Another rubbish day at the strip and advice on service parts

[Bludge]

So i had done a fair bit of work on my car recently in preperation for drag day yesterday, got my decat pipe on, blanked egr, replaced bosch plugs with ngk iridiums, removed resonator, oil and filter change and advanced timing a bit.

On top of that i have lost a stone and a half since christmas!

I also made note of some of the advice i was given the last time i was disappointed at the strip and played around with tyre pressures and the way i was starting etc.

So i was hoping to cut down on my best time of last year which was 15.19. best time i got was 15.21, most runs being mid to high 15s.

What gives??

Was quite disheartend to be honest. so i have decided on a few more things to looks at before the next drag day.

First up is sorting the fitv to cure my rev dropping (not sure if that will help anything, but it needs doing either way)
and im going to try to do the valve adjustments too. also need to fix the oil leaks on my cam seal and oil cooler seal.

I was thinking i might have a slight misfire too, so i was thinking of replacing the rotor arm and dizzy cap, and doing the fuel filter as it hasnt been done since i have had the car.

What do people think of these parts? hopefully can get the dirt cheap on my staff account but not sure if they are worth bothering with?

Rotor arm
Fuel filter
Dizzy cap

and aside from what i have listed is there anything else thats worth looking at in terms of getting the best out of my engine?

[Thebusofwoe]

Just my 2p worth. H22 run platinums not iridium plugs. Advancing the timing on the dizzy won't do anything at all. It designed to be set at 15degrees btdc I think with the 2 pin bridged. Even then, when the bridge comes out the ECU goes into altering the ignition timing. Loose weight, I mean in the car. Strip everything not needed out.

[Bludge]

Just my 2p worth. H22 run platinums not iridium plugs

Balls really? i thought people recommended the iridiums? what a waste of 30 quid!

Advancing the timing on the dizzy won't do anything at all. It designed to be set at 15degrees btdc I think with the 2 pin bridged. Even then, when the bridge comes out the ECU goes into altering the ignition timing.

Really? cause i set the timing with a gun and it felt really sluggish, then i advanced the timing by feel and engine note and it felt a lot tighter and more responsive. cant just be my imagination surely?

Loose weight, I mean in the car. Strip everything not needed out.

Everything that i dont need comes out, but i dont want to strip the car down for drag as i like my times to be similar to what i could get on the street, and i dont want to run a stripped car on the street. (yet )

[Thebusofwoe]

I'm just quoting OEM chap. Same plugs as s2k yea I'm sure. If you bridge the 2 pin it sets the Ecu in to 'forget' mode. Where the ignition timing is solely set on the dizzy. This is just a base timing. When you disconnect the 2pin it then switched the ecu timing control on, using TP, coolant temp, load ect to set correct timing. Yes it will help but only if it's miles out and it shouldn't really be advanced past it's set point on the dizzy. That's the job of the ecu tune the only way you will get better times is either strip weight out or make the motor more powerful, ecu remap ect

[Bludge]

I'm just quoting OEM chap. Same plugs as s2k yea I'm sure. If you bridge the 2 pin it sets the Ecu in to 'forget' mode. Where the ignition timing is solely set on the dizzy. This is just a base timing. When you disconnect the 2pin it then switched the ecu timing control on, using TP, coolant temp, load ect to set correct timing. Yes it will help but only if it's miles out and it shouldn't really be advanced past it's set point on the dizzy. That's the job of the ecu tune the only way you will get better times is either strip weight out or make the motor more powerful, ecu remap ect

Guess i will try the platinums when i can afford it then!

So you dont think i could be losing power somewhere then? like is it worth me buying up those parts at work to see if it improves things?

It looks like i might be buying a head that has atr cams and lifters and some other stuff i dont really understand in it. How big of a job is swapping the head over, and do i need to get a mappable ecu or could i get away with running the spoon chipped ecu that im currently running at least till i can afford a mappable one?

[Thebusofwoe]

Yea defo chap. Well it's an easy job but I would say that um no not really. You have to consider new head, intake and exhaust gaskets. Then getting the cam belt all timed up and sorted. It's not a simple or quick job by any means. But it's defo doable in a day. The ATR/type s cams are a good upgrade. You could run ur ecu by would ideally req a p28 or something similar with a good dyno re map

[4thgenphil]

15s isn't too bad to be fair mate.

Quickest i got was 14.1 but i was running 230bhp and r888s

[Bludge]

Yea defo chap. Well it's an easy job but I would say that um no not really. You have to consider new head, intake and exhaust gaskets. Then getting the cam belt all timed up and sorted. It's not a simple or quick job by any means. But it's defo doable in a day.

I think you have a vague idea of my level of (in)competence. i think i could probably manage taking it all apart, but not too sure on getting it back together! how do you get the cam belt timed?

Do you think i could get by myself? or what sort of price should i be looking at to get someone to do it for me?

[RattyMcClelland]

It is mid March and the tarmac is still cold. I personally think your chasing times for no reason at this time of year. Dyno the car and see what's what With the iridiums.

Iridiums will work fine but won't last as long as platinums

[Thebusofwoe]

Tbh I think Ratty is right. You could go spanking cash all over the place to only gain a second or so. If you are serious about the head swap the. Let me know. I can sort you out.