We all know that intake temperatures and managing heat is extremely important in protecting your engine. Under fierce competition, team BMR approached Funk Motorsport to manage the heat on their Subaru Levorgs to ensure optimum performance of their engine.
Earlier this year, we were approached by BTCC race team BMR to solve some of the heat issues that they were facing based on feedback from testing. So, how did we help? Which Funk products are BMR using this season?
Issue 1 – Fuel tank positioning
With the Subaru Levorg fuel tank sitting directly above the exhaust, the entire underside of the tank and chassis were wrapped in gold reflective material to help keep the fuel cool and at the correct consistency to be optimal for combustion. A cooler fuel will keep the fuel flowing at the high rate required for BTCC racing and eliminate fuel vapour lock.
Issue 2 – Internal cockpit temperatures
Cockpit temperatures were a big issue, creating temperatures in excess of 60 degrees Celsius – creating a testing environment for the drivers to work within. We underlined the underside of the car and tunnel in our Funk Motorsport gold reflective heat blanket to help keep the car insulated, whilst reflecting away any additional radiant heat coming it’s way.
Issue 3 – Ever rising intake temperatures
With the unique engine layout in the Subaru Levorg, pipework from the intercooler and throttle bodies were exposed to heat. In this scenario, the air that is intended to be cool is actually being heated, in turn creating heat soak. To rectify this, we created a custom blanket for this crossover pipe to help reduce these intake temperatures and optimise the combustion cycle.
Issue 4 – Excess heat in the engine bay
With the pipework being compacted in the tight spaces of the engine bay, they were all exposed to high amounts of heat. Oil lines, electric cables and coolant lines run close to heat sources putting them in danger of reliability and safety issues. To help keep them operating as they should, we had them wrapped in our highest heat protection sleeving available – Funk Motorsport silicon high heat tube.
Issue 5 – Turbochargers as a heat source.
The heat created by an operating turbo can affect the reliability of everything else under the bonnet. For team BMR, we provided turbo blankets to contain the heat and stop it from spreading to other components in the engine bay. This also provides benefits for the turbo as hotter exhaust gas temperatures help to increase spool up time and get those gases out quicker. The blanket also helps reduce heat dissipation to the cold side of the turbo, therefore increasing combustion efficiency and providing an improved power output.
With Funk Motorsport products now commonly seen in top-flight motorsport across the world, we are proud to be the heat management partner of team BMR.
The team here at Funk strive to create the most innovative products for both road and competition use. Interested in how we can help to manage the heat on your road or race car? Drop us a message or give us a call to speak to one of our heat management experts!
Find out a little more about Team BMR and their 2019 British Touring Car campaign here.