08-01-2013, 04:52 PM
You can get a differential pressure gauge for about £50, and it'd be useful for everything intake-side of the engine.
Then all you need to do is tap in to monitor pressures at different points and you can build a picture of what is good and bad as you tune. When you start to see bad results, then you can get in there change things and check the result.
That is good tuning, be it DIY or done by a manufacturer.
I'm just sceptical of changes made when the critical analysis of the part to be improved is basically "that looks crap"
Even if you just started with basic rules of thumb. Compressor intake will be X big. Due to X Y Z principle the throat at the other end needs to be X + 10%
I'm aiming for 200bhp at peak efficiency, the standard dimensions seem to be set for 100bhp at peak efficiency. That means I need double cross-section, or add 30% to my intake diameter... blah blah blah.
Optimum pipe radius to meet compressor if routing that way is 2x internal diameter at X flow, but we want 2 x X flow so the optimum bend is 3x internal diameter.
Even just some basic maths like that then I'd be thinking, yeah, they have got a shot at doing something worthwhile, they've got the numbers, seen why the standard one is not good, and by some basic rules of thumb a change might get them 5% more efficiency at 150bhp, and get them another 7-8bhp for their effort!
We all know intercoolers are better than none full stop, so we do them. We all know the benefits of bigger pumps, better turbos. They are all specified, rated, and well understood.
But a pipe like that isn't, so to do a good job of it you need to invest more time than simply finding a picture and saying "that is crap looking"
Dave
Then all you need to do is tap in to monitor pressures at different points and you can build a picture of what is good and bad as you tune. When you start to see bad results, then you can get in there change things and check the result.
That is good tuning, be it DIY or done by a manufacturer.
I'm just sceptical of changes made when the critical analysis of the part to be improved is basically "that looks crap"
Even if you just started with basic rules of thumb. Compressor intake will be X big. Due to X Y Z principle the throat at the other end needs to be X + 10%
I'm aiming for 200bhp at peak efficiency, the standard dimensions seem to be set for 100bhp at peak efficiency. That means I need double cross-section, or add 30% to my intake diameter... blah blah blah.
Optimum pipe radius to meet compressor if routing that way is 2x internal diameter at X flow, but we want 2 x X flow so the optimum bend is 3x internal diameter.
Even just some basic maths like that then I'd be thinking, yeah, they have got a shot at doing something worthwhile, they've got the numbers, seen why the standard one is not good, and by some basic rules of thumb a change might get them 5% more efficiency at 150bhp, and get them another 7-8bhp for their effort!
We all know intercoolers are better than none full stop, so we do them. We all know the benefits of bigger pumps, better turbos. They are all specified, rated, and well understood.
But a pipe like that isn't, so to do a good job of it you need to invest more time than simply finding a picture and saying "that is crap looking"
Dave
