The Life of the Black Knight

dead sexy! i need black wheels!

 

i think i need to try autoxing on all spares.....

 

Clutch and flywheel went in today. As usual WJM did a ninja fast install.

The pedal is a little stiffer and the engagement point is very close to the floor. It certainly feels a lot more like an on-off switch than the stock unit but engagement is nice and crisp. Over the little amount of driving I did today, I didn't experience any clutch shudder. However, this could change as it breaks in. The new unit is definitely noisier than stock, especially during deceleration.

All in all, its a LOT smoother and a LOT more streetable than what I expected from a 6 puck unsprung clutch and light flywheel combo. I expect this clutch to hold the power I hope to make with meth injection, which should be in the 450-500 whp and wtq ballpark.

 

good seeing ya buddy, sorry i had to dip out early...I wanted to go for a ride!! anyways glad everything ent well!! Congrats!!

 

yeah good question :naughty:

now fess up

 

The entire setup feels different. I can't say if I notice a difference from the flywheel alone.

 

Cant notice a difference with the flywheel? I noticed right off the bat how much easier rev-matching was with mine, granted I kept the same clutch that I've had for the last year. I cant wait to see your car with Joe's exterior stuff.

 

I stand corrected. I went out for a drive last night on my little test track (access road going to 85/400/Buford Highway) since I had not had a chance to drive the new setup on an open road with limited traffic. I must say that I REALLY like it. When I popped it in neutral and revved the motor, the revs rise and fall significantly faster than they did with the stock setup. If I shift without matching the revs, then there is a little jerk but it is nowhere close to how jerky the stock setup was under similar conditions. The new setup is much smoother and crispier than stock when the car is in motion. The only time the stock setup is smoother is when I'm attempting to move from a stop. I got some bad shudder when I was attempting a three point turn, but that only happened when I tried to engage the clutch at low revs. Revving it a little higher (~2500-3000 rpm) eliminated the shudder. But like I said earlier, the engagement is more on-off now so that is something I need to get used to.

Lets see how it feels after its broken in.

 

The worst situation for me with my 6 puck was backing up a hill. It always flet like the engine was going to tear itself out of its mounts. The only way to avoid it was to pretty much launch it like I was at the drag strip. :eek3:

 

Yeah. Shudder like mad. I still shudder mine when at a dead stop sometimes and it makes me cringe.hnoes:

 

You perv....what you doing feeling up the black knight....it's a beast not something for you to feel up!:rofl:

 

Methanol injection kit is currently being installed. I'll post some pictures when it is ready. Scheduled for tuning by THE Siegel on Friday. Going to keep my fingers crossed. Barring any mechanical issues, it should make decent numbers

 

sweet dude...let us know what it makes

 

You on meth?

 

Will be this Friday

 

You methaholic. Good luck man! Text me the results when you get them!

 

I'll keep you updated.

 

lucky mofo!

 

Are people allowed to watch at BG like they were at SOG? I will be out that way around lunch time, wouldn't mind stopping in if its kosher...

 

For insurance purposes only the owner of the car can be inside the doors of the building. Spectators can stand or sit right outside the bay doors...

They have very specific rules from their insurance here.

Siegel

 

Understood, that seems fair...anyone else planning on heading over?

 

I can't wait!:wiggle:

 

I'll be at BG 10am onwards.

 

I may, on friday right?

 

Yes sir.

 

what kind of numbers you lookin for milo?

 

Barring any mechanical issues :sx: (boost leak, insufficient spring, etc.) the setup should be capable of making decent power. However, I don't want to push it farther than what Scott feels is reliable. It is also my first time getting tuned on a Dynojet so I don't know how to compare numbers with SOG's Dynapak. I expect about 10% reduction.

So rather than hope for numbers, I'm going to wait and see

 

Well put answer Good luck with it man.

 

Dyno numbers are irrevalent. Get a base pull and then compare it with the last pull. There's your increase. That's all that matters is is the increase what it should be. On SOG's old Dynapack I pulled 368 tq and 358 hp. Two weeks later I got on an AWD in NC and it showed me 389 tq and 374 hp. Heh....

 

We first ran the current setup on the Dynojet. At my boost level (~19.5 in 4th), the car made about 335whp. Turned up the boost to 20.5psi, and it made ~350whp. With the same tune, the car made just over 400whp on SOG's Dynapak. Translates to about a 12.5% loss.

After that, endless disappointments begin. I had a brand new trunk mounted methanol injection kit assembled by SMC. 5 pulls on the dyno and the pump started leaking. Did I mention that it was BRAND NEW?!?!?!?

There were no other new pumps at Batlground that we could swap mine with. But some supportive friends offered to let me try their kits in my car. We figured we could get most of the tuning out of the way so when I have a new pump come in, Scott would probably just have to tweak the fuel maps a little. The first kit that went in was another trunk mounted kit, but of the old design (no through bolts). First run on the dyno and that kit starts leaking everywhere. Next we tried one under hood kits (also older design). This kit was only 6 months old. First pull on the dyno, and it starts spraying everywhere!!!!!!!

Now that's three pumps that leaked in my car in one day. We decided to give it one last try. We had the opportunity to swap a kit with the newly designed pump, identical to mine. Plugged it in and started tuning. This one didn't leak, but the pressure was much higher. That required more than just tweaking the fuel tables. All in all, I ended up spending a lot of money for a tune that I didn't get to go home with, and that has left me very upset.

This situation has definitely shaken my confidence in these kits. Granted that 2 of the kits we tried were of the old design, and that Scott said that he has never heard of a new pump fail out of the box, there's still a fragment of hope left that this next pump will work. However, I am not about to finance someone else's expensive experiment on pump longevity. I'm going to have a talk with SMC and it will take some real convincing on their part to have me give their pump another chance. If the talks don't go through well, expect to find a full trunk mount kit for sale shortly.

 

Sucks man, was waiting to here how the meth tune went, obviously not well. Best luck fighting with SMC, hope all works out in the end.

 

So I guess you didnt get anything else worked out after I left. These are the reasons why I'm more pro-nitrous than pro-meth, despite having no personal experience with either. At least the community came through again and helped you out.

 

Get a barrel of toluene and fill 'er up with that!

 

when was your pump ordered?

Milo, do this:

email SMC schlupsa31@mchsi.com, tell them how old/new your kit is, ask if they had EPDM rubber seals for that pump, if they did and still leaked, send it back to get a refund. If it did not, send it in for new seals, these will not swell out like sponges.

 

It is the newest design. It was built 2 weeks ago.

 

Yes they will. I've had 4 of the new design (bolt through pumps with new seals) and they all leaked within a few weeks. This last one has held up so far but I'm waiting for it to leak anytime now. Speaking of which my last tank didn't last that long so I need to check it again.

 

I am upset to hear of the misfortunes, if SMC has anything going for it is that Steve will replace no matter what. I have *knock on wood* had no problems with my latest pump, the newest one. I really think he needs to come up with a fully enclosed unit the new pump is just like the old with new seals, I think the unit should be completely sealed no screws what so ever.

 

Wow. All this talk of pump failures has me worried. I hope mine doesn't fail again.








oh wait. It just did

 

From all the pump failures mentioned above, I don't understand why anyone does Meth injection. Seems like all of you have been thru multiple pumps, and the ones that are currently working are just ticking time bombs.

How many pumps have each of you been thru so far?

 

I wouldn't run it as the only tune on my car. But to have it as a second tune to get instantaneous 100whp increase is quite nice. However, the hassles make it not worth it anymore.

 

3 pumps for me! Why do we run meth...easy...the reason is the ability to run considerably more boost and the power that results. As far as the pump failing, when I send it back to Steve SMC and he has it back to me the day after he gets it I am down about a little more than a week. I can deal with that for the power gains and the pumps have gotten better. I still think there is room for improvement.

EDIT:
Like Milo said with APV2 I can change to a non meth map...Which I still need to get. I better do so before my pump goes again.

 

I'm over the Meth I won't be running it again... to many problems...not enough gain

 

new seals doesn't mean jack, ask for EPDM seals, they cost more and that's why pump builder are not using them at the beginning. The pumps are originally designed to flow water and not alcohol, it's leaking and not failure.

However quality control is needed, including SMC, now if even the EPDM rubber sealed pumps are leaking, it is time to give up.

 

wow..thats sucks dude! sorry to hear