day 1. struggle to drive the car there.. running like a dog.. Tristan sitting in passanger seat making adjustments to the microleb on the run.. get to the dyno with no major headaches.. after a while on the dyno it starts coughing and spluttering.. Jay is sitting about 30 cm from the exhaust and im standing right near it when the car gives off the biggest backfire i have ever heard.. seriously i felt it and went deaf for a bit.. seriously felt like i had just been flashbanged.. so check plugs.. fouled as change plugs and start again.. everything going ok.. suddenly starts popping and fatring.. what the AFR's look good yet its completely fouled the plugs again..
turns out that the o2 sensor wasnt getting a good reading from my twin exhaust.. despite help from a blanket/pickaxe combo..
so off to the workshop with my de-cat pipe to weld a bung in the side and start again the next morning
day 2. change plugs, start over.. AFR readings completely different.. it was running far richer than the o2 sensor was displaying.. get a nice tune going, go for first little test up to 4k... car makes 250hp and epic torque at 3000rpm on 1bar.. buuuuuuuuuut the clutch slips... it shouldnt.. its build for over 500hp and is less than 5000km old... so looks like its either a hydraulic or machining issue..
car off dyno, back to workshop for further investigation..
ok... home from the dyno now... im stoked and shat at the same time..
the car was dynoed at c-red this time and as WA people know, their dyno is renowned for reading low at least 20-30hp low.... still.. the figure is not really that important.. the way it drives is..
first proper run the car made 361rwhp...that was only a 5000rpm and with no real tune.. just a neaten up... that was at ~17psi..
the next runs kept getting cleaner and cleaner... so finally a decent fuel tune was worked out until 5000rpm with semi neat to 7500.. where the rev limiter was set for now...
so.. all looking well until the ignition started breaking down... sigh.. looks like the coilpacks had previously cracked and been "fixed"...
so there was not much point trying to tune around it as they would keep up.. so 1 final run was done...
given the timing hasnt been touched at all up to this point, Tristan decided to give it just 2 deg.. to see what would happen and see how the car would react...
the result was 381rwhp...a pretty significant jump for 2 deg advance.. and still very safe... here is a vid of the 2nd run..
(will link when upload finishes)
and here are the graphs from the day..
SO.. what next..
get some superspark replacement coils.. slap them in and see what happens... the current tune is fine to drive and thrash around... so ill do that.. until i can get back on the dyno..
then do full final tune.. give it timing, tune cams and do skids..
going by how the power curve and torque curves are looking.. predictions are now 450rwhp on the c-red dyno..
Saturday, November 27, 2010 - 08:13 am, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Congratulations.
I'm going to start playing lotto because I really want to get into a single setup- maybe the new GTX3582R with V band housing that Costa is spruiking in other threads.
the links work for me.. dunno what the issue is there... but cheers for embedding..
on a side note, here is a video from the other night... not anything bad.. just took a mate for a drive.. Yes its dark as but you can see how loud the car is..
so its been a while since i updated anything..and yeah.. stuff has happened..
as i menitoned before i had failing spark... we inspected the coils and found they were cracked..
i got a set of supersparks.. have heard good and bad things.. but decided to give them a go..
put them in and sweet, misfire problem went away...
decided to go for a trackday with my bro and dad..
here is us:
get out there, do about 3 laps and BAM!! spark breaking down again... RAGE!!! and i didnt bring spare plugs...
couldnt do anything about it on the day so decided to keep going... basically meant i was limited to 80% throttle for most gears.. FAIL!!
despite that, still having fun.. going down the back straight at wannaz and suddenly smoke fills the cabin... spewin.. pull over, inspect the car.. see a oil return hose from the turbo has split...
jack the car up, remove hose, cut, fix, replace.. done.. back out onto track... 20 laps later.. same again...
turns out that the hose used (factory toyota turbo oil return hose) doesnt like being clamped down to a smaller size pipe..(very marginally smaller).. so day over.. cut and fix pipe again, but only have enough length to get home safely..
so, +'ve's from the day: even at 80% throttle the car is scary fast.. the lucas pads i put in the front were excellent the car had a surprising amount of grip from the cheapish front tires.. the car didnt even come close to over heating... didnt go above 85-90 deg water temp all day.. on a hot day at wannaz.. the car handled amazing, so responsive (even without proper wheel alignment) it slid very nicely, very predictable and controllable (much to the marshal's dislike)
-'ve's: spark break down: issue now sorted car needs its final tune... predictions are now for very near 500rwhp.. brake fluid was crap- need better quality stuff need more front grip- looking at r-comps.. oil return hose cutting my day short...this will be sorted next week..
so its been a while.. figured i would update some things..
went back to the dyno with new plugs, new coilpacs etc...
get onto the dyno and BAM--only revving to 6500..
tried a few things... but it looks like there is an issue with the microtech... so its gonna have to be sent off.. IF their pissweak douchebag of a tech support guy ever picks up his phone..
car still making around 400hp at 6k..
quick vid of it on the dyno so you can see what i mean.
i also took it down to the drags.. for a bit of a laugh.. results were interesting..
0 traction... until 4th gear for the first few runs.. and eventually 3rd gear.. got sideways at half track on more than one occasion..
also didnt help that the motorplex nazis dont let you drop a decent skid unless you are in a v8.. wankers were waving me on after only a few seconds, where bogan commos etc.. were allowed to go for 30 secs plus..
this run you can see how bad the lack of traction was..
on the positive side of things.. i was crossing the line at 180kph (113mph).. which is on par for a low 12..even with a dodgy microtech and being down on power.. unfortunately with the complete lack of grip, the best i managed was 13.8 @111mph..
i also scored some michelin full slicks recently.. full set of 245 40 18's... used but cheap.. so will see..
i bought them for circuit use, but may give em a run down the drags once the car is completely tuned..
Yeah softer springs would help..but thats never going to happen.. I only went to the drags for a laugh, I'm not really interested in straight line.. Whether it runs 15's or 11's doesn't matter as long as it handles well around a circuit and slides well..
I got a motorkhana coming up soon, then the microtech will get sent off while I got some more unnecessary interior (door trims, heater etc...) out and fit my hydro handbrake.. As well as 20mm spacers to get the offset a little less gay...
Also having the front arms modified to allow me a little more lock..
By that time, hopefully the microleb will be sorted so I can finally finish my tune..
figured i would update this as has happened..
car performed beautifully at the motorkhana.. the handling was nearly spot on.. consistent predictable controllable oversteer..... right up to the point where you try to push it too hard... then it kills you.. brutally..
unfortunately one other thing happened... the clutch master cylinder failed towards the end of the day, meaning that my day ended with a tow truck... well to be honest it ended with several pints at the pub.. and some time under the car..
So, pulled the master off to get rebuilt, meanwhile checked on the pressure plate and friction plate for any damage.. (opportunity to use fancy SnapOn camera on a stick)
all is good, and clutch is barely touched.. after several days of 3rd gear clutch kicks, 2nd gear 6000rpm clutch dumps and a life basically 100% consisting of thrashing..
so bolted it all back together, replaced the master cylinder.. WIN.. car moves under its own power again.. clutch feels great..
so onto the next issue..
Misfire: with the microtech tech support douche still apparently on holidays/dead/abducted etc... i decided to have a look locally for Microleb experience..
Had a chat with Mick Munro from Obaboost who i previously worked with.. as soon as i said 1j, big boost, microtech.. he instantly said "drop the plug gap"
apparently you cant adjust dwell time on the microtech..(dont ask why.. its fekn retarded)
so if my unit was set with a short dwell time from the microtech factory, the coils wouldnt be charged long enough to produce a decent spark in high boost applications.. hence blowing the spark out and misfiring and the thing comes on full boost...
so decided to pull the plugs out and re-gap.. having lost our gapping tool a while back, we used the back of a stanley blade...(0.48 for future reference).. which turned out to be nigh on perfect..(0.5)..
so took it for a test drive... WIN.. revved hard and clean all the way to the 6250rpm artificial rev limiter..
obviously that was with a street test.. so i couldnt stretch its legs in 3rd.. but so far so good..
Im hoping for some dyno time in the next 7 days to see if this was the problem.. at least that way i can have a properly tuned 500hp odd car while i save for a new ECU.. (Haltech most likely)
Saturday, May 14, 2011 - 01:44 am, by: Dan McColl(Hoon)
If you were dragging on street tyres, the big burnout is the reason for your lack of grip. Street tyres don't like to be hot. Just do a little one to basically give them a scrub clean, then go.
Car is looking great though, good to see you getting it sorted, though slowly.
Dan McColl wrote on Saturday, May 14, 2011 - 01:44 am:
If you were dragging on street tyres, the big burnout is the reason for your lack of grip. Street tyres don't like to be hot. Just do a little one to basically give them a scrub clean, then go.
usually...yeah i know..
however the tires were old and crusty.. needed a bit to get the old off..
having said that.. like i mentioned above, i have no interest in drag racing.. really i was there to thrash my car and rip a skid or 2..
Ali Saeed wrote on Saturday, May 14, 2011 - 02:28 am:
you need lower offset bro and more camber
lower offset.. definitely..
more camber- feck no..
you know how hard it is getting 400-500hp down on the road... with 16kg springs? why would i want half the tire trying to do the job?? if anything i need less camber, especially at the back.
i give no shiait about the "hellaflush" BS.. its a track car, not some homo show car..
Stomps
edit- Cheers Christian.. its nearly at the point where im happy with it..
overall a great day.. heaps of fun, good day to meet up with people, talk cars and have a good thrash..
My only real issue of the day was my brakes.. or lack of.. i had no pedal feel and the car would go from not braking hard enough (for the pressure applied) to just locking up..
the fluid in there was old as with a few track days under its belt.. so that was most likely the issue..
before Midvale next weekend ill flush the fluid and replace with something better.. check the pads and inspect all 4 calipers.. FR is biting before any of the others...
So, i ended up going to the TECCWA motorkhana on Sunday... stoked that i went, had a ball.. my gearbox unfortunately doesnt feel the same way..
i no longer have any semblance of 1st or 3rd gear.. spent the day only in 2nd.. car performed beautifully and a simple brake bleed sorted out most of my braking issues..
it still pinches the front right, but its far better than before.
Here are a couple of vids from the day..
So, next step is to take the box out and start pulling things apart.. im gonna order the bits i need very soon and go from there..
looks like the car will be off the road for a while..
Stomps
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Strictly speaking they arent motorkhanas.. but nobody runs ones like you guys have over east.. which im glad.. My car wouldnt even get on boost at ones like that..
for my car the Midvale track is a little tight, normally i would compensate with a healthy dose of clutch or handbrake.... but with massive kerbs at almost every corner, im not risking that..
While the car is off the road im gonna take the chance to neaten up a few things and fit a few bits i've had sitting around..
Gotta neaten up the interior and strip the remainder of the sound deadening from behind the dash.. fit my harnesses, catchcan, rear strut bar, hydro handbrake, remove the rear speaker wiring etc...
Might give the interior a coat of paint.. (just chassis black, nothing fancy)
Also gotta get my boot and bonnet down to my fiance's dad's place so he can make me up a mould... then make a CF bonnet and boot when he has the time..
also on the lookout for a decent twinplate.. i CBF messing around with singles anymore..
All in time though.. for now i just gotta pull the box out and rebuild that..
so.. it turns out i managed to do a really good job on my r154..
Prognosis on destructobox:
rooted 1-2 shift fork rooted 3-4 shift fork rooted 1st gear thrust washer rooted 1st gear and hub all synchros rooted all bearings close to rooted.
so i now have:
Marlin Crawler (MC) thrust washer MC bearing retainer MC 1-2 selector fork MC shifter bushing all new synchros all new bearings all new seals new 1st gear/hub new 3-4 selector fork..
should be picking the box up this arvo..
unfortunately the unforeseen costs mean i cant get a twinplate right now.. but its all good, car is happy enough making a touch over 400rwhp with the old single.. will see how long it lasts/how long it takes me to get bored of 400rwhp..
will be interesting to see if the r154 still shifts like a truck box..
Monday, August 29, 2011 - 07:55 am, by: John England(I_like_cheese)
You should be happy with the gearbox, I just rebuilt my r154 with all the bits you just did except for 3-4 shift fork and its as tight as a drum now. Suppose it depends how bad it was before you exploded the thrust washer, my one hadn't let go yet but every other part that I replaced needed to be. Syncros were all out of limits, bearing retainer had a bite mark in it from 5th counter gear, 1-2 shift fork was worn out and burred. Looks like Marlin know whats going on in there.
yeah, i reckon ill be happy with it.. im not surprised that the box was munted.. as long as i've had it.. i've punished it.. it was a brave box.. but had a hard life..
My thrust washer was completely exploded.. in several pieces..
was hoping to get the box in last weekend, but with Targa West on... and the fact that im currently renovating my bathroom, toilet and laundry.. i've had all time to do anything..
with any luck, box will be in next weekend..
Stomps
Phil Gibson Goo Roo WA '91 UZZ30, '91 manual UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31
Thursday, September 01, 2011 - 12:38 pm, by: Phil Gibson(Sciflyer)
nice one... surprisingly it'll probably be the two nylon shifter bushes that will make the most difference, but of course you still need all teh rest of the bits to make it a tough box that hopefully will now last the life of the car!
Friday, September 30, 2011 - 12:37 pm, by: Jerzy Stopczynski(Stomps)
so, after much laziness the box is going back into the car tomorrow.. also scored a short shifter which should help the R154's appallingly long throw..
my only concern is if the clutch took too much of a pounding at the last khanas, it wont last very long... ill have to drive like a beech.. which is not something im used to..
Friday, September 30, 2011 - 03:40 pm, by: Phil Gibson(Sciflyer)
Mine was an ebay one, it takes abit of getting used to and it wont ever stop the R154 from feeling like a truck box but now i wouldnt own an R154 car without one
Good to hear its getting back on the road, fingers crossed