Preheating the engine before a run.

[WZ JUNK]

I would like some feedback on preheating the engine before a run.  How do you preheat your engine?  How much should you preheat the engine?  What do you really want to do by preheating the engine?  What water temperature and oil temperature values are you looking for?  I would like any thoughts that you have on this topic.

John

[Stainless1]

There are too many factors for a one size fits all...    Engine design, cooling system, fuel, long course, short, does your engine perform better at 210 or 160... 
 We pre-heat water and oil temp to 120 and 100 about 6 cars back by running the engine and let it soak.  We look at the temp and decide when to start the engine for the run. 

[JackD]

Regardless of how we manage the rest of the oil and water cooling when underway, a thermostat in the water return system is always installed.
We warm the drive train package to the point you can see the water temperature dip when the stat opens and stop there.
There are a lot of other things that can be done to manage heat, some will help performance and others need to be eliminated to maintain.
The right heat in the right place can be your friend.

[landracing]

I used the search function and found two pages worth of information on this very subject with pictures of heater units for preheating fluids.. Good information.

http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,1959.0.html

Jon

[WZ JUNK]

Sorry, I tried the search first and I did not find anything, but I just realized I used the google search.  It did lead me to some aircraft preheating systems but nothing on the board.  I will read up on the link you posted.  My bad.   I will try to use the board search in the heading in the furture. 

John 

[landracing]

WZ,

I had to do some digging to find it, so it wasn't that easy, haha. I just specifically remember it because I posted pictures of Nish's heater system. Enjoy...

Jon

[Brian Westerdahl]

We have some 110volt heater pads that we have on the oil tank that we heat the oil before we start the motor in the pits.  We try to heat the oil to 150-160 degrees.  Once we have the oil warm then we warm the engine until the termostat opens.  Now the water is warm and the block is warm.  Head to the starting line.   Brian  #7795- #7796

[WZ JUNK]

We have some 110volt heater pads that we have on the oil tank that we heat the oil before we start the motor in the pits.  We try to heat the oil to 150-160 degrees.  Once we have the oil warm then we warm the engine until the termostat opens.  Now the water is warm and the block is warm.  Head to the starting line.   Brian  #7795- #7796

Hooley tried one of the heating pads on the oil pan but I do not think it worked for one reason or another.  I will have to check with him on that.  Our engine does not use a thermostat but it does have a water restrictor in the place of the thermostat.  So if we run the engine and have the electric water pump running, not only are we preheating the engine but we are also raising the temperature of our water in our water tank.  I want to keep the water in the storage tank as cool as possible prior to the run and I am trying to sort through some of the options we have.  One method would be to watch the water temperature while the engine is preheating and then cycle the electric water pump as the water temperature goes up.  In effect this would be the same as a thermostat opening and closing.  This might keep the water in the tank cooler than if it was constantly cycling through the engine.

John

[interested bystander]

On the subject of pre heating-IMHOP the entire DRIVETRAIN should be pre-heated-with the machine either up on jackstands or driven/ridden to the starting line (not legal for some) with the transmission cycled and brakes applied- especially World Finals time and Nov. Elmo. Doing this, one sometimes finds things amiss and saves an aborted pass.

[1212FBGS]

I have 3, 1500 watt heaters in my water tank.. I heat it to 130f and turn the electric water pump on to heat soak the blocks when we unload it from the trailer... we then start the motors to warm the oil and adjust the fuel system about 10 cars back... has worked good until the world finals we lost the rear motor but i think it was due to the bottom ends had 7 years of hard miles
kent

[JackD]

A cheap deal thermostat is about the most reliable part on the racer.
It doesn't care what temperature the coolant is when it arrives, only when it leaves, and all automagicly.
A restrictor is a guesstimate at best and won't follow the needs.
I found that preheating the oil before starting the motor was a waste of time because as soon as it hit the cold block the heat is gone any how.
In the case of the standard shift drivetrains, the hot motor oil is run through the tranny before returning to the supply tank, that improves shifting, reduces the power loss, and sheds some heat along the way, kinda like those pesky bike motors.

[Dean Los Angeles]

I would like some feedback on preheating the engine before a run.  How do you preheat your engine?  How much should you preheat the engine?  What do you really want to do by preheating the engine?  What water temperature and oil temperature values are you looking for?  I would like any thoughts that you have on this topic.

John

If you can put yourself inside the engine at speed in the third mile, you are going to find the operating temperature that you are looking for. Everything that turns is affected by the temperature. The closer you are to that temperature the closer you are to operating clearances.

Now picture one of those October days at El Mirage or Bonneville where it's in the 30's. The clearances are WAY different, the oil and grease has the consistency of wax and nothing is going to be very happy. If you don't have anti-freeze in the radiator it might freeze. If you are running methanol the carburetor may freeze shortly after fire up. You are going to have to be much more aggressive the colder it is. Get out the torch!

[jimmy six]

Anyone using a drysump tank with a stick on heater should add a thermo blanket around the tank. Your heat up time will be cut 2/3's. Material can be obtained from McMaster-Carr.

Brian We always leave the pits with the oil and water at 200. After waiting in line for 4 hours we start at 100. Ain't life grand........

[Brian Westerdahl]

When building a car you should make sure that your fuel tank is large enough to handle a few warm ups as you are sitting in line.  Probably a good idea to warm the engine every couple of hours as you are inching forward.  Just set the alarm clock.  Brian #7796

[836dstr]

Awhile back I saw a team @ El Mirage that ran hoses with quick disconnects from their push truck to the back of the Roadster. I think it might have been the Barbee's old 357 Street Roadster.

After an initial warm up in the pits, engine/trans/rearend it seems this would be a good way of keeping up heat in the engine in the staging lanes. With a 20 gallon water tank in a roadster short moves up in line would not transfer too much heat.

Any comments on this approach other than plumbing issues?

Keeping things simple is sometimes a problem but maybe worth considering.

Tom