148 mph at Loring
 

Hey, folks:

Just thought I'd share a video of my latest land-speed escapades in the HHR. This was my first pass at Loring AFB in Limestone, ME, last weekend, and as it turns out, it was also my best (and that's with the missed shift at the beginning of the run, which I'm sure you'll notice). I ended up going 148 in the 1.5 mile (143 in the mile), and then had some backfiring and power loss in subsequent runs. If you remember what the car looks like, the intercooler is completely blocked off by the enclosed front bumper cover, and I think that's a big part of the problem, so I'll be cutting a nice big window in there for more breathability at Ohio in September. Anyway, enjoy!

Nice run thanks for sharing, looks very stable @ 148. What were the wind conditions?

Are you monitoring anything during a run? I.E. Data logger for engine information like HPTuners VCM Scanner. That would provide info as to the backfiring and power loss.

I also have an aeroforce but things then to get very busy when you are covering a lot of ground in a hurry.

Sorry, full of questions.......

Cool running !

Hey, Dennis...wind was pretty calm that day. Then we had a big tail wind the following day and I went slower... :-) I logged every run on the VCM scanner, but I'm pretty much a newbie with HP Tuners, so I may have the guys at ZZP take a look at them--I didn't even have the command AFR monitored on the first three runs, and when I tried to add that PID to the table display for the last two runs, it didn't work. So...baby steps. The one thing I did notice was that my intake air temps were in the red on every run, and that's what leads me to think that I need to fab a direct air opening in the bumper cover for the IC--the indirect air that's getting in there isn't doing the job. As far as stability goes, the front end was definitely hunting a bit, but overall it was a pretty smooth ride...

keep us up date on your OHIO run i plan on going and watching if i dont work

Gary,
You said your IAT's were in the red.... what were the temps? Did you measure before and after the intercooler, IAT 1 IAT 2?

If your going to be a lot of runs like that consider a water to air intercooler and you won't have to put the hole in the bumper. You'll have to carry the added weight of the water and required tubing/line to and from the intercooler but you won't have to open up the nose which could make it feel light in the nose. The trade off in some cases is worth it in the long run. Your runs aren't that long and your motor will like it much better

If you have the scans if you send me a copy along with the config file you were using I may be able to help you add the commanded versus logged. If you are looking at AFR, use lambda and make your life easier.. PM me if you like.

Walkowg, I'll definitely keep you posted on Ohio (I'm always scrounging around for people to belt me in, anyway :lol:)...

Dennis, thanks very much for your offer--I may try to send you some of the logs. I get the basic concept of lambda being the way to go when tuning your AFR (everything's based on 1, correct?), but again, I'm kind of flying blind at this point, which probably isn't the best thing to do with a performance car. :scared: In any case, I'm not touching the tune (Matt at ZZP did it), and I'm trying to stay as conservative as possible. I'm totally open to a water-to-air IC (weight's not really a big factor in land-speed racing), but I may not be able to act on that before the Ohio race, and I'm probably going to be replacing that front bumper anyway when I get the car painted (it's currently dipped)...

Gary

I don't blame you for not touching the tune. You are correct with regards to lambda, everything is based on 1, 1 is stoich for any fuel.

Look here for more information. How to run your LS1 on E85

Talk to ZZP about using E85, would be less money you would be further ahead than racing fuels. Just a thought......

Also, a methanol spray would help cool the intake charge but you would need spray ahead of the IAT to have the ECM compensate. Not trying to confuse, just trying to provide beneficial information... There are a number of different ways to solve an issue, you need to find what will work for you.

Would a CO2 bar sprayer on the intercooler help? Not much weight added and should keep the cooler nice and frosty.

Since our naughty word filter will cut out the word I'd like to use, and no I'm not going to disable it just because I want to say "Man alive Buddy, that's haulin ***!"

So how about...

Man alive Buddy, that's transporting Donkeys!!:twothumbs:

And the naughty word filter is the reason that changing the coolant on an HHR requires opening the "Drain Chicken" on the radiator, ain't we a hot mess at times?:D

X2. This sounds awesome. I never knew there was land speed racing in OH! We wouldn't be ready this year but maybe for next. I'll definitely try and come with the wife and kids. Work is crazy right now, 7 days/week 11hrs/day! Madness

When they were doing the tune this winter, they actually asked me if I wanted them to tune it for E85. And I, like a dumbass, said no, just tune it for 93... :roll: So, of course, now I'd like to tune it for E85, which would probably mean new injectors but which I know would make it run a lot cooler. And in fact, I've been running VP's C10 (which is around 96 octane) instead of pump 93 anyway, and it's been fine. So I'll probably end up doing the E85.

And, per you and celblazer, I also thought about doing an IC sprayer, and in fact I actually bought some parts to try to make my own (I know there are kits, but my cheap gene sometimes acts up...). But in the end, I basically just ran out of time. But yeah, that's also a definite possibility...

Gary

It's a lot of fun, and the land-speed community is the best. It's really one of the last truly grassroots racing scenes around, and the variety of cars is completely crazy and cool--everything from 250 mph bikes and cars (Brad Keselowski's dad runs one of Brad's old NASCAR cars) to Nissan Leafs. Just bring your daily-driver HHR and run the mile--that's what I did two years ago, and look where it got me! :eek:

Gary

LOL...thanks, man. Honestly, the car gets a lot of attention, usually along the lines of, "Wow...that's sure an interesting choice for a land-speed car..." :lol: But that's why I love it!

Wait we can drive the mile too?! I'll have to find the link you posted so I can check the rules.

You can drive up to 135 mph with nothing more than a full-face helmet and half-inch lug nuts. Above 135, there are stricter and stricter cage and suit requirements, depending on how fast you want to go. I basically had this thing built for Bonneville, so I can pretty much tech anywhere with it...

Here's the ECTA's site:

http://www.ecta-lsr.com

Gary

Thanks Gary! I'm looking into it. 135 is more than enough. I have been talking with ZZP and several others. I'm very interested in running E85.

Seems we're limited by the di pump. In order to address this ZZP has an intake cam with a larger fuel lobe. I'm looking at this as well as the opel injector setup. They also recommend changing the in tank pump to an E85 safe version.

It is also my understanding there are no flex fuel tables in our ecm. So once tuned for it you've got to run E85 unless you change your tune back.

I was thinking of building another cobalt/hhr around the rebuilt gen 2 motor. Now I'm thinking tube chassis mid engine:twothumbs:, just for fun of course!!

In my case, I'm actually running the original LE5 head (from the stock 2.4 block) on a 2.0 LDK block, so I'm still port-injected rather than direct...

I've often wondered if the 2.4 head fits on the 2.0 block, or the 2.2 head on either the 2.4 or 2.0, so no VVT.

Interesting.... then the your tune would be nothing close to an LNF tune... it would be closer to an LS with a turbo. Tell me you changed the pistons though....

No, but the plan is probably to swap in a forged short block this winter...

Still cast (with fingers crossed at 360 hp) but planning to go with all forged internals this winter. Should have just done that originally, I know, but since there was so much being done to the car in a short period of time (engine swap, automatic to six-speed swap, plus full cage, fire suppression, chute and other safety stuff), a little bit of sticker-shock set in and I sort of tempered my power goals :eek: Now, of course, I want to go faster. But at least the car is built, teched and running, so I can focus pretty solely on engine upgrades in the coming years...

Understand the sticker shock thing. Good luck, and be safe.

When are you running Ohio?