4722 replies to this topic

[Nev]

Dup post.

Edited by Nev, 08 July 2013 - 09:45 PM.

[Nev]

Almost running perfectly... Jules was having a test drive yesterday when the bloody boost pipe blew off the Porsche throttle body yet again.

 

I have been in the garage tonight and fitted a proper metal collar round the throttle-body and clamped it down with 40 ft/lb of torque on the jubilee clip!!  Went out for a moderately vigourous test run and took it up to 20 PSI without it blowing off. That's not a conclusive test, but it's looking promising.

 

I do love the go-cart feeling on my car at the moment (when on good tarmac). I also test drove Jule's VX at the weekend. His setup is approximately the diametric opposite of mine, nice and soft and compliant, which explains why he can belt down a bumpy B-road and make me worried that I can't keep up.

 

The thing about car setup is that it has to be done to suit your own driving style/roads that you commonly drive on. No one setup will ever be good for all conditions. As with many aspects of tuning, what you gain in one hand, is taken away in another.

Edited by Nev, 08 July 2013 - 10:05 PM.

[jules_s]

Yay

 

^^^ Possibly one of my most embarrassing/shitting myself moments of driving Vx's

 

Glad it sounds like you're sorting it

[jules_s]

Btw,

 

We sort of got caught up in the hose blowing off moment and we didn't really have a further chat about Nippers set up.

 

Having thought about it a bit more, I'm fairly certain that Dave would have some interesting input into Nippers handling and general 'feel' you were concerned about.

 

To be honest, I'm not convinced there is anything dramatically 'wrong' however for the sake of meagre £££ outlay it would be worth getting his (or ANothers) opinion as to where you are at.

 

I'll PM you his details in a mo

[Nev]

Went for another test drive today, was on a motorway slip road to join it and booted the car and there was yet another almighty pop as another boost hose popped off. Had to pull over on the hard shoulder, run round the back, get my spanners out and reconnect it in 2 minutes and then drove back home. First time I've ever had to pull over onto the hard shoulder in any car.

 

This time it was a different hose connector. I have now replaced all the single Mikalor clamps I used to have with double jubilee clips at every joint on the boost pipe system from the IC to top hat. All pipes are beaded now, apart from one which would require taking the clam off to get to. Hopefully however this latest hiccup is now sorted with the double jubilee clips.

 

It seems the power of the dark side is too much for my clips and pipes at the moment

Edited by Nev, 12 July 2013 - 09:55 PM.

[jules_s]

As I said to you on Sunday, I'd be hopeful the double clip will give more bite Next step (if needed) on the TB would be to get a collar made up with a ridge which sits central on the clip wires

[Nev]

I've also filed a rough surface on the necks of the alu pipes, such that the silicone pipes can "key" better onto the rough metal surface. It's a bit annoying to be repeatedly let down by such a basic issue which I've only ever had happen once before in 5 years.

 

On the plus side, thankfully the TB neck pipe is now staying on and the car feels like a complete go-cart in these temps with the tyres gripping like mad.

 

Also, I got stuck in hellish traffic on the motorway for 30 mins, and even in 30 degree ambient temps I am relieved to say the engine didn't overheat (water only got to 98 degrees). Funnily enough just as I parked the car in the garage the rad fans switched on for the first time in several years.

Edited by Nev, 12 July 2013 - 10:09 PM.

[steveboyslim]

Nev,

 

you want to be fixing the problem with turbo hoses comming off as each time that happends you run the risk of overspeeding the turbo which wears the turbo

 

prematurley or can damage it.

 

Steve

[chrisgold]

You would think Mikalor clamps would hold better than Jubilee clips wouldn't you, is the swagging on the pipes not very good? Mind ive always preferred genuine stainless Jubilee clips over [color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]Mikalor clamps.[/color]

Should not have a problem with them coming off at 20psi? weird it keeps blowing them eh!? Sure you could run closer to 30psi with that turbo? I think the new Astra VXR runs 30psi stage 2, off topic I know, but as I am waiting on delivery of my new one haha 

[Nev]

You would think Mikalor clamps would hold better than Jubilee clips wouldn't you, is the swagging on the pipes not very good? Mind ive always preferred genuine stainless Jubilee clips over [color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]Mikalor clamps.[/color]

Should not have a problem with them coming off at 20psi? weird it keeps blowing them eh!? Sure you could run closer to 30psi with that turbo? I think the new Astra VXR runs 30psi stage 2, off topic I know, but as I am waiting on delivery of my new one haha 

 

I think the problem with the Mikalor clamps is that the relatively large union/bolt area clamps more tightly than the rest of the circumference, leading to unequal loading on the clamped pipe. This is demonstrated if you tighten one up without a pipe for it to hug, you can see it adopt a 1 sided ovaloid shape, rather than a circle.

 

Yea, the turbo is easily capable of a pressure ratio of 3.5 times atmospheric, so in theory around 2.5 Bar of boost (ie about 35 PSI) might be possible if the restrictions are minimal (which they should be on my engine + pipework). However, 20 PSI is enough for me, and also I think this low value helps reduce the boost spike and ensures a flatter torque curve for the higher revs.

Edited by Nev, 18 July 2013 - 10:07 AM.

[Nev]

Nev,

 

you want to be fixing the problem with turbo hoses comming off as each time that happends you run the risk of overspeeding the turbo which wears the turbo

 

prematurley or can damage it.

 

Steve

 

Hi Steve, yea this would be a problem usually, but when the hose "explodes" off it is so loud and violent that instinct makes me immediately come off the pedal and pull over. Thankfully however the hoses are deffo staying on now. I know this as I managed to watch my boost gauge and plonked my foot down hard. The gauge showed an overboost of about 32 PSI !!!! This is completely excessive, as the map is meant to be to 22 PSI static. I specifically asked Mark at Courtenay if the map was protective (ie cut out) for overboost conditions and he assured me it was, however this does not seem to be the case. It is possible that my fiddling about has had some effect on the way the car boosts however. I have swapped out the BCS just in case, but it makes no difference and also the vac pipes are configured in the exact same way as when I took the car to CS.

 

Basically, I am painted into a corner now and HAVE to get a 3rd party ECU as the car is fuelling incorrectly, over-boosting and completely mental to drive if I plonk my foot down. I am now even beginning to believe the dyno readings I got from the Circuit Motors at Castle Coome, where they reported that it was making 33 PSI and 602 BHP. It's just way too much.

Edited by Nev, 18 July 2013 - 11:07 AM.

[siztenboots]

The motronic has plenty of safety factor in there to control the turbo, there is lots of diagnostics that it runs constantly looking for spurious sensor readings. So really no need for aftermarket.

[siztenboots]

When my actuator failed, that would also run mine at more than 32psi , briefly for a couple of seconds before the ecu shut down. But for those few seconds it was like warp drive.

[steveboyslim]

The motronic has plenty of safety factor in there to control the turbo, there is lots of diagnostics that it runs constantly looking for spurious sensor readings. So really no need for aftermarket.

 

You are wrong about the safety control and  it is not the diagnostics Nev needs, it is the ability to program the ecu to suit the engine.

 

Steve

[steveboyslim]

 

Nev,

 

you want to be fixing the problem with turbo hoses comming off as each time that happends you run the risk of overspeeding the turbo which wears the turbo

 

prematurley or can damage it.

 

Steve

 

Hi Steve, yea this would be a problem usually, but when the hose "explodes" off it is so loud and violent that instinct makes me immediately come off the pedal and pull over. Thankfully however the hoses are deffo staying on now. I know this as I managed to watch my boost gauge and plonked my foot down hard. The gauge showed an overboost of about 32 PSI !!!! This is completely excessive, as the map is meant to be to 22 PSI static. I specifically asked Mark at Courtenay if the map was protective (ie cut out) for overboost conditions and he assured me it was, however this does not seem to be the case. It is possible that my fiddling about has had some effect on the way the car boosts however. I have swapped out the BCS just in case, but it makes no difference and also the vac pipes are configured in the exact same way as when I took the car to CS.

 

Basically, I am painted into a corner now and HAVE to get a 3rd party ECU as the car is fuelling incorrectly, over-boosting and completely mental to drive if I plonk my foot down. I am now even beginning to believe the dyno readings I got from the Circuit Motors at Castle Coome, where they reported that it was making 33 PSI and 602 BHP. It's just way too much.

 

Nev, by the time you have heard the pipe come off, it would be too late to react to it.

The turbo over speeds when the compressor wheel's resistance is reduced, when a pipe comes off.

It will never over boost with you loosing the pipe to the throttle body. 

32 psi is not much for you engine specification.

The car I was helping with, when you collected you engine, is now on the road and that runs 34 psi, no problem, that car is four wheel drive though.

[Nev]

 

32 psi is not much for you engine specification.

The car I was helping with, when you collected you engine, is now on the road and that runs 34 psi, no problem, that car is four wheel drive though.

 

32 PSI might be fine for the engine to survive, it's me (and probably the drive train) that can't cope!

 

It feels like the entire back end of the car is about to twist off, not to mention the lottery of whether the rubber will grip the tarmac. I have serious fear of things like the CV joints failing and drive shafts flailing about, or perhaps the gearbox tearing itself apart, or the hub carrier bolts simply shearing.

 

The boost pipes are staying on fine now BTW.

Edited by Nev, 19 July 2013 - 08:45 PM.

[siztenboots]

The motronic has plenty of safety factor in there to control the turbo, there is lots of diagnostics that it runs constantly looking for spurious sensor readings. So really no need for aftermarket.

  You are wrong about the safety control and  it is not the diagnostics Nev needs, it is the ability to program the ecu to suit the engine.   Steve

glol

[Nev]

Had a bit of a mystery problem recently, where the car refused to accelerate properly. After much head scratching, I pulled fuse 8 (on SizTenBoots recommendation) and hey presto everything is fine again.

 

As I am feeling decidedly lazy these days the car is off to Jimmy Jam Jerusalem tomorrow to have some front end work done:

 

1. New 1" front ARB.

2. Rack riser plates under the steering rack.

3. Overhaul the steering rack as it has some play.

4. Fit new steering column UJs.

5. Fit hub carrier bolts to front.

6. Re-align front wheels.

7. Fit new drop links as I am sure the old ones must be worn by now.

 

Hopefully this will deal with the slight vibration I've been getting at mid speeds and above.

Edited by Nev, 07 August 2013 - 12:13 PM.

[Nev]

Gawd, just went for a good blast and saw 35 PSI of boost on the gauge at one point. Jesus wept.

[Bumblebee]

Just out of interest nev, what speeds is it when you get vibration?