Well, I've changed gears and am dropping the idea of using the T04 V trim wheel in the ported Nissan housing. While it would've been cool fer shizzle, I really would like to make my objective of 300hp. Either that, or have the potential in the turbo I'm running. And based so far on the combo of things that I have, I should be there.
What do I have so far?
* Ported, polished, grooved 530 head with a new cam * Ported and port matched exhaust 90+ manifold * Ported and port matched intake manifold * 3" exhaust including a 3" dp
Now the tricks that I hope should get me over the top will include...
* Garret T3/T4 with a .48 Cosworth housing and a T04e 46 trim .70 AR cold side. * Grooved head which allows me to run pretty advanced timing without having to resort to race gas.
The head flows more then enough for a 300hp objective without a doubt. That turbo does as well. Let's now see if there is something else in the way, but I really, really doubt that I won't make my objective.
For giggles, here is a picture of the compressor side housing next to a T04b setup.
Now tell me that's not going to move some air!
Now just to decide if I want to polish it or bead blast it and seal with paint.
Reading the August '08 issue of Superbike and a passage talking about tucking the front on a 1098 reminded me of some fun I used to have. An '85 Yamaha FJ1100.
I actually had more then one at various times, but this last 85 I had the longest and had some good times on it. It had powder coated white wheels and a smoked screen when I got it. By the time I got rid of it, there was Fox and Progressive suspension bits, a Vance & Hines 4-into-1 Megaphone in black (entirely too loud, but cool as hell when you could see flames shooting out of the baffles at night!), braided lines, and a host of other little things that conspired to really make it awesome bike to ride.
But let's remember that it had it's issues. When those bias plies were cold, they gave up no feedback. Nevermind the fact that the bike was long enough to span two country codes.The bike was real slow about rotating in that stealthy manner, only to suprise the hell out of you when it suddenly found traction and lifted your arse a foot or three out of the seat. Interesting that once the tires were hot, throttle steering 2nd gear was as heavenly as it's going to get on a bike!
But it was a trist of the front end that I'm remembering the most. Charging down 152 towards Watsonville in California, I was in my usual aggressive mode. By this time, a lot of things about the bike had been changed so I really liked changing directions. Perhaps I shouldn't have been carrying so much speed into corners, but that's how I was riding the bike in those days.
But one corner made me rethink that policy on the FJ. On a fast downhill left hander that I chucked the bike into when just as I noticed that I was pushing, the front tucks, pushes straight for about 5 feet, then bangs hard on the center stand (there's a reason those don't get put on Sportbikes anymore!) causing the front wheel to regain traction. And good thing too as by the time I was back under a semblance of control (and my buttocks started to release their grip on the seat), I was perilously close to the edge of a road and a 100+ foot drop off.
Yeah, I went back to riding it like a point and shoot bike after that. And even then, it still had me out of the seat on a couple of more occasions before trading it in for an RF600. But in spite of the trade, I had some damn good times on the FJ. I'll never forget my long days riding up the coast from L.A. to Santa Cruz on that bike. Sunny afternoons on Highway 1 from San Luis Obispo to Monterey and those endlessly twisting roads. The bike sounded incredible echoing off the mountains.
But whatever right? Besides, my save talked about above was luck! Skill is below!
My 244 (Motoko) has been running Hi-Z 42lb hour injectors for a while now. Something that is a problem with LH 2.4 is the fact that while it can accommodate injectors that are a good deal larger then stock, it makes no provision for them during closed loop operation and you therefore end up with a very rich running car.
There is a fix, but it can rather dangerous. That is is skewing the signal (via adding resistance) to the signal from the AMM (or MAF) to the ECU. The danger comes in the fact that the ECU see's this as a far lower bit of air that's reaching the system and therefore runs ignition timing that is more advanced then it would be otherwise. If your car was prone to ping before, it's going to be real bad after.
In my case, the head grooving means it's a non-issue. Woot! The results, other then a much better WOT AFR and less fuel waste, is a far livelier car. It's now very very smooth at idle and low speeds. Acceleration has seen a marked improvement. I really expect to see an increase in mileage with this change. If I don't, I'll be very very surprised.
As it turns out, the AW71 is stronger then a lot of us have been led to believe. This part has been known for some time actually. The easiest way to cut the soft clutch killing nature out of the AW71 is to modify the accumulator pistons.
Here is a short and simple on how to do it. And I suggest that you do it with the tranny out and upside down (as in pan facing up)!
Remove pan
Remove VB
Pop the accumulator pistons out of their cylinders. This will most likely require a little compressed air. To find where you need to apply that air is simple. Push down on the piston (not too violently either) and watch for bubbling or a stream of ATF coming out near the base of the cylinder. Use shop rags over the piston to keep parts from flying all over dodge and the old ATF spray.
Once they are all unseated, compare the springs from each of the pistons. Take the spring with the smallest internal diameter and head to Home Depot. They sell round metal stock (rods). Find the largest size that will fit in there easily.
Back at the pad, cut a length of the rod that is just slightly shorter then the overall length of the spring. Put a chamfer on the ends of the rod (if you have the tools), place inside the spring, then place those in the piston and re-seat the piston in it's cylinder.
Repeat until finished.
I will say that if any of the pistons come out real easy, it would be a good idea to replace the o-rings that go around the pistons.
The above completed, you have a transmission that can handle enough power to make your Volvo a hell of a fun beast to pilot on the street. Kenny Howard told me this morning he put 350 wheel through his during dyno testing last night.
The crazy thing about the above testing is the RPM he ran the unit up to. It's been common belief that these units start to self destruct above 5200 RPM, but Kenny ran his up to 7400 RPM! That really managed to blow some common beliefs out of the water.
Ultimately Kenny Howard has gone a long ways towards researching other options for these transmissions. He and I are both on track to build AW71/372 hyrbrids using high performance clutches but the vast majority of work, effort and credit go to Kenny.
For me, I don't plan on needing the ability to rev the motor that high. I'm trying to build a motor with killer mid-range and torque and an HP number north of 300hp at the wheels. The idea is to do this within the 0-6200 RPM rev range that LH 2.4 allows.
On other car related fronts, the grooves continue to impress. I'm know knocking over 10psi on 89 octane gas with no detonation. Now, I'm prolly going to stop right there until I get Knocksense from Boris and make absolutely sure of what I'm already pretty damn sure about. But whatever the case, it's awesome. Cheap gas on a boosted motor equals nice!
Well, it's been over a month since I blew a headgasket. When the head was off, I grooved it. If you don't know what that is, you can look here.
http://somender-singh.com/content/view/7/31/
Now the last tank of gas I used and the one I just put in are both 89 octane mid-grade! That's significant because this is a (relatively) high compression engine with a turbo charger. These are normally the conditions that require super unleaded. However, with the grooves, I've run up to 8psi.
The plan is to continue testing the effectiveness of these grooves on my setup. The next step is to buy Knocksense from my boy Boris. Once I can comfortably and safely monitor knock, I'd like to start working on altering ignition timing and leaning out the on boost air fuel ratio.
Just to give an example of the some of the success people have found running this mod, here is a post from a Guy in Denmark on the TB forums.
I'm running 17.4 psi of boost, on our med. grade petrol.
Got a mutch smooter running engine, better fuel economy, and more resistent to ping.
I posted something elsewhere that met with more approval then I anticipated.
ALL cars are "soulless" gadgets. Period! What makes a car awesome is what it invokes. How emotive is it's interface? How emotive is it's brutality? How emotive are it's lines? How emotive is it's capability? And how do all of those things make you feel?
What's soulful is an experience that a gadget begets.
I will add to the last line that it's also what the gadget allows. And right now, I need something to allow the fullest display of my anger.
Perhaps I just need to put some super back in the tank and turn the boost back up.
On another note, a mate posted this over at T-Bricks.
I'm being painted. I can see it. I can tell. I can feel it. In all the obvious ways to someone that is aware of all those obvious ways, however subtle to most.
To the Star I will say, "I have the star"! Not much you can do now other then fire or shutdown right? But whatever the case, I'm an old hand at this game. With twice as much flight time as you have life time, it's not really a fair match anyway is it?
I suspect the smirk on my face says it all. The obvious pleasure of gravity and target acquisition. The smile of an old sly fox when he's realized the battle is won. That a desired and cherished objective is nigh on completion.
But whatever. I'm wings level and on the deck. RTB with the can lit. Moments back, I looked you right in the eye, that gorgeous dish lively and ever tracking. Both of us with a lock on the other. Today wasn't the day, but we know it's soon. It will no doubt be when that interloping superiour of your's is on leave. And on that day, it's all about HARM. But for now, I'm still that target you know you wish to down and embrace, in spite of rank, position, or country. The roar of my "Thud" echoing in the chambers of your heart.
I've been watching Top Gear for aeons and love the show, just like 70% of the world it tuns out. But man I'm in deep withdrawals right now that the season is over. I guess it's time to start looking at the old stuff again.
