alanrichey

No, that's fine Bob, but thanks. I'll should be able to source some here. Probably best to go with 5mm to be safe. Cheers Al

Thanks Bob. And I don't see a problem with MOT as you can't see it

My seat belt is a perfect fit in the summer but in the winter, with the extra clothing, it only just fits and is actually biased to the middle of the car. (I have run out of adjustment, and the Xmas excesses didn't help much ) Ideally I need to extend the inboard belt by 1"-2". I wondered about getting a metal plate made that would bolt to the existing floor mounting and allow the end of the belt to be mounted a couple of inches off the floor. Is there an easier solution ? Anyone done this ? Al

Enjoy

February turned out to be a busted flush for various reasons, mainly my fault. So let's make sure we have one in March. I have been persuaded that it is time for a 'Southerly' meet and although it means my run out in the car will be only 200 yds we have decided to hold it at my local pub, the Royal Oak at Swayfield (NG33 4LL - http://www.royaloakswayfield.co.uk/)at 12:00 on Sunday 2oth March. (https://goo.gl/maps/NJaHALgYnfw) First race of the Formula One Grand Prix Series but as it is in Australia it shouldn't clash. Names please so I can see if we need to book a table or just take pot luck So far we have: Me (might even get Ruth to come) Kerry & Sharon Nigel & Helen Richard So a table for 6 so far. Cheers Al

I'll second that. After fitting perspex wind deflectors I tried driving in the rain using just the wet-weather top and leaving the doors off and while I wouldn't describe it as pleasant, it was certainly a huge improvement. I now use the doors only if I am parking up overnight and there is a risk of rain.

I have it on my iPhone as a reminder. Works well, but does make the assumption you clear it when you actually tax it ..........

It's just paid for itself a few times over Here are the before and after screenshots having just replaced the lambda sensor today: Before, it stuttered and then went offline, sending the system into open loop, then hiccuped back towards the end of the trip. After the change, absolutely perfect behaviour, cycling between 0.1V-0.9V, status permanently good and closed loop for the whole trip. Fantastic. I'm guessing it has been like that for a couple of years, and therefore struggling with the emission test. But importantly, I would never have known there was a problem without the software. I can't feel much difference in the car behavior but I am hoping it will do better at the emissions test, and maybe I will get a better fuel consumption. I shall be bringing my cable and laptop to Stoneleigh if any Rover-engined Superspec owner wants their ECU analysed. Al

20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing

I feel a bit of a fool, but maybe I can save other people from falling into the same trap. My Road Tax was due at the end of this month so tried to pay using the V11 reminder. Unfortunately it came back with the message "Vehicle not found". So I tried the alternative method of using the V5 but got the same error message. I eventually managed to tax it at the Post Office, although she had to resort to scanning the V5 to get the computer to accept it. So I e-mailed DVLA to find out what was going on. Turned out I had already taxed the car 2 weeks ago and forgotten (senior moment ) And as the V11 code is designed for a single-use that was why I was getting that error message. I have pointed out to them that a more appropriate error message is required. I will see what they say. The are refunding me the second payment, although I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't questioned them about it ? Anyway, if you get that error message when you try and tax your car, just make sure you haven't done it already. And that wouldn't have happened if we still used tax discs..... Al

Now it's finished I've decided to formally release my MEMSAnalyser, a program designed to display detailed status reports for the ECU MEMS 1.6 as fitted to the Rover 2ltr 'T' Series engine (and other Rover cars from the early 90s). The program uses a batch file called MEMSLogger which produces a comprehensive log file. This is then read in by MEMSAnalyser , which produces a graphical display of the trip. Here is an example screenshot of the first 5 mins from a trip I did recently. Across the top are 8 of the most useful parameters, each of which can be selected and displayed. Across the bottom are various selections so you can display segments of the trip over various times. A vertical marker allows you to examine individual data points. And on the right are red/green flags for the various fault codes. There is also a User-Defined button to look at all 60 available parameters, many of which are still unknown. Here is a screenshot using that button to look at the Short-Term Fuel Trim over a 10 minute period: The whole package can be downloaded from http://www.rmrsoft.com/mems All comments and suggestions are more than welcome. I am particularly interested to know what the unknown parameters might be. Al

For a couple of years I have been using GunGum to seal the join where the manifold and exhaust pipe meet up. This is about 2" upstream of the lambda sensor. My sensor is not working and I am now seeing lots of warnings on the net about NOT using GunGum upstream of the sensor and cat as it will destroy them. A bit late for me to find that out. Just about to fit a new one so need to find a Catalyst/Sensor-safe sealant to use. What do the rest of you use ? Al

So we are Have to be May then.

"HorsePower at the Hall" is kicking off the 2016 season on Sunday 24th April 1400-1700. It is held at Doddington Hall ( near Lincoln (LN6 4RU, http://doddingtonhall.com). Always a good turnout, food and drink on site and we will probably arrange to meet up at a local pub beforehand. More details nearer the date, just another one for your calendar (Looks like it's going to be a busy year). And nice to see we still have pride of place on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/horsepoweratthehall. Richard7 in the foreground and me just behind

Put me down as well. Worth noting the Kimbolton Show is on the 10th, so you might have a few early departures to go there as well.

Yes, in fact I am in almost hourly e-mail contact with Colin getting him to make adjustments to his MEMSGauge log file so I can analyse it in my program And yes, got my open/closed modes mixed up.

Well before my time I'm afraid. Any idea for a Forum search word ?

Hi Simon. That was me at the end of season bash I had been told that and from a subjective viewpoint my car does seem to run a lot better with one of the exhaust outlets blocked, better MPG, better acceleration and no popping on the overrun, so I have left it blocked. Unfortunately, now I can accurately measure the lambda performance I can see it makes absolutely no difference in that area However, as it now looks as though my sensor is kaput, we still don't know if there is any truth behind the idea. My biggest problem is a lack of information on how the MEMS 1.6 ECU actually works. So I am having to work on guesswork, hearsay, common sense and a small amount of genuine technical info. As I understand it so far, the ECU starts in Open Loop mode and uses the lambda sensor as I described before, to switch rapidly between 2 Fuel Maps, one a bit lean and one a bit rich, so the average is a perfect mixture. If it senses the lambda sensor is not working properly (like mine) it switches to Closed Loop mode and reverts to a default fuel map that should work reasonably well. So my car seems to be running permanently in Closed Loop, which is perfectly acceptable. The problem comes at MOT time when the emissions test sees the lambda is not working. If anyone knows of any source of information about the MEMS 1.6 (not from the Internet I have drained that well dry), but perhaps from Rover garages/technicians, then I would be very grateful. Al

Well, at least I know why my Superspec has struggled with the MOT emissions test. Here is a screen shot of the lambda voltage on a recent trip and here is the same screenshot from someone running a Mini SPI with a Rover K Series engine His is working correctly, rapidly cycling between 0V and 1.0V (This ECU works on the bang-bang principle switching between 2 fuel maps). Mine seems to work but after 2 mins just goes off in a sulk and stops working. Maybe when it warms up ? I now need another Superspec owner to run a similar test to see if we are facing a design fault with the exhaust system or whether my lambda sensor is just knackered. What fun

I use a program called librosco (https://github.com/colinbourassa/librosco/releases/latest) that 'grabs' the output of the ECU, feed that to a text file and then wrote the analyser in Visual Basic.

If any other Superspec owners are interested in this, I have done a lot of work after building the cable. I have a written a software program to analyse the ECU outputs while I am driving. Here are a three screen shots as an indication. You can see the parameters we can analyse across the top of the window) First the temperatures. My coolant temp is now reasonably well under control Next the Ignition Advance, which again seems OK, moving between 5-25 degs Finally the lambda sensor voltage. That seems to work OK for a couple of minutes then sits at full rich. Haven't figured out yet whether that means it is broken or I am really running too rich. Fascinating stuff And I still have one plug shell and connectors left if anyone wants them Al

I did the same as Alan and built a drop in-box out of MDF, covered with vinyl, hinged at the back with a lock, and then topped off with a home-made luggage rack. Carries an emergency kit, which of course guarantees I will never break down

Fitted the new thermostat and just took her out for a 10 mile run (It's pretty chilly out there ) Temperature rapidly climbed to 195F and then stayed there for the rest of the journey. Sitting in the garage at idle the temperature climbed to 230F but once I switched on the electric fan it dropped back down to about 210F and sat there. So it looks as though the old stat was either faulty or just rated too low (It was closed when I took it out so it wasn't stuck open). So it's all looking very promising, only time will tell how she works in the heat of summer. Mind you, I can always put the old thermostat back in