C2's Alero Updates

[[ion] C2]

Throttle body's back, now in 62mm. Unfortunately the adapter plate I made is only 58mm because I had originally planned to use the LS1 throttle body, so the bore was plenty for the stock throttle body.

I'm going to work on separating the adapter from the manifold (I used The Right Stuff, which is exceptionally good at sealing, and... holding parts together.) and cleaning up all the gasket maker residue tomorrow, and hopefully get it bored to 63mm or so this week and reinstalled and the tune slightly adjusted.

[[ion] C2]

OK, so The Right Stuff is practically impossible to remove if you use it as the sole gasket material between two surfaces. It's impervious to 450F and most solvents.

Then it hit me to do some quick math to see if the 58mm bore is actually large enough, since the 9.8mm diameter rod that holds the throttle plate takes up some cross sectional area as well.

62mm throttle body effective area 24.14 sq cm
58mm adapter area 26.42 sq cm

However, a 2.5" charge pipe still has an ID that makes its area 28.46 sq cm, so a 62mm throttle body is 4.32 sq cm away from actually being no restriction relative to charge pipe size.

It would have to be a 67mm to match the charge piping ID. Oops.



I don't think it makes a huuuuuge deal on a turbo engine.

[SIUlero]

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Then it hit me to do some quick math to see if the 58mm bore is actually large enough, since the 9.8mm diameter rod that holds the throttle plate takes up some cross sectional area as well.

62mm throttle body effective area 24.14 sq cm
58mm adapter area 26.42 sq cm

Wouldn't it still be a good idea to match the bore, at least with a chamfer in the adapter plate? Sure, total cross-section is fine, and their individual flow rates will be similar, but it seems like that lip would cause some turbulence.

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by SIUlero

Wouldn't it still be a good idea to match the bore, at least with a chamfer in the adapter plate? Sure, total cross-section is fine, and their individual flow rates will be similar, but it seems like that lip would cause some turbulence.

Great point. I'll do it when the next engine is built and I have another reason to take everything apart again.

[[ion] C2]

Stage 6 and 7 are overlapping, so.. it's taking forever. Maybe by next month or so I can drive the car again, assuming it survives the 600 whp dyno run, lol. It's kinda pushing the limit on the Wiseco/Eagle rods.

I'll have a GT3076R with 0.63 A/R TiAL turbine housing for sale soon though. And some ID1050X fuel injectors. But those will likely sell on eBay.

[AleroB888]

Great stuff ! Glad to see you took it to the next level, if not to the limit...

[[ion] C2]

Welp, the water pump job apparently didn't seal well, because it leaks. The shop removed the turbo manifold and identified the sources of all oil and coolant leaks, and will be correcting them. The oil drain flange is one with a machined o-ring groove in it, so it shouldn't leak, and the fitting that's on my oil pan has a weld porosity issue, so they'll fix that.

Perhaps, for once in the last 11 years, my car won't drip oil or coolant. We shall see.

The turbo manifold exhaust flange gasket was deteriorating already because the ahoe that made the manifold stripped a stud and didn't want to helicoil the hole, so it wasn't clamped down well in that area. People underestimate the amount of pressure in an exhaust, especially pre-turbo. Things need to seal.

Looks like we're actually flipping the manifold upside down and going top-mount turbo again, and redoing some of the charge piping to be better. Hey, it's just money.

Ah well, in a month or two, hopefully it will be running and good to go for a while. And with a whp starting with a 6.

[That01Olds]

All I heard was WHP starting with a 6 and...

[[ion] C2]

Alright, I'm going to sell the Forgelines and go to Volk TE37 wheels.... probably. They look good both in the current car layout and in the red mockup I made.

Can't go wrong with 6 spokes, or the mainstream wheels. It's why I put Enkei RPF1 wheels on my Subaru. Always works, any car.

[That01Olds]

They do look good! It's funny you mention that about the RPF1's though lol. I wanna put a set of those on my VW. Wrapped in some nice 18 inch Conti's.

[homegrown]

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Alright, I'm going to sell the Forgelines and go to Volk TE37 wheels.... probably. They look good both in the current car layout and in the red mockup I made.

Can't go wrong with 6 spokes, or the mainstream wheels. It's why I put Enkei RPF1 wheels on my Subaru. Always works, any car.

Can I interest you in a nice set of Indigo Blue Advan RZ-IIs in 17x8"?

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by homegrown

Can I interest you in a nice set of Indigo Blue Advan RZ-IIs in 17x8"?

Negatory - I am unfortunately very picky on wheels. Fewer spokes the better, especially for cleaning.

[[ion] C2]

Wheels came in, powder coat came in (that I hope will come out the way I expect it to).

Unfortunately upon looking at the wheels, they are clear coated. I ordered machined aluminum in the expectation I would get raw wheels ready for powder coat. So that has to be removed first. Manufacturer says it's just paint clear, not powder clear.

Dropped wheels off at a metal cleaning shop, but I'm fearful that the process will remove the super shiny finish, thus requiring me to take them to a polishing company......

So frustrating. Added time and money over and over all because no one sells the wheels in the finish and size I wanted. As soon as these are done, I can get them on the car and get the Forgelines OFF so I can clean and take better pictures and have a better chance of selling them.

$5300 set of wheels for $2000 seems like a good deal, but no one's bitten so far. https://www.ebay.com/itm/264786272350

[[ion] C2]

Just waiting on fabrication to finish the turbo manifold/downpipe/exhaust, and fuel system installation. Then it's tidying up wiring and doing a full tune on the standalone.

Slowwwwwwwwww.

[[ion] C2]

Holy crap there's actually an update!

Fabricator finally shared some pictures of what he's been up to, and the car should be back to the tuner tomorrow so they can finish up the new fueling installation and get it ready for tuning the standalone.

3.5" all the way with only a vibrant resonator to tame the sound. We'll see how it sounds soon... should hear the turbo quite well and sound more aggressive.

Charge piping has been routed a unique way that I haven't seen on this engine before. I like it.

[sleepyalero]

Looks good chris

[NoSweat83]

Car is looking good buddy! Glad to see your still messing with it

[[ion] C2]

Everything's coated. All that's left is reinstalling parts, plumbing the oil lines/fuel lines, and a teeny bit of wiring.

Hopefully will be running and getting tuned next week. Probably going to limit it to 550whp just to be safe. I don't trust these Eagle rods and regular Wiseco wrist pins. We'll hit 750whp+ on the next engine.





Hey it's my old exhaust

[[ion] C2]

Well, noticed the water pump housing still leaks, so they're removing and reinstalling it with new gaskets and sealant this time probably. My car loves to leak everything.

However, they are also going to take off the oil pan and redo the oil drain fitting that has leaked since 2009. Finally! I might have a car that doesn't leak oil or coolant. It would be very unusual.

Hopefully it will be done soon... I'm not very patient and it's been out of my hands for almost 8 months now. There's not much to do.

[homegrown]

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Hopefully it will be done soon... I'm not very patient and it's been out of my hands for almost 8 months now. There's not much to do.

I feel your pain - my car been under the knife for well over 2 years now. It has certainly tested my patience. But getting angry about it accomplishes nothing.
Your car looks great, though. Very impressive on the work you've done.