Tuning Tool
I've been looking at various AFR meters to do on-road tuning of a Jaguar V12
XJ-S with a Wolf EMS system - do I need a wideband meter
like this www.wbo2.com or will the cheaper narrow band meter like theSilicon Chip ones in the AutoSpeed store work just as well?
Iain Burgess
Australia
We strongly advise a wide-band AFR meter for this type of application.
Latched Onto the Ignition Interceptor
Re your response to a letter at Response...
Can you give us an idea of what the up and coming Ignition Timing Adjuster
will be all about?It
sounds very tasty. Keep up
the good work.
Howard Hartman
Australia
Nothing has been finalised as yet, but stay
tuned!
Ulka Pump Info
Do you know the thread size of the
discharge pipe of the "Ulka" pump that was used in the
"World's Best Intercooler Water
Spray"? I'm here in the States trying to get a hose to fit the outlet and I think it might be a
straight metric thread.
Any help will be appreciated.
Scott Haines
USA
For further information we suggest contacting the manufacturer -
www.ulka.it
Wastegate Can Volume?
In at least one of your articles or columns, you make mention of placing a
"can" in-line with the wastegate to change the spool-up rpm. I was wondering if there is some
sort of a rule of thumb or other guidance (practical experience?) relating the
volume of the can to the
engine displacement or rpm
or....
Andrew Miller
USA
Trial and error is the best way to achieve your desired boost characteristics.
However, as a guide, in the article
Killing Wastegate Creep we used a reservoir
having a capacity of around 250cc.
Better Boost?
I have a general query re two articles by Julian Edgar. In around October 2000 he described a boost control
system called the
"Audi Boost Control", which seemed a good system to build
and which was described as being superior to most electronic systems. He
now describes an
electronic controller that can be purchased in Do-It-Yourself form. My question is:
Under what conditions should one system be chosen over the other? What are the pros and cons that we
should consider before building ONE of the systems?
Andrew Bosch
South Africa
The Audi system (which uses two pneumatic valves) was devised to give
adjustment of maximum boost pressure as well as adjustment of the rate of boost.
By tuning one of the valves you can configure the control system to give very
gradual boost rise or, as most people want, the fastest possible rate of boost
rise (ie like running unwastegate’d until the preset boost pressure is reached).
Cost of the system starts at around AUD$80 and it is relatively easy to setup.
Now for the
IEBC... The IEBC uses
electronic control to give a boost curve that’s adjustable at 64 load points and
there’s the choice of two different maps (selectable via an in-cabin switch).
The 64 points of adjustment are related to injector duty cycle which effectively
means boost is proportional to throttle position. The 64 points of adjustment
give a lot of flexibility – you can have...
Boost reach its peak level and stay at that level
Boost increase progressively until the redline
Boost reach its peak and then progressively decease
Boost reach its peak and then hold steady until the last 1000 rpm, where it
gradually decreases
Boost come on gently with lots of wastegate creep
Boost come on as hard as physically possible by keeping the wastegate closed
longer
....or whatever other boost behaviour you want
Total cost is around AUD$140 and it’s a bit more challenging to set up – not
one for
beginners! In any case, we suggest that you
stick around – we have a two-part series on boost controllers coming
up!
EWP Test Results
Re
Testing the Davies Craig Electric Water
Pump... Can you give me a hint - was it no good? I was going to buy one but now I'm
worried.
Glen
New Zealand
Unfortunately, we are unable to give any information relating to our tests.
We suggest asking if the retailer will give a money-back guarantee if the
product doesn’t live up to its claims.
BMEP Beast!
I was interested to read about the BMEP (Brake Mean EffectivePressure) method of comparing engine
power outputs – re
The Real Way of Comparing Engine Designs. The Honda TypeR BMEP seemed
impressive until I calculated the value for the VW Golf Mk4 turbodiesel - 112kW from a 1.9-litre engine at 4200 rpm gives a BMEP of 16.95! I wonder if any turbocharged petrol
engines can compete with that? If there were an equivalent measure
of specific torque
production I imagine the VW would be even further ahead, with 320Nm of torque from 1.9
litres.
Ben Garside
New Zealand
More on Badge Engineering
Re
Badge Engineering... It might be interesting to observe
that there is another connection between two of the cars mentioned in this article. The SAAB 900, powered by the GM V6, was built on
a similar platform to the
contemporary Vauxhall Cavalier, which in turn was substantially carried over from the previous
model. This previous model
was sold in Australia, with some local engineering input, as the Camira.
Also, I believe that there is a minor error in the article - JE Camiras were equipped with a 2.0 litre engine only.
Andrew McKellar
Australia
You’re right – correction now made.
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