When I got my transmission back from Hardy he had installed a vent, so I
ran it to the catch tank and didn't think much about it. Until I was
checking the catch tank and found a mist of oil the full length of the
hose. Definitely had air and oil moving through it. I had assumed the vent
was just to eliminate any chance of pressure buildup, I didn't expect to
see bulk air movement.
Then I read an article on engine dynos that mentioned that transmissions
adsorb from one to twenty percent of an engines output power depending on
the type of gearing used and the ratios (helical cut gears are the worst
for efficiency, best for noise reduction and wear resistance). No only
does that power loss have to go somewhere (into heat) but it cycles a lot
as the engine transitions from full power to no power in turns. Makes
sense that the internal pressure of a transmission might vary quite a bit
as a result.
-----Original Message-----
From: Susan Hensley [mailto:spitfiresuz@141.com]
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 8:11 AM
To: fot@autox.team.net
Subject: TX-FOT CVAR Marvelous May Races
Hi all!
The second 2002 CVAR event went very well -- no incidents (although it
was sad to see the XJS blow an engine due to his not tightening the
radiator cap), no rain during the event (it was in the forecast), and
lots of seat time! TX-FOT members in attendance were Bob Kramer,
myself, and honorary member Larry Young from Oklahoma. Ed Barnard
attended as crew Saturday. Richard Hardison's TR3 had already been
transported for Mid-Ohio and other races so he did not attend, and John
Price (Kermit the TVR) was studying for finals but visited each day
since he lives only three miles from the track!
Bob ran his car Friday during the Test and Tune and on Sunday, since he
was coaching basketball in Austin Saturday, and Larry was out of the
running most of Saturday due to a stress break of one of his rocker arms
(he installed a hotter cam in the 3 than Jeff Wilt was running) but a
trip to Kramer's house for some spare parts put him back on the track.
Both cars looked and sounded good (until Bob's car blew a radiator hose
in the last race of the weekend). Bob's car and the rest of the DP
class got bumped out of Group 2, which is growing exponentially, so we
now have Triumphs in Groups 2, 4, and 7.
Tristan and I did well and had fun -- we had installed a new lower end,
new trans with J-type overdrive, new drive shaft, steel bonnet, and
Minitor wheels with Yoko A008R's. The Yoko's are definitely stickier
than my previous T/A R1's -- I could have made my own tires from the
rubber Tris and I collected! I improved my best lap time of 2:21 on the
2.9-mile track by two seconds in the first race (I am running in the
upper third of FP now!), but did not get the results of the other three
races due to their copier breaking down. We started off running the
Diest ballistic trans blanket but had to pull it as the trans was too
hot to touch even thirty minutes after the race under the blanket. Back
to the steel scatter shield for now.
One question for the group: We had a lot of transmission fluid loss from
the new trans from the front scroll seal. The trans and O/D were
professionally rebuilt (I know that doesn't necessarily mean much) but
we don't think it was a goof by the rebuilder. The trans does not have
a vent yet -- would the lack of a vent cause enough pressure/heat to
force fluid through the point of least resistance, the scroll seal? We
will vent the trans through the top cover to a catch tank before
Mid-Ohio and hopefully that will take care of the problem.
I will be sending a few pics from the event to Henry for the FOT site.
Look for the one of Bob's great shirt!
Keep Triumphing,
Susan and Brad :)
#42 FP Spitfire Tristan
PS -- The maiden voyage of the RV was excellent! We look forward to
taking it to Mid-Ohio!
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