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      07-22-2008, 06:25 AM   #1
Evolution Racewerks
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ER 135i @ Redline Time Attack

So this weekend started and ended pretty much the same like last weekend at Super Lap Battle. We're still plagued with issues.

Last weekend we were plagued with oil temperature issues. At 255, the car starts to go into limp mode and we get power loss. At 260, full limp, no power. The limp mode would stay on for quite a bit. This was a major issue with us as we could not make a single lap under full power which was killing our times. So after Saturday, we went back to RobiSpec and threw in a makeshift oil cooler. We took 2 transmission coolers, tied it together and got ready for the next day. Sunday comes and we're still plagued with oil temp issues. Finally after short shifting at 5,000 rpm along with the makeshift oil cooler, we were able to do almost 1 full lap (first run on Sunday). The car lost power on the front straight, but it was enough to be our best lap. We called it quits after that as the car would not make another lap. Luckily, it was fast enough for us to qualify for the Finals.

We were also plagued with the traction control issue, but that was not as critical as Robi just needed to compensate for that issue.

Now, we're quite familiar with issues that the N54 runs very hot, so we figure we'd upgrade the oil coolers. We swapped out the OEM oil cooler and added 2 very large oil coolers in it's place. I was confident this would be enough. However, as a backup plan, we installed a Snow Performance Methonal Injection Kit (Thanks Matt @ Snow!) which they next day aired to us. The meth injection kit was going to be the backup plan as the methonal would cool the motor down a bit. We however couldn't take advantage of the extra octane that would provide us as we could not increase boost or mess with the air fuel ratio.

So Saturday comes and we're out at California Speedway. We're running 3/4 of the Oval and the Interior Road Course. Stephan Verdier is driving the car (Robert Fuller had a previous engagement with Mitsubishi so he couldn't drive on Saturday). Car is hauling on the Oval, doing 150 mph. First turn #@$#!!! car goes into limp mode. Stephan limps it back. I tell him to short shift it. He goes back out, again limp mode and limps it back. The high speed runs on the Oval was generating too much heat and by the time he rounds it and enters the first turn, we're back into limp mode. CRAP. Check the meth injection. @#$@!!! Not working. Check all the connections, power going to controller, controller not powering the pump. DAMN! Controller not working. Nothing we can do. I pull out the Split Second Turbo Tuner, hoping that with lower boost, he might be able to baby a full lap. That helps quite a bit, he was able to baby a full lap and did a 2:00 flat. Day ends and we take it back to the shop. Again, this was another hell week. 2 hours of sleep on Friday and now I pull another all nighter. Getting too old for this and my body has not recouped from last weekends lack of sleep. I rewire the meth injection to a push button switch which I taped to the shift knob so that Robi could push it on the oval. I also put the OEM windshield/headlight washer bottle back in, pulled out the windshield washer nozzles out of the hood. I then extended the windshield washer nozzles and wiring out to both oil coolers on each side to make a makeshift sprayer and filled it up with Meth/water mix. Disconnect the windshield wipers so that when Robi hit the switch for the windshield washers, the wipers don't turn on.

2 hours of sleep Saturday night and we're back on the track on Sunday. I feel like I'm about to die. Robert takes it out and short shifting it, he was able to do a full lap during morning practice. I feel better. Hell night paid off got 1 lap down, even if underpowered and short shifting. 1st qualifier, Robi goes out and does 3 laps, get a 1:59 on the second lap. 3rd lap comes back in. He's happy, at least it made it around and we put down a time that counted. He can easily go faster. He's pumped up and goes to his corner to replay the lap and how to make improvements for the 2nd practice. Tells me the oil cooler sprayers doesn't seem to be working anymore. I look at the car, uh oh. Robi went cone hunting and we took some damage on the 3rd lap. The crew goes on a feverish pace pulling the bumper and trying to fix the problem. No go, damage took the sprayer out. We hustle fast and put the car back together ASAP and barely get the car back together for the next practice run. Robi goes out and after 2 laps comes back in. Oil temps overheating really fast. Meth doesn't seem to be on. I check, @!$@!!!!!!! Meth injection pump is out. Normally it would make a constant whine, now it's interminent. Check the wiring, everything is good. Pump has gone bad. Without the meth injection the oil temps are uncontrollable even if we baby it around. I call it off. No point risking the car now. Day is over and we don't go out for the final qualifying times. At least the stress is over and I was finally able to enjoy the whole atmosphere. Got to chit chat with the other teams and just have a good time. Best time of 1:59. Not bad considering all the problems. Everyone's still excited. Both Robi and Stephan are pumped up. They know this car has it and confident they could easily done 1:55 if the car was 100%.

Now I have 3 months before the Super Lap Battle Finals to get this car at 100%. Due to sponsor commitments, we had to rush and get the car ready without testing. Obviously, bad idea. As for the oil temp issues, I am still unsure of what it could be, but I know something is not normal. Even if the N54 does run hot, all the measures we've taken should have resolved it. Dual upgraded oil coolers, meth injection and oil cooler sprayer and still overheating. The plan now is to pull all the parts off and do extensive testing to see what the issue may be. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress.

Lastly, we met the Berk Technology team this weekend. Very nice group of people and it was great having the friendly competition. It definitely nice to have the same car as a comparison. We chit chatted and gave each other pointers. Lucky @#$@ they were running 250ish oil temps. 5 degrees from limp. It was awesome just chilling and talking about the cars. Unfortunately for us, we were plagued with so many problems and lack of sleep, I was stuck in our pit garage most of the time and did not get a chance to drop by their pits until after we were out of the competition.

Berk Team - Hope to see you guys out there the next time. We came out on top this time, but I won't take that for granted. Come hard, we will :wink:. If you guys need the wider front fender, let me know. I can definitely arrange that once we get the carbon pieces finished.

We have pictures as well, just got to get them on the computer.
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      07-22-2008, 06:48 AM   #2
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I am very interested in this. My car has run about 250 degrees stock! WOuld FM intercooler help with this?
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      07-22-2008, 06:52 AM   #3
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So now you have had two limp mode issue, one related to G-force and the other relating to heat?
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      07-22-2008, 07:20 AM   #4
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Crazy! Sorry to hear of the problems. Maybe you can contact the One Lap of America guys that tracked that car hard every day without a single limp (they did get a limp during practice runs). I can only assume that it might have been the FMIC that they installed.
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      07-22-2008, 01:00 PM   #5
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Can the oil temp signal be "tweaked"? I doubt warranty is an issue with this car. 255 F, while higher than I'd like to see for the ludicrous 16K oil change intervals, really isn't that high for synthetic oil. I suspect most owners who put their cars on the track change it more frequently than that anyway.
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      07-22-2008, 01:20 PM   #6
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Has anyone tried a radiator upgrade yet? since both the engine and turbos are water and oil cooled it might be the simplest way to get rid of some extra heat, provide a fitment exists for the 1-Series.
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      07-22-2008, 01:35 PM   #7
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I ran about 5 hot laps at Road Atlanta in a V3 equipped 135 a couple of weeks ago in mid-90 degree temps, and never saw over 250. I wasn't anywhere close to a track record pace, but I was seeing 130+ on the back straight. United BMW also was doing hot laps in a 135 all day long with no issues that I am aware of.

Makes me wonder if there isn't a difference in the sensor "calibration".
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      07-22-2008, 02:04 PM   #8
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We have our Competition FMIC on the car. Intake air temps are not a problem here. The car is making consistent power and we're not heat soaking. The power is awesome, when not in limp mode :biggrin:. On Saturday's morning run with the Split Second Turbo Tuner on, we were hauling down the oval catching cars like crazy. The FMIC would actual not help in this case as we would make a lot more power with it which would in turn mean a hotter running motor. Our FMIC sits in the stock location (under the radiator) and retains the radiator shroud behind it. It doesn't block airflow to the radiator and with the OEM radiator shroud completely sealed so that shouldn't be a problem.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WAY View Post
I am very interested in this. My car has run about 250 degrees stock! WOuld FM intercooler help with this?
Yes, these 2 issues were the same we were having last weekend. I did not want to elaborate in detail about the oil temp issue until I attempted some "fixes". They definitely helped a lot, but did not fix it. I'm going to take the car apart and put it back to stock and start extensive testing to resolve this.

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Originally Posted by WAY View Post
So now you have had two limp mode issue, one related to G-force and the other relating to heat?
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      07-22-2008, 02:23 PM   #9
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Yes, I believe so. The though crossed my mind to tweak the signal. One of the other teams we're close with, Road Race Engineering, their electrical guru was there and had all the diodes etc, to do it. However, without an oil temp gauge to monitor what real temps would be, we would be taking a big risk in killing the motor. When the oil temps start to climb, they climb fast and we're sure that unchecked, the oil temps could rise to 300 degrees.

Oil hahaaha. I forgot about this story. So at the track we changed to a thicker oil 20w50. This help a little bit as it would fight off heat a little longer. Well I was not anticipating an oil change since I did so the night before so I did not bring a pan. I sent the girls off to Pep Boys to get oil and pan. They come back and I start changing the oil. Oil coming out onto the pan (they got the pan that is also a container) and I see a puddle off the side. WTF. The oil is hitting the pan straight on. I look #@$@!!! JUST MY *BEEP*ing weekend. There's a HOLE on the side of the pan! Of all the pans to get, I get this one!!!! So we have a big Exxon Valdez spill on the floor of the nice pit. I'm covered in oil and for the first time working on cars (10+ years) I eat oil (tastes like crisco). So I went the rest of the day as well as night (at the shop) covered in motor oil. Not pleasant at all. I was nicely moisturized though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by m3bs View Post
Can the oil temp signal be "tweaked"? I doubt warranty is an issue with this car. 255 F, while higher than I'd like to see for the ludicrous 16K oil change intervals, really isn't that high for synthetic oil. I suspect most owners who put their cars on the track change it more frequently than that anyway.
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      07-22-2008, 04:07 PM   #10
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Yeah, we've been talking to Will @ Turner Motorsports as well as others about our issues. My new theory at the moment is something is wrong with the car itself as far as the oil temp overheating and everything we're doing is now is just a band aid fix. The overheating issue is just plain unnatural. We've gone through great lengths to try to keep oil temps on check with no avail. The plan now is to put it back to stock to take out as many variables as possible and go systematically through everything to see what it may be.

I don't think they're any upgrades for a radiator at the moment. Granted, we could build our own, but I've got so much on my plate at the moment. I need to get our production stuff ready for sale. A lot of time and money has gone into building this car and I'm getting pressure to get something out there to try to recoupe some of our expenditures and keep the race program going. I think there's plenty of space to do that as long as your FMIC sits below the radiator (like our Competition FMIC does).

Yeah our hot summer days and the fact that our race tracks are out in the high desert doesn't help much. We easily see over 100+ degree (120+ track temps) here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by larryn View Post
Crazy! Sorry to hear of the problems. Maybe you can contact the One Lap of America guys that tracked that car hard every day without a single limp (they did get a limp during practice runs). I can only assume that it might have been the FMIC that they installed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeo View Post
Has anyone tried a radiator upgrade yet? since both the engine and turbos are water and oil cooled it might be the simplest way to get rid of some extra heat, provide a fitment exists for the 1-Series.
Quote:
Originally Posted by m3bs View Post
I ran about 5 hot laps at Road Atlanta in a V3 equipped 135 a couple of weeks ago in mid-90 degree temps, and never saw over 250. I wasn't anywhere close to a track record pace, but I was seeing 130+ on the back straight. United BMW also was doing hot laps in a 135 all day long with no issues that I am aware of.

Makes me wonder if there isn't a difference in the sensor "calibration".
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      07-22-2008, 08:44 PM   #11
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So found a moving shot on the web of our car =D

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      07-24-2008, 09:03 PM   #12
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sorry to hear youve been having problems... but at least your still fast!

Have you guys considered running a vented hood, as well as turbo heat wraps, that cools up underhood temps quite a lot... keep it up guys

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      07-24-2008, 09:03 PM   #13
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BTW , got anymore pics?? the car looks great
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      07-24-2008, 11:28 PM   #14
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We actually kicked that idea around for a short bit. Robi wanted to cut the stock hood then and there. However, Monica said no. We had sponsorship commitments for SEMA that may require the stock body panels so we didn't do it. Our front fender flares are made from OEM fenders, but we purchased brand new ones and still had the stock painted fender.

The funny thing is, we even got approval from the Redline guys to run a couple of laps without the hood on but in the end we chose not to do so.

We do plan to make a new vent carbon hood as well as carbon trunk. However, I need to hold off on that for the time being until I get more funding from the company. I've spent a lot of money on the car already and focused a lot of time on race program to a point where it's affecting the company tremendously. So for now, I need to concentrate on daily operations of the company and recoupe some $ back (hopefully I'll get more budget for the race program as well). We have 3 months to the next race so I'm not too worried.

We've got the SoCal Euro Meet coming up in 2 weeks that I need to prepare for. The 135i will be there if anyone wants to see it in person. The front fender flares should be 100% finished and ready for molding by then.

We have quite a few pics. However, I did not take any as I was so preoccupied with our issues to worry about taking pictures. I'll ask the girls for them. They took plenty.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sebaflex View Post
sorry to hear youve been having problems... but at least your still fast!

Have you guys considered running a vented hood, as well as turbo heat wraps, that cools up underhood temps quite a lot... keep it up guys

:thumbup:
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      07-25-2008, 09:32 AM   #15
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Even with those problems the car was still able to place 2nd and 3rd, congrats.
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      07-25-2008, 12:32 PM   #16
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Fred, if you create a vented CF hood and trunk, I am sure plenty will buy it!
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      07-25-2008, 06:08 PM   #17
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So our friends at D-Sport Magazine got a shot of the car. Not many chances for photo ops as the car was hardly on the track =(

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