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My search for better performance


2seater

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29 minutes ago, Padgett said:

One thing I have noticed is everything runs cooler in lockup since even 3% slip turn into heat. When thinking about not staying in lockup I would consider an external transmission cooler.

I agree with that. Before deciding to run the converter unlocked for extend periods, I went to a local transmission shop that has been in business for years and asked the owner his opinion on running the converter unlocked. He was in agreement with you about more heat being generated due to the converter slipping. He recommended a transmission cooler to help dissipate the extra heat. I installed a rather large cooler you that see below to make sure heat wouldn't be a problem. I also asked him if driving with the converter unlocked would do damage to the converter by not going through the normal lockup cycle. He said he saw no reason why it would so I feel pretty safe in running the transmission with the converter unlocked.

 

SAM_1902.JPG

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Yes, unlocked you just have an old style tranny with O/D. Is generally worth about a 500 rpm drop (the 3%) and best MPG with most 3-4 liter engines is 1900-2000 rpm at 70 mph.

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I have searched high and low and I am surprised I cannot find any photos of the intercooler and two oil coolers mounted ahead of the radiator area. I suspect I lost many photos on my previous Android phone that I believe I lost somewhere under the slab being prepared for my shed at the cottage several years ago. No cloud backup for that?

 

I agree about the cruise conditions. I have often noticed, and from long before I started fooling with the engine, that the car seemed happiest at around 72mph or 2000rpm. It just seems to be comfortable right at that point. Ironically, it is where the torque peak is on a dyno graph. I know that is full throttle but I have always wondered if the same sort of optimum cylinder filling and tuning was still partially present at part throttle??

 

I have inquired about a very low pressure switch for possible use as a TCC unlock device. This isn't a map type sensor and integrated programming but just a simple switch to break the lockup connection around zero vacuum. In this case I am looking at a 5"wc setting, about 1/6th of a psi. 

 

Can anyone share what their TPS readings are during average normal driving?

Edited by 2seater
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27 minutes ago, 2seater said:

Can anyone share what their TPS readings are during average normal driving?

I'll try to remember next time I drive to check. Raining here right now.  Maybe tomorrow if weather is nice.

What speed? Converter locked or unlocked?

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2 hours ago, Ronnie said:

I'll try to remember next time I drive to check. Raining here right now.  Maybe tomorrow if weather is nice.

What speed? Converter locked or unlocked?

It doesn’t matter the speed really, just the sort of range your normal driving covers. I was surprised I used a relatively small range, like .6v to about 1.5v.  Cruising on the flat, maybe .6, higher speeds .8, mild inclines a little over 1.0 to maintain speed and up around 1.5v during pretty decent acceleration. 
 

Your terrain looked more interesting than mine?

Edited by 2seater
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1 hour ago, Padgett said:

Synapse says about .7v at 70 mph cruise.

Thanks. Same general area as mine steady state cruising.

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I hope this post doesn't get lost in the overall noise of the rest of this thread. I know this has continued for multiple pages and it is not meant to be the end all and be all. I simply have had the time over a couple of decades to try different ideas, not all successfully, but what I have lost, is the ability to go back to a baseline. I do have have more than one engine, but all have evolved in some direction, and I have lost track of where it all started. I truly need some simple things from pretty much stock vehicles. 

 

As I mentioned within this thread, sometimes the obvious things get lost, like the realization that the TPS position might be very important in normal driving. Easy to focus on wide open throttle performance, but that isn't where the car lives the majority of its life and where the oem's spend tons of time getting the little things right. I value the input from anyone, or everyone, about what sort of envelope your car operates in, particularly the TPS overall range in daily use, MAF readings in similar use, maybe where your Fuel Integrator or Block Learn spend their time. It is to get an overall sense of what the original system is expecting, not the somewhat distorted situation I have created.

 

The overall idea is to encourage experimentation, not define a single path. I truly value input. 

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I realized I failed to include photos of some basic items, referred to in the previous posts in this thread. 

 

The rear exhaust manifold restriction is well known, and removing it costs a certain amount of labor and it depends how innovative you are doing it in place or on the bench, which is what I would recommend. Bear in mind the exhaust is a 400 series stainless steel that does rust and is magnetic, but it is tough and not the easiest to grind out. I found I could use a good quality hole saw, 2 1/16" I think, and use the outlet as the guide and cut everything away, including the excess threaded boss for the O2 sensor inside the pipe. It seals on the outside just like a spark plug. Actually it is the same size and thread as an old style 18mm spark plug. If you do it with the hole saw, use lots of lubricant. I have noted a slight deepening of the exhaust tone with no other changes, your results may vary. The first photo is from 1998

 

1311053624_Rearexhaustmanifoldrestriction.thumb.JPG.71fa3b8bf5432bee98723c4a863b80a3.JPG

 

289475990_Rearmanifoldrestrictionremoved.jpg.b81333290eeee8079293e50096b075e2.jpg

 

These are the aftermarket replacement cams with the 1988 lift and duration. They are an exact replacement however, the flange at the front that bears against the block is thicker and the spacer washer used on the later cams should not be reinstalled or chain drive misalignment will occur. This is also the hand plot I did of the 1988 and later model LN3 cam which I have posted several times in the past but I am including it again here. The taller and wider lobes are the 1988.

 

1751433246_1988camshafts.thumb.JPG.498dc71cbef40931ee27b30aa89cf07f.JPG1935881879_Camcomparison(2).thumb.JPG.06d21c730e92bdf9fa1157207eb6230b.JPG

 

Lastly, I found a critic lurking in the background  but is unmasked here.

 

IMG_1030.JPG.e43525b26e6b92db0a9aaf21eba7a3a5.JPG

 

 

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@2seater are you the one that posted that supercharged Reatta video on youtube? If so, your car is amazing!

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9 hours ago, Bertimus said:

@2seater are you the one that posted that supercharged Reatta video on youtube? If so, your car is amazing!

No, I didn't have anything to post on YouTube, and do not have a supercharged engine as of yet. Thanks for asking.

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1 hour ago, 2seater said:

No, I didn't have anything to post on YouTube, and do not have a supercharged engine as of yet. Thanks for asking.

My mistake! 

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You're looking at jon's car.  Just checked out your link, that is not jon's car but another example of super charged.

Edited by DAVES89
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I received the low pressure switch I intend to use to unlock the TCC, divorced from throttle position. Looking at the wiring diagrams, I can break either the power or ground side of the Clutch solenoid. My preference is the ground side where it heads toward the ECM. My diagram indicates a splice exists where the ECM wire and the ALDL wire join, which would seem convenient if I can find it?. Access to the plug on the transaxle is sort of problematic, the turbo piping restricts access. Cold and windy has settled back in place  so exploration will be delayed.

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If you place a switch between the two contacts on the ADL you can control the lockup with it.

It gives you 1st gear /w OD, second gear /w Od and 3rd gear w\/w OD. Or you can lock it up whenever yu want.

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I appreciate the input and understand I can lock the TCC from the ALDL but I want to do sort of the opposite. I want to unlock, or block, the lockup under conditions of boost at low throttle openings. I know this is sort of a Rube Goldberg, but since I am belatedly aware of how little throttle is required to have above atmospheric conditions in the intake, under some conditions, that it seems most expedient. Hopefully it is more temporary than permanent. Eventually maybe the chip can be programmed more appropriately to address high load and relatively low rpm. At this point probably easiest just to cut the wire near the ECM since it is laying on the floor anyway. Maybe a three position switch for the TCC, off, normal and automatic? Now I just need to scare up the ambition?

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NP I just bought something like a Reatta but with 273 lb-ft of torque. Problem solved.

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4 hours ago, Padgett said:

NP I just bought something like a Reatta but with 273 lb-ft of torque. Problem solved.

That is one solution for sure?

 Despite my spending lots of time, and some amount of money on an obsolete platform, my next vehicle will likely be all electric. The very definition of torque on demand. That will be for simplicity, but the Reatta thing still feels good and the experiments are educational, if not logical.

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