Congratulations to Patrick Chio for his 2nd place finish in the Modified RWD class in Round 6 of the 2013 Redline Time Attack race! He has been a top contender in this series with 1st/2nd place finishes. Recently he added a Vortech supercharger and this compounded the 350z’s high oil temp issues under hot race conditions. Read Patrick’s report and how Z Car Garage helped tune his 350 to survive the blistering temperatures and demands of the Auto Club Speedway:
Due to a City Tech Auto Body track day at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca we missed the practice day on Saturday. Arriving on Sunday early morning we completed the check up, tech, registration and temperature was rising to 77 degrees right before our first session.
Auto Club Speedway is known to put a lot of stress on the motor because of the NASCAR banking at high speed. Our Z hit 5th gear, full throttle, 6k+ rpm on the bank over 140mph. During the first time attack session, our Z was able to keep the oil temperature just about 200F through out the whole session at around 82 degree ambient temperature. However, during the 2nd session ambient temperature rose up to 100F+. We saw many M3, STi and highly modified cars forced to pit after the 2nd lap. Despite the high heat, we managed to finish the full session and oil temperature reached 260F right before the checker flag.
We were amazed that a supercharged 350z was able to last the full session in this harsh environment. Rob and his crew at Z Car Garage have done an amazing job again keeping our time attack Z alive! Below is the video in one of the session (Count how many super cars we have passed):
Keep up the superb driving Patrick and thank you for letting ZCG work on your Time Attack Z!