Lexus engineers must have driven both these cars till the point of smoke blowing from the exhaust. I don't understand why they would have left it like this.

 

I don't understand why they went to all the work of developing a system that returns the oil to the sump by design, but left it vulnerable to pooling. It makes no sense.

 

I was looking at engine bay pics of the Lexus IS-F CCS-R which was tested under extreme racing conditions.

What are those custom race parts found on the top-left of the engine bay (passenger side) where the battery would be?

 

Not sure, but I do love that shock tower brace tied to the firewall...

And I see a big fat tube going into the top of the manifold from the PCV valve. The thing on the firewall might be an air intake for the PCV system, but it's very hard to tell from the picture where the tubes go. If it is an air inlet, it would be interesting to know how they are accounting for this air after the MAF.

 

the unit on the left looks A LOT like a catch can to me.

 

i wonder if they put a million miles on the catch can before they put it on the car

 

oem will not generally do a catch because of the added maintenance that is required to empty it every now and then. It has a guage on the side to measure the level of the oil and then its pretty much just twist the can off, empty it, and retighten the can to the base of the unit. Pretty simple. In fact, so simple that even I can do that . LOL And I dont jack to my cars. Drive it to the track, beat on it, drive home, wash, and go to work monday. I dont do anything to the car before or after the track other than pack it and unpack it. I will check my tire pressure and oil level usually but thats it.

This AO separator is a no brainer in my book.

 

I wouldn't suggest Lexus install a catch can but just improve the design of the PCV system, or just do whatever it takes to prevent this from happening. But then again, this is a small issue when compared to what the C7 guys who track their cars are dealing with. Two companies, Lexus's first attempt at a track car, and the other, have been doing this since the beginning. I just received an email from someone who is a local track junkie. He shoots out track event info, track stories and whatever else relates to the track. A little off topic as it doesn't relate to the F but goes to show you, we have one amazing car. Here is one I just received:

Old news, albeit still relevant, as this subject continues to make its rounds in automotive blogs/media and unfortunately, the second year production version doesn't offer any additional cooling enhancements.

So clearly, there seems no "simple way" to fix this?Even with reported ECU management pulling power, the car still seems to overheat its fluids and other components (like a steering rack), which the article fails to mention. And there have been reports of engine losses, the latest being reported by Fox, during their media test. So now the media has experienced motor losses of both base C7, as well as the Z06 (amongst other reports from private owners).

And hot weather is not necessarily required for over heating conditions to manifest themselves: I've witnessed one Z06 over heat both its oil and coolant on a 23C day at Mosport. Also, it seems to have occurred rather quickly, as the car would routinely exit 30min scheduled sessions quite early.

Given the car costs somewhere between $135-145Gs CAD (MSRP) and was marketed as the "most track capable Corvette ever", I am left scratching my head as to what the designers were thinking. But GM has removed the word "track" from the current description, so as they say: the writing is on the wall?

I hope the next gen receives proper funding (per Bob Lutz - this one didn't - as it coincided with GM's chapter 11 troubles), ‎to return the Z06 marquee as a track "monster" it has always been.
Until then, this car will ‎serve buyers that are satisfied with paying homage to emblems and skillfully worded parallels between it and a C7R race car, which it shares a frame with - and not much more - as far as I can tell. But for those that enjoy it on a street, I am sure it is a blast! Then again, a Hellcat is faster there, has rear seats and costs much, much less.

Speakng about the race car: it weighs about 1000lb less than a production Z06 and had been designed and built by Pratt and Miller. A fact that many seem totally unaware of. But it does look very similar and carries Corvette insignias. To GM's big credit, they now supply the superb power plant (5.5L NA motor) departing from a long tradition of Katech building them for previous C5R and C6R cars.

So, to me, C8 can't come soon enough. And when it does, I hope it will have a proper track DNA. Like the previous 2 generations before C7.
Until then, should I wish for the most track capable Corvette of "monster" proportions, I'd get a slightly used C6 ZR1. At half the price.

Happy motoring!
‎

 

Well, as much as I love the ISF, there are many things I don't understand about what Lexus engineers or bean counters were thinking.... like why would they come so close to smacking the M3, and then introduce the car in 08 with a poorly tuned suspension and no LSD?

Its not just Lexus though, all cars have their issues, BMW's are certainly no exception. Ran into an ISF owner at a meet who was running 150shot nitrous since 2008, and was doing something like 10 track events a year, with no mechanical issues after 100,000+ miles of doing this -- I don't think there would be much left of an M3 after a similar thrashing:-)

-Rafi

 

mmmhhmmm. I see old bimmers at the track, but FAR more Vettes, Miatas, and Mustangs.

 

I've run with BMW CCA. Lots and lots of bimmers old and new.

Yes, they all have their issues, no doubt. If my first purpose were track, I would just buy a Radical SR3 and have fun.

 

This is how much my can has collected during my 1 week of daily driving:

 

After running the car hard for 2 sessions at AMS, at start up to head out the the third I got a big plume of blue smoke from the exhaust. That's the first time I'd ever had that happen (torxuvin was riding shotgun) and this all made sense.

 

More proof that this is a no brainer and should be a preventative modification on all F's

 

this is a good mod and that its going to help keep the engine running cleaner, smoother, and with less detonation under hard driving. It's $160 for God's sake . Just do it !! LOL