My '86 GTI build

[Challenger392]

I wish I had the time to tinker with my cars as much as you do. I'd be in heaven.

[walterclark]

Just another retired guy staying busy.

[walterclark]

I received the coolest present today. The GoPro Hero3 Black. It is way smaller than the Hero2 or Hero and has wi-fi access from either the supplied keyfob remote or an iPod/iPhone app. Both let you do anything you can do with the camera buttons including turn it ON and OFF and the app offers a preview screen so you can see where the camera is pointed. This replaces the Contour that croaked after a season and didnt do some things well even when it was working. Before the Contour I used a Panasonic pocket camera that has video capability and that is what I went back to this past season while I looked at cameras. 1080/60 is well below the cameras max resolution but I plan to use it or 720/60 for hillclimbs. The camera estimates over 2 hours of video on a 32G data card at 1080/60 so I dont have to worry about changing it over a weekend - The Panasonic only held a 2G card good for about 22 minutes at that cameras max resolution. The biggest problem will be editing the video as my PC video chipset is way too slow for this (and it is one of those "workstations" with virtually no expansion capability), but I have been thinking about a new PC somewhere around next summer and this can be the excuse to pull the trigger.

I decided against connecting a power source to it from the car. Instead I ordered a battery charger and 3 extra batteries by Wasabi. I think that will be easier, cheaper and safer (for the camera) than installing a power source in the car and buying a $40 camera holder that has a hole in the side for the cable (OK, I know I could cut a hole in the supplied polycarbonate case myself but I like the idea of having a weatherproof enclosure in case I decide to use this elsewhere - like on my windsufer).

[sachilles]

i think the new hero also allows you to use multiple cameras and have your remote start all of them at the same time. So if you happen to buy a second one(or borrow one), they can all sync up which is a really nice feature.
I newer computer will do you wonders for the video editing. It can be a frustrating experience to process Hi def video on an older one.
Race render has a couple versions of their video editing software including a free one that is pretty easy to use. It has templates so that you can put multiple videos in one screen including datalogging. It's motorsports oriented, so you might find it handy once you have a new PC.
A remote to start a camera is a huge plus.

[Challenger392]

I've been eyeing the Hero 3 Black. Its actually quite a deal, it includes the otherwise $80 remote plus a better image sensor/higher resolution capabilities (2.7k and4k video) for only 100 dollars more. I plan on having one for my inaugural hill climb year.

[walterclark]

Its been a while since an update.

Not a lot of visible progress to report. First we were away over the holidays so the car didnt get touched. Recently we have had a rather cold snap so I opted to not heat the shop and instead work on things that I could do on my bench in the basement and on the computer.

Much of my time has been spent going thru the Megasquirt internals and settings. The internals part to be sure I am using the hardware I/O correctly - such as driving indicators like injectors, coils, gauges, and indicator LEDs external to the ECU, and connecting inputs correctly. Settings (there are literally thousands of individual parameters that can be tweaked) to be sure as many as possible are correct (for instance driving the ignition coils with the right polarity and duty cycle), calibrating as many sensors as possible ahead of everything coming together in the car, and getting Tuner Studio (TS) set up the way I want it to look so I can tell what is going on when I first light off the car. I will be using the TS software to set the fuel and ignition tables beyond the very basic settings I programmed in, that is done thru a combo of idling, light driving and dyno time - an my "thousands" do not include those detailed tables.

I built and bench tested the 2 channel coil driver power module (a pair of Bosch BIP373 transistors) which is required between the MS3X coil outputs and the coils. Unlike the MS V3 mainboard which has 1 high current coil output, the 8 MS3X spark outputs are "logic" outputs which means they can only drive a few milliamps, where the coils need a pulse of around 10 amps to produce a spark. I can reuse that mainboard coil driver for something else at some point but for now I didnt even install the power transistor (in fact it is now one of the two drivers in the coil driver module. I will be locating the coil driver module in the engine bay - in the plenum which is semi-isolated from the engine and somewhat cooler - to reduce the length of the high pulse current carrying wires between the transistors and the coils to a couple feet versus 10-12'. This reduces both I2R losses and series inductance so more energy gets to and a more rapid pulse rise occurs in the coils.

I have cut and installed a few items on the secondary dashboard (the one to the right of the wheel) - the fuel panel and heater controls. I plan to add some toggle switches and power outlets before I paint it. This board will contain anything that shouldnt require my attention between the start line and finish line. This will include a mount for my GPS.

The tertiary dashboard (the one to the far right - not yet mounted in the photos on page 18) has been painted and the MS and LM-1 (ECU and O2 analyzer) are mounted there.

The primary dashboard will contain the original instrument cluster plus 2 added gauges - Oil Pressure and Lambda. The original instrument cluster has been modified to include all the LED indicators (e.g. Shift, DataLogOn, Launch Active) and warnings (e.g. AFR/EGT warning, low Oil Pressure, High Coolant temp, Charge warning). These all fit into locations in the center of the cluster into which VW had originally installed 1980 era LEDs (weak as heck) for these and other purposes like turn signals, bright headlamps, and OXS (a really lame speedo cable driven mileage accumulator that switched on the LED after some miles to tell you it was time to replace the O2 Sensor). The new LEDs are much brighter for the same current - for instance the original yellow "shift" LED, which was driven by engine vacuum as a way to encourage economy was about 40mcd and the clear white replacement is 35,000mcd. In the first case you can see it if you are looking, in the second it will burn a hole in your retina if you look directly at it. I also have a wide selection of colors not available back then to help distinguish real problems from cautions and just info.

The flocking kit has arrived so I cam move ahead with removing the dash, warming up the shop and getting this bit done. Its not a bad time to do it now because it will be easier to run the wiring harness and install a clutch position sensor with that out and I am still waiting on some components for the fuel lines (-AN hose connectors) so I cant connect and test it for leaks yet, and I am waiting on parts for the cold air intake - which are the other things I need to fabricate.

[walterclark]

The big project today was flocking the dash. Warmed up the shop, built a "spray booth" and set to it. The only problem I ran into was the adhesive stray instructions say to thin it with not more than "1 tablespoon per pint of adhesive with mineral spirits". That created a something too thick to spray nicely even with a 1.8 nozzle (primer nozzle). I ended up going ahead though I had trouble getting enough adhesive on the surface quickly enough to satisfy me. If for some reason I do this again I will thin it a lot more. The Eastwood powder coating gun did OK but I needed to keep shaking the gun to keep the flock moving in the feed jar. Luckily you cant apply too much - anythign that doesnt get to the adsive will simply fall off after everything drys. Speaking of drying - the instructions say to leave it alone for about 12 hours after applying to let the adhesive set completely, although the claimed working time for it is only 10-15 minutes.

Here are some pics, but it is really hard to see anything - being a velvety black and all... In the first pic you can see a couple spots - those are the camera lens - needs to be cleaned.







This is a closeup of one area, for what it is worth.

[sachilles]

That looks real nice.

[walterclark]

Thanks. I really looks great right now when you see it in person. I hope it still looks as good tomorrow after I shake off any excess fibers. By the way, these fibers are so short and so fine to the naked eye, they look like the powder coat stuff I use. The instructions say anything that doesnt adhere can be saved and reused. The "spray booth" is intended to let me keep the excess fibers clean (the plastic sheet) and to contain them so I can shake them down into the plastic bag they came in.

Having the dash out for a few days is making running the wire harnesses a snap. I expect to have all the wires at least at their correct locations by the end of tomorrow, if not already connected.

I still need to pick up a couple connectors so I can just unplug things like the switches, jacks and gauges I have on the secondary panel and the one add-on gauge I have on the primary to make it easy to completely remove these panels. The primary panel has only the original instrument cluster and an add-on AFR gauge. I found that despite the panel being fairly large, the steering wheel obstructs everything except the original cluster - which is seen thru the wheel - and one space on the upper left where a 2" gauge can sit - and be seen outside the steering wheel. I selected the AFR gauge for that spot since it is very quick and easy to read without having to focus on it, unlike things like the digital readout oil pressure gauge. Having had the opportunity to "mess" with virtual gauges from the Megasquirt on Tuner Studio, I have decided that analog style gauges with nominal point up is much more useful and fast reading than digital readouts, except for speed. Bars arent bad either but only if you can set up some bands like green, yellow and red within the bar to help decode them. I still like an "analog" tach over any other style.

[Rabbit Farmer]

I like the dash. I do plan to do the same for the Scirocco so I'm sure we will be talking about your experience some time this summer.

S