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Response

Some of this Week's Letters to AutoSpeed!

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Interceptor On its Way?

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I was very interested to read about the "AFM interceptor kit" you have developed in the recent Real World Air/Fuel Ratio Tuning article. It sounds like it would be perfect addition to the cars that a friend and I are building. We are currently in the closing stages of building two clubman style cars (similar to the SR20DET powered Puma you tested a while back). These cars have been built from scratch as opposed to one of the kits that are available. This has allowed us to incorporate the features and styling we wanted. The standard ECU and emissions gear has to be in place (we are using JDM 20V 4A-GE) to comply with ADRs when we register them. We have always been concerned, however, with how the standard computer will cope with changes from the original application. These changes include custom carbon-fibre intake plenum and trumpets as well as a 4>1 exhaust system. As the cars have been designed and set-up to spend most of their time on track, optimising the horsepower potential of the engine at each development stage is important - and something we thought would have to wait until we had installed programmable ECU's. However with a (your) AFM interceptor in place we should be able to get the A/F mixtures spot on.

Julian Kenny
Australia

The interceptor has been fully tested and you can expect to see it on sale towards the middle of this year. Stay tuned to AutoSpeed for some real-world activities with the interceptor - you won't believe what's been done!

Falcon or Magna?

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I've been reading your articles for some time and like to keep up to date with cars.  Just a couple of requests... I am looking at getting another car shortly and wondered if you could test a BA 182kW 5-speed XT sedan (I've currently got a 5-speed EL GLi, I'm 20 and can't insure a turbo in case your wondering about the choice!). I've read Motor magazine and they quote 0-100 km/h in 7.23 and 0-400m in 15.23, however I'm not sure if this auto or manual. I’m also interested in TJ Magnas (which are much cheaper). Are the 6G74 194kW engines in Japan much different to the 163kW Sport? I believe the compression ratio is 10.0 against 9.0. Are these engines easy to source/upgrade? Maybe you could run a story on the differences or someone’s conversion.

Travis Quarrell
Australia

Tough choice! The BA is a fresher overall design than the TJ Magna but - when you consider the cheap availability of the Mitsi - it's a difficult call. That amazing 7.23-second 0 - 100 time is a manual version of the BA XT - seems almost too good to be true, doesn't it?! We'll see if we can get a BA XT manual for our own test.

Re Magna. A more desirable Sport version is easily within your budget and these - particularly in manual form - are damn quick also. You can also look into swapping to Ralliart Magna cams, headers, etc - read Michael's Speed Zone . Also, re Japanese-spec Mitsubishi V6 engine power and specs, check out 2004 Engine Epic - Mitsubishi Engines

Which way to go? We suggest you take some test drives and find what suits you best.

Bent Eight Performance

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I need help. I have a ‘94/’95 Ford 5.0-litre V8 and everybody tells me it is a waste of time and money putting in an aftermarket chip for better performance – is this right? What else can I do to get more power?

Bruce Menere
Australia

Rob Herrod is the man you need to talk to - contact him at Herrod Motorsport (+61 3 9464 5100) Also, read Rob’s Ford tuning tips at Hints from Herrod

Essential Backing?

Could you please tell me the purpose of a backing plate behind a brake disc? Is there any gain to be had by removing it?

Sam Q
Australia

The backing plate is there to protect the disc from damage and to ensure no foreign matter affects braking performance. Gains in removing it? Well, quite a few club racers take this step in an attempt to improve brake cooling and reduce weight. We’re not sure how effective it is.

Competition Toilet!

Our company - PWM Enterprises, Inc. - has a new product that we are confident your readers will be very interested in. It is a Racing Tissue Roll Dispenser. Below is a press release regarding this new product...

Racing Tissue Roll Dispenser


Like opening the bonnet of a racing car, the two safety pins will need to be removed to replace the roll of tissue. The top and bottom covers are made of machined aluminium billet and the centre cylinder is handmade with real carbon-fibre. Makes a great Father's day gift! The cost is US$44.95 with free shipping in the U.S. For more information visit www.pwmenterprises.com

Dianne Beiermann (PWM Enterprises, Inc.)

Electric Boost on its Way?

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After reading your article Electric Boost I took a look at the website for Turbodyne Technologies. It seems they have sold all rights to the Dynacharger system to Honeywell Intl. (parent company of Garrett). A quick scan of their news history shows a somewhat tumultuous string of licensing deals with several OEM turbo manufacturers. Perhaps this is the first step towards mass marketing of this electric assisted turbo concept. It looks promising...

Cary Wintle
Australia

The latest news release on the Turbodyne site was released just after we compiled our article. It's good that the door to OE has again been opened - the concept is certainly interesting.

OBDII Scanner Search

I’m a trading mechanic and am in the process of purchasing an OBDII scanner - but am finding it hard to locate one. I have looked on your linked sites but notice they are from overseas. Their pricing is very reasonable - even when you convert to Australian dollars – but could you help me by telling me where I can get one in Australia?

Gio Mercia
Australia


Check out www.starrperformance.com.au and continue to www.efilive.com 

VH45 Hard Data

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Could you give me the description for the VH45DE motor? Piston diameter, rod length, stroke, pin diameter, etc...

Ikuya Negishi
USA

The VH45DE V8 (fitted to Japanese-market Nissan luxury saloons) uses DOHC, 32-valve breathing and a 10.2:1 compression ratio. Bore and stroke measure 93mm and 82.7mm respectively. Power is 198kW at 5600 rpm and there's 394Nm at 4000 rpm. That’s all the info we have on this thumper of an engine.

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