She Followed Me Home, Honest
11-17-16, 04:50 PM
#2576
The concerns you cite are what stopped me a few years ago when I contemplated the flywheel and since mine is purely a street car/daily, I opted out.
I felt a lot friskier this summer though and jumped on a CL deal I saw.
It was with great trepidation I first tried it out and was stunned to feel absolutely none of the issues people fear. In fact, I'd have been hard pressed to guess it was even in there based solely on feel/takeup. I expected a learning curve/time to adapt and didn't need it, she was just like before.
Sigfrid and I are currently pondering a flywheel for the Z and I'm conflicted.
Based on my rotary experience, I'd say yes without hesitation but I wonder if the magic will transfer to the straight six engine. Seems like the rotary, much like a two stroke, is semi-impervious to the issues that crop up in piston engines.
Our engines want to rev and have none of the reciprocating mass to hinder them, I doubt the Z makes much power over 4500 and quick revving seems almost pointless.
Especially given the pathetic head and the 10' long crankshaft.
Anyway, depending on your personal triggers, I'd rank a lightened flywheel near/at the top of "bang for buck" mods.
I felt a lot friskier this summer though and jumped on a CL deal I saw.
It was with great trepidation I first tried it out and was stunned to feel absolutely none of the issues people fear. In fact, I'd have been hard pressed to guess it was even in there based solely on feel/takeup. I expected a learning curve/time to adapt and didn't need it, she was just like before.
Sigfrid and I are currently pondering a flywheel for the Z and I'm conflicted.
Based on my rotary experience, I'd say yes without hesitation but I wonder if the magic will transfer to the straight six engine. Seems like the rotary, much like a two stroke, is semi-impervious to the issues that crop up in piston engines.
Our engines want to rev and have none of the reciprocating mass to hinder them, I doubt the Z makes much power over 4500 and quick revving seems almost pointless.
Especially given the pathetic head and the 10' long crankshaft.
Anyway, depending on your personal triggers, I'd rank a lightened flywheel near/at the top of "bang for buck" mods.
11-18-16, 08:18 AM
#2578
MECP Certified Installer
But a lower mass flywheel does increase the rate at which the engine can accelerate or decelerate which has a big impact on overall feel of the engine and its throttle response. It also has a direct and measurable impact on timed acceleration runs of the car. How can this be you ask if is does not "make any more horsepower"? First understand that the engine has to accelerate both the mass of the drive train and the mass of the car. By using a lighter weight flywheel you have reduce the load on the engine by reducing drive train mass, so now there is more torque available to accelerate the mass of the car. It produces a similar net effect to when you reduce the weight of the car.
There are some equation here for examples of some BMW models for reference purposes;
How a lightweight flywheel works
Just remember that there are always trade-offs. A light weight aluminum flywheel is really trick on say the road course or at the drag strip, but it can be a royal PITA during a bumper to bumper stop and go traffic daily commute. You may also have to be talented at heal toe shifting to keep things rev matched for a smooth fast shift. Engine idles speed will be effected to a great amount with an aluminum flywheel by the varying loads on the engines due to things like; when the PS rake is cranked to full lock or the a/c compressor cycles off and on. (remember those things are usually not found on a real track only race car). That is why a mid level weight billet steel flywheel is usually the best compromise for a daily driver or a car driven mostly on the street. A factory heavy weight cast iron flywheel gives the smoothest idle characteristics and allows for smoother slower speed shifts as well.
As always personal preference is just that, personal.
There are some equation here for examples of some BMW models for reference purposes;
How a lightweight flywheel works
Just remember that there are always trade-offs. A light weight aluminum flywheel is really trick on say the road course or at the drag strip, but it can be a royal PITA during a bumper to bumper stop and go traffic daily commute. You may also have to be talented at heal toe shifting to keep things rev matched for a smooth fast shift. Engine idles speed will be effected to a great amount with an aluminum flywheel by the varying loads on the engines due to things like; when the PS rake is cranked to full lock or the a/c compressor cycles off and on. (remember those things are usually not found on a real track only race car). That is why a mid level weight billet steel flywheel is usually the best compromise for a daily driver or a car driven mostly on the street. A factory heavy weight cast iron flywheel gives the smoothest idle characteristics and allows for smoother slower speed shifts as well.
As always personal preference is just that, personal.
11-18-16, 10:15 AM
#2579
Originally Posted by clokker;12125090
Sigfrid and I are currently pondering a flywheel for the Z and I'm conflicted.
Based on my rotary experience, I'd say yes without hesitation but I wonder if the magic will transfer to the straight six engine. Seems like the rotary, much like a two stroke, is semi-impervious to the issues that crop up in piston engines.
Our engines [i
Sigfrid and I are currently pondering a flywheel for the Z and I'm conflicted.
Based on my rotary experience, I'd say yes without hesitation but I wonder if the magic will transfer to the straight six engine. Seems like the rotary, much like a two stroke, is semi-impervious to the issues that crop up in piston engines.
Our engines [i
want[/i] to rev and have none of the reciprocating mass to hinder them, I doubt the Z makes much power over 4500 and quick revving seems almost pointless.
Especially given the pathetic head and the 10' long crankshaft.
Especially given the pathetic head and the 10' long crankshaft.
I have also driven a Scion FRS with a lightweight flywhel and heavy clutch and I have found that the clutch seems to ruin the stop and go aspect, not the flywheel.
11-18-16, 11:04 AM
#2580
I figured that since my engine wasn't making more than stock horsepower (and probably less, tbh) I did not need more than a stock clutch, which is probably why it felt so normal.
It got weirder when I recently lost first gear.
I drove around for a couple of weeks with the light flywheel, no first gear and no torque...and it was surprisingly easy.
Unfortunately, during the idyllic few months between the "new" engine install and the transmission failure, I was too lazy to fix my trip reset and so did not get any data on fuel mileage, the metric I'm most interested in.
That little issue has been temporarily addressed and I'll see how the flywheel does/does not effect consumption.
It got weirder when I recently lost first gear.
I drove around for a couple of weeks with the light flywheel, no first gear and no torque...and it was surprisingly easy.
Unfortunately, during the idyllic few months between the "new" engine install and the transmission failure, I was too lazy to fix my trip reset and so did not get any data on fuel mileage, the metric I'm most interested in.
That little issue has been temporarily addressed and I'll see how the flywheel does/does not effect consumption.
11-19-16, 11:45 AM
#2581
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TSeems like the rotary, much like a two stroke, is semi-impervious to the issues that crop up in piston engines.
Our engines want to rev and have none of the reciprocating mass to hinder them, I doubt the Z makes much power over 4500 and quick revving seems almost pointless.
Especially given the pathetic head and the 10' long crankshaft.
Our engines want to rev and have none of the reciprocating mass to hinder them, I doubt the Z makes much power over 4500 and quick revving seems almost pointless.
Especially given the pathetic head and the 10' long crankshaft.
a stock S4 T2 is 2800lbs, and has a 28lb flywheel. the flywheel in these feels SO heavy, it makes the car ponderous, and it feels like all the engine power goes into accelerating the flywheel mass.
put a steel 17lb flywheel in it though, and suddenly it feels just right. IMO, its what they should have had in it from the factory.
an S5 turbo has a 23ish pound flywheel, and that feels ok too.
or
my old 85 GSL-SE had a 9# aluminum flywheel, and the car was 2550lbs. flywheel felt too light. the stock 24# flywheel was on the heavy side of ok.
but take 500lbs off the car, like with peepers (my 1st gen) and the same 9# flywheel feels perfect.
so i guess in a street car FC, around 2700lbs, a steel lightweight flywheel is about perfect, and the AL one is a bit light, and the stock one, a bit heavy.
11-19-16, 04:19 PM
#2583
OK, first test drive was a slightly qualified success.
I'll begin by admitting I spent an entire day trying to find a mysterious engine oil leak (the newly installed transmission is mercifully dry) that gradually disappeared with me unable to ever pin it down.
She was still on ramps and I got my hands and eventually, a clean white t-shirt on every part of the engine I could without finding even a trail to follow.
With the engine running and me in my typical flat-on-back-on-newly-freezing-concrete yoga pose, I could hear, and occasionally see, droplets hit the exhaust and the upper part of the rear flange was wet.
Which meant oil was coming down from the intake manifold and there ain't no external oil supposed to be up there.
The OMP lines were the only source I could imagine but mine are freshly installed and braided steel to boot. They've been in since July with no issues whatsoever and I was nowhere near 'em during this project.
And then it stopped.
She went through two warm up>cool down cycles with nary a drop and I have the sore clavicles to prove it.
And a picture:
Pretty crappy clean up job, eh?
I admit that my supply of ***** to give was depleted cleaning the bellhousing so I could remove the front bearing cover.
Also, unlike the last time I did this, the transmission was the only thing keeping me immobile.
This was a job, not a project I'd freely chosen.
There's a difference.
Anyway, without evidence of the leak (all levels and temps/pressures nominal) I couldn't think of a reason not to see what I'd managed to do.
It was good, very good.
No funny noises or jerkiness...the clutch takeup is slightly different and it doesn't shift as slickly as before but I expected both of those things.
I had spent the time to shim my shifter bushings lo those many years ago and just took the whole setup and plopped it into the new unit.
Thing is, I keep thinking that maybe it's just different and I'll adapt after some bonding time and it shifts just fine, so leave it for now.
If I'm going to punish myself with more crap work, the job to tackle first should be the slave cylinder.
Not only is it about eight years old but the boot fell apart on me and I seriously have to rethink the hose routing...that damn cylinder was the most aggravating part of the last week.
Anyway, long as nothing's on the floor overnight, I'm done.
I'll begin by admitting I spent an entire day trying to find a mysterious engine oil leak (the newly installed transmission is mercifully dry) that gradually disappeared with me unable to ever pin it down.
She was still on ramps and I got my hands and eventually, a clean white t-shirt on every part of the engine I could without finding even a trail to follow.
With the engine running and me in my typical flat-on-back-on-newly-freezing-concrete yoga pose, I could hear, and occasionally see, droplets hit the exhaust and the upper part of the rear flange was wet.
Which meant oil was coming down from the intake manifold and there ain't no external oil supposed to be up there.
The OMP lines were the only source I could imagine but mine are freshly installed and braided steel to boot. They've been in since July with no issues whatsoever and I was nowhere near 'em during this project.
And then it stopped.
She went through two warm up>cool down cycles with nary a drop and I have the sore clavicles to prove it.
And a picture:
Pretty crappy clean up job, eh?
I admit that my supply of ***** to give was depleted cleaning the bellhousing so I could remove the front bearing cover.
Also, unlike the last time I did this, the transmission was the only thing keeping me immobile.
This was a job, not a project I'd freely chosen.
There's a difference.
Anyway, without evidence of the leak (all levels and temps/pressures nominal) I couldn't think of a reason not to see what I'd managed to do.
It was good, very good.
No funny noises or jerkiness...the clutch takeup is slightly different and it doesn't shift as slickly as before but I expected both of those things.
I had spent the time to shim my shifter bushings lo those many years ago and just took the whole setup and plopped it into the new unit.
Thing is, I keep thinking that maybe it's just different and I'll adapt after some bonding time and it shifts just fine, so leave it for now.
If I'm going to punish myself with more crap work, the job to tackle first should be the slave cylinder.
Not only is it about eight years old but the boot fell apart on me and I seriously have to rethink the hose routing...that damn cylinder was the most aggravating part of the last week.
Anyway, long as nothing's on the floor overnight, I'm done.
11-20-16, 09:41 AM
#2584
Well, I guess I'm done, floor was unsullied this morning.
All that's left is a highway test, make sure I can get into fifth and confirm the reverse lights work.
With (one day's) hindsight, I'm pleased with the knowledge gained and techniques learned (and the result too, obviously) but deeply resent that the project was forced on me by failure.
I do not begrudge Sprocket the care and attention she deserves/requires as an aging matriarch but this unilateral "**** you, fix me now!" nonsense is disrespectful.
At least the weather was nice and I did get a good look at the undercarriage before winter moves in- checked the brakes, topped off the diff, looked at the suspension, etc., so that was an unexpected benefit of all the extra time this took.
And there were a few trivial pleasures to savor...
Because of the extensive chassis prep during first assembly, every piece of hardware came right out- even the heatshields, and the process was not hindered by frozen, broken hardware or overtightening.
Because I did not want to torque on my homemade intake adaptor as I tilted the engine, the airbox was removed and I checked the filter for the first time in months.
It was spotless and there were no ingested leaves, so it appears the wiper cavity intake is working as intended.
Quite gratifying.
On a side note, Ratchet The Z Car passed his emissions again and is legal for another year. Sigfrid seems increasingly invested in the Z and we're beginning to discuss some long term plans, based on the seat time we now get.
We've climbed onto a project plateau- the car is essentially complete and functional- now we get to play and decide what's next.
The last week or so has been a PITA but having two running cars balances it out.
Edit:
And the cherry on top is Project Binky returns in five days.
All that's left is a highway test, make sure I can get into fifth and confirm the reverse lights work.
With (one day's) hindsight, I'm pleased with the knowledge gained and techniques learned (and the result too, obviously) but deeply resent that the project was forced on me by failure.
I do not begrudge Sprocket the care and attention she deserves/requires as an aging matriarch but this unilateral "**** you, fix me now!" nonsense is disrespectful.
At least the weather was nice and I did get a good look at the undercarriage before winter moves in- checked the brakes, topped off the diff, looked at the suspension, etc., so that was an unexpected benefit of all the extra time this took.
And there were a few trivial pleasures to savor...
Because of the extensive chassis prep during first assembly, every piece of hardware came right out- even the heatshields, and the process was not hindered by frozen, broken hardware or overtightening.
Because I did not want to torque on my homemade intake adaptor as I tilted the engine, the airbox was removed and I checked the filter for the first time in months.
It was spotless and there were no ingested leaves, so it appears the wiper cavity intake is working as intended.
Quite gratifying.
On a side note, Ratchet The Z Car passed his emissions again and is legal for another year. Sigfrid seems increasingly invested in the Z and we're beginning to discuss some long term plans, based on the seat time we now get.
We've climbed onto a project plateau- the car is essentially complete and functional- now we get to play and decide what's next.
The last week or so has been a PITA but having two running cars balances it out.
Edit:
And the cherry on top is Project Binky returns in five days.
Last edited by clokker; 11-20-16 at 10:24 AM.
11-21-16, 10:02 AM
#2586
If you liked the old show, you'll like the new.
CHM have completely boxed in the BBC...without appropriating any of the Top Gear memes (The Stig, Star in a Car, etc), The Grand Tour made a more Top Gear-ish show than the Beeb did in the pathetic last season.
It really is all about the hosts, not the trappings.
And what is there to say about Binky?
It is the absolute gold standard of online build threads.
I follow a lot of YouTube builds and Bad Obsession has my idea of perfect pacing (you see enough to know they're actually working without being subjected to hours of spot welding), the level of craftsmanship is astounding and the engineering is remarkable.
(The fuel tank mounting straps from the last episode are absolutely perfect and therefore, beautiful.)
I'll be sorry when Binky is finished as the process is fascinating.
On a side note...underside of the FC was dry overnight, transmission install looking good.
Sprocket hit the highway yesterday and passed her final test.
The only things I noticed concern the shifter...and I can't explain either.
First I'll say that she shifts just fine, no ginchiness or rattles, but...
the shift **** is sitting higher than before and the throw is longer.
There's nothing I can do about either and maybe it's just me being weird but in any case, it is what it is and I'll just deal.
11-21-16, 01:18 PM
#2587
I watched the grand tours first episode, i thought it was excellent myself, the three seem to be more comfortable where they are, i'm guessing probably because its mainly a internet show, so they know they can get away with a lil more than they used too
And poo came out
And poo came out
11-23-16, 11:46 AM
#2588
All the recent work has defaulted me to "hyperaware mode" while driving the car and yesterday was the perfect storm (in many ways) to allay my fears.
You know how it goes, I just had a major part of the drivetrain laying on the floor and now every odd noise or unexpected move seems like the harbinger of doom, the first small sign that I really screwed up.
Yesterday's weather was dismal- mid-thirties, snow/slush/sleet and I had errands to run that would drag me all over town, so lights, heater and wipers all on, all the time.
Also new to the mix are the VDO gauges and I'd finally start to see how the new engine is cooling itself. I could always tell when the fan kicked on, so I've had a general idea but now I can put numbers to the behavior.
Yesterday for instance, during a few hours of city driving, she never breached 180°, usually running a bit lower.
This is also the first real cold snap since the thermowax delete and cold starts are an unknown process as yet. Sprocket sat outside over night and was covered in wet slush in the morning.
In neutral, she fired on the key, ran up to about 14-1500 rpm and then settled down and idled fine. Going through the neighborhood I was gentle on the throttle (and why not, speed limit is thirty), sat at a light for a few seconds and then drove right off...smooth as silk. The next light is exactly a mile from the house and by then the water temp was beginning to register and I was getting heat from the vents.
Don't miss the wax at all, so far.
Sprocket drove without issue although I found a couple of things to take care of.
I ought to renew the grip tape on the pedals, it's getting worn smooth and my wet shoes slipped some. I want to get a voltmeter hooked up and fill the gaping hole left by the radio delete.
Sigfrid has been out of town a lot so the Z has been idle.
We meet up again on Friday and that will be the drive that calms me down, I hope.
I've made that 17 mile trip so many times it's my benchmark for how the car feels. I could probably drive it blindfolded and if there's any weirdness, that's where I'll catch it.
After that I can resume my normal routine of benign neglect.
You know how it goes, I just had a major part of the drivetrain laying on the floor and now every odd noise or unexpected move seems like the harbinger of doom, the first small sign that I really screwed up.
Yesterday's weather was dismal- mid-thirties, snow/slush/sleet and I had errands to run that would drag me all over town, so lights, heater and wipers all on, all the time.
Also new to the mix are the VDO gauges and I'd finally start to see how the new engine is cooling itself. I could always tell when the fan kicked on, so I've had a general idea but now I can put numbers to the behavior.
Yesterday for instance, during a few hours of city driving, she never breached 180°, usually running a bit lower.
This is also the first real cold snap since the thermowax delete and cold starts are an unknown process as yet. Sprocket sat outside over night and was covered in wet slush in the morning.
In neutral, she fired on the key, ran up to about 14-1500 rpm and then settled down and idled fine. Going through the neighborhood I was gentle on the throttle (and why not, speed limit is thirty), sat at a light for a few seconds and then drove right off...smooth as silk. The next light is exactly a mile from the house and by then the water temp was beginning to register and I was getting heat from the vents.
Don't miss the wax at all, so far.
Sprocket drove without issue although I found a couple of things to take care of.
I ought to renew the grip tape on the pedals, it's getting worn smooth and my wet shoes slipped some. I want to get a voltmeter hooked up and fill the gaping hole left by the radio delete.
Sigfrid has been out of town a lot so the Z has been idle.
We meet up again on Friday and that will be the drive that calms me down, I hope.
I've made that 17 mile trip so many times it's my benchmark for how the car feels. I could probably drive it blindfolded and if there's any weirdness, that's where I'll catch it.
After that I can resume my normal routine of benign neglect.
11-24-16, 08:40 AM
#2589
11-24-16, 12:26 PM
#2591
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I'll send them out as a gift..from me to you.
Just supply me an Address.
I hoarded a couple sets in my builds.I kept getting them for "the other project".Then got the last set when it cleared out at the store.So I got one in the car,another OFF the parted car,and still a set in the wrapper.
I'll send ya #2..I know where they are..lol!
Just supply me an Address.
I hoarded a couple sets in my builds.I kept getting them for "the other project".Then got the last set when it cleared out at the store.So I got one in the car,another OFF the parted car,and still a set in the wrapper.
I'll send ya #2..I know where they are..lol!
11-25-16, 09:28 PM
#2593
Not yet great, but a solid fine.
-Needs a bit more freeplay dialed into the clutch pedal
-Shifter needs reshimming
-The light is not as intense through the VDO gauges in the cluster at night, due no doubt, to using the VDO dials instead of the Miata ones. This is only aesthetic as they're perfectly legible as is.
All just piddly ****, the big stuff performed well.
And a big day on the Z car today.
Our main project was the door locks, specifically, the exterior keyed cylinders.
Because we had re-engineered the interior doorhandle to incorporate the interior lock, our first thought was that somehow our mods had buggered the linkages up but upon inspection, we could see nothing egregiously wrong.
So we removed the exterior lock (which is separate from the external doorhandle) and suddenly, our mechanism worked smooth as butter. Turns out, the square stud on the back of the cylinder was worn and the lever it's supposed to swing barely moved. Not only wouldn't it move far enough to trip the lock mechanism but it would hang up in it's half-assed spot and partially jam the other linkages.
This was not good but it was not long before we decided that having already ditched the keyed ignition, why not ditch keyed doors as well?
This apparently radical change is actually something we've discussed several times after discovering a new pair of poppers in all the boxes of (mostly) junk we got with the car.
What really made it easy was the recent install of a remote battery cutoff solenoid. Click the keyfob, car goes dead, click again, car goes live- including the Bulgin momentary switches we'll be putting into the old exterior key cylinder hole. Push the button and the door unlocks.
Bulgin makes really nice switchgear, I used it a lot on computer builds.
We got black stainless, environmentally sealed units- the OD of the bezel is 1" and it'll fit (perhaps with minor grinding) the 3/4" holes in the doorskins.The best part is how thin they are, the exterior is about as thick as a quarter, so it should appear as a standard key lock to the casual eye.
We ordered the switches from Amazon today, I'm guessing delivery by Wednesday, latest. Solenoid install and wiring all done and tested...plug in the switches and it's finished.
That will not only make daily use much more convenient but also eliminates the terrifyingly inadequate key, which had the rigidity of a feeler gauge.
Now we're thinking about the hatch, which currently only has an interior release. The original exterior hatch lock is long gone and buried under the rear duckbill spoiler.
Sigfrid ordered three switches, so if we can come up with a crafy spot to mount it, we'll power the hatch too.
My, but we're ambitious all of a sudden.
11-27-16, 04:28 PM
#2594
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11-28-16, 10:32 AM
#2595
It's funny how haphazardly, yet simply, we got there.
From the time we decided to hunt down the poppers we both recalled but hadn't seen in two years, it took maybe 15 minutes to set the drivers door up and test it out.
You all may not recall, but I spent weeks eliminating water leaks around the door jambs and have since held a hard line about bringing wiring through to the door, fearing it would upset the waterproof-ness. This is the main reason we never went further with the poppers...I didn't want to run the power.
Sigfrid got around this by running the power (and speaker) wires on the interior skin of the door, right under the doorcard. The exposed 5-or so inches of wire (covered in some of that nice corrugated loom that NGK uses on plug wires) is completely hidden with the door closed, innocuous when opened and never goes outside the doorseal.
We're both pretty stoked about this particular little project and the way it seems to have worked out.
I can hardly wait for the switches to arrive...they are the make/break component of the plan.
From the time we decided to hunt down the poppers we both recalled but hadn't seen in two years, it took maybe 15 minutes to set the drivers door up and test it out.
You all may not recall, but I spent weeks eliminating water leaks around the door jambs and have since held a hard line about bringing wiring through to the door, fearing it would upset the waterproof-ness. This is the main reason we never went further with the poppers...I didn't want to run the power.
Sigfrid got around this by running the power (and speaker) wires on the interior skin of the door, right under the doorcard. The exposed 5-or so inches of wire (covered in some of that nice corrugated loom that NGK uses on plug wires) is completely hidden with the door closed, innocuous when opened and never goes outside the doorseal.
We're both pretty stoked about this particular little project and the way it seems to have worked out.
I can hardly wait for the switches to arrive...they are the make/break component of the plan.
12-11-16, 10:40 AM
#2596
Well. Christmas came early this year and it's been a decidedly mixed bag.
First though, no news on the Z.
The switches did arrive but were latching, not momentary...despite being labeled as momentary.
Somehow, Sigfrid has supposedly overcome this but I have no idea how as I've not seen him in a few weeks now.
He bought a set of wheels and winter tires for the RX8, which was apparently terrifying in the recent snow and I suspect he's broke till after Christmas.
Far as I know the Z has just been sitting.
*sigh*
Meanwhile in clokkerLand, MrStyx's package of pedals arrived, along with a bizarre shift lever/shroud. More about that later because the second- more unexpected gift- has thrown a monkey wrench into my digital life.
I got an email out of the blue from the computer shop I used to work for, turns out they're going out of business and remembering that I'm still stuck on the ancient s775 platform, they made me an "upgrade" package from stuff they had laying around.
It's a nice Gigabyte board, Intel quad core and 12gb RAM but socket 1366, so still old and obsolete but newer than what I had, so I was pleased.
And it wouldn't POST with my vid card.
Currently using a backup card and have no idea what the problem is.
That was irritating but small potatoes when after finally getting into the BIOS and prepping for Windows install, it wouldn't recognize my hard drives.
Then it kinda did find my SSD C: drive and proceeded to garble it all to hell during formatting.
Ultimately, I had to install an old SATA drive, install Windows on it, then connect the SSD and repair/format it...then remove the SATA drive, reinstall the SSD and load Windows again...successfully this time.
Fun times and I thought I was home free.
Ha, ha...no.
I hadn't met the Bigfoot Network adaptor yet.
This board (G1.Guerrila) was aimed at gamers (of course) and one of the "benefits" was this Bigfoot Network Manager that's supposed to prioritize game traffic.
Sadly, this program is inextricably tied to the network driver itself...you cannot install the driver alone without the Manager piggybacking along.
In the real world, what happens is the Manager randomly wakes up, decides that Chrome is sucking up too much bandwidth and clamps down until it freezes.
I do not game and have none installed, so I don't know what triggers this monstrosity.
I tried all the workarounds I could find, to no avail.
I now think my only solution is to get a standalone NIC and bypass the motherboard network altogether.
Crude but effective.
Fortunately, computer work happens inside because it's been frigid here of late...too cold to even see what styx's pedal covers look like.
Hopefully I can get my digital house back in order and carry on as normal.
First though, no news on the Z.
The switches did arrive but were latching, not momentary...despite being labeled as momentary.
Somehow, Sigfrid has supposedly overcome this but I have no idea how as I've not seen him in a few weeks now.
He bought a set of wheels and winter tires for the RX8, which was apparently terrifying in the recent snow and I suspect he's broke till after Christmas.
Far as I know the Z has just been sitting.
*sigh*
Meanwhile in clokkerLand, MrStyx's package of pedals arrived, along with a bizarre shift lever/shroud. More about that later because the second- more unexpected gift- has thrown a monkey wrench into my digital life.
I got an email out of the blue from the computer shop I used to work for, turns out they're going out of business and remembering that I'm still stuck on the ancient s775 platform, they made me an "upgrade" package from stuff they had laying around.
It's a nice Gigabyte board, Intel quad core and 12gb RAM but socket 1366, so still old and obsolete but newer than what I had, so I was pleased.
And it wouldn't POST with my vid card.
Currently using a backup card and have no idea what the problem is.
That was irritating but small potatoes when after finally getting into the BIOS and prepping for Windows install, it wouldn't recognize my hard drives.
Then it kinda did find my SSD C: drive and proceeded to garble it all to hell during formatting.
Ultimately, I had to install an old SATA drive, install Windows on it, then connect the SSD and repair/format it...then remove the SATA drive, reinstall the SSD and load Windows again...successfully this time.
Fun times and I thought I was home free.
Ha, ha...no.
I hadn't met the Bigfoot Network adaptor yet.
This board (G1.Guerrila) was aimed at gamers (of course) and one of the "benefits" was this Bigfoot Network Manager that's supposed to prioritize game traffic.
Sadly, this program is inextricably tied to the network driver itself...you cannot install the driver alone without the Manager piggybacking along.
In the real world, what happens is the Manager randomly wakes up, decides that Chrome is sucking up too much bandwidth and clamps down until it freezes.
I do not game and have none installed, so I don't know what triggers this monstrosity.
I tried all the workarounds I could find, to no avail.
I now think my only solution is to get a standalone NIC and bypass the motherboard network altogether.
Crude but effective.
Fortunately, computer work happens inside because it's been frigid here of late...too cold to even see what styx's pedal covers look like.
Hopefully I can get my digital house back in order and carry on as normal.
12-12-16, 07:39 AM
#2597
Well. Christmas came early this year and it's been a decidedly mixed bag.
First though, no news on the Z.
The switches did arrive but were latching, not momentary...despite being labeled as momentary.
Somehow, Sigfrid has supposedly overcome this but I have no idea how as I've not seen him in a few weeks now.
He bought a set of wheels and winter tires for the RX8, which was apparently terrifying in the recent snow and I suspect he's broke till after Christmas.
Far as I know the Z has just been sitting.
*sigh*
Meanwhile in clokkerLand, MrStyx's package of pedals arrived, along with a bizarre shift lever/shroud. More about that later because the second- more unexpected gift- has thrown a monkey wrench into my digital life.
I got an email out of the blue from the computer shop I used to work for, turns out they're going out of business and remembering that I'm still stuck on the ancient s775 platform, they made me an "upgrade" package from stuff they had laying around.
It's a nice Gigabyte board, Intel quad core and 12gb RAM but socket 1366, so still old and obsolete but newer than what I had, so I was pleased.
And it wouldn't POST with my vid card.
Currently using a backup card and have no idea what the problem is.
That was irritating but small potatoes when after finally getting into the BIOS and prepping for Windows install, it wouldn't recognize my hard drives.
Then it kinda did find my SSD C: drive and proceeded to garble it all to hell during formatting.
Ultimately, I had to install an old SATA drive, install Windows on it, then connect the SSD and repair/format it...then remove the SATA drive, reinstall the SSD and load Windows again...successfully this time.
Fun times and I thought I was home free.
Ha, ha...no.
I hadn't met the Bigfoot Network adaptor yet.
This board (G1.Guerrila) was aimed at gamers (of course) and one of the "benefits" was this Bigfoot Network Manager that's supposed to prioritize game traffic.
Sadly, this program is inextricably tied to the network driver itself...you cannot install the driver alone without the Manager piggybacking along.
In the real world, what happens is the Manager randomly wakes up, decides that Chrome is sucking up too much bandwidth and clamps down until it freezes.
I do not game and have none installed, so I don't know what triggers this monstrosity.
I tried all the workarounds I could find, to no avail.
I now think my only solution is to get a standalone NIC and bypass the motherboard network altogether.
Crude but effective.
Fortunately, computer work happens inside because it's been frigid here of late...too cold to even see what styx's pedal covers look like.
Hopefully I can get my digital house back in order and carry on as normal.
First though, no news on the Z.
The switches did arrive but were latching, not momentary...despite being labeled as momentary.
Somehow, Sigfrid has supposedly overcome this but I have no idea how as I've not seen him in a few weeks now.
He bought a set of wheels and winter tires for the RX8, which was apparently terrifying in the recent snow and I suspect he's broke till after Christmas.
Far as I know the Z has just been sitting.
*sigh*
Meanwhile in clokkerLand, MrStyx's package of pedals arrived, along with a bizarre shift lever/shroud. More about that later because the second- more unexpected gift- has thrown a monkey wrench into my digital life.
I got an email out of the blue from the computer shop I used to work for, turns out they're going out of business and remembering that I'm still stuck on the ancient s775 platform, they made me an "upgrade" package from stuff they had laying around.
It's a nice Gigabyte board, Intel quad core and 12gb RAM but socket 1366, so still old and obsolete but newer than what I had, so I was pleased.
And it wouldn't POST with my vid card.
Currently using a backup card and have no idea what the problem is.
That was irritating but small potatoes when after finally getting into the BIOS and prepping for Windows install, it wouldn't recognize my hard drives.
Then it kinda did find my SSD C: drive and proceeded to garble it all to hell during formatting.
Ultimately, I had to install an old SATA drive, install Windows on it, then connect the SSD and repair/format it...then remove the SATA drive, reinstall the SSD and load Windows again...successfully this time.
Fun times and I thought I was home free.
Ha, ha...no.
I hadn't met the Bigfoot Network adaptor yet.
This board (G1.Guerrila) was aimed at gamers (of course) and one of the "benefits" was this Bigfoot Network Manager that's supposed to prioritize game traffic.
Sadly, this program is inextricably tied to the network driver itself...you cannot install the driver alone without the Manager piggybacking along.
In the real world, what happens is the Manager randomly wakes up, decides that Chrome is sucking up too much bandwidth and clamps down until it freezes.
I do not game and have none installed, so I don't know what triggers this monstrosity.
I tried all the workarounds I could find, to no avail.
I now think my only solution is to get a standalone NIC and bypass the motherboard network altogether.
Crude but effective.
Fortunately, computer work happens inside because it's been frigid here of late...too cold to even see what styx's pedal covers look like.
Hopefully I can get my digital house back in order and carry on as normal.
That said, I just checked my stash of defunct 'puter stuff but didn't find a NIC.
Sorry
-Jack
12-12-16, 10:08 AM
#2598
As an avid early adopter (anyone remember the Gigabyte iRAM?...no? Me and maybe five other people bought them...) and having worked in a local PC shop, I'm actually more surprised when computers work than when they don't. I was also a fully committed watercooler, easily the most masochistic branch of hardware fetishism.
The video card turned out to be stupid user error.
This thing has two power connectors and I carelessly assumed they were identical but no, one is a six pin and the other is eight. That's all fixed now and the "good" card is installed and working.
Which is nice because it gives me HDMI to the monitor instead of DVI.
Computers are the most insane consumer products ever.
The electrical is fragile, weird and all different, the hardware is bizarrely mixed- hard drives mount with 6/32 screws, opticals use 3.5mm and motherboard standoffs can be whatever the hell the case makers decide to use. Just connecting the front panel stuff can be an exercise in frustration, the little pins you're trying to slip over get completely obscured by your hands as you make the attempt, it's all done by feel.
I'm sure the old shop has tons of used NICs, I just have to wait till tomorrow for them to open.
Once that's up and running I'll probably wipe/reload Windows again (booting from a flash drive to a solid state hard drive Windows install takes about 12 minutes, so it's no big deal) and hopefully be good to go for a while.
Then I can get back to screwing up my car(s) again.
The video card turned out to be stupid user error.
This thing has two power connectors and I carelessly assumed they were identical but no, one is a six pin and the other is eight. That's all fixed now and the "good" card is installed and working.
Which is nice because it gives me HDMI to the monitor instead of DVI.
Computers are the most insane consumer products ever.
The electrical is fragile, weird and all different, the hardware is bizarrely mixed- hard drives mount with 6/32 screws, opticals use 3.5mm and motherboard standoffs can be whatever the hell the case makers decide to use. Just connecting the front panel stuff can be an exercise in frustration, the little pins you're trying to slip over get completely obscured by your hands as you make the attempt, it's all done by feel.
I'm sure the old shop has tons of used NICs, I just have to wait till tomorrow for them to open.
Once that's up and running I'll probably wipe/reload Windows again (booting from a flash drive to a solid state hard drive Windows install takes about 12 minutes, so it's no big deal) and hopefully be good to go for a while.
Then I can get back to screwing up my car(s) again.
12-19-16, 10:29 AM
#2600
Sit-rep, stardate 12.19.2016.
Computer up and running, my beloved Asus Zonar sound card (with integrated headphone amp) decided to work elsewhere and did not make the trip. It'll live out it's days in a farm upstate.
Denver went through its first real winter storm, the snow wasn't too bad but the temps were brutal. I tried starting the FC on the worst day and even the ignition cylinder didn't want to move, I was afraid of bending/breaking the key. When it warms up some more I'll need to look into that.
As I had no real need to go anywhere, I just hooked up the battery charger and left her to hunker down and sit it out.
Next day we went over zero and she fired right up.
I'm still surprised at how easily she cold starts and I can't detect any ill effects after the thermowax-ectomy...she hasn't stalled out once.
Warm oil pressure ranges between 20>50 psi, water temp barely breaches 160-170° although the heater works fine.
I have several nits to pick but they're all centered around the transmission, so I'm saving them up for a concentrated attack.
The shifter needs shimming, it's developed a rattle.
I notice a decided difference in shifting as the trans warms up. I never noticed this before when I ran Redline oil and wonder if the cheap Valvolene is the culprit. I'll probably change the oil when I replace...
The leaking trans rear main seal.
I was sent the wrong part and crossed my fingers and hoped the old seal was still good, but it's not.
And, I need to get a cat installed for the upcoming emission test in March.
Might as well do it all at one time and be done.
Unfortunately, there are some collateral expenses involved that will require a bit of time to cover.
At around $20 per quart, just the oil is $60, plus the $40 rear seal.
To make life easier, this time I'm removing the RB y-pipe and that means four new exhaust gaskets (and probably hardware to match) as well. Plus a new cat.
Adds up pretty quick.
Anyway, as for actually driving, I had no more trouble than anyone else.
Conditions were awful but my only slides were intentional (I was testing traction and braking) and since no one was going over 20 mph anyway, the FC was fine.
A full tank of gas helps.
It's been far too frigid to experiment in the footwell with mrstyx's pedal covers and I apologize for that but I'll play the Old Age Get Out Of Jail card in my defense.
Computer up and running, my beloved Asus Zonar sound card (with integrated headphone amp) decided to work elsewhere and did not make the trip. It'll live out it's days in a farm upstate.
Denver went through its first real winter storm, the snow wasn't too bad but the temps were brutal. I tried starting the FC on the worst day and even the ignition cylinder didn't want to move, I was afraid of bending/breaking the key. When it warms up some more I'll need to look into that.
As I had no real need to go anywhere, I just hooked up the battery charger and left her to hunker down and sit it out.
Next day we went over zero and she fired right up.
I'm still surprised at how easily she cold starts and I can't detect any ill effects after the thermowax-ectomy...she hasn't stalled out once.
Warm oil pressure ranges between 20>50 psi, water temp barely breaches 160-170° although the heater works fine.
I have several nits to pick but they're all centered around the transmission, so I'm saving them up for a concentrated attack.
The shifter needs shimming, it's developed a rattle.
I notice a decided difference in shifting as the trans warms up. I never noticed this before when I ran Redline oil and wonder if the cheap Valvolene is the culprit. I'll probably change the oil when I replace...
The leaking trans rear main seal.
I was sent the wrong part and crossed my fingers and hoped the old seal was still good, but it's not.
And, I need to get a cat installed for the upcoming emission test in March.
Might as well do it all at one time and be done.
Unfortunately, there are some collateral expenses involved that will require a bit of time to cover.
At around $20 per quart, just the oil is $60, plus the $40 rear seal.
To make life easier, this time I'm removing the RB y-pipe and that means four new exhaust gaskets (and probably hardware to match) as well. Plus a new cat.
Adds up pretty quick.
Anyway, as for actually driving, I had no more trouble than anyone else.
Conditions were awful but my only slides were intentional (I was testing traction and braking) and since no one was going over 20 mph anyway, the FC was fine.
A full tank of gas helps.
It's been far too frigid to experiment in the footwell with mrstyx's pedal covers and I apologize for that but I'll play the Old Age Get Out Of Jail card in my defense.