Scary Boost

Hi Don,
Thanks for your help yes sounds like we are running similar levels of power ,the car runs very well(for a highly tuned engine)considering i drive it every day putting up about 400-600 miles a week on it,and at times it may as well be on a track ,thanks for the advice regarding the ticking will keep an eye or ear out for that one.What boost are you running Don with the Dastek?? is it progressive or does it come on full tilt when the pedal is nailed,also how do you find torque steer at high speeds does the car pull left and right around up to 100 + mph???



Thanks again .

Jason

[don kalmar union]

Hello Jason,

I would say that the car is quite docile with the power coming in progressively. Although it is really now a stripped out racer I have kept it road legal with current MOT, tax etc., and it is quite confortable as an ordinary road car if you can hack the 1000lb rate springs and dampers adjusted right up. I have one of my limited slip diffs fitted which tends to pull the car straight under full throttle, steering is really very responsive with arround 3.5 degrees negative, plus we have got a bit more caster by moving the top mounts back a bit. The remakeable thing is that on the track it does maybe 9mpg, but driven sensibly on the road it still does arround 27mpg. Untill now we have really not been consistant front runners being way down on power against our class competitors and weighing in at 1360kg. Surprisingly, the car gives confidence on the track: we seem to have got the handling better sorted than some. Braking is with a standard AP big brake road kit, but with Ferodo DS3000 pads, clutch is standard and holds up well, although we may fit a Sachs paddle clutch mated to a disel cover. We are presently whittling away some more weight and attempting to get the power up a shade without throwing too much cash at it.

Regards, Don.

Hi Don,
How much of a differance do you think a limited slip diff would make to my car ,considering it is used everyday for mainly work reasons and the little bit of fun it attracts at times?


Regards

Jason

[Dan F]

Hi. My understanding is that LSDs transfer power to the wheel with the most grip. E.g. if your car was in some deep mud on one side and on solid ground on the other, all the power should go to the wheel on the solid ground and the car should extract itself from the mud easily, whereas without an LSD the wheels would just spin and dig deeper into the mud.
They will do their best to make sure no driving wheel is spinning, only putting useful power down to the road. If both wheels are spinning it can't do much I don't think..... but that is where traction control comes in.

However this has the 'problem' on slippery surfaces that the car may squirm around as grip gets diverted from one wheel to to the other.
The same 'problem' as the Focus RS. Although whether it is actually a problem or not depends on who you ask.....

I don't think they are really necessary on a road car, but on a track car they make a great deal of difference.

If anyone has any points to add/correct then please do so as that was off the top of my head. Incidentally an LSD has been on my list for a while, although not at the top.

Later,
Dan.

Jason,

Have I got it wrong as I can't understand how 105 RON (as Adam stated) can be acheived out of a bottle (or two) of an octane booster. From what I can gather, there is no product on the market that comes anywhere near that figure.

Just interested!

Chris

I gave an example of high octane, "such as 105 RON". The higher the RON, the more resistance to detonation.

Adam.

Yes Adam,

But the original post by Jason indicated that he was using 'a couple of bottles of Pro-boost' and my comment, which I would stand by is that you cannot get 105 RON out of a bottle (or two), only out of a large drum purchased from a specialist race fuel suppier. You would be hard pressed to see 100 RON from a bottle (or two) of octane booster.

I have to admit that I have considered pouring some into my own tank to see how it goes but sometimes it i think it can be like the placebo effect....you just THINK your car is quicker.

Would be interesting to see a with/without test on a rolling road though.

Chris

[Dan F]

You can buy 106 RON UL from Santa Pod. It is called 'Cool Blue' and it is £79 per 25 litres!!

Dan.

Yep Dan,

Thats the kind of stuff I am talking about. Not practical for everyday use at £17.37 per gallon though!! Although wait until Gordon's new budget........

Chris

[Dan F]

Indeed. I have used 'octane booster' in the past for pinking problems on cars I have had, but it never seemed to help at all.

I don't reckon off the shelf 'Octane booster' in a bottle does much at all to be honest.

Dan.