Morning gents,

Introducing myself briefly I owned a S2000 a few years back and have now returned to something more humble but still powered by the F20 as my latest track toy.

I'm attempting to do some research in order to equip the car well for its track use, so if anyone can offer guidance on potential weaknesses of the drivetrain and cooling system on track than I would be glad of any advice.

The engine is very close to standard and won't be opened up. I'm not chasing additional power so that isn't a consideration.
So far I have fitted a larger radiator, a small oil cooler and removed the oil/water sandwich plate.

I use relatively narrow (185) but grippy list 1B tyres, at what point are sump baffles necessary?

Interested to hear people's experiences rather than theories or internet rumour.

Cheers, Matt

 

I would have thought baffled sumps are recommended when on track to minimize the risk of oil starvation. They certainly arent expensive to do. Next thing would be to get some air to your brakes, plenty of guides on here on how people have routed hoses from the front bumper to cool the brakes. Next would be the geo, make sure you have no sticky bolts and the geo is done correctly. corner weighting is good, if you can afford it.

If you've replaced the rad, make sure you've flushed the system a few times then put in some honda coolant (as opposed to an off-the-shelf product). Get good tyres and a good set of pads. (DS2500 are recommended on here, you can go with dixcels if your wallet permits) Most people make the mistake of getting grooved / drilled disks, and then shit pads. Get standard solid disks, and use the money you've saved on getting good pads.

Replacing the rear brace tightens up the back. Most people have done it themselves by buying a piece of stainless steel bar off ebay, and drilling in the exact holes. Search this for more info, or alternatively plenty of 3rd party companies do a rear brace to purchase; if you cant be bothered making one.

Get some-sort of gauges to monitor the following:

1. Engine oil pressure
2. Engine oil temperatures
3. Coolant temperatures
4. Gearbox oil temperature

The first two are a must, the last two are recommended. You can get gauges that do two functions, (so one gauge can monitor both engine oil temperature and coolant temperature) so you dont end up lining your dash with gauges, or wherever you decide to mount them.

Think thats about it?

 

Thanks for a detailed response

I should have been clearer, I am using the S2000 engine and 'box in a mk1 MX5, the rest of the car is well sorted for the track.

An engine oil temp gauge is on the list but I hadn't considered a gauge for the gearbox, a very sensible suggestion, thanks.
The other two I already have.

I'm hoping there is someone that can give absolute guidance about the sump from experience. I will fit one sooner or later, I'm just trying to establish if it's a must have before my first trackday in the car or one that can be done down the line.

 

MB, razelle and winfreak on here are track veterans. However, if you look at the problem logically; then as you're going round a corner at speed, oil will move from one side of the sump to another when the sump is not baffled. At that moment, the oil pump is unable to pull up any oil from the sump. Thats the reality of it. What range of problems that may cause, is another matter best answered by the folks I've mentioned earlier.

 

I never heard of anyone monitoring gear box oil temp, even in the hottest climates here in the States. Nor have I heard of anyone with hot gear box issues or of a gear box cooler.

Lots of stuff on baffled oil pans:

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/108...thoughts-here/
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/937...l-panaccusump/

 

The Racing forum is probably well worth a look for you, even if it is mostly related to F20C equipped S2000s https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/forum/11-...peed-ventures/

The general consensus is that you probably don't really need a baffled sump if you are using road tyres, but it's a good idea if you're using R compounds.

Given the relatively low cost of a baffled sump vs the cost of a ruined engine, on balance, I'd suggest it's a good idea.

 

Hi Matt, it's Ron.

Just make sure your oil is full and you'll have no problems

I'm putting one in the SR2, but I'll eventually run that on slicks and the engine needs to come out, hence the baffle.

 

Hi and welcome!

I done a lot of reading and decided to fit one before I tracked the car. Lots of stories of failures especially running decent tires. I have the ballade sports one, as do a few others, and haven't had a problem yet (I am on ad08r's though so maybe not sticky enough to cause problems even without a baffle!).

In my eyes it's £200 that could save a circa £1800 quid engine. Best to be safe etc etc

Ps. We need pictures

 

What you describe happens on transverse engined cars. I doubt oil would get away from the pick up on cornering if you look at the design of the S2000 sump - it's quite deep where the pick up is. It may well all slosh to the front under braking though and starve the pick up then, and the problem would be worse on list 1B tyres. The aftermarket baffles are all oriented to try to stop the oil sloshing to the front under braking.

I have baffled the sump as it's such a cheap mod for peace of mind.

 

Thanks for the thoughts gents, Ron, I was hoping you would see this and shed some light.

I will get a baffle plate and spare sump bought and just get it fitted when I can, it's a little more involved on the mx5 so not such a small job. Best keep the full slicks in reserve until I get it fitted though!

Are there any other potential weak points? Any hoses that perish/burst/leak or anything else I may have overlooked?

Picture of the car, not much to look at but it's a case of function over form:



And a quick clip of the former (somewhat less powerful) incarnation at Cadwell as a taste of what's to come:

http://youtu.be/X65c7dqve7A