Just got back from weekend event with NASA at VIR. Nice road course. The Event was held on the north course,2.25 miles long,quite demanding, lots of elevation changes, lots of corner variety. The 'ole 86 T/A didn't do too badly out there with the porche turbos, m3 bimmers and s2000s et al. The course, in my opinion, favors handling, which might explain why I got passed by the Acura Integra. Sorry guys, I tried my best. In my defense, the engine overheated to the point that I was feathering the throttle halfway down the front (longest) straight, lest the temp should go over 240. Even then I was forced to come into the pits to let it cool down with the fan after every 3 laps. Anybody have any ideas? I found out from the other T/A owner attending that my car is missing a panel that goes from the under side of the nose up to the top of the radiator, it's purpose is to guide the air to the radiator and keep it from leaking over the top. My car never had this panel, so I didn't know it was supposed to be there. Anybody have any feedback about this?
The good news is it stayed in one piece and my lap times went from 2:05 in the first session to 1:58 by the last.

 

First, nice track. I hope to make it there when I get a chance.

Cooling. My old 88 IROC (L98) has cooling issues as well during track days. The only thing that I did was to flush/replace the coolant and put in a bottle of Red Line Water Wetter. I also ran all synthetic fluids (crankcase, tranny, etc). I could usually go 20 minutes of a 30 minute session with no issues.

Beyond that, bear in mind that turning on the A/C to "max" turns on both fans... I always did this during the cool down lap and afterward until the car went to the lowest normal temperature on the gauge. This ensure that engine is the coolest it can be at the start of the next session...

My old IROC has a flexible defector that (tried) to route air under the car up to the radiator. Try to get one from a boneyard or look at someone else's and make your own. It couldn't hurt.

 

Are you talking about the valance? It mounts (IIRC) on the lower part of the radiator support and kind of scoops the air up toward the radiator.

Some things I would try (in addition to a full coolant flush with water wetter) is to hook up the fan(s) so they run full time. Not sure how to do this on an F body, but there might be some tech here. Also, set the heater dial all the way into the red and turn the defroster on full blast while you're driving on course -- this will help get hot air out of the engine bay and it will just go out the windows (instead of just turning the vent on and having the hot air hit you in the face ).

 

On this guys t/a there was a sloping panel that attatched to the underside of the nose and swept up to the top of the radiator. Mine doesn't look like it ever had it