snafu

So . . . if I had a Honda and I wanted to make it fast, then that wouldn't be possible? You guys just kill me sometimes. I heard my first "SQ" system in about 1986 - long before folks even used that term. The system had Morel speakers - at the time, considered pretty exotic. And it definitely sounded good to my ears. Morel fell out of favor with the SQ crowd as MB Quart and Dynaudio became the "in" brands. Then, they fell out of favor as Focal became the go to brand. Now Hertz / Audison is definitely the go to brand in that arena. In my travels, I've heard countless cost no object systems built around the best gear that money could buy. Focal Berylliums . . . Dynaudio 3-way components . . . So, which one was best? Simple - the system that Terry SooHoo and gang at Paradyme in Sacramento, CA assembled to compete in a nationwide contest Sony put on. It had about $750 worth of gear in the vehicle at retail (including speakers and amps) . . . and the front component speakers were $169 / pair tops. Now don't get me wrong . . . all I kept thinking was . . . imagine if Terry started with some GOOD stuff! Know how - 95% . . . Brand - 5% . . .

I did that years ago at Six Flags Over Texas (in Arlington). It's INSANE. That park is also home to the Titan - Goliath's twin with one extra turn in the upward climbing cork screw. I've ridden that hundreds of times, but I think the rip cord is a bit more radical.

What made him go turbo? Three reasons: 1. Turbos are MUCH more traction friendly. As boost comes in in proportion to speed of the turbine, which is a function of RPM, it's much more manageable. 2. Turbos do not take HP to spin them - rather, they are spun by spent exhaust . . . a byproduct of every engine. To put this in perspective, the blower on John Force's funny car takes over 800 hp just to spin it. Of course, it also makes 60 pounds of boost . . . just sayin' . . 3. NOTHING feels as fast as a FAST turbo car (fast = 11s or quicker). As boost continues to increase through the RPM you are pulled further and further back into the seat. This is a function of the hp and tq curves and it's AWESOME. And I have two different blown cars - a roots blown and a centrifugal blown. The roots blown makes 13 pounds of boost at 6,200 RPM - 10 of it instantly . . . from idle if you need it. This results in IMMEDIATE torque . . . as in like a nitrous car, but as quick as you like. This is EXTREMELY difficult to manage so I can't get in it until 25 mph or so on the street or it wants to swap ends. The centrifugal is on my 2003 Mustang GT . . . it makes great hp at the wheels, but would make 10 - 15% more without the engine having to use hp to spin it (same can be said for the roots btw). This is much more traction friendly as boost comes in similar to that of a turbo - proportional to RPM. It tops out at 10 PSI at about 6,400 RPM, which is as much as I'll dare with the stock bottom end. This car dead hooks from 5 mph - like, not even a squeak from the tires. Power shifting the 1-2 is pretty violent and it kicks the ass-end sideways so that you know you're having fun. Even though I don't street race any more, you'd need a much faster car to beat it from light to light. Evos and WRX STIs need not apply. Matt - get that air filter OUT from behind the radiator - duct that to the front of the car or the cowl to get some nice cool air! For every 10 degree drop in IAT, you'll increase efficiency by 1%. Two thumbs WAY up on this one!

The T3002 was Tony D's project . . .

http://www.candela-sales.com/Templates/t3002%20challenge.html

Small world. I used to call on Mitch's when I was a rep in Texas. Tell Adam I said HI if he's still there. Priceless video . . . you simply can't make this kind of stuff up.

worked for me!

OK, now that you've watched the videos about switches, it's time to learn about relays. If you have not seen the videos on switches, then CLICK HERE to view them first. There are many different kinds of relays - the SPST (single pole single throw) being the most elementary. Believe it or not, there are three unique versions of the SPST relay. I illustrate each on the trainer. Any serious car audio guy wants to master them. I'm starting with SPST, then will move on to SPDT, DPDT, 4PDT, Solenoids, etc. I hope you enjoy the video.

Trust me, it isn't easy to be composed. The first vid I uploaded shows me . . . let's just say un-composed. But, when you're rollin' through the downtown or on the highway three lanes wide with a pace car filming, you draw plenty of attention. Not a good time to be actin' a fool.

A bunch of us left a local gathering and cruised down Main Street. Little did we know that we'd be followed and even paced by the local PD. It was a good time and my buddy Rich got lots of great footage of us. Many of the videos are just over a minute long as he was trying to balance filming us with keepin' it cool with the law. Enjoy the videos - I uploaded the first three parts. Here is Part 1: I'll have more specs on the cars shortly . . .

Hard to say - mine makes around 800 horsepower and weighs 3,900 pounds. I bet this Mustang weighs 1,000 pounds less. The owner has a few more things to do yet before he gets it tuned on the chassis dyno. If it makes 500 hp at the wheels (and it should), it should be a low 10 second car. Mine needs a different converter as the one in it is slipping at times. Even still, mine won't run low 10s . . . Right now, mine runs great and his still needs a bit of work.

The work is done - now, it's time for a victory lap. Stay tuned for even more video of this car, as well as numerous others!

OK, some of those vids shouldn't be too hard to get. I just don't carry a camera in that vehicle for obvious reasons!

Thanks for all the comments guys. Obviously, everyone would like to see some more footage. So . . . what exactly would you like to see?

Actually, that's my fiance driving her '98 Cobra. We were all headin' to In & Out for a burger and I didn't know the driver of the truck was filming . . . otherwise, I may have hit the limiter on the 1-2 shift or something like that . . . lol Incidentally, the conversion from carburetion to EFI on the Olds' is illustrated in its entirety in Chapter 9 of my next book - Automotive Electrical Performance Projects, due out in August of this year. I cover upgrading the fuel system, upgrading the ignition system, upgrading the charging system, installing the EFI components, and the tuning process - all in great detail. Thanks for the comments guys, it's a blast to drive.

yes the stock battery is up by the firewall and is gunna be a pain in the ass to work with why do you say it could fry the alt? puttin to much stress on a stock alt? on my burban i have two runs of 1/0 coming of the back of my alt one two each of my D3400 under the hood with no problems (but its a 300 amp alt.. ) Well, they are common points, true. But here is my reasoning. When you have a run from alt. to batt 1 to batt 2, the alternator charges them in sequence. For example, the alt will charge your main battery first...then when it is charged, it will move on to your bank battery and charge it. This means that it may take longer to fully charge both batteries, but it will be a safe and consistent draw from your "STOCK" alternator. Now, if you have a run from your alt directly to each battery, then your alternator is having to work double to keep a charge on both of those batteries at the same time. It would take half the time to charge the two batteries, but like i said, your alt is trying to charge them both at one time, therefore it is working hard. If you take into equation both batts are drained one morning, you get in the hoe, and start bumping, then you got even more strain on that "STOCK" alternator...making more chances for magic smoke. This is just my reasoning behind all this...if someone sees flaws in it, please correct me...don't eat me alive. Unfortunately, this is incorrect. Think about this for a second. You have two glasses, both empty and desire to fill them. You can do this one of two ways: 1. Set them side by side, under a funnel with two outlets - one into each glass. You pour water into the funnel and half of it is directed into each glass. 2. Connect each glass together at the bottoms with a 10 foot long tube that runs between the two - as in between them at the VERY bottom. The bottoms of both glasses are at the exact same height and the tube between them is absolutely level. You pour water only into one glass at the same rate as above. Which will fill the glasses faster? Will one glass fill quicker than the other in either example. Sometimes it is easy to grasp fundamentals like this when you use water analogies.

I needed a good laugh. This did not disappoint! LOL . . .

tttt

As the title says, just clearing out some STUFF. I bought this enclosure when I was an employee at Rockford. I ended up never using it. It has been out of the box one time. Includes all original packaging, manuals, etc. Obviously, the warranty is long run out. I did a quick scan on eBay and they're selling for $189.00 or so shipped. I'll sell this one for $150.00 shipped. This is still a current model. Full specs can be located HERE.

My publisher, Car Tech Books, has many excellent (world class even) titles on all things automotive. Most of the books in the catalog have been written by one of the foremost experts in the field. Hit up their web site at www.cartechbooks.com and see for yourself.

LOL . . . it has been suggested that I compose a book about this kind of stuff . . . and I have a publisher . . . hmmm . . . BTW, I came back to this thread to look at Robert8252's avatar . . .

Spring of 2011. Keep an eye out . . . this book puts theory to work!

Hmmm . . . I like the idea of this thread, but let's get the facts straight. You could get a rough guesstimate with nothing more than a current clamp and a DMM. For the sake of this argument, let's assume the vehicle in question is equipped with a 140 amp alternator from the factory. 1. Bring the vehicle to operating temp so that the engine temperature causes the electric cooling fan(s) to be ON - a short drive is typically in order here 2. Turn the engine OFF and install a current clamp around the alternator charge lead within 12 inches of the alternator - the closer the better. 3. Start the engine, close the doors, and turn every conceivable accessory ON that you may use when driving - AC, Fan on HI, Bright lights, etc. 4. Rev the engine to 2,000 RPM and note the reading from the current clamp - let's say that was 90 amps. 140 Amps - 90 Amps = 50 Amps, therefore, 50 amps of surplus is available from the alternator (ideally - in the real world, this will be 10% less or so). Now, let's figure how much amplifier power those 50 amps can sustain on MUSIC: 50 amps x 14.4 VDC = 720 watts This gives us 720 watts of INPUT available for amplifier(s). Consider that Class D amplifiers are 75% or so efficient or so on average and Class AB amps are 60% or so efficient on average. 720 watts x 75% eff = 540 watts of Class D Power 720 watts x 60% eff = 432 watts of Class AB Power But, Music is dynamic in nature . . . so, let's assume for the sake of this argument that it has a duty cycle of 50%. 540 watts / 50% = 1,080 watts of Class D Power when playing music 432 watts / 50% = 864 watts of Class AB Power when playing music These are best case scenario numbers as a 150 amp rated alternator from one of the OEMs will likely make less than that at operating temp. AND, this does not take into account playing music at a stop light with the engine at idle, where the alternator would not be able to keep up. Finally, without having a carbon pile load bank (or a bunch of current hungry halogen headlights) to properly load down the alternator, you really have to go off of its rating. This is a guess-ti-mate but it will get you in the ballpark. So, let's look at the "1 amp per 10 watts" suggestion and work it backwards: Class D 10 watts / 75% eff = 13.33 Watts IN 13.33 Watts / 14.4 VDC = .93 Amps .93 Amps x 50% duty cycle = .47 Amps Class AB 10 watts / 60% eff = 16.67 Watts IN 16.67 Watts / 14.4 VDC = 1.16 Amps 1.16 Amps x 50% duty cycle = .58 Amps So, we're talking an average of just over half an amp between to supply 10 watts of amplifier power when reproducing music. That may be useful when discussing alternator output in correlation to test tones (100% duty cycle) but not to music. So, it's festivus for the restofus . . .

I wonder if my HOA would allow me to put one of those in the cul-de-sac . . . ? I mean, I'd let all the neighbors use it . . .

RIGHT HERE