FJ Land speed racer

[racerrad8]

Excellent reports and success so far.

Good news finding the alternator issue and getting it repaired.

Hopefully tomorrow runs off smoothly and the fastest documented FJ will be the reward.

Keep up the good work, be careful and most of all...have fun.

Is Alan going to make it as the crew this year?

I'll be around if you have any questions.

Randy - RPM

[fj1289]

Thanks Randy!

Frustrated by the lack of runs due to the elecritical gremlin — but very pleased with the two runs we made - both very solid runs and a great base to build from. 

Yes, we get Alan for the rest of the weekend - he will be a huge help. 

Starting off tomorrow with another motor only pass for Bailey - want to see if the slightly rich mixture was caused by the voltage correction tables being s bit off (not unexpected with modified injectors) and it adding too much pulse width to compensate for the low voltage.  Either way we will hone the tune a little from his run and then I'll go out with 50 on the first stage and 50 on the second for a total of 100.  That should put us in the high 180's to low 190's.  And we will continue from there!

[fj1289]

Another long rough day.  High points - Bailey ran 162mph on motor!  I later upped my motor only best to 158 (up from 149 last year!) — but it was supposed to be a nitrous run (forgot to rearm the system when we did an immediate return from an aborted run).  Aborted run?  Total electrical fail wire after the 1-2 shift.  Dead dash, nothing functioning.   Get off course, get off the bike to take off gloves, jacket, and helmet to start pushing the bike back to the pits - hey what's this?!  My dead-man tether came out during the run - and did exactly what it was supposed to do!  Plugged it back in and we were good to go again. 

The whole day we have been having problems with the nitrous system.  Think the new (new last year) ECU either may not be able to play nicely in such close proximity to the coils, shift solenoid, and nitrous solenoids (especially being pulsed).  We keep getting random ECU resets probably caused by some electrical noise.  Already have diodes on the shift solenoid and the nitrous solenoids (although shouldn't be needed since they are run thru solid state relays.   

Plan for tomorrow is to go a bit midevil on it - lowering the shift point to 8700 rpm or so to stay below the rpms the resets seem to occur at (above 9000 rpms) and go fixed hit on the nitrous solenoids.  Guess we'll find out how hard we can hit the nitrous in second gear (I've done a 50 HO fixed hit in the past - hopefully we can get up to 75 HP ......)

If we can keep it running smooth and can get a total of 150HP of nitrous through it I think we can peg 200.  Getting much more than that may be a bit hairy with just two stages of nitrous at our disposal. 

Nitrous bottles are full and the truck loaded - time for bed!

[fj1289]

Well, after a great start, we pretty much got our teeth kicked in this year. 

The 175mph on the small 50 HP nitrous shot was our best of the weekend.  Other high points were me running 158 mph on motor is Saturday - up from 149mph last year.  My son ripped off a 162 mph pass on motor (skinny little fucker! plus he had a small tailwind).  He topped out on Sunday with a 170 mph on a 75 HP nitrous shot.  So he left with a 170 mph t-shirt!  He rode really well and rode smart this weekend - very proud of his efforts. 

I capped the weekend off with a nice "little" nitrous backfire through the throttle bodies.  Alan saw the the fireball from the starting line (about half a mile behind me!).  Most of it exited down and left behind the generator.  Felt heat in my lap and left foot.  First thought was the engine had just let go - looked down for oil on my left boot and it was clean!  Then thought I'd it had been that much oil I probable wouldn't still be upright!  As I slowed down and coasted to the end I noticed some scorch marks on the vents of the side panels and realized it had been a nitrous fire.  Scorched the left leg of the leathers and left boot:

[fj1289]

The problems we experienced this year were disappointing and unexpected since the bike had behaved really well in all the testing at Bandimere and Pueblo dragstrips.  Since neither my son nor I have NHRA competition licenses, we had to run slower than 9.99 seconds in the quarter mile and stay below 135 mph.  Staying out of the 9's was no problem since we kept with landspeed gearing and didn't do drag- style high rpm launches.  Staying below 135 mph was the hard part - a decent run on a 50 HP shot put us in the upper 130's (usually 137-139 mph).  The tracks let that slide but would step in if we went faster than that. 

Most of our problems came at speeds and horsepower levels higher than that - areas we couldn't test in. 

We seemed to have 4 or 5 main problems this time around.  First was the alternator - but once we found that, it was easily resolved.  Second, the speed sensor became unreliable over 150 or so mph.  This became an issue since we were using speed to control the nitrous progression on the runs.   When the sensor became erratic, the nitrous would start turning off and on randomly when it should have been on steady.  We eventually reverted to manually activating the nitrous on a time based progression.  Third issue - we never could get the engine to burn well with more than a 50 HP shot of nitrous this year.  Really frustrating on a few accounts - it's run very well up to 150 HP shot previously, and we have a much better handle on the tuning now since learning to calculate the needed fuel for the nitrous being used based on weight.  Fourth issue that raised its head was the bike refused to shift into fourth gear when on anything more than a 50 shot of nitrous - also not an issue we've had before.  Last issue was a strange, random reset issue with the ECU.  This was a problem last year, but wasn't noticed until after the fact when I was looking through the data lost a couple months later while learning about the nitrous to fuel ratio mentioned earlier.  For this year I had added a resister to the crank position sensor and added a diode to the shift solenoid.  This worked flawlessly until the next to last test session before the big event.  I then added diodes to the nitrous solenoids and that clearedit up for the final test session.  This raised its head again on Saturday.  The ECU resets are just like rebooting a computer in an instant.  Everything it was controlling ceases in an instant and then returns - no spark, no injector pulse, nitrous system shuts off, etc.  then everything returns.  It happens so quick that unless the nitrous system is on or you are about maxed out on speed, you don't even notice it.  The bigger problem with the speed sensor or gear change problems or reset issues is they usually resulted in burnt plugs — I'm assuming the fuel and nitrous and timing didn't all jump off and on in exact synch as a result of these issues.  Sometimes it would burn #4, sometimes 2 & 3, sometimes 2, 3, & 4, but never #1?  And the second stage of nitrous never ran well - never fully figured out if it was an anomaly with the second stage, or if it was really a result of one of the other issues (speed sensor, shifting issue, ECU reset, etc). 

[fj1289]

As we peeled back each of these issues and found work arounds, it built up to the final run.  Getting late on the last day, we are down to using just the first stage of nitrous (but we are back to a progressive shot), trying to keep the rpms below 9000 to avoid the ECU resets, and now not spraying until 4th gear to avoid the shifting issue.   About the only options left are to load up the 150 jet on the 1st stage, foot shift through 4th gear, and activate the nitrous and rev out 4th to the end of the mile (we were geared 18/29 - yes 29!) and should be able to get 205 mph if the ECU doesn't reset (hoping the second stage was causing interference that caused the resets). 

I'm guessing I tried to progress too much nitrous too quickly in too high of a gear and it must have backed up in the intake.  Live and learn!  One more nitrous lesson learned.  Amazingly, the engine still seems to run just fine!  So, at least we didn't kill this engine for the second year in a row!  Although I do have quite a bit of wiring and fuel lines that need to be replaced now!

[fj1289]

For anyone wondering, this project is not dead!

It did not get to turn a wheel in anger this year mostly due to the sudden and permanent cancellation of the Colorado Mile race event just hours before registration was to open.    At the time I was neck deep in rewiring the entire bike AGAIN (I think this is total re-wire number six).  Why?  This time to swap over to a Holley HP ECU.  Although I feel fairly well versed in Megasquirt/Microsquirt, some nagging troubles the last couple years have given me reason to pursue other options.   Although I still have a bit of a learning curve to climb with the Holley system, there should be help available to get past any hurdles and the system seems better suited to a full race focused setup - especially with the heavy use of nitrous.   

Back on track again - or trying ......seems our luck is a bit sour as we've gotten two ECUs in a row with differing issues related to the sensor circuits.  First was very low voltage on the 5 volt sensor source - actual voltage 1.1 volts.  Next ECU, all sensors worked well except the system read 2.9 volts low for the system (battery) voltage.   Turns out for some reason, this ECU had the sensor ground plane 2.9 volts higher than the "system" ground (the battery, engine, frame, etc ground).  This is an issue due to the injector characterization tables that adjust the injector "dead time" vs system voltage - more voltage allows the injectors to open quicker and establish flow sooner; less voltage you have to add time to compensate for slower opening.  I can probably tune around this issue if I had to, but no reason to voluntarily add issues when there are already plenty that will show up during a race weekend. 

So, UPS should be handing that ECU to Holley this afternoon.   Hoping third try is the charm...

[Pat Conlon]

I tried to Google with no results, Chris, what was the reason for the cancellation?

[fj1289]

Pat, I'm pretty sure it was a matter of more time and effort than they wanted to spend vice the money made.  They decided to focus just on the Texas Mile.  Here is the content of the email they sent: (to add insult to injury, notice the tag line at the end for the fundraiser they had sponsored in Texas at the end of the Colorado Mile cancellation letter)

"Dear Colorado Mile Fans and Participants,

As we have communicated previously, we have been carefully evaluating the viability of The Colorado Mile for our team based on time commitments, staffing, event support, equipment/services, expenses, and investment weighed against spectator, participant and sponsorship commitments.

We have concluded that we need to focus our resources, time and finances here at home with The Texas Mile and enhancing the foundation we have formed over the past 16 years. We have moved our warehouse office to Victoria, Texas and we are becoming more a part of the Victoria community. This month, we participated in the charity event - Bikes, Trikes and PowerWheels Show at Velocity PowerSports and have plans to do more and more in Victoria.

Though we love Colorado and the relationships we have formed from the event, our small-family run business cannot support the extensive cost in money, time and resources it entails to orchestrate The Colorado Mile at the level we are committed to doing with our events. We will no longer be conducting The Colorado Mile. We appreciate the support of everyone who has been coming out to the Colorado Mile. We cherish the times we shared and all the new friends we made along the way.

On behalf of the U.S. Mile team, we appreciate all of you and look forward to the October 18-20, 2019 Texas Mile at The Victoria Regional Airport in Victoria, Texas, which is just a couple of hours outside of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. Registration for The Texas Mile is on August 11, 2019 at 5pm central. Spaces are limited so be sure to mark your calendars to ensure you get a spot!


God's Speed,

Shannon Matus
Owner / CFO
The U.S. Mile Top Speed Racing Events
The Texas Mile

&

Ashley Flores
Director of Operations
The U.S. Mile Top Speed Racing Events
The Texas Mile
Here are a few photos from the Bikes, Trikes, and PowerWheels charity car show supporting the Vine School and The Ronald McDonald House-Houston. "

[fj1289]

As upset as I was about the cancellation - I thought about doing the East Coast Timing Association (the group that used to run the Maxton Mile - the "grand daddy" of 1 Mile events) in Blytheville Arkansas.  Problem is, my wife's uncle has a very nice 98 corvette with an LS3 swap he wants to run again (ran the Colorado Mile last year).  The ECTA will make him install a 4 point roll bar before he can run - Texas Mile won't.  So, the Texas Mile it is then. 

So plans are to run the Texas Mile (March 27-29th)

[fj1289]

Well, NOT making the March Texas Mile - too many family obligations this spring that demand the time and funds. 

Finally have the bike running on the Holley HP ECU.  Been a few headaches getting to this point, but think we've got it figured out finally.   The ECU went back to Holley twice - once to be replaced and once to get "un-bricked".  Thought it was going back a third time, but figured out a trick to "reviving" the ECU when it won't/can't communicate with the laptop.   

Now, of course, I can't get out of the driveway because of snow!  Still intend to get a rough tune built for this engine, tear it down to inspect and refresh, and be ready to start getting some track time in late March or early April.  May try to run the 1/2 mile event in Independence Kansas put on by https://airstripattack.co/

Also working to get enough bikes committed to run Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack in June.  For some reason, the Colorado Springs airport requires additional insurance for motorcycles to run in that event (even though the runway is longer and wider!) - it takes 20 entries to break even on the insurance costs. 

Finally, talking with a local racer about the Pikes Peak Airstrip attack - found out he is going to the invitational race at Spaceport America in NM.  He is working with those organizers (ECTA - they run the Arkansas race - formerly at Wilmington, DE and originally Maxton, NC) to bring back a mile race at Front Range Airport in Denver again. 

So, looks like we'll be flexible with the plans for fall ....

[FJ1200W]

Independence came up and that looked interesting. I did not see where they allowed bikes?
Great thread going here!

[fj1289]

I emailed to confirm.  Bikes are included at Independence - Pikes Peak is the only one that doesn't.  That said - the cars at last year's Piles Peak Airstrip Attack we're running speeds at the 1/2 mile 10-20 mph higher than the top speeds at the Colorado Mile. 

[FJ1200W]

I emailed to confirm.  Bikes are included at Independence - Pikes Peak is the only one that doesn't.  That said - the cars at last year's Piles Peak Airstrip Attack we're running speeds at the 1/2 mile 10-20 mph higher than the top speeds at the Colorado Mile. 

That is so tempting.......

I'm pretty sure I can't have my motor ready by then, plus a half a dozen other things.....

If nothing else, it would be fun to watch.

[fj1289]

So, why make a major change and swap to the Holley HP ECU?

The Megasquirt/Microsquirt are very capable ECUs.   First time running with the Microsquirt we managed to run 198 mph - but there were compromises with that setup.  One of the compromises required using an external nitrous controller and a Dyna shift counter.    This ended up turning a single shifting error - that should have just resulted in a less than perfect run - into a blown engine. 

The next year we stepped up to a Megasquirt - MS3X model.   This has the capability to run two stages of progressive dry nitrous.  Problem solved!  Or so I thought.  That year we started with a few issues including bending some valves on a test run, oil leaks on the first three runs, and melting some spark plugs.  Swapped injectors (and a coil) to resolve the plug problem - then had difficulties getting the tune right with the larger injectors.  The last day of the meet we were finally starting to build some speed,  but blew the clutch basket on the final run (I decided to to run the stock basket vice a billet basket that year - bad decision on my part!).  Later, reviewing data logs I noticed some ECU resets - a problem we've had intermittently.  That may have been responsible for the melted plugs.  But, we left with the engine still in one piece (minus the clutch basket!).

Cleaned up the clutch basket mess, put a billet basket back into it and had the bike up and running early and got a lot of testing and tuning in for the next year.  Also got my son on the bike for the first time and got him the seat time needed to be ready to run the mile.   Only issue we had (with the ECU) during tuning was with the nitrous system not working properly when we added a second stage of nitrous to the tune.   Turned out the programming (in the firmware!) for the dry nitrous system had a bug in it!  Can't believe we were the first people to find this flaw.  The developers quickly sent us a patch and resolved the issue the week prior to the event!  I was so confident in the setup and tune that our first run off the trailer was a 50 shot of nitrous and it ran 175 mph - exactly what we expected.  From then on, any more nitrous and it wouldn't shift cleanly in the upper gears which would also result in random melted plugs.  No matter what we tried, we couldn't get it to shift cleanly on large nitrous loads.   After the second day we had to drive all over Denver to scrounge up a couple more sets of plugs - we had burned through the original set and two sets of spares!  Final attempt at a big number had us foot shift to fifth, then progress in one large load of nitrous.  Think I tried progressing it too quickly and caused a large nitrous backfire (no mechanical damage - burnt a lot of wiring and ruined a pair of boots and a set of leathers - leather doesn't like open flames!) 

Thinking back through everything - especially the nitrous system software issues - I lost confidence that the Megasquirt system had been thoroughly tested and proven.  Especially so with regards how different software "routines" interacted with one another - such as the nitrous routine and the shift kill routine.   Also, despite all efforts (rewiring, filters, diodes, etc) we couldn't get rid of an intermittent ECU reset issue at high RPMs.  So I made the decision to move to a more "established" ECU.   

I selected the Holley for a couple main reasons.  First, a company called MPS Racing had been working with them for 10+ years on motorcycles and especially focused on dry nitrous.   They also had a weeded and labeled harness to simplify installation and was proven with their method of running the ECU.  MPS Racing had also figured out how to do the shift kill "in the box".  Secondly, the Holley ECU has the wideband O2 controller built into the ECU and is VERY "in-tune" with the O2 sensor - making fast and accurate closed loop changes based on the O2 sensor - even on nitrous.  There are many stories of nitrous cars losing fuel pressure during a run and the ECU making corrections fast enough they don't burn any pistons!  Or they don't even notice there is an issue until they review the datalogs and see the injector duty cycle going sky high (compensating for falling fuel pressure). 

Got this combo running a few weeks ago.   Have done very little testing so far - but am very impressed with the ECU so far.   I did have some issues with the stock VR style crankshaft sensor - as low as 2500 rpm.  Sync problems again - causing ECU resets   Adjusting filter settings in the software helped, but no guarantees this will work all the way up to redline.  To permanently squash this issue I just swapped the stock sensor out for a Hall style sensor.  Cranked with the new sensor first try.

Took a couple weeks to sort out the new crank sensor setup due to some more ECU issues.   Eventually traced it to the battery losing too much voltage while cranking (I'm sure temps in the teens in the garage don't help!). 

The past week I've managed to get a couple easy test runs on the bike to sort out basic tuning and tweak the crank sensor settings.   Now that I've learned how to work a bit better with the Holley ECU I'm not tempted to rip it all out and start all over again, AGAIN!

This week it's time to start tearing down the street engine, swap the transmission, freshen up bearings, rings, and valves.