Engine Rebuild Xmas list - pls comment

Discuss topics related to the CA18DE and CA18DET series engines.
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mdb4879
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The rod bolts are the weak point in these motors as far as revs go. Seeing as you've replaced them with ARP's, and I doubt you have to worry about valve float with those valve springs and stock springs have never given me an issue at 8k. I would take it to a dyno once you get done street tuning it and wind it out until it stops making horsepower. Then set the limiter a couple hundred rpm past peak power and you shouldn't have to worry.

Also, some dyno time would probably perfect your tune. The street is probably the best place to set your AFR's and tune partial throttle, but you can't see where MBT is unless you're on the dyno. Good luck, it looks like it's coming along quite nicely.


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Cams
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This past weekend we a had a local exhibition event with 4 Formula Drift drivers/cars and we had a lot of fun. Joon Maeng with his 240sx 1200hp LS supercharged V8, Corey Hosford with a 350z LS V8, Jeremy Lowe with his FC RX7 and Chelsea Denofa with his GTX28 KA24 weekend warrior Silvia.

Since my local S-Chassis club was invited to exhibit our cars, we were able to hang out with the drivers and their cars a lot more than the average crowd. Joon Maeng had a go at some drifting in my car with me as passenger, and even tho my E-Brake cable overstretched on his 1st hard pull of the lever, the car had no other issues after all hard clutch kicking and high revving he did; so he certified my car as drift ready. :)

My wife was fortunate enough to get a ride along as passenger on his 1200hp beast. The pilots were all great with the crowd, as they are all friendly and goofy at the same, true to the nature of the sport. Worthy experience all around.

Thank god I have no idea how to do burn outs, since a couple of our local cars left the event with blown transmissions. Live and learn I guess. :slap:

I might post pics/videos later.

P.S.: Joon left us his contact, as he commented he will be selling the 240sx in case any one is interested. :bowrofl:

http://ink361.com/app/users/ig-30901423 ... ord/photos

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Cams
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Joon Maeng Drifting my car. :biggrin:

http://instagram.com/p/05LcVdS8Kl/

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Cams
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Fixed my Parking Brake Cable with some Wire Rope Clips. I hope it holds.

Image200sx parking cable repair by CamsX200, on Flickr


I'm still having a hard time controlling the injectors changeover from Sequential to Batch fire on Boost transition. Injection time in sequential mode keeps increasing which pushes AFRs to 11-10.5~ in areas were it is supposed to be around 13-12.5~, until it switches to Batch fire and AFRs allign perfectly with the Fuel Map from there on. The injection changeover should be around 3800rpm, right?, but I'm not sure if it is also LOAD dependent or if perhaps Injector Latency is still too high. I see it happen all over the place, from 3400rpm up to 4500rpm. Any ideas?

Current map:
ImageNistune 014 by CamsX200, on Flickr

2nd gear pull:
ImageNistune Rich AFR 8.06ms Injection by CamsX200, on Flickr
ImageNistune Correct AFR 6.88ms Injection by CamsX200, on Flickr

4th gear pull:
ImageNistune Rich AFR 8.73ms Injection by CamsX200, on Flickr
ImageNistune Correct AFR 6.98ms Injection by CamsX200, on Flickr

Another 4th gear pull:
ImageNistune Rich AFR 5.61ms Injection by CamsX200, on Flickr
ImageNistune Correct AFR 7.01ms Injection by CamsX200, on Flickr

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float_6969
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I had a parking brake cable like that for years, you'll be fine. I'm no help with Nistune though.

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sjbsuperman1425
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CAMS, to me, it looks you are watching the Fuel Map in "AFR Mode" instead of RAW values correct? Have you logged any runs with your wideband attached?

I'm not sure if I am correct, but NIStune "AFR Values" are not real-time read values. You should be using a wideband in this situation to see your exact AFR's at a certain point in the RPM range. Does the car run funny or hesitate or do strange things? I'm just assuming things at this point because you see it happening and you didn't run a log against your wideband. My bet is, if you do pulls with your wideband in the logging run, you will see the batch change over in the correct RPM range.

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All the images shown represent logs with live Wideband feedback connected to the computer through Serial/USB port and recorded via Nistune data logging options. Lambda and LAFR data is only captured if properly recognized by Nistune.

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sjbsuperman1425
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I'm assuming the car is running fine? If you look at the Fuel Mixture Table, you have it set to show "Estimated AFR". That view is not the AFR that the ECU is trying to run at, it's just an estimate. I read on the nistune forums somewhere to NOT use the estimated AFR to tune and to just use your wideband.

KEEP IN MIND I HAVE NO TUNING EXPERIENCE AT ALL! USE MY ADVICE IF YOU WANT BUT I AM NOT RESPONISBLE! :)

If I were you, I'd switch the Fuel Mixture Coefficient map to show RAW Values, do a 3rd or 4th gear pull while running the logger, and adjust the fuel map table RAW Values in the area of concern based on your results, then do another run with the logger after making your adjustments. I believe you have to turn off O2 sensing as well while adjusting the fuel table, but I can't remember. haven't read the manual in awhile.

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Yes, it is running fine. All your statements are true, theoretically, but in practice it varies way more than I would like. You'll see pretty soon once you are ready to give it a go in your setup. Spring right?

Raw value editing helped me model the maps smoothly, without actually being inside the car. But logging runs and comparing all values against the map estimates is what allowed me to make corrections without having to visit a Dyno on every change.

I'm still not trying to get power, as I know this can only be done by getting true MBT readings, so for now I'm only focused on driveability.

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Guys, my engine has developed a knock that we have deemed as Rod Knock. I know, bad tune. :(

It is not as pronounced but becomes more evident at around 3000rpms. Car drives fine, but I haven't boosted it since it started today. Bad part is I was very far from home, so maybe I drove it around 100kms afterwards. :nono:

Issue started at a free dyno day a new shop was doing on their opening day, and the car was driven up to 8000rpms. No oil pressure drops, nor weird AFRs. (registered 196whp) Oh well, maybe bad luck.

Already purchased a new set of Clevite Rod and Main Bearings and I'm about to purchase a new oil pump. My mechanic is telling me that it is very likely that I would need to buy a new Crankshaft, but should I hold until the engine is out and confirm it has gone bad? What about Rods? Original Rods and Crankshafts were used in last year rebuild.

Any other suggestions?

Cheers!

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float_6969
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Not likely to need new rods. On my engine anyway, I've never had off the shelf bearings give me oil clearances that I liked. They were all over the place and really loose. This causes low oil pressure problems. Once again, just something I've found.

The mechanic is right in that you need to wait until you've got it apart to do anything with the crankshaft, but I highly doubt you'll need a new crank. They can simply grind the crankshaft down and fit oversized bearings. This has the benefit of the machine shop having much greater control over the oil clearances.

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Hi float, thanks for you reply. This time is the other way around. My mechanic is not comfortable installing oversized bearings and crankshaft. He says he has bad previous experiences because the local shops dont have the technology and accuracy to do this properly.

Thats why he wants me to order a new standard sized crankshaft. The question would be, do you think the crank will still need to be resized after some light rod knock?

Dee, do you have good condition, standard sized crankshaft laying around that you could sell me?

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float_6969
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The rod knock should have no effect on the rods unless the bearing shell spun inside the rod end, which I highly doubt. It's possible, but unlikely.

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Cams
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I'm getting ready to disassembling the engine next week, and I want to be prepared for the worse case scenario, which could mean buying a new Crankshaft and a set of new rods. Still haven't purchased any of these 2 parts.

In the case my rods are bent or whatnot, what do you guys think is the best course of action? New OEM rods for $320~, New K1 rods for $385~ or all out Pauter rods for $850+?

Already received new Clevite rod and main bearings, Felpro gasket to replace the leaky Cometic one, and brand new OEM Nissan Oil pump. Also waiting for Yuri to finish my custom UK spec'd Wiring Specialties harness to get rid of the worn OEM one.

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float_6969
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I have K1 rods in the Mazdaspeed Protégé and would recommend them if you have to buy rods, but I REALLY doubt you'll need rods.

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Cams
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Confirmed. Spun bearing on Rod #4. :(

New crankshaft order placed. Oh well. :poke:

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float_6969
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Did you do multiple pulls on the dyno, or just one? Do you have an oil temperature gauge? If it was a tuning issue, there likely would have been damage to the other rods as well, even if they didn't spin. TBH, this sounds like a bearing clearance issue to me, but I'm not looking at it, so it's hard to say.

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Thanks for replying. We did 2 dyno runs that day, 1 in 3rd and 1 in 4th gear, just to measure hp. We have disassembled the engine and took rod #4 (and #1 for comparison) to the machine shop and both rods are in prime condition (using ARP screws @ 45ft.lb) after the tests.

I think you are correct on the clearance issue, but low level and degraded oil (after several rich conditions while tuning) also contributed to the failure. Original Crankshaft was polished during the previous rebuild and it may have fallen short of standard specs during this. That is why my mechanic doesn't like working with oversized bearings.

Lessons learned. :)


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