The SX Wedges.
Discussion
mrzigazaga said:
Very true Smash..Thats what makes this forum better than any other...Whenever we have a mass debate things always get heated....A bit of light relief is always good in-between...(
)
It used to really annoy me when people would call my Wedge a kit car but no car is carved from a solid piece of metal..My joy is telling people "Its a hand built British sports car"..Mine have changed my life for the better..And a big plus is that i have inherited with it a load of new friends who are all carve from the same block of carbon..Diamond...
Its nice also to see the ex-missus..Thanks for posting a pic....
Well, I could argue it's not all THAT off topic - chassis design, GRP issues, parts from all over... someone tell me what's NOT relevant in there ? [I do understand however, it is sort of wandering off.] )It used to really annoy me when people would call my Wedge a kit car but no car is carved from a solid piece of metal..My joy is telling people "Its a hand built British sports car"..Mine have changed my life for the better..And a big plus is that i have inherited with it a load of new friends who are all carve from the same block of carbon..Diamond...
Its nice also to see the ex-missus..Thanks for posting a pic....
(Wedg1e - The earlier Dut
Pheat was what I was talking about. That chassis was 
) Anyway - calling a TVR a kit car doesn't annoy me nearly as much as calling it a TR7 !!!
(OOPS, is that MORE off topic ?)And describing anything as a "hand built British sports car" tends to remind me of the horrid BL period of awful vehicles, (inc. TR7 and Marina, etc), but I think that's just me being a cynical bastrad.
Edited by RCK974X on Sunday 10th August 21:46
Not sure if it's already been posted elsewhere but there's a supercharger claimed to be suitable for the Rover V8 and TVR on flea at the moment.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-m-weiand-144-Superchar...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-m-weiand-144-Superchar...
Hmm yes interesting thread - getting back to the topic again I have now put 60k onto my 400SX and done a fair amount of work on it - including cylinder head gaskets.
My overall impression is that it's a very reliable car especially given the boosted nature of it - meaning a more stressed engine. Most of the problems I've had have been down to lack of information rather than fundamental engineering:
- I've got through a number of drive belts until I settled on Gates belts - end of problem.
- The timing marks seemed to be set up strangely - way off on the pulley.
- It runs a bit rich on WOT.
While working on the car I've removed and replaced the blower and ancillaries and I have only come across a couple of engineering issues which I've improved:
- One of the mounting bolts for the blower bracket runs through the water pump - and the vibrations eventually snapped the pump casing. I have since welded up the pump building up that area with weld, and also fitted some mild steel bracing straps - no more problems since.
- One other mounting goes onto number one cylinder head bolt - which transmits vibrations into the head and leads to failure of the gasket. So I've made up a steel bracket to take this mounting to the block instead.
- The SX throttle bracket has a stop that prevents full 90 degree rotation - a little filing solved this.
Everything else had been just the normal wedge parts replacement schedule and I keep the oil changes to 3k miles to be on the safe side.
My overall impression is that it's a very reliable car especially given the boosted nature of it - meaning a more stressed engine. Most of the problems I've had have been down to lack of information rather than fundamental engineering:
- I've got through a number of drive belts until I settled on Gates belts - end of problem.
- The timing marks seemed to be set up strangely - way off on the pulley.
- It runs a bit rich on WOT.
While working on the car I've removed and replaced the blower and ancillaries and I have only come across a couple of engineering issues which I've improved:
- One of the mounting bolts for the blower bracket runs through the water pump - and the vibrations eventually snapped the pump casing. I have since welded up the pump building up that area with weld, and also fitted some mild steel bracing straps - no more problems since.
- One other mounting goes onto number one cylinder head bolt - which transmits vibrations into the head and leads to failure of the gasket. So I've made up a steel bracket to take this mounting to the block instead.
- The SX throttle bracket has a stop that prevents full 90 degree rotation - a little filing solved this.
Everything else had been just the normal wedge parts replacement schedule and I keep the oil changes to 3k miles to be on the safe side.
Yeah it's running the standard 6psi boost. At about 4.5k rpm the blower can't keep up with the engine and the boost drops to around 4.5psi at max revs (although you have to have a fair amount of bottle to keep the foot on the floor while running past these revs to glance at the boost gauge ;^) This is probably a good reason not to fiddle with the pulley ratios because the blower will run out of puff earlier if you try upping the boost.
I don't have a problem with detonation now even with supermarket juice especially since I had the heads off and decoked them - there was a fair amount of crud on the piston crowns and in the head chambers which probably upped the C.R. slightly - apart from providing hotspots for detonation to start from.
Also as I said it's set up a bit rich so this may help.
For more relevant stuff on SX's see this thread:
SX Technical Data
Also from the FAQ there are a few more SX threads.
I don't have a problem with detonation now even with supermarket juice especially since I had the heads off and decoked them - there was a fair amount of crud on the piston crowns and in the head chambers which probably upped the C.R. slightly - apart from providing hotspots for detonation to start from.
Also as I said it's set up a bit rich so this may help.
For more relevant stuff on SX's see this thread:
SX Technical Data
Also from the FAQ there are a few more SX threads.
adam quantrill said:
Hmm yes interesting thread - getting back to the topic again I have now put 60k onto my 400SX and done a fair amount of work on it - including cylinder head gaskets.
My overall impression is that it's a very reliable car especially given the boosted nature of it - meaning a more stressed engine. Most of the problems I've had have been down to lack of information rather than fundamental engineering:
- I've got through a number of drive belts until I settled on Gates belts - end of problem.
- The timing marks seemed to be set up strangely - way off on the pulley.
- It runs a bit rich on WOT.
While working on the car I've removed and replaced the blower and ancillaries and I have only come across a couple of engineering issues which I've improved:
- One of the mounting bolts for the blower bracket runs through the water pump - and the vibrations eventually snapped the pump casing. I have since welded up the pump building up that area with weld, and also fitted some mild steel bracing straps - no more problems since.
- One other mounting goes onto number one cylinder head bolt - which transmits vibrations into the head and leads to failure of the gasket. So I've made up a steel bracket to take this mounting to the block instead.
- The SX throttle bracket has a stop that prevents full 90 degree rotation - a little filing solved this.
Everything else had been just the normal wedge parts replacement schedule and I keep the oil changes to 3k miles to be on the safe side.
Do you have a separate oil supply for the compressor?My overall impression is that it's a very reliable car especially given the boosted nature of it - meaning a more stressed engine. Most of the problems I've had have been down to lack of information rather than fundamental engineering:
- I've got through a number of drive belts until I settled on Gates belts - end of problem.
- The timing marks seemed to be set up strangely - way off on the pulley.
- It runs a bit rich on WOT.
While working on the car I've removed and replaced the blower and ancillaries and I have only come across a couple of engineering issues which I've improved:
- One of the mounting bolts for the blower bracket runs through the water pump - and the vibrations eventually snapped the pump casing. I have since welded up the pump building up that area with weld, and also fitted some mild steel bracing straps - no more problems since.
- One other mounting goes onto number one cylinder head bolt - which transmits vibrations into the head and leads to failure of the gasket. So I've made up a steel bracket to take this mounting to the block instead.
- The SX throttle bracket has a stop that prevents full 90 degree rotation - a little filing solved this.
Everything else had been just the normal wedge parts replacement schedule and I keep the oil changes to 3k miles to be on the safe side.
Quote-tastic!
Adam the parts number for the Gates belt should be on the SX tech data thread. The Pix belt also fits and it a bit cheaper but only lasts 5-10k. It's OK as a spare though.
The oil for the blower is supplied from a little reservoir alongside and I fill it with ATF as per Dennis Priddle's recommendation (incidentally I wonder if he has got over his illness?)
Adam the parts number for the Gates belt should be on the SX tech data thread. The Pix belt also fits and it a bit cheaper but only lasts 5-10k. It's OK as a spare though.
The oil for the blower is supplied from a little reservoir alongside and I fill it with ATF as per Dennis Priddle's recommendation (incidentally I wonder if he has got over his illness?)
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