Just Began in lapping... any tips to keep my DD in shape?

today, i did 2X20 mins of lapping. the car behave better than i thought and my new BF g-force sport tires helped a lot compare to the crap tires i had before. i need to upgrade my front brakes ASAP. for 20 mins, i was from 4000-6000 rpm. the engine didn't overheat; the needle stayed in the middle. but like always, i find that my underhood temperature is WAY too high. i don't have a number for you but it's hotter than other turbo cars... is tha normal for GT-four? i can't even imagin what it would be with out the RC hood...
i'm afraid for overheating creeping up on me... any tips?

you can wrap your headers and your downpipe, or if you really want to do a good job, remove them and have them ceramic coated. also, if your still running a stock downpipe, the primary cat tends to collect alot of heat. ko racing makes a nice downpipe thats already ceramic coated and gets rid of the primary cat.

camry90":2tl7vqwz said:

(...) i find that my underhood temperature is WAY too high. i don't have a number for you but it's hotter than other turbo cars... is tha normal for GT-four? i can't even imagin what it would be with out the RC hood... (...)

Click to expand...

it seems to be a normal behaviour of a ST185 :|
if you still have the underhood insulation, remove it ASAP

The ceramic coating does little or nothign on these cars. I had my manifold and exhaust housing sent to swain for their 'performace coat' and after I removed the parts for a motor swap, if found some of the coating had melted off. That's right melted. It get's that hot. The wrap will probably do better. In addition, remove any unnecessary crap from the engine bay to help flow. Lastly, upgrade the coolant system as much as you can (lower tstat, better fans, better rad, better fluid, sprayers if you want to go hardcore).

etantshi":1axp034h said:

The ceramic coating does little or nothign on these cars. I had my manifold and exhaust housing sent to swain for their 'performace coat' and after I removed the parts for a motor swap, if found some of the coating had melted off. That's right melted. It get's that hot. The wrap will probably do better. In addition, remove any unnecessary crap from the engine bay to help flow. Lastly, upgrade the coolant system as much as you can (lower tstat, better fans, better rad, better fluid, sprayers if you want to go hardcore).

Click to expand...

who makes thermostats for our cars? i seriously can't find any online. what kind of rad frluid should i go with? motul is good or oem Toyota?, i have a bottle of water wetter in my intercooler... that enough?

trd makes a 160 degree one that ive been running, but unless its instock they take around 6 weeks to get them from japan. i got mine through burien toyota. ATS racing also makes a 170 degree one, but ive heard mixed reviews on them and the fact that they don't flow as much as the stock ones.

i would also run water wetter in the radiator. i know big power supra's run 20% toyota red coolant, 80% water, and a bottle of your favorite brand water wetter. Design engineering inc also makes a lot of "stay cool" products.

Denver_whiteST185":2ad2618a said:

trd makes a 160 degree one that ive been running, but unless its instock they take around 6 weeks to get them from japan. i got mine through burien toyota. ATS racing also makes a 170 degree one, but ive heard mixed reviews on them and the fact that they don't flow as much as the stock ones.

i would also run water wetter in the radiator. i know big power supra's run 20% toyota red coolant, 80% water, and a bottle of your favorite brand water wetter. Design engineering inc also makes a lot of "stay cool" products.

Click to expand...

and the cool thing it's that i'm sponsored by DEI lol

what do you guys thing about running at 14 psi and water injection for 10 mins non stop? with a BIG water tank in the trunk

I would not rely on water injection to help since it can sometimes fail. a larger reservoir up front for the intercooler will help defiantly, or do put the pump into constant run mode so its always switched on if you haven't already.

Another thing that will help significantly will be an external oil cooler. the reason why is that the oil is currently cooled by the engine coolant. that obviously puts extra heat and duty on the coolant system. taking out the stock oil cooler and running an external fin type cooler will help keep the oil cooler, and also put less strain on the stock cooling system. there are a few downsides with this, like your car will heat up slower when its cold out, there will be additional oil in the lines so you will have to change your oil a little more regularly, and you will need to make sure there is a thermostat so that the oil won't flow to the cooler if the oil is not above a certain temperature (since its your daily driver). there are sandwich type adapters or oil filter relocation kits out there. the only kit ive seen installed is maxspeed kit i believe, but you can make your own kit too. ko racing or speed source might be able to source you some fitting, lines, cooler, adapters, etc.

Also if you're just lapping and not really getting times, or racing etc. Drive a little less hard, obviously still have fun, but you don't have to go all out all the time.

Have you tried putting some washers on the hinges for the hood, I put like two thick at each to lift the back up and it definitely helped a bit for underhood heat

Denver_whiteST185: thanks for all your expenation. i will try out to change to oil cooler... you can just take out the OEM one and put a sandwich plate?
AWDios: there's time attack i want to attend as well
Balagast: i think the vents on the hood is enough. plus i hate the look. thanks anyway

I have had good success with Redline Waterwetter in my Toyotas. Even my 162 seemed to have alot of heat compared to other cars. Toyotas seem to make alot of heat

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp

come pictures from the trac

i got Dot 4 superblue fluid, hawk HPS pads and mountain rotors. after a few rounds, the pedal feels spongy and takes a lot more to stop. i think it's brake fade.... would it help if i change to SS hoses all around? i had SS hoses on my 240sx before and didn't see big difference on the street.
what pads are the best for lapping? EBC redstuff? portfieldR4S? does HAWK make HP+ for single piston ST185? what's the parts number?
any suggestions?

Stainless lines will help with feel, but if you are getting fade it wont help. You need larger rotors/calipers that can handle more heat if you really want to combat fade.

I would try to rig up a brake cooling system. Out on track they are really effective because of the high speeds and constant airflow. If you want to do it cheap run dryer ducting that is about 3 inches and then neck it down to a wetvac attachment that blows air on the back of the caliper where the fluid is contained.

Also try and see how compact you can make your braking zones to maximize the amount of time off the brakes. The time off the brakes is really important to avoid heat-creep in the brakes. Everytime you hit the brakes it flash heats the caliper and the cooler they are before the flash the cooler after the flash. Basically, right now your brakes need too much recovery time to cool down before the next flash (your next braking zone).

I also think that the HPS pads might be a problem. They have a bit less friction coeficent which will increase you braking zones which = hotter calipers. Performance friction makes some killer pads but they wont bite cold which makes them sketchy for street duty. You may even end up having to left foot the brakes for a hundred yards or so if coming off a long straight to heat them up before your braking zone with the brake cooling installed.

Finally, be carefull not to out pad your tires. If you get too aggressive of a pad for a street duty tire you might end up smoking the tires on the brakes, especially the rear ones. Consider getting a different set of pads/rotors/tires-rims for the track and you wont regret it.

thank you for the advice