Class me please!

[MN01GXE]

I am a little unsure on a few things, so I am just going to list up my car, the modifications done, and ask for a little insight on where each places me (I have filled out the pieces that I know, but feel free to correct me):

2001 Nissan Sentra GXE (1.8L motor)
* DIY ground wires (stock)
* Hawk HPS front brake pads (stock)
* OEM Fogs (optional on my trim) (stock)
* Stainless Steel Brake Lines (street touring)
* Unorthodox Racing lightweight/underdriven crankshaft pulley (street touring)
* Hotshot cold air intake (street touring)
* Konig Traffik wheels (same diameter as stock, 1/2" wider) (street touring)
* Tein Basic coilovers (street touring)
* Spec V front strut tower bar (only connects at top of strut towers, not triangulated) (street touring)
* Nismo lower tie bar (connects lower control arms in the front) (street touring)
* Energy Suspension polyurethane motor mount inserts (street touring)
* SuperPro polyurethane rear trailing arm bushings (street touring)
* OEM Sideskirts (only available on higher trims for my same chassis) (street touring)
* Kartboy polyurethane exhaust hangers (street touring)
* Hotshot header (removes OEM pre-cat)/OEM catalytic converter/OEM cat to axle piping/Spec V muffler (STX)
* Outlaw Engineering Thermoblok phenolic intake manifold spacers/gaskets (DSP)


Any help is much appreciated!!

[SmokingTires]

The bushings and exhuast hangers are legal in STS. So are the side skirts.

It's an intake manifold spacer, or an throttle body spacer? I just took a glance, but it looks like a manifold spacer may put you anywhere from prepared to Modified. either of those classes would leave you (as you currently are) very unprepared.

[MN01GXE]

...It's an intake manifold spacer, or an throttle body spacer?...

Three spacers in total - one between the TB and upper IM, one between the two halves of the IM, and one between the lower IM and the block.

[MNbiker]

Based on a strict interpretation of the rules, your car would be classed in Street Prepared, based on the header and intake spacers. Now, here's the really ugly part - because no one has campaigned your exact car model at a National level, only the 2.0l models are explicitly classed. Therefore, under "not Otherwise Classified" rules, your car would be classed in CSP. However, consider this an official ruling that you may run your car with the described modifications in DSP, which is the correct class for 2.0l Sentras of the same model year.

However, you may wish to remove the intake spacers, which would allow you to run in STX. Or remove the header and spacers, which would allow you to run in STS.

Steve Garnjobst
Met Council Rules Chair

[MN01GXE]

Thanks much...guess its time spend more time with the nut behind the wheel, and at least have some fun with it.

[REX]

I think the upper front brace AND the lower front brace present a problem. If you run both, doesn't that bump your class? Steve?

[MNbiker]

I think the upper front brace AND the lower front brace present a problem. If you run both, doesn't that bump your class? Steve?




Nope. Both are allowed.




From the Street Touring rules (note the word "and"):

14.8.J. Strut bars are permitted with all types of suspension. Strut bars may be mounted only transversely across the car from upper right to upper left suspension mounting point and from lower right to lower left suspension mounting point.










The same language from the Street Prepared rules:
15.2.C. Strut bars are permitted with all types of suspension. Strut bars may be mounted only transversely across the car from upper right to upper left suspension mounting point and from lower right to lower left suspension mounting point.


-Steve

[MN01GXE]

It doesn't bump my classing, and it doesn't bump my tires around on sharp corners - a double win! :D

[BergeGuy]

What exactly is the Outlaw Engineering Thermoblok phenolic intake manifold spacers/gaskets for anyways?

[MN01GXE]

What exactly is the Outlaw Engineering Thermoblok phenolic intake manifold spacers/gaskets for anyways?

See my thread here (http://www.b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=121355) and here (http://www.b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=114141) on a sentra forum about my work as the prototype car for Outlaw Engineering, but in a nutshell, here goes (taken from OE's site):

What are ThermoBlok spacers and what do they do?
Outlaw Engineering ThermoBlok spacers are thermal insulating replacements for your stock intake manifold and throttlebody gaskets. Made from a heat blocking phenol resin laminate, ThermoBlok spacers increase power from your engine by keeping the intake cooler.

Key benefits:
» Produces a cooler intake manifold and intake charge resulting in MORE POWER
» A cooler intake charge also reduces the tendency for detonation, meaning ignition timing can be
advanced for MORE POWER
» Almost invisible modification, looks stock for the stealth factor
» Better gas mileage
» Replaces stock gaskets
» Reusable over and over
» No undesirable side effects

Want to know more? Read on…
Most are well aware that the reciprocating internal combustion engine is simply a highly modified air pump. While many avenues exist for boosting the power output of an engine, most focus on ways to increase the volumetric efficiency of the system. Ported heads, larger diameter exhausts, headers, and bigger throttlebodies all serve to decrease airflow resistance. The greater the amount of air that passes through an engine, the greater the power that engine can produce.

FACT: Every 5°F reduction in temperature increases the density of the air and therefore the power by 1%.

Why? From chemistry class, we remember PV=nRT, the Perfect Gas Law. This simple equation signifies that the volume of a gas is directly proportional to the temperature of that gas, in this case air. Cold air is denser than hot air. Why is this important to the performance enthusiast? Simple, your engine can ingest more air when it is cooler and denser; more air can be mixed with more fuel, which releases MORE POWER.

For example, a 150hp engine can gain an additional 3 hp for every 10°F the temperature drops. In modern EFI engines, the intake charge is drawn through an intake tube, filter, MAF (or VAF, etc.) and throttle body and into the aluminum intake manifold. The manifold is made up of a plenum and runners that direct the air into the intake ports in the cylinder head. However, during its residence in the intake, the air charge picks up unwanted heat, which increases its volume. By blocking the heat transferred from the engine, ThermoBlok spacers reduce the temperature of the intake manifold and therefore the air entering the engine. This search for cooler air is the reason behind cold air intake tubes, intercoolers, and icing down the manifold between quarter mile runs.

An additional benefit is that cooler air allows an engine to have a higher resistance to knock and ping. The engine computer can then dial in more ignition timing advance and even boost in supercharged applications.

But how do ThermoBlok spacers keep the intake manifold cooler?
Aluminum is a great thermal conductor. As a result, heat is very efficiently transferred from the hot aluminum cylinder head and throttlebody to the aluminum intake manifold. By placing a thermal insulating material between them, this heat conduction can be greatly reduced.

ThermoBlok spacers are made from a laminated phenolic composite with a thermal conductivity of 0.29 W/m*K. Aluminum on the other hand has a thermal conductivity of 150 W/m*K, more than 500 times higher. You must also remember that there is a gasket, commonly steel (20 W/m*K thermal conductivity), placed between the manifold and head. Replacing the 0.025" thick steel gasket with a .250" ThermoBlok thick spacer will conduct an amazing 688 times less heat (yes, that's nearly 70,000% reduction!).

The ThermoBlok spacer material also exhibits high stiffness and compressive strength, can withstand temperatures up to nearly 300°F, and has a thermal expansion coefficient very similar to aluminum to increase sealing capabilities.

Enough talk? Here are the numbers:

Dyno Results
This plot shows an average gain of 5-7 horsepower and 9-11 ft-lbs of torque across the powerband. Each engine and combination of mods reacts slightly differently, but on average, Outlaw Engineering ThermoBlok spacers result in a 3-5% gain across the entire powerband with peaks as high as 10 horsepower and 12 ft-lbs of torque.

Temperature Results
Temperature data was taken using a CPS T200 temperature sensor with a time constant on the order of 5 seconds. An A/D convertor was used for real time data-logging of the readings into a laptop. The vehicle was driven with a speed of 60 mph. Following the driving test, the engine was allowed to idle for a sufficient time to reach the steady state maximum temperature.

Notice that the temperature difference between the intake manifold and the outside air is the same regardless of the ambient conditions. As you can see, the temperature of the intake manifold reached a steady state of approximately 35° F lower with the ThermoBlok insulators than without during 60 mph cruising. During the idle test, the non-insulated engine was nearly 60 °F hotter.

This means that after idling in the staging lines waiting for a quarter mile run, your insulated engine would have an immediate advantage.

Racing Results
Here's an example: One test vehicle (1994 Probe GT) recorded a best of 15.360@88.469 mph with a 60' time of 2.209 seconds prior to the installation of ThermoBlok spacers. Following the installation, the best run yielded a 15.262 @89.315 mph with a 60' time of 2.282 seconds. The temperature during both runs was 55°F. To summarize, the car was ~0.1 seconds quicker and ~1 mph faster, all with a .073 second slower launch. According to rule of thumb, it would require approximately 5 additional peak horsepower for the trap speed to increase by 1 mph.

Many people spend hundreds of dollars on performance mods of dubious value. We wanted as much data as possible to show that ThermoBlok spacers really worked.

In summary, it was shown that:
The intake was 35°F cooler at cruise and nearly 60°F cooler at idle.
Engines gain 3-5% power across the power band and up to 10.0 hp and 12.5 ft-lbs of torque.
The test vehicle was 0.1 seconds quicker and 1 mph faster in the quarter mile.