brumster

Nothing seems at odds with the sensor values, on both of them it seems the revs drop first and everything else is 'as a result' of that, rather than being the source of the problem. The only thing it's hard to make a call on is the MAP, but I'd guess it's more effect rather than cause. You close the throttle towards the end as it's about to stall, and that recovers it a little, so it does suggest *maybe* it's related to inlet manifold vacuum (or boost in your case)... just as it's nose-diving to stall it's loosing inlet pressure, you close the throttle and it picks up again. So I think this is a dead end. This map hasn't changed right, the car was running fine on these ignition advance numbers and injector timings, you've not fiddled with it in any way? Given what you've done on the electrical side of things, I wonder whether it's worth turning attention towards air leaks or injector connections? The ECU is telling the injectors and the ignition the right thing but maybe they're not DOING the right thing because of bad connections, bad fuel pressure, etc etc. If you can get it running long enough you can go fiddling/wobbling connectors to see if you can trigger it, other trick is spraying brake cleaner around the various hoses/inlet manifold/etc and listening for a change in engine tone (it'll pick up if it's pulling the cleaner in anywhere), helps you narrow down where it might be. It's probably also worth someone for knowledgeable about forced induction (STU!) commenting here as there may be other parts to the puzzle I'm unaware of that might cause this... you lot and all your dump valves/etc

No worries, leave it with me, might be tomorrow before I get to look at them anyway....

Yeah... one would probably do. I'd also recommend you don't do them up tight unless you want the gelcoat cracking - I used lots of threadlock and "just nipped them up", if you get my drift.

Well, fouled plugs could be a number of things (oil for example) unrelated to the coil/wiring but, if you feel that 2+3 could be an indicator, then a quick idea would be to swap the pins of the coil over so that the banks of the coil are swapped over - then, if the issue of fouled plugs moves to 1+4 you've discovered that it's something related to the coil or the trigger wiring to it. I would look to the Emerald logging approach again, but log a shedload of stuff this time. It might take a couple of attempts logging different things, but intermittent is good because you can then spot if something changes between the "running good" and "running bad" sections of your drive. Things I would be on the look out for : Battery : any massive change in voltage would be a good indicator of a problem Engine speed : essential reference to the other values Ign Advance : so we can see what the ignition advance is doing Inj duration : so we can see what the fueling is doing Inj timing : so we can check nothing weird is going on with injection timing MAP if you're using it Throttle/TPS Lambda O2 : will help us spot moments of lean/rich which might correlate against something else If nothing appears on the logs, then it would suggest something more physical with in engine induction/wiring, something degrading with heat maybe, or a bad connection such as loose earth strap, some sensor intrinsic to the operation of the engine (crank, tps, MAF, MAP, water temp, air temp, etc)... or air leak/etc but I'm not a forced induction expert to be fair. edit: You can save the log to a file (Data Logger -> Data -> Save to file) then share it with me and I can take a look-see if you want... better than a picture

Much as I love sikaflex, I didn't want to entrust it so went with rivnuts, stainless domed bolts and chassis padding underneath :

Firing *order* is 1-3-4-2, coil packs usually have 2 banks and fire every other cylinder (so, given that firing order, one side of the coil will do 1+4 and the other will do 3+2 - this gives the coil the best time to 'recharge' between firings). Wasted spark means each plug will fire on both of the upstrokes (ie. the compression stroke, which is obviously the key one, but they also fire on the exhaust stroke too - this isn't intended to perform any useful function but obviously it does mean if you have unburnt fuel in there on the exhaust stroke, the spark could potentially still ignite/burn something - this is useful to remember when chasing popping/banging and so forth).

Glad you sorted it, enjoy the Atom!

Yeah my old Exmo was Oxford Blue, looks closest to that, so +1 here also

Radiused to 2.5mm? I can see the edges, they look radiused to me?

Tickets are Fri-Sunday only, plus wednesday nights if there's one of their special-interest nights going on. Basically, in the week is fine to just turn up and pay on entry. I was thinking a Tuesday or a Thursday myself

Never did anything like that on my build so I wouldn't worry - no garage inspection necessary. That's what the IVA is for! Maybe the letter is thinking it's for people who are re-stamping a car that has had a replacement chassis installed? I would say just stamp the plate, affix yourself as above, and at the IVA the inspector will check the VIN and details/etc and job is a good'un.

If anyone wants a drive out to Caffeine & Machine I'd be up for it. One week night, maybe nothing too official that we end up swamping the place with cars, just a few of us meeting up maybe (at socially-distanced tables outside of course)... play it by ear with the weather?

Hmmm, fluid doesn't really work like that. You'll limit *flow* not pressure. I'm not sure a simple valve will have the effect you desire; it might affect pedal rate - which I know is what you want for the back brakes, but might end up stopping you from applying quick brake pressure at all, including the front, with disastrous consequences! I would check carefully this approach before you take it... there is more to these 'proper' brake proportioning valves than just a tap

Oh god yes, definitely front-to-back, that's the whole principle of how it works! In the Sierra it was on the (left?) chassis leg, at an angle but definitely front-back running!

Not a bad idea, given you're through IVA. I used to have one of these on a competition car with a standard pedal box : https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/tilton-screw-type-proportioning-valve-243412/ Did the trick, allowed me a bit of adjustment. Your valve, is it mounted identical to the Sierra, ie. at a slight angle? I was always told the angle was very important as it determined the operational behaviour, but I couldn't say if that's true or not (seems plausible). Or maybe it's just knackered? How about removing it temporarily, joining the pipes with a suitable length of "union", and taking it back and seeing how it looks and behaves - before you go investing...?

Those plates don't ring a bell, they sound like something one-off...? But, sounds like you're on top of it anyway

I would start with the Sierra-based P100 although I wonder if it ever changed in the time between the Cortina-based one and the Sierra. The parts I suspect are probably the same. A trip to a friendly Ford dealer/parts department should tell you pretty quickly take the old one with you...

I'm not sure 'strengthening' issues on the Exmo are a cause for IVA compliance concern, although that's not to say they're not serious, just that IVA won't spot them - you'll just notice after a few thousand miles when bits start to crack :). The main bits were the strut tops which, with the default arrangement, started to punch through/bend the top of the "butresses". And the rear diff mount, RH provided an extra plate to thicken up the boot floor where the diff bolts up but some cars missed it I think. Seat mounts and rear bar that supports them would probably be an issue, if you've used them. Likewise seat belt/harness mounts, the default arrangement with the Exmo was either a cost-option 'roll-over hoop' (snigger) with upper mounts for intertia reel belts, or else harnesses, and it was the harnesses that were the problem as most people tied them to the rear lip of the boot, which is nowhere near strong enough. Put them down through the floor with spreader plates, tensioned over a suitable crossbar rather than the back of the seat, and you would be fine I think... depends what you've done. What bits are you concerned about?

Not sure what ECU you're using or if you're even on injection, but generally I've found the default maps that cars come with very rarely have had any time spent on the hot-start aspects of the map. Spending a bit of time fine-tuning the cranking enrichment settings and temperature-related enrichment settings made a massive difference for me, and my car now starts generally pretty well, hot or cold. How to do this is a topic in itself though and does take time and patience (particularly cold starts; not your problem though)...

Nice! I have an RX8 seat on my sim rig at home! One thing I'll just forewarn people, they are *bloody heavy* !!

To my knowledge, my Ka cylinder is 20.6mm over the standard 22.6 on the sierra. I have a spreadsheet that works this sort of thing out, I'll try and PM it to you, but going 22.6->20.6mm on the m/c and changing nothing else should see about a 20% decrease in pedal effort...

Yeah, I wouldn't say a pedal box is necessarily the answer. Maybe just a refresh of sorts is all that's needed... check the existing pedal box arrangement for flex/'sticktion' in the bushes, play across the axle that all the pedals pivot on, lubricate, etc? My car is standard Ka M/C on original Sierra brakes and the pedal effort and feel is lovely, spot on for me. Granted it's not like an overly-servo'd tin top but it's a nice balance, just a little bit of 'meat' to it but not overly firm.

A couple is probably barely noticeable on a tin-top but more relevant on cars like ours with such little weight. There is no magic number but generally people go with a ballpark number that most people like, without questioning it. It generally aligns with vehicle weight but there are obviously points where, when the numbers go too high or too low, you get a massive drop-off in characteristics. Too low, the sidewall deforms, the contact patch goes to pot and the tyre most likely overheats - but here you see my point, factors such as tyre construction can make a massive difference - soft sidewalls; more pressure. Stiff sidewalls; you can get away with less. So blanket saying "18 psi" doesn't factor in anything about your car weight or tyres. Likewise too high a number and the opposite happens, the sidewall/squish will be reduced, the car will be too stiff, the contact patch will deform the opposite way, and the car will feel taught to a point, skittish past that. But, again, softly sprung cars could get away with it more, or cars with softer tyres. And we've not discussed tyre temperatures, compound, etc... Short answer : fiddle. Go out repeatedly over a known favourite road, adjusting pressures by 2psi at a time (check HOT temperatures, not cold) and see which you prefer

No - they don't care about the heat, just sharp edges. I wrapped my CC but it wasn't from a heat perspective, it was purely to cover the square edges of the lambda sensor/clamps!

Do you mean the pedals don't feel smooth, like the bushes are dry, they 'stick'? Or do you mean the pedals themselves feel flimsy and cheap, are they bending, or flopping about/loose? Or do you just mean that the pedal pressure is too much, you have to stand on them to get any sort of braking effect? Adjustable balance-bar pedal boxes can be finickety to set up, there are nuances to them, they sound all very cool to people who think they've got race car parts in their car but trust me, they require careful setup, planning on balancing the cylinder ratios, and just as easy as they can make things better they can make it worse. I am talking from experience, I have a competition car running one.