Busa's next project

[BusaNostra]

For grandchildren of course....

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6VAuPPufNro

[locost7018]

OH YEAH!!!! But heck with the grandkids. Russ

[MHKflyer52]

That is great.

There use to be a steam train club just south of Santa Barbara, CA. up on the hillside but sadly it is now gone due to the gent that owned the property passing away.

[BusaNostra]

Love to see those crankshaft and rods turning 10,000 rpm ...lol

[scannon]

I liked the Shay type engine with the vertical pistons. There is a full size one that pulls passenger cars on the Georgetown Loop here in Colorado.

 

http://georgetownlooprr.com/uploads/fck//image/shay9.jpg

[Bruce K]

I liked the Shay type engine with the vertical pistons. There is a full size one that pulls passenger cars on the Georgetown Loop here in Colorado.

 

http://georgetownlooprr.com/uploads/fck//image/shay9.jpg

busa - i just reviewed the britishV8 online mag article of your 2004 caterham. your workmanship is stunning. from the pix, looks like your blue bomber cranks on the track, too. reversing the 5.7 hp to weight ratio provided in the article gives about the same hp as my honda s2000 motor, but i'll bet your torque is stronger. how is the throttle response with the turbo? oh - and may your new year be free of asteroids.

[scannon]

Bruce,

 

I think you are talking about my Caterham, not Busa's. The info in the British V8 article is a few years old. I changed out the Link ECU for a Hydra Nemesis with water/alcohol injection and the last dyno on the engine was 301 RWHP and 265 torque. It hits full boost by about 3,200 RPM and turbo lag can be induced by being in a higher gear and below 2,200 RPM. Power to weight ratio is now 4.55 lb/hp.

 

This engine is getting tired. It has 15k miles of WOT abuse. I love G forces, especially in the straight forward direction. Two cylinders are down on compression and it blows smoke when backing down against compression but the turbo makes up for the lost compression. The current engine is completely stock except for the turbo, 550cc injectors, fuel rail and stand alone ECU. I have a couple of spare engines and I'm debating whether to just stick one in or build one up this winter. 400 hp is fairly easy to get with the Miata engine. Its not a drag car but you can never have enough hp.

 

Its a blast on the track but has far higher limits than I do.

 

Speaking of HP, check out this 1,300 HP Rolls Royce:

Edited December 28, 2012 by scannon

[Bruce K]

Bruce,

 

I think you are talking about my Caterham, not Busa's. The info in the British V8 article is a few years old. I changed out the Link ECU for a Hydra Nemesis with water/alcohol injection and the last dyno on the engine was 301 RWHP and 265 torque. It hits full boost by about 3,200 RPM and turbo lag can be induced by being in a higher gear and below 2,200 RPM. Power to weight ratio is now 4.55 lb/hp.

 

This engine is getting tired. It has 15k miles of WOT abuse. I love G forces, especially in the straight forward direction. Two cylinders are down on compression and it blows smoke when backing down against compression but the turbo makes up for the lost compression. The current engine is completely stock except for the turbo, 550cc injectors, fuel rail and stand alone ECU. I have a couple of spare engines and I'm debating whether to just stick one in or build one up this winter. 400 hp is fairly easy to get with the Miata engine. Its not a drag car but you can never have enough hp.

 

Its a blast on the track but has far higher limits than I do.

 

Speaking of HP, check out this 1,300 HP Rolls Royce:

 

My mistake - sorry, Busa. Scannon, thanks for the link - what a hoot! That 3 ton Roller is probably good for 3 or 4 GPM (not a typo). With the kind of power generated by your turbo Mazda motor, aren't you running out of tire? From the article, I seem to recall 7" wheel width all around. Perhaps you could use 9", or even 10". Of course, right now, you have the ultimate sleeper thing going on. Would be fun to see the sneer melt from the face of that Lamborghini Aventador driver as your tailpipe shrinks in the distance. Got to say - your engineering prowess is far beyond mine. I run a small fleet of service vehicles, so when I tinker my toys near to death, our fleet mechanic bails me out. I admire your craftsmanship.

[scannon]

Bruce,

 

Thanks for the kind words. I didn't set a completion date and took my time on the build so I had plenty of time to do it the way I thought was best.

 

In warm weather with the stickier R888 track tires traction is not a problem. It always breaks loose a little in the fat part part of the power band in the first three gears but it is controllable and doesn't seem to make a difference in acceleration. The car has 53% of the weight on the rear wheels before I climb into it which helps.

 

In the colder weather with the Dunlop Direzza Sport street tires traction is always a problem if I let the boost come on strong but it is a real sweetheart to drive until you go WOT. Then you better have one hand on the wheel, one on the shifter, one eye on the tach and one on the road and be ready to catch a small sidestep when you bang off a shift.

 

A number of passengers have reported that the front wheels come off the ground about 4" when I hit 2nd gear with the sticky tires. I haven't been able to confirm that as I'm too busy to watch the front wheels down at the pavement level.

[Paul Hill]

For those in the northeast/eastern Canada that appreciate such things check out...

 

http://www.montreallivesteamers.com

 

I used to take my sons there in their younger years, an easy hour drive for a day of enjoyment that they remember still 20 yrs later.