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Hi Tom,
Thanks for the email. I try to be precise in
all my comms. Biut when I get fired up, I do get
inspired! It's my Balkan ethnic heritage!
By "Professional", what I mean is somebody
who does dyno tuning/Aftermarket EFI for a living. The trick is to find
"The Man". You won't find him at a Mazda Dealer. He will be a man
that runs a tuning business, and ideally, he will probably
specialise in rotaries, but not necessarily. He will probably have
racing experience. We have dozens of such shops here in Sydney, and
every other state of Oz. Some are good, some are mediocre, and
some are useless.
With new motors, my preferred way of running
them in is to stick them in a "Mule" and just drive around for 600 miles
/ 1,000 km or so. It's not just the miles/time. It's the
process of multiple heat and cool cycles which allows everything to "snuggle
in". Obviously this isn't practical for most people. But I do get
the best results with motors that have been carefully bedded-in. They tend
to last longer, and run "sweeter".
Any serious race engine gets at least 2,000 kms in
the mule. John, the guy with whom I share the workshop (George
has met him - they both have a distinct liking for the cold amber
liquid!!). ), is of the same opinion Back in the
'80s racing Production Street Sedans (dead stock as a rock - no
mods), John was the man to beat, He'd do the same.
Motors would be run-in on the street, and having a wrecking yard at the
time, John usually had a spare on the shelf ready to go.
But I do remember on more than the odd occasion where the yard "gronk" was stuck
in a "mule", given a fist full of dollars for fuel & food, and
told to "go for a 'burger and a 'shake"! Two or three nights of that and
the motor was ready for battle.
Engines can also be run-in on a dyno, but
that can become expensive. With aircraft, the engine can be run-in
doing some ground running (with the bush turkeys) and some high speed
taxying. I just don't like taking brand-newly assembled motors and running
them at full bore. At a bare minimum, I'd always like to see at
least a couple of hours at light to moderate varying load, and several
heat/cool cycles and an oil & filter change before giving the thing "the
mustard".
So as for "flip-flopping", you do me a
dis-service. My PREFERRED scenario is that the engine is normally
run-in first, THEN dyno'd. But circumstances being what they
are, one must cut one's coat according to the
cloth.
A mate of mine now has a new "bolt to the wheels"
dyno. No more rollers and melted tyres. Often, the engine
can now be dyno'd directly in the "Mule", as long as it's got the
right manifolding etc. The "Mule' has an exhaust that can be swapped to
race specs in a few minutes. Otherwise, the engine is fitted to the race
car and dyno'd in race trim, or stuck on an engine dyno. Engine
dynos are better for development, but this new "bolt-up" DynaPack
axle dyno is just the best. See:
Right at the moment, I'm off the grog
(probably for the next 12 months or so at least). I've just been through a
serious viral lung/heart illness and my liver needs to be looked
after. I'm also not in a fit state to travel either, especially long
distances in high flying aircaft. So I would have to decline any
such kind offer at the moment. When I'm fit and well again, I'd
like to attend Oshkosh, so maybe next year we can get together and have a
"bench race" or two.
However, in the mean time, I'm sure
that there are a bunch of people in the USA (being the home of hot-rodding),
who are far cleverer than I, and are equally adept at the "black
art" of tuning aftermarket EFI systems. The trick is to find one in your
neck of the woods.
Cheers,
Leon
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 6:49
AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Microtech EFI
and Tuning, was Leon's nose
Leon,
You're very articulate when you're fired up. Good
info. My only other feedback:
When you refer to 'professional', it would seem that does not include the
standard tech from the Mazda dealer. It must be someone who works
in a racing circuit because they've learned more from working with customized
installations. My assumption anyway.
Earlier I mentioned my intention to have my
installation debugged and dyno'd on a dyno. Wasn't it you
that said a person should just stick it in a mule and drive it to get
burgers for a couple weeks? It's okay, I won't accuse you of
flip-flopping. Well, flip-flopping isn't really a bad thing.
I did say in my provocative post it was my .01 cents worth.
If Paul were to fly you to Alabama for a few days vacation and evaluation
of your skills, would you drink American beer?
Tom
Leon <peon@pacific.net.au> wrote:
Hey Tom,
Couldn't help reading your
comment:
"Microtech isn't that cheap and sofar not proven that reliable
overall."
That
sort of comment REALLY, REALLY gets up my
nose,
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