Project Thread Supercharged 1UZ Bangkok Drag Truck

[Zuffen]

Just keep in mind what will happen if your spacer causes the whole lot to let go and it takes your legs off?

Justen is right sell the 1JZ unit and buy a 1UZ unit.

May take longer but worth it.

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

I was at the shop today . . . instead of tuning for the annual "King of Truck" race this week-end in Bangkok. I was hoping to get this project finished in time for the race. I was "Prince of Truck" (3rd) a few years ago. Oh well.

I am not going to be using the "doughnut spacer" after all. After looking at some race torque converter mounts (see attached), I discovered that these often have quite a tall "stand" between the torque converter and the mounting surfaces at the ring gear/flex plate. I have made some solid steel "stands" of my own that have been tack-welded to the ring gear (under full torque specs), and checked for warping (none). I will weld small triangulated gussets to these stands in the direction of torque loading (acceleration and deceleration - in yellow on the accompanying photo). They will be as strong as anything I have seen from race converter shops.

I also machined a "pilot pushing" that fits into the center of the crankshaft flange so that the front of the transmission input shaft is supported (and greased).

Oh, and I also e-mailed Michael at MV Automatics in Australia about a 1UZ race converter.

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

It was good to see the race truck again after so much travel over the past three months. I have time to devote to it. If the torque converter "issue" is settled by next week, I will throw it on the dyno. Wish me luck.

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

To comment on a previous entry and member question: the 565 Subaru pink injectors are a "drop in" . . . but you have to sort through some different 'bottom' (injector to manifold) rubber grommets (that seal) . . . and that will work with race gas. My Subaru rubbers became very swollen the first time I put my GT Race Gas through the system - and sucked air. I got some new ones from Precision Turbo that did the job.

 

[JBrady]

Very innovative and creative solutions on a one of a kind application. Nice work. The solution seems good but anything to do with the torque converter and or clutch area needs a lot of consideration. Are you going to use a scatter shield or blanket or some protection? At least one concern is the metal brittleness after welding on the flex plate. I would hate to see it crack and go unbalanced at high RPM.

 

[Zuffen]

In the Rover/TorqueFlite conversion they use "stand-offs" as you have and their's are around 25mm long and less than 15mm in diameter and are welded to a fabricated flexplate.

I'd rather see the stand-offs on the t/c than the plate but your plate looks pretty hefty.

There shouldn't be any movement between the nose of the t/c and the crank, unless your stand-offs aren't doing their job, and at that pont it would all be a bit academic.

Good luck.

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

A little flick made yesterday: A video tour of my supercharged 1UZ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ZBNf8i2gA

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

Not too much to report . . . . except that I am not racing yet. We have solved the torque converter mounting/mating problem by welding some gussets onto the mounting stands . . . and checking the balance and true-ness of the flex plate. No problem. Then it wouldn't start again . . . after having started only a week before. Finally, it did start, but would not come down from 3500 rpm. What the? Problem sorted: that GT Racing gas I use is pretty "active", or rather, "reactive"! I use the Subaru fuel injectors on the standard 1UZ intake manifold and although they "fit" I have had to use "different" rubber seals. The GT Gas causes these seals to swell to 4 times their original size. I have even used high dollar 'special seals' that swell. This swelling causes vacuum leaks at the injector making it hard to start and idle high. What to do? We got some silicon rod in the right size and have drilled it out to make our own seals impervious to this race fuel. Whew! There is always something interesting to sort out when you are pioneering a new set-up . . . in Bangkok. We have also gone through the complete fuel system to examine all the lines to be sure there aren't any bad/deteriorating rubber parts there either.

Now the bad news for me: I will be in Kuala Lumpur for the Formula One race this week-end (Woo-wooooo!) . . . and then in Japan for the following two week-ends . . . . . so no dyno runs for at least four weeks - and no racing (I will miss another "King of Truck" race as well!). Damn! I hope my shop guys aren't going to go lazy on me when I'm gone!

 

[spf_lexus]

Hey did you ever sort out your bellhousing issue?

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

Yes, I have "solved" the bell housing issue by extending the mounting pads (stands) on the ring gear
so the torque converter splines match the input shaft splines perfectly. I also added gussets on the stands for strength:

Only in Thailand: some of the other jobs going on at VooDoo Racing in Pattaya, Thailand:
A supercharged 1UZ into a late model BMW 325i, and a 1UZ for a Cobra replicar:

Meanwhile, my racer languishes . . . . . as I will be traveling again the next three week-ends.
First to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Formula One race, then to the mountains above Fukuoka,
Japan for a holiday in the hot springs with the monkeys.

Still under construction. It is essentially finished . . . just a few small details . . . and surprises, I'm sure.

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

I've been busy with other things: I am just back from the F-1 race at the Sepang Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Massa qualifying in the wet! The qualifying was the best part of the race week-end, after the sound of a N/A V-8 at 17,000 rpm!

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

The race truck is finished (knock on wood) and I have an all-day dyno session booked for this Wednesday (March 5, 2010). I have installed a smallish dry NOS set-up (one NOS fan nozzle + .021 flare jet in the intake piping after the intercooler . . . and one NOS fan nozzle + .021 flare jet right after the supercharger). I also put a .061 flare jet for each line at the NOS y-block to reduce the initial NOS surge at the hit of the button.

I will develop four O2-based maps from this session: (1) just the motor up to 7000 rpm; (2) the motor plus the after-the-intercooler NOS nozzle only; (3) the motor plus the at-the-supercharger nozzle only (more time for the NOS to "exchange heat"), and; (4) the motor plus both NOS nozzles. My guesses are (at 6000 rpm): (1) 425-450rwhp, (2) 460-485rwhp, (3) 465-490rwhp, and (4) 530-555rwhp. Wish me luck. I plan to use the NOS only for qualifying for "Top Truck" events with the AEM turning on the NOS at 3700 and off at 5700 . . and shift at 6200.

I have been in pretty steady contact with my shop guys and although the progress has been far from swift, it seems like all issues have been sorted. The starting and idling issues related to the fact that the Subaru injectors DO FIT the 1UZ intake manifold, but they do not fit well. . . . the rubber swelling issue is prevalent no matter what gas you use. So, the fix is to make some small aluminum "washers" top and bottom of the injector so that the rubbers are held firmly in place (the lower washer) and also to make sure the injector does not get jammed too far up into the fuel rail (the upper washer) to compress the rubbers so they have no room to expand (like the standard 1UZ injectors). I discovered this from other 1UZ racers here. What a hassle . . . but necessary. They do not suck air around the injectors now . . . and they will not allow boost to blow out either. With that done the thing starts up immediately, but still wouldn't idle below 2500 rpm . . . what's up? After a long search the throttle shaft of the throttle body was found to be so loosely fitted that it sucked gobs of air in there. I have a better, high quality throttle body (80mm) to fit now. These little details . . . flaws of quality, have cost me a lot of time. So now I am only waiting for next Wednesday.
I got to worrying that my single Bosch fuel pump would not be enough when I added a dry NOS jolt . . . and Jeg's was having a sale on the Aeromotive A1000 FI fuel pump . . . . so I ordered one with fittings. The specs are great:


A1000 (#11101) Specifications
-10AN inlet and outlet

Flows 700 lbs/hour @ 13.5 volts/45 psi

Fuel injected engines:Up to 1300 HP for naturally aspirated up to 1000 HP for forced air inductionAs can be seen from the accompanying chart (below), this is a very good fuel pump which should provide me with adequate fuel delivery for any future modifications up to 750+ horse power . . . . and will have the volume when the NOS switch is thrown. I currently use one 040 Bosch.

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

I made it down to the race shop in Pattaya yesterday. The work is more-or-less complete. Just the unavailability of a 1/16NPT tap is keeping the thing from being 100% ready for the dyno three days from now. The motor starts immediately, but still revs to 2500 at idle . . . . we determined that it is because we used a thicker head gasket which is making the intake manifold 'ride to one side' when it is installed, uncovering the intake ports on the opposite side and allowing air in.
The TB adapter was welded on and then hand blended on the inside for a smooth transition.
The working end of the new, high quality 80mm Throttle Body (TB).
In case I need to laugh at the drag strip. But really . . . . some events here require you to qualify at a faster e.t. than you would want to race at every round. A little 70hp shot of "dry" NOS will help. I will dial in the fuel enrichment on the dyno. I have used a "NOS Safety Kit" - an extra solenoid near the bottle to make sure there is no NOS leakage and to take the pressure off the front solenoid.

 

[JustenGT8]

Your truck just keeps getting tougher and tougher...love it

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

Thanks JustinGT8. The "tough" is in the pudding, however, so let's see if it holds together on the dyno . . . and can run some numbers on the strip with consistency and with reliability. I'm a racer, so I do not like all this shop [delay] time; I WANT SEAT TIME!

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

I finally found a 1/16NPT fitting in Bangkok and got my NOS tank filled. Well . . . I didn't get to the dyno: the motor starts immediately . . and immediately goes to 3300 rpm (on all cylinders). We are guessing a combination of a vacuum leak and the wrong map in the ECU. It is very strange . . . the throttle body is completely closed, yet it "idles at 3300! Perhaps there is just enough boost and just enough of a rich idle spray . . and just enough volatility to that GT Race Fuel . . . . . The next step is to start it with the computer plugged in to log some data, including the AFR. Woe is me!
The engine bay is complete. Now . . . I need to find a vacuum leak and dyno tune it.

 

[JustenGT8]

Has to be a pretty decent leak. Spray a weak detergent solution over it and the leak will bubble a little....not as much as a pressure leak but still works enough to help. You can also just use a length of rubber hose as a simple stethoscope and poke it around listen for the leak hiss.

Did you get the manifold sealing issue sorted?

 

[SuperRunner]

pressureize your intake, that is how I find all my leaks. You may or may not get a little leak through the valves, but you can rotate until it is minimal and you can find your intake leaks. Worked on mine and found out my custom manifold was not sealing against the head due to the many axis that have to be perfect on a V8 config manifold.

3,000rpm is a substantial leak.

 

[HarperRacingBangkok]

There are NO LEAKS

For the last month I have been chasing issues related to the race 1UZ not idling below 3000 rpm at start-up. "There MUST be an air leak" has been our guiding principle. But . . . after taking off the entire intake track and checking EVERY place air could possibly be entering the engine we determined there was NO Fricking Way there could be air getting in. Please do not suggest otherwise. Yes, the throttle body is completely closed. I said everywhere!
We looked everywhere. Nothing. We came up with all kids of good sealing solutions. Still a too-fast idle.
Special aluminum washers and custom seals were made to hold and seal the Subaru injectors in place and were checked on the running engine with soapy water, listened to with a tube, and every other means of detecting a leak. No leak here. So . . . . what's up. Our new working theory, based on the experience of several other racers here, is that the camshafts were either not manufactured with the indexing correct, or were installed incorrectly. In other words, too much overlap is allowing the engine to pump air up into the intake manifold which in turn allows just enough air to run the motor. There was a little "soot" in the intake runners. It can happen, and has happened to a friend of mine here. Kelford, I am sure, makes every effort to do good work, but they also assume that engines are put together by race engine builders who check the cams, index the cams, and dial in the cams. We did not ("It's Thailand!"): we took them out of the box and installed them using the "locator pins and marks" that should have been right. So now we mic the cams.

 

[SuperRunner]

Seriously, pressurize your intake, you would be surprised what you might find.

Question, if you put your hand over the TB, does it die, or stay running?

Air has got to be coming from somewhere, if not the TB, then WHERE?