Adam W

Is it possible to get some sort of right-angle attachment for a pressure washer? I've got one, but mines got a two foot rigid lance (oo-errr) on it, so you can't angle it to point up at the bottom of the car because there's not enough ground clearance. Same goes for wheel arches - the wheel itself gets in the way so you can only do half a job.

Just a word of caution - a mate of mine had the alloy wheels refurbed on her Mk2 Golf GTi. When they came back, the centre caps were missing, and she soon found out why - £35 *each* from a dealer, and unobtainable anywhere else. The wheel place refused to admit the caps were ever on there, so she had to shell out in the end Get a note made on the receipt of any removable items so there's no arguments!

Errr Phil, I believe that's per annum for insurance? NOT to buy a whole car!

Do you mean a boost controller? If so, how long is the engine "stalling" for, and does it restart itself automatically? If the ECU detects overboost (over 14psi IIRC) then it cuts fuel to the engine, flashes the engine light, and scares the crap out of the driver! If you have a boost gauge fitted, what is it reading? If you don't . . . GET ONE! It's important to know how much boost you're running if you going over stock levels, serious engine damage can result if you get too enthusiastic. Perhaps you could post a full list of mods to your car? It would make it easier to figure out what's wrong.

Perhaps you need something like . . .. THIS! (TaDaaaah!!!) http://www.artmorrison.com/F_AirSpring.htm Best I could find at any rate. FYI, pneumatic suspension is also fitted to some of the new audis, lots of old citroens (surprise), and certain baby prams and electric wheelchairs Christ I'm bored . . . .

Point taken Alex. Syed - best of luck to ya!

I think the key point is that the factory fit systems are designed in conjunction with th supsension, and many hundreds of hours are put into making sure that the car will handle well regardless of what ride height they are set upo. Think of how many variables will change in the suspension geometry, and how much extra compliance (which the original suspension designers did not account for) will be in the system. I'm not saying it will be impossible to get it to work fairly well, but I would imagine it will be very difficult. Even more so if you want it work REALLY well! I guess Chris Wilson is your man for suspension issues, but I have a funny feeling that I know what he's going to say

Similar to the Austin Allegro system I believe Seriously though, you might get more luck on one of the american lists with this one; I think the main use for such suspension is the "dancing cars" thing though What are you hoping for? Stiff suspension but good ride on the straights?

What's chaged with the rules then? Did they just realise they were being completely flouted anyway, or was it commercial pressures?

I think it increases fuel pressure to the injectors, so the ECU will be opening them for the same amount of time as before, but as the fuel feed is at a higher pressure more fuel will enter the combustion chamber. I think "rising rate" comes into it somewhere as well, but I can't remember exactly what that means . . something like as fuel demand increases (eg under WOT and full boost), it increases the pressure still further.

You can get a Hiper for the NA (I've seen it at Shop!), whip the cats out and it should be way louder than a TT with decat Hiper (see above). Don't know what the cat arrangement on an NA is, but if the pipes aren't available get your local custon exhaust place to knock some up. You won't have to worry about boost creep either!

Don't know whether you'd be interested or not, but I was running my Mk3T all last weekend with no silencer or cats at all, and it sounded just like (wait for it!) a Mk4 with a Hiper, only slightly louder. An unsilenced turbo car is never going to be hugely loud because the turbo and associated plumbing take a lot of energy out of the exhaust stream - you might want to consider getting a bit of shiny pipe made up in place of a rear box, try it on the back of the car, and if it sounds bearable you could save yourself £500 over a Hiper!

Good luck . . . with everything! Let us know how you get on

I had no idea that that was a remotely sensible idea! The next question is - how is the NOS injected into the engine. If the fuel injector cut is near instantaneous, the NOS needs to be to . . .

Couldn't you get tricksy with the pulse tables in the RLTC, convince it that you had seven injectors, and then use the seventh injector output to trigger the NOS on and off? There must be some "remote output" (like a stereo head unit uses to switch on an amp) which can be activated when slip is detected. Or, use two synchronised RLTC units maybe? I don't really know enough about the system to suggest how to do it, but what would be really clever is if you had the system set up so that you could have 10% slip dialled in, but at 5% slip the RLTC cuts the NOS, and then begins cutting fuel if slip continues to increase to 10%. Perhaps Pete Betts could furnish us with a box of tricks?

Well, we'll forgive you this time Ash, but don't let it happen again, alright?

Hang on a second! F = (3500 x 0.45 x 32.2) /32.2 which can also be written as F= 3500 x 0.45 x 32.2 _____________ 32.2 Which is equal to 3500 x 0.45 isn't it? Are you sure you got the brackets in the right place or have I missed something obvious?

Ash . . . I can see the future: A MkIV Supra with a ten litre, supercharged V8 in it! You'd probably only need a one speed Quaife gearbox then.

When they started running sleeved blocks and huge strokes to get those enormous displacements, they ran into reliability issues very quickly. I think the 8.2 was a McLaren qualifying engine, and then they ran a 7.7 for racing (but even they broke fairly regularly). Why did they have such huge engines? Because they were trying to keep up with Porsches highly reliable, enormously powerful, (relatively) fuel-efficient forced induction engines . . . . go figure!

Spot on Chris - I've seen the Can-Am cars several times at historics. I remember the Porsche 917/30's wheelspinning as it hit fifth gear up the main straight at goodwood, in fifth gear, in the dry, at about 150. The best memory has to be leaning over the guardrail at the "staging area" where they line the cars up before they go on track to catch a glimpse of some driver or other, when the big block Mclaren about two feet away from me started up . . . . :o

So if TC doesn't work below 8mph, how does that square with the launch control function? I thought that worked by holding the revs at a set point (4000rpm?) and then when you dump the clutch, it keeps the wheels right on the edge of spinning in the same way it does when you boot it in a corner (ie by cutting injectors). How does this work at launch if there is no data below 8mph?

Isn't the Titanium a full system from the turbo back?

I guess for 90% of end users, it makes no difference whether they're hitting 8psi or 12psi. At least, they don't need to know the numbers as long as the car accelerates nicely! It's only when you want to start tuning the car that you need to know what's going on under the bonnet. The stock Mk3 gauge isn't renowned for it's accuracy, so many people who start tuning them fit an aftermarket gauge in the same way as MkIV owners do.

You can fit a "Fuel Cut Defender", available from TRL (aka Pete Betts) or HKS. This tricks the ECU into thinking that the boost rpessure is below the cut-off limit. Which is all well and good . .. BUT Ash has recently raised some issues regarding the safety of fitting this item. Plenty of members have one fitted with no problems, but you may want to research the issue by looking at old threads on the BBS. A search for FCD should find plenty of info. Also, getting a boost gauge woould be an EXCELLENT idea . . . fuel cut is at 14psi - you might be just hitting 15psi (OK) or boosting way up to 22psi or something (not OK) and you have no way of telling which at the moment. An FCD will allow your engine to boost to destruction if you let it!

Yes, if there is water leaking into the cylinder (or anywhere else) the water level will be going down - best time to check it is every morning while the engine is cold (ie before you set out). If it is then you could have a problem.