We’re back from our weekend down in Daytona from some serious track time in our Steeda #20 Race Car with even more
experience and track time under our belts. We have been tweaking and modifying our race car since our
last race weekend to make it perform better than before in addition to changing the setup slightly for
better use over long-distance endurance runs. While we were able to show how capable our car is, it was
not
without flaws that we know we can address to keep making even further improvements.
Recap
Day 1
Day 2
Issues To Address
Reason
Gallery
When we hit the track, we were ready to go with our team swapping out parts to maximize performance.
Modifying our fuel system for better long-distance distribution when at low fuel to ring the most out of
the fuel
tank, we were able to fight our recent fuel pressure issue from a while back. Additionally, we added
front canard splitters to the car to compliment the rear wing’s downforce and to improve front-end
traction at high speeds in excess of 170 miles per hour. With these new upgrades, we were able to keep
the car planted around the massive 31-degree banked turns even before putting stickier tires on the car.
On day two, we went back onto the course to run more aggressive times with Hankook tires specced for
another race series and additional
tweaks we had made. At high speed, we were able to notice other issues the car was having and were able
to identify exactly what would be needed to improve the car further. With our onboard camera and data
acquisition software, we were
able to show how the car performs under braking, acceleration, and intricate cornering maneuvers.
Additionally, we were able to show what a serious driver is capable of behind the wheel of a
Steeda modified race car yet again. We did notice issues along the way however, such as a transmission issue which interfered with shifting
to
third randomly during our runs. This will be a fairly simple fix, but at the moment it was problematic
while trying to shift at high speed. Another issue we noticed was the buffeting affecting the hood of
the car as visible in the in-car camera because of its
massively lightweight design. We have immediately set to working on this as well, working on methods of
keeping the hood firmly in place at high speeds while keeping weight as low as possible. The issues that we had encountered are not without a purpose, however. These two issues are more common
among cars that have been turned into racing vehicles from road vehicle platforms. Issues like managing
fuel saddle problems are common among those who do not want to jump to a full fuel cell setup, as are
buffeting issues with the hood of these cars at high speed. Because of this, the team at Steeda has been
doing various R&D projects to find a solution for these issues. These could also be applied across the
entire racing industry and help enthusiasts who have yet to make the switch to a racing fuel cell setup.
As for the hood, many racing cars encounter issues of internal lift at speed, so we have been working to
reduce this as much as possible on ultra-lightweight products like this. As we continue to make
improvements to these problems, we can help other racing drivers avoid these issues themselves. Why Do I Need A Mustang Bumpsteer Kit? Mustang Supercharger vs Turbo Mustang Long Tube vs Shorty HeadersS550 Fuel System and Aerodynamics Testing at Daytona
Daytona Recap
Daytona Day 1
Daytona Day 2
Issues To Address
What We Are Testing For
Daytona Race Weekend: Gallery
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