boost monkey

Hey matey, I've been drinking rum for about a year, put on a stone and now back trying to lose it ready for wedding in May :nuts: Just finishing up uni this year too, finally! I've found a basic I-C Equilibrium diagram for you, a nice colourful one :D: So the x-axis is percentage Iron-Carbon and y is Temp in Celcius.So for a cast iron manifold, you'll be over towards the right and heating past 710 deg C will put you into Austenite & Cementite. Austenite is ok, the metal will recover from this (although if it's cooled slow then it will generate deposits called pearlite which aren't ideal [i think they're very soft or something]). Cementite is very brittle though and I would guess, with my 2nd year Material Science opinion(!) that this is what would be making the manifold crack. When you repeatedly heat up something that is brittle, it will eventually crack or fracture. Everything under the 710deg line is basically no state change. Probably will glow though :D

Nice work on the manifold skimming Kev! Setting something like a manifold up on a milling machine and prepping it so that the surface you're skimming was perfectly flush would take more than 5 mins, let alone the time to pass an initial cut and then adjust from there. My 2p. You could use an iron-carbon equilibrium diagram to find out which "state" the metal of your manifold is passing into everytime it is heated and cooled. The rate at which this is done will inform you of how the grain structure of the metal is changing internally. I mean, if it's getting red hot or glowing after a long boost session or a hard drive, you can be sure it has passed through a couple of phases (and it prob heats up faster than it cools down too). Might be worth some research. I'll try to dig out the diagrams. TIG should really only use pure Argon for the inert gas. And back purging is very useful. Seen that used when welding a rally car exhaust system. You can literally duct tape over the open ends, than make a hole and run a little hose into the manifold to purge the oxygen out and make sure the only gas in proximity to the back of the weld is the Argon. My 6p altogether :lol: :salute:

End of the day, even if a viable dry sump design doesn't happen, I should have a stack of info about oil flow around a VR. Perhaps someone will find it useful :salute:

Legend! :clap: :salute: thanks fella, I'll keep you updated with my plans.

thats usually how it works mate. bumders :brickwall:

Fair point stu :D so you think the Uni wil say it's their idea? I guess I should find out about that before I even think about making it a viable item. which of the V6s (of those 3) have the same sump layout? I'm guessing the 24vs will? I'd happily do one for a VR, just need a cheap donor block. I could return it to the owner once I had finished with it :norty:

They are completely different. the shaft which reachs from the sump up to the aux shaft to provide the drive is longer on the 16v. the actual drive section on a 16v is splined (like a driveshaft) but the 8v item is notched. Do not mix them up! hth, Jon.

Yeah I hear what you're saying. Time is tight with the other 6 modules as it is. I guess getting some viable schematics drawn up at least would allow for expansion at a later date.

I've found a stack of info on people making systems for the VR6 and 16v already in America. Looks interesting. Edit: Nothing on the G60 though....

I think it is basically a design/CAD based project, but if the design is good then why not make it a real kit? I know I could make schematics and do all the testing (both in FEA/CFD and real life with a test cell at uni). I'll look into it some more. Thanks for the input :salute:

Yeah I could base it on a VR6 no problem. I'd need a VR block to see how the oil routes around the engine, and a head too so that I could incorporate valvetrain lubrication. I could probably pick up a dead VR6 on ebay for a bit of money and go from there I guess. It would be good to create a kit at the end, after all the R&D and testing has been done :D I'd have to make sure the pricing and costing al worked out though, no point making a kit at a loss or one that isn't affordable!

Hey guys, my dissertation is on: Designing and optimising a complete dry sump system including the air-oil scavenger I have been given free reign on which engine I can do it for, or I can make it completely generic (which doesn't make sense to me). If anyone has any ideas, or was thinking about going down this route for a track day car perhaps it would be good to talk to you. Also, if anyone is interested in a specific application and would be kind enough to loan me an engine block (NO KRs or PGs, have too many already!) that would really help me design a system for that specific engine. For info, a well thought out dry sump system can increase hp by around 10% due to removal of shear forces of crank through oil (based on research on BTCC cars gaining 20-25hp and F1 cars gaining 70+hp). There are many many other benefits also such as mounting engine lower as sump pan is shorter, and it also makes oil surge and baffle plates a thing of the past. I'm not expecting anyone to jump at this at all, but I thought I'd just throw it up there as an interesting engineering thing :D

going back to the striped 5th gear theory Jammin, perhaps the clicking noise you can hear are sheared teeth getting moved about in the gearbox oil? How regular is the noise, is it obviously a rotational kinda clicking sound or more erratic? If the diff/bolts went, the car would be lurching a lot more IMO.

Cool! my fiancee lives right by the Thai Orchid on St. Clems so I walk past your car from time to time :D

Found out the Corrados were vw domo and harryc. will have to arrange a student meet (i.e. sipping white lightning in the nearest park).

Mikki, not sure if you still read this but you can still get to your build diary by using the link you posted above :shrug:

Troll? ^^^

Saw ANOTHER VR in Jeune St Oxford tonight. Might have been same one as earlier (couldn't remember plate). Flippin everywhere they are. Also started final year project - Design and optimisation of complete dry sump system.... Any engine requests? :lol:

Seen a couple of COrrados on campus the past week: VR6 - K*** XPH, VR6 - dark with a huge dent in the rear offside by wheel arch (can't remember plate, will check it later). Might drop a cheeky flyer under the wipers later :D

Nice to see a running commentary Kev! I remember seeing those injectors aaaages ago, I thought you have bought them there and then! Also, did the Supercharger make the engine a lot better between Stage 2 and 3?

It doesn't sound so good on a G60....! Welcome though :salute:

I love your car :D

Aren't you worried the table will go into liquidation and then someone from BMW will come round and buy it? :lol:

Seriously though, I've just been messing about in CAD and came up with these. Pretty similar to what Kev/Herisites posted up: I included the waisted section as I know the Mk2 style / 16v hubs have that nasty bolt which pins the LBJ in place to stop it popping out. Not sure if you need it on VR hubs though. I'd be happy to make up some 2d orthographic drawings to scale if anyone has done the suspension geometry maths, and know what length etc they need to be and what would be a useful hex diameter (for a spanner etc). I can then save them in PDF and email them about :salute: Edit: i've left the screw thread out of the mock up but that can be modelled too if needed. I can also do stress analysis on them if I know the metal :dorky:

That's the kinda fabbing work I did on my placement. Looks like it would be a bit of lathing to length, then milling at 60deg angles on a rotating bed to get the hex section, and then a simple thread done on a lathe (if you're pro) or with a tap/die set (if you're not!). Maybe 30-60mins work each I'd estimate :confused4: Otherwise, these boys might have a pre-made kit: