Uprating engine components.

[DaveC]

Hello
A while back I posted about my car having problems with loss of power at the top end, kinda like loosing power and stuff. Well it got worse and worse until the pipe between the turbo and intercooler split open properly, and made the problem VERY apparent. It must have been a pinhole that lost pressure at peak boost, ie, just before the 3000rpm summit, and then stayed open loosing power.
Anyway, I swapped the pipe for a good one, and the car drove much better, so that was all good. Then the next day a motorbike rammed into my front driver side wheel in my lane.
http://forum.four-jokers.com/viewtopic.php?t=35
Now I've got another 405, and since it's probably the last I'll own (hard to find a good one now), I want to tune it up lots to just have some fun before I have to buy something modern and boring (any good cars left anymore except the mk1 306 tdi?)
I've already taken out the little washer inside the fuel pump which stops the plunger going down to far. Turned the plunger rod clockwise 45 degrees, and the max fuelling up about 20 degrees. The throttle response is amazing, and the fact the plunger oves a further 4 or 5mm down means that the boost seems to come in much earlier on my gauge, 1 bar at 2000rpm is pretty damn good, and 1.1 bar from 3000-4000rpm.
The power is really good, it feels really really strong now, but I feel I need to be able to blow bmw 320d's away up the slip road and want more still, especially at the top end.
I think though, that 1.25 bar boost (as Allard have used when tuning cars), is quite alot, and I fear running that much. Also, the boost air will get hotter so I need to cool my air more with an intercooler.
What problems if any has anyone who turned up their engine fuelling and/or boost had. Anyone blown a head gasket or such? Hosing going pop?
I intend to get a K&N cone, or at least devise better cold airflow to the box and use a K&N panel.
I've also bought some of that Formula ZX1 that Allard use in the engines to try out, supposedly reducing wear and friction. That'll help keep the lot cooler I hope!
Just wondering if there is anything I should be worried about... I don't mind general wear and tear through the increased component loading through torque, I'm worried more about the head gasket...!
The car I've got has just had a clutch, but it does need the top engine mounts replacing... bit worn. 171,000 miles, and feels much better than my previous car with 125,000 (probably a clocked taxi).
Just need to get the Mi16 rear brakes since the drums are not so good at stopping me
Dave

[bad driver]

You should be able to safely run 18psi boost, after that an uprated cooler is needed as it will just suffer from heat soak and thats what pops the head gasket. Go to a few scrappies, a mid 90's transit van used a front mounted I/C which could easy be mounted in the bumper, then a bit of tricky plumbing and you should be good for 22psi, although there will be increased lag when it does boost fully you will certainly feel it.
I am intrugued by this plunger business, what is it, how do I find it?? mines a lucas pump with garett turbo.

[rossd]

Ouch, that looks nasty, I hope you are ok. Did you manage to get away with no legs injuries.... The footwell looks pretty squashed.
Bad Driver: You wont find the plunger on washer on the Lucas pump, its in the Bosch pump!

[DaveC]

Ahh, thanks for the info about the temps...
I bought some of that Forumla ZX1 stuff that Allard uses, it's prettu expensive, but seems to have made a noticeable difference.
Firstly it was a bit better when cold this morning... running and blipping more freely.
On the motorway, on a flat constant speed, the boost gauge is a good indicator of fuel usage. Before at 65mph, it sat at 0.3-0.4 bar, now it's 0.2 all the time.
The turbo might be spinning easier? It seems to be hitting 1 bar at 2000rpm, and the full 1.1 bar at 2200rpm, it feels much more quick to respond to wide open throttle at 65mph!
I think removing the washer means that the fuelling range is widened over the same throttle travel. So even at low rpm, wide open throttle gets the turbo spinning faster, getting me more low end response. Obviosuly this is a feedback loop, as more turbo spin gets more fuelling. More fuel sooner, quicker response.
It only black smokes when cold going through the 2000rpm mark under full throttle, and even then it's a thin haze.
Seems really good now.
Time to turn my turbo up to 1.2 bar and then turn the plunger a bit more clockwise I think, just for a bit more top end fuelling. Problem is still the low-end black smoke. Need to turn that anti-smoke screw up a bit (really stiff it seems).
As for the accident, yeah, I got out with just minor injuries really. A badly swollen and bruised foot for a week or two was the worst immidiate injury.
Kinda got whiplash and all that, and some weird burns/scorches from the airbag (very handy, even though my face didn't hit it)...
Luckily I was idling along with clutch foot away from the pedal, and the throttle being feathered. I was expecting the bike to pull back over but never did. I expect if I had have rammed on the brakes my feet would have been buggered!
Best to brake with one foot and be ready to move it away at impact. Last place you want your feet is down there. Mind you, it was a precision attack right into my lovely wheel which got rammed into the footwell area!
More tuning updates and a small website when I get round to it. Phtoto's and videos and everything For a laugh!
Cheers
Dave

[PowerLee]

Ouch!!!!
I hope the person on the motorbike got hurt, There are too many mad bikers around on the road & something needs to be done about them!

[rossd]

I agree about the bikers, they like to think they are invincible and the rules of the road dont apply to them, but I think wishing injury on somebody is a little harsh...

[DaveC]

He was damn lucky actually, broken wrist and bruising. Bad brusing in pelvic area I think.
Lets just hope he's learnt his lesson, since next time luck might not be on his side!!!
Anyway, just wondering, would wheels (offset wise and stud spacing) that were on a Vauxhall Cavalier fit on a Peugeot 405???
Seya
Dave

[philhoward]

No,no and no...stud spacing is different (Cav = 4x100 vs Pug = 4x108) as is the offset (40-ish vs 20-ish); also the centre bore dimension on the wheel is different (56.5 for the Cav vs 65 for the Pug)

[DaveC]

Yeah, thanks for that information. I finally found it on the web the other night.
I was trying to find out my offset on my wheels to gauge the resultant width of some other wheels.
Right now my replacement 405 is running some mk2 mi16 wheels (not xsi 306 ones like the Lemans)
I do have 3 of my Gti6 alloys still, but one was destroyed in the crash. I'm looking for one other, and have already noticed how much further in the mi16 wheels sit. The Gti6 ones fill the arch lots more!
I wonder if anyone knows the width and offset of the gti6 ones? Would be interesting to see how much wider they are than the mi16 ones (all the detail is stamped on the outside of the alloy)!
Wonder what the GTI180 206 ones would sit like
Seya
Dave