Wednesday, June 26, 2013

R16 Twin Carburetor Tuning Update

I adjusted the carburetors. Based from the spark plugs, it was previously running lean at idle. I opened up the pilot screws out to 1/8 turn (the previous baseline setting was at 2.75 turns opened from fully closed position) to enrich the air-fuel mixture.
Lean mixture causing the center electrode of the spark plug to burn at a higher temperature shown by the white color on the ceramic casing.
Good burn indicated by the tan color on the electrode after adjusting the pilot screws 1/8 turn in open position.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Front Wheel Alignment and Camber

I finally had the time to have the front wheel alignment and camber.
Negative camber on the front tires...finally.
 
The first shop I went to was a fail. The mechanic didn't know how to change the camber settings on the Fairlady and their computer didn't have the settings for the Fairlady. The second shop was also a fail so decided to just go back to the original shop that last did the alignment and camber. Luckily, it was also nearby.
 The mechanic installed one shim on both retaining bolts on the upper A-arm to produce negative camber for the front wheels.
 Space was tight. The mechanic had to remove the wheels to gain access to the bolts and to insert the shims.
 Front wheels were also aligned with toe-in. Everything took about four hours to accomplish. New retaining bolts were also installed on the tie-rods, since the previous ones had their threads loose already and couldn't be tightened enough...which is definitely a safety issue.
Had a short road test as I drove back home. Initial feedback was that the steering effort is much heavier...most probably due to the negative camber. Although this will definitely provide more front end grip at speed during cornering.
I also had to retighten the brake line as it was leaking a bit. I hope it seals...so far no leaks on the brake line fitting.


Thursday, June 13, 2013

Pre-Race Maintenance Work

Will be changing the engine oil and steering box oil this week as part of the pre-race maintenance...apart from some other work that needs to be finished.
I replaced the steering box oil with fresh 80W-90 API GL5 oil from Mag1. Hopefully, this smoothens out the steering movement and feel.
 Osaka oil filter cartridge
 This cartridge design flows better than the previous oil filter cartridge I use.
 Oil filter cartridge assembly already cleaned.
 I had to use high temp silicone gasket maker to seal the oil filter cartridge and stop it from leaking. The original seal was damaged when a mechanic tried to remove it not knowing that it was integrated into the aluminum casing. Now I have to disassemble the entire assembly just to change the oil filter cartridge. Hassle!

 Curing time for the silicone gasket is about a day.
 Oil ports on the flange, already cleaned with carb cleaner.
 Oil filter assembly already installed into the R16 block...after a whole day of cleaning and curing.
 Checked also the oil pan for leaks on the drain plug. I also re-tightened the engine mounts beside the pan.
 Clutch slave still looks to be in good condition.
 The newly installed brake hose secured with a ziptie.
 Got to check also the brake calipers for leakage. So far so good.
 Porsche designed gearbox.
 Will be re-greasing the zerks soon.
Fresh 10W-40 Ultron Rallye semi-synthetic oil...been using this without much issues during street and race use.

A good two days of work just to change the oil on this Fairlady! Hard but satisfying labor indeed.

Thursday, June 06, 2013

Vintage Race Prep

Finally, I get to start on preparing the Fairlady for the next Vintage Race Series that's organized by the Manila Sports Car Club. The first leg will be on July 22. A lot of things have been done, but today I started on the steering and braking components before having the wheel alignment done.
 The left front tie rods are already worn. Definitely needs replacing.
Disassembling and checking the steering and suspension components just took less than an hour. The mechanic was pretty fast and very experienced!
Definitely, one of the culprits for the steering play...a worn-out tie rod. The right side of the steering and suspension components were still in good shape.

Toyoda Gosei (a Toyota brand) brake hose to replace the cracked old ones. It says in the packaging that's it's guaranteed for 40,000 kms. I hope so! But it does look like a good quality product
 The mechanic installing the new brake hoses for both sides.
Brand new brake hoses. I really feel safer already...especially after seeing the old hoses previously installed in the Fairlady!
Brake hose part number for future reference. The fittings are standard size in metric.
 SAE rating printed on the hose.
 This is the old front brake hose. It's really really worn out and it's full of cracks on the surface of the rubber. The rubber also has hardened already. Very unsafe indeed!
 It's full of cracks! And the fittings are starting to rust!

I also replaced the DOT 3 brake fluid with a much better quality and higher boiling point fluid by Wurth. It's DOT 4 rated and exceeds U.S. requirements (+250C dry boiling point, +160C wet boiling point), which offers a bit more margin of safety especially when racing around the track the whole day.
We had to bleed all four brakes to be sure that the new DOT 4 fluid gets to the entire brake system. Good exercise!
 Cool NGK sticker that I got.
It was hard to find a replacement part for the tie rod ends so I had to bring to a reputable machine shop to have them pressed. The pressed tie rod end.
 This linkage connects the steering box to the idler box. Both ball join ends needed to be pressed.

 Worn out rubber boots.
The rubber boots need replacing. I was able to buy P15 boots to replace the torn ones. These are locally manufactured boots made by TCL with part number TC-444(also the same manufacturer of the brake seals/rebuild kit I use on the Sumitomo-Dunlop calipers). I got spares as well. Good buy!
The pressed tie rod ends for the front left for the steering system. The front right tie rod is still in good shape along with the upper and lower ball joints.
I also adjusted the steering box to lessen the play. Steering feels much tighter now with a bit of play as recommended by the factory specs. I can't wait to test drive the Fairlady!
 
 Tools needed to adjust the steering box - 11/16" socket wrench, box wrench, long screw, and a pliers.
 New rubber boots being fitted to the tie rod ends.
Tie rod linkage being installed.
I also got to repair the brake master leak a few weeks ago. I had to remove the reservoir to get to the rubber seals. One of the seals was worn due to some rust in the brake master. I just cleaned it and reinstalled the reservoir with a bit of automotive silicon sealant. So far no leaks.
 Brake master still in good working condition...it would be a waste to replace it immediately. The culprit was just the rear rubber seal holding down the reservoir.

R16 engine start-up
I also did a tune-up for the R16 motor. Plugs were still clean. I just had to balance the twin carburetors, since idle and acceleration was a bit rough. It's much better now and less backfire through the exhaust.
NGK BP6ES Spark Plug
The plug on cylinder 1 shows a good burn indicated by the light brown/tan on the electrode ceramic tip.
The plugs on cylinders 2-4 show a lean burn in the combustion chamber. Will definitely keep an eye out on these plugs and the jettings. The engine might overheat with a too lean fuel/air mixture. At least these are not fouled. I also had a nice high speed test drive with up to 4,500 rpm on the highway (approximately 145kph) with smooth acceleration and cruising. Steering still needs some adjustment though...a bit tight from the newly pressed ball joints on the tie rods. I also got to use also Petron's new Blaze 100 octane formulation which is Euro 4 compliant. I felt better acceleration and engine response from the R16 engine.