T. Turbo is back

[Brigsy]

Mot passed.

12 miles last year, embarassing

Done a few miles on way to mot station to rinse the old fuel. Stuck some fresh fuel in and took the long way back home giving it a couple of decent pulls. I can officially say the high rpm gearchange problem it had is fully resolved and you can bang it up a gear at 7500+rpm no problem.

Absolutely stoked that the gearchange issues have gone and new clutch feels great.

As its been off the road for ages i played sensible and kept it on wastegate pressure 8psi 276hp/240ft/lb. Just feels like a fast linear low boost conversion at that.

Checking out datalogs on return home ive managed to replicate its fuelling pulsation issues and its a bit lean up top so no more sends. Ill look at fitting the fuel damper and possibly the aem 400lph pump i have in stock. Then book into efi for mapping.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Sorry, but I’m going to say it. You may already have said it was on the list of jobs earlier on and I can’t remember but I would love you to upgrade that steering wheel. Really need it with this and then that cabin is spot on also.

Bloody love this Clio, your work, and sharing it. Legendary

Cheers mate! I might change the steering wheel at some point in the future as oem is a bit on the large side.

 

[Brigsy]

Updates.

Taxed today as 1st of the month. F me the tax is expensive on these compared to megane!

Weather outstanding today so took it out. First stop was to my mates garage for alignment as was a mile out due to new steering rack.

On geo lift.

Set toe to usual ten mins of toe out overall. Camber still set at -2.5. Steering feels great now with dci rack, no play or nothing. Turn in is mega especially with the gripper lsd.

Steering wheel straight again. Meta view pic.

44 miles done this year. Almost 3x last years mileage.

Overall its running great but as usual bit of snagging to do.

Front tunnel exhaust heat shield is rattling on the exhaust a bit.

Adjust throttle map. The ttv twin plate clutch is snappy, and throttle is super responsive so its hard to pull away without whiplash.

Great to get it back out.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Updates.

Spare couple of hours yesterday so made a start on the snag list. Yesterdays job was adjust tunnel heatshield, cutting it down at the front and wrap downpipe to stop resonation on overrun. The long and short of it, is the exhaust is a 3" system (custom made by btm/Yozza back in the day) which runs over the top of the subframe and it runs too close to the oem heatshielding causing rattling when engine is turned off etc. Ive adjusted it several times over the years but it always moves to its happy rattly place. I cant really bin it off as the heatshield protects the gear cables and plastic meg gear selector which are also tightly fitted in the tunnel.

In prep for this i bought some new style 3" heat wrap which is a flexible weaved sleeve that slips over the exhaust, basically a continuous 1mtr length of expandable exhaust wrap. With access being horrendous with 3" exhaust going over the top of the subframe this seemed like a good option, undo vband clamp and slide it on, clip in place and enjoy the finished job.

In reality it was 2 hours of this

Thats 2 hours of my life i wont get back doing that. Pull wrap along pipe 6mm or so, it goes tight, move next bit and so forth. Jubilee clips both ends to keep in place. Itching off heat wrap. Cut 100mm off the engine bay end of the tunnel heatshield and its all good now.

Only got one pic of it. Exhaust looks tiny in this pic for some reason but i assure you its an access nightmare. Access is no go from top, and hard from underneath, really need to drop subframe to get in.

Also cured an exhaust blow from the vband clamp using a trick slip in gasket that goes between the join. Vbands are great for conveinence but can be a pain in the arse to seal. The self locating vbands are fine but this has the old style ones that you have to line up and then get clamp on which is a 3 handed job. Slightly out of line and prob not helped with slight warping from welding initially, you get the putt, putt on idle. It was not bad but could hear it.

75mm stainless vband gasket.

The gaskets are great, slip in and tighten up. Ive fitted them both top and bottom, i suspect both flanges have a slight warp which was making the issue worse. No blowing now and sounds much better.

With that done i took it for another blast out. Not sure if i have just got used to the twin plate clutch or its bedded in a bit but can pull away better without whiplashing me or the mrs. Hill starts are still interesting though!

A few pics from out and about.

Fluid checks after use, all good.

85 miles done this year up to now. Overall its running well and id say its pretty much ready to go back to Efi for a high boost map.

Currently discussing which ecu software update i should install. My Ecumaster Black is on old 2.138 firmware approx 4 year old and its come a long way since then with v3. Its not a straightforward update and go as some tables need recalibrating so ill prob get somebody to remote in to set this up if needs be.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

With snagging done after clutch swap, i have started looking at the fuel system issues.

To recap - had this tuned June 2022 and had issues with the fuel system going lean due to fuel pulsation/resonance around 6200rpm for a split second on wastegate pressure, lean enough to misfire. This was impossible to tune out on the dyno, Chris done loads of runs and was noted that even though it got better with higher boost pressure, it was not right. We ran out of time so had to take it away with 350hp and a safe ish map being careful at higher rpm.

I was gutted as i was expecting to max out the turbo and see good figures but it was not to be. I done a load of research on the matter including watching injector dynamics webinars and there appears to be a lot of suggestions why it happens and how to rectify.

The issue - fuel system is ptfe braided pipe with no give and large injectors causing an injector hammer effect, causing untuneable areas of the fuel map. (Quite common on some oem by all accounts.

I actually found the issue hard to replicate on the street with old clutch and fly and afr was mostly ok but it seems more prominent on new lighter fly setup for whatever reason as found on a quick datalog.

4x solutions below that apparently will work towards making it right.

1. Fuel pulse damper. Oem run them i.e. subaru and the like for similar issues. This might work but might not.

2. Fit larger fuel pump. Ive read that sticking a larger pump on can sort this out by essentially overpumping it. Just got to be careful of fuel heating causing other issues with the tune.

3. Fit a section of rubber hose in the fuel system to effectively damp the pulses.

4. Fuel regulator reference pipe length. The length and location can make a difference but reluctant to start drilling my Nortech inlet to test.

With this in mind i bought a radium pulse damper, but was advised might not do what i want.

I have also got a Aem 400lph pump to replace the bosch 044 which is 300lph iirc.

Im unsure what the best solution is but im heading towards fitting the 400lph pump. Overpump it and see what happens. Maybe chuck the pulse damper on for belt and braces.

If all else fails ill pull a section of the fuel hose off the end of the reg and go rubber to change the frequencies whilst at the dyno. I dont really want to do this as modern rubber hose seems to last 5 mins before deteriorating.

Any experiences/thoughts welcome.

Anyway with that in mind i offered up the pulse damper. Space is tight pre fuel rail, if i bin the catch tank for another area its doable.

Pump is a direct replacement.

Decisions decisions.

 

[Matt Cup]

Why don’t you try the rubber hose first then work from there?

 

[Brigsy]

It has been suggested to run a mtr length if rubber hose coiled up in engine bay for testing.

Id prefer not to use rubber hose due to the quality available these days which seems to crack after 6 months. Id need nylon or stainless braided and its impossible to monitor condition under the braid. Dont want any future issues with it. This engine bay is hot in summer.

 

[NorthloopCup]

You can get rubber hose that uses the push fit AN fittings mate. Speedflow and Earls both do the hose and it’ll withstand plenty of pressure.

I’ve used both successfully without issue. But, -6 is horrific to push the hose tail in. -8 is easier, but still tight and -10 is an absolute doddle lol!

 

[Yarp]

I’d be tempted for the plan of fitting a length of rubber hose.

I used this for the return on the Clio when I needed to add one. It’s been on there for 4 years and somewhere around 5 to 6k and lasted fine. Still looks and feels spot on with plenty of flex.

RUBBER REINFORCED FUEL HOSE - ENGINE UNLEADED PETROL, DIESEL, OIL LINE FUEL PIPE | eBay UK

Application: Fuel hose. Suitable for Unleaded Petrol, Leaded Petrol and Diesel Fuels. Also for Oils. For conveyancing of leaded or unleaded fuel. High resistance to weather, heat and fuel. NITRILE RUBBER FUEL HOSE -SAE J30 R6.

ebay.us

 

[Brigsy]

You can get rubber hose that uses the push fit AN fittings mate. Speedflow and Earls both do the hose and it’ll withstand plenty of pressure.

I’ve used both successfully without issue. But, -6 is horrific to push the hose tail in. -8 is easier, but still tight and -10 is an absolute doddle lol!

Aye ive used earls -6an braided rubber hose before and agree its a b*****d to fit in the fittings. Pressure not a problem as its high pressure hose, Ill have a think about it as problem with it, is you cant monitor condition under the braid and ive seen a few fails due to it. Hoses deteriorating within a year.

I’d be tempted for the plan of fitting a length of rubber hose.

I used this for the return on the Clio when I needed to add one. It’s been on there for 4 years and somewhere around 5 to 6k and lasted fine. Still looks and feels spot on with plenty of flex.

RUBBER REINFORCED FUEL HOSE - ENGINE UNLEADED PETROL, DIESEL, OIL LINE FUEL PIPE | eBay UK

Application: Fuel hose. Suitable for Unleaded Petrol, Leaded Petrol and Diesel Fuels. Also for Oils. For conveyancing of leaded or unleaded fuel. High resistance to weather, heat and fuel. NITRILE RUBBER FUEL HOSE -SAE J30 R6.

ebay.us

Keep an eye on that mate, ive replaced some naughty high pressure fuel hose over the years. Gates barricade is about the best off the shelf and appears to last well. I dont think it will fit an fittings though and i dont want it to look pikey as rest is braided.

 

[Brigsy]

Thinking about it , wont be expensive to bosh a bit in for trial and error i guess. Only issue is it needs serious high speed 4th or 5th gear pull to do it, so ill need to run it to mexico i guess

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

Could you add a loop in the system somewhere or even an extra inline filter to dampen the vibration/pulse.

 

[Brigsy]

Could you add a loop in the system somewhere or even an extra inline filter to dampen the vibration/pulse.

I might just stick this pulse damper in as i have it, it should be easy to add in and can be removed if no good. A lot of tuners swear by them including the hp tuners lot and say it cures it, but when talking to Chris he said they are s**t

Im trying to avoid any rubber that might go into the car on the main pump side, as rubber gives off horrendous fuel fumes in car. It had a bit of rubber bodged into the lift pump/low pressure side when i got it and the fumes were horrendous.

 

[Brigsy]

Updates.

Decided to fit the aem 400lph pump today as had it stock and easy enough to change.

Aem 400lph straight swap for 044.

Ran both pumps to refill the swirl pot as had to drain it into a container. Noted the aem pump sounded much quieter than the old bosch 044.

Started it up and ran up to temp, noted the injectors did not sound as noisy with engine running in the garage, they used to sound horriffic before with bonnet open like a worn lifter. It appeared to idle slightly smoother than usual even though its really good considering the cam choices are pretty wild. I checked fuel pressure out of interest on tunerview via bluetooth and no real increase as expected.

Checked the datalogs against an old one, ive been looking at the delta fuel pressure which is the raw, unfiltered data that shows every peak and trough instead of smoothed data. With the 044 pump, fuel pressure looked a bit choppy but not bad, and noted fuel pressure dropped a little in places but again not crazy.

Idle data with 044 pump, choppy.

The data with the aem pump on is another story..fuel pressure looks rock solid on the raw data.

Idle data with aem400lph.

This might or could be the solution to the issues. I know idle data is not much to go by, but with the quieter injectors and smoother data, i assume the fuel system is much happier with less "injector hammer" in the fuel rail.

Some testing in mexico required👀

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

That could be it mate.

044's can be loud.

 

[Stefan.]

I bet this is absolutely nuts

Is this a keeper?

 

[SharpyClio]

I bet this is absolutely nuts

Is this a keeper?

I’m not sure he’s ever sold a Renault 😂

 

[Brigsy]

That could be it mate.

044's can be loud.

Fingers crossed mate. The quieter pump is an absolute win. Need to datalog on street as dont want to return to Chris with same issue.

I bet this is absolutely nuts

Is this a keeper?

Cheers mate! Its a keeper unless somebody comes along with around 20k. Id never advertise it for sale as i cant be arsed with the hassle.

I’m not sure he’s ever sold a Renault 😂

Ive sold a few, but just end up buying more

 

[Brigsy]

Been looking into tyres too as current r888r are in great nick visually but 9 years old. My mate has got a set of sexy Nankang CRS in stock in 205/50/15 for me. Just need to check the sidewall profile is no wider than current r888r before purchase.

 

[Mr Underhill]

I’m not sure he’s ever sold a Renault 😂

I’ve heard he’s opening up a museum.

 

[Brigsy]

Updates.

New 205 50 15 Nankang crs fitted yesterday. The profile is slightly wider than the old 205 r888r but fits without issue on et43 speedlines.

Nankang crs look sexy

Sidewall feels stiffer and turn in even more precise. There is less tyre noise than the old r888r too.

I also give it a couple of quick pulls (in mexico obvs) and the fuelling is richer on boost by around half a point and its not going horribly lean anymore at the top. Fuel pressure is not wondering all over the place but unsure if the issue is fixed enough to tune, as thinking about it as its been a few years, Chris was concerned about the peak needed in the ve map around 6500, not sure if its due to inlet design etc though. I have a couple of ideas on what i can do to furthur confirm if its fuel system related or not.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Updates.

Noticed n/s rear brake pad had worn on the piss when getting tyres changed last week. Ive never touched the rear brakes on this and this was the first time the rear wheels have actually been off in my ownership - rear pad notch was not located in the piston cutout..rectified it before journey home but too little too late..

Not good.

I think the rear discs were the originals on this due to mileage, and to be fair they were still serveceable to a degree.

Regardless, i had planned on changing the rear discs and pads almost 3 years ago to get rid of the rust ring and scoring visble through the wheels, and had bought new oem renault rear discs that were sat on the shelf but had not got round to actually doing it. Only needed to buy pads so ordered a set of rear Ferodo DS2500 from @FrogJam Motorsport which arrived mega fast with nextday delivery.

Frogjam Motorsport delivers the goods.

Dug out the new oem discs today and cracked on.

O/S first.

Stripped with spacer visble.

Caliper piston free/OK, cleaned/greased sliders, piston lubed with red rubber grease and sent back home, pads fitted correctly with notch lined up. Wheel bearing torqued to 175nm and caliper bolts 100nm.

N/S next

Pads be fooked. No idea on brand ebc red?? Bin for them.

Caliper piston again moved OK. Sliders on this side were stuck, removed, scotchbrite to clean, lubed and refitted..pads fitted correctly and hub nut/bolts torqued to spec.

Brake pedal pumped both sides to check the pad notch was correctly located.

In hindsight i should have cleaned caliper visible face up and painted. Ill prob leave it for now and revisit in winter, drop beam and get it powdercoated etc. Also cleaned wheels inside and out whilst there.

 

[Brigsy]

With this done i give it a clean off as front was covered in flies and loads of road muck up the sides. Gtechniq fallout remover to reactivate the ceramic, Gtechniq bug remover, BH autofoam, Gtechniq Gwash and rinsed off with water filter/blow dried.

Sounds like a 3 hour wash, in reality it was done in 45 mins.

After that, took it for a run out to bed rear pads in.

Also hit 46k whilst out.

No warning lights in this gaff.

Back in the garage before it started raining.

Thanks for reading!!