Heat soak question related to racing

[CobaltSScrazy]

I was on www.cobaltss.net and the issue of heatsoak came up while two modded Cobalt SS S/C's raced each other and one had the high wing and one had his car shaved. The high wing SS had more power and pulled through 3rd gear no problem, then the shaved SS Cobalt pulled on him in 4th gear, unexpectedly. Some guys think its due to wind resistance of the wing, others thing it's heat soak, and yet others think it's good tuning versus bad tuning...

what are your thoughts and can someone define the term for me?

CobaltSScrazy

[bouda]

I doubt it has anything to do with the wing.

[rbarrios]

he probably had stickers on it. adding a few more horsepower.
hehe...... sorry... thats import way of thinking...
maybe its due to driver input. can the results be replicated over and over?
they try swapping drivers to see if the results can be replicated?

[CobaltSScrazy]

bump.

[nailhead425]

It could be many factors, but given the relative speed, it may be that the wing adds just enough drag to give the shaved car an edge.

[00GTP]

Originally Posted by CobaltSScrazy

I was on www.cobaltss.net and the issue of heatsoak came up while two modded Cobalt SS S/C's raced each other and one had the high wing and one had his car shaved. The high wing SS had more power and pulled through 3rd gear no problem, then the shaved SS Cobalt pulled on him in 4th gear, unexpectedly. Some guys think its due to wind resistance of the wing, others thing it's heat soak, and yet others think it's good tuning versus bad tuning...

what are your thoughts and can someone define the term for me?

CobaltSScrazy

When you heat soak todays engines, especially supercharged, the computer sees a hotter air coming in and backs off the fueling and spark to help resist knock retard. As all know, cold air makes power. A blower of course raises the intake temps. So a heat soaked engine doesnt have the timing and fuel being added to a non heat soaked engine, hence more power.
I ice my m90 after each pass even though I'm intercooled. I want the intake temps as cold as possible. My next step is NOS and my ic will run thru an ice box.

[Slideways]

I'm pretty sure heat soak has to do with an engine becoming hot AFTER it's turned off. If an engine is hot while it's racing, it's just plain getting hot. Heat soak is when there's no longer water pumping through the engine and there's nowhere for the heat to go, so it actually gets hotter even though it's not running.

[00GTP]

That would be the correct definition for todays technicians, but not when it comes to racing. Heat soaking an engine simply means running it hot versus cold.

[Slideways]

Exactly. The engine is hot, not heat soaked. People misusing the term doesn't make it correct. I don't mean to be a jerk, but for the sake of being understood, the term heat soak has a specific meaning.