Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

Most of you will know i am now writing technical articles freelance for Fast Ford magazine.

This is a first for me but is somethig i have always wanted to do from many years ago, so its all quite exciting at the moment and i am just polishing off article No4, with No3 due in teh shops next. So, now you have (hopefully) read the first 2 articles on Turbocharger sizing and reading compressor maps, i am looking for some feedback if any of you would be so kind as to give me a little of your time.

Thanks in advance for your feedback, it is much appreciated.

Big Will_

dangerous - reyland

Stu - have to admit i haven`t read the articles

Is it possible for you to post a link or are they only available by purchasing the mag ?

Arfur

Martin's got loads in his workshop. Go and nick one off him.

dangerous - reyland

Thx Si.

Am off work tomorow so might call in But deffo by Sat

cossie4i+

iTrader: (15)

Hope this helps

Steve.

Graceland

Very well written articles, Well worded for those like myself who like things explained in easy to understand ways

Looking forward to the book, can I have it autographed?

The DIVA

iTrader: (3)

I agree with Will totally,the articles are excellent......although obviously aimed at people with some sort of technical knowledge they are not too hard for the layman to interpret if he is to spend a little time studying them....

The book is an excellent idea....

frog

An emphatic YES

Still need to jog a few brain cells to fully understand, but just about right for me

No, but I like big_will_85's idea of having a follow up Q&A

I put a few things up in your big-up-myself thread

One that would interest me also is boost control.

Yes

Any engine would be interesting, more specifically, I think a book which touches on the diagnosis side of things would be very useful, I appreciate it's easy to ask questions on the net for us and get answers quickly, but not all have the facility

seand

articles are very descriptive, maybe slightly too techy for some but very in depth.
get a book out bout the good old YB power unit!!!

Garage19

Yep, very good stuff

Some suggestions for futre topics that i find most people are confused by:

Detonation, what it is, how it is caused, how changing CR, ign timing, afr can effect timing of/max cylinder pressures. What are the destructive effects of det on your engine eg how can deonation cause HGF.

Air fuel ratios, how they effect burn rate, why you need to run richer than chemically optimum to get max power, why you can run stoich at idle/cruise but not WOT and how closed loop helps to do this/works.

Then you could cover components on by one eg. How does a fuel injector work? How does a FPR work.

Good to see a tech article a bit more challenging than "how to fit white dials" in a mag

stonehavencossie

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?

Yes

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"

Your explanation seems clear but due to my lack of technical knowledge i can get a little lost.

The articles do seem aimed towards people that already have a good level of understanding of engine tuning. However, you would expect a big majority of people buying the magazine to have a good level of knowledge anyway and as peeps have already mentioned its good for them to get something a little more challenging to read.

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?

A basic summary section on the topic being discussed for the us less knowledgable. When my car has been at yours and there has been problems or a matter of discussion you have been able to explain them in very simple terms and i have understood clearly

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?

Magazines have covered different stages of the YB engine tuning and i have noticed some contradictions. Would be good to see a list of detailed recommendations for each stage from you.

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol.

Yes

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at?

The YB naturally

Brookesy

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest? Yes

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?" Understood some of it

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all? Perfectly written

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future? As Garage 19 said, Detonation, Antilag

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol. Yes definately

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at? Any 4-stroke engine

Anonymous

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?
Yes on both counts

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"
Ive had to re-read chapters a couple of times, and im sure people with a little less background knowledge than myself probably find some of them REALLY heavy going, but thats life, if you want to learn something worth while it takes a bit of concentration!

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?
As above, its a bit heavy going at times, but im not really sure how you can "dum down" the reading age without then losing some of the content

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?
Personally i would like to see you describe how to build a bottom end, taking into account stuff like actually ending up with bores with the same clearance even though a set of mahles normally varies by about half a thou so you have to adjust the bore size accordingly, that sort of thing, ie how to blueprint one not just build it

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol.
Yes i would, although wether i would ever get round to reading it is another question, lol

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at?
Wouldnt really make any difference to me, i guess i would like to see the calibra turbo covered though, as the YB has been done to death by tuners now and most people know how to get what they want from it anyway, but i suspect i will be in the minority feeling like that on a ford site, LOL
Tuning modern diesels is something else i would like to read a decent book on maybe?

liammcl

iTrader: (4)

Well I know sweet FA about turbos and admit I had to read the article about compressor maps twice to get a grasp of it - But its is definitely good for the mag and I've enjoyed reading your pages

sabres74

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?
Yes. Your first two articles on turbocharger sizing and compressor maps have adressed two areas that are usually totally misunderstood.

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"
Logically and simply explained without lapsing into techno babble that needs a degree to understand. Anyone reading carefully and relating it to their own car spec will gain a real understanding.

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?
Worded and explained at the correct level.

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?
As mentioned above antilag would be favourite.

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol.
Providing it was written at the same level as your articles.

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at?
Cosworth

Rab

wimwerf

5)....yes i do

6)....about the YB

Jay,

iTrader: (4)

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?" as usual as clear as day

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all? not at all

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future? cams and headwork

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol. yes

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at? COSWORTH as the fact when poeple say stage 330 bhp and it normally aint be nice to see a true account of what it takes

Ridgey

iTrader: (5)

Level of detail in articles is spot on IMO. If they were any more basic then what is the point of a "technical section".

A book about the YB, yes yes yes. But maybe a combined one on YB and CVH would be more marketable by expanding the range.

Looking forward to the next 2 sections of the articles, a book would be ace as you copuld expand further on these articles that are in FF, and much much more.


Dave

Big Will_

Was just talking to some of my less technical mates about this and they've asked if you can do a glossary with a little explanation against the more techy words

James-W

james

PeterD

Stu first of all whats an "article" and will it increase the power on my RS?

Seriously though....

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?

Very good subjects in fact, im not saying its gonna make a budding tuner out of anybody but its good to have an explaination as to how these machines work written by somebody with the proper knowledge instead of a journalist.

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"

I sat and looked at the graphs for a while thinking i had no idea what was going on (despite being a qualified mechanic) but when i read the article and took my time relating the written info to the graphs i thought the explaination was brilliant, unfortunately i missed your first tech article though.

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?

Nope spot on

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?

I would like to see engine mapping covered, possibly fueling (ie, overfuelling, injector flowrate comparisons and what effects these would have, 5th injectors etc etc)

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol.

I'd buy it, id probably steal it if i didnt have my wallet

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at?

The core ford tuning engines (YB and variants, cvh turbo, also other engines have also become staple in modern tuning as well along with hybrid engine types so something covering these would probably provide a vast usefull amount of knowledge for guys building/working on/running these types of engine)

I understand what ive just put in for the book suggestion would probably take a very very long time to do but from what you could put in as a tuner would benefit alot of us

Cheers

Pete

EIL132

Bought Fast Ford for the first time in ages to check it out. Article was very informative and well written, really Vizard style, but I seriously think you should do a book before revealing to much in a mag

Ian M

yes i thought the articles are well written and interesting. could do with being a bit longer i was just getting into it and then it ended.

now you have explained how to choose a turbo i think it may be prudent to know how to spec an engine to go with it. i would also like to understand about the effects of various cam timing settings and also cam choices.

yes i would buy a book on tuning the yb for various applications.

James

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?

Yes.

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"

I'll be honest i read the first one and that was excellent and explained alot, the second one totally confused me and left me with more questions than answers so i put it back on the shelf in smiths! if i sat done and read it a couple of times i might be ok but on the first read it was waaay over the top of my head, probably not helped by me being a n/a boy so it's somewhat more difficult for the likes of me to relate stuff like compressor maps to something in the real world as my car doesn't have a turbo.

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?

Not really, as i say the second one was way over my head bbut the first one was worded perfectly.

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?

Anti-lag would be a good one along with screamer pipes, cam selections, what the numbers mean, duration, overlap etc, ignition timing, spark plugs, a bit on carbs would be good but i can understand why this would be a very limited market, a page in classic ford maybe?

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol.

Maybe, if it was on the YB, Cossies in general or CVH then probably not as i'm not to familiar with these engines so again it'd leave me with more questions than answeres therfore i wouldn't buy it.

If it was a general in depth book on tuning four stroke 4 cylinder engines then yeah, but that must be hard with no specific engine to apply the theory to for example?

Tuning diesels, as someone said then yes, for sure i would buy that.

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at?

Well, the vw range of diesels from the 1.9 upto the v10 is what i'd say although i am probably the only one.

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

Thanks ever so much for all your input so far people, its much appreciated.

Please keep it coming if theres any more of you out there.

POPEYE

cant be arsed to read all the replies
but yes i would read it, and it would have to be on the xr6ti engine

Guinnless

Only just got the copy of FF today with Compressor Map article in it.

1) An emphatic yes.
2) The explanations are perfectly balanced betwwen very in-depth and an overview.
3)Don't change a thing.
4)Anything really.
5)Yes
6)I'm biased but any Ford engine.

Just in case I appear sycophantic I'd tell you if I genuinely thought anything need changing or improving.

Well done.

Turbo Zetec

iTrader: (1)

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?

yes and yes


2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"

i understand them perfectly, but i could see that somebody with no mechanical experiance at all having problems understanding them.


3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?

no and no


4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?

hmm... engine mapping possibly? the effects of different inlet plenums or exhausts (including manifolds)? VNT turbo's antilag/recirc systems.


5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol.

oh yes


6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at?

obviously the YB and CVH engines... possibly also zetec turbo's

_DAN_

1.Yes

2.Not really

3.Nowt fine as they are.

4.Low comp & Differences bewtween 2wd & 4wd saffs and escos's

5. For sure wish there was one available

6.YB Cossie [/code]

Matt

i dont buy/read the mags so not seen your articles but i did like some of the essays you have written on here before

Gregs

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?
yes

2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"
yes

3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?
the only think i would like you to do stu is put more of the graphs/charts that apply to the ford engines e.g. on the article on reading compressor maps would have been nice to see the maps for T3, T34.63, T38, T4 GT30, GT35, GT40 etc so it gave us a idea of what we should be looking at etc

4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?
would like to see something on porting and polishing head work etc, showing the pros and cons and how much difference it makes to power the engine makes at the same boost levels etc

5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it?
yes

6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at? cosworth or cvh

_DAN_

Mr C

iTrader: (2)

1) Are the articles interesting enough for you? Are the subjects of interest?
yes with lots of info on stuff ive not really thought about before
2) Are they explained well enough, or are you left thinking "What did he mean?"
A little but re read it and I get it, no point making it easy and missing points
3) Do you have any complaints about the way i word or explain things? Would you like to see anything changed at all?
No not really
4) Do you have a specific subject you would like me to cover in the future?
Nothing specific, just the whole turbo YB engine and how its works, will work better and specific parts needed would be spot on.
5) Serious question, if i wrote a book about tuning, would you buy it? lol.
Yes I would
6) If the answer to question No5 is a yes, what engine would you like it to be directed at?
Would have to be soley about the YB for me to purchase it... DO IT

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

Thanks very much for the kind words everyone, its really very much appreciated. It is almost 90% down to you lot that i even bothered doing this as i have always been convinced that i would be useless at it, but i am getting some nice feedback so i may have to accept that i am not as crap at it as i expected...

I have made a list of all your point and the subjects you would like to see covered, and every month i will pick one. Tonight i have just finished next months and have to make the decision of what to write next, for teh little "Coming Next month" box at the bottom. I will puck one from your kind feedback on this topic.


The T3 and the GT30 were there.
But in all seriousness, the problem with this is space, we have a certain number of pages to fill and we can either fill it with words, fill it with pictures, or fill it with a mix of both, i think the balance is just right at the moment.

The problem with feature length is of course that it is very hard to give any one subject a decent level of coverage in only 3000words, but thats about the max for a magazine feature. Expect to see some of teh more complex subjects spread out over several issue in teh future... i hope that would be well recieved?

rigwrecker

a book sounds like a good idea there aint much on the go for the newer
engines.a think zetec would be the way to go because just think how many
fords there are using that engine, the yb engine is ledgondary but its been done and lets face it there is alot more zetecs out there than ybs.
I realy liked the articles and they certainly got ma brain thinking.all the best to ya what ever engine u decide to do it on

BlueSmoke

Stu, would it be unfeasable to write an article about the design of the YB and the reasons people change certain parts and the concepts and configurations involved in different power applications? TBH that would probably make a good book

But yes, the articles are fantastic even though I do need to read the last couple again as it's not yet sunk in

And you know how I'm always whinging about wanting to learn so yes of course I would buy a book from you mate. Knowing you are the straightforward, no-bollocks bloke that you are would be enough for me to want to read your book above others'.

JoeE30

Dont buy any mags other then bodybuilding ones...

But like said above i have read some of your essays that have been written on here and found them informative and a good read.....

Also like said maybe just a little less techie as i would say 75% of people dont understand what your going on about even tho they pretend to....

XR Dougie

Yeah stu everythin so far has been interesting and easy to understand, your doing a cracking job.

Engine wise as above I wouldnt write about one single engine as that would be to a limited set of people, I would write a bit about a few engines and thrown in some comaprisons etc etc

Keep up the good work mate, looking forward to next edition

Dougie