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Advice for fellow TR owners from Tom Shea Racing
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Component Matching #1
Sequence of Upgrades
There are many different many different ways that we personalize our toys. Most of them involve improving performance.
When investing the time and energy in making an upgrade, it would be nice to see the results immediately. This can be done to some extent if you plan your progress.
The sequence of upgrades should start with a solid, reliable base. The engine and transmission as well as the running gear, suspension, brakes etc should be all in good condition and this is assumed for the purpose of this article.
The basics referred to are what comes next. The sequence of order has a logic to it. Avoiding harming the vehicle should be the first consideration.
Knowing what is actually happening with the engine is essential to this. Having a Knock detector is the first thing I recommend. This device is not really the detector but an alerter to the signal from the existing detector built in to our cars. It’s good to have an alert if things are making noise that they should not!
The second thing to equip yourself with is a scan tool. There are many choices here.
There is a small box specifically designed for use on our cars that will mount on dash and give the information required. This is a “Scan-Master”.
There are other scan tools available such as OTC, Snap-on etc.
There are scanners that are designed for our cars that require a laptop. These are more sophisticated and will obviously do more. Turbo Link and Direct Scan are both good products.
There are even further involved boxes that not only scan and data-log but allow for user adjustment of parameters. These are the high end, Racer level units. D.F.I. and F.A.S.T. are 2 examples.
Depending on your level you should be equipped with the appropriate means of acquiring your operating data. In order to improve performance you must know what is going on with your engine. Without getting too far into the actual functions of these specific units, suffice to say that you need one.
The third thing to address in proper order is the fuel system. This may not provide an immediate performance improvement, but will help you avoid the likely possibility of running lean. Running lean can be the cause of severe engine damage and should be avoided at all costs.
It’s a good bet that if you have the stock fuel pump in the tank it’s inadequate to deliver the fuel flow demand of your engine. Some may have a car that was purchased from the second or third owner. We may not know what we have. It would be nice to avoid replacing something that is a good part. How do we know what to do if we aren’t sure? Well certainly being on the safe side would be good if you had to guess.
Fortunately you don’t have to guess. There is a reasonably simple procedure for measuring fuel delivery flow at pressure that I have addressed in a previous Max Boost article. I won’t repeat that here since it is posted on the M.G.N.T.A. website.
I will say there is another simple way to see if your fuel delivery is adequate. Monitor your fuel pressure at high boost and RPM through the windshield with the appropriate Gauge and line extension. You should have 1 PSI of additional fuel pressure for each PSI of boost.� Additional means over the “static” reading at idle with the vacuum line off the regulator. The regulator should be set at 3 bar or 43.5 psi. If you are running 20 PSI boost then you should see 63.5 PSI FP at high rpm and full boost. If not then it’s time to upgrade.
A simple rule of thumb for determining your fuel flow needs is the .5 BSFC reference. That simply stated means that you will require (1/2) pound in weight for every horsepower you make.
© 2007 MGNTA.com
