papak

Sorry, didn't mean to sound snarky. I have a neighbor who is a retired senior engineer for Garret (turbochargers). We have discussed the issue of oil weight at length and he strongly recommended 0w40 synthetic for the Duratec. I show about 85-90psi cold/20psi hot at idle. Above 3000rpm it's 85-90psi cold/60psi hot. With the bDavies-Craig coolant controller, the engine warms up quickly and remains quite temperature stable after that. Another advantage is the coolant pump continues to run through a cool-down program once the engine is shut down. I raced Formula Vees for a number of years through the era when synthetic lubes were new to the market. We all came to rely on synthetic oils, particularly for their durability at higher temps. Are you running a Raceline wet sump? They are sufficiently baffled to allow you to run with a 5 liter fill in the Duratec with out a problem. If you are seeing a pressure drop-off in competition, I would plumb in an Accusump. I used t run a 944 at Lime Rock and the Accusump was a great help in turn 1 there.

I'm surprised that you need one on a Duratec. It's a beautifully engineered motor. I am running a 2.3l Duratec with stock compression. I have been running in some mid-90s temps over the last couple of months in SoCal and have never seen 200F on the oil temp (measured in the Raceline oil filter adapter with a VDO sender and gauge). I am also running a Davies-Craig electric water pump and that has kept the coolant temp under 220F on the hottest days in traffic. Normal coolant temp might run as high as 200F.

The fellow I spoke with at Deltran couldn't really speak to this. I'm running a 40a alternator through a 10a fuse. The max charge rate for the battery is 40a. The problem isn't evident from the basic numbers. I finally have time today to check the wiring and do some diagnosis. Inquiring minds want to know!

I spoke with a gentleman at Deltran this morning. He said that the BMS is designed to accept ups to a 10a charge with any excess bypassing the cells. He hasn't heard of any interaction with an alternator light. I may get to pull the scuttle later today to start to check the rest of the wiring across the kill switch etc. This may be delayed as i am having a great time setting up my new Quick-Jack lift (quarantine gift to myself).

It’s fine, hasn’t changed. I plan on giving Deltran a call this week as well.

OK, here's a weird one. After installing the new battery, I did a couple of starts in the garage and everything worked as expected. With the engine running, it measured 13.2v across the posts, no change on acceleration. I fired it up this morning at 0620 for a run through the Santa Monica mountains and I started getting an intermittent alternator light once I was out on the road. I pulled over and checked all of the connections. I couldn't find anything amiss and as the voltmeter was indicating 13.9v, I pressed on. The light would go out at idle but continued to flash intermittently under acceleration. Screw it! I went on to have a wonderful morning drive. I am wondering if the flashing light is the result of an interaction with the BMS on the new battery. Has anyone else seen this happen? Interestingly, the vm indicated 14.2v with the old battery but indicates 13.9v with the new battery. Anyway, the scuttle comes off tomorrow in order to recheck all of the appropriate wiring in detail.

The weight difference is striking. The new battery weighs about as much as the packaging of the old one.

Just installed a Deltran in the Birkin. My Braille finally gave up the ghost after 5 years. Nearly a third of the weight of the old Braille B-129 (3.2 vs 9.3 lbs) The only issue with installation is that the Deltran is slightly narrower at the base in both dimensions. This needs to be factored in in the mounting design.

Tom Carlin says the it is usually related to grounding issue. Check battery to block ground, ECU ground, starter ground, etc.

I've know Chris Musante for years. Very successful PCA racer and has had the shop doing prep and repair work for 20+years. Very competent.

If that's the biggest screwup so far, you're way ahead of most of us.

I haven’t had a single problem here in LA. I’ve stopped and chatted with cops and been at C&Cs with them in attendance with no problems at all.

We are going to be re-roofing the garage in the next month or so and this seems like a good time to "clear the shelves". All of the listed parts are for a Birkin SS3XS unless otherwise noted. fiberglass boot liner in excellent condition. New Duratec starter. This is for a Ranger flywheel. The ring gear on the lightened Focus flywheel that I am using is slightly different. Who knew? Side mirrors; a pair of 4" round stainless steel ones from Speedway in perfect condition, a pair of black Emko ones original to the car, perfect as well. A barely used heated windscreen, original to the car. I run Brooklands and am very happy with them. ITG air filter, square shouldered sausage style with mounting plate to fit 4 48mm ITBs the original steering wheel and hub assembly fuel pressure regulator, Chinese in origin but it accurately holds 42 psi and doesn't leak. I am running a physically smaller one now due to space constraints set of Accel COP coils keyed ignition switch original Birkin grill valve cover for the Duratec Stock cams (with gears) for the 2.3l Duratec rear cover for a Subaru R160 diff I also have various sensors, switches and other small stuff. If you need something not listed here, pm me. I may have it as I am just starting to go through this stuff. I've held on to all this stuff for a couple of years and have pretty much settled on the configuration of the car now so it all has to go. Make me an offer on any or all of it. I am located in LA. I am happy to work with a buyer on delivery in SoCal but other than that the shipping is up to you. Pictures on request.

I built an SS3XS a couple of years ago. One of the few suggestions I would make is to take a close look at some of the hardware that comes with the kit and consider upgrading the suspension bolts to better stuff, maybe 12.9. Try boltdepot.com or mcmastercarr.com. Also give a long hard look at the orientation of some of these bolts as you will want to be able to recheck the torque from time to time. Once the assembly is complete, they aren’t coming out again until a major chassis rebuild. Consider covering the steering arms and front ar bar pushrods with heat shrink tubing as those parts will pick up a bit of abrasive wear over time. If you are using a Subaru diff, make sure to get a reliable LSD ( not the viscous). I am running an AP Suretrac now and it works great. Definitely plumb in an air/oil separator. You will astounded at the amount of moisture it accumulates on short, neighborhood runs. Enjoy the build. The process itself is an immense amount of fun.

I have to admire the glovebox solution. Cup holders as well!

Not yet but looking into a few things (more like eliminating culprits). This may be delayed a bit as I am trying to get the garage re-roofed over the next few weeks.

It does occasionally occur in a straight line, usually upon accelerating after holding a constant speed in 2nd or 3rd. Probably not the LSD as this is the second LSD in the car. It seems to be correlated to the presumed peak torque, around 3500-4000 rpm.

I have reached out to Exedy USA for suggestions. They make some reference to this possibility in that they list a similar style but higher capacity clutch plate as an option.

try "https://jollyrogersmotors.com". They carry some unique vintage parts. They may have what you want or can locate it. Their phone number is on the website.

Three of us got out for the Drive at Dawn. Saw hardly anyone while taking Mulholland up to the county line. Splendid drive though. One of the fellows had a Caterham CSR with a turboed 2.0l Ecotec. 301 hp at the rear wheels. Impressive installation.

Thanks. I’ll give it a try. I’ve tried everything else.

It only occurs when the drivetrain is “loaded”, as in accelerating through a turn in second or third. The drivetrain is perfectly intact. No clutch slip or tire spin. I’ve experienced the event since initial assembly. The diff is a new Suretrac in an R160. The cv’s are perfect.

I have noticed that in the lower gears (2nd, 3rd particularly), as I approach max torque (3500-4000 rpm), I sometimes experience a shuddering in the drivetrain that seems unrelated to engine function. At first, I presumed this was related to the incomplete tuning of the ECU functions but now that I have been running close sloop for a while, the problem is still evident. It is as if the friction plate springs are becoming heavily loaded and start to “fight back” as it were. A simple feathering of the clutch seems to resolve the problem momentarily. I am running an Exedy organic clutch and pressure plate on a lightened Exedy flywheel, all designed for a Ford Focus. While I plan on contacting Exedy today, have any others experienced this sort of problem? When I recently had the drivetrain apart to rebuild the transmission, the clutch components looked perfect. Both the flywheel and friction disk were perfectly flat with no discoloring. The springs showed no wear on the ends. The splines were fine.

I keep the receipts in a zippered binder hidden away in a dark corner. It’s now 2” thick and the zipper is getting quite strained.

Saw this one on a fellow race car years ago: “Driver carries no cash-(anymore)”. How true...