Brian Gallimore's Blog

The New Maze

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

This is a chart of the new healthcare system as authored by Pelosi. Steve Green says it is a maze, you are the rat, and oh, there is no cheese.
jec-chart-11-06-09

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

Curious George Live!

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

Amber and I took Bryson to the Curious George Live! performance this weekend. He really enjoyed the show, here are a few pictures.

[Show slideshow]

Posted in Family | 1 Comment

Building a New VE Table

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

VE-blower This is what I spent the better part of today working on, the VE table for Quadzilla. I’ve done this before, but now I’m dealing with a 2-bar OS, so I have double the range of pressure variables. There are two ways to go about building this table, one uses a wideband AFR recorder in open loop mode, and the other uses the factory narowband sensors in closed loop mode using the fuel trends. I did it both ways, and got different results, which is a symptom that I’m doing something wrong. I also got different results when the MAF sensor was plugged in, even though I had it ‘turned off’ in the computer. After hours of reading through the forums, I think I have a handle on that situation. I have the non-boost regions (under 110kpa) tuned in, but I’m not sure how I’m going to get the cells above 4psi dialed in correctly. My alcohol spray comes on around that point, adding ‘undocumented’ fuel to the engine, which is lowering the AFR a significant bit. I have more learning to do for sure.
VE-stock This is the VE table from the factory. Comparing the two gives you an idea of how much more air the supercharger adds to the process. Notice the stock engine peaks at around 105% at around 4500 rpm. The regions I have tuned correctly are already around 150%, not sure what the real number will be at redline.

Posted in Automotive | Tagged engine, HPTuners, quadzilla, tuning | Leave a comment

Debra Medina on Freedom Watch

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

The next governor of Texas, I hope:

Posted in Politics | 3 Comments

New Pulley for Quadzilla

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

So after a day of going through the vacuum system on Betty and failing to fix the transmission shift problem (but learning what all those plastic hoses go to), I decided to spend a little time on quadzilla. I’ve had a noisy belt problem for a long time now, so I figured it was a good time to get that resolved. I also wanted to change out the supercharger pulley with a smaller one to get a little more airflow, you know, because airflow is a really good thing. As usual, my driveway started to accumulate parts.
Fan shroud, supercharger, filter, and the FMU (gone for good). The engine compartment looks empty without all that stuff in there.
I cleaned up all the oil and grime and put the blower in the vice to make the pulley change easy. (you pretty much have to have an impact wrench to get that pulley bolt off). I also replaced the top idler pulley; it was starting to feel rough. I think this is the 3rd one I’ve replaced.
My pulley collection. Original was 4.25″ and produced 8psi, the second one is 3.7″ and made about 10psi, and the new one is 3.4″. I don’t know what it will do yet, my tune is not up to snuff and I haven’t pushed it yet, but I did notice more bypass chirping noise at 70MPH today, so I know it is blowing more air.
The Procharger rep couldn’t tell me what size of belt I needed. He said it would probably be a 111.5″ or a 111.0″. The second picture shows my old 111.625 belt (probably stretched a little) with the tensioner held off all the way. 1.5″ of deflection over a 6″ span is how much belt? (I’ll have to ask some of my smart friends to solve that one) I did solve my belt noise problem. I took a toothbrush and degreaser to all the pulleys and the belt too. Total cleanness seems to be the secret.

Posted in Automotive | Tagged engine, procharger, quadzilla, supercharger, tuning | Leave a comment

My Trench

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

I’m pretty hard on anyone, especially my wife, who can’t manage to drive on the driveway, getting off in the grass, packing down the soil, breaking my sprinkler heads, etc.

The observant-type might notice 1) someone can’t stay on the driveway, 2) those tracks are from BFG AT tires, 3) Amber’s car is parked (poorly), so they didn’t come from her. Yup, that was me. Many excuses (dark, couldn’t see, Amber was parked too close to the middle, 4-wheel steering was turned off, engine died (and so did power steering) etc. But, I’ll ‘fess up, I did it. Amber thought it deserved a good-morning call to let me know that she knows I did it too.