97 Ranger aero project.

[beatr911]

I just tested to see if this was true last week. It wasn't true. The truck will run with iether of the two coil packs disconnected. This is provided that the coil packs and wires are installed correctly in the first place.

The truck runs but doesn't run as well with only the front coil (intake side plugs) operating. Runs great with the exhaust plugs only, and runs best with both.

At least on my truck, both intake and exhaust side plugs fire when they are supposed to - for the power stroke.

[user removed]

Picked the pans up from Wally World today, made in the good ole USA! Went to York Bolt and bought some large washers that fit in the factory hub covers perfectly, even had to whack them a little with a hammer to get them all the way in place.

Welded a smaller washer in the center of the larger washer so the bolt would fit without significant side play, it would fall right through the hole in the larger washer. One stainless acorn hut holding the cap in place in the center. I still need to get some vacuum hose and slice it, then glue it on the edge of the cap so it will ride centered on the very edge of the rim, otherwise it would not be even because of the wheel weights. Should get them finished and installed tomorrow, just about the time I refill this tank so I can see what difference the tires and the smooth covers made in the mileage.

The picture shows the hub cap with the bolt installed and the cover installed on the spare wheel.

regards
Mech

[hotrodfeguy]

Looks good on my metro I painted them black so they do not stand out so much but very nice work.

[user removed]

The Nissan NAPZ 4 cylinder single cam engines had dual plugs as well as Mercedes. I think the purpose is to initiate two flame fronts for more complete combustion. Hondas current ISDI 4 cylinder, used in the Insight and I think the CRZ (not positive on that one) is a 1.3 liter with only two valves per cylinder which uses the swirl turbulence for better fuel distribution and two plugs per cylinder to optimize combustion. The Honda 1.3 is used in other countries without a hybrid system and is supposed to come very close to the old VX 4 cylinder as far as fuel mileage without the NOX issues of the VX engine when in lean burn. The ISDI engine does not use lean burn. I think the engine in my Ranger may have some of the same combustion characteristics as the Honda engine and the Nissan NAPZs were capable of excellent mileage, but I think when they went to port fuel injection they stopped using the twin plug setup. Later they went to twin cam and that was the engine used in the first Altimas and pickup trucks, without twin plugs.

regards
mech

[user removed]

Originally Posted by hotrodfeguy

Looks good on my metro I painted them black so they do not stand out so much but very nice work.

They had some dark ones that were a little more expensive, so I justified the lower price and higher visibility as two reason for the brighter choice.

regards
Mech

[radioranger]

pretty amazing ! wish I had the dual plug engine , but will pass on the info, any quantifiable results from this change, or at least a measureable improvement, my dream ecomod at this point is a clean 89 to 93 mustang 4 cyl 5 speed, they get close to 40 stock, and super long lived engine combo. 400 K not out of the question . and really , important thing to me , to work on ,

[user removed]

This tank will probably be worse than the last. Rain, road construction, and different routes will cost me some, I think. The next tank will have the tires, wheels, and wheel covers as the upgrades, but winter weather could cost some MPG. It would be nice to see 35+ on the next tank. So far the log has been consistently increasing, should know about this tank maybe by tomorrow. Next one will be interesting, then maybe I'll get to finish the rear part of the cap.

On the subject of engines, we may see some of the best of old tech and new tech in the future. Ford's ecoboost 3 cylinder has a cast iron head, with the exhaust manifold and turbo integral with the head. Faster warm up times even with cast iron but cast iron also transfers heat much slower than aluminum. I thnk also a cast iron block. I remember a long time ago the Ford 6 cylinders had one of the manifolds cast integral with the head. Maybe in the future they will eliminate the head gasket as well as intake and exhaust gaskets, can't fail if they aren't there.

With performance taking a back seat to efficiency we may see some interesting combinations. Nice thing about using cast iron in heads and block in the same engine is the head gasket is subject to much less stress when the parts expand and contract at the same rate. Who knows, maybe they will go back to steel pistons like my old 1937 Ford, with the top ring almost at the top of the piston to reduce the trapped unburned fuel. Remember the "Head land" pistons and rings?

regards
Mech

[radioranger]

I agree with the idea of eliminating the head gasket, i think the crosley engine did that but not sure, Head Gaskets can be a big trouble spot on any engine, there were some ford and chevy engines the 383 and 430 as well as the 409 chevy that had no combustion chamber in the head but in the angle cut of the block with a flat head surface, not sure how they worked out gasket wise, lately my interest has been in how much better fuel injection is than carbs , since I have two holleys on the boat, a pain to be sure, I remember wondering how a injected 5.0 Mustang could run faster than my 300 lb lighter 66 GT with the same engine but with injection, a lot more torque and free flowing intake , I guess the wave of the future is direct injection with variable cams and no throttle plate, big differences it seems, on the 2 stroke oil front , the truck ran smooth as a kitten today , so I'm hooked on it for now.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Ford's ecoboost 3 cylinder has a cast iron head, with the exhaust manifold and turbo integral with the head.

That got my attention; but

this video, which plays fine at YouTube but fails needlessly in vBulletin

shows a bolt-on turbo.

My '59 Rambler flat-head six had an exhaust pipe clamped to the side of the block, and a carburetor bolted to the head.

[user removed]

Probably a poor choice of words on my part. I knew the turbo was a separate part, would be crazy for it to be a "part" of the head, astronomical replacement cost. It is bolted to the head itself since the manifold is integral with the head.
Last tank dropped off a bit, it was 31.69 MPG. I expected that with traffic conditions previously mentioned.
Pictures of the Pizza Pans installed. I wanted to top off the tank so I can see if the next one increases, but Winter will probably negatively affect the mileage.
The bolts would not work on the front wheels, not enough clearance from the grease caps on the front wheels. I ground the heads off the bolts and plug welded them to the previously welded together washers, so now the whole thing is one piece, which resolved the clearance issues with the grease caps up front.
Next will be the rear cap extension, still have the tubing at my buddies shop. I might use clear lexan for the rear extension, since it will allow me some visibility with the inside rear view mirror. Amazing how many license plates I can read on cars tailgating me at 55-65 MPH. They can't be two cars lengths behind me. One stab of the brake pedal and they will buy this truck.
Anyone interested in another Fiesta .

regards
Mech