Just came across this video about Laser Cleaning on Reddit - Laser Cleaning Compilation with How it Works. Pretty neat!
Posts by BKL
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Got a reply over on TDS asking how the thing moves. Caused me to think a little bit (painful
). I don't recognize the donor vehicle, but I had assumed it was a rear-wheel drive, yet most vehicles of that age/size are typically front-wheel drive units. makes me wonder if I fell for a Photoshopped pic?
Thanks to @MiM's post ina different thread, I checked the Smart Car and it may well be the donor vehicle and it's rear-wheel drive. -
When I saw it, I thought that must not have been cheap since the work appears to be done by someone who knew what he was doing.
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Just so you are aware, I haven't seen that high of AFRs at idle (after idling several minutes) with injectors that needed to be cleaned or that were not flow matched. I also doubt the tune at idle is that different from the Alpha tune to the Hahn tune if they are both set in open-loop as Dave explained. Open loop tunes usually have an AFR in the mid 13s and closed loop is shooting for 14.7. Closed loop tunes are almost always rougher in nature.
Start it and let it idle for a few minutes. Let the machine warm up and give the ECM time to adjust the throttle blade correctly. If it is idling lean, it will idle rough and almost seem like it is missing. If it seems to be running just fine, I would try to re-calibrate your AFR gauge.
Thanks. I had been thinking about recalibrating the sensor, just in case. The idle seems to run smoothly. I had Bob/MEFItune do the initial ECU reflash at the beginning of July, 2017. I've just been lazy and haven't gotten around to cleaning up all the loose tools in my carport so I can get the wheels back on and test drive the thing.
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This may sound insane, but...if I put and anvil attached to the rear fender, will that help with traction?
I think the anvil would be better placed on the rear deck to avoid all that unsprung weight. A passenger might be a better choice.
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You need more run time to determine if you are actually running leaner than normal. Make sure you calibrated your AFR gauge per the instructions and that it is sitting flat and tight. Sometimes those copper washers get wedged weird when tightening the sensor down.
Google AUS Injection and just give them a call if you want to send out your injectors for cleaning. They are very nice people.
On many of the vacuum lines, you are better off using zip ties than worm clamps. Worm clamps often get over tightened and eat away at the rubber that can cause small leaks.
From experience, bolts love to get caught in the below places...
On the passenger side between the frame and coolant hard line.
On the drivers side underneath the intake manifold down by the starter and power steering assist box.
Above the plastic shield that sits on the bottom side of the intercooler and radiator.
Air is your friend. Jack up the front left side really high and take a air gun and blow around like crazy.
I'm planning on taking it out on the road for the break-in ride soon, but don't plan on trying to test the turbo until I see where the AFR numbers are during regular side road speeds. Then I'll decide if I need to have the tune tweaked and/or use AUS Injection. Personally, I like knowing the fuel injectors are matched well.
I've noticed that the screw clamps on small vacuum hoses don't necessarily seem to clamp evenly. A cable tie wight well provide a better fit.
While I have looked under neath the Slingshot, I haven't actually gotten under it to look up. I like the idea of uysing the air gun, too. I just upgraded my air compressor to an upright 20 gal 155 psi Craftsman unit and it shoud have more capacity than my old Bostitch 6 gal pancake unit.
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Display More$ call motivateBKL [2]
Private Sub motivateBKL (byVal typeOfMotivation As Byte)
Dim strMotivationMessage As String
Select Case typeOfMotivation
Case = 1
strMotivationMessage = “Quit making excuses and learn to program you wuss!”
Case = 2
strMotivationMessage = “You got this... programming is easy!”
Case = 3
strMotivationMessage = “I need to be a HOT nerd like Erica... time to brush up on my nerd speak!”
End Select
Echo.writeLine strMotivationMessage
End Sub
A couple of anecdotes from my programming escapades -
While studying engineering (before volunteering for the Draft), I had to write a Fortran program to solve a problem. I passed (the program simply needed to execute and produce the correct answer to pass), but my card stack was twice the size of the next largest stack!
Many years ago, I wrote a short Adventure-type maze generator for a class. Lacking an adequate grasp of string manipulation, I assigned a Prime number to each of the possible directions (N=3, E=5, S=7, W=11, Up=13 and Down=17). I think I also used the value 19 to represent a cell that had an automatic teleport feature. I then multiplied each of the allowable directions for that cell so that I could then simply divide by the possible direction Primes to determine if the player had entered a valid direction of travel. If a cell had a North exit and a Down exit, it was assigned the value of 3 x 17 or 51. If the player tried to go South (7), I then divided the cell value (51) by the appropriate direction Prime (7) which yielded a non-Integer number and the player was told he couldn't go that direction. Seemed perfectly logical to me, but when I explained my methodology to the teacher, you would have thought I had three heads and was speaking a non-Earth language. I don't think anyone in the class understood what I did.
BTW, I could never "be a HOT nerd like Erica" as I look terrible in a one- or two-piece swimsuit! I probably qualify as a nerd, but definitely not HOT (maybe reasonably good-looking in my own mind).
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My general rule of thumb for changing tire sizes is as long as you stay with about 3% of the original circumference you shouldn't affect the nanny controls. As you go over 3%, expect to start seeing the nanny controls illuminate. Om my 2015 Base Slingshot, I've kept the stock fronts and gone as high as a 295/30ZR18 ( about .4" shorter than stock) rear. I'm getting ready to reinstall a NItto 555 G2 315/35R17 (about .3"taller) on an American Muscle 17 x 10.5" wheel.
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I had to check which site I was on for a minute.......I thought the Chinese had hacked here!
I love playing with tech and hacking stuff, but am realizing that I've gotten really old. I understand everything you are saying, but would have NO IDEA how to do, or where to start. 
Makes me realize i "used to be" an electrical engineer.Don't feel bad. I finished High School in 1971. I took 3 years of Electronics starting the day after the Band Director told me since I worked with the Football Team and wasn't going to be in the Marching Band that he couldn't give me higher than a 'C'. We weren't even introduced to transistors until mid-way thru the second year and integrated circuits barely appeared in the curriculum during third year! I still keep a shortcut link to Ohm's Law on my computer desktop.
After High School, I studied Pre-Engineering in college (didn't require a foreign language
), but got tired of going to school and volunteered for the draft and then extended in the Army to attend foreign language training (German) for 8 months 
. Fortunately, that led to multiple opportunities for me before I retired 35 years later.
While in the Army, I took several computer programming courses, but never managed to get beyond Basic and the use of GoTo statements which suddenly became verboten, although it always struck me as odd that If...Then statements function as a GoTo with a little more control than a standalone GoTo. I still have an interest in learning to program, but just never seem to get inspired enough to do so. -
Thanks for all of the feedback. Unfortunately, at the moment I can only access AUS' homepage.
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The one I had on there was a Northern Tool fender that I cut down..Only cost 29 bucks.
Is this the NT fender you used - Tow Zone Single Round Steel Fender Fits Single 13in.14in. Tires, 28 1/2in.L x 9in.W x 13in.H | Single Steel Trailer Fenders| Northern Tool + Equipment?
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If I had the available funds, I'd even consider bidding on it. There's a potential for some great savings there.
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Keep a close eye on that AFR and don't get beat it until you get it to richen up. The tune that comes with that set up has caused problems for some of us. I now have a DDM Works engine, new fuel injectors, and Bob tweaked the original tune for me at SSITS. It's now running pretty good.
You might try seeing if there's anyone close by that has the Hahn stage II turbo system that would be willing to swap ecus with you to see if it's something wrong with the tube (highly unlikely, but it would remove one major component from the equations)
Thanks for the tips. I've actually thought about contacting Bob about possibly enriching the tune a little or even getting the Alpha flash as I've read where folks felt it was a richer tune.
I used some small screw clamps on some of the vacuum lines, but not all of them, so I may need to add them to all connections to be safe.
I haven't run the engine long enough to actually check each of the large air tube/sleeve connections, which is something I also need to check.
I plan on setting my SCG-1 gauge to emphasize the AFR reading so I can at least ride it far enough to let everything heat up so I can then recheck all of the fasteners before reinstalling the right body side panels. As long as the AFR stays closer to the rich side than the lean side, I need to see how everything seems to be running to get a better grasp on how things are working. I figure I can post here to see if anyone local has done their own Hahn install. If not, I know a local shop that has installed at least one or two Hahn Slingshot systems and may need to get their help. -
I searched YouTube for some videos on forming ABS and plastic sheet and came across this video showing some folks making the Bobmadier's window for a Lancaster Bomb Aimer's Bubble -
This is basically an ad, but shows some simple heat forming -
Makes me wish I had an oven large enough to handle some large sheets to try making a fender. I've seen people heat form plastic sheet using a handheld heat gun, but I'd think a wide fender would need an oven for proper heating. -
I liked this fender at NT - Tow Zone Single Round Steel Fender Fits Single 8in. Tires, 16 1/4in.L x 7in.W x 3 5/8in.H | Single Steel Trailer Fenders| Northern Tool + Equipment. It's designed for an 8" tire, but it looks like 4 of them could maybe be joined to handle up to around a 345 tire. Might need a little reshaping to fit.
I had originally hoped I could find a heavy duty (for thicker sides) ABS or other plastic round trash can of a large enough diameter to allow me to cut a wide piece to fab a fender, but I haven't been able to find anything that isn't tapered.
Tractor Supply also offers a variety of fenders including some Polyethylene plastic fenders which might be adapted for the Slingshot rear.
Search Results for polyethylene fender at Tractor Supply Co.. Several of these look like they might be modded to fit. -
You might try taking a sheet or two of plywood and using a wide kerf saw blade cut the form you want (possibly a little tighter than the curve you actually want). Use some spacer material to hold the plywood forms or use multiple layers of plywood to form the entire curve out of pieces of plywood glued or screwed together and force the pieces together using some pipe clamps.
Or, check with a local sheet metal or body shop about having them do the bend for you.
Here's an interesting YouTube on bending sheet metal w/o dedicated tools -
This video shows a technique similar to what I described, just on a narrower piece of metal. It also addresse bending tubing -
YouTube can be a great source of inforamtion!
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One of the worst sounds is when you hear that metallic clack of a bolt dropped hitting something on the engine or frame and NOT hearing it hit the floor of the shop. Sometimes i wish i could just turn my Slingshot upside down and shake it till it falls back out.
I agree 100%. I really wanted to find the darned bolt, but haven't. I'm reasonably sure it didn't fall into the bell-housing based on sticking the USB camera down in there on a piece of wire so I could rotate the camera to different areas, but it did alarm me when my Wife found the ferrule for the tank (the bolt had been thru the ferrule to protect the plastic tank) right above the bell-housing hole.
Anybody have a way of holding the Slingshot so it can be rotated a full 360 degrees? -
@gooseman has a good idea there. You might consider using two trailer fenders to met your width needs and either weld the two together or simply rivet them together. The overlap might not look too bad if you can align the seam with the center of the tire.
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While browsing the OBD2 website, I came across this link that looks like it might have some useful info, too - OBD Diagnostics. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
