Gretch

I did the gauge install this weekend, (after having got the "fit" just right last weekend). The tap to the CO2 signal wire was an interesting challenge, since the harness side of the signal wire is shielded, you have to tap into the sensor side of the signal wire. On my car there are 3 wires, 2 whites and a black. Local advice-giver pointed me to the black wire, as I was otherwise clueless and without computer in the shop to do a quick search.

The GT switches the cigar lighter power through the ignition, and there is an ashtray light, whose switched source was perfect for the gauge backlighting. I re-fused the cigar lighter for the light load of the AWIC pump (switch installed between the gauges at the bottom of the bezel), and the AFM gauge. The biggest pain in the tail was finding an appropriate place to have the vacuum line exit the firewall.

So everything is done. I re-tuned the fuel pressure and let the car warm up. Drove it up and down the road a bit and couldn't help myself.......I took it out on the highway. Hooooleeeeee Shiiiiiiittte.............This thing pulls like a locomotive......Third gear is like second gear use to be, fourth gear is like third gear use to be....

In second gear you better be sure it is pointed straight, because it lights up the tires at anything under 40 miles and hour, when you put your foot into it.......

And I didn't have the belt tight enough to make anymore than about 6.5 pounds. I need to do a little tuning and belt tightening, and give my idle stabilizer a shot of WD 40...........

I am very happy with the install. Nice job on the kit design Tim, my hat is off to you.

Rufus Sanders

So now who's your favorite, Gretch or Gretta? - Ruf

Old & New

Gretch,

The belt seats for a while. There will be a bit of black dust, then it will stop. I couldn't reliably pull 8 lbs. until the belt was seated; it would slip once in a while even though it seemed pretty tight. I found that I had to make the belt pretty damn tight, then tighten it some more...

Gretch

You know better than to even "think" a question like that......P cars can hear you thinking........

Gretch

Yup, tight is good......at least that is what Dr. Murphy said.............

Lagavulin

Good job Gretch!

Don't be afraid to crank on the tensioner to get the belt tight. A sure sign that the belt is slipping is that it'll go up to 8 psi and and then fall off. When that happens, pull over immediately, pop the hood and tighten the tensioner. Doing so allows you to drive around with the maximum amount of boost allowed by law! Or something like that...

Make sure that all your plumbing at the joints are still intact too.

If you are referring to your idle pulsing, then it's not your idle stabilizer, and more than likely it's the fuel pressure being too high. What you need to do is slowly lower your fuel pressure until the pulsing stops. What's happening is that the mixture is too rich and it's outside the range where the computer can compensate.

Let me know if that works and the resulting fuel pressure.

HAVE FUN!

Old & New

Lag,

I'm down under 30; can't say precisely since I have a 150 psi electronic guage in the car... maybe 28? If we go too low, what happens first? Midrange detonation? Since the MAP changes at WOT, it might be counterintuitive, but I haven't wanted to find out.

Tony

Im going the SC route as well and this is one of the concerns i have about all the setups in general.
I wonder what the long term and perhaps short term effects are on the engine bearings (specifically the front) using this method of tightening?

Im not flaming anyone, anyones product or method of installation. I just think it has to be a legitimate concern to some degree??. IMHO, i see same principle forces that cause TBF in play here. Its just in a different plane.


Why not go with a cog set up? Too me it seems insane to keep tightening a belt until it doesn't slip. liken that approach to that of tightening the Timing belt tension until the light goes out!!

Granted, either way, the belt has to be tight to some degree, but the cog set up would surely help?..wouldn't it??

If you look at the belt set up stock, you have the ALT and PS on one side and the AC and Smog on the other. While I imagine not perfectly balanced tension wise im sure the offsetting loads help the stress on the bearings.?

Just a concern i have.

Opinions??

Gretch

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lagavulin
[B]Good job Gretch!


If you are referring to your idle pulsing, then it's not your idle stabilizer, and more than likely it's the fuel pressure being too high. What you need to do is slowly lower your fuel pressure until the pulsing stops. What's happening is that the mixture is too rich and it's outside the range where the computer can compensate.

Let me know if that works and the resulting fuel pressure.


Lag,

I spoke to Tim and he went with the recommendation of 32 pounds at idle. This is close to what it has been at since I finished the fueling mods a few weeks ago. Since then the car had idled smoothly even after reaching operating tempretures and after some throttle up exercises. I only just developed the idle surging issue after I took the car out on the road for a few miles (ie a load test). Prior to this I had no real surging issues at all. However I had also not put the engine under load and I had not induced any boost into the engine. The research I did in the archives indicates that the idle stabilizer valve may be sticking. The recommended cure (short of replacing it) is to spray some WD 40 or some "penephite" into the hose that leads to the valve to clear it of "schmutz".

I am interestd in hearing more about the fuel pressure issue though. What pressure are you running at idle?

Gretch.

Old & New

Tony,

I have the same concern.

Cogged is not doable with this model supercharger, according to the manufacturer. You can select a noisy "heavy duty" model if you want a cog setup.

It is difficult to access the belt. It is short and hard to reach.

In actuality, it probably isn't tight beyond the design specs of the front motor bearing; it is just so short that it seems tight when you try to twist it. I figure that if it is designed to carry a certain HP, then if I tighten it just a bit more than enough to carry the load... how else to judge?

jorj7

Gretch,

Sounds like you had some fun. I finished my install this
weekend, but didn't get to take it for a spin yet. I forgot
to tighten one of the oil return fittings and leaked some
oil on the front of the engine. Of course, it leaked on the
belts and sprayed all over the place. I tightened the
fitting and it's not leaking anymore, but I've got a little
clean up to do before I take my first drive.

SteveM928

The thrust bearing is only one bearing surface and shouldn't really have much if any load on it under normal conditions. I don't think it's directly lubricated by pressurized oil like the main bearings are either, is it? How much force would you guess is being put downwards on the main bearings when an engine is making XXX hp? If you think about it, there is a reason some engines have four bolt main bearing caps, angled bolts holding on main bearing caps, and different versions of stronger aftermarket main bearing caps or girdles. The pull of the supercharger belts on the centrifugal and roots/twin screw setups that have been done by people here seems to be upwards. That's in the opposite direction that the power of the engine is trying to push the crank out the bottom in. I could see where it *MIGHT* concievably be possible that the supercharger belt pulling upwards could actually reduce the load on the bearing to at least some extent when the engine is making a lot of power. At least possibly in theory anyway. In reality I doubt it would make much if any difference either way. Look at how tight the alternator belt is supposed to be and it apparently doesn't even affect the small, unpressureized oil lubricated bearings in there.

Gretch

George, FWIW, take the belts off and clean them thoroughly. Make sure the pulleys are clean and free of oil as well. This is a job worth doing right.

Do you have your gauge install done? how about a picture?

Sneak up on your test drive......let the engine warm up to operating temps, run the throttle up a few times, make sure nothing is interfering with the moving parts........and make sure you have your AWIC pump turned on when you put your foot into it.........

You are gonna have a bunch of fun George, I still can't wipe the grin off my face from Saturday's full-on sprint with Gretch,,,,,

Lizard928

I am soooo jealous, however, I would recommend before installing the belt for the SC to prevent slip for the first bit to coat the ribs with a hard bar of soap along with the pulley surfaces

jorj7

Gretch,

I finished the guage install a couple of weeks ago (except soldering
the AFR wire to the O2 sensor wire ). I was waiting for some parts from
Tim before finishing the final s/c install. Here is a photo of the gauges:



And here is the completed engine:



I'm not looking forward to the clean up...