TimZ

Water flows when vacuum is applied.

That's a very cool project (the Delorean too!). I've always thought that the VR6 was a great idea - now that you mention it, I'm kind of surprised that nobody here has tried it yet...

They might be the right size and length, but I was referring to the ability to actually use them where they will have to be installed. In most applications it's difficult enough to get at the nuts on the studs for the exhaust manifold, let alone trying to get the appropriate tools in there to R&R the retaining devices and the snap rings that hold them on.

I doubt it. I guess it depends on your intake setup, but I think you'd have a really hard time getting at the circlips and retainers to install or remove those fasteners.

If you like ARP fasteners, their Flywheel Bolts for the RB26 work just fine with the L28 as well, plus they are longer than the Celica Bolts that used to be the only thing available: http://arp-bolts.com/kits/ARPkit-detail.php?RecordID=4597 Also, I've found that these work well with my Pressure Plate and Fidanza flywheel - you might find them slightly long depending on your flywheel. I used an ARP 8mm washer under each head to prevent interference with the starter ring gear... http://arp-bolts.com/kits/ARPkit-detail.php?RecordID=471 http://arp-bolts.com/kits/Bulk.php?PL=68&M=*&W=*&D=7&P=*&WS=*&B=1

That was a bit harsh. Check one person off the list of people I feel compelled to be helpful to...

Are you absolutely sure it's the valvetrain? An exhaust leak at the manifold gasket can make a pretty similar ticking sound, and it's not hard to imagine it changing with engine temperature...

I dunno - the Buckeye candies are pretty awesome...

Same here - perhaps you were confusing E85 with leaded race fuel?

No problem - I was just concerned that your original post made it sound like _any_ time you try to do a cold start you were going to have problems, regardless of ambient temps. I'm running the Electromotive 3-coil waste spark setup, so it's not particularly weak. One other thing I found just this last summer that helped with startup was going back to BPR-7ES plugs, instead of the 8's I had been running. Rule of thumb is to go another heat range colder for E85 (which never made that much sense to me), but when my 8's were running a bit rough I just thew in a set of 7's I had laying around and it's been running much better all around, and no issues with detonation. My BFSC isn't particularly great either, every time I do the math it comes out more like 0.6 (gasoline) - I am running 7.5:1 after all.

I agree with most of what was said here, but I think that the cold start issue isn't quite as bad as it sounds above, depending on what we are considering "cold start". I'm running 7.5:1 with a pretty aggressive cam, and on a 60degF morning cold start, my engine starts right up with no drama or clouds of black smoke - actually I've never seen E85 burn black at all. This last weekend it started up with a bit more effort than usual on a ~50degF cold start, but it did still start pretty easily, and with no clouds of smoke. It is a bit more cantankerous until it warms up in this weather, but it's bearable. That said, if you are going to try to drive the car in actual winter weather E85 would not be the best choice and you will start having cold start issues when the ambient temps drop into the 40's or lower. In regions where they have real winters, the "E85" is actually E70 in the winter months for just this reason. Again, mostly agree here, but AFRs of 6:1 would be a bit excessively rich, IMHO. 6.9:1 is about as rich as I would purposely go, and I'm currently seeing max power at more like 7.2:1. I do start seeing misfire issues if I go below ~6.5:1. I usually try to size things a minimum 50% larger than you would for an equivalent power target on gasoline. To me the biggest drawback for E85 is availability (or lack thereof) in some areas. Here in Michigan, we now have enough stations that I no longer worry too much about it. Also, I went ahead and added a flex fuel sensor and use it to do a true flex fuel setup with my EMS (Electromotive TEC3r). This makes it easier for me to simply switch back to gasoline when the weather turns cold, or if I get stranded somewhere that doesn't have E85. It's working well and it was much less complicated hardware-wise than a dual fuel supply setup, but the tuning was _not_ for the faint of heart. I'm willing to bet that I'm the only person to get this working well on a TEC3 Anyway - sorry if this was off-topic. Back to your regularly scheduled posting...

I've got a Mustang in "Gotta Have it Green", and I've been thinking that it would look great on a Z with black wheels and trim...

OH SHIT! That is a good f-ing idea.

Thanks NewZed! Also in the your pic on the right, you can see the outline of the HG passage to get an idea of how large it is. I remember you mentioning this - just thought I'd elaborate on it a bit... Agreed - I'm just going back to the notion that since the restrictor orifice hasn't been opened up, there's just never going to be enough flow for both, especially at low rpm, and the cam is getting starved just so the spraybar can dribble oil on the rocker posts. It does seem like this works for some and not others - I wonder if perhaps the front oil passage does go to the main gallery on other blocks? That's how I knew! After cutting threads for the plugs and oil squirters last year, I had to track down every passage in the block and make sure it was completely clear. I had a couple of "Oh, so that's where that goes" moments! Speaking of the squirters - a 30psi internal relief like what was done on the squirters (i.e., the spraybar wouldn't flow oil until pressure reaches 30psi) would be a great addition for those billet spraybars that are stickied in this forum...

I'm pretty sure the oil hole at the front flows from the head to the block to supply oil for the timing chain tensioner, at least on the N42 block. This may very well have been different on other blocks, as I know there was more than one oiling configuration for the tensioner depending on year. NewZed - could you check this on your block? I'm pretty sure this is right, but I am working from memory here and the FSM doesn't show it at all. My recollection is that the front oiling hole does not go to the main oil gallery, just the tensioner.

I doubt it - the hg hole is huge in comparison. It's something like 5mm id.

I'm kinda thinking we're overthinking things at this point, and madkaw pretty much had the answer back on post #17, especially considering that the restrictor orifice in the block has not been opened up. You've kept the restriction the same and pretty much doubled the head's oil flow requirements. Perhaps try shitcanning the spray bar and blocking off it's supply holes and run that same test with just the internally oiled cam. Given the cam specs that were mentioned this sounds like a pretty aggressive cam, but I haven't seen what the end goal of this engine was. If its a street/track car that won't see sustained high rpm, then just the cam should be fine. If you are really going to run this thing at 7500rpm for several hours at a time, then revisit the spraybar after you've pulled the head and enlarged the restrictor orifice in the block.

I guess maybe I'm confused - on my engine (N42 block) the pressure sender feed is tapped off from the main oil gallery - the one that feeds the main bearings and the head. It is definitely after the filter. Is the N42 block unique in this? Seems like everybody keeps saying that the sender is before the filter, or maybe I'm just mis-reading something...

I _soooo_ saw that coming,

+1 I've never been a fan of blacked out engine bays (unless the car is black of course)

...but not for the L6 engine - probably should have gone in "Body Kits and Paint" ...BTW, what was the DupliColor color code for this paint?

E85 has ~30% less energy per pound of fuel, but this is largely irrelevant, since at max power you generally burn 40-50% more fuel per combusition cycle. All else equal you should make more power over gas, but have lower mpg. The Corvette example you noted is inconclusive - the guy asked why he would experience detonation on the dyno, but then offered no details on his setup aside from his CR, or how it was tuned (if at all). For all we know he might have just filled up with E85 and wondered why it was running funny.

Seen that one before - it just never gets old...

Actually, let me put a finer point on that... Get something tunable and you will HAVE an outcome.