The Summer of 2001

DYNO-TIME!

Thanks to a friend, I got the chance to put the Capri on a dyno. There hadn't really been time for G-tech tests, but the car

I hoped to see about 130-150 bhp, since the G-tech accuracy is a bit doubtful. Imagine the look on my face when the dyno printout showed 168 bhp at the wheels! Torque was 254 Nm. According to the dyno losses calculations, I have about 187 bhp at the flywheel. Compared to the standard figures of 105 bhp (catalytic version) and about 150 Nm, it's pretty good on only 0,6 bar...

Unfortunately, the wastegate was leaking, so I didn't get on boost until a bit over 4000 rpm - this means that the power curve has a great dip where it just "hovers" around 0-0,1 bar. Still, the dyno-time was a great step forward.

The rest of the summer was really fun, especially since I got the oil leak and wastegate leak fixed. Now it comes on boost at around 1700 rpm, so there is virtually no turbo lag. A friend that normally drives a 3-litre, 24v, straight six, was surprised when he tested the Capri - he expected a laggy, boost-kicking adventure...

However, trying to up the boost more just results in pinging, and both the lambda sensor and EGT show me that I need more fuel (I reverted to standard Sierra injectors, because the lambda sensor would be clogged by the rich mixture from the bigger injectors). I have driven quite a lot this year too, and it is pleasing to see that driven sedately, a consumption of just under 10 litres/100 km is no problem.

Fixing the wastegate gave me another problem though - the clutch started slipping! This was very evident when racing a BMW 325 E30 (lightly tuned and equal to a M3 E30 in performance) - I took the start, but as soon as I got into second gear, the clutch let go and that was that. Need i say that a better clutch is in the garage right now? ;-)

I also finally built myself a front strut brace - it is tight getting it to fit over the EFI plenum, but with the bonnet/hood insulation removed, it is possible.

The last problem of the year was the fuel pumps. Two pumps seized solid in a short time, so I decided to change the fuelling system. Instead of the small catch tank and external feed pump, I now use a Volvo in-tank feed pump, that directly feeds the high pressure pump. I got this setup running just when the first snow started falling, but it seems to work. I suspect that the cheap feed pump I used before, gradually got worn out and couldn't deliver enough fuel.

Plans for this winter are a black interior, a front spoiler/bumper, and a Megasquirt injection system, to be used for controlling extra injectors. The goal is to be able to run at least 0,8 bar, and that should put me on the right side of the 200 bhp (flywheel) mark...