NA Build Inside....Soup to Nuts :)
07-25-2009, 01:14 PM
#823
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Just figured I'd post an update since I've got some time on my hands today 
First, I decided not to pursue the ITB project anymore. The reason? They vary, but suffice it to say, I simply decided to go in a different direction and keep things simpler. I never really had a chance to test it out either, but oh well. It sucks to have lost so much time and money in the process, but we live and learn.
So, here is what I am going with now - Cosworth manifold, 75mm BBK throttle body. The reason for this throttle body and not going back to stock are out of convenience. In setting up the car for the ITB's, I had converted to a cable throttle, flashed the ecu accordinly, and moved some pins around on the Haltech to use the sensor on the gas pedal itself as my TPS. Convering everything back to drive by wire is just another time consuming thing, and time at this point, and I'm tired of waiting. I basically have not driven the car since last December as we trecked through the ITB project. I miss her! I want to use it, and this is the easiest way to go IMHO. Plus, gives us more stuff to test, a cool byproduct. This stuff is already in hand and up with my machinist making the necessary adapter plate. He also is doing some clearning up of the Cosworth manifold to port match it to the lower collector. The flow bench #'s we got from this thing were insane, and with the rpm's I running, it should, in theory, give me some very nice gains up top, without affecting anything down low. I'm really eager to try it out! We'll end up making our own intake pipe to match. Not sure what filter I am doing yet. I'll cross that bridge when I have to. I think I will probably have the Cosworth, the lower collector and the intake pipe all ceramic coated, just to give it all a uniform appearance, and help insulate against heat at the same time.
Interior wise, I hope to get the Rackpak cluster back in my hands soon. I am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. In my head, it looks amazing, and with the quality of work our interior/stereo guru turns out, I am sure it will meet my expectations. I have not seen anyone fully replace the factory cluster yet with such a piece, except on full out race cars, so it will be cool to see how everything integrates. Thankfully the guy doing the tuning on my car also has alot of experience with these type of dash systems, so I think I'll be in good hands getting it all setup.
Edit - well, just got some pics of the dash
More pics - check the blog!
The rear! The 4.3 rear is finally coming together, and I hope to have it back here in the not-too-distant-future. Definitely a bastard child of a setup, as it's a mix match of parts that were never designed to go together in the first place. I don't see it being viable to "sell" as a setup, because the amount of labor is just insane, and you would really need a pretty high rpm engine to make it worthwhile. But, I'll try to share some pics of the guts and post them on our blog so people can see what is involved in making it all come together. I'm going to be using a Quaife LSD on this setup, and the gears are being micropolished, and cryo'd, all near bearings/hardware throughout. Everything is also blueprinted as well. Should be a pretty trick setup I think. Once it's all running, I'll sit down and analyze costs and if someone is really serious, perhaps it's something we can offer.
That's the latest right now...more to follow as I finally get back behind the wheel! Hopefully sooner rather than later
First, I decided not to pursue the ITB project anymore. The reason? They vary, but suffice it to say, I simply decided to go in a different direction and keep things simpler. I never really had a chance to test it out either, but oh well. It sucks to have lost so much time and money in the process, but we live and learn.
So, here is what I am going with now - Cosworth manifold, 75mm BBK throttle body. The reason for this throttle body and not going back to stock are out of convenience. In setting up the car for the ITB's, I had converted to a cable throttle, flashed the ecu accordinly, and moved some pins around on the Haltech to use the sensor on the gas pedal itself as my TPS. Convering everything back to drive by wire is just another time consuming thing, and time at this point, and I'm tired of waiting. I basically have not driven the car since last December as we trecked through the ITB project. I miss her! I want to use it, and this is the easiest way to go IMHO. Plus, gives us more stuff to test, a cool byproduct. This stuff is already in hand and up with my machinist making the necessary adapter plate. He also is doing some clearning up of the Cosworth manifold to port match it to the lower collector. The flow bench #'s we got from this thing were insane, and with the rpm's I running, it should, in theory, give me some very nice gains up top, without affecting anything down low. I'm really eager to try it out! We'll end up making our own intake pipe to match. Not sure what filter I am doing yet. I'll cross that bridge when I have to. I think I will probably have the Cosworth, the lower collector and the intake pipe all ceramic coated, just to give it all a uniform appearance, and help insulate against heat at the same time.
Interior wise, I hope to get the Rackpak cluster back in my hands soon. I am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. In my head, it looks amazing, and with the quality of work our interior/stereo guru turns out, I am sure it will meet my expectations. I have not seen anyone fully replace the factory cluster yet with such a piece, except on full out race cars, so it will be cool to see how everything integrates. Thankfully the guy doing the tuning on my car also has alot of experience with these type of dash systems, so I think I'll be in good hands getting it all setup.
Edit - well, just got some pics of the dash
More pics - check the blog!
The rear! The 4.3 rear is finally coming together, and I hope to have it back here in the not-too-distant-future. Definitely a bastard child of a setup, as it's a mix match of parts that were never designed to go together in the first place. I don't see it being viable to "sell" as a setup, because the amount of labor is just insane, and you would really need a pretty high rpm engine to make it worthwhile. But, I'll try to share some pics of the guts and post them on our blog so people can see what is involved in making it all come together. I'm going to be using a Quaife LSD on this setup, and the gears are being micropolished, and cryo'd, all near bearings/hardware throughout. Everything is also blueprinted as well. Should be a pretty trick setup I think. Once it's all running, I'll sit down and analyze costs and if someone is really serious, perhaps it's something we can offer.
That's the latest right now...more to follow as I finally get back behind the wheel! Hopefully sooner rather than later
Last edited by Z1 Performance; 07-25-2009 at 02:10 PM.
07-25-2009, 02:08 PM
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Nice update! 
I’m very intrigued by the micro polished and cryo’d gears – might be overkill for NA power, but very interesting nonetheless. The ceramic-coated lower collector is interesting as well, possibly the next best thing to Tony’s potential phenolic lower collector.
What rev limit do you anticipate and what did you do internally for failsafe? (it might have been covered earlier, so please pardon me asking if it has)…
I look forward to your completion.
I’m very intrigued by the micro polished and cryo’d gears – might be overkill for NA power, but very interesting nonetheless. The ceramic-coated lower collector is interesting as well, possibly the next best thing to Tony’s potential phenolic lower collector. What rev limit do you anticipate and what did you do internally for failsafe? (it might have been covered earlier, so please pardon me asking if it has)…
I look forward to your completion.
07-25-2009, 02:22 PM
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rev limiter has always been at 8400 - I don't anticipate raising it, unless the dyno shows me something I'm not expecting. To get it higher would really require new cams (I think), and I'm just not at the point where I've maxed these out yet.
Last edited by Z1 Performance; 07-25-2009 at 02:25 PM.
07-26-2009, 08:20 AM
#831
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you don't want to polish the intake tracts smoothly anyway - doing so kills velocity. I trust my machinist..he hasn't let me down yet, and he has all the cool tools to make things come out better than they went in
07-26-2009, 11:04 AM
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we're just doing basic clean up on it, removing some casting flaws, etc. It flowed almost perfectly right out of the box, and it will support way more cfm, and way more velocity than we could ever hope to achieve.
you don't want to polish the intake tracts smoothly anyway - doing so kills velocity. I trust my machinist..he hasn't let me down yet, and he has all the cool tools to make things come out better than they went in
you don't want to polish the intake tracts smoothly anyway - doing so kills velocity. I trust my machinist..he hasn't let me down yet, and he has all the cool tools to make things come out better than they went in
Would you mind disclosing how you came to choose a 70mm TB diameter?
Will
07-26-2009, 12:34 PM
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once I get the plenum back in my hands I'll snap some pics and post them on the blog
75mm throttle body
70mm would be smaller than stock
few reasons - first, Cosworth clearly designed their plenum around a stock, or nearly stock sized throttle body. The flange on it will only accept a unit that is so big. If you try oversizing the unit beyond that point (cutting the flange off and remaking one) you then start upsetting the flow balance side to side and the velocity inside the unit. They did their homework on this piece, so I just wanted to figure out what they did it as they did, and work within those confines. The 75mm units are readily available, not particularly expensive, and had a lever setup on the butterfly that would allow us to easily install the cable.
75mm throttle body
70mm would be smaller than stock
few reasons - first, Cosworth clearly designed their plenum around a stock, or nearly stock sized throttle body. The flange on it will only accept a unit that is so big. If you try oversizing the unit beyond that point (cutting the flange off and remaking one) you then start upsetting the flow balance side to side and the velocity inside the unit. They did their homework on this piece, so I just wanted to figure out what they did it as they did, and work within those confines. The 75mm units are readily available, not particularly expensive, and had a lever setup on the butterfly that would allow us to easily install the cable.
07-26-2009, 01:31 PM
#834
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new pic of the cluster progress...factory trim ring installed
should have it back in my hands this week....then I get to worry about getting it installed and setup
should have it back in my hands this week....then I get to worry about getting it installed and setup
i missed that!
07-27-2009, 02:19 AM
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Not sure yet on the color...I'll let my installer pick what he thinks will look the best and we'll go from there. If we need to try a few different finishes, at least it's easy to change