akciddento

unpacking the crate

out into the cold and start unwrapping the palette that came last week...

here's one bit...

the 2.1 wasserboxer in the boot of the bus, looking a bit dusty, crusty stonecold fusty...

it turns over by hand and there seems to be a good amount of compression but it's been sat a long time in a shed... here are the plugs that came out....

although they were rusted to scrap the tips didn't indicate anything horrible inside the block....

also on the palette is the full loom and meters and brain for the digijet injection system

and this rather wierd hacked exhaust...

the block was missing a flywheel and seemed to have excessive endfloat but after fitting the flywheel off the 1.9 engine seems much happier..

unfortunately the studs on the waterpump are broken, one snapped in the pump body and the other snapped about half way. the pump on the other block is good but is such a hassle to get off swapping them over looks like it will be a major pain... I need to get a flywheel puller to get the pulley off to get to the mounting bolts to get it off. I guess i need to do it but the cold and rain is sapping motivation fast. doh !

ah well, i strip all teh injectio gear and manifolds and plenum chamber off the block (i'll be using some of this later) and start looking it over, interestingly it turns out that the 2.1l heads are different to the 1.9l heads, not sure about the internals & specs but the inlet ports on the 2.1 are much larger than the 1.9.
when i lifted the 1.9s originally i was surprised by how bad they were, now all is a bit clearer...

1.9

2.1

so at the end of the day i've swapped over the fi gear for the old 1.9 carb and manifold, the flywheel and clutch. scraped 3 tonnes of crud off the blog, swapped in the old mechanical fuel pump from the 1.9 and drunk lots of tea.

next up, flywheel puller and swap the waterpumps over, replumb it all, drop it in and bolt it up (bolts right up mate !) service it and see if it fires up...

if it fires (*when) then i can get it motive and start onto the mocking up of the manifold for the turbo and the injection & fuel system...

plus, i'd like to get it onto a dyno and baseline it to get a before and after. I need to weigh it too before i take much more off and before i start chopping stuff out...

look what arrived !

not only but also !
the bell rang at about 10.30 this morning and look waht turned up!

that's right, a teenage race fan and engineer extraordinairé!
(he also bought the thing on the pallet with him)

so here it is, the first peek at the thing we've been waiting for for so long...

once we get all the wrapping off it seems to be there, all the digijet stuff, the air and water hoses, the loom and the wierd modified type 1 merged exhaust that was originally on marco mansi's steamengine powered bug. it all looks a little grubby but with luck it'll fit the bill....

more ebay madness!

the blue throttle body from ebay arrived today, yes it is well blue....

also talked to nick up in scotland today and the 2.1 wasserboxer has been despatched by courier. how long it will take to arrive down south is anyones guess but the courier company were talking about 2 or 3 days.... eek!

also won these on ebay for peanuts....

4 NEW unused 16x6 112pcd :)

and also got these, advertised as centerline dragstars 5x112pcd... only two of them but they might be interesting...again, peanuts.

ollie came over for some soup and pie too and seemed to approve...

happy solstice one and all !

blessed be.

'i know kung fu...'

well who'd have though it, just a year or two ago when i started akciddento that this article would make sense !

taken from www.bankspower.com

Airflow — The Secret To Making Power

By C.J. Baker

Suppose you have a 300-cubic-inch gasoline four-cycle engine. Most of you know how an engine works, but as a simple review, a four-cycle engine has an intake stroke to draw the air/fuel mixture into the cylinder as the piston moves down the cylinder bore, followed by a compression stroke during the following upward movement of the piston. These first two strokes occur during one revolution of the crankshaft (see Fig.1). On the next revolution of the crankshaft, the power stroke occurs as the air/fuel mixture burns pushing the piston down. The following upward movement of the piston is the exhaust stroke. Two revolutions of the crankshaft, four distinct cycles – it’s the basic Otto-cycle piston engine.

By its very design, this means our 300-cubic-inch engine takes in 300 cubic inches of air every two revolutions of the crankshaft. Now here’s the interesting part. It does this whether the throttle is open or closed. But wait, you say. The engine takes in more air when the throttle is open. And while it is true that more air mass flows into the engine when the throttle opens, the engine’s size, or displacement, never changes, so the only actual difference is the density of the air that fills that displacement.

When the throttle is closed, very little air mass flows into the engine, so that small amount has to expand to fill our 300 cubic inches. Thus, the air will be of very low density. As the throttle opens, more air mass can flow in to fill the engine, and the density will increase. This is often called the “charge density”.

Let’s think of charge density as the amount of oxygen available to support the combustion of the fuel. The more oxygen (air) that flows into the engine, the more fuel that can be burned, and the more power the engine can make. To say it another way, assuming you mix the correct amount of fuel with the air, how much power an engine can make is dependent on airflow. For normal cruising operation, a gasoline engine operates at around a 14.7:l air-to-fuel ratio, so it would need roughly 14.7 pounds of air to mix with every pound of fuel. To make maximum power that ratio would fall to approximately 12.5:l.

Besides throttle position, many things effect airflow, such as restrictions in either the intake or exhaust paths (which can become de facto throttles in themselves), or the design of the camshaft to control valve openings and closings (see Fig.2). Even the temperature of the incoming air will affect its density (see "Cool Air Equals Power" elsewhere on this site). But most of all, the biggest factor is the pressure of the air available to flow into the engine on its intake stroke. For a non-supercharged engine, that’s simply atmospheric pressure, or about 14.7 pounds per square inch, measured at sea level (see Fig.3). If we use some sort of compressor to increase the pressure above atmospheric pressure, that’s called “supercharging” the engine. If that compressor is driven by a mechanical linkage to the engine, such as a belt drive or gear drive, the compressor is simply called a supercharger. However, if the compressor is driven by a turbine placed in the exhaust system of the engine, that combination of turbine and compressor is called a turbocharger (see Fig.4).

Supercharging and turbocharging are very potent ways to increase an engine’s power output. Doubling the charge density of an engine more than doubles its power output, provided an optimal air/fuel ratio is maintained. Why does the power output more than double? The answer is that the parasitic losses of the engine, such as friction and pump drives, remains relatively constant, as does relative heat loss to the surrounding air and coolant, so additional power provided by increased charge density is almost totally available to do work.

Going back to our opening description of a four-cycle engine, it should be noted that only one of the four cycles produces power. The other three cycles consume power. Anything that increases the induction pressure of an engine reduces the pumping losses for that engine on the intake stroke (see Fig.5). But there is no “free lunch”. It takes power to drive the compressor that creates this increased induction pressure. For a supercharger, that power comes directly off the engine’s crankshaft. In the case of a turbocharger, the turbine creates a restriction in the exhaust path, thus building exhaust backpressure between the cylinder and the turbine, increasing pumping losses on the exhaust cycle.

More importantly, if the exhaust backpressure rises higher than the induction pressure generated by the compressor, some exhaust gases will remain in the cylinder after the exhaust stroke to dilute and reduce the incoming air/fuel charge, and in worst-case scenarios, exhaust gases will actually flow backward into the induction system during the “overlap” period inherent in most camshaft designs where both the intake and exhaust valves are open simultaneously (see Fig.6). In this last case, such backflow is very detrimental since it raises the temperature of the incoming air/fuel charge and promotes damaging detonation.

Detonation is uncontrolled combustion of the air/fuel mixture that generates excessive cylinder pressure and temperature. Detonation will quickly break, burn, or melt internal engine parts. Every fuel has detonation limits associated with pressure and temperature where the fuel self-ignites and burns uncontrollably. Thus, the maximum amount of power any spark-ignition engine can make is limited by the detonation resistance of the fuel, which is expressed as the fuel’s octane number. Consequently, being able to both control the induction pressure and the temperature of the incoming air/fuel charge is critical to building reliable supercharged (or turbocharged engines). And in the case of turbocharged engines, the turbine and compressor should be sized and matched to assure that exhaust pressure between the turbine and the cylinder, which is called “turbine inlet pressure”, doesn’t exceed the induction system pressure, which is usually called “boost” (see Fig.7). In fact, optimizing boost pressure over turbine inlet pressure is rarely discussed, yet it is one of the key elements to a successful and reliable turbocharged application, especially for racing.

A great deal of attention is often given to throttle response of turbocharged engines, which refers to the time between when the throttle is depressed and the engine responds. Frequently small, highly-responsive turbines are mated with larger compressors to quicken throttle response, but such small turbines quickly become restrictions in the exhaust system and build excessive turbine inlet pressure, creating the backflow condition commonly called “turbine choke”. Some such systems rely on today’s sophisticated detonation sensors to retard ignition timing and enrich the air/fuel mixture to suppress detonation under adverse conditions, but when these things are done, power output is greatly diminished and fuel economy suffers to the point that the engine might actually be making less power than if it was turbocharged to a lower boost level to keep it out of detonation. A properly designed turbocharger system only relies on detonation sensors as a failsafe for occasional bad fuel or a momentary overboost condition in normal operation.

As mentioned above, controlling peak induction system pressure and induction temperature is key to preventing detonation. Lets look at the temperature issue first. Whenever air is compressed, it is heated. And since heat is an undesirable that promotes detonation, cooling the compressed air is desirable, even though such cooling will lower the induction pressure. On the positive side, cooling will also increase the charge density of the incoming air. The device used to cool the induction charge is properly called a “charge air cooler”, although many people refer to it as an intercooler. Charge air coolers are heat exchangers that can utilize an air-to-air configuration, or they can be of the air-to-liquid variety. Both are effective, although the air-to-liquid variety then requires yet another liquid-to-air heat exchanger to cool the liquid. Hence, the air-to-liquid process is inherently less effective than the air-to-air concept. As a rule of thumb, every 10-degree F. reduction in charge air temperature results in a 1% increase in charge density that equates to approximately a 1% increase in power output. So charge air cooling both helps prevent detonation and increases power output.

Controlling peak induction system pressure can be done three ways. The first way is to install a pressure relief mechanism in the induction system. Such a device is often called a “pop off” or “blow off” valve that simply opens at a pre-set level. The second method is to utilize a device that bleeds off exhaust flow to the turbine. Such a device is referred to as a “wastegate” (see "How a Turbo Wastegate Works" elsewhere on this site). As with the pop-off, the wastegate would be set to open at a pre-set boost level. The third way is to properly match the turbine and compressor sizes to the application and to each other. When this is done correctly, which is called a “floating match”, inherent flow restrictions keep everything balanced.

All of the above is a simplified overview of engine science as it relates to gasoline engines. Diesel engine applications are similar in many ways, although diesels have no air throttle to vary charge density. Instead, diesels are throttled by regulating the amount of fuel injected into the cylinders at precise times. In other words, they are throttled by varying the air-to-fuel ratio. Normally this range is between 50:l (at idle) to about 22:l at full power. Going beyond 22:l produces excessive temperature, soot, smoke, and poor fuel economy. Supercharging and turbocharging do increase charge density and the total power output for diesels, just as it does for gasoline engines, and the same temperature and pressure controls apply to prevent detonation.

The basics of making power are simple. It begins with airflow, but it doesn’t end there. That’s just the beginning. Then fuel must be properly metered to match the airflow. And finally, precise controls need to be put in place to optimize related systems, such as ignition (for gasoline engines), turbocharger boost, etc. When done correctly as a system, not only is power increased, drivability, reliability, and economies are also enhanced. Done incorrectly, the results can be destructive to the engine, pushing it beyond the factory-specified safe operating limits. At Banks Power we’re experts at doing it correctly.

Whatever power enhancement products you consider, use the engine science presented here to evaluate how those products affect the basics of engine operation and how they achieve their gains. Then you’ll be in a better position to make an informed purchase decision.

it comes with a great set of diagrams too!

wedgiddento

ollie called and then dropped over hot off the motorway...
he picked up a rather nice new wedge from up in sheffield

two tone beige and brown microbus slammed on design 90s...
very nice :)

can you guess the identity of it's previous owner ?

how tall is my wagen ?

obviously not tall enough....

so it's now washed and covered in gaffertape i've ordered one of these...

and she comes with a free roof vent.

as far as i can tell this is a direct replacement/upgrade for the previous fiamma model that's fitted in the wedge. i would have preferred to replace with an identical New old stock one but who the hell keeps new old stock 1980s caravan roof vents ?
well, give it ten years and they'll be the cool thing to have and people will start collecting NOS fiamma and plastimo accessories in nasty eighties colours - if theye aren't already that is...

well its waiting time

it seems like waiting time...

.. apparently the courier was picking the new/old 2.1 wasserboxer up in scotland yesterday but i haven't been able to get in touch with nick to confirm or deny. (NICK! are you out there ?) it's starting to drag on a bit so that's frustrating but i understand that nick has had some stuff to deal with so hopefully no worries.

the throttle body i bought off ebay (the nice bluebling one) is in transit to me (i think) it took a few emails to the seller to get a response but apparently all is fine...

alos been looking at the price of waste gates (to put into the exhaust side ofthe system) I have the recirculating dump valve for the intake side and there is a built in wastegate with a standard actuator on one of the garrett turbos i have but i thion it might not do the job... we'll see. the aftermarket wastgates seem to start at about £150 and reach skyward to about £350 very quickly....

i think i need to do som emore research. it's why i'm also ithcing to get this new block onto a bench so i can start gaffertaping and testfitting it all together...

had a look at some ofthe discussion about lifters and valve train for wasserboxers on the shoptalk forums and although there seems to be a strong concensus toward junking hydraulic lifters and putting in type 4 solid lifters there seem to be a few informed voices saying 'what the hell' stick with hydraulic lifters unless you want to start revving over 5,500rpm. seeing as with the turbo i'm expecting to make more power lower and not need to scream the engine i might be able to get away with it...

watch this space...

( i feel like i should be humming the rainbow theme tune now )
dum dum da dada da da da, dum dum da dada...

hello everyone! this week we'll going to be building a 250bhp street racing motor from a biscuit tin, an old bicycle pump and four hundred litres of nitrous oxide...

...oh geoffrey, that sounds fun!
yes it does doesn't it bungle...
...uh, uh, uh, oh geoffrey can, can, can we put it on a dyno when we're finished ?
..of course we can zippy. but first we're going to get some friends to help us.
look, here comes Con, Botch and Ollie!

rainbow unmasked

and last nights visitor was...

after staying up until about 5am cleaning the website, locking stuff down and reinstating the gallery i wake up this morning to find that the front page has been scrawled on again... this time from here:

217.218.210.13

that belongs to these people...

inetnum: 217.218.210.0 - 217.218.210.63
netname: risbarfgom
descr: Rizbarf Mineral Company
country: IR
admin-c: shh5-RIPE
tech-c: shh5-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: AS12880-MNT
changed: bazargani@mail.dci.co.ir 20030809
source: RIPE

route: 217.218.0.0/15
descr: TCI-Route
origin: AS12880
mnt-by: AS12880-MNT
changed: abuse@mail.dci.co.ir 20010923
source: RIPE

person: Sayyed hasan hoseiny
address: 433 , Shohada St , QOM - IRAN
phone: +98 251 661 9116
e-mail: sh_hoseiny@hotmail.com
nic-hdl: Shh5-RIPE
changed: bazargani@mail.dci.co.ir 20030809
source: RIPE

which is administered by

you can visit them by clicking here

they have a technical help query ticket service.
...but it's broken.

any votes on what the reaction of bristol local police will be when i tell them my website's been attacked by someone from Qom in Iran ?

i'll let you know later.

;)

call the rozzers !

looked at the akciddento site earlier and lo and behold,
it's been hacked...

well well, how clever... it got hacked and some >k3wL d0odz got his name of the front page of someone elses website. wow, that's difficult, what a hero you must really be.

somewhat annoyed as you can imagine but mostly my own fault, there's a vulnerability that was patched but obviously not completely locked. my own laziness i guess.
but then in a way it's like blaming myself for not putting bars on my fireplaces to stop people coming down the chimney

not too much hassle. restored this and that, cleaned up the other and back online. the logs from the server show the ip address of origination of the hack, if you can call it a hack... it's more like a lame SCRIPT KIDDIE 'look at me' thing. puts me in mind of 1.2l vauxhall novas with Halfords bonnet scoops on. it's a uk based isp so that gives me one of three possibilities.

1 . it's the IP address of the HAXXOR.
2 . it's the IP address of a zombie machine that's been hacked
3 . the ip's been spoofed and I'll never track them down.

although number 3 is more likely, number 2 is least likely and number 1 is a fair possiblity. either way i've decided - just as an experiment you understand - to see what the law actually says about this. hacking into computers is a crime. altering & deleting data and defacement is basically malicious damage. this is a more serious crime.
i wonder what they'll have to say.
i had a chat with the tech guys at the ISP this evening and although they're evening shift and not too interested in a 'what has it got to do with us' kind of way, their attitiude changed completely when i explained that one of their customers had attacked my property and I was going to prosecute. ;)

i'll keep you posted.

thankyou blacklist!

just want to say thank you to

jay allen at jay allen.org for making MT_Blacklist .
i've spent a pleasant half hour installing and configuring this great addon plugin for the MovableType weblog I use.
recently blog comment spam has been a real problem. spammers send out bots that attack weblogs and fill them with spurious spam.. i've been getting upwards of twenty bogus spam comments a day. the idea is that search engines eventually catalogue the blogs and pickup all the bogus comments and URL and this influences the spammers URL in a search...

MT_weblog seems to be the best shield against comment spam and also includes functionality to clean all the old entries. I used to have to do this by hand and now it's just a button click. very happy.

on slightly less good news Mark who has the new 2.1 engine is having some problems and has not yet shipped it to me... so i continue to wait. maybe next week ? i'll keep you posted.

and i've the annual return for akciddento to do... what joy.

more ebay stuffage!

it's from a ford and it's been powdercoated in blue!

but it's nearly the last of the bits that i need, an RS turbo throttle body...
..it might be a little small for what i want but we'll see how we get on..

i think that the new 2.1 wasserboxer should be loaded on a palette and on its way to akciddento hq so very soon the new akweapon might actually be able to move under its own steam...

and to think that i even washed some of the leaves and bird droppings off the bus today as well!