Record-Setting Heat
Bonnie the Alfa Goes 217 on the Salt
By Jon Paulette
With almost 500 vehicles entered, Bonneville Speedweek 2006 had something for just about everyone. Cars, pickups, SUV's, lakesters, streamliners, motorcycles and even a 1943 International over-the-road truck powered by a turbocharged 1600 cubic-inch tugboat motor. For Alfa fans, though, only one car really mattered and that was the 1991 Alfa Spider affectionately named .Bonnie. by her hard-working crew. And the Richard Kreines-owned, IAP-sponsored car didn't disappoint.
With engine builder Jim Steck at the wheel, the screaming yellow Spider managed a 217.152 mph average over two runs to claim the G/BGMS (Blown Gas Modified Sports, or, in English, a turbocharged gas-powered modified sports car.) record the team had been chasing since they first hit the salt flats in 1999. That also makes Bonnie the fastest Alfa Romeo ever, beating the record previously held by a factory-backed ProCar 164.
For Kreines, a veteran gearhead whose automotive tastes encompass everything from the hot rods of his youth to his collection of Alfas, the team's success on the salt flats has been rewarding in many ways. Owning the world's fastest Alfa is a thrill, of course, but going racing in a style reminiscent of his drag racing days back in the fifties is kind of nice, too. Back then, people used to rebuild engines in motel parking lots and (occasionally) rooms. At Bonneville, they still do and Kreines loves it.
.What I love about Bonneville is that anybody can go there with a $500 flathead and maybe set a record,. Kreines said. .At least they'll have a good time..
In 2005, the salt conditions were marginal at best, which kept the Alfa team from achieving anything of note, other than the aforementioned good time, which the team always finds a way to have. Mike Besic, the master fabricator behind the Bonnie build-up, had several .moments. during his time behind the wheel on the slippery salt and that was decidedly un-fun for the veteran vintage racer.
.Last year, it was like trying to drag race a big-block Corvette in the snow,. Besic recalled. .I would just tickle the boost in fourth gear and the car would go sideways. I did this two or three times, and the last time, I was completely stone sideways at 175 mph..
This year, the conditions were much improved and Steck, who did the driving this year, was able to coax big-time numbers out of the turbocharged four-cylinder.
The abbreviated 2005 runs were kind to the motor, so instead of major changes, the team focused on minor tweaks. Steck put a bigger turbine housing on the turbocharger and, since the boost was coming on sooner than necessary, he slowed that process down a bit. By restricting airflow through the wastegate, he found a whopping 40 more horsepower. A new belly pan helped the aerodynamics and an improved seating position allowed Steck to drive in comfort.
.Comfort. is a relative term in any racing car, of course, but a run a Bonneville is truly unlike anything else in racing. Steck, a former SCCA racer, says the sense of speed on the salt flats is very different than anything he's experienced.
.There's nothing close to you,. he said. .You know you're going really fast, but if you were doing 200 down the interstate, that would feel a lot faster. You have mile markers and they zip by you really quick, but it's not like having stripes on the road or trees or anything like that..
It's a long, flat, featureless course, and the only objective is to go as fast as possible in a straight line. That doesn't mean driving at Bonneville is easy. Far from it. Besic had a big moment in 2005 and Steck had some small ones during his licensing runs, but even with much-improved salt conditions, Steck still had plenty of driving to do this year.
.In the first three gears, it's like driving on ice and I could spin the wheels at will,. Steck explained. .I have to feed the throttle in very gently, because if you don't, the car goes sideways. In fourth gear, you can finally put your foot all the way down, but it's still a little tenuous because the salt is not nearly as good as driving on pavement. You steer very gently, and you'd better be going straight when you pull the parachute..
Keeping the car straight was slightly easier in 2006, but keeping it cool was a challenge. The team has experienced a fair amount of mechanical drama during their years on the salt, including a blown engine in 2002 that had even veteran Bonneville tech inspectors shaking their heads in amazement. The combination of hard-earned experience and sound engineering minds has enabled the team to overcome plenty of obstacles, though, and the cooling problem was no exception.
.We had silly horsepower last year and we had more this year,. Besic explained. .The cooling system was semi-happy with 400 horsepower, but now we have almost 600 and it can't keep up. We played with getting more air to the radiator and put little water sprayers on the radiator to cool it down. That seemed to help, but we were still having problems. It would get up to 240 degrees and throw out a gallon of water. On Thursday afternoon, we realized the belt was slipping, so we modified that a little bit and that seemed to cure it..
Setting a record at Bonneville isn't just a matter of going really, really fast just once. You have to do it twice, and if the average of the two runs is above the old record, you've set the new one. The challenge was in keeping the engine cool enough to accomplish the goal.
On Thursday, Steck qualified for the 211.07 G/BGMS record with a 214.05. On Friday morning, he took advantage of cooler air and backed that up with a 219.07. Averaged out, that came to 217.152 and topped the previous class record held since 1991 by a Porsche Turbo. Back when the project began, that record was the team's main goal and finally achieving it was a sweet moment for all involved.
On the sour side, seeing the 203.108 mph G/BFMS record set with driver Craig Bielat in 2002 obliterated by a 221mph Nissan was a slight disappointment, but the team is confident that even more speed can be wrung out of the car. First on the job list, of course, will be improved cooling.
.If we get the cooling solved, I'll be willing to turn the boost up and run a little harder,. Steck said. .I threw the water out of that engine every run this year, but it kept coming back for more, so I think it's pretty robust. We'll put a five-speed in it instead of the four-speed and put smaller tires on the rear. We'll make a headrest faring for it and wrap the windscreen all the way around to the sides of the faring. Hopefully, we'll be able to run a higher speed at the same engine speed with smaller tires..
Records, as they say, are made to be broken. The Alfa team set one and lost one at Bonneville this year, so there's plenty of motivation to carry them through the winter. Steck and Besic believe 230-plus mph is possible, and considering that no one ever expected an Alfa Spider to hit 217 at Bonneville to begin with, who's going to doubt them?
.We've had the right people and everything came together,. said Kreines. .We've been lucky, too. Not everybody comes out there and does what we've done. The car's got three records and we'll get the other one back..
