Mustang V6 Autocrosser named Mistress

Blower Tubing 

Now to connect the dots: Supercharger to Intercooler to MAF to Throttle Body. 

Procharger has a nice annotated layout drawing for the two major variations (ABS and no ABS). Parts are all in labeled bags. It does not take much to figure out what goes where. A tiny bit of silicone grease on the rubber fittings helps get everything connected properly. Each section should get fitted up before tightening the hose clamps. Otherwise you will just be loosening the clamps again, and again. 

Clearances are very tight in a few spots. As noted earlier, a little more brake line abuse is required on the driver side but it is not as bad as the earlier work. It will get replaced this winter.

This is a time to take time and fuss and finesse a little. Back when I put the Race Louvers in the hood I “boxed in” the radiator to force air coming in the front through the radiator. I reasoned that I would have to cut some holes in these barriers to allow the tubes to pass. This worked well on the driver side of the radiator. On the passenger side I had the hole cut and set up before I realized there was no way the tube would fit.  

This did not fit.  

So that entire side wall was removed and the tubing itself became the side of the “box”. 

Note that I had to entirely remove the intercooler to get this elbow on there. I am so very glad I used those speed nuts on the bottom lugs.

Here is the bottom of the same run. 

The tubing is nearly self supporting from the various components it is connecting. It is fairly stiff in spite of all the rubber parts.  I had to add one fabricated bracket at the driver side front tire supported by the frame. Note the threaded jack stand supporting the tubing while I get it bolted up.

The Procharger directions have you trimming off a bit of the radiator fan housing. One little snip. However, after test fitting all of the tubing and the plastic inlet duct that holds the air filter I ended up with many little snips. 

As I said above. This is good time to be a little fussy. One bit of good news. The BBK cold air intake being replaced by this operation has a chrome cover plate that dresses up the hole in the inner fender and helps keep hot engine air away from the air filter in the fender. The new supercharger tubing fit up with this plate perfectly. Looks nice. 

At this point the basic install of the superharger was complete. Next steps were to modify the fuel system. Then tuning and troubleshooting.

Injectors and Booster

With the supercharger system installed the fuel system now needed to be upgraded. The supercharger adds more air. This must be matched with fuel. As you can see from the discussions here last spring there are a variety of ways to achieve this. It is important to do this right because damage can be done if there is not enough fuel. More on that in the tuning discussion.

Last April I was shopping around for parts and mentioned here what I was thinking. Patientzero (who has some significant experience with building high HP Mustangs) questioned what I was doing and caused me to reset a little. I interviewed my parts supplier and then my tuner company. And I found that what I was thinking was entirely wrong. Patientzero's suggestions would work. But my car is simpler and lower HP than his gray monster track car with the gazebo hood. For my car (working with a potential 400 HP or less) there was another way to boost & control the fuel pressure. And it turned out to be fairly simple.

Part of the problem is delivering more fuel at a controlled pressure. A typical method of doing this is to add a regulated return line back to the tank.  This gives the additional fuel required from a bigger pump (or additional pump) and also provides the control in the form of a small, nimble, control valve on the return. In process engineering we design similar systems for chemical plants all the time.

The Procharger standard kit actually modifies the fuel pump in the tank and adds as second one. As per the "Lawyer Switch" discussion earlier this gives them much needed control of the fuel system. Their design is basically out of date. If they designed that kit today it might look a lot like my set up.

The fuel pump is boosted from 12 volt to 18 volt with an electronic voltage booster. This fuel system is a "non return" type. The pumps responds to a pressure sensor on the fuel rail and changes speed as required. Since everything is filtered through the engine control computer it can anticipate required changes and start adjusting the pump prior to the actual pressure change is detected on the fuel rail. 

This makes the system smart and nimble and means we do not need to add a return fuel line even with the increased fuel delivery. Basically we are over clocking the pump. The main downside I can see on this is that the pump will be working harder under some conditions. More work means more heat (that damn 2nd Law again). These pumps are typically cooled by the fuel in the tank. Since the size of the pump casing is unchanged it theoretically could run hot. This is exacerbated by the fact that during an autocross I typically run with 1/4 tank or less. Less fuel sloshing around to cool the pump. Then again, an autocross typically lasts under a minute. Not a lot if time to build up heat. Time will tell...

The booster could mount anywhere but I chose right next to the existing fuel pump controller behind the trunk panel on the driver side. It comes with a big sticky Velcro pad so it can mount right in on something and not rattle. It has a power fuse which I mounted to a new hole in the trunk panel. That's it! What ever voltage the control system sends to the fuel pump this will send 1/2 again higher.

The other change is simply to upgrade the injectors. The new injectors are Dekka 60# units that VMP already has the curves for. The injectors themselves were very straight forward. Pull off the upper intake manifold and some fuel rail mounting bolts and the rail with injectors lifts out. 

The injectors snap on the rail with some clips.  

And then we are ready to load the first tune!

I love this build. You're doing exactly what I dreamed of doing to my first car

In reply to iammclovin804 :

Thanks. What idiot tries to take an outdated grocery getter and turn it into a specialized race car? It can never truly be a serious competitor.  But this is not unique. These forums are full of project cars that are even farther off the mark than this one. They are also full of project cars that are splendid professional level racing machines. They are all madness, every one of them. This is just a certain form of it. 

Before going into the trials of tuning here is the finished product: 

2 – Supercharger 

3 – Supercharger outlet tube 

4 – Intercooler 

5 – Intercooler to MAF tube 

Existing Items 

A – Power Steering Cooler and vent into wheel well. 

B – MM K-Member and lower control arms 

C – ABS controller and mangled brake lines – Needs to be re-worked. 

1 – Turbocharger inlet. I am not pleased with the fact that this is taking warm air from the engine bay. Contemplating ways to resolve that and get back to cold air intake. 

6 – Return tube after the intercooler into the MAF.

7 - Revised, up-sized MAF. More on that later. 

Existing items - 

D & E – Vacuum pump for brake assist and PCV pump. These need to get re-wired. It is a rat's nest under there. 

F – Aux power block, fuses and relays. 

G – Vacuum Tank & Check Valve 

H – MM Caster/Camber plates 

J – Coolant temperature probe. This needs to be relocated. 

For a cataloged listing of the madness - Here is a link to the current status of Mistress: 

Mistress

Read through this thread and I've gotta say, your experiences swapping to a tru-track helical diff almost exactly mirror my own swapping into my 07 4.0. I only wish that I had gotten my car in the garage and set it up as high as you. Doing it on my back in the driveway was indeed no fun, but so worth it!

Nice to see someone else having fun with the oft-maligned V6 pony car. I am also currently sorting out the chassis on mine before adding power, but Michigan roads are slowly convincing me that a good chassis can't really make up for the low power when all the roads are straight. In GA and CA the 4.0 was enough to have fun in the twisties, but now I'm debating a 4.0 stroker Cyclone build to get the nose weight down even further with more power, or really losing my marbles and putting the wrong snake-car motor in it.

^"Wrong snake-car motor" You don't mean Viper do you?

In reply to bumpsteer

I love my Tru-trak. I get all the traction there is to give from the rear end all the time. And it is more robust than the stock internals in the 7.5 dif.

There are downsides though: The first is that when it breaks free both sides do it at once with no warning other than the fall off built into your tires. A more sensitive touch is required than a “limited slip” unit with cones or clutch plates.  Which is why some people strongly prefer them.

The other is that you must have your suspension sorted properly for the corners. Lift, or unload, an inside rear wheel and the car practically stops (or seems like it).

Driveway work under the car is no fun. I think the best modification I got for Mistress was the ability to easily lift her four feet off the ground.

We used to live up in the Saginaw Michigan area. One evening out driving in the fall after the corn was down I asked my wife: “How far away do you think that light is in the distance?”  It was above a barn door five miles away. Flat and straight – Yes. Still, to this day I do not know how fast Mistress can go. Not interested. Push the right foot down until the car runs out of aero, power, gear, or road. Any one of those scenarios seems like a bad way to end a good day.

I can offer no useful discussion on swapping motors other than do research. And then do some more. Other people have done this. Your S197 car and the various modular engine packages should make it easier than with my older equipment. Are there kits for this?

Hmmm…. A Viper V 10 in an S197 Mustang. Sounds like a firewall relocation and a lot of work.  A Ford Modular V10 might fit in there? But those were more suited as truck engines I think (torque) and the V-8s had as much  or more power.

Speaking of research – In case you want to keep six pistons:  Check out:  http://www.supersixmotorsports.com/

and: http://moranav6racing.com/. 

Tuning Mistress

Air Fuel Ratios, Spark Advance and a variety of other parameters have to be adjusted to match up with the new air flows created by the supercharger. For years I have been using VMP in Florida as my source for mail in tunes. They work with SCT systems (more on that later).

With a stock engine everything is known in terms of fuel flow curves verses engine load and RPM. A tuner can often give you a “strategy” program that will provide enhancements to power, economy, etc.

But with a custom engine like this they need to “home in” on it with multiple iterations and testing. Even with selecting injectors and a MAF that VMP had curves for it took eight iterations of download and testing.  This is a custom engine tune for this car only.

Collecting Data Without a Dyno

This is best if you have the car on a dyno and can take multiple "pulls" collecting the data. Make some tweaks, and repeat until it is right. This gets expensive because you are paying by the hour and paying for the expertise of your tune technician. My local dyno uses a different tuning system which does not support my engine. And I needed to make some physical changes to the car during the process. So out into the wild we go.

Each iteration requires a download of the tune, re-programming the car, then a test run collecting new data. Finally you mail the data file back to the tuner and wait a couple of days. Repeat as necessary...

In this case most of the test runs were on a deserted country highway. My wife or a neighbor held my old laptop to record data while I floor the car from about 15 mph to 70 mph in second gear.

The only safe way to do this is to have a partner. Think about it – You are going to briefly break the speed limit in a freshly modified car pulling with all the traction the tires can muster. The last thing you want is to juggle is a laptop sliding around on the passenger seat. What could go wrong?

Your logging partner’s job is to hold the laptop and start the logging process about 10 seconds before pulling out. Then verifying that the program is running. At this time the driver is making sure the traffic is clear both ways, the car is in the correct gear, etc. Several times we had the logger running and then had to wait for a car that suddenly appeared.

When everything is right, pull out slowly make sure the car is straight and go directly for WOT without wheel spin. During the run both of you are monitoring gauges that might not be logged (boost in my case) and RPM and traffic. No need to hit redline, just get near it. Bouncing off the redline is very hard on most engines and would provide no useful information to the tuner.

Another important thing doing non-dyno data logging is to select the right location near where you live. Smooth road, wide shoulders, minimal traffic, no crossroads. In Green Bay a nearby country highway entrance ramp served very well. Sort of a slightly inclined drag strip. Here in Michigan a nearby state highway worked well. We just had to choose the right time of day (about 8 pm in August) and we had the wide two-lane blacktop to ourselves.

Science

One of the primary things the tuner is looking for is about 14.7 Air to Fuel Ratio (AFR) at idle and 11.5 to 12.5 under WOT. This is a MASS FLOW Ratio: 14.7 pounds of air for every one pound of fuel. This is the stoichiometric mix of air and fuel for perfect combustion of gasoline. At other ratios it may still burn but at this ratio it goes BANG. Other fuels work best at other ratios.

The first couple of tunes were tested with the car in the garage at idle. AFR was 9 or 10 or so. Very rich. So rich the car was sputtering and blowing black greasy soot all over.

The tuner has to creep up on the right mixture from the rich side. Too lean and things can quickly overheat and cause detonation. That said, I think they really missed the mark. So much extra fuel went down the pipes I had to replace the other AFR probe. I was not at all pleased with this situation and overall would give VMP only a 3 star grade this time.

By the third or fourth tune we were able to take the car beyond idle and drive it. I was just reporting what the AFR gauges were reading to the tuner. No real load yet.

This is when my tuner asked me why the AFR gauges were not hooked into the data logging directly. Because I did not know you could do that is why. Turns out SCT makes a special whip with a firewire plug that fits into my old SCT tuning programmer (Oh, so that is what that extra port is for...) Two analog channels, one for each AFR gauge!

So, I took the dashboard back apart, found the analog data wires from the gauges, soldered them to the new whip and plugged it into the programmer. There is also a COM output from these gauges so I wired that up to nine pin connectors (have not used them).

A few minutes configuring the ports and I could now datalog the AFR gauges.

Once we were driving the car it became apparent that the stock MAF was not suitable for this pressurized configuration. I purchased an SCT  BA-2600 MAF from Summit. Plug and Play install.

Wires, Plugs & Software – Re-Programming the Car

My tuning set up is like this:  SCT Programmer plugs into the OBDII Port.  From here you can upload or download a tunes between the programmer and the car.  If given permission, you can also modify some of the settings directly (like tire diameter, gear ratio, etc.) More on that later...

On my set up, with older equipment, the programmer can also connect to a USB port on a windows computer. I have an old Sony Vaio laptop that serves this purpose well. A program from SCT on the Windows laptop called “Device Updater” (catchy name!) is used to transfer the encrypted files with a USB printer cable. I expect newer equipment uses Bluetooth?

If you want to data log what the car is doing hook everything up at once (laptop to programmer to OBD2) and use a Windows program from SCT called “Livewire” (better name).

The analog inputs from the AFRs plug into the programmer on the additional port. VMP (and most tuners I presume) has a list of about 40 parameters to monitor. Once you have selected them all you save that arrangement off in a “config” file for easy loading next time.

 So – Eight iterations, each three or four days apart and August was over. The car was running very nicely and I have a new neighbor who thinks I am crazy just like my old neighbor Lou. The tune and config file is backed up on my Google Drive.

Lawyers, the EPA, and Limitations

My tune allows me to change some of the parameters directly from the programmer. But not as many as the last tune I received from VMP in 2017.  In 2018 the EPA came down on the parent company of SCT (Derive Industries) and fined them for allowing customers to basically override the pollution controls on their cars. There were several individual small speed shops put out of business as part of this same set of lawsuits.

The upshot of this action (along with ruining some lives and businesses as collateral damage) is that VMP must tune my car as if all pollution equipment is present (it is) and cannot go beyond certain limitations. In other words, the car is NOT tuned to the gnat’s ass for performance and as far as both VMP and I are concerned should still be street legal. They even required me to send a photo of the engine bay presumably to verify there was still an EGR & PCV system etc.  They do not require testing where I live. But if they did, I expect Mistress would fair pretty well for a 20-year-old car. Everything is there and still functioning including the cats and O2 sensors.

What were the manual tuning limitations? In the programming controls I can manually retard global spark a few points from where they set it. This will allow me to adjust if I am traveling and cannot get 93 octane gas. Pull a couple of points out and 91 octane will work without causing detonation (at the cost of some power). Perfectly legal and highly desired since 93 octane is hard to come by in some states.

But I cannot advance global spark from where they left it (I could before). This would push the engine a little closer to the edge of detonation and create a little more power. It would also burn hotter and presumably increase NOX production beyond what a 2002 V6 Mustang is allowed. So it is a little conservative and does not cause more pollution than it should. I am fine with that.

Next is the dyno and results…

The Results Are In 

I drove Mistress down to a local dynamometer/speed shop about 20 miles from home. As noted above this shop could not do anything with my tune because their software does not have my engine control programming.  Even if they could work on it they would not be able to do much legally since this is still a street car. So this was just for grins, my edification, and to see what numbers the car was putting out. I need a data point. 

We ran four pulls in third gear. The results: A disappointing 284 HP at the wheels with 298 torques. Peak power at about 4300 RPM and peak torque at about 5500 RPM. That works out to about 310 HP at the engine or 90 to 100 HP short of goal. Zero to 60 times are about 6 seconds. Not on target.

I had to think it over for a few minutes before I realized what had happened. The primary issue is not enough boost. The target boost was 11 psi but we are only pulling about 6.  

The supercharger was ordered as if it was mounting on a stock 3.8 ltr engine with stock intake, valves, etc. But this is a 4.2 stroker with everything opened up to breathe better.  

At lower RPMs it is a centrifugal fan that builds pressure gradually with speed. At higher RPMs the supercharger, spinning at, perhaps, 45000 RPM or more, starts displaying characteristics similar to a positive displacement unit (remember the photo above during install with the intake off and the radial vanes? The centripital force on the air at high speed is fantastic). Mass Air Flow (pounds per hour) for this type of device becomes (almost) directly linked to RPM.  At the high speed it is going to a move specific mass of air per revolution (at any reasonable back pressure).  

The engine is designed to flow more air than the supercharger can put out. That is why the boost pressure is down. Basically, the supercharger is holding the engine back from its full 11 psi potential. 

The fix is pretty obvious and pretty easy. A smaller pully is advised to generate more blower RPM and, therefore, more flow. The rookie mistake is mine for not working this out with Procharger on the initial purchase. A quick phone call verified my thinking and they were able to easily recommend a new size. Cost is about $110. The tune will need a revision for another $150 (dammit). Lesson learned. 

While I am at it I am finally planning to have the IMRC valve removed. It is no longer needed and adds a little restriction in the intake. 

I plan to be back at the dyno in the spring. Now that I have Grattan Raceway practically in my back yard I want that additional power. We will see what we get. 

In the meantime, here is a video on the dyno. Not a lot of action but she makes a nice noise: 

Mistress on The Dyno

Glad to see you're making progress on making the blower setup work well. I'm suprised there's no one closer who could work with you on the tune or do a better job such as Livernois, or one of the other Ford tuning houses in MI. If I still worked at my former job I could probably find a calibrator to help you. 

With superchargers, I have found it's more useful to conceptualize a pulley ratio and RPM as power potential rather than base that estimate off of boost, considering that at the end of the day, the blower is going to move a certain amount of air at a certain speed, and the amount of power will vary only by how efficient the engine behind it is at using that. Centrifugals can be trickier from that perspective with airflow vs pressure ratio vs speed compared to a PD unit though. 

Re: super six: yeah when I lived near twisties, the dream build was a cylone 3.7 with the super six catalog thrown at it (4.0 stroker, head porting, cams - ~400hp NA, and lose about 80lb off the nose). Nowadays a gen 3 viper mill seems like a more entertaining prospect as I can't afford a Viper, but I could afford a complete viper powertrain, GT500 tailshaft housing (use a factory Ford shifter), and 8.8 with with a few years of saving. I have a bare gen 2 block in my garage that fits lengthwise based on my eyecrometer, but would likely either require a custom radiator hung out into the bumper, or rear mounted radiator that I don't have qualms engineering. Putting a modular in it just seems too easy and straightforward.

Plan is to get my 4.0 out to Waterford at least once this year, maybe I'll make it out to grattan one of these times!

In reply to bumpsteer :

Progress happens slow and steady. The current set up has given me a good data point to work from. It should be fairly easy to home in on the power I am shooting for from here. As for nearby dynos: I am about 1/2 way between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. No big cities or metro areas. There are only a few operations in reasonable distance. I checked them out and made a choice. They seemed to know what they are doing.

You are right about conceptualizing the centrifugal blower as a discussion of speeds & potential power. That ties into my basis that at supersonic tip speeds the air is behaving somewhat like a liquid rather than a compressible gas. 

If you put that Snake in a Mustang I hope you write it up on GRM. I would like to see that process worked out. Serious cool car factor.

I am not really a "Track Day" kind of driver and Mistress is not set up for it. However, I like Gratten. It is kind of like a golf course with a race track running through it. Lots of hills, Monza Bowl, off camber corners, blind corners, small jump and a 1/2 mile straight. Nice little play ground and it is about 40 minutes away.

Loose Ends and Near-Term Plans

So here are several thoughts, issues, & ruminations that that were not mentioned above but were related to the supercharger installation. And then some plans for Mistress this winter:

Records

We read all the time that we should keep good records of observations at events and such. Records of modifications are also important from time to time and one of those times is when you want to get a new tune. Not a problem if the engine is mostly stock.

But if your engine has morphed over a period of years into some sort of weird, one-off, bespoke, bastardized, Frankenstein agglomeration of racing parts… You will need to tell the tuner about anything that might affect fuel, air flow, shifting, etc. Camshaft specs, displacement, compression ratio, throttle body diameter, injectors specs, fuel pump specs, fuel controls, RPM range, gear ratios, differential ratio, pollution equipment, tire diameter, boost, yada yada…

VMP has a form for you to fill out. I presume this is fairly typical. My records are good but not perfect. It took me a while to dig up some of this stuff (old emails). I put a copy of the filled in form on my OneDrive for safe keeping (along with the final tune and config files).

A while ago I actually created an index of this build log on page one because I found myself referring back to it as a record of past modifications. Some of this work dates back ten years and some has been replaced by newer iterations. I have enough trouble remembering what I had for breakfast let alone what the compression ratio is.

Wires for Securing Things

The SCT throttle body does not have ribs at each end to keep rubber sleeves from slipping off. I consider that a serious design flaw.

I expect there were meetings reviewing the design drawings and some manager vetoed cutting grooves in the housing at each end due to cost. I also expect they were later fired.

On an early data log run with my wife working the computer one of the rubber connectors blew off. The engine stopped making power instantly and we coasted to the side of the road in the evening twilight. My wife was being a good sport, but she was not a happy camper at the specter of a tow truck ride home.

I looked and poked and finally called a tow truck. Then I looked and poked some more and finally spotted the loose coupling. Fixed it is two minutes and called off the tow truck. On the way home the coupling came loose again. The rubber gets quite soft on the hot engine. It needs a mechanical interlock to stay put under pressure.

So I used a new toy/tool to make a wire harness to bind the two rubber couplings to the MAF. A wire twisting tool has a lot of uses and I am always looking to find new ones. It is a pair of locking pliers with a “Yankee Screwdriver” mechanism in the center that twists a pair of stainless-steel wires around each other.

The two twisted wires get a little stress hardening and reinforce each other. The resulting twisted pair is much more rigid than the individual wires and quite strong. I first used these tools working in utility power plants to hang Limacoid tags on instruments and valves.

I made two loops of wire that are twisted on each side to hold the rubber couplings to the MAF. They are now trapped and can’t escape.

Rubbing Banging Belt

The addition of the supercharger adds its drive pully and a new tension pully to the serpentine belt system. Some of this stuff bolts onto cast surfaces on the front housing of the engine. I was rather amazed it all lined up.

After the first event at Grattan my amazement subsided. The belt was rubbing on the tensioner bracket.

The only fix was to file off the back mounting surface to realign the bracket with the other pulleys.

Another problem with the tensioner was that it was mounted with a hex head bolt. There is not enough clearance between the moving part of the tensioner and the bolt head. This was limiting its motion a little and causing noisy clunking during operation.
The fix was a socket head cap screw with a smaller diameter head (which should have been shipped with the kit).

Hot Air

I don’t like that with this intake configuration the supercharger is pulling air from under the hood right behind the radiator. It is counterproductive. Hot air is fat air and is less dense than cold air. This translates to less power.

There is about a 3/8” gap between the hood and the top of the radiator support that cold air can leak past. I added a deflector to help push the hot stuff from the radiator down and away. This hopefully drops the inlet temperature a few degrees. It probably does roughly nothing except make me feel better. I am thinking through better solutions…

Near Term Plans

One of those solutions to the hot air issue would be to remove the air conditioning system which would make space for a thicker, shorter two core radiator. Summit has one for about $800 with new fans. This would offer better cooling and a 3” gap above the radiator for cold air to come in. I could then box in the air cleaner thereby making a ram cold air inlet. This is on the back burner for the moment but I think the AC system is going away anyway. I really don’t use it much up here in the Great White North and it would be good to remove the weight.

Primary focus is:

• Fix the mangled brake lines.
• Smaller sheave on the supercharger. Shooting for 12 PSI which should top out at 400 HP or so. Will require an updated tune.
• Remove the IMRC (long overdue).
• Fix the wiring/sensor issue that keeps bringing up a trouble light related to the camshaft position sensor (dammed annoying).
• Remove the AC.
• Relocate where the temperature gauge probe is mounted on the cooling bypass line (can be done while everything is apart for the IMRC)
• Reinstall the transmission cooler (might be associated with the radiator replacement noted above).
• Re-wire the PVC and vacuum pumps to remove the haywire mess under the mounting plate.
• Re-install the clock where the boost gauge is and relocate the boost gauge to a less predominate position.
• New tires. Have been using the Bridgestone RE71R for a few years and have been very happy with them. Not happy that they are not symmetrical anymore. Thinking of going Hankook RS4?

And then “but first” syndrome kicks in: Have to clean the garage…

Springs and Pulleys

Spring is in the air (finally). I have not retired yet and am still working nearly full time. This is partly because I have a very good, interesting, and difficult project going on where I can be useful. Partly for the money. Partly that such transitions are a little scary. At least for me they are...

The outdoor projects have started. The main project is building a large fenced in raised bed garden that will measure roughly 30 by 40 feet when complete. I am trying to build it fast enough to stay ahead of all the seedlings my wife started last winter. I have about one month before I lose that battle.

All of the above is a distraction from the very important task of getting Mistress prepared for a new season. It may prove to be a big season. I continue to be a member of SCCA Lake Superior Region but have also re-joined Saginaw Valley Region where I started autocrossing. Between the two clubs there are about 14 two day events and a couple of single day events. All at excellent venues. Most about 300 miles away. Then there is the CAM Challenge in Peru, IN. It is now only a few hours away. And Western Michigan Region puts on a couple of excellent autocross events at Grattan Raceway only 40 minutes away.

Hopefully the new Falkens in the garage will be totally shot in six months. With work and gardens such lets see how I did on my “To Do” list from last fall:

• Fix the mangled brake lines. → Nope
• Smaller sheave on the supercharger. Shooting for 12 PSI which should top out at 400 HP or so. Will require an updated tune. → ALMOST - Still need the tune updated – On a waiting list.
• Remove the IMRC (long overdue). → DONE
• Fix the wiring/sensor issue that keeps bringing up a trouble light related to the camshaft position sensor (dammed annoying).  → Fixed! Had to replace both the camshaft and crankshaft sensors.
• Remove the AC. → Decided to wait.   Had enough trouble finding a belt that would fit with the smaller supercharger pulley. Did not want to start over.
• Relocate where the temperature gauge probe is mounted on the cooling bypass line (can be done while everything is apart for the IMRC) → DONE! Looks good.
• Reinstall the transmission cooler (might be associated with the radiator replacement noted above). → Nope
• Re-wire the PVC and vacuum pumps to remove the haywire mess under the mounting plate. → Nope
• Re-install the clock where the boost gauge is and relocate the boost gauge to a less predominate position. → After all the talk about the value of the boost gauge I am relocating the clock instead to a lower spot on the panel. Seems the boost gauge does have another purpose: It helps indicate you just threw off the belt! Lesson learned (the hard way of course). → Not done yet…
• New tires. Have been using the Bridgestone RE71R for a few years and have been very happy with them. Not happy that they are not symmetrical anymore. Thinking of going Hankook RS4? → After much research I went with Falken RT660s. They are waiting to be mounted.

So… Five out of ten. 50%. Not great but better than usual, I think. Especially the last couple of years. But I DID install jacking rails that I purchased about two years ago. That’s a win.

Pulleys

Last December I called Procharger to see about a smaller pulley. If you recall, I was getting 6 or 7 psi boost with the stock 3.25” diameter pulley that comes with the kit for this car. Goal was 10 to 12 psi. They confirmed the the reason is the highly modified engine in Mistress does not present as much resistance as the stock engine (that was one of the long term goals, wasn’t it?). Less resistance, less pressure, less boost, less horsepower. Net result: The supercharger, while increasing power far over stock, is limiting overall potential.

Some quick calculus over the phone and we determined I needed a 2.95-inch diameter pulley. And then he said he would not sell it to me. Too small. Not enough friction surface to handle the power required to drive the supercharger.

But the Procharger guy had an alternative:  ZPE Griptec would make a pulley for me with a specially treated surface to resist slipping. A quick phone call, nearly $300 and a few weeks and I was looking at a little box with an unusually etched six ribbed pulley in it:

Close up (through a magnifying lense) of the surface:

To get the original pully off the supercharger you just hit it with an impact while holding it (per instructions from Procharger). The new one fit perfectly. Almost too perfectly. I had to gently file tiny burs off of the key. Tolerances are very tight.

I also added a spacer under the pulley to better align it. Last fall it kept jumping over one groove. This was to fix that problem. But it caused others. More on that later.

When I first installed the supercharger I had my granddaughter helping me. I held the thing in place while she started the bolts. It’s heavy. She was not around this time so I made a bracket to hang from a broom stick my wife could adjust from above while I aligned the thing from below and got a couple of bolts in. This worked well enough (A little higher... too much... lower... Owe!):

Then I found something better. I was under the car lamenting that I had never removed the old bracket that used to hold up the radiator overflow tank. I never removed it and sometimes it is in the way, On the other hand, it might help keep an errant cone from getting up into the belt. It extends right under the supercharger like a little shelf.

Suddenly realizing the obvious I found that two 2x4 pieces on the shelf hold the supercharger within a millimeter or so of where needed. Easily close enough to support it while I start the bolts all on my own. Almost like I planned it.

Next will be the painful process of troubleshooting belt size and alignment.

Good to hear from you again.  You have one of the best posts on this site.  I'm probably through with autocrossing due to increased arthritis in both hands, it is difficult to grip the wheel.   But the CAM Challenge in Peru In. sounds interesting and I'd like to attend to spectate.  Are you familiar with the area and do you know a good hotel?

In reply to Mustang50 :

Thanks Mustang 50. I know that eventually my days autocrossing will be numbered also. Someone once told me that one of the secrets to life is how gracefully you "let go" of things you love when you have to.

So... National level events don't allow spectators of course. You have to be directly associated with an entry listed as crew, co-driver, spouse, worker, etc. If you just show up they will probably not let you in. You can volunteer to be a worker. They will be glad to have the help. They typically have enough corner workers (which would be hard with arthritis) so you could do a stint at the gate, or help set up the dinner, timing scoring, etc. I typically do SSS or if I have to a corner captain (any thing but shag cones. I cannot run anymore).

 If I go you could be on my crew tagged with my car. Glad to have you. Peru Cam Nationals is at the Grissom AFB.  A variety of good hotels are about 20 min south in Kokomo (not the Days Inn). Not much to the north.

As I have noted above somewhere, CAM cars are a riot to watch. They growl and spit. They slide and screech and bully their way around the course like sledge hammers on wheels. A full day of CAM cars mixing it up. They should sell tickets! But they can't due to insurance and lawyers and things. So be it.

Thanks for the offer.  We'll see how things are in August.  I'd like to finally meet you.

We haven't heard from you in a while.  Are you OK?   Did you attend the Peru Cam Nationals?  I couldn't attend because my son and his wife surprised us with a vacation trip to London.  Obviously we couldn't turn that down.

Let us know how you are doing?

In reply to Mustang50 :

Hi Mustang50. We are fine. Thanks for the poke.  Part of my problem is I should have retired last winter but some interesting projects came along and here I am still working. By the end of the day I am pretty burned out and not hot to get on another computer. This winter I expect to pull that string.

Another part of the problem is it has been a busy summer. We have done four autocross trips up north and one more local event. So far I have about 96 runs this summer. I expect another 12 to 16 yet to go. Going to need new tires again next year! I did not go to Peru either. Needed a break. Towing Mistress 300 or so miles and then autocrossing for two days and driving back is exhausting. I need a week to recover.

Three more events this season. Next one is the WMR autocross at Grattan Raceway on Labor Day. I think registration is still open. Bring your car or just stop in. It is a blast.

Mistress has been performing superbly. That said, it has not all been smooth. I have several stories to tell of broken serpentine belts, a blown power supply, minor over heating issues, spurious electronic issues (I had to buy an oscilloscope) and getting back in the groove after two very minimal seasons.

Ah yes... If Mistress could only talk. Well if she could I would certainty be a better driver. GRM has an article in the current issue about analyzing the traces on your data logs. I went and looked over the logs from the last event in the Solo Storm app on my phone. Damn...  Just Damn...

So I need to get some logs written. I do better backlogging after some time has passed and I have had time to reflect. Hopefully this fall... Thanks for checking in. Sounds like you have been having some fun also.

I've decided to retire from autocrossing.  With my health issues (3 heart attacks and prostrate cancer) and after the tragedy at the pro solo in the Pacific Northwest I felt it was better for everyone involved.  Also Labor Day weekend is booked for me.

I would like to drive the Mustang to Sebring next March.  I've never been there and it's on my bucket list.

Good luck and keep us informed how you are doing.

Yet Another Tune

I believe I have received eight tunes over the last ten or eleven years from VMP. The first was just 93 Octane with an option for 91 Octane (in case I could not find 93). It also had the ability to lock Drive into 3rd gear. That part did not work very well. If you went too slow it would just go to neutral. It was not really necessary in Autocross anyway. With redline set to a sedate 5700 RPM and 373 gears the car redlines at 72 MPH in second. Ample for most autocross venues.

There were tunes for the new cam, new ported heads and larger valves, the stroker mod, the supercharger… Now one more for the smaller pulley and an additional 4 to 6 pounds of boost. The new pulley should take me up to 10 to 12 psi and top out around 400 HP at the engine.

The tune update should have been simple. VMP has loads of data for this engine with these mods. The engineer expected a couple of simple iterations.

Why is nothing ever simple? It was running way too lean and surging after about 4 attempts. After several emails the tuner asked if anything had changed in the mass air system. Nothing other than to finally remove the IMRC valves in the lower intake. We had discussed that at the outset and the tuner did not believe it would have any effect.

But then again…  In doing the above work I had the intake system tubing and MAF off the car. Did I put it back the way it was for the original supercharger tune? Looking at photos from last fall – Nope. The MAF was “clocked” differently on the tubing now. There’s your problem!  I adjusted it to be exactly like the fall photos and the car came to life.

And I should know better since I have some serious background in fluid dynamics. Something about forests, trees and visual acuity comes to mind.

The MAF is technically a temperature compensated hot wire anemometer. Electric current heats a small wire and a temperature sensor measures the temperature of the wire. Air flows over this little assembly (about as big as a dime) and carries some of the heat away. The more heat lost the more current it takes to make the temperature setpoint. It is basically measuring wind chill.  With some ambient temperature compensation and the assumption that the fluid is normal air (and not some other gas) you have a simple mass flow meter.

Mass flow measurement (Pounds / Hr) of air is more accurate than volume measurement (Cubic Feet / Min) because it accounts for the variable density of air. This is important because in the end this is a chemical equation combining a specific number of Oxygen atoms with Methane atoms. Accuracy makes horsepower, saves fuel, and reduces pollution.

The MAF was working perfectly except it only gets its reading in one small spot in the cross section of the 3.5 inch diameter air tube. If this was a long straight tube (like 40 inches) there would be no need to be consistent on how everything is hooked up.

However, in the original set up last fall air is slamming around a corner and right into the sensor. Now the sensor was rotated off to the side out of the primary flow. So, it reads lower air flow. So, the tune gives it less fuel. So, it is running lean. Lean is bad.

After getting the MAF positioned properly we finished the tune and I marked and measured and logged how it goes together. It must go together the same way forever or I have to start all over with a new tune. Hence, the white paint marks below and the angle finder in the photo above.

Vehicles

What do the two vehicles below have in common?

Well:

• I own them – Yes.
• They are both a little old and both hitched together.
• They are both red. All of our cars have been red since 1985 except a minivan and it was Black Cherry (sort of red).
• They are both Fords manufactured ten years apart from each other. Most of our cars have been Fords due to a long family history. Both of my grandfathers worked for Ford. My uncle was an executive pilot for Ford and could get very special deals on new cars every two years. So, we all put orders in and bought them from him. We have also had a couple of products from Dodge and a Volkswagen Golf GT.

But there is one more thing… More on that later. The real subject here is the shiny new trailer.

For years my wife and I would take Mistress on long distance Autocross trips. Pack everything inside right up to the glass. I had air bags on the back springs to keep from bottoming out. Unpack. Flog the poor car all weekend. Repack and then drive it home. Many of these trips were over 300 miles each way. Once we circumnavigated Lake Michigan on a 900-mile trip including visits to relatives and a three day autocross event.

Over time this gets old. Hell, it will make you old. As the car morphed into a race car it became progressively less comfortable on long trips. It is 74 db inside on the highway requiring ear plugs for long trips. It broke down twice at an event requiring late night fixes and limping home. Then the engine blew in 2017 and we had to head home in a rental. My wife is a saint, but she had had enough.

So, we started shopping for a used F150. When the dealer realized we only wanted a red one they collected five red trucks and lined them up for us to choose from. We took the 2012 with a five-liter, crew cab, and 6.5-foot bed. Been a great tow vehicle and we go everywhere in it.

But we had no room for a trailer in Green Bay. It made no sense to buy one and then pay to store it. So, we rented U-Hauls for five years. Over time I could have bought a trailer twice.

Now, back in Michigan I have space. Local trailer prices are ridiculous at $5000 to $7000 for a basic steel unit with wood deck. Finally, I found a dealer in central Indiana with good prices (Forget The Tow). $3400 for a new 16 foot steel dovetail with wood deck. Removable left fender. Jack post set back (so the tailgate can open when hooked up). LED lights and electric brakes.  Mistress is very happy up there and we are very happy riding in the truck.

When the car is on it everything rides very well. When it is empty things are a little choppy because there is almost no weight on the tongue. While not ideal for empty towing (a rare event) it gave me an idea.

It is nearly impossible to back the trailer in behind the garage while connected to the 20-foot-long truck. But, given the very light load (about 100#) the garden tractor could do it. So, I made a Class Zero-Zero trailer hitch for the little tractor. It clips onto some studs on the frame that are apparently there for attachments. Vice grips help lock it down.

This makes it very easy to maneuver in and out and I don’t have to drive the truck on the grass.

It just fits:

Oh yes - The last thing the two red vehicles have in common: They were both made at the same assembly plant – Dearborn, MI. In 2004 Ford moved Mustang production to Flat Rock, MI. In 2005 they started building F150s in Dearborn. And finally: One of my grandfathers worked there!

You still do the best posts on this site.  Have you ever thought of doing the Targa Newfoundland?

In reply to Mustang50 :

Thanks Mustang50. I  think Targa Newfoundland is well beyond my means. And they probably require role cages and such. Not for me...

Cheap Glitchy Sensors

Last fall (a year ago now) I was out on a test drive in Mistress and the Check Engine light came on. I think it also started to run a little rough by the time a got home. A quick check with the OBD II tester indicated the code was for the Camshaft Position Sensor. I cleared it. It came back. I went to the local parts store, bought a new one for $35 and replaced it. Bada Boom. Five minute job. It had been on the car for years. No big deal.

Last spring (six months ago) while finishing up the test pulls for the new tune, the Check Engine Light was back. Same code. Some research indicated it could also be the Crankshaft Position Sensor. That thing is harder to get to: Not Bada Boom.

Up on the lift she goes, off with the serpentine belt and off with the harmonic balancer to get access to the sensor. The assumption here is that the Camshaft Position Sensor is good since it was just replaced. Off to the local parts store, new crank sensor for $40. Back together everything goes. The idiot light came back.

Believe it or not this car does NOT have a code for the Crankshaft Position Sensor. Ford has one of course. But it is not on the list of codes specifically for this car. Both sensors are related and share some of the same grounds. So, I have a recurring idiot light and one of two sensors or wiring that could cause it. And the car is sporadically running rough. And I am trying to get it to the point we can put the final tune into it.

I replaced both sensor connectors (they were old and a bit worn). I took apart much of the wiring harnesses and then wrapped them back up.  I crawled around under the dashboard fishing for the appropriate grounds. There were swear words and a little blood. All to no avail.

Finally, while fishing on the interblag for solutions I hit on a video of a mechanic using an oscilloscope to pinpoint a bad sensor.

Both these sensors are “Hall Effect” units measuring subtle changes in magnetic field as a piece of metal passes near them. The camshaft unit measures one tang of metal that comes near whenever #1 cylinder is at Top Dead Center (TDC) at the start of the power stroke (time for spark). This happens every other time the crank goes around. The crankshaft unit is more sophisticated. It has something like 140 little tangs to sense. This is how the computer knows the engine RPM. There is a gap in the tangs when the crank comes around to #1 TDC.

The series of little millivolt pulses generated by these two sensors let the computer know how fast the engine is turning. It knows when #1 TDC happens, and it knows if that TDC was a power stroke requiring a spark. It can calculate from these two “marks” when to actually fire the spark for all six cylinders for the next two revolutions. We call this the “advance” because the spark is fired 10 to 25 degrees prior to (in advance of) cylinder TDC. This allows the flame front to form and reach peak pressure just as the piston is tipping over into the power stroke. People spend their whole careers studying what goes on in there and how to mix it and time it.

Interestingly, this Essex V6 engine design predates all these electronics. The original versions (~1980) came with an actual mechanical distributer on the front. Nearly everything was linked mechanically with analog controls. The spark advance “calculation” was done by using engine vacuum to physically rotate the internal mechanism of the distributer. Crude by todays standards but also bulletproof. The Camshaft Position Sensor is located where the distributer used to be and driven by the oil pump shaft which is geared directly to the camshaft.

So, the guy in the video was using an oscilloscope. Remember the oscilloscope? I bought an oscilloscope for $120. Have not used one in 40 years. They used to have cathode ray tubes and were the size of a restaurant coffee machine. They also cost a hell of a lot more than $120. Even so, it came with good instructions!

After messing about for a while and re-reading the instructions a time or two I got a good image of a bad signal on the camshaft sensor. Not the pristine heartbeat above (regretfully I did not get a photo). However, I sketched roughly what it looked like below in RED (beware deep fake). Yellow is the actual good trace.

I took the camshaft position sensor back (under warranty) and got a new one. Nice heartbeat. The idiot light came back on about a week. Basically, as soon as the car fully heated up the sensor went bad. This time full refund.

My oldest son oversees supply side logistics for a Tier-1 supplier to most of the automotive manufacturers. He says that since COVID things in the automotive electronics world have been, at best, difficult. Not just the supply, but quality has been an issue.

So, I ordered Ford Motorcraft branded sensors and crossed my fingers. About $65 each. The waveforms look good. The light has stayed off.

And now I have a cute little oscilloscope. Hopefully it will be another 40 years before I need it again.  

KentF said: So, the guy in the video was using an oscilloscope. Remember the oscilloscope? I bought an oscilloscope for $120. Have not used one in 40 years. They used to have cathode ray tubes and were the size of a restaurant coffee machine.

Haha, I totally thought they were still like that.