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CarlB

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Everything posted by CarlB

  1. Wow - Beautiful car
  2. The grid is a problem in most places in the US. The variable load on the electric grid is heating and cooling. Unless you want it to be like California and there are periods that the power isn't available. The YouTube video talks about time of use rates because they know the grid can't support it. On a Peak summer day in the north east there is no way a increase of the magnitude they are talking about can be accommodated. The transmission system is full and straining. I live outside Washington DC. The electric grid is controlled in a pool. The pool is called PJM. Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland (Delaware doesn't count) energy pool. they decide what power plants run and how the power will be delivered to the utilities. In my area when the temperature gets to 90 degrees the distribution system is full, and if there are more than a normal amount of power plants that can't run there is a big issue. On a hot August day it is not uncommon for DC to be 90 degrees at night. We can't build anything in this country. How long do you think the permits will take to build new transmission lines into major US cities? Where is the power going to come from. Are we going to put solar panels over Manhattan? Combines Cycle gas turbine power plants and the most efficient least cost and fastest permitting power plant to build. They are about 50% efficient at turning the potential energy in the fuel to electric power. The power needs to be distributed. The video uses the figure of 25%. The real answer is a little more complicated. It can be 50% on the peak usage day. As you increase the load the resistance goes up. The electric motor in the car probably has a efficiency of about 92%. The drive line losses are probably close to the same for cars with electric motors or engines. Electric might be slightly better. There are reciprocating engines that are 50% efficient. The problem is that the engine achieves that at peak torque and wide open throttle. Look at the energy recovery systems that F-1 cars use. there are Diesel engines that meet emission regulations and are 50% efficient at less than peak torque. That technology spreads the efficiency curve out. Gasoline has 30 times the energy density of the best battery. The energy delivery to turn the wheels is degraded by the efficiency of the engine but the trade off is range or weight with a affect on performance. Has anyone considered the environmental impact of lithium batteries?
  3. Thank you - I would really like them. I have a good home
  4. I am excited to do both this year. I have a car ready to go and plan to do as many track days as I can. My only limitation will be a planned trip to October Fest. Hopefully things will be good enough to go.
  5. Lots of race cars used the Triumph spindle, Including early 60s formula one cars. I have played with a lot of Formula Fords and similar cars. Very common for them to use that spindle.
  6. I have a 1999 S-3 and the wiper motor is Lucas and was used in a lot of BMC and Triumphs. The gas gauged sending unit is from a classic Mini. I believe the spindles are Triumph Spitfire, but haven't confirmed. They are used on a lot of race cars. The rear brakes are the same as the larger of the Merkurs the Scorpio. The gas cap on my car was a Rover part.
  7. I love my R-53. I bought a 05 R-53 and my wife said she wouldn't drive it because she wouldn't feel safe. After the first month she was asking to use it. When it was time for her to get a new car, she wanted my Purple Haze MINI. I looked at new R-56 MINIs but didn't like the car (loved the engine). It took some time but I got a 06 JCW without a sun roof. At the same time we also had a 530 wagon. It is a big comfortable boat but it still steered like a BMW and handled well for its size.
  8. I have one other toy car. A 06 R-53 MINI JCW. A really fun point and shoot car. The suspension is all tricked out and I use to autocross it. All the stuff Croc was saying about BMWs and newer cars in general I agree with. They are turning all of them into appliances. Most new BMWs feel like Cadillacs. They use to have great steering. My wife has a 2020 four door MINI and it has been turned into a BMW. All the raw feeling from the R-53 is gone. As the country song says "I like my Truck" (I like my bar to) I have a 2019 Chevy Colorado. For driving into town it is smaller than the huge generation of pickups. I think it is as big as what full size trucks were 20 years ago. It is comfortable doesn't mind the DC pot holes and has a big back seat. I use the box to carry stuff all the time.
  9. Sorry - I posted my thank you on the other Thread. Thank you all for the help
  10. Thank you all for the help. I appreciate it. I had called the US distributor but never got a call back. The instillation process looks like a very well though out way to retain the fenders. They weren't fooling around on the material. 316 is a very high quality Stainless. There will not be any corrosion problems.
  11. For a number of years I attended a MINI Copper event at the Tail of the Dragon. At some point I need to take my 7 down there. All the roads in that area are really fun, but the Dragon is about as close to driving on a track as you can get. 318 turns in 11 miles
  12. Does anyone know where to get some of the ones used to attach cycle wings on? I saw the thread on here and want to use them, but can't locate them anywhere.
  13. CarlB

    Cold air

    I worked for a industrial engine manufacturer. One of our distributors built a compressor package that needed a little more power. He installed a refrigeration circuit on it where the evaporator was used like a intercooler. Like the Dodge there was a net power gain at the flywheel. The refrigeration circuit needs to be designed to the engine air flow. You are moving BTUs of heat and more power requires more hot air to cool. This was a natural gas engine driving a compressor that pumped natural gas from the wells through a collection system.
  14. I agree with the things being said about what affects the sound. My Zetec sound close to this one. I think mine is a little crisper. I credit the deep sound of mine to a Flow Master Muffler. Mine has throttle bodies, the middle Kent cams, ten to one compression (compression makes a difference) and a light flywheel.
  15. I think there are a couple of things going on. The weight is a issue, but the bigger issue is vaporizing the fuel. The fuel has to vaporize to burn. I would also say I wouldn't think it would be worth the effort. The benefit is at high RPM.
  16. Glad to hear about a new owner. You are welcome to come try my car. I have a S3 that currently has seats that are very similar to Tillet seats in it. I also have the leather seats we can substitute. I ware size 10.5 D shoes. the length isn't the problem the width is. You need driving shoes. I use tennis shoes that are about the same shape as driving shoes. I live in Fairfax Virginia. My car has a roll cage if you want to know what it is like to get in a car with a cage and removable steering wheel.
  17. You need one of these.
  18. Tires are made out of a number of things and all of them have hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons start evaporating as soon as the tire is made. The only thing we are discussing is how fast and how the evaporation affects the other components.
  19. First anything but laminated safety glass is not legal. There are safety regulations. Lexan would be a great material from a safety standpoint, but the problem is all the plastics scratch to easily.
  20. Some very sophisticated race engines run two injectors per cylinder to gain a little top end advantage from having a injector mounted high in the manifold. If you look at some of the drag race dyno comparisons between the long runner carburetor manifolds (tunnel ram) and fuel injection with the injectors mounted low and the back of the valve. Typically the carburetors make more power but the fuel injection has a better power curve. They do not show how well the carburetors control the fuel curve, but I would speculate the fuel injections advantage is in the fuel curve.
  21. Not exactly the same. The one in your picture looks like it is nylon. These are vinyl. https://www.delcity.net/store/Vinyl!Insulated-Push!On-Terminals/p_805397.h_805423
  22. CarlB

    oil cooler

    If your coolant temperature isn't to high and the oil pressure is dropping at high RPM you might have a lot of air in your oil. The spinning crankshaft can cause the problem if the oil level is too high or the pan isn't baffled properly. If you are using synthetic oil and the temperature is below 240 there shouldn't be a problem. That doesn't mean you wouldn't want a oil cooler to knock that down to 220. You need the oil to get hot enough to get the water out. Doing that will reduce the load on the cooling system. The other possibility is the engine oil is collecting in the top of the engine and not draining back. If that is the issue it is very easy to damage the engine. I do not know what type of engine you have, but I am not aware of drain back problems with the popular Ford engines used in our cars. Some engines need to restrict the amount of oil going to the top of the engine and or improve the drain back. All engines have a little blow by. Make sure your breather system is working and there isn't a lot of blow by.
  23. If you live anywhere near Gettysburg PA, I know someone who will make a stand for you.

  24. I read the post on a earlier page that the only tech requirement was the one on the registration page. I was under the impression that the state of New Jersey required a inspection. I read the section about inspections in the code and it only referred to sanctioning bodies or tracks. Do I need any other inspection beyond the one done at the track and outlined on the form from registration?
  25. Quaife has a good one on there web site. It lets you compare different transmission gears, rear end gears, and tire diameters. It has a bunch of pre loaded configurations for its transmissions and specific tires as well.
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