A 510 30 years in planing.

[andrew.lori]

Saw the video last weekend... more motivation to get my next 510 done. Did you show the producer what he was missing?

[RonM]

My brother has a few new year resolutions, so we're gearing up for some projects on the 510 for 2017. We bought one of Jeff's rack and pinion front cross members and finally getting the steering modernized and up to the task of pointing that SR in the right direction. We chose the manual rack, because adding the hydraulics didn't seem appropriate with this car. As this car is not designed for the comfort of a daily driver, I wouldn't want to lose the direct steering feedback to gain ease of use. One day we may consider doing electric power assist like Rich's old Coupe, but not yet. The plan is to instal it in my garage then have Troy Ermish dial it in. The chassis was built by Troy with tons of modifications (too many to list), so I'm hoping there won't be conflicts between Troy's setup and Icehouse's computer designed cross member shortened steering knuckled set up. We shall see.

The next idea we're tossing around is using nitrous to fill in low end power and get the turbo to spool up quicker. As I've mentioned in the past, on tight corners there is a tough spot where in 1st it's screaming bloody murder and all pissed off at 5K, or lagging it's ass off at 2500 in second. On an auto cross course tight corners are half the race so that little soft spot can really eat up time.

I've seen dyno graphs of an SR20 with this nitrous setup and it performs like a V8. 185hp and 217 lb-ft under 3000 RPM. Actually it's not as hair brained as it may sound. The concept is to use a two or three stage dry shot at low RPM until the boost kicks in and the turbo takes over. The system would have a primary low end tune where the ECU would monitor the RPM/gear/speed, throttle body position, 02 sensor, and boost. As the peddle is depressed in low RPM, the system would fire graduated nitrous shots and additional fuel as needed. The amount of nitrous and fuel would depend on how far the throttle is opened in relation to all those other monitoring points. Real time on the fly mixture tuning would be made using the 02 sensor to insure the safety of the motor. Once the turbo kicks in the nitrous system shuts down and the normal tune takes over. This would be a switchable system only used on a track. Because there's so much oxygen in nitrous and the cooling effect of gas evaporation there is also greater yet cooler exhaust gasses, so the turbo spools up much quicker without adding heat. I've been researching this and so far it makes sense. That being said, I know I need to temper my enthusiasm with a bit of realism, and at this point I'm still trying to figure out what the real part is.

Once we make headway on the cross member I'll post up some picts.

BE good ya'll

Ron M.

[RonM]

Saw the video last weekend... more motivation to get my next 510 done. Did you show the producer what he was missing?

No unfortunately, but MAN Andrew, I wish I could have. Never once did he induce even the slightest bit of wheel chirp around a corner. It was glaringly obvious the kid had never driven a classic race chassis car before and his response to underscores how sort technology makes us. Sure the wheel is heavy, but it tells you everything the car is doing while it's doing it. There's nothing high tech better than direct input. It's like the difference between texting someone and having a real face to face conversation with them. With power steering and ABS you are communicating with the road only in the most rudimentary sense. There is far less tactile feedback which gives a false sense of security for the uninitiated. It also increases the potential for miscommunication.

[ace028]

I'm eager to see how the rack and pinion setup goes. When I saw that he was producing those I got excited, but then I saw they were sold out. Looking forward to your report on this. I have been watching your build for quite sometime!

[RonM]

I'm eager to see how the rack and pinion setup goes. When I saw that he was producing those I got excited, but then I saw they were sold out. Looking forward to your report on this. I have been watching your build for quite sometime!

I've been emailing Jeff over the passed few weeks and from what I understand the first batch were very much a beta version. There are improvements being made for the next run, so be patient, the best solution is on it's way.

[andrew.lori]

Sounds like the producer would have done better with some Game Controls or a Joy Stick.... kids they don't get it LOL

[510rob]

Ron, how are your eyes doing these days?

[RonM]

Ron, how are your eyes doing these days?

It's an ongoing deterioration so it's hard for me to judge sometimes. I'm always adapting to new limitations without even realizing it. Some of the biggies are using one of those long white canes at night. Not a great way to pick up chicks, but I fell a bunch of times before I realized it was time. What makes it easier isn't sensing what's in front of me, but when using it, the public knows I have vision issues and not a drunken fool stumbling around.

The toughest was deciding to stop driving. I didn't want an accident to make the decision for me, and if I'd hurt some one I know it would haunt me for ever. Riding shotgun in the 510 with my brother is the next best thing to driving it.

That being said, although it requires much more light these days, I'm still working on the car. In facts I just got the box from icehouse with the rack & pinion front X-member. Nice big chunky parts is my specialty. I still need to source the MR2 rack and a few more bits, but when those come in I'll start posting up some picts.

mean while

R&P.Xmember.JPG (163.71 KiB) Viewed 4886 times

[RonM]

Happy New Year folk of the Realm.

[bertvorgon]

Same to you and all the 510'ers, I would still like to visit San Fran again. I missed you last time.

Having a quiet snowy night at home, about to watch THX1138.

[two_68_510s]

Happy New Year to you too, Ron.

[510rob]

Happy New Year everyone. Best of health in the new year and many safe returns.

[RonM]

Took a while, but I got all the bits and pieces for the steering conversion. Just waiting for some bushings to come in. Turns out a manual 1985 MR2 rack is hard to source. There are a bunch of MR2 folks converting from power assist to manual for better direct feedback. Those damn Toyota guys need to keep their hands off our 510 stuff.

[TheHeretic]

Ron, you planning on doing the Manteca show and swap meet this year? You can always caravan with Dean Sherman and myself!

[RonM]

Ron, you planning on doing the Manteca show and swap meet this year? You can always caravan with Dean Sherman and myself!

Are you talking about the one in March? Rolling up together would be a blast. I'm converting my 510 to rack & pinion in a few days, so that might be cutting it a bit close. Do you know the actual dates?