Post track oil change and splitter wall mount

Given how hot it was this past weekend I felt it prudent to change the oil. I'm actually going to send this in for oil analysis since I'm curious how the oil held up to these conditions.

I also finally got the splitter wall mount SJF created for me on the wall and hung my Racebred Components splitter on it. I'm loving that it's out of the way and I don't need to drive around with a splitter under normal conditions.

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 67,037

- 5.5 quarts Amsoil 10W-40
- New OEM oil filter

Finding pace at NJMP Lightning in the heat

I generally dislike summer track days. I'm just not a giant fan of sweaty hot weather so when I saw that our schedule for NJMP Lightning was towards the end of June, I was hoping it'd be before things heat up. Well our two days there was absolutely swamp ass weather. Both days topping off at around 95F ambient but definitely felt above 100F. 

NJMP Lightning - 6-23-2024

I was super eager for this even though because of all the recent changes to the car which included:

• Replacing bad sway bar endlinks and collars
• Changing from Continental Force to Bridgestone RE-71RS 245/40R17 tires all around
• Changing the rear springs to 13Kg swift springs to match my fronts
• Added more rear camber (-3 in the rear now)
• Fresh Carbotech XP10/XP8 pads and fresh rotors all around

All these fixes plus the aero had me excited because I was really hoping the car would finally be well balanced and at a high speed track like NJMP lightning, having aero was going to make a ton of difference.

NJMP Lightning - S2K Takeover - 6-23-2024

My first session on Saturday was a bit sketchy. The tires were still fresh and not scuffed in yet and my new brake pads hadn't been bed in yet so my braking was far from confidence inspiring. After a few sessions though things were starting to feel really good but my driving was lacking. I was still hovering around the 1:19s and I knew I was leaving tons of time out there. After sleeping on it and chatting with the guys about key turns like T1 and T2 where I hadn't been trusting the grip of the car, it eventually clicked and I was able to lean on the car more and trust the grip would be there. I was able to put in a 1:16.32 to set a new PB despite the ambient temps being around 93F at the time. Reviewing the video and data, I definitely left more time on the table so I can't wait to return in cooler temps to see how much faster I can go.

Setup notes:

Tire pressures: 27psi cold

Damper settings:  25 clicks from full stiff (counterclockwise) in the front and 13 clicks from full stiff in the rear. 

Overdue TLC for Bumblestook

We've done two track days now with the new aero and the car just didn't feel properly balanced so it was time to address that before we head to NJMP next weekend. 

I was running 13kg/11kg Swift springs on Sakebomb Garage Ohlins FPSport coilovers and with the added rear downforce that made the car a bit pushy so I had the rear springs swapped out to 13kg as well for a square setup.

13kg Swift springs for the rear - Z65-203-130

I've also been chasing this very bad clunking sound from the car especially after a track session. It got so bad that it would do this whether it was hot or cold even just driving forward a few feet. I initially thought it was the spherical bearing in the top hat of the shocks but it actually turned out to be worn out and rusty sway bar end links. The collars that prevent the bar from going left and right were also cracked and loose. Karcepts revised these in later bars from aluminum to steel to prevent this form happening. Thankfully Karcepts came to the rescue here and got my order for replacements to me super quick! The bar itself wasn't looking so hot so SJF took it all apart to clean the rust off and regrease where needed.

cracked sway bar collar

The diff wasn't sound too hot after the last event so I knew it needed a fluid change so while the car was with SJF, I had him change the diff fluid as well new Carbotech XP10/XP8 brake pads as well as fresh Centric blank rotors. I normally run Stoptech cryo slotted rotors and have them ordered but 2 of the 4 rotors are backordered so I'm using the basic blanks to get by for now. I also got a new set of 245/40R17 Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS tires all around mounted and finally ditched the Continental Force tires I've been running. While the Contis were a consistent tire, they aren't really the same speed as the REs so it was time to go. I also usually run 255 tires all around but because these tires are wide, the 245 actually fits better on a 9" wide wheel. I'm curious how this will affect handling and it will also shorten my gearing a little bit more too.

245/40R17 RE-71RS

Lastly the car went in for a new alignment. I'm going with a square camber setup of -3.0 all around. This the max camber up front even with my offset joints since I don't run the car really low like others. Toe is 0 degrees front and 0.12in total toe in the rear. For some reason I'm maxed out at 3.9 and 4.4 degrees of caster up front. This might be due to where the spherical bearings are positioned in the arm so we may have to revisit this in the future. This is pretty low for an S2000. It should be over 5 degrees of caster. For my records, the shock settings are 25 clicks from full stiff (counterclockwise) in the front and 13 clicks from full stiff in the rear. 

Also noting that I had SJF fabricate a wall mounting bracket so I can hang my splitter on the wall when I'm not using it. It's super slick.

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 66,503

- 1 qt Redline 80W140 GL5 Gear oil

- New Carbotech XP10/XP8 brake pads

- New centric blank rotors all around

- Swift 13kg rear springs

- New front and rear sway bar endlinks

- New front and rear sway bar collars

- 245/40R17 RE-71RS tires all around

Fuel Pressure Gauge and Trans/Diff Fluid change

A few weeks ago I suddenly lost power on the 944 and ran into a no start condition. I swapped the DME relay and got it back working to limp it home and from my investigation it seems like it might just have been a bad ground caused by a bolt that had almost backed out all the way. Anyway, part of my concern at the time was whether or not I actually had fuel pressure but I had no way of telling. I got  Lindsey Racing fuel pressure gauge that fits right up to the rail so now I can see in real time what the fuel pressure is. This will help me detect any fuel flow or fuel regulator issues in the future.

Fuel pressure gauge installed

Fuel pressure gauge installed

While the car was on the lift I also decided to change the transaxle fluid since it's now been 500 or so miles since the new diff was installed and I figure that's a good enough break in period.

New gear oil

NOTE: I decided to remove the fuel pressure gauge shortly after since I didn't feel comfortable adding another potential failure point in case the gauge or fittings fail and starts to leak fuel into the engine bay. 

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 97,305

- 2.7 quarts Motul 75W90 Gear Oil