Build Thread My C I P (continuous Improvement Program) Thread

[TOOLOW91]

looks like i'm going to be throwing the spacer in. i like it to release in the middle-ish of travel or higher, i hate it being on the floor and having a whole bunch of "dead space" in the upper range like my coyote does.

i just took it on a quick spin to get some gas, when i left i had it adjusted almost to the floor, and while filling up i played with it some more and got it just below where i really feel "comfortable" with it. that put the adjuster pretty far out, just like my steeda fwa that only had about 2 threads worth of adjustment left before it came out. i'd rather have some more room for adjustment though, so i'm letting it cool down a bit then i'll put the spacer in assuming i can find the "widget" that i dropped on the floor last night (btw, i always thought "widget" was a made-up term for when you didnt know what to call a part, so seeing it in the mm instructions raised an eyebrow).

the good news is it shifts MUCH better now; 2nd will actually engage on the first try every time now (even quick-shifted it a couple times), and third actually feels like it's going all the way in. i'm going to put a few more miles on it (and swap my bfg's back on) before i try powershifting it.

Im glad its all sorted i got mine done last night. Used MM spacer. then a 3/4 washer i cut a slit in to pass the cable through . It goes in front of the FWA nut and sits perfect on the plastic bore that slides in the FWA . Mine is now 2-3 turns out no slack in the pedal and major room for adjustment as the clutch wears .

 

[Chuckman]

went to test and tune last night, only got 3 passes in 3 hours (people kept breaking stuff). ran 1.7x 60's and 12.8x's @106.5-107.5. trans held up fine, only power shifted 3rd and 4th on the last pass which was my worst 60' (1.738, i spun and so did at least the 3 guys in front of me in that lane, track prep was ) but best mph (107.26). best et was 12.869. only mechanical problem was the fuel supply line disconnected at the injector rail connector probably from all the engine movement and tugging on lines when i did my earlier repair, simple fix.

obviously, looking for more out of it still, was hoping for something closer to a 12.5. looking at going to a tfs stage2 cam and a bigger intake (either rpm2 or systemax, whichever i can find used), im sure the street-heat aint really helping me any.

also wondering if switching to an adjustable shock and/or a softer spring in the back would help, considering the car doesn't spin but leaves pretty flat.

and while i was swapping tires last night and had the scale out, snapped these:

added up, its an ~26# difference. really makes me want to put a set of skinnys on the front, im sure they only weigh about 15-20#'s vs the the 50(!) lb saleens.

 

[A5literMan]

Now I haven't been to the track yet but I can definetly feel my new suspension working compared to the eibach setup I had. I ran a 1.80's best with the old suspension and a nitrous hit.(Nittos 555r's). Only had a few 1.90's n/a. My old car ran 1.6's with M&H bias ply's. I agree with you that a suspension/front wheel and tire combo should get you to 12.5's. But I thought you might be there after the fuel line fix lol. Good luck!

 

[Chuckman]

picked this up yesterday:

its dirty, badly painted, looks like it needs a helicoil (yay) and looks like the runners have at least been smoothed a bit.

also ordered a tfs stage 2. i know there's some that will think i should go custom, but this is such a cookie cutter combo i don't think its worth the extra $100+.

next efi race is late in june (fun ford weekend too), hopefully i can actually get it all done this weekend (with my luck.....yeah right) and be able to go get it tuned soon (i know it will need it this time).

 

[Chuckman]

got some more parts in, work done, and a new camera to play with. figured i'd update while i'm taking a lunch break (craving some castle).

tfs stage 2, and all the gaskets (9333's this time, had 1011's on it last time)

intake stripped down

never have had intake gaskets come off this clean before

all 8 plugs looked like this, so far so good

taking the old tfs1 out

and where i stopped for now

so far everything has been going smooth, if it keeps up like that i should have it wrapped up tomorrow, and then driving on monday.

when i get back on it, i'll degree in the cam and check ptv (crossing fingers the dremel can stay put).

 

[A5literMan]

Plugs look good. Intake is going to look good. And if you didn't have to scrape the gaskets at all...you're living good lol. Curious to see what performance you pick up! Good luck!

 

[Chuckman]

figures that putting it back together i'd get weirdness. maybe i'm just tired and not doing this right, but degreeing it in dont make a lick of sense. made a thread in tech while i take a thinking break.

 

[Chuckman]

my setup for degreeing the cam (a bit finicky, but it works)

checking ptv clearance

the thinnest section here is .110"+, didnt bother measuring the exhast, it barely touched the clay

starting to look like something usable again.

been trying to find hardware locally for the upper-to-lower intake instead of the mish-mash that the guy i bought it from had, but it seems no-one stocks 4 3/4" or 6" long 5/16-18 bolts around here. guess i'll just have to use the ugly stuff i got and order some good stuff to swap later.

 

[Chuckman]

yesterdays and todays progress:

swapped fuel stuff and sensors to the new lower:

painted the upper

the rpm2 vs the tfs street, you can clearly see how much shorter the runners are on the rpm2, should translate to shifting the power band up higher (need it with the 4.10's)

and where i just left it just now since i gotta be up and moving by 4am. manufacturing hours suck for morning people, but getting out at 2:30 sure is nice except when you gotta spend an hour driving around to find all the fittings to make a vacuum system work. all thats left to do is double check that the rotor is lined up right, hook up the battery, and see if she starts.

once it starts and gets running again, i gotta fix the dash lights (the lrs dimmer switch is junk, all the contacts dont actually make contact), and find out why the rear tire scrubs all of a sudden making a hard right turn (the radials dont do this, i think it's the exhaust though, i really need a new catback but don't want to put the money towards it yet.

 

[A5literMan]

Really like that engine bay. Very nice looking. Also very cool pic(the last intake comparison). Really shows the runner length differences. Ultimately what numbers do you think it will run now? I would think you should pick up .2-.5 in et. (12.3-12.5 and 2-3 mph)

 

[Chuckman]

thats about what i'm thinking will probably happen, though i've heard of people running 11's (deep 11's) with this engine combo, but that's probably in an almost gutted car with a full drag suspension. theres a "50 fastest stock shortblock" list over on the other site that i would love to at least get close to, gonna take some work though.

there is a dyno day saturday, if the weather stays good and if i can get a good mechanical tune, i'm hoping to break the 325rwhp barrier, then talk to bobcat (one of the most respected mustang tuners/wrenchers around here) and see if he can throw some tuning magic at it.

 

[Chuckman]

let's see if youtube can kick my ass.....


actually started on the first turn of the key. idled right at 800+/-50 rpm without touching the idle adjustment.

took it for a drive, and its much more responsive. also doesnt buck at low rpms nearly as hard as the old setup. and it wants to run like a raped ape.

one problem i did run into though (and i ran into it a few weeks ago at the track too, and thought i fixed it): seems something funky is going on with the ignition at higher rpms. depending on the load (most noticeable full throttle in 2nd gear) the digital tach will read 3500-4000rpm while the stock cluster says about 6-7k, and will slowly "catch up". also sounds (and feels) like the ignition is breaking up when this happenst. the stock tach does read ~1000+ rpm high on the big side of the scale, but this "lag" didnt happen when i started the season.

got some googling to do.

 

[A5literMan]

Sounds very nice! As far as ignition goes.. Is it stock?

 

[Chuckman]

Msd coil, and i think the distributor is the rebuilt one (i have the original somewhere as a backup). Also has msd cap/rotor, and taylor wires, but otherwise stock.

 

[Chuckman]

so the fuel pressure drops at full throttle. its set at about 41 with the vac off at idle, with vac on its around 37? (cant remember, and i just looked at it 10 minutes ago :banghead: ), and at WOT it'll rise up to 41 again for a second before dropping down to low 30's. holds pressure after shutdown. either my line repair a couple pages back is too restrictive, or the 190lph walbro isnt keeping up anymore. could also be my kirban regulator failing. the needle on the gauge "vibrates" +/- 1psi constantly, vac on or off, may just be a crappy gauge (cheapo summit one).

 

[Chuckman]

So i finally made it back to the track last night, and I have mixed results.

new personal best (barely ) of [email protected] previous best was 12.85@107

Air was nasty, 2300ft da. Previous best was in about 200ft da, the calculators say my corrected et would be around a 12.5, dunno how accurate those are.

Track prep was,putting it mildly, crap. Spun bad every pass, which oddly i take as a somewhat positive sign considering that before it was bogging off the line.

Guy from the local board (and the efi class) got video of my best pass that im waiting to see uploaded, if he does I'll post the link.

Next step is to work on the suspension some, at least get some adjustable shocks/struts in, maybe some different springs, possibly go coil overs in the front (since i want to put a tubular k in eventually, and it would suck to buy springs just to take them out relatively quickly ). Still researching options.

 

[A5literMan]

So i finally made it back to the track last night, and I have mixed results.

new personal best (barely ) of [email protected] previous best was 12.85@107

Air was nasty, 2300ft da. Previous best was in about 200ft da, the calculators say my corrected et would be around a 12.5, dunno how accurate those are.

Track prep was,putting it mildly, crap. Spun bad every pass, which oddly i take as a somewhat positive sign considering that before it was bogging off the line.

Guy from the local board (and the efi class) got video of my best pass that im waiting to see uploaded, if he does I'll post the link.

Next step is to work on the suspension some, at least get some adjustable shocks/struts in, maybe some different springs, possibly go coil overs in the front (since i want to put a tubular k in eventually, and it would suck to buy springs just to take them out relatively quickly ). Still researching options.

I'm really happy with the Strange adj w/MM Coilovers fwiw. I noticed a big difference and haven't even "loosened" them up yet(haven't gone to track yet). Rides better on street and I still feel them "working". I definitely recommend them.

 

[Chuckman]

Im thinking strange struts and c/o's with 14-150 springs in the front, strange shocks and moroso or teamz springs in the back. Means I'll also have to get cc plates too. More money i don't want to spend.

 

[A5literMan]

That's exactly what I'm running. I just need some tires(and more power)

 

[Chuckman]

I'm really happy with the Strange adj w/MM Coilovers fwiw. I noticed a big difference and haven't even "loosened" them up yet(haven't gone to track yet). Rides better on street and I still feel them "working". I definitely recommend them.

what size wheels are you running on the front? my saleen reps are 17x9 and i'm worried about them rubbing on the longer c/o's. dont really want to have to run a skinny all the time, and i dont know if i have room for a spacer.