the axe effect

- Welcome to my site! This is a sort of personal page, so don't expect it too technical. -

I have a blog, where you can learn about my day-to-day experiences. I also have pages dedicated to my projects, which might help someone do what I have done before (cars, random repairs and ideas, stuff I encounter at work, etc). The site is constantlly under development, so don't expect everything on here to work (please let me know if you find something...).

If you are looking for a copy of my resume, it can be downloaded here: Resume - Updated June 2008

Now hitting 10 psi of boost, and ran into some fuel issues
June 19, 2008

I have been noticing an interesting (and frustrating) problem with my car. Very occasionally, I will start the car after running for a while (after stopping, obviously), and I will get a verrry rich condition. The car spits gas out the exhaust and my AFR will sit at a dangerous 8:1 at idle. Not cool.

I’m blaming it on a faulty ground which is forcing the injector to stick open. I need to get my multimeter out and start probing around. It only appears to happen when the engine is hot…so I wonder if I have a wire grounding out where it ought not to be.

I’ve been able to fix it by shutting it off and clearing the car’s error codes with my OBDII scanner…so it seems to be highly intermittent. I think it is actually the software forcing it to stop working correctly when a ground fault is detected . I need to get Megasqurit running and get this stuff worked out.

In other news, I keep having people try to race me. I need to get this thing up to a drag strip and see what it does now with the new trans and 10 PSI of boost!!! It’s only a matter of time before I toss a rod out the side of the block and need to build a new motor. I’m actually looking forward to that (sick, aren’t I?) because it means I can build the bottom end properly with better rods, and port the head to get improved VE. I also plan on some better springs and valves to get my rev limited up there a lot higher.

Stay tuned.

-axe

Checking in - It's been a while
June 09, 2008

I have not updated this site in a long time. A lot has changed since the last time I did. Check out the projects page for some specifics....

Other than that, stuff has been winding down. My thesis is done, I'm getting ready to head off to my last academic term at Kettering, and my car is running better than ever. I wish I could say the same for my computer....it's definately time for an upgrade or 5.

Been hanging out with the Betas as much as possible. Here's a pic from our most recent shenanigans:

Yes, that is me playing paintball in sandals and what appear to be shorts. We were playing an odd scenario that required me to sneak around the perimeter of the area to bypass enemy fire; I was able to scale a fence which separates a pond from one side of the property line to the other; 10' high. Needless to say, I dropped my gun in the water on the way and had to go looking for it. We did win the scenario though!

Not much else going on. I take that back. See this video:

Clutch is slipping and I can't keep traction in most gears. Plese note that I stayed within MI speed limits while this video was being filmed. Thankfully there arn't laws regulating acceleration or jerk (rate of change of acceleration).

-axe

Man do I have a lot to do when I get home...
October 20, 2007

Things have been going well in Australia, but I have been running through the list of things that I want and need to get fixed on my car when I get home, so I have been compiling the following list…

High Priority:
- Degrease engine
- Change oil and filter (20w50)
- Repair axle boot / CV joint
- Get breather filter and install catch-can (remove current PCV system)
- Retune system to 12:1 AFR @ 9psi
- Rewire MAP sensor with longer wires
- Remove EGR valve and re-plumb VAC lines to turbo

Medium / High Priority:
- Mount battery to sub-floor of rear hatch and fabricate enclosure
- Install new water lines for turbo and fabricate connection point
- Sandblast new valve cover and intake manifold and investigate powder coating
- Get wire for MAP sensor / other electronics
- Order parts for dump tube from McMaster Carr

Medium Priority:
- Add external wastegeate to setup with dump tube (modify exhaust manifold)
- Install exhaust cutout and PCV draw-out system
- Fabricate heat shield w/ wireway and mount to valve cover
- Fabricate new fuel system / FMU & N20 mounting bracket
- Relocate power steering reservoir and oil cooler
- Fabricate oil pressure/ temperature block for EMI and temp issues

Lower Priority:
- Design and fabricate new subwoofer / amp box
- Rewire all aftermarket subsystems to reduce EMI issues
- Install new fog lights behind grill
- Install intercooler sprayer as blow-off for N20
- Install N20 system and re-do fuel lines
- Do something with hood-mounted gauges (cowl?)
- Change RAM out in CarPC
- Improve relay box mounting and position
- Improve turbo inlet angle and intercooler exit pipe (silicone)
- Pursue dual BOV system and test for leaks

Now don’t go and knock me for wanting to do stuff to my car; I miss working on it! I also won’t have driven in over 4 months by the time I get back to the states, so I am going to need some excuse to get back behind the wheel, and what better than to make trips to the auto parts store and junkyards?

We’re thinking about going downtown to the casino tonight and maybe doing some rock-climbing this afternoon. I’ll try to take some sweet pictures with my camera; I just got some new lenses which should make for much better picture-taking.

What's New in Australia?
October 13, 2007

So I'm sort of in a slump right now and am anxious to get home to friends and family. My sleep schedule is all messed up and I have been up late a lot, which is not helping the “slump”. We’ve got about a month and a half before we head back to the States (on the 24th of November, folks). We only have classes until the end of October, then we have 3 weeks of finals.

I’m looking forward to working on my thesis at ASBG when I get back, and about making some spending money. I might just make a list of things I’m looking forward to; tomorrow.

That’s all for now, I’m going to add more content to the site instead of rambling on here when I don’t have much to say.