well since my last update i hadnt done a great deal other than tinker with the fueling until this weekend. got it running a bit leaner, on full chat its now in the 11s which seems more reasonable, and on the cruise its high 12s. ive got a slight flat/lean spot up until 3k under full throttle but the simple solution for now is to drop a cog before i boot it. im planning on faffing about with it this weekend though, bringing the 5th injector in earlier and and increasing the duration, then dropping the fuel pressure slightly. we'll see.
anyway last weekend i had the engine out and replaced the crunchy gearbox, clutch & slave cylinder and timing belt. i also changed the aux belt idler pulley and water pump as the bearings felt a bit rough, and the aux belt tensioner as a matter of course, all in the hopes of shutting up an annoying rattle ive had since i bought the car, which has gotten slightly worse recently. i noticed there seemed to be alot of movement forward and backward in the crank when i was removing the pulley though, which worried me slightly... after getting the engine back in, the rattle is still there so im assuming its the crank which is the issue
new engine time then.
im on the lookout for a replacement engine to drop in next moth, then planning on doing some mild DIY porting to the head from my current engine in time, which will go on with a copper headgasket as some stage. ive just bagged a new intercooler from a mk4 golf turbo for £13 on ebay! slightly bigger and better layout than the ERST jobbie im using at the minute, which will hopefully allow it to breathe better. at the minute the throttle response isnt the best compared to what it was, making heel toeing a bit trickier. hopefully having fewer bends in the plumbing, aswell as slightly bigger diameter hoses will help.
thoughts and sugestions welcomed as always!!
also got a 390mm saxo rad and slimline fan, to give me more room for the new I/C, and ive got a few other little jobs to do like stiffening the engine mounts up with polyurethane, welding a new 2.25" downpipe to the ashley manifold, (its currently 2", into a 2 1/8" flexi, into the 2.25" FRST system) which should free up the breathing a bit too. then some general tinkering.
hoping to have the car on track a couple of times this summer, if i can get all that work done in time ive got a week off towards the end of march, hoping to get a day in then!