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Post by smithy1 on Jun 25, 2016 3:58:31 GMT -5
I've sat in that seat quite a few times myself...! ;-)
The lockwire of the FCU/pump is mine..!
Cheers,
Smithy
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gidge348
Senior Member
Joined: September 2010
Posts: 426 
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Post by gidge348 on Dec 7, 2017 4:20:40 GMT -5
Hi all, been playing with the jet dragster and finally got my ANDRA jet licence after a lot of changes to the car due to rule changes. Still need to practice the fire show though. The car is running fine, temps and pressures are good, lights fine and runs straight. The only problem is at full throttle it only goes to about 95% and as you all know the last 5-10% is where the power is. I checked the FCU quadrant and at full throttle it only at 66 degrees. I was wondering if someone else out there familiar with the J34 has a specification of what the full throttle should read on the quadrant?   Cheers Ian... |
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Post by smithy1 on Dec 7, 2017 19:33:06 GMT -5
Hi Ian,
I replied to your "messenger" query. As mentioned, the max throttle setting for this particular FCU is 77 degrees +/- 1 on the quadrant ...just make small adjustments and check engine rpm settings as necessary..doesn't take much to go "over the top".
There's also a "snailshell-cam" inside and if you allow too much adjustment it can drop off the end and the FCU will need to come apart to rectify....not a good thing as parts for them are near impossible to find these days. Gaskets for this one were hand made by myself many years ago.
Just go in small steps mate and have fun, stay safe..!
You should be ok taking this beast to ~103-104%, (Military setting) for short periods....any more and you'll be hurting stuff. These engines are very robust and move an enormous amount of air too.
After I "fiddled" with the FCU on this car, Steve Mirams ran a 7.06 @ 230 at Willowbank some time back, not too bad for a heavy 2600lb beast.
Cheers,
Smithy.
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gidge348
Senior Member
Joined: September 2010
Posts: 426
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Post by gidge348 on Dec 7, 2017 20:14:52 GMT -5
Thanks Smithy, like I said on Messenger we have a meeting on 30th December so will move it up in small increments. It was probably me taking the cables in and out during the cage modifications that threw out the adjustment. Not sure I can hold it on the line much over the 95% at the moment, yep can really feel that HUGE amount of air giving me push when I leave the line. During licencing the best run I did 8.002 at 313kph the brakes only barely hold at 95% so I will probably have to leave at 95% light the AB and punch the throttle and hang on...  |
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Post by smithy1 on Dec 11, 2017 20:18:07 GMT -5
Thanks Smithy, like I said on Messenger we have a meeting on 30th December so will move it up in small increments. It was probably me taking the cables in and out during the cage modifications that threw out the adjustment. Not sure I can hold it on the line much over the 95% at the moment, yep can really feel that HUGE amount of air giving me push when I leave the line. During licencing the best run I did 8.002 at 313kph the brakes only barely hold at 95% so I will probably have to leave at 95% light the AB and punch the throttle and hang on... LOL...yeah...the brakes aren't the problem...it's the lack of traction of the tyres, if the track has been prepared well you might get a % or two more....but don't expect it to stay there..! Yep, ~94-95% on the line then time your A/B hit with the lights and hit the throttle to max....and hold on....  You may get a small amount of rpm % droop at the A/B hit... I've done my best to reduce this as much as possible in the FCU so it should recover fairly quickly. If possible, try to restrict max rpm to ~104% not much is gained going higher except hurting the turbine. The Stelite blades are quite robust but they have their limits. Just remember to stay safe .....and get out of it if you feel something is not right....you can always have another run later. Has Graham and/or Steve advised you to stay off the brakes at the end of a run until she's nice and stable after chute deployment?? Let the chutes do the initial braking work. Can you or your crew chief check the rear wheel bearings for me...I think I remember they used to make some funny noises some time back....unless they've been inspected/repaired since then of course. She's a great old car that one...well worth the trouble to look after it. Cheers, Smithy. |
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gidge348
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Posts: 426
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Post by gidge348 on Dec 12, 2017 9:18:17 GMT -5
Hi Smithy, thanks for that yep had to play around with the brakes a little because of scrutineer issues. It originally had a fabricated brake pedal going to the two master cylinders one was a bolt on and heim the other was a slip joint heim that if you let off the brakes quick it could drop out and no brakes. I replaced that with a Willwood balance bar setup but that changed the leverage/pressure on the callipers. I replaced the master cylinders from 7/8" to 3/4" so I could get the 700lbs rear and 400lbs front that Willwood told me to aim for.
Yep know about the squeak in the RR wheel a bit disconcerting getting pushed to the line to do a 200mph pass and it sounds like the wheel is about to fall off. We have repacked the bearing checked the hubs, discs, callipers and stub axel no cracks and all seems ok, the problem as far as we can work out is the holes in the wheels are a bit flogged out and we are getting a small amount of movement even though everything is tight. I am having some new wheel nuts & washers made at the moment and will re-drill the wheels slightly OS from 11/16" to 3/4" hopefully that will fix it.
Had it drummed into me from day one.... don't touch the brakes....Quite lucky running at the Motorplex in Perth the actual track is slightly down hill and after the line it goes up so the car will pull up on chutes alone no brakes at least 100 metres before the turn off. During licencing I had to fire both chutes together at full noise, went from 300kph to walking pace in about 50 metres... still got the bruises from that one.
Have disconnected the FCU cable and found your end stop on the quadrant and it seems adjusted exactly to the 77 degrees you mention. Not sure if I should adjust the lever to still restrict it a little say to 74 or so or let it go the full 77? I have used up all my brownie points with the neighbours so can't start it here to confirm that the 77 degrees is actually 104%, and don't look at the gauges in the run as I am a bit busy.
Cheers
Ian...
Cheers
Ian...
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Post by smithy1 on Dec 12, 2017 15:31:57 GMT -5
Excellent work mate....yeah...just creep up on things slowly, not need to go "all-out" straight away, you've nothing to prove. If the FCU throttle stop is going to 77 degrees but your cockpit lever is hitting the cockpit shut-off lever before the FCU lever gets there, you will need to find out why and adjust the cable length/ratio to suit. You can certainly reduce the FCU lever stop a few degrees, no harm in that. That's what the adjustment is there for, it just reduces the max governing set point to a lower value, just adjust it to suit your requirements....if you're not comfortable going flat out, that's fine.....small steps. I'm happy to help as best I can and I'm sure Graham Slapp, Steve Mirams, (plenty of Jet Dragster experience between these two)...... and even Daniel Miocevich in Perth would be happy to help you out too. I've not met Daniel in person but have heard he's a nice young chap..I did meet his father Gary before he passed away in 2015. I believe Daniel has had fair bit to do with a P&W J-60 powered machine I helped build here in Sydney, (previously owned by Peter Bennett)...it's a 5 second machine too!! I understand it's been in the wars a bit lately too.. Smithy. |
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gidge348
Senior Member
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Posts: 426
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Post by gidge348 on Dec 13, 2017 1:19:51 GMT -5
Hi Smithy, yep, I know Daniel very well he has been a great help with the licencing etc. as well as Pieter DeWitt another Perth driver who was checking me during licencing. I was there when Daniel had his big crash and as you can imagine the car is toast. They were able to save the engine, though the burner can was flattened and a few broken ancillaries. During the crash it looked like the engine was coming apart with sparks in the exhaust but this turned out to be slightly blocked fuel nozzle causing a carbon build up and so the fireworks. The engine from the crashed car is now in "Ice Man" and was putting in mid 5 second passes at almost 300mph while I was licencing.
I have 2 runs on the 30th to do so I think I will do as you recommend and set the lever to say 72-74 degrees and put a go-pro on the gauges to watch the run. Then make a decision about going to the full 77 degrees or not.
Cheers
Ian...
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Post by smithy1 on Dec 13, 2017 17:17:09 GMT -5
Hi Smithy, yep, I know Daniel very well he has been a great help with the licencing etc. as well as Pieter DeWitt another Perth driver who was checking me during licencing. I was there when Daniel had his big crash and as you can imagine the car is toast. They were able to save the engine, though the burner can was flattened and a few broken ancillaries. During the crash it looked like the engine was coming apart with sparks in the exhaust but this turned out to be slightly blocked fuel nozzle causing a carbon build up and so the fireworks. The engine from the crashed car is now in "Ice Man" and was putting in mid 5 second passes at almost 300mph while I was licencing. I have 2 runs on the 30th to do so I think I will do as you recommend and set the lever to say 72-74 degrees and put a go-pro on the gauges to watch the run. Then make a decision about going to the full 77 degrees or not. Cheers Ian... All good mate. I'm not about to tell you what to do though..! Just want you to be safe, these machines can bite and bite hard if not respected, you're essentially sitting in a land based missile..! We lost a Japanese friend down at Heathcote in Vic several years ago in a J-34 powered machine....don't want to see that happen again. Cheers and enjoy the ride..! Smithy. |
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gidge348
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Posts: 426
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Post by gidge348 on Dec 14, 2017 8:33:05 GMT -5
Hi Smithy, yes I heard about the Japanese fellow in 2006, a terrible thing, I think it is good to have not just respect but a bit of healthy fear of these things. I have done a 8.002 with the car in licencing and it ran straight as a die. Just want to put a little bit more in and get into the 7's for the moment and sneak up on getting into the 6's later. I have attached a video of the car from the outside doing the 8.002 run and still loading an on board one to YouTube, will put the link up later. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQ5OudwI3o Cheers Ian... |
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gidge348
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Joined: September 2010
Posts: 426
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Post by gidge348 on Dec 14, 2017 18:49:44 GMT -5
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Post by smithy1 on Dec 14, 2017 20:09:24 GMT -5
Hi Smithy, yes I heard about the Japanese fellow in 2006, a terrible thing, I think it is good to have not just respect but a bit of healthy fear of these things. I have done a 8.002 with the car in licencing and it ran straight as a die. Just want to put a little bit more in and get into the 7's for the moment and sneak up on getting into the 6's later. I have attached a video of the car from the outside doing the 8.002 run and still loading an on board one to YouTube, will put the link up later. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQ5OudwI3o Cheers Ian... Nice run...I don't know if it'll pull 6's though, she's pretty heavy for a jet dragster...we were pushing it pretty hard to do a 7.0 @230 several years ago...! But you never know. The real quick low 5 machines are down in the 1250lb weight area and running the P&W J60's or GE J85's....pretty sure the Banshee, (nee Voodoo Chilli) is up in the 2600lb+ zone..! Smithy. |
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gidge348
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Post by gidge348 on Dec 15, 2017 4:12:59 GMT -5
Yep not sure of 6's either but Steve & Graham both seem to think after changes to the brakes and with the Motorplex being slightly down hill there is a "Chance" but that is for later just want to get consistent 7's..... A 6.999999 will do fine Cheers Ian... |
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gidge348
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Posts: 426
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Post by gidge348 on Jan 30, 2018 21:31:04 GMT -5
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Post by smithy1 on Feb 1, 2018 18:28:29 GMT -5
Very cool Ian...nice to the my old FCU too...You've done a few changes since I last saw the old girl..Well done.!
Cheers,
Smithy.
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You may get a small amount of rpm % droop at the A/B hit... I've done my best to reduce this as much as possible in the FCU so it should recover fairly quickly. If possible, try to restrict max rpm to ~104% not much is gained going higher except hurting the turbine. The Stelite blades are quite robust but they have their limits.