mirabile

Almost there. Congrats on the numbers.

gravytraindg

very nice!

IRPerformance

iTrader: (41)

How many people are actually good enough drivers and push the car that close to its limits that they would notice a change in handling?

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Can anyone tell me the name of the tuning shop that is next door to Dynolab? Give me until early this afternoon and I'll post the details of this weekend.

Dysfnctnl85

iTrader: (11)

http://www.lethalinjectiontuning.com/

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Okay, now back from a hectic week.

First, thanks to Charlie for setting up the tuning event last weekend at Dynalab. He did an excellent job. Major, major props to the guys at lethalinjectiontuning.com (the shop next door to Dynalab) for all the help on my car. They took the time, free of charge, to help inspect and repair several fluid leaks in the car and then to spend a few hours (again free of charge) helping to readjust my suspension, assisting with my voltage problem,a dn driving me back to the hotel on Saturday night. If you live in Atlanta or the surrounding area, I would highly recomend them - they are great guys and very knowledgable. Yes, yes, they're mostly Nissan guys but they do also work on RX7s and are working on their own 20B drag car so there is hope for them yet

Finally, thanks to all of you that came out and hung around to see the car and it get tuned/dynoed. It was good meeting you all and I hoped you had as much fun as I did.

So, my plans were to pick up the car on Saturday and drive it home Sunday. As you know, this didn't happen. The car has an electrical issue that is causing the voltage to randomly drop from 14 to the 11s. This seems to be happening at higher RPMS (> 6,000). As this is the 4th alternator on the car (this one is a 300 AMP unit), I think we can rule this out as the culprit. During the original conversion work, Pettit swapped out the alternator and then had me buy another one. When Gotham got the car, they replaced this alternator with a higher AMP unit and ultimately swapped out that unit for the current 300 AMP beast. In Atlanta, Steve tested the alternator wires and clips and they are fine. The end result of this issue is the MSD coils aren't working properly and the car isn't able to burn fuel correctly. Additonally, tuning cannot be finalized as the problem is random so it cannot be tuned around.

Thinking back on this, I believe the issue has existed even before I went down the current 3 rotor conversion route. I recall driving the car and having intermittent light dimming. I also recall my radar detector periodically resetting iself as though I had unplugged the unit. Current symptoms also include the PLX gauges (basically tiny PC monitors) randomly freeze and reset themselves. The radio works fine though. Because the engine wiring harness is brand new (Pettit installed a new one during the conversion), the current thinking on the problem is something in the chassis harness. Could be a wire, relay, or connector. Could also be the grounding system on the car. Not the most difficult problem, but certainly one that could take time to track down. And nothing can be finalized until this is fixed.

So, it was a bust in terms of picking up the car. The issue also makes going to Deals Gap almost certainly a no-go for me (sorry Phil, I really wanted to be there). I did get an opportunity to drive the car though. It is, even with the voltage probelm, a bat out of hell. It's now crazy fast. Dysfnctnl85 and I took the car out for a spin during the event and I was smiling the whole way. Boost was set at 9 PSI at the time and I couldn't go more than 1/2 throttle without breaking loose the tires in 2nd or 3rd gears. Can't imagine what it will be like with the issue fixed, the car properly tuned, and 14 or so lbs. of boost Ask Dysfnctnl85 what he thought - he took the car for a spin also.

Gotham is now working to solve the voltage issue. I also have them working on a suspension problem. The rear wheels occasionally rub the trailing arms. This is a self-fixing problem as either the trailing arms or the inside of the wheels will eventually wear out but I'd rather have this fixed the right way. As a final issue, I'm going to speak with Gotham about the oil and water temps. Steve indicated they were reaching 200F and this is pretty hot. Shouldn't be this way with the huge Spal fans on the car.

Some of you have discussed the position of the engine. I think the pic you ahve is a bit misleading. The car uses the stock tranny location so the comments about the oil filter were made to illustrate the engine does not 'start' any further forward than a 13B. The third rotor "slice" is further forward than a 13B as the 2 rotor doesn't have this. The engine itself is not any higher though. Think of it as using your 13B and then adding the 3rd rotor to your setup.

Options do exist now to lower the engine and place it further back and if I were starting the project now I would probably go this route provided all other things were equal (example, can I still have power steering, AC, and ABS?). I do not, however, notice any difference in the handling characteristics of the car. It still drives great and handles like an FD. Remember, I also have significantly changed the suspension geometry of the car through the Tein Flex coilovers and the wider tires. The car sits lower and handles phenominally well. It's certainly much more than my dirving skills can handle.

So, there you have it: close but no cigar. I'll have to wait a few more weeks. What's a couple of extra weeks after waiting all this time anyway?

Random pics from the event:

Dynolab


Lethal Injection and Steve Kan (right) tightening up leaks and checking out the suspension issue:



Fellow RX7 owners checking out the action:

dubulup

Arthor at Dynolab is the nicest cat as well...wish I still lived there

sounds like a monster...I've met Dysfnctnl85 before, and I bet he was loving every minute of the ride and drive!!

300A sounds like overkill. Since the ALT runs thru the front harness with the ignition...I'd say there's your gremlin.

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Street legal, Evans auto in the Lethal Injection shop. Is powered by an LS1 and weighs 1,800 lbs. Has an all carbon fiber body. Rumored to cost $200,000 though. And I thought my 3 rotor conversion was pricey!:




Fellow dyno participant cars. Both were basically stock with a few bolt ons. Both were also nice looking. As with most RX7s, things have to be fixed while on the dyno - the one jacked up had a hose off and then blew one off during testing. They each made in the 300 - 310 range. Not too shabby!:

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Watching the dyno action. As it felt like it was about 11 degrees outside, this was more difficult than you'd think:





The car on the dyno:

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

More of the car:


[img]

Steve tuning:



First dyno runs at 9 PSI. Not too shabby but a little low -harbingers of things to come later on:

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Steve perplexed by engine problem:


Note the location of the engine from this angle. It's pretty close to the fire wall.

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

it was nice hanging out with you. Steve indicates he wasn't able to complete the tuning for you. He put in a base map right?

gravytraindg

even though slow, the progress is still moving foreward. you've left it in good hands. those rear tires are awesome, and i cant wait to see the 14 psi numbers!!!!!! i bet you car is faster than that $200,000 carbon bodied LS1 car....it's definately better looking.

Drew

Dysfnctnl85

iTrader: (11)

Silver FD right, photographer-girlfriend? You moved I take it?

David's right...everything about the experience was phenomenal. I couldn't believe he actually let me ride in the car let alone drive. I do have footage of David driving it on the maiden voyage as well as quite a few of the dyno pulls. I promise I'll post them this week -- I'm in the middle of a Legacy -> VOIP changeover at work and it's been a hellacious week so far .

So, in summation, I drove my dream car and it kicked ***. I hope my giddy school girl comments on the video don't ruin me...haha. I'm sure you all could relate if you were in a similar situation...

The highlight of the day, aside from riding/driving in the car, was seeing a guy pull up in a Ferrari and gawk at David's modest dyno numbers. HAH!

gravytraindg

^ahhaha

dregg100

iTrader: (34)

well the problem was that the trailing plugs were fireing 90 degrees apart instead of 180 apart, so tuning was a no-go unless i wanted to blow my engine up. he said that is most likely a problem with the wireing. so i decided to sell my MS and put in a haltech, that way i have more adjustability and i get a brand new wireing harness. but he did manage to get it running quite a bit better before we found the issue. the man is truely a genius. we have lots of video that should be up shortly. he did do a little boosting and man that BB turbo sounds amazing!!!

t-von

iTrader: (8)

Moving the engine back requires a ton of modifications.

1. shifter relocate.
2. messaging of the wire wall.
3. shortning of the drive shaft.
4. shortning of the ppf or custom tranny and diff mounts.
5. modification of the factory subframe.
6. mods to the oil filter pedistall.
7. mods to the LIM.

All of which will cost much much more in fabrication cost. It's just cheaper to do it the Pettit way with a custon subframe in the stock location. I prefer moving it back (which is what I'm currently doing now).

felix_is_alive

david
Congrats on the numbers , VERY cool car , cant wait to see what 14/15 psi will bring to the table
Side note : i would take david`s car ANYDAY over that $200.000 wierd looking UFO
keep us updated david , awesome

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Here is the first video I posted. I have uploaded another one but don't have the link yet:

Link: http://videos.streetfire.net/video/2...0d011214eb.htm

CMonakar

No sound. Sometimes there is a lag between when the video is uploaded and when the sound is available, so I would give it some time.

IRPerformance

iTrader: (41)

I'm sure you can chime in how much work it is to cut the firewall Car looks good David. Thats how I started setting up fuel filters years ago. Looks like its becomming a trend.

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Yes, it should have sound. That's the best part! I'm uploading another clip now. We'll see how it turns out.

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

I'd say this is a good idea. I liked everything on your setup expect the Megasquirt ECU. Haltech will work well for you. The PFC is another good choice.

Dysfnctnl85

iTrader: (11)

Here are a few dyno pulls--I'll have an actual edited video posted tonight: http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg419q...the%20dyno.mov [Quicktime Required]

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

We'll, I've uploaded two clips to streetfire.net. Only one is available and for some reason, the sound is not. It's been over 12 hours since I posted them.