College boys

[nigecapri]

I promised my mate the college lecturer that I'd take the car in so his students could have a shufty at the bike carbs. Coming home from getting my diesel injectors tested I dropped in to see him. I gave them a quick run-through of what was what about the carbs then addressing the lads & a girl my mate said "what can we do to this to improve power then?" chip it was the first answer, kids eh.
I said "you buy me the chips and I'll tell you how to make it faster"

[Sonic]

"Buy me chips" LOL very good!

I blame the fast and furious films for todays kids complete lack of understanding of cars. As long as a 1.0L car looks good, thats all that matters right!

[Matty28i]

All the modern cars are on a CPU and to the average punter there is no DIY on modern stuff.

Last car my parents owned, the only things you could check as an owner was the washer level or oil due to the huge cover over the engine needing special tools to remove. (A large flat blade scewdriver!) LOL

But be fair the modern car is no way, as near as friendly as the old technology.

And just to confuse those poor kids you put a modern ignition system on to confuse them. LOL

Hope they enjoyed your car all the same, as my experience is they (the students/younger generation) love the old style of the car when they see it.

Hope you enjoyed the trip to college and as it's only a week or so into the first term I dought they know it all LOL

Matty28i

[mjcapri]

It wasn't like that in my day when I was a college.... 4 years ago LOL! But seriously I do know what you mean. There aren't many kids these days who want to get involved with cars. Well, not in the way kids used to get involved. It's all neons and silly tail pipes now, none of which do anything. I suppose the manufacturers have a lot to answer for, as like Matty says you can't do much with a modern motor. But then do these kids need a modern motor? I've always managed without one....

[InvalidBoy]

Nonsense dear chaps!!!

To first of all clarify many points alluded to.
1, Modern engine developments are mainly through engine management. It is possible to set different optimums for different needs using peripherals and software. Economy tune, power tune, torque tune and so on.
2, Modern engine building has tighter tolerances. There is less spare 'meat' on a head to work upon, but also less need to do so.
3, Modern management is about more than sticking in more fuel and spark right across the board. These are variable, as is cam lift.
4, Most modern engines are tuned to emission regulations. The regulations apply to the CAR not the ENGINE. Sooo..., a Zetec in a Capri can kick out more ****e and power than a Zetec in a Mondeo. The Engine Control Unit (ECU) tries to maintain a stoichiometric balance, wherein the air-fuel mixture is approximately 14.7ish air to petrol. This ratio is selected in order to maintain a neutral engine performance (lower fuel consumption yet decent engine power and minimal pollution). Balls out performance is closer to 14.1 to 1 ratio. Fit bigger injectors and a bigger throttle body. Simple!
5, Modern engines respond to turbo charging like their predecesors, so this is possible but expensive. Nat and Rob have led the way in the four cylinder capris on here.
6, Heresy time... the weight of the Capri lends itself to a turbo diesel (torque happy) rather than a revvy petrol engine. A typically managed VAG TDI or Peugeot HDI or BMW D engine would give an easy 150bhp and bags of grunt on standard management. This can easily be expanded with a minor tune.

[nigecapri]

Do be quiet please you at the back, the subject for today is Old Cars!

[canzus]

So how do you figure out what is knackered in a
modern car?? You buy a code reader, software, a
manual, but if you haven't a clue, you're still
replacing the wrong part... For our antiquated
cars, a vacuum gauge, a timing light, a test light,
and the ability to read your plugs is all you need.

SteveL

[mjcapri]

Rob and Nat supercharged their Capris! Ha ha!

But, point taken you can still do stuff but it isn't as easy as it used to be. And like you said the upgrades available are generally a bit pricey, probably another reason kids don't casually mess around with there cars. And there is of course the other big issue, that of insurance. A 1.0 Corsa might still be as fast as a 3 legged tortoise, but if it's modded the insurance goes through the roof.

Regardless, I'm staying retro!

[capri_sam]

I thought a corsa was a three cylindered tortiose, not a three legged one!