Decision made, money sent

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.

Memories

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!

Leaner

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.

Let's keep our fingers crossed shall we?

The '71 can hang!

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)!

1. Remove pan
   
2. Remove VB
   
3. 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.
   
4. 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.
   
5. 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.
   
6. 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!

Lush is such a killer station!

Stina Nordenstam -> On Falling

Groove Theory

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.

That thread is here.

If I can get to 17 psi on mid grade, I'll be over the moon!

Emotive things

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.



Yeah, I could go for some of that about now.

Wild Weasel

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.

Yeah, that day is soon.

Top Gear

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.

:-(

TCAS? Near miss?

I was on a flight from Chicago to Tampa recently (this is the return from the Colorado trip) and saw some ish that really got my attention. While heading up hill in a Ted A319 (around 25K), I looked out the window to see an American Airlines MD-80 passing over our heads by no more the 500 feet! It may have been more. It may have been less. Whatever the case, it was a suprise to say the least.

Oh well. I'm still here so what am I crying about?

Boots!!!!!!!

I want these!




Now here's to hoping I can buy a pair this weekend. Of course, all is not lost. I do have a set of these making there way to me right now via UPS.



Colorado turned out to be pretty cool. :-)

Colorado bound! I'm outta here to go put my feet high, eat food, and be in good company. Oh, let's not forget flirting with cute airline girls, err......, ladies.

I hope there's a pool somewhere too come to think of it.

Woes of a Gunfighter

I wonder just how much Cable really loved Domino.

Selflessness has a unique pain at times. A characteristic all it's own depending on the circumstance. Understanding, as a companion is no less sharp and has no respect in it's cutting. What needs to be held should be held. What needs to be cared for shall be cared for. What needs to be thought of will be thought of. And what must be let go must be let go of.

But what if I'm tired of letting go? What if I'm tired of seeing my freinds deal with lifes bogeys on their own? What if for their sake, I want to enter into the furball and splash targets? I am not new to struggle. I am not new to conflict. What if I want to put nose on target and hear the growling? I am a Gunfighter! There are none better.

But what should be a flight of two is flight of one with precious cargo. I don't want to fight alone. I don't want to fly alone. Because back at the nest, I don't want to be without those that I've come to love. Because back at the nest, I want to hold you and talk to you. Because back at the nest I want to put your head on my shoulder and squeeze. I want to pull you in close and tell you that you and your precious cargo are both precious too me and I want to do so every day as long as my engines continue to roar.

In the company of eagles, bonds should not so lightly be broken.

Or made?

How I love old cars sometimes.



Yeah, that was a bummer.

Of course, there are good sides too. Since I ended up with a week rental on a car, I've also fixed the leaking oil pan and will install my IPD adjustable panhard and torque rods. I also got a new cold side wheel and housing for my girl too.



That's a V or S trim wheel inside of a Nissan quick spool housing that's been ported big time. The inducer is a good bit larger then the original 60 wheel that came with those setups or Super 60's.

This is a just a temp setup. I'm still planning on the 50 trim setup, but at least this way I can get things together and worked out in general.

An affinity

My cousin popped into town rather unexpectedly last week. By this I mean I had no idea she was going to be here until she was here! This is par for the course for this cousin but do we get a choice in our relatives?

Tune out the negative connotation of that last sentence please.

It should also be said that "in town" means within reasonable driving distance. In this case, Tampa to Orlando. So I tell my boss that a relative popped in and I want the day off.

Now cue Friday, the day of, and I'm eventually off. Things start going bad right out of the gate. Not far out from the pad, the AC packs up. That's no small deal here in Florida either. Especially considering we are talking about the height of summer. Good thing I had an extra shirt in the car becuase it was hot! It doesn't help that I sat in traffic going through Tampa in what was absolutely sweltering conditions. May as well turn up the music and be glad you're alive.

I stopped somewhere about 3/4's of the way there to get some water and call my cousin. I left her a message and decided to have some lunch where I was there (needed to kill some time), which was no more then a greasy spoon truck stop with gnarly food, hairy big guys that spend all day long behind the wheel, and an adorable waitress that seemed way out of place with this sea of junkfood muching human bears.

I'm eventually off and into the Kissime area. I've spotted the Nicklelodeon Hotel and head for the lobby. No answer on the phone or via text so after sitting there for 30 minutes, I head out looking for a bookstore to blow some more time. May as well.

Of course, I just can't get away from mis-fortune. 1 mile down the road and the temp on my car has shot for the moon. Eventually getting into a parking spot and popping the hood provides a curious picture. The coolant overflow bottle is blown up like a ballon?!?! What the heck is that all about right? By this time, there are some really dark thoughts knocking around my head. I check the oil and at least it still looks like oil. I slowly release pressure from the cooling system then pour in some cold water, zip the system up, and head back out on my trek. Now everything is fine which just makes it all the more strange.

After questing around Kissime based on bunk directions I get a call from the point of this trip and head back The Nick. Sitting in the lobby, I start wondering just how different she's going to look from the last time I saw here. Her being Vanessa. I was terrorfied I wouldn't recognize her. But no, she is just as gorgeous. Even behind the gigantic black framed glasses, it was that face.

My cousing Vanessa is THE BOMB!!! I don't know why but I just dig her like no other. We just hang out and it's all good and all that easy.

And on top of all that, her kids are absolutely beautiful. I was so smitten by Alex and was very close to taking her back home with me. A perfect blend of 'Nessa and Vernon (her husband who is cool and mellow as h311!) with a rich and dark complexion unlike 'Nessa and I with our milk chocolate hues. The youngest girl, CC, has the amazingly subtle and exquisite features.

And boy could those kids raise hell! When they started throwing rocks at one of the windows at Friday's, I about died. LOL.

But what I was really looking forward too was when everyone else knocked off for the night and I could have 'Nessa to myself. I hadn't got to spend any alone face time with her in 15 years. Remembering now how I felt, I can't believe I let it go that long.

And that's something that has to change a bit. My aunt and uncles are less then 8 hours drive away and cool as ice in addition to being real characters. Everytime I get to see them I'm reminded of just how bitchin of a family I come from! All the coolest things a group of people could have. Beauty, intensity, hilarity, kindness, and unconditional love.

Leaving that evening was hard. I got three hugs out of the deal tho so I'm not complaining. But I also had the best drive home ever. It was 2 in the morning and had cooled off. The stereo worked and the turbo was as faithful as ever. The temps stayed reasonable so you could say there was nothing to spoil the after glow of the visit.

It's funny how good of a decision it was to just ignore the problems and conditions knowing that it would end up being more then worth it. I was so worth the trouble and will still be worth the trouble of the work I'm about to get into to fix the blown headgasket that was the cause of so many problems on the trip.

Thanx 'Nessa

I've never been one for binds. Or at least less and less everyday. But a bind nonetheless is here.

Once again I am multiply engaged! A furball with two immediate threats and a deep yearning for a distant and greying objective. But let's let the truth be known shall we. I am The Brown Bear and I'm playing with these guys. But for each target, the nature of the play is different and in time, they'll both be splashed in their own unique way. But until that time, let's just manuever. Let's bring one in close and put distance on the other. Let's confound the intent of one and trap the manuevering of the other with an embrace of concern.

There will be no kills from this engagement.

But alas, my dearest objective is WINCHESTER, BINGO, and RTB to a place I know not. I miss her, my fellow Saint and embracemate, our feet on deck on the Oriskany.

Did yet more screwing around with the T04E 50 trim map and came up with the below.

There are now two new points and a plot as well.

• The yellow point represents a boost ceiling of 24psi and 86% VE.
  
• The blue point is 26psi and 86% VE.
  
• The light blue area represents an efficiency range of 76%.
  
• The green area is 78%!
  

The plot is a very wild and generous guess of where I would be in terms of efficiency at various points in the rev range starting at 2500 and going to 6200 RPM for a redblock. That plot suggests that the unit spools relatively quickly but that's something I really have no idea of until the unit is on the car and spinning. There are others running very similar setups but I yet have no data from someone running the same Cosworth hotside / T04E combo that we are talking about here.

Another thing about that plot line is it's suggestion or hint that if I spool faster then the guesses I've made, I could well be into surge land. Let's hope tat's not the case.

I just can believe how good of a setup these T04E 50 trim units are. Look at the size or combined areas of the 78% and 76% regions. That's absolutely huge!

Wow! T04E 50 trims rock!

After banging my head for a while and doing more math then I've done in some time, I'm forced to see the wisdom of what various others have been telling me about the 50 trim compressors. I've been hoping that I'll be able to realize my goal of 300 HP at the wheels with 20psi at the lest. Based on VE and PR calculations and laying this information over the top of a T04E 50 trim compressor map, I get some awesome results. Below is the point if I decide that I want to shift at 5500 rpm and 20 psi.

That's fantastic!

Now I really suspect my goal will be realized based on what others are doing out there with the same heads without porting and using the stock valve sizes. One freind of mine hit 320 at the wheels at 26psi with no mods to the head (as mentioned) other then an IPD turbo cam.

I state the above as comparison to what it is I'm running. The same 530 head, but ported, polished, grooved, and running 38mm exhaust (as opposed to 35mm) valves. The other difference is a V cam. That said, I should have superior flow potential through the head then he does, not to mention I'm using a far more efficient cold side then he (T04E 60 trim). This greater flow capability is the first reason I am hoping I won't need more then 20psi. But if that's the case, it's no big deal to turn it up a tad right?

OTOH, I could make an absolute boost ceiling of 20psi and just live with the results whatever they are. In this way, I can stay with OE pistons and ensure a bit less stress on the bottom end.

Yeah, I may just have to give that idea some serious consideration. :-)

G.O.W.! Started and finished in two days.

There is a reason I don't buy video games anymore.

Friday night, after writing code all day and being at work for a bit more then 8 hours, I decide to head downstairs into the break room and play the game I'd been excited about playing for some time.

Gears Of Wars.



We've actually had this game in the building as long as I've worked here but for some reason when I first played it, I just couldn't gel with the 3rd person POV, not to mention those blasted controllers. I'm a PC guy! Controls for games should be with a mouse and keyboard in my opinion.

Anyway, I guess I decided to stick it out Friday night. I started sometime around 10:15 and just got busy. Time passed and Locust died. Suddenly, there is this beeping sound that I thought was the building alarm going off. An alarm that shouldn't have been set in the first place right? Well after running around trying to get down to the bottom of this, I realize it's the alarm clock ON MY PHONE! iT WAS 5:30 AM!!!!

There is a reason I don't buy video games anymore.

Seeing it was 5:30, I decided to go home. Of course, when Monday came around, I headed back to the break room to play some more. The level/checkpoint/act that I picked back up on was the very last of the game. As it turns out, I pretty much knocked over the entire game in a single evening. Wow!

Now that's kinda nice as I now won't find myself dreaming about re-immersing back into the G.O.W. world all day long while I should be hackin' out code. It's done and the urge to spend serious hours at the controls are gone. of course, that's not to imply that heading back down and doing a little blasting still isnt' fun. It is! Especially when I can go back to my favorite fights and engage.

Ultimately, the G.O.W. world is amazingly beautiful. Even the wreckage of the civilization they are fighting to preserve is staggering in it's beauty.

Or is it just the graphics?

Whatever the case, it's amazing! The level of detail is stunning. The effect of distance is emotive. Walking through and fighting in courtyards and gardens with absolutely incredible lighting effects is just downright bitchin'! Even running with your mates and listening to their ridiculous banter is too damn cool (tho Baird will throw down with the best of 'em, he needs to stop whining!).

The level of dread wasn't as high as I expected at times, tho it was there. It wasn't like the original Doom or Half Life, much less Doom III (which scared the hell out of EVERYBODY), but you certainly felt your tension level rise when the Boomers showed up or wrenches(?) rushed you in the middle of a reload.

So what is/are the coolest thing(s) about Gears? How you use cover and the blind fire. It's awesome to take cover behind something and just stick your weapon out and pull the trigger. Great for keeping Locust noggins down while your boys advance. You can even chuck grenades over too! And once you get the hang of using the A button to dive, run, and take and slide into cover, you are good as gold.

Best weapon? Sniper rifle by far! Not as useful for general throwing down, but there are times when it's scope and one hit one kill glorly is going to make the going a lot easier.

So yeah, I'm glad I knocked it out. It was like a good movie that I was part of living.

Drawbacks? Yeah, there is a big one. Why did they have to make Marcus so terminally macho. Where was the anger about being in prison for nothing for 14 years? Where was the anger about seeing everything destroyed by the Locust? You did see glimpses of emotion at times (like when Raam killed the Lt), but it's not enough. Showing Marcus to be more complex then a collection of cheesy Duke Nukem one liners would have paid big for those that aren't so apt to become immersed in a story line.

Hair splitting aside, G.O.W. II is now highly anticipated.

Oh Grace, please let me go!

I'm STILL at work! At least I'm about to leave. The problem right now is that it's too hard to get up. I've knocked over a ton of code today and this project is lookin' mad toite yo! LOL!

Another problem is that same old problem that is very good at grabbing me from time to time. Music! "So who is it this time", you're asking?



That's Grace Valhalla. It's essentially Ambient Electronica. And it's rockin'! Music in the vien of Juno Reactor and Orbital. She's using some awesome sounds too. Some of that stuff reminds me of my old Yamaha TG-33 tone generator. A good deal of it's rather warm and analog sounding. Good stuff.

Of course, I've just restarted 'Empty' on the "Peak" album. Man, this isn't helping my exit from the building one bit.

Anyway, she deserves notice if you're into that kind of thing. Check her out at one (or both) of the below links.

Myspace
Jamendo

And make a point of checking out Jamendo. Too many good artists there to ignore.