Hrmm.. Weird.

My car runs a little richer when it's hot out, I noticed, but it's still well within it's limits. I've been running it on 85-95 degree days lately without issue.

Other than my TH350 leaks like a freaking sprinkler.

Been hitting up the car shows, lot of NHRA cars. It's funny though. Guys running full cages, big blocks, etc and run mid 11s. I go to the track, the imports run low 9s.


-- Joe

 

years ago i used to follow the sloppy mechanics page on the daily. (its how i got into megasquirt) when i first got my MS2, i downloaded one of his 5.3 turbo tunes to take a look and the ve table looked like a 5th grader did it. i thought how the f does this crap even run?!?!?!

 

I spent ALOT of time this year on the IAT temp compensation table (moved it to charge pipe on passengers side) . Id def check that over and see if its just a matter of editing that table, I bet that's where your issue is.

 

This. This right here is why I am still itching to do a naturally aspirated pass. Turbo headers are down on the garage floor ready for install, turbo was recently rebuilt for a third time, was cleaning out and making sure the wastegate is good and tested it, but I still look at the car and am like, damn, I wonder what the track will reward me with naturally aspirated after all that work...

- Rob

 

Hard to say, he might have just selected a bin on a whim because the EBL essentially comes with stock GM bins to be used as a reference point, then changed based on injector and engine size just to get you up and running. Maybe he chose a TBI bin to start with, or chose port injection but made no changes to spark reference and idle state, not sure. The 2 or 3 Bar Boost Multiplier is pre-filled based on basic volume of air per pound, and comes in pretty early to protect the tuner if he forgets to compensate, but is to be fine tuned afterward based on what the datalogs are showing, when boost actually does come in, as well as how much of it is coming in. Very very easy to use...

- Rob

 

 

Fast cars pretty much never go to car shows. car show guys are basically pretending. Around here, a 9 second import is a unicorn that you will just about never see. maybe 1 in 300 cars.

 

I had that problem when VE Learning with a one wire narrowband and LTH, kept going Open Loop because it wasn't keeping hot enough, that is when I switched to the heated LT1 narrowband, then of course the wideband. Old .friend dropped by today while I was working on the car, known as Mopar Rich here in New Jersey, guy has been racing for decades and decades. Asked me to head out to Cecil one weekend w/the guys, so maybe we'll finally meet up. Sucks you sold that damn Camaro though.

- Rob

 

Haha, yeah. Car show guys have nicely dressed engines with their cages and chutes, but w/mismatched drivetrain. They boast gobs of power, but cleverly avoid the track...

 

 

There will eventually be a limit. Today's street cars are reaching Top Fuel Dragster performance levels from the 70's and 80's,but there is no way, just no way,they will reach Top Fuelers by today's standards without doing some major transitions,which will turn the cars you mentioned far from street cars. This is why TF are stretched, factory wheel base is a disaster waiting to happen as 300-mph draws nearer and nearer..Just waiting for a serious disaster to happen on Street Outlaws, not that I want one to happen, but something is eventually coming if they keep pushing their limits...

- Rob

 

Not surprised, power to weight w/RPM. Speaking of which, here is the car that inspired my build, Steve Kaminski's old Black-TTA, another V6 high winder that cleaned up on the street, and on the track back in the day. This is how it was done in the 80's and 90's when all of the magazines kept touting big blocks, turbo's were very low key, but dominated. Nine second car at only 20-psi...

 

 

Different parts of the country. My former sister in law lives in SC, and from my experience nobody down there has any money either.

But as far as fast cars go, most of the faster street cars around here are turbo imports. 15 years ago on a street night a 11 or 10.5 car was king. Now these little turbo fart cars are faster than the v8 muscle.

On points days though, I'm sure it's different. I haven't been to the track on a points day in a decade.

-- Joe

 

Some of these damn guys today are approaching 225-mph in the 1/8th mile for crying out loud, Tuff Enuff talks smack about his jet car taking them out but he might very well lose, regardless. Lose control at 200+-mph on the highway and you're dead. It's not a Fast and Furious skit where you walk away from it with no cage, this is very dangerous stuff. You want to see fast on the highway? Look at this 2000 horsepower Lambo starting at 1:55 into the video, watch it go from a roll. Damn thing pulled a Penn and Teller, it freaking disappeared. So fast the damn camera couldn't stay with it. That is just sick. Must feel good af though to be in it!

 

If you have money, anything is possible.

Car shows 20 years ago were all chrome and model t's. Now it's a bit of everything. I've talked to some younger kids too with the import turbo tuner crowd. They accomplish a lot with a small engine.

It's still kinda funny to see a 20k built honda parked next to a 300+k Lambo.





-- Joe

 

who is doing that? that is faster than radial vs world cars

 

Ekanoo Racing's Lexus RCF doorslammer clocked 218-mph in the 1/8th, and 278-mph in the 1/4..

Q80 Racing is right behind them w/their own C7 Corvette doorslammer...

That is just sick fast!

- Rob

 

lexus has a proline hemi and is a promod. i was thinking you were talking about street imports still. lol

 

Hellz no lol, I don't think we'll ever see a 225+ Honda Civic in the 1/8th mile lol...

Though this 2JZ from Ekanoo Racing can definitely hang with the best of them;

- Rob

 

N E VAY.... back to the build. This is, without a doubt, the last time I swap headers on this damn car. So tired of doing this w/out a lift, and these headers always require lifting the engine and pushing it left and right for clearance. Running so rich prior to the LTH header install, I was able to see how much the turbo headers were leaking, not that substantial, but enough that needed some attention. Original welds came out good, but wanted to go over them. Wasn't about to play that game of "did it cover", only to be pissed off when they're in and the engine is started w/the same leaks being prevalent, so I brazed over the steel welds I made. This was the only way to be totally sure about the coverage in my case, and the brass has a 1700 degree melting point, so I am not worried, and like I said, I welded the brass over the original welds I made, so it's all good. Need to coat them again before putting them back on, of course...

- Rob

 

Brass ?

-- Joe

 

It's more of a bronze filler Joe, I have a bad habit of calling it brass because of its' color...

- Rob

 

Oh I see. Did you use MIG (gas) to weld those up?

-- Joe

 

Joe I was trying to find a short clip of Hank Hill saying "propane", but I couldn't find one lol. They were torched in an enclosed fire pit, the bronze is just covering the existing welds to patch up a few pin holes just to keep boost pressure in check. Should hold well, but we'll see...

- Rob

 

 

Tremendous shout out to Phil (//<86TA>\\), got back from his house here in Jersey not too long ago, and he hooked me up big time. Though I am finishing up putting the turbo headers back on as I write this, I wanted to bring the car back to stock appearing, and the cutout in the front that I made was really starting to, well, annoy me. It works great, but I just don't like the look anymore. I seen Phil was selling a GTA front bumper, so I reached out to him to buy it, and he freaking gave it to me instead! I have met countless members over the years, but wow he blew me away. What an awesome guy, true gear head, and his '86 TA is bad @ss AF! Was drooling when I seen how he set up his 335 tires out back with the mini-tubs, damn thing looks factory! Gotta get him to bring it out one night to play, maybe at Island Dragway because I hear they're redoing the track now that E-Town caved. Thanks Phil, won't ever forget that bro...!

- Rob

 

Doesn't get better than that!

 

I know, it was an awesome gesture. Still waiting on a stock GTA hood from another member here in New Jersey, Eric. Then I can finally get the damn thing painted. Eric hooked me up with so many original interior pieces that would have been impossible to find. Can't get over how scarce these cars are becoming, time is flying. Still up in the air about the Hawks 86-90 wrap around spoiler, but there really is no other alternative.at the moment...

- Rob

 

Okay, can finally put an issue to bed and move on. I did not want to slap the turbo on without resolving this issue first which is basically why there has not been an update for a few days, because I needed the engine to run flawlessly in every conceivable way before switching over again. As some of you know, the cam I am running is huge; 85 kPa at idle in gear, so a lot needed to be adjusted way ahead of time because most if not everything gets triggered way before that in a starter bin. Long story short, engine was dialed in perfectly for quite awhile, there was just one issue, the IAC.

Cold and warm startup were bothering me, and the IAC seemed to close for no apparent reason when the commanded RPM and kPa were calling for it to open, and when it did open, it would go no higher than 10 steps. Found out over the weekend as to why, there are two areas in the IAC tables that control the amount of time the transition from Park to Drive, and vice versa essentially takes. Not sure why, but those two areas also impact the idle state, on a constant basis not just startup. I went through every single area in the bin looking for the cause, but I kept skipping over that area because it never even dawned on me that they were (two IAC areas causing the issue) the two culprits causing an IAC lock. Very weird. But it's fixed.

- Rob

 

Back in the saddle...

Just putting on some fresh exhaust gaskets, and then doing the turbo lines next.

- Rob

 

Update from the other day. Had trouble uploading the video w/the phone, but the YT app seems to be okay today;

- Rob

 

Exhaust leak?

So you went to a single turbo? I thought you were doing twins ?

The kid I sold my single turbo setup to ripped it out and is now putting a vortech in his GTA. Should be a nice street car when it's done. LT1

-- Joe

 

Joe, I have it as an open downpipe at the moment that dumps just behind the front passenger tire. It's echoing in the garage too, that is why it sounded so muffled using the phone. Believe it or not twins would be rather easy at this point, it's just the downpipe on the drivers side being the biggest issue. Can't wait to get this thing back on the road, have the perfect converter for it based on all of the datalogs, but that still needs to go in too...

- Rob.

 

I kinda want to trade my truck in for a turbo diesel. I miss having a turbo diesel truck. The raw pulling power is just amazing. I don't think I'll ever put a turbo on a car again though.

-- Joe

 

That's the secret to the old C4 TT Callaway's, they're not diesel of course, but they had tremendous pulling power under the curve. Torque is king...

- Rob

 

Joe, start this video at exactly 5:45 on the dot. Will put a huge smile on your face...

- Rob

 

This is how out of touch I am with my own NYC neighborhood. I can't get over it, where the hell have I been lol. Anyone wanna guess what those pumps represent lol? I'll give ya a hint.... E85!

- Rob

 

Here is how many stations near me:

 

Joe, are you planning methanol injection, or are you just keeping boost/timing low? I'm really stoked about how may E85 stations there are around me. This car is only seeing a few nights a week and weekend duty, not a daily driver by any means, so I'd be crazy not to make the switch to E85 with that many stations prevalent. Need to start looking for injectors now, fuel pump compatibility is the easy part. Sticking w/the IC that I already have, just need a 180* coupler & some 3" aluminum tubing.

- Rob

 

No, just the air/air intercooler. I'm spinning the blower at max efficient RPM, and running around 22 degrees of advance.

IAT temps so far have been pretty reasonable. Vortech head units are very efficient, they don't put out the crazy temps that prochargers or turbos do.

I think that trying to get more power out of my combo would be a wasted effort, the motor is already too much for the car (no cage) at the track, and it's probably close to ejecting the crankshaft as it is.

How many folks on here are making big power on 2 bolt 400 blocks?

-- Joe

 

main studs or bolts?

 

Joe, you keep flirting with the idea of going LT1. That engine eventually needs to come out, as will mine. In the end, this 305 will more than likely crack a piston, not from detonation, but from the amount of power that a cast piston just can't handle. Everything being done is in preparation for the next engine, and an e-trans is definitely next. Standalone TCI controller for the trans, and a 9" w/torque arm mount, and I'll be happy in terms of drivetrain. Always wanted a fuel injected 454-SBC w/T88 dressed in 305 valve covers lol...

- Rob

 

Studs.

-- Joe

 

LT1 wouldn't be for the thirdgen, that car is done, I'm not making any changes to it.

If I did put an LT1 in the thirdgen, it would be for a lower HP street build - like a sub 500hp type deal. But it wouldn't make sense, as it's not really a nice street car. it's a thirdgen. The car is cool, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't handle, corner, or stop as good as my stock C4. And it's not even comparable to a C6 or C7.

I drive it to car shows, and if I have time, I'll haul it to the track.

I just don't want to blow it up, cuz I won't fix it. I'll part it out.

-- Joe

 

I guess it depended on the options. Mine came w/4 wheel disc brakes, manual w/3.42's, full handling package. Fully loaded, every conceivable option, but I can't find the damn SPID, and I know I have it somewhere, Good thing is that it's a '90, so getting another SPID should be a breeze, thank God lol. But yeah, these GTA's rivaled the C4, even in price. Poor Camaro's were hung out to dry in the 90's...

- Rob

 

My Formula is a ws6 car. Has the big swap bars, 4 disc brakes. It has an LT1 rear end with pbr brakes, tubular control arms, all new bushings, new springs, shocks, struts. It's essentially a new car. But it's not a C4.. I typically drive both cars on the same day, and they are not comperable. The Formula will blow the doors off anything in town in a straight line. the C4 can hold a corner like nothing else, and stops on a dime.

Different vehicles for different purposes. I have a brand new wrangler too, and a 3/4 ton GMC for hauling. And a harley, and a ninja, and so on and so on. They don't make a single vehicle that's good at everything.

-- Joe

 

Test drive a Nissan GTR.

I don't mean an Alpha, just an everyday GTR, bone stock...

- Rob

 

will it pull a 5th wheel camper?