Nick M

Sounds like there's a few of them in Germany

I think perhaps I'll just stick to ignoring you....

If I might make a suggestion to all concerned.... The constant snippy comments are very much akin to advertising in the US which seems to revolve around slating the opposition while not actually highlighting why your own product might be better. I suspect that people may actively baulk against this kind of "advertising" too, which is lazy and unimaginative, and seek out the competitor's product.... At the end of the day, it is the customer's decision and they will buy what they perceive to be the "right" product for them. If the product is good and priced competitively then it will sell. Equally if they dislike the salesman's attitude they won't....

Back to the top....

Readvertised as it took longer to get my new dash system than anticipated. Complete system including : - Dash - 8130 - white face, 0-8,000rpm scale - complete loom - sensors - pressure, oil temp, water temp, speed, etc. I may even include the optional air temperature sensor if it's not needed with my new dash system - user manual I changed the slightly crappy standard issue buttons for some much neater ITW ones. I will include these along with the original ones. The unit is in excellent condition having been in my Westfield for around 2 years but having seen little use. The only part of the loom I have modified was to attach the replacement switches - it is otherwise completely un-buggered-about-with. Further details can be found here : http://www.stackltd.com/st8130.html I will be removing it from my car over the course of next week so if you're quick and in the Essex area you could even see it in operation (and help me remove it ) Asking price is GBP675 (over GBP1,000 new) + postage (GBP8.00 and it will be sent via Securicor over-night from Staples). No offers at this stage. First come, first served. Please contact me at nmilton@bechtel.com and nickmilton@qwest.net. I will shortly be travelling to the UK and will definitely pick up one or other of those e-mails. Any questions, just ask

Peter - there are photos in the Demon Tweaks catalogue of the dash unit itself, but I'll see if I have any of it fitted to my car. Rob - not sure to be honest, but I would expect so. Stack seem to be able to upgrade most of their head units and the loom has the facility to add things like a timing beacon. It would be getting all the inputs for revs, pressures and temps so it shouldn't need much else to actually log the info. Nick

The dash will work with any engine - it measures : - water temp - oil temp - oil pressure - air temp - voltage - fuel level - revs - wheel speed - trip meter - odometer (and maybe something else I've forgotten - it has some timing functions but I've never used those) It also has built in low fuel and warning lights (low oil pressure for example) as well as a shift light. I've made up a separate little box with bright LEDs for the shift light and warning light which I'd probably throw in too.

I'm seriously thinking about selling my Stack 8130 (complete with loom, buttons, sensors and destruction manual) but I'm not ready to do it today. I need to purchase a replacement dash display first but I wanted to see if there was any interest in it at GBP 600 (they're GBP 825 + VAT, and this one also has an air temp sensor which is another GBP 25) It's the white-faced version with 0-8,000rpm dial and blue led back-lighting. It's pretty cool It's been fitted to my car for about 18 months and has been faultless - only reason I'm swapping it is to go for something which includes data logging and which will speak to my ECU as well. So, if there's anyone out there who is interested but prepared to wait a couple of months then drop me an e-mail and let me know. I'm not averse to offers - worst I can do is say no....

Firstly, I assume you meant Quaiffe at the end of the sentence ? But in any case, how do you know what wear and tear the boxes have been subjected to ?? Surely you're just speculating like lots of other people ? This is not, I hasten to add, a dig in any way. It's just an observation that it seems people are keen to comment on something on the basis of the one installation they happen to have a vague knowledge about when, as Dave has clearly pointed out, the Elite box is being run in a variety of different environments. Now call me old fashioned, but if I'm looking at two gearboxes which both offer a 5 or 6 speed sequential shift, then factors such as weight and durability will obviously feature highly in my decision making process. Arguing over whether a gearbox has an iron or aluminium case is, in effect, irrelevant because it's ultimate weight is still a deciding factor. Just my thoughts on the matter.....

Sadly not that wonderful an engine IMO. I have one fitted to my 2003 Pontiac Vibe GT (basically a re-clothed Toyota) and it's OK (nothing special at all) up to 6,000 rpm but then goes totally mad up to the red-line at a little over 8,000rpm. Only thing is it zaps round there so fast you never really get much chance to change gear before hitting the limiter and then, when you *do* change gear the revs drop so much that you're just out of the serious power band. It's a case of floor it wait it's getting going now wait a bit more OMFG !! bounce of rev-limiter change gear wait Oh FFS OMFG, here we go again !! etc., etc. At least the Honda VTECs seem to stay on the boil between gear changes.

I think Stack use VDO senders don't they ??

FWIW, 1 quart bottle = about 0.9 litres. I can't remember how much the Caterham box takes but I always seem to need about 1.25 litres to fill my gearbox (alloy cased type 9), so maybe two bottles might be an idea ??

Check out http://www.jegs.com in the US - *MUCH* cheaper than in the UK. Here's a link to the ones I bought / use : http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=3258&prmenbr=361

I used to use a Millers fully synthetic oil (on the gearbox makers suggestion I might add !) and the change was never really baulky when cold but it was slow shifting up at full revs even when hot. Swapped to MTL and it improved the cold gear-change (I was concerned it might be notchy or baulky, but it isn't) as well as full rev changes when the oil is hot. I'm pleased I made the change, put it that way.

Something I've come across here in the US (and it's probably available at home too, I've just not seen it advertised) is an oil analysis service. Basically you send off a sample of oil and they tell you what's floating about in it. Different metals or compounds (and the amounts) are supposed to indicate wear of different components like bearings, valve guides, bores, etc., etc. HOWEVER, someone also said (on here I believe) that this is all well and good but basically the first time you get it done it will scare the willies out of you and might lead you to strip down an otherwise perfectly healthy engine ! 😬 I was thinking of getting it done purely for the sake of curiousity (it works out at about $30) but I just haven't got round to it yet.

The basic conversion may be slightly cheaper than the other upgrade path you mentioned, but using NOS for any amount of time can get very expensive very quickly. Check out the WSCC forum for some recent threads about this very subject - someone is running a Zetec with 50bhp jets and people were talking about doing it for bike engines. Don't forget re-sale issues either - a car running NOS is likely to make people run a mile.

Only if we keep records of which hand creams or lotions we use afterwards to protect our hands.....

Ah, I tend to use it to remove unnatural oils, like gearbox oil, grease, engine oil, etc., etc., from my hands !! 😬 😬

It's a hand cleaning product which my wife thoughtfully provides and leaves by the kitchen sink. Apparently it's availabe from supermarkets of all places !! Whatever they are....

Fairy liquid does have it's benefits though I seem to recall that fairy liquid and dry ice is quite an amusing combination... 😬

Thx all - makes it much clearer now about why we do some of the things we do to engines to make them whizz round a bit quicker !

The 8130M has a whole host of features you may not need - check out the Stack web-site for what's standard and optional on each of the different models. I went for the normal 8130 and it worked out around GBP860 all in from Keith Connolley. Didn't see the need for some of the extra features which seemed expensive.

Just pondering why higher engine revs tend to mean that engine longevity suffers ?? For example, if you have an engine that revs to 6,000rpm, what changes when you start running it at 8,000rpm ? Is it down to lubrication issues alone or a whole host of contributory factors such as bearing material and design, reciprocating mass, oil properties and behaviour, etc. ??

I must say I've not noticed my oil temps taking that long to rise but, to be fair, it is a little warmer here than sunny old England 😬 Even so, it never took 30 miles to get the oil up to a sensible temperature so maybe it's a product of different engines ?? Ah, I wasn't sure how hot it was getting before, just how hot it was getting post laminova thingy being fitted. And I agree, at those sort of temps I'd be looking for an oil cooler of some description (which is why I have one I suppose 😬) As mentioned, I observed a reduction in oil pressure when the oil gets hotter but not enough to worry about. Again, different engine / dry sump set ups will do different things.

Where is the oil temp measured ? I have my temp sensor in an external dry sump tank and the peak oil temperature I've seen when running hard on a hot (30+ celcius) day was 115 degrees. However, this bothered me not in the slightest because I was told by the tech department of the oil company whose products I was using that the oil will happily run at 150degrees for short periods of time and that a constant 130-135 degrees was perfectly acceptable, although I would probably notice a reduction in oil pressure (which I did at 115 degrees - about 5psi at peak). I have fitted an oil cooler but that's largely to add some additional volume to the system, not because I'm worried about the temps per se. In fact I'm not sure how much cooling effect the cooler produces because the only place I could easily locate it is quite shielded. To be honest, at temps of around 90-95 (depending on where they're being measured of course) I wouldn't be inclined to worry too much. Incidentally, my coolant temps were pretty stable too - I think I've only once seen it creep over 100degrees (and then the coolant temp sensor died 😬 ) but normal (on road) running temp is about 80 degrees for water and 80-85 for the oil.