09 February 2006
Hi Folks
The year is already
in full swing. We had a dip of about one week and I was stupid enough, not to
utilise this for my holiday.
There is a definite trend in my shop of people buying the parts and then
fitting themselves.
Is this because of financial restraints or because the trend is toward
DIY ?
I am quite OK with the latter, except that some of these kind folks
should understand that Sunday 15H00 is not the right time to phone and ask me
how to fit it. Even worse, is then expecting me to fix their problem in my time
and at no cost.
I have my hobbies (Firearms),
and do try to do as much as possible myself. But we should try and gauge our
limitations.
I always get annoyed when a customer comes in with a set-up purchased somewhere else and then asks me to fit it.
What is worse when he fitted it himself and now wants to know why his car lost power?
Interestingly there are Header/Free flow systems out there that can rob your motor of some Horses.
I regularly get calls going “I bought this ignition box for my XYZ, and now I don’t know how to wire it”. Honestly I don’t know and do not particularly care. I modify and install a certain range of products where I can rely on my supplier to back me should I need certain info. In this case the customer has upset most Auto Electricians in his region, so they are not prepared to help him anymore
The Power of the credit card. It is becoming more popular to buy goods over the Internet and then pay for it by credit card. Problem is, what happens when you need some problem solving done with said part. Or if the knowledge to buy the correct part is just not there ? This is one reason why I get K&Ns cheaper than the average guy buying from some factory outlet. Simply because K&N knows that I have the necessary product knowledge to make said part fit and work. Also I am cheaper then our “Factory Outlet”, as I do not pocket this incentive but pass it onto my customer. So if you can get it cheaper somewhere else, make sure it is the same part #. If it is, let me know, so I can see where the fault lies.
I have gotten in quite a few cars that had their road speed governors
disabled by the cutting of the signal wire. If the Computer does not see a road
speed, at best it goes into “Limp home” mode and at worst it kills the motor.
“This car revs but does not travel- hmm it must be on its roof in an accident,
let’s rather switch of the motor”. Some cars go rich, others retard the timing
some do both, but either way, you will loose power and possibly increase the
fuel consumption. The UNICHIP is spliced into the signal wire, forwarding the
correct signal to the CPU until it is just before cut-out and then maintains
that signal. In other words, if your vehicle is governed at 160 kph the limiter
will make it think it is travelling at 155 even if you are doing far more. Also
we can work it the other way, making your car limit itself at 100, 140 or
wherever you please.
Since we are getting more cars in for Tune-up’s, we are amazed at the
fallacies that exist.
For instance the removal of choke flaps on Holley’s, are guaranteed to
upset your fuel mixture. The pro’s machine the whole Airhorn away and blend
that into the carburettor body. This is done on motors that do not permit
bigger carburettors to be fitted or because you do not get bigger carbs. I will
get to Carburettor airflow requirements in a future article. Sadly a lot of
books are written for Hobbyists often by unqualified people to do so.
Also removing the vacuum advance on the Distributor is a guarantee to
disturb your engine management.
Kindest regards
Nick von Bergen
Can you identify the origin of the following quote “It is from passions that all our pleasures are derived, speed is one such passion” ?