Toyota Racing EFI Testing Notes
Mike Skinner tested Electronic Fuel Injection in a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota at Kentucky on Thursday. Lee White, president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development.
Some quotes from both:
Q) How was the first testing session with the Camry outfitted with EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection)?
Mike Skinner "We started out a little rocky this morning — we had some skips and a few bumps in the road. They've worked really, really hard. They've remapped this EFI system several times and they've got it running really, really good now. I think it's going to be competitive. I think the lap times were respectable for what we're doing and the car we're doing it with. I think we're far enough along now to put one of our full-time Sprint Cup drivers in it and get a second opinion and see what they think about it."
Q) Could you tell a difference between the EFI car and a non-fuel injected Camry?
Mike Skinner "I drove both today, as you know, and on the race track at first you could tell a lot of difference, but we didn't have this thing worked out. Each map change that they've made — they went backwards, they went forwards, they went backwards and they went forward — the last three runs have all been forward. On the race track now, I'm not so sure you can tell a big difference at all."
Q) How do you feel about the move to EFI?
Lee White "The injection thing, particularly at the level we're doing it here, is something we have three decades of experience with. It doesn't mean it's easy, because we want to do it right. We've spent a lot of time working together with McLaren and Freescale, and of course with NASCAR. We've had weekly meetings with NASCAR to try and contribute with everything around the ECU that McLaren provides: the looming; the sensors; connectors between the ECU and harness that is in the engine compartment; how you deal with heat; how you deal with crash damage; if you have to change out an ECU what kind of connector can you use; and tried to help them from our experience. We've done some track testing that the NASCAR guys have done with us and participated and collected data along with our own guys for our use. It's been a very cooperative project and I'm sure the other manufacturers have contributed, as well as engine builders that are out there — with Hendrick, Roush, Yates, Childress, Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing and TRD. It's a very interesting program and we're moving forward with it." Toyota Racing
Some quotes from both:
Q) How was the first testing session with the Camry outfitted with EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection)?
Mike Skinner "We started out a little rocky this morning — we had some skips and a few bumps in the road. They've worked really, really hard. They've remapped this EFI system several times and they've got it running really, really good now. I think it's going to be competitive. I think the lap times were respectable for what we're doing and the car we're doing it with. I think we're far enough along now to put one of our full-time Sprint Cup drivers in it and get a second opinion and see what they think about it."
Q) Could you tell a difference between the EFI car and a non-fuel injected Camry?
Mike Skinner "I drove both today, as you know, and on the race track at first you could tell a lot of difference, but we didn't have this thing worked out. Each map change that they've made — they went backwards, they went forwards, they went backwards and they went forward — the last three runs have all been forward. On the race track now, I'm not so sure you can tell a big difference at all."
Q) How do you feel about the move to EFI?
Lee White "The injection thing, particularly at the level we're doing it here, is something we have three decades of experience with. It doesn't mean it's easy, because we want to do it right. We've spent a lot of time working together with McLaren and Freescale, and of course with NASCAR. We've had weekly meetings with NASCAR to try and contribute with everything around the ECU that McLaren provides: the looming; the sensors; connectors between the ECU and harness that is in the engine compartment; how you deal with heat; how you deal with crash damage; if you have to change out an ECU what kind of connector can you use; and tried to help them from our experience. We've done some track testing that the NASCAR guys have done with us and participated and collected data along with our own guys for our use. It's been a very cooperative project and I'm sure the other manufacturers have contributed, as well as engine builders that are out there — with Hendrick, Roush, Yates, Childress, Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing and TRD. It's a very interesting program and we're moving forward with it." Toyota Racing