Yep. I'm stoked. Think I've made a wiser decision. In essence, this will provide me with the reliability I was aiming for. This workshop obviously lost interest but didn't have the guts to admit it to me instead, just screwed me around.

 

Turns out Euro/US is quite different when it comes to fuels & ECU technology. Majority of OS car modifiers actually use EMS's designed/built in AUS. Perhaps certain countries only have few EMS's to choose from?

MS, as a DIY project & if you were handy with a soldering iron & have the time as our OS members, reckon would be fine. Some members down here on Nissan & even Commodore Forums have given it a go. Think you'd be hard pressed finding a shop to muck around with MS here? Certainly a wiring diagram to hardwire it to loom would save heaps of time/hassle. I'm sure members would assist with this though.

This is one area that's costing me. The labour to wire the stand alone to car. This on top of purchasing the Microtech makes it an expensive exercise. Sure there's customer support/service/warranty that you won't get with MS unit brought in from OS but you pay for it

Anyway. The E85 fuel is pathetic down here. 2 independant tests proved it is very unreliable as it is too new here. First sample proved only 72% ethanol mixture whilst the 2nd was 87%. Great. Try tuning to that! Economy is very poor like 50% extra needed to equal 98 RON's efficiency! No way worth the trouble! Whilst OS have got E85 down to a te, we certainly need time to get it right!

As a result I will be tuning to 98 RON which is everywhere here. $2k extra will see me EFI this beast. Workshop will fabricate the fuel rail & wire up the stand alone ECU. They will be essentially doing all custom work.

Here's a quick list of EFI gear they will be using:

Haltech Ignition module, works independent of dizzy/leads similar to wasted spark ignition system that negates need of trigger wheel
V6 Ford? Coil Packs
Microtech LT8 ECU
Custom fuel rail with Aeromotive (quality) fuel regulator
Lift Pump Carter
60lb Injectors
044 fuel pump
Surge tank
Braided lines to suit

P.S. Layed eyes on the extractor merge collector that was custom made today also.......ooooooooooooooh What a pretty piece a machinery.

Also. Will be using mild steel exhaust, not SS (SS was twice the price ) Mild steel will last for donkey's years at the gauge he's using

 

Apparently it is a little difficult to tune for pump gas & E85 running side by side. It's pretty much one or the other from what I was told yesterday? Maybe due to fuel mapping & reliability necessary for such high performance engines?

Just something I learnt today that I thought was interesting, though a shock. Ethanol doesn't have a long shelf life when stored under ground due to necessary air ventilation. There is a mob here down under that sells 200 litre (44 gallon) drums for $450 It is a blend of 85% ethanol & 15% 98RON guaranteed. For racing obviously. The pump E85 can be any fuel like 91RON for instance. Interesting?

 

Good & bad day yesterday

BAD: Took wheels I just purchased in to get the outer lips kinda rolled back to shape & turns out 2 rims are badly out-of-shape. Spin them by hand on a wheel balance jig & they wobble. Pretty bad too So. shop is going to give the worst a go at re-rounding them (don't ask me what this involves because alloy is originally cast so you can't technically re-roll them) & if successful, the rest will be done. If unsuccessful, they're useless Anyway, shop guy is positive at this stage.

GOOD: Scored these off EBay http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Picked up the wheels yesterday. They were all repairable & balanced up fine

I have hit the seller up for half the repair bill so am now just awaiting an outcome? $490 they cost Part of this was for boring out wheel centres as AUDI wheels have a narrower hub centre.

Also picked up front brake upgrade parts. They were a steal & a half at least.

Car goes in for rego inspection on 15th Dec, then back to workshop for finish of everything. Still no idea on when it will be ready to bring home unfortunately.

 

The 18 x 8.5 wide, ET38 wheels fit with about 2-3mm clearance of strut As opposed to 17" rims, the 18's clear strut just a little more, as they move up & away from strut the greater (higher) the rim diameter. Obviously tyres will have to be stretched so I'm guessing, 235/40R18 max? I won't know til' I get car home & fit a tyre to one of the wheels & check both front/rear hubs for clearance. I'm advised the backs will be fine. I have seen some wide wheels on the rears of these 30e's. Don't now how they fitted them on

Concerning the front hubs fitment, you'd think they would rub on the guards but fitting just the wheel gives little indication of that. The biggest drama now is settling for the right 'ride height' so they don't rub on turns & bottom out.

I really would like to drop it 50mm but may be a little conservative in this area & drop it the 35mm as planned. My paranoia is due to fact that car in original pics showed 50mm drop & it rubbed guards, bottomed out you name it with just 18 x 8's with ET35

 

Just spoke to engineer shop @ Braeside. It's not that stand alones aren't allowed but that they pass the ADR emissions test. This is where the LPG would have shined.

I need to talk with VIPAC emissions mob now & will get back......

EDIT: Guys, will get back to you as it may help others going down this same path. A very effort-ful path. PRIOR to even considering an engineers cert' check. Vehicle MUST pass an ADR emissions test$$$$ The emissions test MUST pass with car running through entire rev range, not just idling. Interesting??????who knows After I talk to VIPAC guy when he calls back , I'll comment again.....

 

I am beginning touching up the aesthetics side of the wheels I purchased. The outer lip damage in particular that 2 of them suffered. I'd say they were damaged in a racing acident when looking more closely. I'm grinding then filing/sanding the outer beed surface of lip to try & blend in the lip edges & cover over chips & scrapes etc.
Not that easy with forged alloy I can tell you. Surprisingly hard metal.

 

For the OZ crowd contemplating FI'ing their particular Merc (with OR without LPG conversion as some beleve this "negates" the necessary EPA test) & want it 'engineer certified', here's some cold hard facts to consider carefully:

After speaking @ length with a prominent emissions testing site, VIPAR, here in VIC:

If you modify a car significantly. Alter the factory settings that effect the standard emission levels provided by manufacturer, IE: FI, regardless of whether you convert to LPG or not & therefore obtain the installers compliance plate for the engineer, you are still required to do the EPA designated ADR emissions test, prior to being provided with an engineers certificate. This is simply due to not being able to provide the engineer with appropriate vehicle manufacturer's specified emissions specs for the alteration/s (mods), as in an available factory turbo ECU, MAF, sensors etc etc,) for the car you are converting to FI (obviously the particular vehicle model was never manufactured & sold on the market with FI), you must have the emissions test performed to ensure emissions satisfy the particular standard specified by the EPA! This then gets handed to the engineer whereby he gives this part of the certifiaction the 'big tick"! Only if you FI a vehicle that was factory produced in the same model ie: you throw a turbo, ECU etc etc on a 323 Mazda that has a model in the same year sold with factory FI, can you avoid the EPA test.

Sorry for the long=winded right up but I wanted to clear the points up for any Aussie (VIC anyway) forum member who feels the urge to FI their non-turbo modeled car

How stringent the test depends on year of vehicle. Pre-June 88' test is ADR 27C = less stringent requirements to be met. Post June 88' & it is a ADR 3700 test which is harder to pass. Btw, test is $1600 a time. Takes 2 days due to 2 separate tests to pass. 1 in the morning when below certain environmental temp'. This is what makes for an extensive dynotune needed, PRIOR, to make sure AFR's are consistent across rev range or @ least on average when calculated together.

In my case, I therefore need to satisfy the guidelines layed out in the ADR 27C emissions test. obviously due to no original manufacturers specifications being met (there is no specs haha)

So. In a nutshell. As long as the tune meets acceptable emissions levels on all 3 points. It's $1600 you coff up. Also, no matter what ECU you use, factory or stand alone, it still is all in the tune when it comes to EPA acceptance & passing that part of the VASS signature that you have to obtain for registration purposes!

P.S. WORLDWIDE:"HAVE A GREAT CHRISSIE BREAK ALL"

 

Rear screens in

I will be finishing off re-sculpturing the damaged outer lips on rims today. Never did get anything from the bassad who sold me them damaged. He still denies they'd been in any kind of accident etc

Anyway, has anyone down under had mandrel bent intercooler piping work done? I am having this as part of the workshop fabrication work but it is friggin expensive Not unlike mandrel bent exhaust. I figure the aluminium bends are more difficult or perhaps involve more careful/tedious work than simple mild steel?

Any comments from anyone ever having this kind of aluminium work done??