Flashwing

Man it seems like a while since I last posted here on Black Halo Racing.com.  There has been a lot going on and I also wanted to say I appreciate the messages I’ve gotten over the last couple of months from those of you who read my blog.  The events of the past few months have been filled with some great times and some unexpected setbacks.

Since the turbo was installed in January there have been quite a few aspects of the base GReddy kit that I was working through.  It was a simple case of finding one small problem which then revealed another.  The biggest issue was heat.  We’ve known for a while that the front mount intercooler design was only really viable for street applications but I wasn’t aware just how badly it would be on the race track.  All this despite running a custom bracket design to fit the AEM intake.

Jeff has been aware of front mount heating issues for a long time.  I remember conversations as far back as 2007 with him about possible solutions but this was before he got heavy into the track scene which brought about a whole new set of challenges.  Some time back Jeff devised and built his own top mount intercooler design which proved beyond a doubt to be the only real solution of keeping a boosted RX8 cool on the race track.  I had planned to adopt the same system but was hoping to stave off purchasing the parts until, well, now.  However, I started having issues during the March track events which really made the whole process nerve racking.

There were two events that I did in March which promised to be really fun.  The first was Firebird East which is a great track that mixes up some high speed turns with some technical slow turns that are almost neck snapping.  The hairpin onto the straight was probably the most difficult of the entire course.  The overheating quickly became a problem during the afternoon sessions as I would get 2 or 3 hot laps and then I’d have to manage the heat during the rest of the event.  I flirted with 240 degree temps most of the day which took a lot of the fun out of the event.  The Time Attack was the only time I pushed the car really hard and I didn’t get more than 1 1/2 laps before I nearly had to pull over and park.

Second event that month was at the Arizona Motorsports Park track.  Awesome race track and it sits right up against the Luke Air-force Base runway.  That same day they had their annual air show which made driving on the track…interesting.  Nothing like ripping down the back straight only to hear and see fighter jets flying overhead.  A couple times I really had to remind myself to focus on the track instead of the show!  Overheating issues persisted and I managed to make it through the Time Attack but my overall times have been rather poor.

April was NASA’s annual night time event which was a pretty awesome time.  The local Mazda guys, including myself and Jeff, decided to have some fun and do up the cars with a little Fast and Furious theme.  Since the track event would include some night time driving I decided to take things a little farther with a light show.  In retrospect, it was a bit overkill and I wasted time and money on stuff I’ll never use again but it was an interesting moment in history for my RX8 and I had a few good laughs.

The night event had some great driving on Firebird main which is pretty much my favorite track.  Maybe it’s because I’ve had the most driving experience on FIR Main or because it was my first track I had ever driven.  Either way, some suspension changes totally changed the car’s behavior in a very positive way.  When at AMP, I noticed that I was rolling over on the shoulders of my Nitto Invo tires.  It took 40 to 42psi of hot tire pressure to keep them from rolling but I was losing grip in the process.  This called for more negative camber…much more.  This meant rolling the car over to Bullitt Automotive in Tempe.  Eddie, the shop owner, is able to produce some spot on custom alignments.  We brought the front wheels to -2.8 degrees of camber and the rear to -2.0 degrees.  This was adjusted from -1 degree on both front and back wheels.

The results were nothing short of amazing.  There was grip there I had not felt before and it restored my faith in my street tires as being capable of track duty.  I was giggling like a little girl as I was pushing an Audi A5 around the track that had previously left me in the dust during other events.  My fun didn’t last long before my temperature gauges starting screaming and then it was back to managing heat and taking mostly cool down laps.

FIR Main was the only track I had previously gotten a time since it was the first time attack I had ran.  As such, I was determined to run at least one hot lap at full speed regardless of the temperature.  I got my wish as I headed down the straight from my warm up lap and already was seeing 205 to 210 degree temperatures.  By the time I crossed the finish on my first hot lap I was staring at 260 degree water temps.  I knew from Jeff’s previous experience that 260 degrees is about where the motor comes apart due to a coolant seal blowing.

I had to finish both laps to ensure my times counted so I went around a second time with the heater blasting and feathering the throttle since I was sure any moment the motor was going to come apart.  Thankfully it didn’t and I pulled off track and let the car cool down in the paddock.  Overall, I saw 260 degrees during 2 sessions including the time attack.  I felt a substantial power loss with those high temperatures but I still managed to run 5 seconds faster than my time the previous year.  Overall, I had met my goal for the event.

All that nonsense makes what happened a few weeks ago almost pathetic.  Jeff began to organize the parts I needed for the top mount but before we could do anything I blew my motor…again.  It happened climbing into 1st gear getting on the highway after driving about 300 miles on some of Arizona’s best twisty roads with the Rotary Car Club of Arizona.  A possible over boost situation coupled with possibly running out of fuel injector may have been the culprit but since I wasn’t looking at my instruments during the detonation I won’t know for sure.

There is some promise as the motor still ran, still started up fairly easily (for a blown motor) and still idled without any need to keep on the throttle.  It had a pretty wicked lope and almost sounded like a V8.  So the hope is I chipped an apex seal and didn’t actually chop the whole thing which means there might be minimal damage to the whole motor.  Either way, I won’t know anything till the motor gets cracked open.

So with the AZ summer rolling in I’ve decided to take the summer off and rebuild the car.  There are some items that I’ve been looking to have done and I’ll have the opportunity to do so without being distracted with track events or other car related items.  I’m looking forward to the custom work on this engine I wasn’t able to do on the last.  I’ll talk more about those plans once I know for sure they will happen.  I got a bit too ahead of myself with what I wanted to do so I’ll stick with what actually happens this time.

Till then!

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I put together a couple videos of me running around the racetrack this past weekend.  Some of these have been posted on facebook.

I am really glad I got to run this track as the official word from PIR is they will be ripping up the infield as part of their renovation of the race track.  A sad day indeed if for no other reason than we are losing another road course here in Phoenix.  This will open up other opportunities but losing a race track option is never a good thing.

So, here’s the video.  Enjoy!

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This past weekend was marked as another successful track experience.  This time, I found myself at Phoenix International Raceway which is the favored track of the National Auto Sports Association’s AZ Region group.  This track has been and continues to be rather intimidating for various reasons which discouraged me from driving it.

I’ve always been a person who lives via calculated risk.  I’m not someone that normally leaps before looking or blindly does things with no regard for the consequences.  As such, I tend to be a little more timid in situations where others would jump in head first.  Phoenix Raceway is such a situation.  I realize the risks that tracking a car brings.  I am a believer that if Motorsports was 100% safe no one would do it.  I also have reached a point with my RX8 where I’ve spent so much time building the car that I’ve switched from obsessing over parts to keeping it from being wrecked.

To that point, I realized driving to Scottsdale last evening that I was almost uncomfortable driving on the highway during it’s “NASCAR mood”.  I would have rather been stuck in the middle of a TT group because at least I know those people won’t crash into me.

So, as you can see there are a lot of head games that can sometimes go into tracking my car.  Maybe it’s like this for everyone, maybe it’s just me.  Either way, I’m no different in that when I get the itch to drive I have to scratch it.

Since September I’ve been doing corner work for NASA and I’ve now worked 4 of my last 5 events at PIR.  Coming off the heels of the Arroyo Seco event, I found myself with the urge to hit the track.  I got registered for PIR on Sunday’s event in DE3.  The hope is to drive DE3 again in March and start looking into getting a check ride into DE4 since we’ll be doing Firebird Main in April and the bulk of my experience has been on that track.

I have two major concerns with PIR.  First, every single area of the track terminates in a concrete wall.  Unlike previous tracks I have driven like Firebird Main, West and Arroyo Seco, there are no vastly open areas to run off into.  This means mistakes could have much more serious consequences.  Having worked many events at PIR I’ve also seen a small amount of cars get turned into crumpled beer cans driven by people with much more experience than me.  I’m not immature enough to think it can’t happen to me.  Second, PIR has quiet possibly one of the most famous club racing turns in the country.  The infamous turn #1.  I recall my DE1 classroom sessions where we discussed a widely viewed video of a Dodge Viper crashing in turn 1.  Mistakes made in this turn have serious consequences.

All that aside, if I was interested in playing it safe then I should just park my car and take the bus everywhere.

My first session out I asked my group leader Robert Rose to ride shotgun.  I first met Robert when he was the DE2 group leader and his confidence and upbeat attitude had made the NASA experience all that much better.  Robert gave me a few quick tips and helped me handle some issues with a couple turns.  Finding the apex on turn 2 and handling the carousel was much easier with his guidance as well as finding a good line through the NASCAR turns.  Halfway through my first session I dropped Robert off and finished the session on my own.

Despite the simple track layout, PIR has a lot of complicated details that you won’t know unless you’ve driven the track a lot and picked up on them.  I talked to Jeff Abrams who was also there with his Turbocharged RX8 and he discussed some suggestions given to him about turn 9.  Turn 9 is the hairpin which puts you onto the oval track.  The learning never stops that’s for sure.

The only complication had little to do with the track and more with the car.  The front mount setup for the turbo reared it’s ugly head as the blocked airflow to the radiator gave me some pretty serious heat issues.  I was experiencing heat problems at Arroyo Seco but the last minute addition of the Turbosmart E-boost street boost controller had me running more boost.  It’s obvious that I will have to be switching to the top mount setup that Jeff designed otherwise as the summer rolls in the car won’t make it through a single session on the race track.   My 3rd session was cut short as the car had overheated in the middle of my 3rd hot lap.  I attempted to regulate the heat by taking a cool down lap but the oil temperature soon caught up and I had to pit into the paddock.

I understood pretty quickly the problems with turn 1.  This turn is the transition from the NASCAR oval to the infield track.  The transition isn’t exactly smooth and it can cause unsettling to your suspension.  If you’re on the brakes or shifting entering that corner you could easily lose control of the car once the suspension unsettles.  I found myself taking the approach of braking a bit early and then getting back onto the throttle to enter the turn.

I called it quits after 3 sessions since my Innovate Wideband gauge had freaked out, the car overheated rather quickly and I had been dealing with the turbo burning the heat shielding material which not only smoked but smelled terrible.  In fact, I wished that my transmission fluid stunk because that smelled much better!

Driving PIR was a blast but not quite as exciting as other tracks I’ve driven.  Still, the experience of driving new tracks is very valuable and once PIR is reopened with the newly paved surface I might just give it another go!  I might have driven within my safety margin but it was another great opportunity to get out on the race track and I’m looking forward to NASA returning to Firebird in March and April.

The rest of this month’s agenda is to finish up the remaining business before the Arizona Mazda Club and Socal dyno days including some final tuning of the PCM and the boost controller.

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This morning I woke up to find my hotel room full of empty beer bottles, about 5 sleeping people and some left over pizza from dinner last night.  The sun had just risen enough to wake me up here in Wilcox, AZ…about 150 miles outside of Phoenix.  I strolled over to the window careful not to wake up the other 5 exhausted drivers in the room to peek on the cars out in the parking lot.   Outside the various collections of Mazdas,  including Black Halo Racing’s two turbcharged RX8′s, where a dreadful sight.  The cars are covered with their latest battle scars, pieces of painters tape that were missed and loads of dust.  This was the result of an epic track weekend.

This weekend while many of you were planning for Sunday to catch the Bears or Steelers game, Jeff Abrams and myself along with 15 other people from the local Arizona Mazda Club joined with AZ Driven for a track weekend in Deming, NM.  Arroyo Seco was our destination for an all day event that promised 3 hours or more of straight track time.  Thats 3 hours of a screaming rotary while hugging the turns!

This was the first weekend my RX8 has seen the racetrack since the motor blew back in September while on my way to Sevenstock 13.  For those of you who have been following my previous posts you’ll note that I was in the process of having a motor built for my RX8.  Due to various challenges my engine builder was facing over the past couple of months, they were not going to be able to complete my motor in time for me to get emissions tested.  As such, I got my hands on a 2004 motor with some pretty low miles (20,000 or less).  The Black Halo Racing team put in 2 very long days along with the help of a couple good club friends and the motor was back in the car along with the GReddy turbo kit. The whole experience did take some time but in the end it was a great learning opportunity for me. From the process of pulling a motor, tearing it down and rebuild strategies to installation, it was a great chance to get heavily involved in the process from start to finish. Charles, Jeff and Erick showed me various tricks of the trade as well as sharing some of their insight gained over the years.

I cannot express enough thanks to the entire Black Halo Racing team and my good friends in the Arizona Mazda Club for their help with getting the RX8 back on the road.

This weekends event at Arroyo Seco had many great advantages.  First was the opportunity to drive a new track which is always great.  This track has a long and a short straight which isn’t that awesome with a Mazda but it allowed for easy passing opportunities.  The technical turns of Arroyo Seco posed some very interesting challenges.  In all, it was a chance to shake down the RX8 and work out any possible bugs with the setup as well as challenge myself to push my driving to the edge.  The AZ Driven event was very relaxed by having open track during the entire day.  This was a huge change from normal track days here in Phoenix where there are dozens if not well over one hundred cars and several run groups.  You would get 3 to 4 20 minute runs and then you were done for the day.  This time we had the track from 9am to sundown and I took full advantage of it.

The first few trips out were really awesome.  I wasn’t able to keep the car on the track for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time because of high coolant temperatures.  I’ve had issues with the car getting pretty hot when naturally aspirated but with the addition of the turbo, intercooler and also the position of the AEM intake, there is plenty of airflow restriction preventing proper cooling.  I’m also still using the Koyo radiator which I do not recommend as an upgrade.  Either upgrade to the BHR Radiator or deal with the stock one.  That being said, I was able to easily maintain temperatures by taking cool down laps since nothing prevented me from staying on the track.  Traffic was minimal since only 25 cars came to the event.

We were driving the long track configuration so we were not taking the shortcut in the map.  The series of lefts prior to the short straight were the most difficult turns on the entire track.  The turns are an uphill climb enough that you have issues seeing the entire road.  It was a major fake out as by the time I reached the second of three turns I thought I was going to fly off the track.  You soon see the third turn and are able to make it without any problems.  Later on during the day I got some great tips by following Will, a fellow RX8 owner, and his line showed to take that turn on the inside and push out which allows a smooth entry.

Here’s a video clip of a few laps around the race track.  I went out with Jeff Abrams in his Garrett powered RX8 and our friend George in his recently purchased Corvette.  It was a stretch to even keep up with these guys on the warm up lap!  Check out 7:30 when you’ll see our good friend Paul go off track in an epic fashion in his Mazdaspeed6.

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A track day wouldn’t be complete without a few mistakes being made.  Later in the day I had gotten a little cocky and went deep into the braking zone on the main straight.  The result?  Well, you’ll have to watch the below video to find out.

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Nothing like a good dirt bath to make your day so much better.  I’m going to be cleaning dirt and sand out of my car for a month!

This track day was also an opportunity to try out the BHR midpipe!  I’ve ran various versions of the midpipe on my RX8 in the past but this was the first weekend I was able to run a final production version with the Davesport catalyst on it.  It produced a great sound and the catalyst didn’t seem to hamper performance at all.  A huge thanks to Charles Hill for providing this awesome product to me!

In all, I believe I got about 3 hours of track time and nearly 100 track miles were put on the car at the expense of 2 tanks of gas.  It was a great event not only for the track experience but being able to share it with friends.  There is even some chatter about making the trip to Laguna Seca in April which is certainly a bucket list track of mine.

Next month is the Socal Dyno Day and we’ll be there!

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With 2011 rapidly approaching it seems like the events of the year are already rolling in.  There’s going to be a lot going on this year and I have a feeling that it’s going to just get better.  One of the best parts of being with BHR is the opportunity to meet RX8 people from all over the country.

First, the Socal 2011 Dyno Day is coming up at the end of February.  We’re certainly not strangers to the dyno but this event brings a certain magic about it.  The caliber of cars that show up to this event are great and we certainly couldn’t talk about this event without mentioning SR Motorcars.  Steve, the owner, has always opened up his shop to the Socal group to the point where it almost feels like a second home.  Jorge Leal, who has organized this event since the beginning, has always put together a great weekend and I have no doubt this year will be just as much fun.

The event actually got big enough 2 years ago that last year we had to expand it to 2 days.  We split up the cars so Saturday was all the FI cars that required more dyno time and tuning.  This gave people the ability to come and hang out without the rush of cars going on and off the dyno.  Sunday was all the NA cars with tuning but also for people who wanted straight pulls.  In all, there was close to 24 hours of straight dyno action.  We also tried to bring the fun to our friends who can’t make it via live webcast.  While it’s not the same as being there, it’s pretty close.  This year we’re hoping to be able to keep people updated with dyno numbers and make the webcast a bit more fun!

Of course, there are a ton of things that you can’t see via webcast that go on which make this event just a blast.  From the normal antics to the foot races on the dyno rollers to the action out in front of the shop, there is always something going on.  The BHR team was running around doing installs, compression checks, seafoam treatments as well as just hanging out and talking shop.  I was shocked that the thread on RX8club has been up for only about a day and nearly all the dyno spots are taken!

Other cool stuff on the horizon is the “What Happens in Vegas” meet that will be happening this May.  This has become the Sevenstock of the West Coast in that the region’s hottest RX8′s and RX7′s gather in Sin City for hanging out and cruising.  This started as a get together as well as a birthday bash for Jeff Abrams and morphed into an all-out yearly event that last year attracted at least 60 to 70 rotary cars.  We normally meet up at the Inn and Out on Sahara on Friday night for a meet and greet, cruise on Saturday and then get together Saturday night at Hofbrauhaus for some great food and good laughs.  I have no doubt this event is going to be huge this year!  The added bonus is that everyone will be booking at the same hotel which should make coordinating stuff easier…there’s even talk about reserved parking.

Then of course we’ve got Sevenstock 14 in September.  With the turnout at Sevenstock 13 this year I have no doubt this event will be back again for another year.  I actually had a great time this year despite my car sitting in the parking lot instead of the BHR booth.  We’ve got some great ideas to make the 2011 Sevenstock fun so you won’t want to miss this one either.

You mix in the various track events and other local stuff that is going on here in Phoenix, 2011 is shaping up to be another busy year.  As always, we’ll bring you the highlights here but if you want to get in on the action be sure to bring yourself out!

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We can do whatever we wish to do provided our wish is strong enough. What do you want most to do? That’s what I have to keep asking myself, in the face of difficulties.- Katherine Mansfield

Ok, I know I promised my next post regarding the engine build would be an in-depth analysis of the motor as it came out of the car in an effort to squash some myths as well as discuss some positive things we found.  That update is coming but I wanted to focus a bit on the progress with the build.

Now, if you are expecting this to be a balls out build you will be disappointed.  What you’ll find is a build that is simple, complete and composes some of the things that will provide benefits without blowing the down payment on your next house.

The most important part of the build process was to examine the goals I had for the car.  In short, my goals have always been reliability, longevity, and performance.  Since these items are always a balancing act obviously I will not be able to achieve serious levels of performance without having issues with the engine in the short term.  As such, I think I’ve arranged my goals in a way that gives me the performance gains I want without seriously hindering my ability to get to work Monday morning.

Charles Hill helped provide me with a list of options based on my budget and available parts.  His first suggestion was to use my existing motor.  We knew the history of the motor and Ray’s blueprinting of the parts would ensure everything was in good shape.  We were concerned with making sure the rotors and e-shaft were balanced since my previous motor did have some signs of rotor wobble which contributed to some wear.  So, we began looking for other options.

The plans changed when a RENESIS core was was found with less than half the mileage of my factory motor.  This motor had suffered a coolant seal failure.  This was a better bet than mixing and matching parts so we went for it.  The motor was broken down and cleaned.  All parts have been blueprinted to ensure they are within spec.

The plans for this motor have been made around the aspect of this new motor being boosted.  I consulted Jeff Abrams regarding the turbo setup I was looking for due to his vast turbo experience with the RX8.  Jeff provided me with a suggestion list of items that would help me meet my goals of reliability and performance.  Jeff focused on having plenty of available fuel for tuning and porting to help increase intake and exhaust flow.

I will be using the GReddy turbo kit which is designed to work with the stock injector setup but Jeff Abrams has stressed upgrading the P2 injectors to a larger size so I have a buffer zone with fuel.  The importance of using the P2 position is these are load based injectors that only operate when needed unlike the secondary injectors which open after a specific window.

The easy out for this is to upgrade to the “blue” secondary injectors from a 4-port RENESIS.  BHR provided me with a set of blue injectors and per Charles Hill’s suggestion we contacted RC Engineering in California and sent the injectors out to them.  They perform a cleaning and flow matching service using in-house build equipment as well as providing documentation on the before and after result.  I now have documented proof of how much fuel my injectors will flow as well as data on how the injectors were when they arrived.  In all, a fantastic service and very easy to use.  This will ensure consistent fuel delivery to both rotor chambers and give Jeff plenty of fuel to work with during tuning.

The results from the RC Engineering with testing @ 40psi are as follows:

Yellow injectors (Primary Position)
Before: 308cc, 322cc.
After: 329cc, 331cc.

Red Injectors (Secondary Position)
Before: 413cc, 403cc.
After: 421cc, 420cc

Blue Injectors (Primary 2 Position)
Before: 532cc, 517cc
After: 541cc, 539cc

The airflow aspect means porting.  Unlike the RX7, the RX8′s RENESIS engine has limited opportunities for porting because the cooling jackets are so close to the side intake and exhaust ports.  That being said, with the engine rebuild it was an excellent opportunity to have even minor cleaning done on the ports to help increase airflow.

Black Halo Racing tapped the skills of Glen who is the owner of AZ Rotary Rockets/BoostFlow here in Phoenix to handle the porting.  Glen’s experience with building RX7 engines is known throughout the region so we were confident in him producing a great product.  Overall, providing even a slight increase in exhaust and intake ports would allow me to obtain greater airflow with the same manifold pressure.  The goal is to be able to run a safe boost level but being able to see a decent power gain.The overall port job mostly amounts to smoothing out the port and providing a bit of room for exhaust gas expansion.

The engine rebuild process will not differ from the norm with the exception of Charles Hill custom cutting the engine side seals.  The process involved grinding down the side seals until they are within certain specifications.  This helps to make sure the engine produces the best compression possible and across all rotor faces.

Black Halo Racing has provided me with our midpipe running the 100 cell Davesport cat.  This, combined with the turbo, will provide a smooth and quiet operating car.  Once the rebuild is complete and the engine back in the car I’ll be spending some time with Jeff getting the car tuned.  The hope will be to have the car in good enough shape to put down some great numbers at the upcoming AZMC and Socal dyno days.  As always I’ll be sure to post results and progress for everyone to follow.

Finally, the last step is converting the vent to atmosphere HKS SSQ blow-off valve to recirculation.  This being my first turbo car experience I’ve naturally wanted to let the mighty blow-off valve roar but the loss of driveability is something I’ve decided I cannot accept.  The richness between shifts, backfires and stalling issues some turbo RX8 owners have I wouldn’t tolerate.  So, we will be modifying the intake system to recirculate excess pressured air.

I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to take the time necessary to make sure this rebuild was done right.  Above all, the most important thing is to make sure the process is done correctly and with attention to quality.  While this can increase the time and cost it will make sure you’re not spending more money down the road with another rebuild.

I’m really looking forward to the final product!  The final installment of the engine rebuild series will be an in depth analysis of my 109,000 mile motor with some conclusions based off it’s care.  Stick around!

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You can always tell a real friend: when you’ve made a fool of yourself he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.
~ Laurence J. Peter

One of the central elements of my personal interest in everything cars lies within the friendships that I’ve formed over the years.  I always felt that if I was presented the option of being able to have any and all the cars I’ve ever wanted but could not share them with friends that I wouldn’t be able to accept.  The best part of working on cars, racing them or even showing them is sharing that experience with others.

Even further to the truth, friends are good people to help you push.

A few years ago a typical trip to the car wash, my RX8 suddenly would no longer start.  It was labor day weekend late in the evening and getting a tow truck would have taken hours.  My friends Tony, Aaron, Bryant and Jen sprang into action!  At Tony’s suggestion, we pushed my RX8 down a major street for over a mile to Tony’s house with Jen in the driver’s seat.  While utterly exhausting, we got the car back to Tony’s house and over the course of the week we got the car fixed.

While we couldn’t push my RX8 to the Sevenstock hotel, once again I was faced with my RX8 being disabled but this time with a blown motor.  Brace yourself, this is a long story.

Shortly after my motor went, I was attempting to keep the car running by running the RPMs high and to keep moving through traffic.  At some point the group took a wrong exit which took me off the highway.  My heel-toe skills are nearly non-existent due to how I position my feet so as I rolled to a stop at the end of the ramp I was forced to work the brake, gas and clutch at the same time.  I got a bit overwhelmed and instead of rear ending my friend Karl I opted to hit the brake which allowed the car to die.  I was the last car in the group and since no one else knew what was going on they kept going.  Karl stayed behind having heard my car die.

Once it was clear I couldn’t get the car started, Karl left to park his own car to then help me push.  I attempted to move the car off the street.  At that time, two people who were begging for cash on the off-ramp came over and helped me push the car without any question.  We got it off the ramp and I thanked them in kind…I hope they made the best of it.  Karl and I tried to jump the car and I even tried adjusting the tune which didn’t help.  I asked Karl to humor me with a push start so we pushed the car up the road, turned it around and gave me a final shove.  Shortly before the road ended in an intersection I kicked the clutch and the car started.

Karl followed me as I struggled to get the car back on the highway.  We made the transition to the right highway but I wasn’t on the road more than 15 minutes when Karl pulled next to me yelling “pull over your car is ON FIRE!”

Mind you, this was a busy LA freeway at about 2:30pm.  I saw traffic was clear and pulled across 3 or 4 lanes to the side of the road.  As soon as the car stopped, all the smoke from the rear came flying forward.  I exited the car quickly and found that the rear exhaust shrouds were totally melted and on fire.  Karl pulled in behind me and acted quickly with his fire extinguisher to put the fire out.  Karl later told me my exhaust tips had been glowing bright red and it was impossible to drive behind me because of the exhaust gas.

Without going into boring detail, we spent the next 2 hours on the side of the highway waiting for a tow truck.  During that time I called Charles Hill to let him know what happened since I was going to need his help.  He brought some calm to a stressful situation by giving me some focus and letting me know what the options were for getting the car home or having to work on it in California.  Either way, the hotel was the immediate destination.

As soon as I had arrived at the hotel I got a couple calls from friends in Phoenix with options for getting the car back to Phoenix.  I even had someone at Sevenstock offering to tow me to Vegas if need be.  It was out of my way but it was assuring to know I had options.  Later that evening, my friend James pitched me an idea that had the best outcome for the weekend.  James had also brought his friend Joe from Santa Monica to Sevenstock.  James suggested we return to Phoenix, grab his truck, rent a trailer and head back to LA to get the RX8.  It was ambitious and it would mean a long day but it was plausible.  Joe offered to come along and little did we know that he would play a major role in the whole adventure.

I spent Saturday working the Sevenstock event for Black Halo Racing as I ran around with a webcam trying to capture the event, the cars and even the lovely Black Halo Racing girls!  It was a welcome distraction from Friday and everyone I knew there had a few kind words about my now paperweight worthy motor.  The event was great and it was awesome to see some new faces and some old friends.

Sunday morning came.  James, Joe and I all had breakfast downstairs and headed out for our journey back to Phoenix.  We made pretty good time having arrived back in Phoenix around 2pm.  We got some dinner, picked up the trailer and headed back for LA.  We arrived at the hotel around 11pm.  The first thing  I did was uninstall the accessPORT and attempt to start the car.  My jump box wasn’t working properly and the battery was completely drained.  Next we wanted to attempt a push start.  The car was aimed down the longest parking lot row in the hotel which also lead directly into the parking garage.  I got a running start with James and Joe pushing but the car didn’t have enough momentum to start.  We had positioned the truck and trailer at the end of the row hoping to easily start the car and drive it up the trailer.

Once it was obvious the car would not make it up the trailer under it’s own power we were only left with one option. We decided to push the RX8 to get a running start and then I’d drive it up the trailer.  There were a few risks.  First, the parking lot was very poorly lit and my battery was not strong enough to fire up my HID’s.  Second, if I miss the ramps I could easily damage the car by running into the trailer.  Third, if I hit the ramps wrong the car could possibly fall off the ramps causing damage to the car.  Since the risk was high, I opted to drive.

James and Joe gave me a good running start.  Years of having to hit Jeff’s ramps in his driveway, I knew where the ramps should be positioned in relation to areas on the hood.  I aimed as best I could and the RX8 hit the ramps with an awful dragging noise due to my side flares.  Halfway onto the trailer, the car stopped.  I quickly grabbed the ebrake and put the brakes into the floor.  I exited the car and had Joe get into the seat since he was 120 lbs soaking wet.  However, James and I couldn’t get the RX8 to budge.  The only choice we had was for Joe to get out and help us push.  Joe got behind the car and we shoved the RX8 forward in the trailer with no driver.  It hit the stops at the end of the trailer and the car was loaded.

Needless to say, there were high-fives all around.  Without Joe we would not have gotten the car loaded.

Then began our long trip back to Phoenix.  We had to drop Joe off in Santa Monica so we ended up adding an hour or two onto our trip.  Once we were outside Santa Monica, James handed the keys over to me so he could catch a couple hours of sleep.  At this point we had been up for nearly 20 hours.

The drive back was pretty uneventful.  We arrived at Charles Hill’s house around 10am Monday and got the car unloaded.  James gave it a good shove and it came right off the trailer.  We then dropped the trailer off and James dropped me at my friend Mike’s house to pick up the yellow hot rod Mike was letting me borrow till my car was fixed.  It was now noon on Monday and we had been up since 6am Sunday morning.  The RX8 was now safely back in Phoenix and the work could begin to get it back on the road.

Despite the situation there were certainly things that could have gone much worse.  Had Karl not stayed behind to help me with the car I could have easily ended up with a car that burned to the ground.  He also kept me company and brought some humor to a situation that was far from funny.  I could have ended up in a huge accident trying to get off the highway.  I could have been without any means to get the car back to Phoenix or even a vehicle to get me to and from work in the interim.  However, thanks to my friends and the Black Halo Racing team the best outcome was realized.  I simply could not have done this all myself and I’m forever grateful to everyone for their assistance.  I have a huge source of pride being part of this car community.

The next installment of the engine rebuild series I’ll discuss the engine removal as well as some of the findings and a sneak peak into the plans for the new motor!

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“Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.” - Saint Thomas Aquinas

It’s a bit weird to see the notions friendship enter into a blog talking mostly about performance parts, racing and cars in general.  This has been one of the more challenging articles for me to write but I believe for all the right reasons.  Be warned, this isn’t your normal automotive blog entry.

On my way to the largest Rotary Engine show of the year, Sevenstock, I blew my motor.  I’m certainly not the first person to have a rotary engine let go and I won’t be the last.  I’m not even the first person on my team to experience this kind of thing.  However, that didn’t make the experience any less impacting, traumatic, or upsetting.  I spent quite a lot of time composing a synopsis of what happened and the challenges that took place along the way but it occurred to me that there was a bigger topic at hand.  The mechanics and the process are irrelevant because as much as we all personify our cars they are still incapable of feeling.  People, however, are quite the opposite.

Saying my RX-8 is important to me is quite an understatement.  Whether by accident or design, my RX-8 has become a focal point in my life where my social and professional lives revolve around it.  My life isn’t about the car, but the car plays a central role in everything I do.  All my friends are people whom I’ve met through my car club or otherwise through professional involvement with Black Halo Racing.  Being part of the Black Halo Racing team came about because of  the passion I have for this car and cars in general.  So you can imagine the gut-check that happened when this central figure gets reduced to a paperweight.

All of that prefaces the true point of this article which is to talk about the Black Halo Racing Experience.  Over the course of the last couple of years I’ve heard stories or comments from customers about how Black Halo Racing seems to show up in the midst of crisis, fix everything and leave with things as good or better than they were.   I had the opportunity to experience this myself and felt it very important to share that experience.

The biggest upset to the whole blown motor aspect was having it happen 400 miles from home.  I placed a rather frantic phone call to Charles Hill who was already in LA and explained the situation.  Speaking to him over the phone certainly helped calm the situation as he relayed the possible solutions to having a blown motor far from our home turf.  Either way, I had an objective to get the car to the hotel and assess the situation there.  There’s a lot that happened between then and now but I’ll address those later.

While I had concerns and fears, at no point did I ever think I would be left stranded.  It simply was Black Halo Racing to the rescue.

This philosophy isn’t something that was plucked out of thin air but is based on the very elements which fuel our local car community groups where friends help each other with their cars.  The Arizona Mazda Club, which I have been a member of since I moved to Phoenix, embodies the very basic elements of this attitude where members work together to help each other with repairs, installations and basic advice on everything dealing with Mazda.  The group has attracted non-Mazda owners simply because of the passion for cars that every member has.  Black Halo Racing is built upon the same foundation that clubs like AZMC are built upon where the focus is on getting problems solved and helping people enjoy their cars.  You don’t have to look hard to find examples where BHR has extended a helping hand even in situations where it was not our responsibility.

Needless to say the whole experience has been very humbling.  I’ve never been a person to take my friendships for granted but I’m also not a person that easily asks for help.  Having my friends and teammates come to my aid in a time when I really needed them is something I won’t forget.  I certainly won’t forget the fact that this help was given without any preconditions other than paying it forward when they need it.   I take a lot of pride in being part of a company, a team,  that is founded upon these same principles and incorporates them into every facet of the business.  There are dozens of aftermarket businesses out there but name any that you can call, talk to a real person and get the kind of advice and service which has previously only been reserved for “insiders” or close friends.

Even though I work for BHR, I’m still a customer in the market and have been before my time with BHR.  I know we all shop for price, for fast shipping and good deals..  However, we’ve become accustomed to customer service being last on the list of priorities.  As customers if we are going to be treated like dirt we prefer to do so as cheaply as possible.  Black Halo Racing has been and will continue to set the bar much higher.  I certainly hope people take what I’ve said into consideration when weighing the options about where to spend your money.  Black Halo Racing certainly isn’t curing cancer, ending world hunger or ensuring world peace but we’re working day and night to make the experience of owning whatever car you have just that much better.  Everything we do is based on the basic fundamental of solving problems and having fun while doing it.  After all, if you’re not having fun then we ain’t doing it right.

The next segment I’ll dive into a bit of detail on what took place as there are a few stories worth telling.  I’ll also go over some of the findings from my motor breakdown and the various additions to the new motor.  There are also a few individuals who deserve special mention and I’ll cover all that next time!

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Well here we are.  We are down to the final week before the biggest rotary engine event of the year.  Sevenstock, regardless of what feelings I might have for it, is always a great excuse to do all the crap to your rotary car that you have neglected through the year.  While I’ll never understand why I wait until the last minute, I always seem to scramble the last week to get everything done.  Last year I spent 3 days over at the Black  Halo Racing HQ with Erick doing paint work and cleanup under my hood but not before Charles Hill installed my new Zex nitrous kit.  Charles installed everything exactly the way I wanted it and it was a great piece to show off at Sevenstock.

In fact, the joke of the weekend was that my Zex blackout kit was so well installed and so well hidden that I had more people commenting on my “evil M” emblems than the fact the car was on the spray.

Now, if you have been living under a rock or don’t own a rotary car then you probably don’t know what Sevenstock is.  Rather than be long winded, I’ll let Dan Mazella explain in a video by Driving Sports done last year at Sevenstock 12.

So, now that you’re up to speed about the upcoming event let’s get on with it!

" Everything fired up and worked great! I didn't even electrocute myself."

I’ve had this carbon fiber a-pillar gauge pod sitting on my shelf for probably the last 8 months to a year.  It was a gift from an old RX8 club forum member and retails for about $250 new from Carbon Trix.  It also includes a passenger side carbon fiber piece so the look is even on both sides.  I didn’t have a need for new gauges beyond the 3 I already have so its been waiting.  At a previous dyno day I had a conversation with Jeff that knowing my air/fuel readings while spraying nitrous would be important information to have.  So per his advice I sprung for Innovate’s LC-1 controller and their DB air/fuel gauge.  The XD-16 is the baller gauge to have but I don’t need all the fancy digital effects.  Now, I’m not really good with electronics or wiring.  It’s a funny irony considering I’m an IT professional.  Despite that, I had confidence I could perform the gauge wiring with no trouble.

When Charles Hill was installing my nitrous kit I took careful note of how he ran the wiring and performed the work.  I’ve always been impressed by his attention to detail and patience with electronics.  I took many steps to make sure my work was clean and that I took my time.  In all I invested probably about 6 hours into installing and calibrating the LC-1 and installing the Innovate gauge and pod.  The pod’s fitment isn’t the greatest but it will certainly do.  The accessPORT allowed me to totally disconnect the narrow band O2 sensor and install the wide band into my mid-pipe.  Everything fired up and worked great!  I didn’t even electrocute myself.  You might notice the pod has an empty spot for another gauge.  I intend to put something fun there very soon.

"I take my RX8 to Bullitt Automotive which is probably the best alignment shop in the southwest."

Something else I needed to get done but procrastinated doing was getting the car aligned.  I’ve made various suspension changes including getting corner balanced since my last alignment.  I take my RX8 to Bullitt Automotive which is probably the best alignment shop in the southwest.  Eddie, the owner, boasts how his machine was actually a piece of the Ferrari production line that was crated and shipped to the United States.  The alignment machine is sensitive enough to detect changes in the car if the swamp cooler is blowing on it.  It’s calibrated every 30 alignments so there’s no doubt it’s dead accurate.

I don’t have any special alignment settings.  I try to keep a balance between street and track since 90% of my driving is daily or spirited runs through the mountains.  My intent was 1 negative degree of camber on all 4 wheels and zero toe.  The car came in with some interesting settings.  The rear had -1.5 and -1.1 degrees of camber left to right respectively.  The toe on the rear was -.10 and +.30 degrees left to right.  The front had -1.1 and -0.8 degrees of camber left to right and had +0.5 and 0.0 degrees of toe left to right.  As you can see, the condition of the car was all over the place.  We didn’t touch the front caster which remained at 6.7 degrees since we could not increase it anymore.

I ended up with -1.1 degrees of camber and 0 toe on the rear with -1.0 degrees of camber and 0 toe on the front.  The car does feel much better and I realized I must have had to fight the steering because it seems more responsive to my inputs.  I have no doubt it will help increase my performance on the track and make daily driving more enjoyable.

The next item on my list was my broken undertray.  This one I REALLY procrastinated with.  My factory undertray was seriously damaged by a shredded tire literally coming back from Sevenstock 11.  It put a giant hole in the front of it.  The tray still protected the air condenser and the radiator so I honestly didn’t care about it.  I had better things to spend my money on at the time.  With some of the pending installs coming up it’s going to be important to protect that area so I paid a visit to Berge Mazda who have been good to Black Halo Racing when we’ve needed OEM parts.  I picked up a new undertray and necessary hardware and replaced my broken one.

While it’s a bit early to see if my grand plans will fit into the schedule for next week, the hope is I’ll be bringing a surprise of my own to Sevenstock 13 this year.  Expect to see further write-ups as the event gets closer.  During Sevenstock BHR will be bringing live event coverage via our “Live” page as well as event recaps.

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Owning a manual transmission holds many important benefits over an automatic one.  For instance, you never have to worry about your car accelerating out of control, you never have to worry about having a dead battery and it also cuts down on distracted driving since it’s hard to text or talk on the phone with that 3rd pedal.

Exedy Clutch and BHR Flywheel ready to be installed.

There is one downside to the manual and that happens to be the clutch.  If you’re not familiar with a manual transmission, the clutch is the device that connects your engine to the rest of your drive train through a high friction surface.  This, sadly, makes this a wear item although it is designed to last for a very long time.  The nice thing is that if you are rough with your transmission the clutch tends to take the brunt of the punishment.  Since it’s replaceable it’s possible to save your whole transmission from a costly mistake.

So, on the agenda this weekend was replacing my worn out OEM clutch that has 106,000 miles on it.  I have a bit of pride in the fact that this clutch has lasted this long considering this is my first manual car as well as having numerous track, autocross, and drag racing events on it.  Since the flywheel would be easily accessible during this job it made sense to swap out the OEM flywheel as well.  The parts being  installed are the BHR 9 lbs. flywheel and the Exedy Mazdaspeed clutch.  Before getting into the install I’d like to talk a bit about the choosing of these products because the whole aspect of clutch choice is a seriously flawed one.

One of the biggest mistakes we have seen people make with clutch choice is thinking more is better.  By that, I mean that people think that since they drive their RX8 or any other car hard that they have to purchase a Stage 1 million clutch with gobs of torque holding capacity and a super exotic disc face.  These customers soon realize their clutch went from an analog to a digital device, in terms of driving feel and control.  Stock clutches have a wide range of engagement (called the “friction zone”) allowing you to more easily control the slipping of the clutch for a smooth take off.  Racing clutches like mentioned above are literally on/off switches.  You might have lightning fast engagement but you’ll never take your girlfriend for a ride again.  To avoid this mistake, here are some basics to clutch choice.

Exedy Mazdaspeed Stage 1 clutch

The two important parts of choosing a clutch would be the pressure plate clamping force and the disc materials.  You need a clutch that can handle the power you are putting through the transmission, otherwise it will slip and wear quickly.  Since clutch changes don’t happen often you’ll want to choose a clutch for future modifications if you know you’re headed for big power gains.  Second, you need to look at the disc.  This includes what kind of material it’s made from, whether it is sprung or unsprung and whether it’s a 4 or 6 puck clutch face or a full face.  All of these decisions have their place.  In my case my RX8 is running mostly stock power levels with the possibility of going turbo or supercharged between now and the next clutch change.  It is also my daily driver so I will be doing 90% of my driving on the street in traffic.  For this I chose the Exedy Mazdaspeed unit.  The Exedy Stage 1 is a full face, sprung, organic disc but the Mazdaspeed version has a bit more clamping force than the standard Stage 1 Exedy.  There is much more to clutch choice than these simple areas mentioned above so if anyone has questions about purchasing their clutch through Black Halo Racing please contact us for proper guidance.

Now, regarding the flywheel.  The flywheel’s purpose in life is to serve as the connection point to the engine.  The flywheel also has an outer ring gear that is attached to the starter motor.  You crank the starter, it turns the flywheel which rotates the engine and so on.  Flywheels tend to be very heavy.  In some vehicles they exceed 30 pounds.  While that doesn’t seem like a lot of weight, the energy required to turn this hunk of metal is substantial when it’s spinning 6,000 RPMS or more compared to a lighter version.  The stock RX8 flywheel is almost 17 lbs. and would be replaced by the 9 lbs. Black Halo Racing flywheel.  This weight reduction means quicker acceleration due to more energy being transferred to the driveline instead of wasted turning the flywheel.  The BHR flywheel requires (as do other lightweight flywheels for the RX-8) a counterweight for balance purposes so the total weight reduction is 3.8 lbs.  Still, that’s an easy horsepower gain for a part replacement.  It also helps the throttle response of the car which I’ll discuss in the “review” aspect.

For this job I recruited the services of Charles Hill due to his vast experience with RX8 clutch installations as well as rumors he’s a better mechanic when on his back!  Charles offered to graciously help me with tackling this installation due to the various headaches of dealing with the power plant frame and transmission.  He also is familiar with important details such as replacing the pilot seal and bearing as well as the release bearing.  We gathered at Jeff Abram’s house early Saturday morning to abuse his air tools and got to work.  The installation consisted of removing the cross braces, mid-pipe and starter to get at the important stuff.  Next to come off was the transmission wiring harness, clutch slave cylinder and then the power plant frame.  We then disconnected the driveshaft, removed the transmission bell housing bolts and dropped the transmission.

Clutch and Flywheel installed on the motor.

With the transmission out of the way we began removing the stock clutch and flywheel.  Despite the wear to the OEM clutch, both looked in good shape with no signs of heat damage.  The pressure plate and disc came right off.  The infamous flywheel nut didn’t last under a few seconds of impact gun hitting and came right off.  The flywheel was next preceded by a few hammer hits to get it loose.  Meanwhile, we removed the old crappy release bearing and installed the much heavier BHR version.  The new flywheel was bolted into place followed by the clutch.  The pressure plate took a few hammer hits to seat onto the dowel pins but everything went in without a problem.  We then reinstalled the transmission and all remaining parts to wrap up the installation.  Charles’s experience with this installation made the process issue free.

First thing was to check the clutch pedal engagement.  This is another area of the installation often overlooked by many.  This is a critical step to ensure proper engagement of the clutch and prevent grinding gears.  Since this was a new clutch, the engagement point would obviously be much closer to the floor.  At first adjustment I twitched my leg and the clutch engaged.  I asked Charles to give me a bit of free play but he suggested not much more than what I had.  After the pedal adjustment I ran though the gears to ensure everything engaged properly.  It was then time for the road test.

Shortly afterwards, Charles reminded me “You’re going to have to relearn to drive this car with all this new stuff.”  I thought, yeah I know…I’ve got this.  I had nothing more than a tingle in my left leg with the car in reverse when the car bucked and died.

Ok, so I don’t got this.

I quickly got the groove of the new clutch and flywheel and managed to limp the car into 1st gear like it was my first day driving a manual all over again.  Initial feel around the block by Jeff’s house was tough gear engagement but this was due to the disc material needing to compress as well as the marcel needing to seat.  Within 1 to 2 miles of street driving the shifting smoothed right out and the car was back to normal.

OEM clutch with not much life left.

Initial impressions of this package are really good!  While I wish I could have gotten my hands on a lightweight pressure plate for additional weight reduction, the flywheel provided noticeable improvements in acceleration and in throttle response.  I noticed in higher gears like 5th and 6th that there was much less effort needed to overcome the initial forces on the car and accelerate.  The power gain isn’t substantial but the butt dyno approves.  The new clutch as well as the lightweight flywheel do require that I engage the throttle before the clutch pedal is released.  Previously I had a good grove with doing both at the same time but the clutch will disengage before I can even roll into the throttle to compensate.

Overall I give this two thumbs up!  There is a performance increase from the flywheel and I now have a fresh clutch in the car that will handle any future FI upgrades to the car.  If you have to do a clutch change I’d suggest springing for the BHR flywheel in the process as it’s a nice addition to any manual RX8.  I want to say thank you to Black Halo Racing for providing me with these awesome parts.

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