Rotrex Charged Storm: She's Gone!

[Harrier 1]

'Do you think I should let her have a drive?'

Definitly not Rams, it sounds she might 'accidentally' put it into a tree !

[dragon green 4]

Get her hypnotised !

Edited November 24, 2013 by dragon green

[Rams 0]

Good points raised, what was I thinking to let her have a go?!

 

Maybe I can win her round??

 

I will try whispering, ' you love Ramsay's Corrado' over and over again whilst she sleeps and see if that has any effect?

 

I wonder who else gets the cold shoulder about their hobby?

[mic_VR 3]

Thank fully the wife loves the Corrado..... but my recent return to motorbikes wasn't quite as successful and ended up coming back to 4 wheels! :lol:

[fla 9]

 

I wonder who else gets the cold shoulder about their hobby?

 

All the time!! Might be in serious trouble if she finds out what I'm planning next for the car...

 

Not that i've not mentioned it before, but it looks fantastic in those pics Rams.

[seanl82 23]

My Missus is really enthusiastic when it comes to getting out in it and going to shows etc, yet the minute I mention having/needing to get anything for it - in other words, spending money, it's like I'm making the kids go hungry to pursue a hobby!

[Rams 0]

So I'm not alone..

 

I'm sure most of us don't really say how much were spending. I even lie to myself! Lol

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Do you think I should let her have a drive?

 

might be worth a try, you never know m8

 

i let my gf drive my VR & a few weeks later she sold her focus & brought a mystic blue storm ;) LOL

[Rams 0]

It's been a while so a little update... Drove back home in the pouring rain from London, with the heart stopping moments when a big puddle suddenly comes into view and you slide a bit but half way or so into the journey when the speed picked up as traffic eased I found the car was hesitating and not picking up speed properly or what I think was happening is the air filter being so close to the front bumper and its been getting wet and upsetting the MAF.

 

Hopefully it will be ok tomorrow but I've got her booked in to fix the ABS sensor and a couple of bits so will see what else we can do to protect that area or think of a different location for the air filter/MAF.

 

Its my first issue since installing it and when I set off and saw the rain I did wonder if it there would be a problem but stayed at 60 to 80 most of the way.

 

You had to be gentle with the throttle and it would be ok. Minute you pushed the pedal a bit it started backing off.

 

I also removed the bumper side indicators when I was cleaning bits a couple of months ago and saw a lot of debris and dust in the top of the cone filter. Its collecting in the dimple at the top so you have to think that a fair bit must be getting into the air filter itself.

 

I'm just trying to work out where else I can mount the filter and really if it was in the engine bay it would be better so maybe battery needs to be relocated and space created?

Edited December 15, 2013 by Rams

[Hofmiester 10]

I have the same fear mate, my filter is down in the corner of the front bumper (passenger side) I just don't drive the car in the wet :) not the best solution though.

 

Been wondering what could be done for some time now but no obvious solution comes to mind.

[n3p 3]

Do you have the splash guards? Might help a little

[Rams 0]

We are in the same boat then, so is Craig and maybe a few more. It's does seem stupid that we can't drive in heavy rain fall. I wanted to leave earlier than I did when it was dry but the good lady wanted me to stay longer and didn't want to tell her that my car she's doesn't like can't be driven in the rain! She would have just said what's the point in that!

 

I do have the splash guards, they are the only bits I have fitted and a section under the arch. Not the complete liner as I have no arch lip.

 

I think water is getting sucked through the filter and into the MAF.... Could some housing be created without affecting the flow around the cone filter?

 

Because that air pipe is so long, do you think the system has enough air in the pipe to drawn on? You can hear all the air whooshing around the pipe so that's why I'm wondering if the cone filter section could be better protected against rain/water which would also decrease the air flow going directly through the filter.

 

Difficult to type out what I'm trying to say.. I just think that there should be a better way as in some cases you will have to drive in the rain. The dust and debris from the road being sucked up also concerns me.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

HPA are the only people I've seen take this problem seriously.

 

[Rams 0]

Interesting....

 

That's along the lines of my thought process to protect the area better but you then have the issue with the charger and MAF being rather close. Which I'm told to avoid.

 

Maybe there are parameters for how far they should be to make it run more smoothly if that's the main issue when the MAF is close to the charger. Vince just told me, get it as far away as possible....

 

Or maybe the route should be standalone and then the MAF is no more and protect the filter area and bobs your uncle?

 

If I need to go short runner / water cooler or intercooler and balance out the entire install then I should be able to run this setup in all weather conditions. That's the goal. Can I get fatal engine damage with water being sucked into Filter/MAF? If it's excessive could the engine hydro lock?

 

I will have a look in more detail at the picture/company website. Thanks for sending that

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah that's an R32 which can cope with the MAF being close to the charger. I was just demonstrating what's possible with a bit of lateral thinking :)

 

If it was me I'd relocate the battery, run a 3" pipe all the way across the front of the car and up into an airbox where the battery used to be.

 

Standalones get round many problems of the OEM management but they're not for everybody!

 

Yep, a cup of water is all that's needed to bend a rod.

[Rams 0]

Right, I'm on it. Last thing I want to do is fudge the engine.

 

So I will order what I need to relocate the battery.

 

Any tips on how to do this safely?

 

I'm not looking at the engine bay now but can you make a hole in the chassis section to bring the pipe up or just run it internally through the engine bay to the battery position?

 

It would also mean not having the AMP wiring cable in the engine bay as it looks untidy and nice short length from boot to amp.

 

I will have a search now. I'm using the C as a daily now till I find a new daily... Sold the TT. First viewer and only knocked me down £100

[poll250 0]

I remember buying something to address this when I had my Rotrex kit.

 

It was some kind of membrane that let air through but wouldn't let water through- it wrapped round the filter.

 

Unfortunately, I can't find a record of it in my emails - I think Kev might have put me on to it though?

[owen g60 10]

The simplest way to relocate the battery would be using a battery cable from a BMW.

 

I've seen this done a couple of times. Your friendly mechanic should be able to put it all together for you.

 

The only concern about running the pipe through the engine bay would be heat soaking it.

[coullstar 0]

Id be relocating battery if it were me but theres also this - http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?prod=25-3901

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah a pre-charge 'sock' thing you put over the filter. It won't help you with standing water but might help deflect splashes.

 

Sealing the MAF and air-filter in a box is the only way really, especially for a daily. I got through 3 or 4 MAFs trying to solve this because it wasn't just water being sucked on the MAF through the filter, it was also condensation dripping onto it from above from the crank case vent.

 

MAF sensors are the bane of forced induction tuning. Vince and I tried using a MAP sensor in place of the MAF but the ECU wasn't having any of it (linear vs logarithmic voltage scaling). In the end I went for the MAFless option which just used throttle position for load instead but that wasn't great either.

 

Relocating the battery isn't hard. You can buy battery trays to bolt / weld into the boot and as said already, BMW cables or make your own from 0 gauge. Or if you want a more custom approach and to preserve your boot space, you can fit a battery in place of the armrest, with some kind of customised cover.

[Hofmiester 10]

Hang on a moment? My DV is the other way around from that one....would that be an issue?

 

HPA are the only people I've seen take this problem seriously.

 

[Rams 0]

Not sure what you mean? Have you got a picture?

 

Yesterday I went out and car wasn't right, holding back, felt like it was on 4/5 cylinders.

 

But wasn't all the time.

 

Took it for a blast later on that day again and seemed fine.

 

Went out in the rain again later than evening and it started holding back again so I'm wondering if it's the actual coilpack? Which becomes worse under load which was what was happening on the way back from London in the rain. I could tell the engine bay got soaked because I had cleaned and polished the rocker cover and mani last week.

 

I've ordered a new Beru coilpack today and it's coming in tomorrow but drove home in the rain tonight and no issues at all. Behaving as she should.

 

I will get the old one off tomorrow and will see if there's any brining or cracking but it's the only items I haven't replaced more or less! Leads were done when I did the charger. VW leads so they should be fine.

 

Bought some wiper blades, oil and filter and slave cylinder. I sometimes have to lift the pedal with my foot but only for a tiny bit, it engaged gears and returns but sometimes just doesn't come right the way up. We've bled it a few times before and this has been going on for about 3 years but decided just to try and replace the slave.

 

Emptied the oil catch tank today which was full. Simple to do but need to stay on top of these things.

 

Had a look at the ABS and whilst on the ramp, spinning the disc you see the abs ring and the sensor changes gap. So we made the ring and the gap even and that didn't work.

 

I start the car, it runs through the procedure and light goes off. Start driving and within 5 seconds, the abs light comes back on.

 

Also, I've got a driver side fog light issue. No power there to wiring. Fuse fine, relay fine and just can't understand why it's not working. Changed the bulb, swapped the bulb with my working passenger side fog lamp. Annoying!

[Rams 0]

My anti roll bar which is the Eibach one is fowling the 6 branch exhaust. It was also making a tiny mark on the steering rack pipe.

 

The engine may need an uprated gearbox mount. I've got the front one done but the engine must be causing the exhaust to rock back under load. This amount of power starts to high light week areas.

 

I'm going to raise the suspension a bit more tomorrow to see if that helps? Otherwise I have to change the exhaust or fit the standard arb which is thinner?

 

Anyone else have this problem? 6 branch and ARB fowling?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Is the ARB the right way up? You can fit them upside down on VR6s and the only clue is the situation you've got there :)

 

Ron, the 90 deg outlet should go back to the MAF. Straight part faces the charger, if that makes sense.

[Rams 0]

Well, when we fitted it we did swap it round after discussing which way the right way was.

 

The only other thing is that 6 branch I bought I had repaired as the end had cracked. They stainless welded the end on so maybe the angle where it mates with the decat is lower than it should be? When the car is in the air you think the gap is fine it obviously sits down when on the ground and the acceleration is enough for it to make contact.

 

If the car is on the ramp and your underneath, is there another way to tell which way the arb should be?