'been gone for a while...
Thread Starter
I'm made of meat!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,580
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, VA
'been gone for a while...
I know this will probably get moved, but this is the forum I frequent the most. So you are the guys I wanted to say this to...
I haven't been around as much lately because I've been slammed busy battling the Commonwealth of VA to keep my right to drive. Progressive screwed me by not automatically renewing my policy like they have for the past 4 years, so I was facing a license suspension, SR-22, and $1000 worth of uninsured motorists fees (I beat it all!), my GSX's alternator caught fire twice (now it's replaced, and a new battery, too), I got a new job doing Macintosh consulting, bought a sweet new 1.5Ghz G4 PowerBook (with Unreal 2004)... and that was just on my birthday before 5:00 PM.
Thanks HAN for sending me a happy birthday email, too.
Since then, I've taken a few road trips, gone to a family reunion, a wedding, and have completed the GSX's engine/tranny/clutch break-in. The clutch is still a little chattery, but it's time to change the fluids, install the boost controller I won at GT7 this year, and find out what this sucker will do at the track. It needs tires pretty bad, and I want to make those passes before I toss these bald drag radials for some street tires.
Sorry if anyone's been looking for advice, I had a few old PM's... Now that I have a Honda and a Mitsubishi, and they both run (ODD!), I've been focusing on improving other important areas of my life... I'll answer them, but I'm not avoiding anyone. I couldn't possibly leave this community. It's one of the most active and interesting forums of all the ones I belong to. There's a lot of new stuff on my site. I'll be adding more today now that I've finished configuring my laptop.
GT7 club meeting (Capital Area DSM's Get Together 7) - http://homepage.mac.com/jafro/PhotoAlbum13.html I placed my car in 3 categories which were awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd place prizes and won nothing from the top 9 slots. 150 cars turned out, and needless to say, of the half of those that competed, there was some fierce competition. There are some really dedicated DSMers out there. But at least I cleaned up in the raffle. I bought $100 worth of raffle tickets, and won an Extreme Motorsports ball-and-spring style manual boost controller, a K&N valve cover breather filter, 2 T-shirts, a license plate frame and 2 coozie cups. It was a blast.
My new toy... http://homepage.mac.com/jafro/PhotoAlbum14.html
My new job rules. I hope it keeps me busy. If it does, there's still plenty left to do to both cars, and it should keep me paid enough to do what I want to both of them. As long as I can manage to stay single, of course...
I haven't been around as much lately because I've been slammed busy battling the Commonwealth of VA to keep my right to drive. Progressive screwed me by not automatically renewing my policy like they have for the past 4 years, so I was facing a license suspension, SR-22, and $1000 worth of uninsured motorists fees (I beat it all!), my GSX's alternator caught fire twice (now it's replaced, and a new battery, too), I got a new job doing Macintosh consulting, bought a sweet new 1.5Ghz G4 PowerBook (with Unreal 2004)... and that was just on my birthday before 5:00 PM.
Thanks HAN for sending me a happy birthday email, too.
Since then, I've taken a few road trips, gone to a family reunion, a wedding, and have completed the GSX's engine/tranny/clutch break-in. The clutch is still a little chattery, but it's time to change the fluids, install the boost controller I won at GT7 this year, and find out what this sucker will do at the track. It needs tires pretty bad, and I want to make those passes before I toss these bald drag radials for some street tires.
Sorry if anyone's been looking for advice, I had a few old PM's... Now that I have a Honda and a Mitsubishi, and they both run (ODD!), I've been focusing on improving other important areas of my life... I'll answer them, but I'm not avoiding anyone. I couldn't possibly leave this community. It's one of the most active and interesting forums of all the ones I belong to. There's a lot of new stuff on my site. I'll be adding more today now that I've finished configuring my laptop.
GT7 club meeting (Capital Area DSM's Get Together 7) - http://homepage.mac.com/jafro/PhotoAlbum13.html I placed my car in 3 categories which were awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd place prizes and won nothing from the top 9 slots. 150 cars turned out, and needless to say, of the half of those that competed, there was some fierce competition. There are some really dedicated DSMers out there. But at least I cleaned up in the raffle. I bought $100 worth of raffle tickets, and won an Extreme Motorsports ball-and-spring style manual boost controller, a K&N valve cover breather filter, 2 T-shirts, a license plate frame and 2 coozie cups. It was a blast.
My new toy... http://homepage.mac.com/jafro/PhotoAlbum14.html
My new job rules. I hope it keeps me busy. If it does, there's still plenty left to do to both cars, and it should keep me paid enough to do what I want to both of them. As long as I can manage to stay single, of course...
Thread Starter
I'm made of meat!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,580
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, VA
I dunno? It blazed up the rubber insulator on the charge terminal, which comes off the regulator - through the aluminum case of the alternator. The glass-fiber insulator that the cable bolts down to on the post melted, the charge wire was glowing red-hot and visiby doing so in broad daylight.
I suspected I was missing a ground somewhere, but they were all in place. The battery I was using sat on a concrete floor for a year (dead), and I slow-12v charged it for an hour and a half before re-installing it... it tested good.
Since both of those were the only parts re-used on my car (and the alternator had already been rebuilt twice within 3000 miles), I just went ahead and replaced them. No problems since. I don't get it. It was the kind of fire that I smelled, popped the hood, went "WFFFFF!" and blew it out. I'm getting a fire extinguisher today. I've been stupid for not having one already.
The car runs great, though... before and after. I just have some pretty big boost leaks to sort out. Something in the idle control system and emissions system quacks when I hit 10 PSI.
I suspected I was missing a ground somewhere, but they were all in place. The battery I was using sat on a concrete floor for a year (dead), and I slow-12v charged it for an hour and a half before re-installing it... it tested good.
Since both of those were the only parts re-used on my car (and the alternator had already been rebuilt twice within 3000 miles), I just went ahead and replaced them. No problems since. I don't get it. It was the kind of fire that I smelled, popped the hood, went "WFFFFF!" and blew it out. I'm getting a fire extinguisher today. I've been stupid for not having one already.
The car runs great, though... before and after. I just have some pretty big boost leaks to sort out. Something in the idle control system and emissions system quacks when I hit 10 PSI.
Thread Starter
I'm made of meat!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,580
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, VA
Just finished updating the GSX web page...
It has the upper intercooler pipe hacks, the LS-1 Corvette MAF sensor install...
...Jeff Gordon's Setrab external oil cooler installation...
...the power steering pump rebuild...
...pics of it in my driveway...
...and a boost leak tester I made...
I did a DIY on how to test for boost leaks. I don't see it in the DIY forum anymore? Anyone interested in me re-doing it? Or has someone else already covered this before? Do boosted Honda owners even care about boost leaks?
It has the upper intercooler pipe hacks, the LS-1 Corvette MAF sensor install...
...Jeff Gordon's Setrab external oil cooler installation...
...the power steering pump rebuild...
...pics of it in my driveway...
...and a boost leak tester I made...
I did a DIY on how to test for boost leaks. I don't see it in the DIY forum anymore? Anyone interested in me re-doing it? Or has someone else already covered this before? Do boosted Honda owners even care about boost leaks?
Thread Starter
I'm made of meat!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,580
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, VA
Basically you plug up the turbo inlet with this boost leak tester, clamp it down, blow it up with an air hose, and listen for hisses where air could be leaking out of the intake system. Injector seals, throttle body shafts and gaskets, idle screw, couplings, BOV, intercooler and IC pipe welds, vacuum hoses, etc... If you hear it, but can't find it, you can spray soapy water on the area where you hear the hiss, and it will blow bubbles from where it's leaking. Boost leaks are bad because vacuum won't be correct if it's after the throttle body causing idle problems, wasting fuel, and sealing up the leaks will prevent you from over-spooling your turbo, and will improve throttle response. On cars that have MAF sensors, it's especially bad, but cars that rely on MAP sensors and engine speed aren't as affected fuel-wise.
Bottom line is, boost leaks are wasted energy.
Before someone says "but won't some of your valves be open preventing it from holding boost?" the answer is no. The intake and exhaust valves aren't ever opened simultaneously. Some air may leak past rings, and poorly adjusted valves can cause problems, too, but those are easy to diagnose with this test, too, buy determining how fast the air pressure leaks down.
As for the MAF sensor, the stock DSM sensor is a Barometeric MAF and it's located before the turbo's compressor, creating drag on the compressor wheel because it's restricted during spool-up from having to draw air through the MAF. The 1g 90-94 sensor can meter up to 380 cfm. The 2g 95-99 sensor can meter up to 500 cfm.
The GM LS-1 series of engines use a hot-wire MAF that doesn't rely on air pressure, but rather applies voltage to a wire, heating it up, and as x amount of air crosses that hot wire, it cools down. The amount of air drawn through the MAF is determined by how much the wire is cooled down at a given voltage.
I have Ramcharger's MAF translator that allows me to set my baseline fuel curve, run any size injector and tune my Idle, Mid and WOT fuel trims. ($200) It translates the GM MAF's output to match the frequency of my DSM MAF. It lets me also move the MAF sensor so that it meters air AFTER it's been compressed by the turbo, so there's no drag on the compressor wheel anymore. It can also meter 500cfm more than the stock 2g DSM sensor, so it's not much of a restriction anyway. The MAF translator is plug and play, too, you only have to tap one wire. A tripple-whammy. Great product.
The IC pipe hack was done because the IC kit I bought wasn't a good fit. I told them when I bought it that I would be running the LS-1 MAF in a blow-thru setup, and they said it was "easy" to do with the pipes they were sending. It wasn't. There were bends where it should have been straight, the BOV would have hit the fuse box if I didn't hack it up. So I cut the pipe, clocked the BOV flange about 20° clockwise, and then cut 4.5" off the pipe to eliminate a bend and make room for the sensor. The throttle body elbow got chopped off the flange, clocked 30°, and welded back on so the upper IC pipe goes almost straight from the IC end tank to the throttle body, ensuring no turbulence impedes it's job. These IC pipes are almost 5 feet shorter than the ones I had. They flow GREAT.
I can't wait to take it to a dealer (with my own oil) for an oil change and put a Mic under the hood. I'd love to hear what's said when they see that GM shiz. That's the only reason I'd pay a dealership for anything service related.
Bottom line is, boost leaks are wasted energy.
Before someone says "but won't some of your valves be open preventing it from holding boost?" the answer is no. The intake and exhaust valves aren't ever opened simultaneously. Some air may leak past rings, and poorly adjusted valves can cause problems, too, but those are easy to diagnose with this test, too, buy determining how fast the air pressure leaks down.
As for the MAF sensor, the stock DSM sensor is a Barometeric MAF and it's located before the turbo's compressor, creating drag on the compressor wheel because it's restricted during spool-up from having to draw air through the MAF. The 1g 90-94 sensor can meter up to 380 cfm. The 2g 95-99 sensor can meter up to 500 cfm.
The GM LS-1 series of engines use a hot-wire MAF that doesn't rely on air pressure, but rather applies voltage to a wire, heating it up, and as x amount of air crosses that hot wire, it cools down. The amount of air drawn through the MAF is determined by how much the wire is cooled down at a given voltage.
I have Ramcharger's MAF translator that allows me to set my baseline fuel curve, run any size injector and tune my Idle, Mid and WOT fuel trims. ($200) It translates the GM MAF's output to match the frequency of my DSM MAF. It lets me also move the MAF sensor so that it meters air AFTER it's been compressed by the turbo, so there's no drag on the compressor wheel anymore. It can also meter 500cfm more than the stock 2g DSM sensor, so it's not much of a restriction anyway. The MAF translator is plug and play, too, you only have to tap one wire. A tripple-whammy. Great product.
The IC pipe hack was done because the IC kit I bought wasn't a good fit. I told them when I bought it that I would be running the LS-1 MAF in a blow-thru setup, and they said it was "easy" to do with the pipes they were sending. It wasn't. There were bends where it should have been straight, the BOV would have hit the fuse box if I didn't hack it up. So I cut the pipe, clocked the BOV flange about 20° clockwise, and then cut 4.5" off the pipe to eliminate a bend and make room for the sensor. The throttle body elbow got chopped off the flange, clocked 30°, and welded back on so the upper IC pipe goes almost straight from the IC end tank to the throttle body, ensuring no turbulence impedes it's job. These IC pipes are almost 5 feet shorter than the ones I had. They flow GREAT.
I can't wait to take it to a dealer (with my own oil) for an oil change and put a Mic under the hood. I'd love to hear what's said when they see that GM shiz. That's the only reason I'd pay a dealership for anything service related.
Thread Starter
I'm made of meat!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,580
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, VA
Maybe, if I get bored... but not any time soon. I'd do it to freak them out more than anything, but for now, I'm changing everything myself every 500 miles, cutting open filters and closely examining the elements until I get at least 1500 miles on it. I'm not taking chances.