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.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[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.

Pardon our interruption...

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!!

 

[Brigsy]

Nowt much happening this week, but not stopped thinking how to resolve the fuelling issues.

Ive knocked up a rubber fuel pipe with torques braided rubber and fast flow fittings. Hose is identical to earls pro lite 350 so good for 150deg and 300psi.

Be interesting to see if it makes a difference. Ill leave the 1mtr coiled and see if any of the fuel curve changes up top at some point in next few weeks.

Be interesting to see if it does do something, if it does ill add some rubber in as i cant be arsed chasing it any longer. If it doesnt do anything, ill be booking in for mapping/diagnostics on the dyno. Ill pay for a full day if needs be and try a load of diff fuel parts on it to get the issue sorted.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Small update

No fuel hose testing yet as was pissing down last weekend.

With this running megane block i have to run associated alternator setup. This runs a renault traffic alternator bracket, megane 225 alternator, aux tensioner, avensis idler pulley which assume replaces the hpas pump and 6pk 1060 belt.

Current setup.

The current setup works ok and has not given any issues. The avensis pulley is plastic, as per a lot of aux stuff these days and doesnt seem to be wearing but be nice to have a metal pulley. Ive been looking for an alloy or steel replacement for a while and looked at a couple of options.

I managed to find a 197/200 cup racer ac delete pulley which would mean going back to megane/clio alternator bracket but looked like the solution.

Tried this and no good as the larger pulley was about 10mm from the front crossmember when fitted.

So with that idea shelved started looking for other options for a similar sized pulley for current setup. Found a cnc billet pulley for a Ford Barra engine but in Australia so pricey once shipped/import.

More sniffing round found V-Ribbed Belt Deflection/Guide Pulley SKF VKM 65078 for Hyundai/kia. Sizes very similar and daft £20 so bought one.

Looks like it might go ok with slightly longer aux belt, next time bumper is off ill offer it up. Might be an option for 172 ac delete too if using oem bracket.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Update.

Took the Trophy to a local meet yesterday, Papped on entry.

Not had time to fit the fuel pipe for testing but i have changed the length of the vac pipe to the fpr, shortening it by 75mm or so to see if any change to top end fuelling.

Nothing noteworthy/basically no change on the logs from a quick pull in 3rd off a roundabout to 7k on gate pressure. In the process of doing this pull this also served a gapuccino to a brand new golf r which was determined to sit up my arse.

Cant wait until its turned up. Wont be long hopefully.

 

[NickReilly063]

Looking Great Jon - I see your name is on the list for 9th August, so looking forward to seeing it again.

I’m sure it will be the star of the show.

🏎️🏎️🏎️

 

[Brigsy]

Looking Great Jon - I see your name is on the list for 9th August, so looking forward to seeing it again.

I’m sure it will be the star of the show.

🏎️🏎️🏎️

Thanks mate.

Should be 100% on for it, i dont think ill have it in for mapping before but it can go as is. Be good to catch up its been ages!

 

[Brigsy]

Updates.

Ive been invited to a 20 year anniversary Trophy meet at a great location tomorrow.

Been pretty busy this week and prep has been left until last min. Pulled out of garage this morning early am before work, checked fluids, tyre pressures etc and quick clean. Battery on and it fired straight up after seven weeks since last use.

Started packing a few bits for overnight stay and remembered boot is out of bounds. Back seat it is!

Full tank of tesco 99 and set off on 220 mile trip. Nightmare Friday traffic as usual and twin plate clutch is a bit of a nightmare.

Fuel economy is superb. Just over half a tank of fuel on 980cc injectors to 220ish miles. Longest journey its done in years. Using waze and tunerview on split screen is great.

Map needs a bit of a tweak for better idling with new lightened flywheel/clutch but its drivable for now. Apart from that no dramas.

 

[Flob]

Kin hell Brigsy, has it only done 46k!

 

[Brigsy]

Kin hell Brigsy, has it only done 46k!

2nd owner too was on 43k when we got it, bit of a unicorn in some respects. A sensible man would put it back to stock but im not sensible 😅

 

[NickReilly063]

Stunning Jon - see you soon

🚗🏆❤️

 

[Brigsy]

Updates

As above, I was asked if i fancied attending a meet last Saturday at the Alpine f1 factory, with guided tour for 20 year anniversary of the Trophy. Absolutely could not say no to that even though 500 mile round trip.

The factory tour was unreal. A few pics from reception as strictly no pics allowed in the factory..the tech was insane.

A few pics i took in the reception area and outside.

After the factory tour we went to Petroyle restorations via some b roads.

504 miles on the trip on a tank and a half of fuel. Not bad!

Mega day and thanks to all involved who put the effort in to make it happen.

 

[Brigsy]

We done some b road driving on Sat and the roads had cambered/worn parts which is not good for a fairly low car. Its on bilstein b14 so pretty solid but still.

I have a renault sport metal sump guard on it as a sacrificial, as the sump and ndo gearbox diff casing is slightly lower / exposed than the oem engine and box. Sump guard is lower than the bumper luckily, lowest point of the car underside and apparantly there was a few sparks out the back with a touch of the tarmac briefly. Its not the first time this has happened however as it already had scuffs on it from when Haswell owned it, and a few off when i done the Welsh weekender a few years back.

I was interested to see how much of a hit it had took so jacked it up yesterday.

The answer was not massive as its still straight but you can see where its touched a bit😅 there was no other damage so its absolutely done its job

To stop rust i give it a once over with vht black.

Whilst up in the air, i mocked up a 2ltr catch tank. As seen the engine bay is rammed full with turbo etc and i had a protein shaker as a catch tank for years. The 2ltr catch tank fits well in the carbon canister area with the -10an hose routed through the oem holes. Its not the ideal location but its better than above the exhaust manifold. The engine does not breathe as such so dont expect to see much in it as never put any oil in the protein beaker. Also if it does ever fill a 2ltr tank, its got big problems!! Arch liner fits straight back over the top of it.

I would have had this finished yesterday but the chinese an fitting i found in the garage fell to pieces, have ordered a torques one. Ill give the tank a buff before final fit so it looks nice and shiny before hiding behind the arch liner.

 

[NickReilly063]

We where very lucky Jon to be treated to such a special day in an amazing place - also as usual your Turbo T made me smile from ear to ear.

We then called at the Hill on the way back which is such a cool place Jon and so different to the Motorist - your car would have caused a Stir with the bonnet up -

 

[Brigsy]

Great to catch up @NickReilly063 and thanks again for passing the invite over or i would have missed this. Actually was a bucket list thing for me to do a factory tour and it did not dissapoint.

I set off shortly after you left, should have tagged along. The trophy did not like them back roads was steady drive on the way out 😂

 

[NickReilly063]

Did you not call to see the 21's

 

[Brigsy]

Did you not call to see the 21's

I did indeed, @DaveL485 has almost all of the Uk's remaining 21turbos at his house at the moment 😁

 

[DaveL485]

I did indeed, @DaveL485 has almost all of the Uk's remaining 21turbos at his house at the moment 😁

Dunno what you mean mate

 

[Brigsy]

Small update.

Some/most of you noticed i had a small protein beaker as a catch tank on the Trophy. It was a last min thing before mapping and was a bit pikey but worked so sent it.

Protein beaker in corner.

Ive been looking for options for a 2ltr catch tank but no room apart from above the exhaust or the carbon canister area. I bought a cheap 2ltr ralloy catch tank to offer up and it looked like it was a goer.

Location is not ideal but everywhere is a compromise. It doesnt breathe heavy infact puts nothing in the tank normally, and if it fills 2ltrs, we have large problems so not too concerned. Can vac pump it out in situ easy to empty if needs be.

Made up an An10 hose with fittings both ends. Plumbed in and looks fairly tidy. Arch liner back in and nothing to be seen.

Thanks for reading!!