FiST in the summer expecting 100F ambient temps.

 

[carramrod]

I think radiator makes the most difference, at least it did on my car. You are still pretty much guaranteed to overheat with ambient temps that high, from my experience.

 

[juliog]

Both are needed in summer. The Mishimoto core helps a lot but may also not be big enough.

Last weekend on 80F ambient, coolant would go over 240F after 2 laps. Oil reached 268F per AccessPort (Im not sure how accurate it is). I have the Mishi oil cooler, and was running water+water wetter on stock radiator. Also CPE intercooler with off-the-shelf 91 octane Cobb map.

When it got to 85F ambient, coolant would overheat within the 1st lap.

I'll be installing the Mishi radiator soon...

 

[juliog]

Buttonwillow 13CW.

CPE intercooler, Mishimoto oil cooler. Running water + water wetter on stock radiator. Stock powertrain.

Second session of the day. Cobb's off-the-shelf 91 tune - "v400 stage 1"

Some knock on Cyl 1. I should've set up logging across all cylinders.

Third session of the day. Stratified's off-the-shelf 91 tune. Note the hotter ambient temps.

Started logging too early in pits, and I guess I hit the maximum log time half-way throughout the session.

 

[sidewaysallday]

I just got back from a weekend down at Summit Point Motorsports Park in WV. I got my car with just a stage 1 tune to overheat in ~55 degree weather... IN THE WET! Luckily it was relatively cool all weekend so I was able to crank my heater all the way and not be super uncomfortable but I see a Mishi Rad & Oil cooler in my future. I'll probably do the intercooler at the same time as well. I'm a little disappointed at how poor the cooling is from the factory, but sure am glad there is aftermarket support from people like Mishi.

 

[jnathan68]

I installed the Mishimoto radiator and an oil cooler and will be monitoring temps closely this coming weekend at Willow Springs...first track day with the FiST and hoping to get in full sessions...fingers crossed