The Quest for 275 MPH

[FST SNAKE]

The ice boxes are located behind the rear wheels, 1 on each side. The cap to load them is inside the rear hatch. I estimate about 8 gals per side and we will use just water ice to start with. The future plan is to have coils inside the water tanks and run C02 thru the lines to chill the water. I would think we could get the water below freezing using that method. The turbos feed directly into the water to air intercoolers and the cold side pipes exit the intercoolers just behind the differential. Both hot side and cold side pipes run together down the side sill and are insulated from each other. It's about the only way to do it with the rear mounted turbos. The tunnel has so many hoses and lines in it there isn't much more room. The dry sump tank being in the rear requires (3) -16 lines, then the fuel is -12 with -10 return along with a few others. It's getting really crowded in the rear hatch but I think we are close to finishing back there.

 

[FST SNAKE]

At this point every line/hose is connected, battery is wired up thru disconnect, nitrous lines, solenoids, and purge are completed. Plan is to start it up in next 7 to 9 days, let it go thru a few heat cycles and then shut it down. The following morning we will retorque the heads, have to do that because of the copper head gaskets. After that the dyno tune won't be far behind that and we will know where we are at on WHP and torque. Then it's a lot of little things to get

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it ready to run.

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[BoondocSaint]

While I'm reading how you have parts located/packaged in this car, it got me to wondering, what is an ideal weight bias in a car built to go the speeds you are looking to achieve? I'm sure some of the placement is just where things fit, but is weight distribution considered for anything more than how it effects your aero or suspension tuning?

 

[FST SNAKE]

We definitely have added weight over the rear wheels and probably less weight up front. Stock Vipers are close to 50/50 already and I would guess we have changed that slightly. Most of the items were placed in their current location based completely on what the design required with the rear turbos. Once its finished we will get a wet weight and see how much we changed that weight bias. A little more weight on the rear wheels should not effect anything for the type of racing I do.

 

[Goggles Pizano]

You will ice up the CO2 coils if you use straight water.

 

[FST SNAKE]

Very true, we will run some liquid that allows us to achieve temps below freezing. Probably be a little bit of an experiment to get the flow of C02 regulated correctly so we don't freeze the liquid to a solid. For our early testing we will just run water and ice and monitor the results.

 

[GTS Dean]

Antifreeze.

 

[Goggles Pizano]

Remember that liquid is going to freeze on the coils and start to reduce the heat transfer. Turbulent liquid flow around the coils will highly reduce icing but that also adds to wear on the coils (copper I'm assuming). The wear is very, very, very minor but still a factor. Adding a surfactant to the liquid well help too.

You can use windshield washer fluid as it contains surfactants to reduce surface tension of the liquid and is cheap on top of that too or you mix your own. Just confirm liquid compatible with your system components.

 

[Badsnek]

Can’t wait to see what numbers she throws down

 

[FST SNAKE]

I'm looking forward to seeing those numbers myself. If we finish in time to make a few passes in Arkansas it will mainly be used for shakedown. It will probably be 2025 before it's ready for a 275+ pass.

 

[FST SNAKE]

Afternoon all, we are closing in on the day Blucifer will once again roam the streets of Florida. Gearhead continues to finish up line items on that list. The PCM is coming alive, the Can Bus display is lit up and showing us information, the guys at ProEFI have been extremely helpful in getting a base tune to start with and once we start it they will assist us to make the numbers we need to break that 275 goal. Gearhead has all the lines run and connected to a manifold for boost control, exhaust pipes for turbos were turned 90 degrees and will exit thru the bumper, we will figure out a cool look for that later on, Fire Bottle Safety Systems refilled the bottles and brought the certifications up to date, and that shifter for the sequential looks like it is ready to row some gears. It's going to be a noisy ride, sequential transmissions always sounds like a supercharger to me with the straight cut gears, throw in the V10 up front, and the turbos behind me and I may need hearing aids before it's over. As soon as we have it started I will post a short video of that.

 

[Badsnek]

Afternoon all, we are closing in on the day Blucifer will once again roam the streets of Florida. Gearhead continues to finish up line items on that list. The PCM is coming alive, the Can Bus display is lit up and showing us information, the guys at ProEFI have been extremely helpful in getting a base tune to start with and once we start it they will assist us to make the numbers we need to break that 275 goal. Gearhead has all the lines run and connected to a manifold for boost control, exhaust pipes for turbos were turned 90 degrees and will exit thru the bumper, we will figure out a cool look for that later on, Fire Bottle Safety Systems refilled the bottles and brought the certifications up to date, and that shifter for the sequential looks like it is ready to row some gears. It's going to be a noisy ride, sequential transmissions always sounds like a supercharger to me with the straight cut gears, throw in the V10 up front, and the turbos behind me and I may need hearing aids before it's over. As soon as we have it started I will post a short video of that.

Can’t wait to see/hear!

 

[FST SNAKE]

Here is a pic of the hatch area pretty much finished along with the toe lift in event throttle cable sticks wide open. It's so close to starting at this point. All the fluids are going in today, crazy how much oil it holds......approx 7 gallons, going to be some expensive oil changes . Should be on the dyno soon, there will be 5 different tunes that I can choose from really mild ( maybe 1400 WHP ) to the 275/285 go fast one.

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[Goggles Pizano]

Small feet and soft hands. Hmmm.

 

[99RT10GTS]

What an insane build. Good luck David!!!!

 

[FST SNAKE]

Small feet and soft hands. Hmmm.

LOL, I will let the guy know of your interest

 

[FST SNAKE]

What an insane build. Good luck David!!!!

Thanks, It's getting there finally, I think it's been 4 plus years since I ran it to 252+. It is time to go again before I get too old and can't crawl in the cage anymore.

 

[FST SNAKE]

All the little details on the list are getting crossed off quickly. Here is a few pictures that show the plate that keeps cold side pipes, silicone hose and throttle body from coming apart with high boost. Eventually I will design and machine a clamp block from billet aluminum to make it all pretty for the shows and events but for now this is functionable. The fire suppression nozzles are located at bottom of engine, top of engine, at drivers feet, on the fuel cell and on the turbos/pumps/electrical under the rear of car. There are a combination of automatic nozzles and manual pull nozzles. I don't like automatic in driver's cockpit, I want to be able to slow it down before I pull that lever.

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[FST SNAKE]

Gearhead is finishing up the exhaust pipes to exit thru the bumper, going to look like a Gen 2 in that regard. Pipes will go maybe 2" pass the bumper. After that is done we can design and fab the new diffuser. We also got the ProEFI tune and that means it's time to load it up and get this beast running again. Everyone has been so great to work with getting Blucifer to this point. I think that the earliest I will be ready to make an attempt at 275+ will be in the spring of 2025 unless some opportunity comes up before then. I will be looking for 1/2 mile and longer events in the meantime to get it sorted and ready for that big speed.

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[FST SNAKE]

Had some issues with the pushrods, they were fractionally too long and were hanging the valves slightly open when Gearhead tried to start it. I do want to say Gearhead didn't supply the pushrods. At this point we are working on new pushrods or trying to determine if we have enough adjustment on the rocker arms to fix the problem. The lifters are limited travel design which makes them almost solid lifters. I'm sure we will have this issue and a small issue with a fuel leak fixed soon and the car running........DYNO TIME!!! The wastegates were connected to the exhaust pipes. I attached a few pictures of that work being completed. So close to being done or at least done with this part of the work, don't think racecars are ever really done.

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[GTS Dean]

I'm glad to see you didn't go overboard with the needless expense of seamless tubing where not required.

 

[FST SNAKE]

I'm glad to see you didn't go overboard with the needless expense of seamless tubing where not required.

There definitely wasn't a need for a more expensive pipe for the wastegates, although I've totally gave up on saving any money on this build.

 

[FST SNAKE]

Parachutes handles are installed in the console area. I wanted to keep them adjacent to the shifter just so I don't need to look for them overhead. The location basically allows me to keep my eyes on the track. The handles are interlocked mechanically so that the smaller/longer chute has to be 1st followed by the deceleration chute which is larger diameter and shorter tether. At some point we will make it all pretty for the shows/events but for now I just need it to function.

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[FST SNAKE]

We are still finishing those last few items on the list. Here are a few pictures of the exhaust as it exits the rear bumper. The paper template will be used to make a carbon fiber flange for the pipes. Also the nitrous control switches will be on the console so they are easy to reach. I always like to sit in the car during fabrication to make sure everything is reachable, and that I can operate it with SFI 3.3/20 gloves. They definitely make it difficult to have much feeling between your fingers and the equipment due to how thick they are but safety take precedent over comfort.

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