How Many Cylinders?
I was just reading your article on import motors (Import Motors '05 - Part Two)
and, owning a little 1989 Suzuki Alto Works (550cc DOHC RS-R) myself, I can
point out that the F6B engine you displayed is a four cylinder - not three.
Zooming in on the pic shows “twin cam 16” on the rocker. I was almost caught out
by this myself at an import wrecker in Melbourne (EKW) when scouting for F6As.
The F6B also has distributor-less ignition and a few other goodies over the
older F6A.
But it’s great to see you talking about these little cars and engines.
Nothing better than screaming along, weaving up a twisty road, feeling like you're
flying and looking down and seeing you're still under the speed limit. Legal
fun!!
I’m still in the process of getting mine complianced (got to love temporary
registration papers) and am having issues finding someone in Victoria to fit
intrusion bars and sign off on them. Do you or your readers have any contacts
that do this sort of work?
Daniel Griffiths
Australia
You’re right. The engine shown in our
pic is from the CN31S series Suzuki Cervo Mode SR-Four – the top-of-the-range
model. This engine (with four cylinders!) makes 47kW at 7000 rpm and 82Nm at
3500 rpm. You might be interested to see Suzuki 660cc Turbo Fun
for our test of the Suzuki Cervo Mode SR which uses a F6A 3-cylinder SOHC turbo
version - just to make things more confusing! Re intrusion bars... We’ve been told
that you might be able to get the car registered as a two-seater commercial
vehicle which avoids the need for intrusion bars – but we cannot confirm this.
Freaking Rock!
Again, I have to say you guys FREAKING ROCK!!! I've recommended your site to
anyone who will listen. I'm building an intercooled turbo set-up on my Toyota
Tacoma V6 (replacing my TRD supercharger) and your articles have been
invaluable. It is a little disconcerting to find out that so much conventional
wisdom that people throw around is all a bunch of crap - but then you get over
it and the knowledge is very empowering.
Since I joined your site, I've removed and inspected my entire exhaust, cut
open the muffler to see what the inside looked like (straight pipe – good - so
welded it back together), welded bungs along the exhaust to measure
backpressures (at 7 psi boost there's a 9 peak psi restriction before the dual
inline cats - NOT good), made a negative-pressure tester from your instructions
and ordered up components to install a complete, dual cat 3 inch stainless steel
system from the turbo with only a single flange and straight pipes
throughout.
Again, thanks for doing such a great job. I really appreciate it!
Sam Wolanyk
USA
Switchable Steering
In the article RS Kicking Wagon
you talk about Subaru Legacy GTs having a computer controlled steering system. I
have a MY00 GTB (same as B4 shape) and it definitely has variable steering. How
do you get your hands on or make that toggle switch to change between ‘light’
and ‘firm’ steering as mentioned in the article? The computer deciding for you
is very annoying.
Craig
Australia
We suggest talking the car owner
(Patt) directly. Ask the question on the RS Liberty forum (www.rslibertyclub.org) and Patt will likely
hear your call!
Shift Light Install
I have a question re “Shift Light Shape Up” (Shift Light Shape Up)...
The article advertises the ChipTorque shift lights at a certain price installed
– however it fails to mention where/who to contact for installation/purchase.
I’m in Sydney. Any help would be great.
Mark
Australia
The price quoted in the article
(AUD$59.95) is the purchase price only. You can either install the shift light
yourself (as we did) or any performance workshop should be able to install it
for you. Silverwater Automotive (+61 2 9748 1300) is your nearest ChipTorque
distributor – they’d be able to order one in and fit it in a snap!
More on Magnas
In reference to Daniel Hyde's Magna Sports question from a previous Response
column (Response)...
I'd like to recommend Daniel has a wander over to the Australian Magna Club's
forums (http://www.magnaclub.org/). This
site is home to many modified (and stock) cars and is an active, enthusiastic
user base.
Which brings me to my real reason for writing in...
I've recently spent a bit of money on my TJ Magna, getting 165kW ATW so far
with bigger cams on the way. I was wanting to pick your brains on the subject of
airflow meter bypasses. One of my mods has been to fit two throttle bodies - one
at each end of the intake manifold plenum. But because I'm only using a
piggy-back ECU (and still need to keep the MAS in service) I've got a Y-pipe
after the MAS to distribute air to both throttles. I haven't tested this, but I
presume there isn't equal flow to each throttle and it seems to me an 'easy' way
to achieve this is to bypass the MAS completely for the second throttle - and
re-map to compensate.
My question - this mod seems pretty hard-core compared to the MAS bypass that
you performed on your test Nissan Maxima (Airflow Meter Bypass, Part 1).
Do you think it would work or is it too extreme? My mechanic is keen to give it
a whirl for fun, but I'd like to know your take on it.
Brendan Alderslade
Australia
We can’t imagine any major problems
with the idea – it would certainly look pretty trick under the bonnet of a
Magna! The only hurdle is mapping the output of the Magna’s frequency output
airflow meter - the Silicon Chip DFA isn’t compatible with frequency output
AFMs. However, if your existing piggyback ECU can modify a frequency signal and
has a large range of adjustment here’s nothing holding you back. Make sure that
tuning is done with a close eye on mixtures and you monitor detonation. We
suggest relatively tame overall mixtures because, without measuring individual
cylinder mixtures, you can’t be sure if the twin-throttle setup is causing
certain cylinders to run lean. Monitoring individual EGTs and inspection of
spark plugs will help identify any distribution abnormalities. BTW, the airflow
meter bypass we ran on the Maxima was the same size as the standard intake
arrangement. This means there are no problems running a ‘50 percent’ bypass
(which is what you’d be doing). Let us know how you go!
Ford Hidden Data?
Re VT/VX Hidden Data VT/VX Hidden Data...
In this article you explained how to access data such as fuel consumption,
digital tach/speed, etc. Do you have such an article for Ford Falcons? I can do
this on my EF Falcon but I don’t know much of the data apart from digital
tacho/speedo, temperature and fuel consumption.
To access this on the Falcon, hold the trip button on and turn the ignition
on. Release the button, then press it three times and hold it on the third.
Release when the seatbelt warning light goes out. If correct, the odometer/trip
meter disappears and is replaced by a flashing "Ford". Press the button again to
cycle through the data. Can anyone tell me what these screens mean?
Ben
Australia
Very interesting – we haven’t heard of
this function in Fords. Do any readers know what the different screens
identify?
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