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Yes the extinguisher mount is Scott Drake. Got this one from CJ Pony Parts.

Bob it’s a good question, not sure of the extent that people are racing ecos without balance shafts. That said the more notable eco engine builders basically will not put balance shafts in their built blocks so hoping that they’ve tested it. Also Ford Performance sells a balance shaft delete block-off plate so I’m expecting they also tested it sufficiently. The block is basically a duratec from Mazda apparently and lots of guys there have been doing this for ~15yrs with good results. Fingers crossed!

The balance of the Ecoboost is good in my opinion. The engine is tuned for low end torque so it’s fun around town but not what I’d call a drivers motor. That said, my two main qualms are both fixable and then it should be good. One as mentioned is engine rotating mass. The other is power fall off between 5500-6500. A tune helped a good bit, but the turbo runs out of breath up top. A Borg Warner EFR turbo fixes that. They make around 400-425wtq at 3500rpm and hold it till redline.
 
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There’s an oil passage that feeds the balance shaft assembly, installed a plug so the oil pan can go back on.

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Pan is back on now and awaiting RTV to cure. Confident it went on cleanly but will be nice once I can fire it up tomorrow and confirm no leaks.

Also Installed an oil temp gauge to see what oil temps really are. My handheld tuner reads out an inferred temp but there are very few people who have installed gauges to verify. Will be good to know and monitor, see if more cooling is really needed yet.

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Went to Buttonwillow for Black Friday and ran CW13 configuration. 2:10 was my best and while I don’t have a time there before I was hoping for 2.0X. Next time hopefully.

The car did great with the recent updates. The additional camber (-3.5 front and -2.0 rear was nice and the rotating assembly responsiveness was definitely improved without the balance shafts in there.

The oil temp gauge was also interesting to compare to the inferred oil temp. With temps below about 200F the inferred averaged 15F high, and was pretty accurate up to about 260F, and read low above that. One session I was riding out 4th gear on two straights vs short shifting and saw 290F on the gauge and the inferred was at 272F. I’ve got some power mods, the balance shaft delete, and running 5W50 so dunno how all those contribute to the difference in temp read vs inferred but glad I have the gauge now.

Only bummer for the event was the oem oil pressure gauge leaking (didn’t successfully diagnose it at the time, thought it was the oil sandwich plate) and while not enough oil leaked to see on the dipstick, it was enough to make a nice spray down the underside of the car. So a lot of clean up there. Sensor was barely more than finger tight and found a TSB for it. Go figure.

Came home from the event and was jazzed anyways and it was Black Friday so bought a Hans, a Race Louver center vent, and some 18x11 ec7’s with 305 NT01’s. Should be fun.
 
Vibration increase is minimal in my opinion, and I’d say probably 10hp freed up so it’s noticeable. Nothing huge but a nice little bump. I really did it for quicker response on downshift throttle blips and that is much improved so I’m really happy about that.
 
A couple pics from Buttonwillow.

So I used to do a bunch of drift events at buttonwillow about 15yrs ago. Linking the Cotton Corners was a bunch of fun, especially going over the top of the hill. I was quite off line going over the hill on this lap, but tried diving in to the apex anyways and didn't have sufficient grip to do so. It was fun at least!BW3_4497_Nov2720_1234PM_CaliPhoto.jpg

And a nice one from Sunset.
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Spent a couple hours here and there the last few days installing the racelouver center vent. Did it for both the cooling and aero benefits, but it looks damn cool too. Now need to duct the radiator and intercooler to maximize cooling. I’m doing as much as I can with the stock cooling system to see if I can control or effect oil temps at all. I’m 95% sure I’ll need an oil cooler but since it’s not hot yet I’m having fun with this experiment.

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JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
Spent a couple hours here and there the last few days installing the racelouver center vent. Did it for both the cooling and aero benefits, but it looks damn cool too. Now need to duct the radiator and intercooler to maximize cooling. I’m doing as much as I can with the stock cooling system to see if I can control or effect oil temps at all. I’m 95% sure I’ll need an oil cooler but since it’s not hot yet I’m having fun with this experiment.

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You might be pleasantly surprised. That louver made a phenomenal difference in temps and lap times with my GT. Best bang for the buck piece I have ever used
 
I’m hoping not! I finished my install just in time for a good rain last night so we’ll see when I go check it out this morning. Race louvers says its not a prob since all electrical components and connections in the engine bay are designed for wet environments. Also at least on the Ecoboost this vent sits between the radiator and front of the motor so it’s not dropping water onto the valve cover or into the engine. If that was the case I’d be a bit more nervous.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
I guess the only downside to louvers is if you get caught in rain or snow. and have water getting in the engine bay...is that a concern???
Nope. Been through a couple of gulley washers and nothing happened, I also have louvers in the two fake hood vents that held the silly, er, signal light thingies. On track splashing through pretty good puddles or stationary nothing happened. Only thing I added was plexiglass cover on the open top FP intake which most people do anyway.
 
89
79
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
New England
Picked up some new wheels. 19x11 square like all the cool guys, although I just put the tires I already had on them for now (275/35/19) so a bit more stretch and less rubber than they will eventually have.

They don't look that great from the side on account of the lack of contour/shape of the wheel face, though I think they look pretty good at oblique angles where the concavity shows.

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Scoots, what ET is on those 19x11s and what front spacer size are you running to get that perfect flush front fitment on the wheel?
 
Enjoyed my first time at Thunderhill, ran the East/3mi course in bypass configuration. Fun track with some great corners and blind hills. Weather was perfect, 75* and the last session was 25min.

Best lap was 2:11. Nothing fantastic but given my 340TW tires and my first time at the track I'm happy with it. The most fun though was out braking a number of lighter cars. Really looking forward to stickier tires and putting on the ST43's I got whenever these stock pads wear out. I don't appear to be hard on pads though as I keep thinking I'll get one more event from them and they just keep not wearing quickly. The front ducts definitely helped.

This was my first event with the Racelouver center vent and I can't really tell if it helped since ambient air temp was 20* hotter than my last event and I'm driving harder. Saw 221*F CHT so I need to box the radiator and intercooler in now. Hoping to do that before my next event.

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Next event is Sonoma Feb 6th (if the track reopens, fingers crossed).
 
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As mentioned prior the thing about the Ecoboost engine that makes it marvelous around town also makes it.....uninspiring on track. That thing is the tiny stock turbo. Most people who track this car with the stock turbo often short shift at ~5500rpm as it loses ~50+hp even with all the normal bolt ons and a good tune. Feels like it’s going nowhere above 5500.

So while I’m building this car to be a better track car, more than anything I want a fun car. So for lap times I should put all my money into seat time, suspension, aero and tires, but I want the biggest smile on my face while going around track so I got a bigger turbo (Turbonetics NX2). It should make power to redline now. Stock replacement/packaging but bigger housings and wheels. Going through tune revisions now and initial feel is good. Will reserve final judgement until the final tune. But for now a picture of said Yu rbo because who doesn’t like looking at turbos.

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As mentioned prior the thing about the Ecoboost engine that makes it marvelous around town also makes it.....uninspiring on track. That thing is the tiny stock turbo. Most people who track this car with the stock turbo often short shift at ~5500rpm as it loses ~50+hp even with all the normal bolt ons and a good tune. Feels like it’s going nowhere above 5500.

So while I’m building this car to be a better track car, more than anything I want a fun car. So for lap times I should put all my money into seat time, suspension, aero and tires, but I want the biggest smile on my face while going around track so I got a bigger turbo (Turbonetics NX2). It should make power to redline now. Stock replacement/packaging but bigger housings and wheels. Going through tune revisions now and initial feel is good. Will reserve final judgement until the final tune. But for now a picture of said Yu rbo because who doesn’t like looking at turbos.

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Let me know how it feels, and what the hp curve looks like
 
Thank you for your message Bill. I am one of the Northern California new members that you helped get into a GT350. Hard to believe, but it was delivered in March 2020, but had to reschedule my Track Attack until July 2021. I have not been able to get into any beginner track events last year, but hope to do so this year. It's completely stock, but I do hope to upgrade the wheels, possibly lower it a bit, maybe change the exhaust, get some proper hood struts, oil separator - the usual stuff. That said, I am loving driving it around when I can and I appreciate all you did to hook me up with this awesome car. Hope to meet you sometime in the future.

Cheers!

Shawn
 
Let me know how it feels, and what the hp curve looks like

Interested in any/all of your NX2 feedback as I wont have mine on for another month and then no track events here in the Northeast for a while...

Will do gents!

One thing is clear, the turbosmart twinport actuator is worth the price. We've done runs with it set up in single and twin port configuration and the second port works amazingly well at counteracting the exhaust gas pressure that builds in the turbine which works to force the wastegate open. Twin port configuration makes for much better transient response and boost curve control vs a single port actuator like the one Turbonetics ships with the turbo.
 

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