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Response

Some of this week's Letters to AutoSpeed

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Prius Pain

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I just wanted to say to Julian Edgar that I think the supercharged hybrid was a great project. It is painful that it didn’t work out, but I hope you had fun making it (and getting paid for it, you lucky bastard :P)

Kent Slaughter
Australia

Injector Search Complete!

Re my question at Response... I have finally sourced the injectors I want – I’ve got Keihin 73cc per second units from Canada. So my project is now moving ahead!

I have been reading Julian Edgar's write-up on his Prius. It is a shame he didn't use an Eaton supercharger. They are much quieter than a straight-lobed blower - witness the new Mini or a SC Commodore or SC Benz. The M45 is the one the Mini uses and they can be picked up pretty cheap, as can the M62 units on most MBs. Another problem is that the throttle has been place AFTER the SC and not before the SC - this causes more noise again. Another option may have been a clutched unit, so it would come on with demand. The Benz M45 and M62's have clutches and are late generation high helix blowers. I just think it is a shame Julian went to all that trouble, only to pull the SC off.

I was talking with a workshop the other day that is having all sorts of dramas with a blower on an Alfa. They also have the throttle mounted post-blower and the noise is just frantic! They can't even take it to the rego station because there is no point.

Peter de Vries
Australia

Good to hear re the injectors. Unfortunately there is no other supercharger that’s an appropriate size for the Prius (which makes just 43kW from its petrol engine). The noise remained at full throttle, so it wasn't the throttle location causing the problem. The turbo? Ahhh it's much quieter - keep watching AutoSpeed!

EWP Test Results?

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I am extremely interested in the testing you did of the Davies Craig EWP (Testing the Davies Craig Electric Water Pump - Part 1). I am a member of the University of Michigan Formula SAE racing team. We’ve built a small open wheel race car and use this pump on our car. Could you please send me a copy of the article you did on it? I realise that you are concerned about legal issues but I can assure you this will remain absolutely confidential and no one besides me will see the report.

Bryan GilroySmith
USA

We are unable to present this story online or forward it to anyone on a private basis. It doesn't take much nous to work out why...

Taller Benz Gearing?

I recently bought a 2000 model MB100D with a 5-speed manual. I am wondering whether there is a different differential available so that when travelling on the highway at 110 km/h the engine doesn't have to scream at 3500 rpm? Any idea of the cost to exchange?

Roulf Commandeur
Australia

We aren’t aware of any taller diff ratios that’ll bolt in – we suggest asking your local Mercedes service centre if there’s an option.

02 Sensor Position

Quick question - what would you suggest is optimal distance from the valves to tap in an 02 sensor into the headers? How far away would be too far?

John Littler
Australia

We suggest that you have a close look at the 02 sensor positioning in some factory engines that are the same configuration as your engine (ie V configuration, horizontally opposed, rotary, in-line, atmo or turbocharged). Use these factory positions as a guide. If the engine you have came factory fitted with an 02 sensor we suggest that you stick to this location.

Oops!

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In your article Building and Testing an Airbox you say...

"This is an extremely sensitive gauge (we’ve covered them before so to find out more, do a site search under ‘Magnahelic’)"

Unfortunately, this doesn't work because you have it misspelled! In every other article it is "Magnehelic" - with an "e".

It might be nice to fix that one as I did an initial search for "Magnahelic" and couldn't find but one reference! Any prizes for finding spelling errors?

Dave Bolen
USA

Well spotted – article fixed. And, no, there aren’t any prizes...

Time to Mature...

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Can I have your opinion? After owning Escorts, early Bimmers, a few 4WD turbos and having one point left on previously pristine licence, it’s time to get ol... er... mature....

I'm down to looking at LS400/Celsiors available from Yahoo Motorsport or Ford EFII Fairmont Ghias - they are around the same price. Primarily I want a car for trips from Sydney to Inverell over the mountains and up the back country. The Falcon has longevity, age and simplicity in its favour but has a live rear end. The Lexus has wishbone suspension, but do you think its world beating engineering was five years ahead of the Falcon? I would sooooo much love a BMW 750iL, but I think that's my heart talking...

Matthew King
Australia

Wow – an interesting choice! The Celsior wins easily in terms of refinement, comfort, quality and handling stability. Performance is also in favour of the big Toyota, though a 5.0 litre V8 version of the Fairmont Ghia is in the same ballpark. The only advantages of the Ford are its simplicity and the cost and availability of parts. The Celsior is the better car overall. A back-to-back test drive will quickly convince you of that! If you haven’t already, see The Lexus LS400 and Celsior Magnificence for more on the Celsior.

Not So Cool Polo?

I own a 2005 VW Polo 1.4 litre and feel that the air conditioning on this model is not very effective. I measured the temperature of the cooled air (at the air vents) to be 10 degrees Celsius. Other models, like the Golf, are 4-5 degrees Celsius. What is the temperature that’s considered normal from factory?

Bassam ElGhussein
Lebanon

We suggest raising the issue with your local VW dealer service centre. They should be able to compare air conditioning performance to other versions of your vehicle and identify if there’s a problem.

Loves the Imports

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I just want to say that I thoroughly enjoy your road tests on the various 15 year old Japanese imports – for example, the Subaru Leone RX/II was great story (Grand-daddy Subie). I visited Yahoo Motorsport's website and found some fascinating cars. Just wondering if you might be testing any more 15 year old imports in the near future?

Michael
Australia

We plan to cover more Japanese import vehicles. However, given recent regulation changes, there won’t be many more 1989/1990 model vehicles featured.

More on Subaru Bits

In response to A.Hocking's question about intercooler splitters (Response)... To the best of my knowledge they are fitted standard to some of the later model STis. The same could also be said for intercooler water spays. If it's so effective why don't Subaru fit it to all their intercoolers? Simple answer - cost and simplicity. That is why the STi has both a spitter and water spray...

Brent Muldoon
Australia

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