A Few Words On Turbocharging

Well, I'm no expert on turbocharging, but in November 1998 I did purchase my own Sunny turbo engine and boy did I learn a lot. I have read a good bit on the topic in both on the net and in the popular import car publications. I have a reasonable knowledge of the theories and the equipment involved in turbocharging a small 4 cylinder engine.

I would like to say first and foremost, turbocharging a naturally aspirated vehicle is not as simple as buying a kit or engine and bolting it up and driving. There is a lot more involved in this if you plan on having dependible transportation that will last longer than a few weeks.

Bolt on Mods:

First, the engine you want to turbocharge cannot have a high compression ratio. The traditional compression ratio for a four cylinder engine is 8.5 to 1. You can go a little higher with multi-point injection. Most non-turbo cars have 9 to 1 or higher compression ratios. You can get away with about 9 to 1 turboed but beyond that, and the boost you add with the turbocharger will cause pre-detonation and blow your engine. Also, the higher the compression ratio, the less boost you can pump into the engine.

So you'll be rebuilding the engine with custom low compression pistons to lower the compression ratio, and at the same time, you'll be strengthining the block to take the additional stress of the turbocharger.

Obviously the entire computer system in you car has to be changed over to the the system for the used engine. You will need to get the the ECU, the engine wiring harness, all of the engine sensors, all of the solenoids and actuators and additional electronics which control the turbo system. So ensure that a trained mechanic is with you when making the purchase.

Next up , the fuel system delivery will have to be upgraded. You'll need higher flow rate injectors, a higher pressure fuel pump and sub-pump, and a rising rate fuel pressure regulator. Without the additional fuel, the engine will run too lean under the boost of the turbo, and will detonate, and blow.

You have to convert the entire induction system, which includes intake manifold, exhaust manifold, air plenum, waste gate, intake piping, and intercooler.

Now we're done with the engine up grade or replacement, it's time to look at all of the other changes you have to make.

The clutch is the most obvious, the turbo needs a stronger clutch. You'll burn your stock one out in no time with the extra power . If it's a transmission, the stock tranny is not like the heavy duty tranny used on turbo models. You may be replacing cluster gears on an annual basis if you don't upgrade or change yours for a turbo model tranny.

The crown wheel and pinion gears and differential in your stock application are most likely not as durable as those in the turbo models. You'll pop a few diffs until you upgrade to the turbo parts.

The heat form the turbo can affect the engine's cooling, thus requiring you to upgrade radiator or fans. Also affected by the heat is the paint on you bonnet, please insulate the engine room.

Do not forget the cash outlay for gauges, turbo timer, etc.

So it becomes quite obvious that it is no small task to put a turbo onto a non-turbo car. I cannot imagine that installing the turbo and accompanying parts your car would cost less than $2000. Even though if you shop around in the scrap yards you could manage to get the parts to get you going for around $1500 including installation.

There is another option though. There are several US companies who make custom turbocharging kits that work on non-turbo import cars even those whose compression ratio is a little too high for the stock system changeover. This will involve lots of custom piping and some electronics that will be piggybacked onto your ECU and sensors to trick the computer into thinking that your car is operating within normal parameters. This still doesn't solve the drive train durability issues, but the end product will likely out perform the stock turbo counterpart and additional tuning for more power will be easier, because you are starting out with more flexible equipment which won't need to be upgraded from OEM to work with.

Duane Boodasingh http://www.trinituner.com

4wd
4 Dunlop
De 4wd
Dunlop Pro
4wd
4 Dunlop
4wd
Fender
4wd
4wd

Creative Automotive Pictures, Things To Consider - Part 1

Low cost digital camera, and high quality printing now coupled with some imagination can open the door for you to create unique pictures ranging from the family pets, to autos right to custom cards and wall posters that you have created. Custom printing was expensive, and mostly restricted to advertising companies. However now, you can go to your local office store and have them print out a high quality laser print for a few dollars. So now that you have all this capability available, what can you do with it? Well, how about start to create custom pictures for yourself. Software packages like Adobe Photoshop have many capabilities that allow you to customize your pictures, but the question often asked is well what should I do. The intent of this article is to give you many ideas to think about and experiment with to see what fits your personality and likes. We will focus on automobiles, although these ideas can be applied to family portraits, pictures of your loving pets, and even landscapes.

When you are taking a picture of a car, do not just think about what you see in the viewfinder, but think about the final composition. A few questions to consider are:

1.Will the car be a stand alone in the picture?

2.Will there be multiple images of the car merged together?

3.Will there be different elements of the car used?

4.Can the car be used as both a background element as well as a foreground element?

5.What unique features stand out? . and the list goes on.

Taking a digital picture does not cost you anything until you print it out, so I recommend that you take many pictures at different angles, and of all elements. Looking through the viewfinder gives you only one perspective of the final picture, but, using your mind will open the door to an unlimited world.

Things to consider when looking and photographing a car:

1.Is there a large surface such as a sloping trunk with a minimal amount of details? If so, this may make a great background where you could overlay a side view of the car on the trunk. To add to the personalized component, keep the license place in the picture so it ties the picture to the owner.

2.Are there any distinctive features such as a massive open grill as on many pre 1965 cars? This may also make a great background to overlay a side view of the car in the grill. Keeping any logos or license plate adds to the personalized impact.

3.Many of the older cars have trim pieces that are art in themselves. Take for example a 1958 Bel Air. The front fenders and sides have bullet like trim that would make a great border.

4.Do not just focus on the exterior of the car, think about the interior. How about those detailed and distinctive dash boards and large buss like steering wheels. These also make a great backgrounds. Imagine the car centered in the steering wheel where you get a glimpse of the gages. Or for that fantasy effect for a performance car, edit the speedometer to show a high speed, and slightly blur the car to represent the speed.

This is a brief list of things to consider, and after a while when you look at something your mind will run with the endless possibilities. Your biggest challenge will be to weed through those ideas and pick the best ones.

In part 2 of this series we will talk about taking these ideas and enhancing them even more through things such as making elements stand out by fading, blurring and defocusing portions of the composition.

For some examples of what is described here, refer to www.PalmieriConcepts.com in the Examples section. When you look at these examples, think how you can apply these to your own work.

Anthony Palmieri founded Palmieri Concepts, http://www.PalmieriConcepts.com after 20 years of creating custom art work for his own pleasure and enjoyment. This business grew out of a love for motor vehicles and was started to share with others what started out as a hobby. After taking how his own pride and joys (yes this really started with family pictures and not cars) and combining them with creativity, it became obvious that many others would like to showcase their trophies as he has done.

4 Pro
4wd
Fe 4wd
4wd
4wd
Metzler Fender
4 Dunlop
4wd Banks
4wd
Metzler Fender

Go Kart Frames - Choosing the Right One for You

Karting enthusiasts emblazon the image of the perfect chassis in their minds: lightweight, yet powerfully durable material capable of launching a kart forward without the slightest wear or tear. Rare material that comes with the likes of professionally built popular race-cars like the illustrious McLaren. What about karts that could rip through side turns at speeding bullet speeds without raising a wheel a centimeter above the ground, gliding swiftly like a falco such as the futuristic cars in I, Robot? And along with perfect frames comes perfect tires, tires grooven to perfection providing the finest traction and downright freakish controls when running the curve.

Lets discuss the intricacies and place a perspective on frames for your go-kart. The chassis as it is called in professional and enthusiast circles, is by far the most important piece of this machine. The construction is paramount in maintaining a solid go-kart. What constitutes a frame? Think of a frame simply as parts holding a component together. In the case of these speedsters, the frame is welded together by torsion bars. Stiff frames are a result of shorter bars crossed together, and more flexible frames are associated with longer bars.

Stiff frames that do not provide flexibility were the backbone of earlier go-karts and broke down easily. First off, simpler go-karts do not have the specifications needed (most important, suspension and tire traction) to ease the punishment frames go through while turning, accelerating, and stopping. Running on 2 or 4 cycle engines does not help compensate the health of a frame. A lack of traction on your tires will cause uneven weight transfer and stability on your frame, ripping one or both sides loose at the same time. In essence, the frame is responsible for determining how well your vehicle moves zipping on asphalt, concrete, or dirt dictating your performance on wide turns and shorter turns.

A sturdy, well-built frame is the key to manoeuvring well on the track, especially when turning. Wait, isnt a frame supposed to be resistant to the rigors and demands of punishing your go-kart as it explodes forward? Of course but the most important criteria for an excellent frame is to negotiate turns well. Frames are directly responsible for how well go-karts turn left and right. Weaker go-karts with cheap components are known to slide and drift along turns in some instances, flipping to its side entirely with careless driving. Side bite is referred to keeping a go-kart planted to the track without sliding. Without the proper frame, go-karts will manoeuvre out of control, even shutting off in some cases due to over pressure to the engine.

The design of the go-kart chassis has everything to do with how well it moves on turns and maintaining side bite. If the width of the rear rails (go-kart frames constitute front rails and rear rails) is narrow, with measurements ranging from 24 to 25 - from kingpin to kingpin, the ends of the rail it will have less side bite. Wider rails barely ever exceed 30 on standard go-karts. The dynamics of the front and rear rails can be effectively pictured using this example: suppose you had two bottles a two-gallon jug and a 16 oz. Water bottle. Giving it a swift, hard poke to its side which container has the best chance of tipping to its side? If you guessed the water bottle, you guessed right! Wider rails provide stability and foundation while turning, reducing the side bite overall.

Choosing the right frame for your go-kart can largely depend on the surface you are riding on. Whether it is asphalt, concrete, or dirt different types of frames behave differently according to surface. For example, dirt track frames should consist of a short front rail and a longer back rail. Dirt tracks place a lot of stress and challenge on the front rail and stiff back rails zipping through dirt can cut power to the engine while cutting a turn. The best frame for riding dirt tracks are ones with narrow fronts and longer backs, vice versa to asphalt and concrete.

The A-1 performance of a frame largely depends on tire traction as well. Low traction tires (tires that do not stick well to the ground) are not grooved enough to withstand the rigors of the surface, rattling the stiff frame to oblivion. It also causes uneven weight transfer throughout the go-kart, and that is a no-no for maintaining optimum control of your money maker. Consider this scenario: you have two pairs of roller skates. One has wheels half-an-inch in width and the other has 3-inch-wide wheels. Which pair would provide better balance as you roller skate? If you love mathematics, treat traction as a formula with the equation: traction = stability. Go ahead, transform yourself into a karting aficionado with this valuable piece of knowledge!

A major issue among karting enthusiasts is the durability and longevity of flexible frames. Exposure to punishing breaks and turns, along with the gruelling hits to track walls every now and then, can distort the frame which cannot be popped back to its original condition. Experts recommend replacing frames every year. There are many maintenance techniques you could practice on your kart to keep flexibility intact like running your kart through a course backwards. Racing a kart using the finish line as your starting point and your starting point as the finish line will have a reverse effect on the frame, shaping it opposite of what it would be shaped if you were racing the course normally. Its like turning back the hands of time on your speedster!

The question over choosing the right go-kart chassis boils down to flexibility. High traction tires and a stiff frame is a recipe for disaster, causing your machine to turn stiffly and generate strenuous effort on the curves. Low traction tires will cause uneven weight transfer and break apart your frame like bread crumbs. Options for frames mainly depend on what type of go-kart youre riding, as each go-kart and their engine work best under certain scenarios. Stiff frames are a staple of 2-cycle and 4-cycle engines and flexible frames are found with higher horsepower engines. Remember, the more rigorous the circuit, the more flexible a chassis should be!

Michael Walker is a freelance author providing information about a variety of go-kart topics including go kart kits, go kart frames and go kart parts. His articles prove to be both a useful and entertaining resource of valuable information for the karting enthusiast.

Jeep
Fender
Jeep
4 Pro
4wd
De 4wd
4wd Banks
Jeep
4wd
4wd