|davidjt|09/18/04 at 13:24:14|davidjt|
Dave Thanks for the information - I like the sound of simple, easily restoreable options - was always slightly dubious about stiff anti-roll bars in the wet, on the road. If playing with dampers and tyre pressures plus a strut brace will do the trick, I just need a track with plenty of room to experiment. And lots of practice. David l
|Dave M.||10/26/04 at 05:11:33|moshow
Once again it’s been quite a while since I’ve checked in with my project. This summer/fall has been very busy on a number of fronts which have all taken more time away from the Elan than I thought they would. Some were unexpected and required shifting priorities, some (like work) ate up what was normally free time, and some (like travel) were a blast, but didn’t leave much time or money for tweaks. It has been a great year, though. Despite not having seriously worked at the cooling problem, I’ve had a blast with the car and have attended a number of track days. The Elan did see limited track use (and performed quite well in the cool weather), but I had almost as much fun instructing for people and otherwise bumming rides whenever I could. As for the ongoing projects, here’s the latest: Cooling system – I now know there are a combination of issues here. Getting out for some track days sure helped shed more light on the issue. At the last event, I spent time staying out of the serious boost, but still found the temp rising (in some cases under heavy right hand corners [smiley=headscratch.gif] ). So boost isn’t the only problem. Could be water pump, could be thermostat, could be head gasket (I’ve been losing a little coolant somewhere), could be the fact that the new radiator is part brass/copper, etc. I still have to separate airflow to/from the IC and radiator as much as possible, but I will also look at a number of other bits over the winter. Timing computer – The MSD DIS-2 went in just before LOG. The car started and ran on the first try, but then after everything was mounted and totally wired the car would not start. This was right after a dead battery problem and the battery may have caused issues with the computer. This was also 2 days before LOG and I was in no mood to be stranded somewhere along the 800 mile trip. So I yanked the MSD, put the stock ignition back in, and the car has run fine since. This past weekend I reinstalled the DIS-2 and she started again on the first try, so I’ll see how things go this week. Actually I’m somewhat glad I haven’t spent too much time on tuning this summer as I had a meeting yesterday that may shift a number of future plans for the car. Out of nowhere, a tuning shop with, among other things an AWD dyno, lands about 3 miles from my office.
http://www.ayaracing.com/ The owner’s name is Kaz Aya (anyone know the name?), and apparently he has a good deal of experience with turbo engines (as well as suspension, drivetrain, etc.) from years of rally and road racing. One interesting bit is he is a Unichip dealer/installer (hello, Philbo?!). We had a long discussion today about the entire car ranging from suspension, to brakes, to turbo, and more. To make a long story short, we are going to do a little testing to see if my head gasket is an issue and what condition the internals are in. If the gasket is shot or if there are any issues with the cylinders or pistons, the entire engine may come out this winter for a rebuild. If so, that’s fine. I’ve wanted to port-match the intake, clean up the valve seats (3 or 5-angle valve job), add a Teflon spacer between the head and the plenum (for keeping heat out of the intake charge), and about 5-6 other things that would be much easier or require the engine to be out. Not the least of which is to replace the $#%^ oil pressure transducer! If things are OK with the gasket, or after the above gets completed, we are taking a fresh look at where I am going with my tuning. Like Philbo, we may try the Unichip route, or I may find the Apex’i and MSD pieces are adequate and stick with them. The owner pointed out that the Apex’i is not ideal for what I’m trying to accomplish, but budget may require it be good enough for now. Especially if I’m rebuilding an engine… Regardless, the shop is *exactly* what I’ve needed to really set the car up well. Besides the engine tuning, he also can assist with suspension tweaks, brake biasing, manifold and O2 housing replacement construction, and about anything else I’d need – of course, requiring a second mortgage! The point is this could be a very good resource for custom parts and loads of other ideas for everyone. He even talked of fabricating some sort of external wastegate to help with boost creep. Good stuff. The car goes in next week for what will likely be the beginning of an interesting “off-season”. I’ll be in touch with the results.
10/26/04 at 05:37:11|moshow|Dave M.||10/27/04 at18:17:44|moshow|
All is well with the timing computer so far. The car has started no problem the last three tries. I don't have the coils mounted yet, but will be driving in a day or so. I had to laugh at what car tuning is coming to: Last night I'm sitting in my car in the quiet garage. Laptop in my lap to first do a PROM dump for ESM, then swap cables and start programming the MSD DIS-2. I have a basic timing curve set based on boost, and just need to get on the road to try it out. Lots of neat tweaks to this unit, but besides the obvious timing adjustment based on rpm and/or boost, it has a “burnout” rev limiter for drag racers. Give 12V to a lead into the unit and you can program the rpm limit. I decided it could be fun to use as a very basic traction control for 1st gear, or even a cruise control (i.e.-set for 3500 rpm ~75 mph). Just mash your foot and stretch and you wouldn't go any faster. It was weird flooring the car last night and having things set at 2000 rpm. It just stayed right there. Guess it doesn't take much to amuse us accounting types... ::)
|Dave M.||11/11/04 at 18:33:56|moshow|
Well, my project is officially sidelined until spring. After getting the timing computer in and starting to tune a little bit, I was hoping to get a dyno run in before the snow flew to see what finally leaning things out would do. Despite being able to pull timing back and successfully getting rid of any knock under heavy boost (up to 22 psi), my head gasket had other ideas. I took the car over to my new local shop after I started losing a little coolant and had some tests run. The leakdown test proved what I feared: a leak between cylinders 1-2 and 3-4. Crap. We also looked into the cylinders with a scope and found the #3 piston to be slightly burnt around the edge. It appears at some point there was detonation which may have caused some damage. This could have been from a year back when I tried leaning the car out before having the timing computer in. Not the best news, but as the owner of the shop said: “now you’ve got a winter project!” It looks as if I’ll pull the engine and have it taken apart and inspected. For starters, I will have the head gasket replaced, the block checked for straightness, and the head flow matched. While things are apart, I also plan on installing stronger pistons (as it appears one may be shot anyway), having the crank inspected, polished, and balanced, the connecting rods checked and upgraded if we feel necessary, and having the head gone through. All in all, the engine will be rebuilt to some extent with stronger components and everything gone through to make sure it’s fresh. After the mechanical side is done (probably spring), I will be looking at going the route of Philbo and having the Unichip installed. I didn’t go the Unichip or Haltech route originally because 1) I didn’t have a shop nearby that could do the tuning of either computer, 2) I wanted to stage my upgrades, and 3) I wanted to do some of the tuning myself and learn as I went. Now that the engine is going to be cracked and improved, I’ll save the serious tuning for the shop. While I still feel the pieces I had in place could have done an adequate job, as Philbo has explained, the Unichip allows for optimization of fuel/timing/etc under all conditions and loads. This tuning also isn’t possible without the correct dyno. The shop has a Mustang Dyno, which apparently can hold at various loads and speeds specifically for tuning purposes. I could have never done this tuning before with the Dynojet I’ve previously been on. The owner feels the car could be built to run at 1.5-1.6 bar all day long without issue, so that’s the goal. Part of me is bummed to have the car up a little early this year (though it is supposed to snow a touch tonight…urgh), but the other part of me is very excited to get the engine out and do all the misc things I’ve needed/wanted to do like replace the oil pressure transducer, install a remote oil filter kit, maybe gasket-match the intake, install a special gasket to insulate the intake from the head to keep things cool, install an oil temp gauge, and clean… Lots to do, but I now have the time I guess! The key is getting the engine out ASAP and to the shop as I have a feeling getting parts will be a long process. That will start this weekend. I will also start another thread here in “Projects” that focuses on the whole engine removal/rebuild project. It might help for future reference. Much more to come!
|Ashaman||11/11/04 at 21:02:43|Ashaman|
So tell me, Dave...were you the one who originally coined the phrase “Project Creep?” ;D Sorry to hear about the engine damage, what a bummer! Of course it will be a great chance for repairing via upgrade, and it should be really interesting when you are through! Why aren't you going with the new Haltech computer? It is so easy to install and work with (provided you know what you are doing, unfortunately I have since learned that I do not, LOL), but I am sure your guy could set it up in no time. Anyway, I just like it since it is a plug in deal basically so you don't have to cut/splice into your wiring harness. I plugged mine in, plugged in the MAP, locked the timing and started it up! Piece of cake....if only tuning were so simple :-/
Posted: Tue 26.07.2005, 03:46
After returning from Lotus Owners Gathering 19 and the corresponding track day at Watkins Glen, I was determined to make the car into an everyday drivable vehicle that I could also take to the track and make a few heads turn as well as forcing drivers of more expensive machinery into sticking their hand out the window to give the pass signal. After the basic MBC, K&N, EBC brakes upgrades, the car was quick, but needed a touch more to hang with the Esprits in some of our club events. Enter Kip & others @ Isuzone and Kyle @ BlackHole Performance (BHP). With an upgraded turbo and fuel system, the car has become spooky fast and is getting to the limits of FWD grip, even with autocross rubber. Additional input from Philbo and Matt with regard to suspension and exhaust help, and a wonderful program to data log courtesy of Alan, and the car is quickly becoming more than what my original vision could have imagined. As of last November, I dynoed 227.5 HP @ 6000 RPM and 208.6 lb/ft @ 5500 RPM. This was before the intake and exhaust upgrades, any underdrive pulley or flywheel changes, and still running extremely rich. Currently the car is modified as follows:
