"Jake Stumph Racing" (jakestumphracing)
01/20/2016 at 10:46 • Filed to: BMWlopnik, Douchebag, BMW owner, Jake Stumph Racing
6
7|
"Jake Stumph Racing" (jakestumphracing)
01/20/2016 at 10:46 • Filed to: BMWlopnik, Douchebag, BMW owner, Jake Stumph Racing | 6
| 7 |
Streets of Willow is a brutal track. Bumpy, lumpy and it’s bowled shape traps in heat like your girlfriend’s ceramics class oven. It’s hard on cars, with the lack of straight aways and open air causing running temperatures to be ever higher than other tracks. The bumpy ride means putting the power down is an exercise in patience.
Overheating, brake issues, power delivery issues, Streets has continually tested my patience.
It would be different this time. The car now had the
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
in place to help with cooling, and it was November, with the forecast expecting a high in the 60's, versus 100+ we usually see in the Spring and Summertime.
Upon arrival around 6:30AM it could actually be described as chilly. Unpacked everything, swap over to the track day wheel set up and generally fiddled with the car until the driver’s meeting. Meeting adjourned, it was time to hit the track.
This was a 1:27.7 lap time. A massive improvement from before, a miserable 1:30 set in 115* weather with the car constantly fighting limp mode and on the threshold of overheating.
Two laps later, out of the bowl, down the back straight, and over the crest. Downshift into 3rd and BOOOOOOM! Car loses all power, and will not accelerate. I coast through the next two corners, and off the track.
In the paddock, my sneaking suspicion was a big boost leak. No CEL, but no power. What makes a big boom and causes boost leaks? A blown chargepipe.
Peaking through the intake system, and down at the throttle body, I could tell what had happened, but didn’t want to admit it.
For those not privy to turbocharged engines, the chargepiping or “cold pipe” is the tubing that runs from the intercooler to the throttle body. On BMW N54 and N55 engines, this pipe is made of plastic. Over time the plastic becomes brittle, and when you run charged air through the pipe, it eventually blows up. This is such a common issue on this platform that a friend of mine actually carried a backup chargepipe in the toolbox in his trunk just in case.
The chargepipe is held to the throttle body with a C-clip, and when the pipe breaks it usually blows off the throttle body, shattering the plastic around the clip.
Lo and behold:
The chargepipe exploded around the throttle body. Lovely.
So, that was it, 8 laps and I was done for the day.
I swapped the OEM wheels with beater tires back on, loaded the car up san duct tape before venturing back to the engine bay.
One vigorous duct tape wrap job later, and I deemed the vessel safe enough to drive home.
No, those weren’t my tears of sadness, it actually rained in Southern California. All the better to match my mood, I suppose.
A turbo car that can’t even hit 0 psi is not a pleasant drive, but 150 miles later and we were home. An aftermarket metal charge pipe was ordered to remedy this. wounded warrior. I had been extremely lucky to make it this far, with 41,000 very hard, tuned miles on the car, I suppose I can’t complain that the stock unit held up so admirably.
Lesson learned: If you have an N54 or N55 powered BMW, consider this your warning, upgrade your charge pipe to a more durable, metal unit and spare yourself the heartache of going to a track day and getting 8 laps in before your day comes to an end.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Jake Stumph is a weekend warrior driver, and an occasionally smug asshole, that people seem to tolerate for some reason. If you find his antics entertaining then check him out on
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
, where he posts things.
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> Jake Stumph Racing
01/20/2016 at 10:58 |
|
“The chargepipe exploded around the thorttle body. Lovely.”
Thorttle.
WarThorttle?
SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
> Jake Stumph Racing
01/20/2016 at 11:19 |
|
One track day, I had a sudden spin under braking going into a very fast 90deg left hander. I spun 180 deg and slid off track straight backwards into the gravel pit (Turn 1 at Mid Ohio). No impact. I saw white smoke and I shut off my car.
Wrecker tows me to paddock where I’m able to look under the hood. My lower radiator hose had popped off the coolant neck. I think “great, my radiator is messed up”, but upon closer inspection, the hose clamp had just slid off. There was no damage to the radiator neck or the hose, and the hose clamp was lost.
I walked around the paddock looking for 2 things: a hose clamp, and tons of water. I then reconnected the hose, filled up the radiator, bled the system and didn’t miss a single minute of the leftover 3 sessions of the day.
That’s my Cool Starry Bra for “broken” BMW hose interfaces at the racetrack.
Drive safe!
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Jake Stumph Racing
01/20/2016 at 11:26 |
|
Friend of mine lost a power steering line in his Charger at our track day. PS fluid everywhere and copious amounts of smoke from where it sprayed the exhaust. He limped it 20 miles to the dealer for repairs (bumper to bumper warranty). Said it was a hell of a workout!
|
Jake Stumph Racing
> TheRealBicycleBuck
01/20/2016 at 13:17 |
|
This was but one malady inflicted upon the car at Willow Springs. Accidentally overfilled the brake fluid reservoir A TOUCH before a track day at Big Willow, but enough pressure built up in the reservoir that eventually the cap burst off and I lost brake force as I was trail braking into a corner. The balance change cause the car to loop around on me and off the track, into the weeds. That bumpy ride also knocked my exhaust loose (lucky it didn’t snap off, frankly). Good times...
|
Jake Stumph Racing
> AMGtech - now with more recalls!
01/20/2016 at 13:18 |
|
I don’t know what you’re talking about. ;)
That allusion was a leap, but I like it. Wartortle always sounded cooler than Blastoise.
Dirt Addiction
> Jake Stumph Racing
01/20/2016 at 13:22 |
|
Funny thing, the Mazdaspeed Protege also uses plastic charge-air tubes. And guess what! Mazda doesn’t make them anymore... So if you break them you either have to go Front Mount or buy some silicone replacements that only one company makes.
|
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> Jake Stumph Racing
01/20/2016 at 17:01 |
|
Definitely a leap. I’m a little surprised anyone got it at all. Blastoise just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it..