I give you credit for over coming a problem with some out of the box thinking. Trying new things are how innovations come into a sport like this, but I do have to say that I guess I missing the point. You talk about compromises that the class racers make to get thier combo's to work but this seems even more like a compromise than having a matched combo that works. You have a Stage motor with a 91mm turbo, 2 different power adders on straight methanol in a lite wieght race car with wheelie bars that is not as fast as a heavier stock blocked TSM car with a 70mm turbo. If you get the car lined out and it runs 8.0's with a crazy MPH then I will understand the complexity of your set up, but there are stock block cars with stock ported iron heads and a stock ECM with a single power adder running similar times so its hard for me to see the value in going a much more difficult path to get high 9 second performance. Now if the challenge to try to make the big turbo work is what you are after then I understand that but from the sound of your posts it seems like you are saying that a set up like yours is the way to go and everyone else is doing it the "hard way" and if that's the case I don't see that at all.
I see your point. Without a timeslip in my hand, the vast majority of people that are following my project would get the same idea. It's hard to convey to people what is in store for the project because there is a lot of tuning science that many people just don't have a grasp on enough to realize what the true potential is here. Not just the potential of what's in store for the project, but also what kind of hurdles this project has had to overcome just to get to this level.
Number one, you say I have a Stage setup. My definition of a Stage motor is a Stage II headed motor. I am not running Stage II heads. God have mercy if I was! I am running simple M&A heads with 1.835/1.5" valves. That's the size they came from the factory with. This hurts me. In this day and age, I consider these heads a big disadvantage compared to the head science that is out there now.
Number two, I am running 224 cubic inches. This hurts me. Most would stroke for better torque and more cubes. Cubes is always king, turbocharged or not.
Number three, I'm running a very low compression for a blown engine that is burning pure methanol. 9.25:1. This hurts me. Most blown alky setups are at 10 to 12:1.
Number four, I'm running a large overlap camshaft. This hurts me. If the object is quick spool up time, the centerlines are spread to help control overlap.
Number five, I'm running a comparatively tight torque converter. This hurts me. You would generally run a higher stall to help with spool up.
Number six, I have paired nitrous oxide with methanol. This hurts me. This is not the most efficient way to use nitrous oxide to help with spooling a turbo. Gasoline would have been the wiser choice. I didn't use gasoline because that would have meant having to add another complete fuel system to my complicated mess.
Number seven, I am using a turbo the size that would make large V8s cringe with fear. That is hurting me. The exhaust back pressure to intake boost ratio is better than 1:1. This is hurting me. The weight of the rotating assembly of the turbo is amazing. This is hurting me.
Number eight, I'm using long tube exhaust primaries of a large diameter. This is hurting me. Most would argue that long tube primaries is a very big disadvantage when it comes to spool up time.
Number nine, I don't know of anyone else that has put together a combination like mine and made it work to this level. This has been uncharted territory with no chance of guidance from people with any experience with this type of setup. This has hurt me.
Number ten, I don't really consider a 3200 lb car real light. I would call it a mid-weight car. I'm sure tube chassis cars are much lighter. This is hurting me.
Number 11, I'm burning 100% methanol fuel. I had zero experience or knowledge of burning methanol before I started this project, and have had zero help from people that might have had some knowledge. That has hurt me.
Number 12, I don't have any experience building alcohol racing engines. This was my first one and I got no help from other people putting this combination together. That has hurt me.
So, those are the major hurdles I've had to overcome. To consider that I've reached a point where I'm just at the front door of realizing what this monster can do, I feel pretty good about things. Those that can't appreciate it, just don't have the knowledge behind them to realize what it took to get to this level and what it's going to take to go forward from here. I can't blame them for not understanding. There is a vast amount of knowledge, most learned by doing, that would be required to fully understand.
I have never said that my configuration was better or superior to any other. The whole intent of sharing my project with you all was to hopefully open someone's eyes to the fact that there are
many ways to accomplish the same task. I just picked one that challenged me to the maximum of my abilities, instead of just throwing someone elses recipe into my car. Many of the skills I now possess is due to this project. It has taught me volumes.
