TLicense Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Hello all, Right, I'm ramping up for the big ring bash (ahem) at the end of spring, and need to know now what kind of mods will make the trip more enjoyable. The kind of things I'm concerned about are cooling/oil systems and things of that elk. Does anyone think that the cooling/lubrication systems on my nearly 12 year old car is going to be man enough for an absolute flat chat blast to the nordschleiffe, and then be good enough to hold on for two/three days of ring action? Would it be worth just replacing oil/water pumps and upgrading the water rad, and fitting an oil cooler just to be on the safe side? Other intended mods before the trip include UK brake upgrade, and CW suspension. Anything else anyone can think of? I was intending to be large single for then, but I'm still waiting on a quote for a fuel system, so that may not be a runner by then which may be a good thing (excess of 500 brake whilst learning the 'ring???) Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I would have thought base engine systems like cooling and lube would be fine. Don't forget that the Supra was sold in Europe and so the engine should have been tested to withstand periods of autobahn-storming. Unless your water pump seal is leaking, I wouldn't bother replacing the pump. Likewise with the oil pump. If your oil pressurelight goes out quickly after startup, then it should be fine. As for fitting an aftermarket oil cooler, it might not be a bad idea if you think you are rejecting a lot of heat to oil, but again this comes under the remit of cooling development and I'd suspect that Toyota have already got this covered. Probably more important to give the car a cool down lap so that you don't put the engine straight into heat soak when you stop - then things will start to get hot. Also make sure you have the oil topped up (but not overfilled) so you don't uncover the pickup during hard cornering (but yet again a well designer oil pan shouldn't uncover the pickup on minimum fill at up to 1g lateral, but ths is a static condition). Basically, what I'm saying is that for a short-term blat over to Germany and a few laps round the ring, the systems should handle it, but I am prepared to be corrected if someone knows that the Supra has any known cooling or lube problems. I don't recall seeing too many mentioned on here, other then the occaisonal car rthat coughs up a bit of coolant after a run. It might be interesting to get some instrumentation on the car (coolant temp, oil pressure, oil temp) and see just how hard you are pushing it. I would have thought that upgrading brakes would be more beneficial as these probably will get worked harder round the ring than Toyota intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLicense Posted January 7, 2005 Author Share Posted January 7, 2005 It might be interesting to get some instrumentation on the car (coolant temp, oil pressure, oil temp) and see just how hard you are pushing it. That was my intention ;o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 BIG water rad, 40 row oil cooler on 5/8 inch fittings, or a Laminova oil cooler, proper (race) pads and race fluid. Road legal race type tyres if you push hard and want the tyres to last more than a half lap. About 500 laps of experience before you can even begin to know your way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLicense Posted January 7, 2005 Author Share Posted January 7, 2005 Which tyres would you recommend Chris? My current selction should be up for renewal just before this. With regards to water rads, any particular brand/model? Obviously nothing custom made (£££) but pretty much open to any sensible suggestions. Are you sure an oil cooler of that size is going to be required? What kind of heat rejection would I be looking at for sustained WOT operation? Remember this IS my daily driver as well, but some items can be track specific. (Maybe smaller oil cooler for day to day driving, and then move to a larger one for track day spanking?) Let me know your suggestions... Regards Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonB Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 If you're going to drive down there I wouldn't go for trackday spec tyres - they'd be the last thing you'd want in the wet on the autobahn! I would just go for an oil cooler and take a break every now and then to cool things down. You'll probably be doing that anyway, and you certainly won't be pushing that hard for quite a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLicense Posted January 7, 2005 Author Share Posted January 7, 2005 Sounds sensible. What about transmission oil/diff oil? Would it be worth sorting anything out for these? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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