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| Hotter day, cooler car. Having good cooling makes for a better drive where you can focus more on the task of driving rather than not overheating your car! |
Back at the same racetrack, with the same scenario (cue music: The good, the bad, and the ugly), I found myself in not 105 degree weather this time, but in sweltering 110 degree inferno. More conscious of my engine temperature, I kept a close eye on the gauges as I beat down relentlessly on the car. To my amazement, the temperature never budged beyond 176 degrees the entire weekend! Buying the Koyo radiator, underdrive pulleys, and the JWT ECU were some of the best safety investments I’ve made for my engine.
Final Note
Having confidence that your car is not a ticking time bomb on the track and not having to constantly monitor the gauges for the slightest sign of meltdown allows you to concentrate on your driving. This alone is good for safety and lap times. Now, my gauge monitoring can drop to a couple of times a lap on the straights, a good habit that every racer should adopt – a good habit that I learned the hard way. This is much better than constantly monitoring and praying the engine temp will stay manageable. Not always being on the edge of meltdown helps insure good engine reliability and long life as well.
Investing in cooling should be a priority. Only after you’ve upgraded your cooling capabilities to a reliable standard should you move onto to gaining more power. After all, what good is more power if your engine can’t handle the heat it produces? So now that we’ve reached a satisfied level with our cooling needs, stay tuned until next month, where we venture into everyone’s favorite – gaining power!
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