Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

Dyno Tuning Melbourne

- What's more important - Power or Torque?

We call it area under the graph.  Now, what that means is, if you have a power line going up to 200KW or 300KW, and a torque line that's, lets say, 500NM of torque, if you can increase the area under that torque graph, then generally, you will have increased in power.

Now, what that means is.  If I can bring that torque line up from 500NM to 600NM, and not necessarily have an increase in power, that car is going to feel like a different car on the road, as it will have more pulling power at lower RPM, even though the actual peak power number is no greater than it was before the torque in the lower RPMs was increased.

So, in my eyes, I believe torque is more important than power.

There are people who like to see a high power number.  They like to see the big figures.  That's great, but, to drive them at that top-end, at maximum RPM, at wide open throttle, the car is never going to get there on the road.

So, torque is more applicable to 99% of people on the road.

On a racetrack, torque is very important too, because when you are going into a corner and out of a corner, torque is the thing that actually gives you the pull.  So torque is going to pull you out of the corner faster.

If you ask me what's more important, power or torque.  I would say to you, torque would be more important than power.

Having said that, you can't have a power figure without a torque figure, so, if you increase the torque an engine is producing, you will have an increase in power in those same RPM areas.

Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

Dyno Tuning Melbourne - Pre Dyno Tuning Checks

Things that you should check before bringing your car to a dyno tuning session

are things like:

Oil.  Please consider the condition of the oil, and the level of the oil.  If you've just had the oil changed, that's good.  If the oil is due for a change, you should do it just before the dyno tuning session.  It's going to help in terms of power figures.  Firstly, clean oil is going to make your engine  more efficient, due to less friction, so it can help you get a better power number off the dyno tune. 

Things like tire condition.  As a dyno operator, we are putting the car under extreme  strain.  We don't want to have tires that are down to canvas, or balding, or with pieces of rubber hanging off them.

Also, coolant leaks.  If there is any sign of coolant leaks, get them fixed before coming to a dyno tune.  The engine doesn't really get any hotter, but the ambient temperature around the engine will.

So, things like coolant leaks may be more prevalent on a chassis dyno.

Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

Dyno Tuning Melbourne - Turbo Myths

There are some really big misconceptions when it comes to fitting turbos up to engines.
You can have two identical cars, two different turbos, both running 10 PSI of boost, and both producing radically different amounts of power.

If you're running too small a turbo, to get 10 pounds of boost out of, lets say, a 4 litre Ford, for example.  If you have a relatively small turbo, and that turbo was running so hard and so fast, that it was way outside of its efficiency curve, it's working too had to compress the air, and it is running very inefficiently.  That 10 pounds of boost pressure is really not going to be effective.

The air is going to be hotter than a turbo running within its efficiency curve.  You are going to have restrictions with compressor housings, and with ports being too small on the exhaust side.  Yet, it's going to spool up q

uickly and be nice off the line, but you are going to lose boost at the very top.
If you put a bigger turbo on, you've got very little exhaust restriction, and the air is not being worked as hard, so you now have cooler air going into an intercooler or straight into the engine, which is more efficient air, which gives you more power at 10 pound of boost.

Now, finding the fine line, or the sweet spot.  Is it too small, or is it too big?  Because too large a turbo may not come on boost until 3,000 RPM, whereas a smaller turbo may come on boost at 1,200 RPM.

As a dyno operator, this is where we start to go, "OK, we have a look at what engine package you have, what exhaust system you've got, what manifolds you've got, and try on match the right turbo with that car.

So, it's not a matter of just saying, "I'm going to put a 700 roller on, or  I'm going to put a 1,000 roller on, and I'm going to make a million horse power".
It doesn't happen like that.  You need to match that turbo to suit that car.

You can watch videos on Dyno Tuning in Melbourne.

Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

Dyno Tuning Melbourne - Superchargers

The difference between centrifugal and positive displacement blowers, is that basically a centrifugal is similar to a turbo charger.  It doesn't rely on exhaust to push it around, but it relies on the engine RPM to spin it up.

The more you spin it up, the more boost you get.

Generally you find a centrifugal supercharger mounted off the side of an engine.  They're generally made to be mounted on the side of engines, away from the top of the manifold.  One of the advantages to a centrifugal blower (over a positive displacement blower), is that you can mount an intercooler fairly easily, so you can get more performance out of it.

The other advantage is that generally they are a lot quieter than a positive displacement blower.  And, placement of them is fairly easy.  You can place them above, below, in front, behind.  So, there are many places they can go, so long as they line up with whatever is driving them.

Positive displacement superchargers generally have to go on top of the motor, or at least on top of the intake manifold.  So, fitting an intercooler can still be done, but it is often more difficult than when fitting an intercooler to a centrifugal supercharger.  There is a lot more engineering and pipework needed to fit up an intercooler to this type of supercharger.

The main positive for a positive displacement supercharger is that the minute you crack the throttle you have boost, where with a centrifugal one, often you have to build up the revs before you start seeing boost, and you often won't see boost straight away.

There are two main types of positive displacement superchargers.  There is the roots type, and the screw type.  Generally you find the roots superchargers to be more noisy, and less efficient unless you put some type of intercooler on it.

The screw type, positive displacement, they are very good, but they are generally a long unit, so room has to be allocated for it.

If you see a boost curve when doing a chassis dyno tune, you will quickly see the difference between a centrifugal and a positive displacement supercharger.

Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

Dyno Tuning Melbourne - Sparkplug Tips

Sparkplugs are a big part of a tuneup in a car.  Back in the early seventies, you used to replace sparkplugs every 10,000 kilometres.  Late model engines now, you've gone to 20,000 to 25,000 kilometres.  

Sparkplug materials have improved.  Engine efficiency has improved.  Now, sparkplugs can last a lot longer.

One thing to watch out for when removing the sparkplugs, and having a look at them.  Watch out for a warn or rounded electrode.  It shows that the sparkplug has done a lot of miles.  The color of the sparkplug might be quite good, and the porcelain may look to be in good condition.  

But, if the end of the electrode is rounded, it effectively opens up the gap between the electrode and the earth strap.  The greater gap requires more spark energy to jump the gap.  This can eventually result in engine misfires because the spark cannot jump the larger gap.

What a lot of people tend to do with sparkplugs as well, is, if they are modifying their vehicle, they want to go colder sparkplugs because they're putting a turbo charger in it, or they just feel that going to colder sparkplugs is a better option.

In some cases this is true.  You don't want to go too cold, because then, you will have an inefficient burn for the fuel.  When you have an inefficient burn on the fuel, you will have incorrect running at idle, incorrect idle properties, and other similar issues.

Another thing to look for with sparkplugs, (we've done heat range), is what type of sparkplug.  Do you want to use copper core, resisted, platinum or iridium.  What type of sparkplug is required for my engine?

The general rule of thumb, is to find out what the manufacturer of the engine has specified.  Failing that, most auto outlets will advise you on what you can use, and what you can't use.

One big thing to keep note of though.  In a late model engine that is running EFI (

electronic fuel injection

), resisted sparkplugs are a big thing.  You must use them, because the amount of electrical noise that can be generated when you don't have resisted sparkplugs, may create problems with your electrical system.

Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

The most commonly asked question that I get regarding fuel injection , is, "If I convert my car from carburettors to fuel injection, what kind of power increase will I get"?

This is really hard to answer because, you are often talking about cars that were manufactured before 1985, and were not fuel injected.  They may not have been maintained or tuned properly in the past.

Back then, to tune a carburettor engine properly was approximately an 8 hour job.  Also, the control over the ignition system was a set of points, or a very basic electronic ignition system that had a mechanical advance system that was most possibly worn out.

So, to actually say truthfully, how much extra power converting an engine from carburettors to fuel injection is difficult.  But there is generally a power increase in the range of 8% to 15%.  That being said, it could be as high as 30% to 40% when you take into account that the original fuel and ignition systems on the engine may have been under performing at the time of the conversion.

The greatest gains can often be seen in terms of drivability, rather than simply an increase in power.  This includes making the car start well under hot and cold conditions, making it crisp on acceleration.  At the end of the day, this is often more important to customers than simply a high power number.

With fuel injection, we can set an engine to run at 14.7 to 1 (lambda 1) under cruise conditions, and still be very responsive under acceleration, plus get great fuel economy, and have lots of power.

To have that kind of tuneability is amazing, and to try to do that with carburettors was very, very hard.

Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

Fuel Injection How To: Often Forgotten Pre-Dyno Checks.

The checks that you should do before putting your car on the dyno, are pretty much the same checks and maintenance that you should do to your car on a regular basis.

Do you have anything around or near the exhaust; as the exhaust gets the hottest on the dyno.  So, if you have wiring that is close to the exhaust system, there is a good chance that it is going to catch on fire, or melt.

So, you want to make sure that you have nothing hanging around near the exhaust pipe, whether it be material wrapped, or you might have rubber line that is in braid, you really don't want it anywhere near the exhaust.

Another thing to check are things like the condition of your engine's fan belts.  Condition of radiator hoses.  It might appear fine for you to think that you can run the car with that fan belt on the dyne, and replace it later, because at the moment, it's still spinning the pulleys.

But, once again, please remember, a dyno tuner is going to be getting the peak out of your engine, so, it's going to be pulled to a higher RPM.  If that fan belt is in bad condition, for the sake of a $50 (or less) belt, it could come loose and take out a lot more in your engine bay while it is on the dyno.

Another thing to check, that a lot of people don't realise, is oil condition.  If you haven't changed your oil in 15 or 20 thousand kilometres, it's going to be like slug.  Don't put it on the dyne.

These were just a few examples of often forgotten pre-dyno checks.

Fuel Injection Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

When doing modifications to your vehicle, like

fuel injecting

your engine, or doing an engine conversion, one of the considerations to take into account when you’re doing to the modification is under bonnet temperature.  If you are putting a bigger engine in, a bigger turbo in something like that’s moving it away from standard, your under bonnet temperatures are going to suffer.

One way to bring the Under bonnet temperatures down is to ceramic coat the exhaust,  Now by ceramic coating the exhaust, you are reducing the external heat from the exhaust from entering into the engine bay, keeping your inlet track cooler , your inlet manifolds cooler.  But it also helps by keeping the internal of the exhaust pipe hotter.  

Now in the case of a turbo charged car that’s actually beneficial because that will help to spur up the turbo a lot faster.  By ceramic coating exhausts and exhaust manifolds, it also helps in protecting paint and paintwork in the engine bay, you may have spent a lot of money on paint and wiring and rubber hoses.  

Engine Cooling Systems Melbourne | Dyno Tuning Melbourne

When modifying a vehicle, one aspect that should be taken into account is your cooling system.

If you take an example of a 1971 model car, with a 2000 model fuel injected engine.  You can put a 2000 model radiator and thermofans into the engine bay.  One thing to consider is that you will have dual thermofans.  One on the left, and one on the right of the radiator.

You will wont to turn one thermofan on at a time, just above operating temperature, and the second thermofan should come on around 4 to 5 degrees after that.  This saves electrical load on the battery and charging system.  You are not turning on 2 thermofans at once.  And this also lets you turn on the second thermofan when the air conditioning compressor is turned on.

Something else to keep in mind is, if you have an air conditioning condenser sitting in front of the radiator you are restricting air flow passed the radiator.  But then, if you have an intercooler of some kind in front of that, you're restricting air flow passed both the air conditioning condenser, and through the radiator.

So, alway keep this in mind, and try to keep the airways clear and allow air to pass through radiators and intercoolers for maximum efficiency.

One last thing to keep in mind with cooling systems, is that you are going to want to dyno tune your car, you will want to get the maximum out of it.  Make sure all of the pipes and hoseclamps are up to scratch, and there is not something that is second hand that is going to blow out or fly apart when it's on the chassis dyno.

Fuel Injection Wiring Bayswater |Dyno Tuning Bayswater

When wiring up a car, or wiring in an ECU, one of the most important aspects, is good wiring.

Now, everyone thinks of wiring as being a good 12V power supply - "I must have a good 12V.  I've run really thick battery leads".   It's not the only thing.  

There are two sources to power supply.  You've got a ground, and you've got power.

Let's take an injector for instance.  That has power, and it has ground to operate it.  An ECU will ground the pin of the injector to open it.

If you are wide open throttle running down the drag strip, and you have a bad ground supply to the ECU, then that will have a bad ground supply to the injector.  That can lead to leaning an engine out, and even causing an engine blow up.

To ensure this doesn't happen, you need to make sure all of the ground points on your engine are in really good condition and good spots.

On and OEM factory car, they often have about 4 different ground points.  They have one at the front of the engine, one at the back of the engine, they generally have one down on the side of the motor, and one that goes from the alternator bracket to the battery.

These are all critical to the way an engine runs.  Whether it's to ground injectors, or ignition coils that need to be grounded to give good spark, once again, if you don't have good ground for your ignition system, you're not going to have a good spark, it's going to break down under load when the engine is trying to produce maximum power.

 

Throttle Body Linkage Bayswater | Fuel Injection Bayswater

The linkage setup to a throttle body is very important.  Whether you've got an eccentric linkage, or just a direct one to one linkage.  

In some cases with big throttle bodies they have an eccentric linkage, and what that means is that as you start to apply the throttle it will open slower than you're actually putting your foot down.  Then, when you get to about 3/4 throttle, it will open up quicker.  That's what an eccentric linkage is, and that's what sometimes we recommend, depending on the scenario and the type of fuel injection.

So there is a lot to be taken into account with a throttle body.

Another thing to look at is, when you go replacing a throttle body with an aftermarket throttle body, there may be no idle speed device on the new throttle body.  Now, an idle speed device is a comfort device.  You want to be able to go out in the morning, hit the key, and have it idle up to 1200 RPM.  While it's warming up, it can slowly come down to normal idle as the engine warms up.

You also want the idle speed to device to "catch" the idle as you are getting off the throttle coming up to a set of lights, or coming to a stop.

Sometimes people will say to us, that they don't care about that, that they'll sit and warm the car up.  That's all good and well for about the first month, until they've gotten over that initial enjoyment of the car, and then they say, it stalls when it's cold, it stalls when I pull up at a set of lights, or they have to keep the car running at 1200 RPM to keep it idling.  This is not the type of feedback that we want to hear.  That is why it's so important to have idle control.

That is something to take into account when buying a throttle body.

Faulty Throttle Sensor Bayswater | Fuel Injection Bayswater

A symptom that I see sometimes, is a misadjusted TPS, which turns out to be a faulty TPS, and it's creating issues for the engine management system.

What this means is, you can have a worn-out lug (the mechanical part that moves with the throttle plate), or they can be worm out electrically, inside the throttle position switch.

Now, what that can create is, if you are holding the throttle position switch at a given point, and inside electrically, it's not actually connected, it's worn out, bent, or just damaged in some way, the engine management system is going "I am at 5% load; no I'm not; yes I am; no I'm not....".  

What this can create, is an acceleration enrichment.  So, you're driving down the street, holding the throttle still, and all of a sudden, you are getting enrichment, then you're not getting enrichment, then you are getting enrichment, etc.  It can create a very poor mixture, very poor fuel economy, and sometimes very poor drivability.

What is can also do, because we have a nice sweeping arc of the throttle position switch, and for if some reason electrically, there are damaged points, as you accelerate, and your acceleration enrichment happens, you've got a break in that acceleration enrichment.  So, all of a sudden it's getting enrichment, it isn't, it is again, so once again, you create a flat spot.

That's working on the acceleration enrichment side of things.  

The throttle position also tells the engine management system where to start to work with the idle speed.  And as we have mentioned in other articles, idle speed devices are very important to achieving a great driving experience.  

So, if for some reason, your throttle position sensor is not working, your idle speed motor doesn't know where to be.

Now you've got two scenarios.

The first is a car that stalls at lghts, and a car that flat spots as it takes off from the lights.

And that could be due to just a faulty throttle position switch.

Pod Air Cleaners Bayswater | Fuel Injection Bayswater

Something that we've done a lot of testing on here is pod air cleaners, also known as pod air filters.

People put pod air cleaners on their car and there is a real misconception that instantly "i've got more power".  What we generally find is that they hear a lot of induction noise, so all of a sudden they feel they've got more power because they can hear the noise.

One common problem we do come across when pod air cleaners are fitted, is that the original air box is designed to pick up cold air, often from in front of the radiator or from behind the headlight area.  The original manufacturer has designed the intake to ensure that only cold air is brought into the start of the intake system.

If a pod air cleaner is fitted after the radiator, we are going to have 80 degree air temperatures going into the engine.  Even if the engine runs an intercooler, why heat the air up before it goes into the engine's intake system.  Why not try and keep it as cold as possible.

Our recommendations is to try to keep an EOM factory style air filter and air box.  You can put your K&N or rechargeable air filters into them, but try to keep the original air box to try to keep the cold air intake system happening.

If you take hot air from behind the radiator, every part of the engine, the turbo, the intercooler, all have to work harder.  And the intercooler has to work harder to try to get the air temperatures down.

Cold air temps, are what you need when EFI tuning for power, and economy.  The more we have cold air, the better the engine is going to run. 

So, having a pod air cleaner may sound like you are making power.  It may perform better than your original one, because you hadn't replaced the element, or your element was restrictive, but it in effect, no good when that bonnets, you've got 80 degree celsius engine bay temperatures, and it's no good for your tune.

Fuel Injector Sizing Bayswater | Fuel Injection

One of the things when selecting fuel injectors for your car, or for your engine, is to know, what type of injector you want.  One of the biggest things you need to know when selecting injectors is the o-ring size of the injector.  

Some injectors come in 14mm o-ring size, and others come with 11mm o-rings.  The dimension from o-ring to o-ring is a big thing.  

Some injectors have 2 o-rings on them (one at each end), meaning it seals in the manifold with an o-ring, and it also seals in the fuel rail with an o-ring.

Another type of injector has an o-ring at the fuel rail end, and a buffer seal at the manifold end.  

This is very important if you are going to start to run some boost, and you don't want to lose boost past where the fuel injector sits.  So, the correct placement and the correct injector is a big thing for high performance and big drivability.

There is another type of injector.  It has a 14mm recess, but you can fit an 11mm o-ring to it.  That may be perfect to help with the scenario of your car.  This all comes back to working out what size injector you want for your engine.  

You can also see there that we have different styles of connectors for different vehicles. Once again, generally you can match the injector to the car to save any kind of further cost and effort in wiring.

One of the other big issues with injectors that we come across a lot is that people go too big with their injectors.  They always think that 800 or 1,000cc injectors is what you need.  You can match an injector to the power rating of what the car requirements are.

This is very easily done.  On average it takes 5cc of fuel injector size for every horse power the car wants to produce.  This is an equation that we use quite often in the trade.

For example, if a car was to produce 400hp, we would install injectors that would supply 450hp.  There is no reason to put injectors in it so it can go to 1,000hp.

It is a waist of time, and the drivability down low, at idle and fuel economy is not there. 

Throttle Body Size Bayswater | Fuel Injection Bayswater

One of the questions I get asked quite a bit, is, "What throttle body size do I run on my engine?"

This comes down to, whether the engine's force fed or not, normally aspirated, and the size of the engine.

People love big throttle bodies, as big or even bigger than 90mm.  They will flow a lot of air.  But, if you're putting this on a 1300cc engine, anything more than about 25% throttle is useless, because, if you open that up more than 25%, it's not going to give you any more power.  

You've already got enough airflow for what the engine's requirements will be at about a quarter open.  So, if anything, it's going to send you backwards because, on a sharp acceleration, you get a big rush of air very quickly, and you have to accommodate that with fuel injection and ignition timing.  

You put a 90mm throttle on a big cubic inch V8, and that might be perfect for it.  So, assessing the size of throttle body size to the engine size is a very important aspect.

You may make power with a huge throttle body, but you may make it undrivable too, because, just remember, as I said, on a 1300cc engine from closed, to 25% open is equivalent to wide open throttle on a standard throttle.

So, that is the equivalent of moving the throttle peddle only 25%, and going from closed throttle, to effectively full throttle.  This is going to make the engine almost undrivable.

Fuel Injector Spray Pattern Effects Fuel Economy| Fuel Injection

One of the most common causes for bad fuel economy, poor acceleration and poor cruise driveability, may not be so much the way you drive the injector, but rather the type of injector you are running.

In this car, in this scenario, we've got 2 Bosch injectors, they look identical, but the spray patterns on the end of the injector can be the problem.  You can have a 15 degree conical spray, or a 30 to 60 degree conical spray.  What that means, is the atomisation of the fuel going into the cylinder.  

At a light cruise, something like on a Skyline, at about 2,200 RPM and 100 kph, you need maximum atomisation.  The airflow over the fuel injectors, the airflow into the cylinders is not at a high speed, so atomisation of the fuel is one of the best things.

If you have a poor quality injector, it won't effect your power at the top end, you'll still make maximum power, but your driveability won't be there.  So, one thing is to look at the type of injector you're fitting to your car, which is what we do here at Wolf Motorsport, we advise you on what type of injector to put into your car, and the right one of the job.

If you've got a drag car, and only top end stuff, then those injectors with the 15 degree spray pattern may be fine.  But, if you want nice economy, nice driveability, nice acceleration off the line, you've got to go for a 30 or 60 degree spray pattern. 

Fuel Injection 12V Power Distribution | Fuel Injection

Another aspect of power distribution when wiring a car up or playing with the wiring in your car, it's not an uncommon perspective to put the battery in the boot.

Now, when you take an OEM car that has the battery in the boot, like a Skyline, they run a battery cable up to a battery terminal in the engine bay.  Then they run from that battery terminal down to the starter motor.

The reason they do this is because the OEM factory know that a starter motor draws a lot of current and has a lot of electrical flyback.

They know that flyback can cause problems with other power distribution centres in the car.  One other thing is that with a starter motor you've got a couple of hundred amps being drawn when the starter motor engages, to turn that motor over.

So, the power draw here, could pull that power source down to 10 volts.  If you're trying to drive 6 injectors and 6 ignition coils and a starter motor off 10 volts, it's not really going to make a nice starting car.

So, if you are moving your battery to the boot, we recommend that you run a negative cable all the way to the engine, as well as to the chassis, and you run a positive cable to a remote battery post.  Then from your battery post to your starter motor.  

You don't connect directly to the starter motor.  Connecting directly to the starter motor, even though it will save a couple of dollars in cable, and installation, you will have head aches further down the line, when you've got current draw and power losses when you are starting the engine.

Can I Have Power and Economy with Rob Sabbadin | Fuel Injection

Power and economy is achievable.

 

You only use the amount of fuel for the amount of power you are actually using in the vehicle.  For instance, if a car is capable of 300kW, at the 300kW mark, you are using 300kW worth of fuel, which would be a fairly thirsty car.

 

This is all dictated by the amount of acceleration that you give the car.  If you're only using 70kW of that 300kW the car is most likely to be economical, by we are meaning that the accelerator  wouldn't be depressed all the way to the floor on every day driving.  Meaning that the computer would be going into different load cells and RPM's, where fuel efficiency would be greater.

 

The 2 main factors giving good fuel economy are ignition timing and air fuel ratios.  90% of your driving time is spent cruising and idling.  So, 60, 80 and 100 kilometre load cells are the most important part of your tune.

 

These load cells must have correct ignition timing and air fuel ratios to determine good fuel economy.

 

How Long to Tune EFI with Rob Sabbadin | Fuel Injection

One of the most common questions I get asked regarding tuning is, "How long does my car have to be there for?" 

Usually, I'll always recommend to a customer that we'll need the car for a minimum of 3 days, and to a maximum of 5 days.

 

Tuning is not just dyno time, where we go through the basic RPM of the car, load points of the car and into the power side of it.  There's a lot more to it, being how it idles, from high revs back to low revs, does it stall, cold starts.  There is nothing worse than a car that you start cold, and you've got to keep restarting it because it stalls.  All of this is part of the tune, and must be spot on - which isn't a 1 day process.

 

We don't like any of the cars leaving the workshop unless we know our customer is not going to get stranded somewhere down the road, or in a week somewhere because the car won't start because it's a different temperature to what it was when it was tuned, or a different condition.  

 

So, we try to put the car through all of the different conditions that we think it will go through.  Along with that, we usually try to take it on a drive on a road where there is various different scenarios, being traffic, being highway driving, being freeways, stop-start.  

 

Then, once we are happy with that, we are happy to give the car back to the customer.

 

 

Rotary Engine Rebuild Basics with Rob Sabbadin | Fuel Injection

One of the common things we do down here is rebuild rotary engines.

When we rebuild rotary engines, it really comes down to what a customer's after and what the purpose of the engine is.

We are currently rebuilding an RX7 Series 8 engine, which the customer is intending on circuit racing.  For that application, we have chosen to go with a stud kit through the housings and through the end plates.  This is to increase the rigidity of his motor, and stop twist.

The other thing we have done with his rotors, all of his rotors have been side clearanced, which gives us extra clearance on the side seals and also the corner seals.

We always opt to use new bearings in all of our rotor assemblies, and also in our stationary gears.

The other thing we do, is to have all of our rotating assembly balanced, and we also get our shafts what we call "isotropic coated" to improve strength.

The other thing that is very critical are the oil control rings in the engine.  A lot of people fail to replace certain things like oil control rings and the different retaining springs behind them.  They must be replaced to maintain the tension in the oil control rings, side seals, corner seals and apex seals.

Apex seals and side seals are pretty much like a piston ring.  Apex seals gain a surface against a rotor housing, and the side seals work with the side plates.

Turbo Charger Basics with Rob Sabbadin | Fuel Injection

 By Rob Sabbadin:

What I wanted to talk to you quickly about today is different turbo chargers and some of the things that people do with manifolds, dump pipes, different gaskets and washers that are used.

With the manifold here that we have in front of us, this manifold's been HPC coated and the dump pipe has been wrapped.

The purpose of this is to actually help with the spool-up time of the turbo.   If we maintain heat in the manifold it actually helps reduce the spool-up time.  So, this whole manifold has been HPC coated, also, the dump-pipe has been heat wrapped.

This is also good for heat distribution in the engine bay because it's maintaining the heat inside the manifold and not expelling the heat under the bonnet.

Also, with a turbo it's very important when they are bolted up to a manifold, that all new gaskets and locking nuts are used.  There can be a fair bit of vibration from an exhaust system attaching to a turbo which goes through the whole manifold.  It's very common for bolts to come loose.

In this turbo here, it's had all new nuts and studs put on with locking tabs, along with locking nuts.

An important thing with turbos is a good quality turbo to manifold gasket.  There are cheaper and higher quality gaskets available.  The type of gaskets that we use are the same as EOM gaskets, which is a thicker gasket, which is three shims internally which are folded together. 

These gaskets give a lot more "crush" and is a lot better with heat, and they will handle severe heat all of the time without failure.

You can check out more information on Turbo Chargers and Fuel Injection by Rob Sabbadin.

Cam Timing Basics with Rob Sabbadin | Fuel Injection

 By Rob Sabbadin:

A commonly asked question by people is whether cam gears on an engine are actually beneficial or a waist of money.

Our R&D will show that cam gears can be very beneficial.  Every engine has its own characteristics and different cam timings can vary between engines and the application.  Also, turbo size and other bits and pieces can make a big difference to the required cam timing.

Cam gears are generally 1 degree or 2 degree adjustable.  Either being 1 degree on the cam, or 2 degrees on the crank.

Advancing and retarding cams can give you more power down low, or up top, or it can also give you a midrange power gain.

The power gain that is needed with vary for the application of the engine.  Whether it was someone that was trying to be a horsepower hero, trying to get power at the top of the rev range and not really worry about the bottom half.  Or whether a customer wanted midrange and top end, or bottom end power, and not really worry about the top end.

As you can see from the results, cam timing has given us a very good increase. It has basically given us an increase from the get-go, all the way to the top of the power curve.  With this we have used exactly the same turbo charger boost, also, we have tried to maintain the same air fuel ratios.

When cam timing is changed, it does alter air fuel ratios, but we have made changes to make sure that was the same, and also ignition timing has been left the same.