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Spark Plug / MPG Issues / Gap Size

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*for reference only – Checked new turbo wastegate settings – it was set to 8 mm. Per  @starscream5000 ‘s suggestion, I backed the wastegate down to 6.5 mm. The new turbo, even without the tune, was pushing close to 27 psi on WOT( I had my alarm set at 26 lbs, and I would hit it frequently) Pulled all four Brisk racing plugs out – notes on my receipt, as well as speaking to the rep @ Eurocompulsion, the plugs should have been gapped to 0.20″ – but instead I found they they wouldn’t even fit onto my gap tester – putting them at about 0.18″

I should have never listened to what was recorded and checked them myself – but I didn’t. I’ve now gapped the (same) plugs to 0.22″, as I still haven’t heard anything from  @Greg@EC . Took it on a drive for 30 miles last night. I didn’t see a huge difference in instantaneous mileage, but that is hard to compare. My mostly highway drive, and some usual city driving was 30.5 MPG average. This was higher than I got on the 350 mile commute home on the interstate from Ohio to Chicago – which was only about 27-28 MPG.

This morning, on the 9.65 city commute in rush hour traffic, I was able to feather the throttle and get 27 MPG. Before the new turbo, my best record on this commute was 33 MPG, but only hit that once. I also did not note any “chugging” this morning between 1400-1800 RPM, as (  @Exitus04 &) I had previously encountered, but it has only been one trip. Only pushed up to 26 psi once since, but that was unloading in 3rd gear up a hill, and overall, the boost looks about 3 psi lower.

This is not enough data to formulate any conclusions, I’m just data logging to see how things progress. As noted in the HPSI video, my wastegate started moving slightly @ 6 psi, but moved significantly closer to 7 or 8 psi. This also corresponds to why my boost was so high.

 

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Fender Flares / Mini Flares

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I’ve had multiple questions about my fender flares – not a big deal. ABS plastic strips molded and bent with heat. They have a carbon fiber look, and they are held on with 3M adhesive, so they can be removed when the fascia comes off. I tried to find them again online, and they are no longer available.

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Knight Rider K.I.T.T. Led Scanner Bar Lights

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Knight Rider 2015!  For car shows & parties…

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Carbon Fiber Wrap

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Maybe not the first, but I installed carbon fiber (wrapped) side skirts, chin spoiler & door pillars.

This weekend, I got Dartlene ready to drive out to Ohio. Both mine and my wife’s families are from Ohio, so we’ve made this journey about 10,000 times. None of my Ohio buddies have seen the ride, yet, so I’d thought I’d do a few more mods:

Carbon fiber door pillars – I bought a large roll of carbon fiber, the thicker stuff (0.5mm instead of 0.2mm) and went wrap-crazy. I used paper to trace and cut templates of the door pillars. Once I had them right, I cut reverse them for the opposite side. I attempted to do the mirrors, but failed MISERABLY. I couldn’t figure out my problem, until I did more research and found out about the different thickness models. The thinner stuff will stretch further, and is good for interior trim & mirrors. The thicker stuff was perfect for these jobs.

Door pillars:

side skirts chin spoiler:

Here’s some close-ups of the carbon fiber side skirts and chin spoiler before I heated them and removed the wrinkles: (they look fine, now)

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Boost Gauge and Throttle body Spacer

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Here’s a pic of the Halo Pro Sport Boost gauge next to my most favorite mod of all time, the Ultra-Gauge.  I installed the boost gauge through the Cravenspeed throttle body spacer, the way to get the most accurate boost reading.

Here is the Cravenspeed throttle body spacer, or as I like to call it, the bloody-knuckled, curse-infusing hand-destroyer:

There are only a few of these out there – and they all work basically the same. It’s such a PITA to get the bottom bolts done/undone. Anyway, back in the day, people put spacers on the throttle body for power and performance, but on this car, you will notice no change. I bought the one from Madness Autoworks, as it was the cheapest. They all come with a plug and a nipple – the nipple is used to connect to meth injection or a boost gauge, which is why most use them on this car.

Using this method, you will get little to no oil coming in your boost line. Mine had a filter, but it’s completely clean, so far! This one is made very well, and connects securely, but they are all basically the same.

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Crosshair Delete / Custom Front Grille

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I received my Grille pieces from customcargrills.com – these pieces just showed up to the party!

Here is the link to my exact grille.  I used XXL Perforated Aluminum Mesh, and then painted it black (like the song.)

You have to remove the entire front fascia to do this – total PITA, but worth it!  Once you have the piece cut and bent, it fits into the area where the old plastic was.  I used a dremel tool to cut out the old plastic, leaving several tabs on the top and bottom.  These tabs were used as mounting points for the new piece.  Once the fitting is perfect, use black tie wraps to secure the new grille to the existing mounting tabs.  You cannot see the zip ties, and it is completely secure.

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I cut out the plastic grille mesh, but left the outer portion for support, and to have a place to attach the new mesh:
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and now cut & painted:20150814_225110

and bent:20150817_182544
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rough placement:

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This is the inside of the front fascia, needed for crosshair delete, in case anyone needs this pic:
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As you can see above, I left the border of the black plastic intact, then re-assembled it.  This have the structure more rigidity, and left me a solid foundation to add the new grille mesh.

(Re)painted the front fascia center piece: (plasti dip)20150820_003410

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The bottom half is covered up by the license plate, FYI.

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Finished bending and molding the grille last night. This pic is just a mockup, but afterwards, i attached the bottom piece using self tapping screws, and I will finish it up this evening. I also received my Unichip to USB cable, so I can backup my tuning map and make a few changes. I’m going to adjust the throttle response, and then re-use the second map for the higher throttle response and more boost. My AFR’s are good, so only minor changes needed, here!

Today:instagram

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Experimenting with Mockups (hood & fascia)

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  1. A little Photoshop action with the MPX Carbon Fibre Hood (My wife doesn’t like it) – what do you think? Seems like it works better on the red one below:
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    Name: Mopar-2013-Dodge-Dart-GTS-210-Tribute-hood.jpg Views: 435 Size: 356.3 KB

    As is:
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    I know it would look better in person, and I didn’t spend much time editing the pics.

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