I was going to keep this as nothing more than an quiet experiment etc but I thought instead I thought I would throw it up as a little project as it may make interesting reading for some; usual mix of prototyping, design few cad drawings etc. If you don't find this sort of stuff interesting, apologies. The project will potter along, problems etc all included and solved as we go - a typical deign project really!
I was intrigued by Russ' approach to converting a stock ECU PH1 over to port throttles, I consider it an interesting project and decided I would like to have a crack myself after spending a few hours with a sketch book. I'm a strong believer in development that doesn't rip out the guts of a car just to make things work, only to have it half working in the end anyway. I also think the standard ECU is a powerful unit when used correctly, the problem is designing around it to allow it to do it's job.
Anyway first step was to acquire a car & a willing owner - done (thanks Chris)
Next up a set of Jenveys and set about with the design / manufacture.
After much thought I decided the best course of action would be to run a 'MAP tank' that provides all of the necessary take offs / inputs. These include but are not limited to ICV (Idle control valve), x4 take 1/4 BSP take offs for each of the ports (post throttle petal), MAP sensor etc etc.
I've opted for little trumpets too begin with to ensure we don't start replacing fans / adding aerocatches for no reason should Matt/Paul not be able to get it to run well enough. (they don't know this fight is coming their way yet
). I am a design engineer, not a do it all dogs body - so when it comes to the ECU side of things I haven't the slightest hesitation in taking the cars to the guys who can do..
The key aim of this project is to conclude with a car that starts, runs and drives like OEM, or as near to as we can achieve, something which isn't always considered a priority it seems by both customer and supplier.
I was keen to keep the conversion as tidy as possible, so have gone for a piggy back design on top of the MR23 manifold, room is tight - but there is enough for a decent sized chamber. It's size should provide a good balance between response time and total air volume.
The concept for the MAP tank was sketched out:
The idea is that the tank will sit on top of the base manifold:
(I've haven't got a .part file for the MR23 at hand so I have thrown it onto our own RS2 base manifold.) You can see the attachment points at either end of the upper manifold to head bolts.
I drew up some take off designs (see above images) that could be mounted onto a 41mm diameter tube type tank and machined them up. I've kept them simple as this is just a proof of principal prototype.
ICV fitting:
Assembled:
1 piece fitting to contain all of the other fittings / take offs:
Mock assembly:
The key thing with the position is to ensure that non of the fittings foul the throttle assembly & the linkage system.
The parts are all mild steel, so they will be joined up and then the unit will be zinc coated for a nice finish.
The map tank supply pipes will join the inlet tract post throttle body with a set of 20mm thick correctly bored blanking spacers, each with another 1/4BSP tapped thread. This format clears the PAS pump housing nicely and provides a nice 8mm ID pipe for good draining/filling rates from the manifold to the tank - something I can see being important in the workings of the kit.
More updates to follow
I was intrigued by Russ' approach to converting a stock ECU PH1 over to port throttles, I consider it an interesting project and decided I would like to have a crack myself after spending a few hours with a sketch book. I'm a strong believer in development that doesn't rip out the guts of a car just to make things work, only to have it half working in the end anyway. I also think the standard ECU is a powerful unit when used correctly, the problem is designing around it to allow it to do it's job.
Anyway first step was to acquire a car & a willing owner - done (thanks Chris)
Next up a set of Jenveys and set about with the design / manufacture.
After much thought I decided the best course of action would be to run a 'MAP tank' that provides all of the necessary take offs / inputs. These include but are not limited to ICV (Idle control valve), x4 take 1/4 BSP take offs for each of the ports (post throttle petal), MAP sensor etc etc.
I've opted for little trumpets too begin with to ensure we don't start replacing fans / adding aerocatches for no reason should Matt/Paul not be able to get it to run well enough. (they don't know this fight is coming their way yet
). I am a design engineer, not a do it all dogs body - so when it comes to the ECU side of things I haven't the slightest hesitation in taking the cars to the guys who can do..The key aim of this project is to conclude with a car that starts, runs and drives like OEM, or as near to as we can achieve, something which isn't always considered a priority it seems by both customer and supplier.
I was keen to keep the conversion as tidy as possible, so have gone for a piggy back design on top of the MR23 manifold, room is tight - but there is enough for a decent sized chamber. It's size should provide a good balance between response time and total air volume.
The concept for the MAP tank was sketched out:
The idea is that the tank will sit on top of the base manifold:
(I've haven't got a .part file for the MR23 at hand so I have thrown it onto our own RS2 base manifold.) You can see the attachment points at either end of the upper manifold to head bolts.
I drew up some take off designs (see above images) that could be mounted onto a 41mm diameter tube type tank and machined them up. I've kept them simple as this is just a proof of principal prototype.
ICV fitting:
Assembled:
1 piece fitting to contain all of the other fittings / take offs:
Mock assembly:
The key thing with the position is to ensure that non of the fittings foul the throttle assembly & the linkage system.
The parts are all mild steel, so they will be joined up and then the unit will be zinc coated for a nice finish.
The map tank supply pipes will join the inlet tract post throttle body with a set of 20mm thick correctly bored blanking spacers, each with another 1/4BSP tapped thread. This format clears the PAS pump housing nicely and provides a nice 8mm ID pipe for good draining/filling rates from the manifold to the tank - something I can see being important in the workings of the kit.
More updates to follow
Last edited:
