MaxBoost!
Advice for fellow TR owners from Tom Shea Racing
Home phone until 9 pm 952-892-5669
Cell phone anytime (612)-209-9090.
Email ttshea@charter.net
"TSR" Switch Fuel System, save money, drive on pump gas!
RACE DAY!
What to bring to the track? This depends on if you are driving your car or towing it on a trailer. The latter will allow you to bring a lot more. Unfortunately, most of us are not trailering.
If you are driving your race-car to and from the track, it is possible to have a problem with your car while racing. This would cause you to seek an alternate way home for you and your car, unless you can fix it on the spot.
One option, have your car towed. This can be expensive. There is the option of local service, not desirable on a highly specialized application like our cars. Finally, you could rent a truck and trailer one way or round trip. You might even be able to arrange something with a friend who has a truck and trailer. Having trouble is a real possibility. You may want to give it some advance consideration.
Spare parts and supplies; hoses and belt, wire, tape, oil, transmission fluid and any other small part that can be easily replaced, by you, on the spot, with the tools you bring. Tools; wrenches, straight, combo and sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. Remember, you do not have to bring heavy tools with the exception of lug wrench and jack because you probably will not pull your engine or take off the heads at the track. The exception to this is the tools necessary to change out tires on wheels. You may be able to borrow some tools and even get help from other club members. Try to keep this to a minimum because race day is very hectic and they all have their own things going on. The intent here is to avoid getting stranded by some small easy to fix thing.
Included in what to bring should be some things for you, the human element. Clothing, for changing conditions. Hot, cold, rain, etc. Sunscreen, sunglasses, binoculars, camera, cooler with food and drink (no alcohol), and folding lawn chairs. With careful planning and packing you can fit everything in your car. This may mean using your back seat as well as your trunk.
If carrying fuel, it should be in the trunk and handy to get at when you run out of "pump" gas on the way. You do not want to have to unpack any more of your trunk than necessary on the side of the road.
Other items that can come in handy; flashlights, rags, paper towers, hand cleaner, sheets of plastic, sheets of cardboard, jack stands, a jack other than the spare tire one, small pieces of wood like 2 x 4s for blocking, small pieces of plywood for under jack and stands, tow rope or chain, jumper cables. Writing tablet and pencils or pens for keeping notes (this will come in handy when "dialing in"). Take notes of, boost, fuel pressure, RPM at launch and shift, tire pressure, air bag pressure, ambient & engine temp., 60 ft. times, E.T. mph, etc.). Helmets may be required depending on the track or event rules and your car's performance. Check with an experienced racer or call ahead of time to the track for the safety requirements. It would be a shame if you went to the bother of going to the track and were not allowed to run. Carrying a small shaving kit or other bag for aspirin, band-aids, first aid and personal items is a good idea. This will be at least an all day event, isolated from much of the things we automatically take for granted around home.
Let's give a little more attention to the race fuel issue. It is important to have enough fuel in the tank to keep the pickup covered under hard acceleration. This will mean no less than 1/4 tank. The tank has over 16 gallons capacity. If you start with the tank as empty as you can reasonably get it. Either running out of pump gas on the way & near the track, or pumping it out. You will have up to a couple of gallons of pump gas remaining. This is an important consideration. If you take into account the dilution factor. The remaining fuel in the tank will dilute the added race fuel by it's corresponding percentage.
Example: 2 gals 92 octane pump gas, probably only around 88 motor octane rating. 10 gals of 110 race fuel, at best 108 motor octane. This will result in 12 gallons of 104.66 motor octane fuel. This is probably a very typical example, If you carry two 5 gal. containers of race fuel and add them both at the same time.
If you add fuel as you progress thru the event you will end up with a higher average octane after each additional container of race fuel you add. Example you start with the above 12 gallons of 104.66 octane fuel. You then use 7 gallons while making lots of runs. Now you are concerned about uncovering the pickup, as you are nearing the 1/4 tank mark.
You take out that last 5 gallon container, that you thought you might not use. You didn't want to dilute it by adding it and then later pumping it out. Now when you add this fuel you will have 1/2 & 1/2 104.66 octane & 108, the average octane you are now running is 106.33. If you are doing testing, this "variable" will skew the results. The less variables in testing the more consistent the results.
Conditions will vary throughout the day. Temperature, traction, wind, etc. This may seem like a small consideration, but it can be measurable, especially if several variables add up. As long as you are aware, you can make informed decisions.
It's reasonable to assume that you will use a pint to a quart of fuel per 1/4 mile run. It would be wise to figure the fuel consumption estimate to be slightly more than you intend to use. The margin is what you should expect to have leftover. If you start with the estimate of 6 runs per gallon for a 12 second or slower car, it should be close enough. All cars are different. You will be able to make a more accurate estimate of your specific fuel consumption, after some experience. This is important for two reasons. First, you want to make sure to have enough race fuel with you at the track, on hand, for the event. Secondly, you want to end up with approximately 1/4 tank leftover when done.
Remember that to insure that the in tank fuel pickup remains covered, especially under the hard launching at the track, you need at least 1/4 tank. After the event, you can drive to the gas station & pump out & save the remaining race fuel, just prior to filling with pump gas. This saved race fuel will have the diluted octane rating. You may want to make a note of it on a piece of tape stuck to the container.
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