FJ Land speed racer

[fj1289]

Overall, good night at the track Wednesday.  A bit frustrating at times, but overall a good result.  Definitely want another test session before the Colorado Mile though.  

Last pass of the night – 75 HP nitrous shot in second gear, progressed from 40% to 100% over 1.5 seconds.  Terminal speed 136 mph.  The tune was still well rich so there's more speed to be had on that tune while still keeping it safe.  
https://youtu.be/WP_VtJ0Alsc

First run went fairly well, no nitrous, good shakedown run, forgot to turn on the GoPro and a little sloppy on the shift points.  I stop at the scales after getting my time slip.  Bike weighs in at 530 pounds – holy cow she's heavy!  755 pounds with me in all my gear on it – holy cow I'm heavy too!  Working on the last one – trying to be down 10 – 20 pounds for the CO Mile.  
Second run – 50 HP shot all in on the shift to 2nd gear – forgot to arm the nitrous system.  UGH.  Knew it wasn't right as soon as I shifted to second – got it armed at the top of second.  And then the bike just dies just past the 1000' point (at which time a wicked fast turbo Monte Carlo blows by in the other lane with 20+ mph in hand – startled the hell out of me!).  Bike won't restart and once I get stopped I notice the fuel pump isn't running.  CRAP!  First thought in my mind is I've burned up another fuel pump or some wiring (thought I smelled that nasty sweet odor of electrical parts or wiring melting/buning.  Nothing obvious at this point – can't pull the seat or side panels until I get back to the pits.  It's a pretty long way to push the 530 pound beast while wearing the cow suit back to the pits.  Finally make it and change out of the leathers – hoping I only have to do a rewire of the pump at this point – I can hear the fuel pump relay clicking so things don't seem as bad as it could be...  Get the seat and side panels off (seat and sidepanels have a small button head allen bolt holding them in place) and don't see any signs of disaster.  Relived and confused.  Look around a bit more and notice the fuse for the fuel pump has come out of the fuse block and is setting next to the nitrous controller!  Put it back in and the bike cranks right back up!  Best trackside fix ever!  Out comes the gaffers tape to make sure NONE of the fuses come out like that again.  
Third run was the smoothest of the night – all the datalogging worked, GoPro worked, nitrous system armed, and hit the shift points well.  Picked up 5 mph on the 50 HP tune with a 129 mph trap speed.   Still too rich – 10.3 AFR – lean it out another 10%.  There's probably another 5 mph or so trap speed to be had on this tune while keeping it safe.  Launches are still fairly rough – clutch/throttle coordination not as smooth as last time out.
https://youtu.be/6UuWXFnxWBk



Talked a bit with some guys that were sorting out an old-school Kawasaki – a KZ900 backhalfed chassis with a 300 rear tire instead of a car-tire slick.  Shortened USD forks, rigid rear, LOW, stout engine, nice paint, full lights – nice build.  Turns out the nephew helping out has tuned ProStock and ProStreet and has ridden ProStreet.  I take his name and number down for when we put this bike back into dragstrip mode.  He's got another old-school Kawi with a Busa back-half and is interested in the EFI conversion.  I take his advice on the launches and they are quicker and smoother for the rest of the night.

Fourth run was a mess – forgot to turn on the nitrous bottle, but did arm the system.  There was a clean up in one lane so I had to kill the engine and wait (I was "on deck" at the time).  Got it cleaned up very quickly and the bike wouldn't restart.  Crack the throttle – no good.  Opened the fast idle – it starts.  Good launch, but as soon as I shift to second, it breaks up and bogs down due to the extra fuel added but no nitrous to go with it.  Roll out a bit (TPS has to be over 90% for the nitrous to be activated) and it runs well, go to WOT and it bogs again.  
Fifth run, forgot to arm the nitrous system again.  Good launch, but no nitrous until I arm it at top of second and then blow the shift to third. Frustrated by all the rider errors tonight – just not on top of my game it seems.  

I keep trying to get a good clean run to check both the AFR as well as the amount of time it takes to accelerate through 2nd on the nitrous.   The plan is to base the nitrous progression on that time.  Despite getting the data I wanted, I decide to setup for a 75 HP shot and set the nitrous controller to start at 40% in 2nd gear and progress to 100% in 1.5 seconds.  I set the ECU to start at and estimated 60% of the added fuel needed (more than the nitrous starting percentage to be safe) and then be "full in" in 1.4 seconds (again, keeping the fuel delivery a little ahead of the nitrous progression).  I'm one of the last vehicles in line to run at the end of the night and the engine won't start!  I think the battery is tired of playing for the night!  We try the jump box but it doesn't help.  Last car has gone down the strip – last ditch effort we touch the positive cable on the jump box to the starter cable coming out of the starter relay.  It starts!  Hurry up, line up and go.  Good launch and the run feels good.  So, we took a little gamble – but kept everything to the conservative side on the tune.  We're rewarded with a nice pass and 136 mph trap speed on a very rich tune.  So, not a smooth night, but good in the end.  

[Pat Conlon]

Chris, are you solo or do you have help in the pits? An assistant with a preflight check list?

[FJmonkey]

Chris, are you solo or do you have help in the pits? An assistant with a preflight check list?

If he has an assistant then they need a good firing. 

[fj1289]

For the dragstrip testing I'm basically solo.  I can't always get my son out there to help (it's good when a teenager has a job!)  We did talk about setting up a checklist and assigning duties that night - and I enlisted him and a friend of his to help for the last couple runs.  We'll be putting the checklist down on paper and "test fly" it next time out.  I'll make sure I've got someone there next go to make it somewhat of a dress rehearsal for the CO Mile.  I've never had a crew with me at the dragstrip - that would have probably helped a lot over the years too!    

There will also be a "between rounds" checklist to make sure everything that gets messed with gets back in place!  The new datalogger worked well - but I lost data on the last three runs because a didn't put the SD card back in it after the third run.    Last night was definitely frustrating with the all the small errors -- just we were lucky enough to catch things before anything bad happened!  I really need to make sure the datalogging is reliable so we can make changes before hurting parts.  I also noticed last night that we may need to up the injector size again.  Right now I'm running "pink" injectors from a WRX STi - and we were approaching 80% duty cycle already.  Granted the nitrous tunes are still a bit rich, but I think we will be exceeding 80% once we get up to 100 HP on the nitrous.  There's a set of "decapped" blue injectors from a WRX setting on the bench now -- hopefully they don't flow so much that getting the engine to idle will be a factor.  Pretty sure I'll be installing those and retuning as required over the next couple weeks.  I'm planning to head back out to Bandimere July 27th for a final test session weather permitting.  If not, maybe a backup on August 3rd.  

[Firehawk068]

Chris,
Give me a good amount of "Heads-up" and I'll be your assistant in the pits.
If I know enough ahead of time, I can make sure to be able to go.
It was too short notice this week.

Also, I can come meet you at your place a few days ahead of time, and we can go over a checklist, and what you would want my duties to be in the pits.
Going solo is tough. There are too many things you need to be reminded of, especially with the project you are trying to put together.
I'll give you a hand.

[fj1289]

Thanks Alan - was going to send you a PM.   

Plan is for Wed, July 27th, with Aug 3rd as a backup.  Really prefer the 27th since I'm supposed to leave for Jordan on Aug 4th to pick up a plane (scheduled to get back on the Aug 17th - starting to get uncomfortable again!  At least we've got a running bike this year!)

Are you interested in crewing for the CO Mile too?   Would be good to have the help - even of for just part of the time. 

Anyone that would be interested in crewing would be welcome. 

[fj1289]

Did some more on the tail section today.  Started this morning with two layers of fiberglass - one layer of fiberglass mat and one layer of fiberglass cloth. 



This afternoon I followed up with a can of spray foam.  It definitely requires some technique. Half way through I'm thinking I'm so screwed!  It's drying now and looking a bit better.   I'll try shaping it some in the morning - looks like it will be too gummy tonight to be able to work with it tonight. 






Most of it will get sanded off, especially the sides. 


Also found a Baxley wheel chock on Craigslist!  (He had three listed - I got the first one)  I lost two of these when my trailer was stolen several years ago.  These are  hands down the best wheel chocks I've ever used or seen.   I had the sport bike wheel chock last time -- this one appears to be their original one and is adaptable to a variety of wheel sizes. 

[fj1289]

Worked on the tail some more this morning and realized the mistake I made.  I needed to make the buck smaller to allow room for the spray foam.   I also realized the current buck and foam would be a good start for a larger, more aero tail.   



The idea for the larger tail is to extend it about 4-6 inches to the rear (no farther back than a vertical line from the back edge of the rear tire) and "fill in" the spoiler to create a single smooth line all the way back.  I'll also raise the front of the tail section as high as the rules for MPS (modified partial streamlining) allows - 36" above the ground with the rider seated.  It'll be interesting to compare that to the "seat cowl" mod and compare to the stock style seat. 

I removed the original buck and foam and set them aside for the large aero tail later, and restarted the seat cowl project.  This buck is about an inch smaller all around to allow room for the foam.  The first two layers of fiberglass are curing now.  After shaping the foam it will be covered with another couple layers of fiberglass to create a "sandwich" and should be a light weight but strong structure. 



For the large aero tail project - does anyone have a seat base (any year) or an 84/85 tail section they'd be willing to donate?

[fj johnnie]

 I have plenty of seat pans. Pm me your address and I will send you one.

[fj1289]

I have plenty of seat pans. Pm me your address and I will send you one.

Thanks fj johnnie!    .  PM sent.  It will get put to good use!   I had originally planned to wait until next year to try a more aero tail - but I'd like to push that up for this year! 

[Firehawk068]

Are you interested in crewing for the CO Mile too?   Would be good to have the help - even of for just part of the time. 

Anyone that would be interested in crewing would be welcome. 

I just checked the dates on this...............................If it wasn't being held on Labor Day weekend, I would love to help you for this event also................But, I already have a camping trip planned for that weekend..............

[fj1289]

Are you interested in crewing for the CO Mile too?   Would be good to have the help - even of for just part of the time. 

Anyone that would be interested in crewing would be welcome. 

I just checked the dates on this...............................If it wasn't being held on Labor Day weekend, I would love to help you for this event also................But, I already have a camping trip planned for that weekend..............

No worries - it's a tough date as the final "end of summer" family time for most people.  We'll have family coming into town for it - again.  Be nice to actually have some visiting time instead of just thrashing all hours to get ready.

Still interested in the 27th of this month?

[Firehawk068]

Still interested in the 27th of this month?

Yes.
I will plan on meeting you there. I'll have to work that Wednesday, but I'll come over right from work.

[fj1289]

Yes.
I will plan on meeting you there. I'll have to work that Wednesday, but I'll come over right from work.

No worries - put together a strawman checklist today -- I'll go over it tonight and tomorrow.  I'll use a couple tuning runs with the larger injectors to "test fly" the checklists. 

[Tekime]

This has been a fascinating thread to read. I stayed up far too late last night following your journey thus far.. and I'm hooked! I can't wait to see how things come together for the Mile this year. Even it she isn't a 200MPH bike yet, I have every confidence she will be!

Chris, your dedication to this effort is astounding. Randy, your engine work is beautiful and a thrill just to read about. Thank you both for taking the time to share all the details, the great photos, and to everyone else contributing their knowledge/support to this effort. Just reading this thread has been very educational for me.

Looking forward to future updates and checking out those runs on YouTube. Chris.. it must have felt great when you got a clean run in and finally felt that NOS work it's magic!!

Cool stuff. If it weren't for geography I'd offer to help out at the track in a heartbeat. I'll certainly be following along on this journey from a distance though!

Best of luck my friends!