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The General Leif, 142 endurance racer

Car setup for the 6/1-2/19 Lucky Dog Racing League event at Pacific Raceways. Changes are highlighted in red!

Engine:
-B230F .030" over(lower compression on cylinder 4, maybe dirty rings, will recheck)
-405 head with mild port work and stiffer springs, stock valves, .123" shaved, exhaust valve unshrouded and chamber re-shaped slightly to lower compression. Also added a single groove to the large quench pad for good measure(maybe). Chamber size roughly measured is 44-45cc.
-B21F K-jet intake manifold with injector bungs added.
-ENEM K13 camshaft with .015-.017" valve clearances. I think the camshaft timing gear is set at 3? advanced with the gear set as close to the factory timing mark as possible. With it 3? advanced it looks to point closer to the stock timing mark.
-850T orange top injectors, just cleaned by Dr. Injector.
-Nathaninwa throttle body adapter/elbow to 960 throttle body which is very sensitive off idle. Part of that is due to where in the load maps the car is pulling data from and the high idle, so as soon as you touch it the ignition timing wants to jump up high. I've tamed it down some by reducing ignition timing at lower rpm where we don't really drive much(low rpm cruise).
-012 AMM with custom tuning in 146 EZK and 933 ECU.
-Factory B21-B230 exhaust manifold with mild port clean-up going into a custom 2-1 downpipe with a flare/cone after the merge up to a 3" back setup with a super turbo junk muffler to keep the volume down(need to redo the entire exhaust aft of the downpipe at somepoint, it's "rough").
-82? C B20 thermostat.
-Valvoline VR1 racing oil, 10w30.
-Stock oil pan at the moment with an Accusump for help if needed.

Drivetrain:
-Ford T5 rebuilt with a 2.95 first main gearset and a .80 fifth gear(just had it done). Steeda shifter with the shift lever straightened. Cheap rubber trans mount. Fresh Redline D4 ATF.
-4.56 rear end with a Truetrac LSD(just had it set up). Fresh Redline 75w-90 gear oil(should we go thicker?).
-Factory smaller rear driveshaft with front section modified to have the T5 slip on the front joint. Using a semi truck center support bearing wedged in place to keep the double slip section from walking too much.
-Custom, solid "link arm poly bushing" engine mounts built last year. They're obnoxious, and turned the body into a loud speaker for engine vibrations so even though the exhaust and intake are relatively quiet, inside the car hurts your head and makes your hands tingle when you get out after a long stint.

Suspension:
-IPD front swaybar? IPD rear swaybar with adjustments but links to chassis are at a relatively steep angle. Set rear bar in the middle setting(still need to relocate the body mounts so the links are more vertical).
-Vintage R-Sport "Rally" spec shocks all around. 552189 fronts and 552190 rears.
-225lb rear springs, 950lb 8” fronts.
-Delrin bushings and reinforced swaybar mounts on front control arms(angle iron added to forward edge).
-Boxed rear trailing arms with newer Volvo rubber bushings throughout.
-Adjustable stock panhard rod with at least one or both ends in poly, can't remember.
-Corner weighted the car with Marc in the driver's seat. Removed a 1/8" spacer from the left rear upper spring perch to increase weight on LF and RR to improve corner weight to better than 50.6%(I think with swaybars disconnected). Front/rear weight is 51.3%/48.7%. Left/Right is 51.6%/48.4%. Total weight with Marc was 2540lbs with at least half a tank of fuel.

Brakes:
-Vented 164 front brake rotors with 240 ATE front brake calipers and stock Volvo 240 pads.
-Stock 140 Girling rear brake pads with Volvo 140/240 Girling pads. Front and rear pads were worn out after Saturday's 7hr race(unknown starting thicknesses). Installed new Volvo pads for Sunday's 7hrs. Pad thickness after the race is 7-8mm up front and 4-5mm in the back. Need more rear cooling.
-Modified front backing plates with ducting from the front bumper openings.
-Removed rear backing plates, no e-brake parts and very poor ducting(far from rotor) made from early 140 defrost vent/tubing zip tied to the lower trailing arms.
-SS lines throughout, rear brake bias valves adjusted for a little more rear bite.

Body:
-Fiberglass front lip spoiler
-Aluminum decklid spoiler.
-Plastic rear quarter windows pushed out at the back to vent and match the rain gutter.
-Plastic rear window.
-Plastic wind deflectors on either side of the windshield pushing air over the rain gutters
-Rally roof vent.
-Cut a hole in the hood and built a duct from mid-radiator on up to vent the radiator.
-Marc also made aluminum headlight panels, left one drilled and dimpled for inlet to our airbox. No front lights.

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Here's a quick write up for the weekend, more info on our FB page of course.

We had a successful outing at Pacific Raceways this past weekend with Eric Mollerstuen, Marc and I joined by Gil Markham who owns the #820 Snap Oversteer MR2. We finished 12th overall on Saturday and 7th in class even though we started the race 2 laps down and weren't exactly trying hard. Sunday we were in 12th overall again but 5th in class(a C and some A class cars cleaned up their act!). Our Facebook page has a lot of the race updates for the weekend with some pictures and out of car video as well. Eric may have some in car video from Sunday we'll look into later.

The car ran and handled like a champ, except there is an issue with the tuning that had it running richer than it was back at the PIR track day last month. My attempt to make it run leaner for Sunday ended up making it run richer and we ran out, or almost ran out of gas in 3 of our 4 stints that lost us around 6 laps total and kept us from fighting for a B class 3rd place finish and 9th overall. I was hunting down 11th at the end of my stint when I ran out of fuel coming to the back of the track, grinding to a halt maybe 20-30 feet from the pit entry with just over 2 laps of time remaining. I ended up riding the starter to get out of Little Indy to let the race finish under green and prevent getting hit. I was using 5th gear through Big Indy(T2), as well as through turns 5A, 5B and 6 on up the hill to conserve fuel but it wasn't enough. The car didn't have a ton of power up the hill, but it didn't seem like I was losing much as long as I kept my speed up through 5B where the car struggles a little to get turned in and over the apex curbing. An early turn in and roll on the throttle there was working for me. The gearing was short and probably good for a sprint there with the rev limiter pushed up, but slightly taller tires(23.9/24" instead of the 23") would've been better for economy and when the car picks up some more HP.

We were able to get the shifter bent straight and it was much nicer. The gas pedal was a little farther from the brake pedal than preferred so Saturday we made a little plate to make it larger and closer to the brake pedal. It became apparent on Sunday that the brake pedal was getting below the throttle and it wasn't the great improvement we hoped for, though. Adjustments will be made for PIR.

The car handled very well with the new R-Sport Rally shocks, and it still felt soft even though they're much stiffer than before with the car happy to drive anywhere at any time. It was very controllable at the limit and neutral, you can steer it nicely with throttle, just how it should be. It was one of the fastest cars coming out of 3B! The stock Volvo brake pads did us well, never fading, very progressive and somewhat hard to lock up with the small brake booster on there. They were gone after Saturday's race so we put on a new set for Sunday and will have to check how much pad we used in a full day of green flag racing at Pacific. The Saturday pads had been used for a track day and possibly some racing last year, I can't remember off the top of my head when we changed them last. The rear tires heat up a lot more than the fronts with the rear swaybar installed(medium setting was used this weekend), but I think the tire temperatures showed we had things pretty dialed in for the outside tires at Pacific.

For the tuning, I will have to check some things to see if there's something else amiss that caused my Saturday night adjustments to not have the desired effect on Sunday. I need to get in touch with someone about some dyno time to try and dial it in better. Any contacts for reasonable dyno time in the next month that you guys know of around PDX?

A surprise of sorts was that the oil pressure, while low when hot at 43psi or so, never dropped noticeably in any of the turns. We never had to turn the Accusump on and we don't have any baffling in the current oil pan. The oil was 10w30 Valvoline VR1, so we will go back to something a little thicker to get the peak hot oil pressure back up a little higher. A warm compression test post race showed 205, 210, 205 and 193psi, cylinders 1-4 respectively. The #4 cylinder has been low since we started using this block last year after the Pacific engine failed, but it seems to actually be improving or at least holding steady compared to earlier compression tests.

I'll add more info in later, but in the meantime, check out the General Leif's Facebook Page!
 
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I'm waiting to hear back from KO Racing to see about some dyno tuning time before that race. Hopefully we can dial in the camshaft timing, ignition timing and fueling better so we can go more than 1hr and 45 minutes on gas!

I am also curious if we should be running something thicker than the stock recommended 75w-90 gear oil in the rear differential... We will try and take some temperatures at the July race.

Speaking of the July PIR race, who's coming out to watch and play? We could always use some more crew and we may be looking for a fourth driver as well... They just released the updated schedule and are going to have two 45 minute sprints Saturday evening in addition to the 7hr enduros on Saturday and Sunday! Sweet, more racing time!

https://www.facebook.com/raceluckyd...fref=gs&dti=233955456773646&hc_location=group

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I am also curious if we should be running something thicker than the stock recommended 75w-90 gear oil in the rear differential... We will try and take some temperatures at the July race.

We use synthetic 75w-140 gear oil in the rally cars and change it at the end of every day. It comes out pretty burnt. The 1030 and 1031 diffs just don't have the oil capacity needed. With the 4.88 diff it would get a little loud after 2 days of racing on the same oil.

The cars that use ~3qts in the diff can get at least 2-4 days of racing before gear oil changes.

El cheapo synthetic gear oil seems to last just as long as the expensive Redline. This is just going by the color of the gear oil only.
 
We use synthetic 75w-140 gear oil in the rally cars and change it at the end of every day. It comes out pretty burnt. The 1030 and 1031 diffs just don't have the oil capacity needed. With the 4.88 diff it would get a little loud after 2 days of racing on the same oil.

The cars that use ~3qts in the diff can get at least 2-4 days of racing before gear oil changes.

El cheapo synthetic gear oil seems to last just as long as the expensive Redline. This is just going by the color of the gear oil only.
What limited slip are you running?


Here's the conversation between David at Red Line Synthetic Oil and I yesterday:

Me:
I endurance race a 1971 Volvo 142 and am curious what you suggest for rear differential fluid. We do have a limited slip and normally run the 75w-90 gear oil, but I know it gets really hot and I want to be preventative if I can as there is no oil cooler for it. I am thinking about switching to the 75w-110 oil instead, but I don't know if the lightweight shockproof oil is an even better solution?
Thank you for contacting Red Line Oil, the 75W90 would be recommended and a good choice in your differential.

Do you know how hot the fluid operates?
The higher viscosity 75W110 would be an option to maintain some additional viscosity under elevated temperatures, though the higher viscosity will operate warmer.

The ShockProof gear oils would be recommended and better suited to racing and some speciality applications.
Me:
This is a racing situation actually which is why I brought up the ShockProof. 6hrs long is usually the short race, with the longer ones sometimes being over 10hrs. We once did a 36hr race - never again!

I don't have a temperature reading at the moment but I will try and make an effort to get one at the next race in just under a month.
The LightWeight ShockProof would certainly be a good option for the race differential, it doesn?t contain as much friction modifier as necessary to control chatter on the street but would provide additional lockup from a clutch type limited slip on the track.
Me:
I will try and get some temperatures and get back to you at the next event. We will be putting some 75w-110 in for this, unless you suggest going with the Lightweight ShockProof instead? Is the viscosity difference when warmed up significant between the two?
Temp strip reading would be interesting.

Either the 75W110 or the ShockProof LightWeight could be used, two distinctly different products.

The LightWeight ShockProof would have a viscosity at operating temperature similar to an SAE 80 gear oil, just over half of the 75W110. The LightWeight ShockProof would definitely have a lower viscosity, less drag, one of it?s benefits.
Me:
Ok, I'll look into getting one of those. That would be easier than reaching under there during a race to use an infrared thermometer.

The 75w-90 GL-5 fluid is what's recommended as standard. In our situation, because we can run whatever we want, should we go with the Lightweight ShockProof instead of the 75w-110? If they're two distinctly different products, what should we be running? It sounds like we should, but does it offer the same/better protection? Does it have a shorter lifespan? We do 3-4 events a year and in theory would like to get away with changing the fluid just once a year, but I don't know what a reasonable lifespan really is.
Or probably a little easier than running behind the car going around the track?

For lower drag as well as good protection the ShockProof is typically the first choice.

Unless you have experienced issues you are trying to address, the Lightweight ShockProof would be my recommendation in your race differential.

The fluid life would be very good for either fluid, in a race car changed as a maintenance item.

So, should I go with the Lightweight ShockProof?
 
It's the supra clutch pack LSD in a 8" Toyota housing now. Before it was a 1030 w/ 4.88 gears and a Spartan locker.

The Lightweight Shockproof would be a good starting point if you have a torsen or helical diff. I've never tried it with the clutch pack LSD.
It seems that the added friction modifiers might not be the best in a clutch pack LSD?

Have you thought about running a cooling duct or scoop to blow air on the diff?
 
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It's the supra clutch pack LSD in a 8" Toyota housing now. Before it was a 1030 w/ 4.88 gears and a Spartan locker.

The Lightweight Shockproof would be a good starting point if you have a torsen or helical diff. I've never tried it with the clutch pack LSD.
It seems that the added friction modifiers might not be the best in a clutch pack LSD?

Have you thought about running a cooling duct or scoop to blow air on the diff?
Cool. It is a Truetrac so we will give the LW ShockProof a try. We have an aluminum diff. cover so we'll see about adding some fins to that and then maybe adding a little scoop onto the bottom of it to blow air through the fins would be a good idea!
 
Why skip turning it into a heat sink? There is already air flowing under the car, adding a little kick up to help direct air over the diff cover won’t do much if there aren’t fins there to give the air something to cool down...?
 
Why skip turning it into a heat sink? There is already air flowing under the car, adding a little kick up to help direct air over the diff cover won?t do much if there aren?t fins there to give the air something to cool down...?

The ROI on cooling vs time spent is probably going to be better with a scoop and/or duct.
I also don't want to weld aluminum fins onto a diff cover for you :-P
 
How dare you point out that there are a few different companies making finned aluminum diff covers.
 
Lol, he was not a robot and thanks!

The problem with finned covers is panhard bar clearance.
Indeed!

Has anyone run one of these before?

We’ll just call it good with the ShockProof and may work on getting more airflow to it. It does state on he bottle that it reduces temps and I can’t say with certainty that we’ve had a failure due to heat yet.
 
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Tuning LH is for development and tinkering. If you want s reliable car that makes the power it should consistently, ditch LH and get a proper engine management solution.
 
I am also running no idle valve currently, and run an idle speed right around 1k rpm. I get AFR swings and some bouncing if the idle is on the lean side, it really wants to idle around 13.8:1 to be happiest. This is just conversation as we have completely different setups, but if you can get LH2.4 to richen up the idle cells it may help.
 
Tuning LH is for development and tinkering. If you want s reliable car that makes the power it should consistently, ditch LH and get a proper engine management solution.
That's been your experience with a turbo car. That has not been our experience with a non-turbo car. A variance of <.5 AFR from desired is just fine for us and it consistently runs within that(better, actually) when it's set up.

I know a modern system will be better, but it's not REQUIRED for good results on our car. One day we will change, but this summer is not the time.

I am also running no idle valve currently, and run an idle speed right around 1k rpm. I get AFR swings and some bouncing if the idle is on the lean side, it really wants to idle around 13.8:1 to be happiest. This is just conversation as we have completely different setups, but if you can get LH2.4 to richen up the idle cells it may help.

Yes, the idle dips when our system goes lean but it idles fine enough at 14:1 and even 15:1, but for some reason it won't hold that once it's at operating temperature.
 
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