fowljesse's GS/SE DE/ZE ;)

[fowljesse]

How I plan to get 35mpg in a comfortable daily driver that can get 13.xx 1/4 mile.
I'm keeping this post as a log that will be updated as I remember/ think of stuff.

Engine:
1)Airflow - I have a ram air system with the intake in the hole where the D/S turn signal was. Air will go from there, into a 6" tube that increases to 7" around my 6" K&N filter. From the filter, I will have a tube that smoothly transitions from the 3" filter opening to the 2.5" throttle body, with no airflow sensor, since I will have MegaSquirt. I am making a thermo-spacer for the T/B to keep airflow smooth. The TB wil be bored out to 64mm. The air will then flow through the ported IM, into the ported heads. It will then exit the ported exhaust side, into my ported long tube headers, through a ball and socket joint (which flows much better than the flex tube), to a 2.25" exhaust system that has a Flowmaster Hushpower muffler, and only 1 bend, just before it exits in front of the passenger's wheel.

2)Ignition - I will have Megasquirt control the timing of the spark. I will have an MSD 6A Capacitive Discharge box step up the 12v spark to up to 400/ that will trigger my Pertronix HV coil to put out up 60,000v directly into my distributor (without a coil wire). The distributor will be insulated against the higher voltage, and will discharge into MSD 50ohm/foot wires, that will be shortened. The spark plugs will be gapped, for a bigger spark, and I will insulate the plug boots more, too. The spark plugs will be 1-2 ranges cooler, to compensate for the hotter combustion.

3)Fuel - Fuel injection will be precisely controlled with MS, for the optimal amount neccessary for drag racing, autocross, and freeway cruising. It will be tuned to run lean while cruising at about 68mph (which is where my car gets best mileage [about 30mpg]).

Weight:
I will have a fiberglass, or carbon fiber hood, and hatch. The glass will be replaced with Lexan (including the sunroof). I will have lighter tires. The spare tire, rear wiper, motor, and bottle has been removed, and I will lose about 20lbs myself

Resistance: All the fluids are synthetic. The tires are inflated to 41psi. The front bumper is flared on the sides to divert airflow around the front tires, and the grills are blocked with a fine mesh. The bottom of the car will be covered for smoother airflow. The car will be painted with a glossy paint empregnated with Teflon. The rear spoiler has been removed.

It will have limited slip differential, in a 626 transmission with taller gears.

[Ryan]

Have you thought of buying smaller/more narrow tires? Might look kinda dumb, but who can tell in the back?

I figure you'd change tires anyway for AutoX and drag...

[fowljesse]

Yes. I thought about changing the tires.. If I used Drags, and tiny rears, I could have 13s for sure, and with tall, skinny, lightweight ones, I could get 35 mpg, and wide ones for auto-X..
I decided to up the ante on myself, and use the same wheels for everything...
Ultimately, I'd like the car to seem like it came from the factory with all these capabilities (that's why I took off my wheel skirts)...
CONFESSION: I love Porsche's, and want my car to be as much like one as possible, since I can't afford a 911 It's a great challenge that keeps me out of trouble, too. I haven't had a serious open wound, or risked my life in about a year
If I don't achieve my goals without changing the car at all between challenges, I'll "cheat", and switch tires... keeping with my motto "I strive for perfection, but accept excellence"

[fowljesse]

I made an improvement to my Ram air ducting.
I had a dryer duct aluminum hose connecting my intake port to my air filter, but the duct was the same diameter as that filter, so there wasn't much room for air to flow into the outside part, especially toward the back. I wanted to make a housing that had about 1" clearance around the filter, not only for better flow, but to hold more volume of pressurized air @ cruising speed. So.. off to the Thrift store I went again. Lo, and behold; the PERFECT thing! I found an aluminum flour tin.
I cut the middle out of the lid, to fit the back of my filter. I siliconed, and screwed it on.



Then I cut out the bottom of the cylinder. The top and bottom fit air tight.







I've since cleaned up the edge.

Here it is on, but without the ducting connected to the intake port in the bumper.





It's going to work great!

The ducting gets full of crap in this weather I bought another piece to pre filter it, though, and will post pics when I put it on. It's an old school aluminum strainer in a perfect cone shape that I am stretching to the oval turn signal shape. Pics soon...

[fowljesse]

Here's the pre-filter so far. I'm drilling all the holes bigger, and drilling new ones, for better flow.

[johnmx3ze]

why do you always do wierd stuff like that?

[fowljesse]

It's a hobby....

2 reasons:

1) They work
2) They're within my budget


Further explenation:
I have a good idea of how stuff works (You know by the way I helped get your oil to stop splashing all over )
I grew up in my Dad's auto shop (literally lived there with my Dad for a few months when my folks got divorced), working on German cars ever since I was able (I started sorting nuts and bolts at about 5, helped build engines at about 10, and completely rebuilt my first car, and engine from the rod bearings out at 14, and finished when I was 15).
I have almost no budget, but high ambition. If I drove a Honda, I could go out and buy alot of the things I make, and just bolt them on for the same outcome. For instance, there's a guy on here that bought a carbon fiber filter box that's almost exactly like the one I built, and connected it to a ram air port in his Euro fog light hole. Some of the things I make are far better than anything available (like the catch can).
Mostly, it keeps me from getting into more serious trouble

[johnmx3ze]

It's a hobby....

2 reasons:

1) They work
2) They're within my budget


Further explenation:
I have a good idea of how stuff works (You know by the way I helped get your oil to stop splashing all over )
I grew up in my Dad's auto shop (literally lived there with my Dad for a few months when my folks got divorced), working on German cars ever since I was able (I started sorting nuts and bolts at about 5, helped build engines at about 10, and completely rebuilt my first car, and engine from the rod bearings out at 14, and finished when I was 15).
I have almost no budget, but high ambition. If I drove a Honda, I could go out and buy alot of the things I make, and just bolt them on for the same outcome. For instance, there's a guy on here that bought a carbon fiber filter box that's almost exactly like the one I built, and connected it to a ram air port in his Euro fog light hole. Some of the things I make are far better than anything available (like the catch can).
Mostly, it keeps me from getting into more serious trouble

hehe s--- thats cool and thx for helping with my oil stuff... keep it up...

[marcdh]

For instance, there's a guy on here that bought a carbon fiber filter box that's almost exactly like the one I built, and connected it to a ram air port in his Euro fog light hole. Some of the things I make are far better than anything available (like the catch can).
Mostly, it keeps me from getting into more serious trouble

I'm watching you Jesse I got that CF enclosed filter second hand for much less (though not less than a flour tin ) , and CF is so light and sexy

Anyway, good work on improvising as ever. From my experience a prefilter hasn't been necessary. I cleaned mine for the first time in 3 months and the quantity of dirt and stones was very minimal, and oddly no leaves seem to get hoovered up!

[93SOHC]

innovative and ground-breaking as usual

[fowljesse]

Thanks 93SOHC
Marcdh, that's good to know.. I've had mine hooked up for a little while, and I think you're right. The kind of junk that makes it to the filter is mostly smaller than the pre-filter would not catch. Beside, I'm thinking about getting the water wicking filter made for the K&N cone. That would keep junk from wedging into the fins. If I got a good deal, i'd prefer the CF. It also would probably stay cooler as well as look awesome.
John, It was a good question Believe it or not, when I'm done, you'd never know my stuff came from other people's discards.
The flour tin came in a 3 can set of different sizes, so I'm going to use the next smaller size for a coolant overflow can, and the smallest for something else.. maybe catch can. It's hard to tell in the pics, but they're brushed aluminum, and look good.

[Mad Cow]

If you're looking for a really good pre-filter material there's Outerwears http://www.outerwearsracing.com/. It's really water resistant and doesn't slow down airflow.

[RX8SE3P]

Got some junk done!
I finished the "Ferrari" tails. They look pretty cool (better than the pic), and work great.

Hey are those just modified altezzas or something different? They look better! Maybe it's because you matched them with your car colour? I dunno. Please explain as I want something like that

[IMACHU2]

Great idea with the air intake! A true Hot Rodder that does not build cars out of a catalog.

[fowljesse]

Thank you, and thanks Mad Cow for the link.
I decided to find out how much the engine torque strut works, so I put a zip-tie on it. I haven't done any standing ¼ mile runs, but have done some "spirited' driving. The zip tie moved just less than ½". That's at about the furthest point from the pivot point of the motor mounts. I know it didn't move much before I put it on, due to filled motor mounts, but I assume it moves less, now. It moves so little, that the ball and socket joint on my exhaust system (instead of the flex joint) doesn't seem to move. It's nice to have that torque go to the wheels.