FireHead

I didn't really want to open up the octane rating can of worms as that can be and has been a whole other gigantic thread. Local race folk using AV gas gets back to the same arguement that was made above for using AV gas. They either think that it's no different than racing fuel or simply they cannot get race fuel in sufficient quantities. The reasoning behind why my company doesn't use AV gas for anything is multi-faceted. The first reason is fairly simple, and accounts for about half of our programs, which is that we can run a more suitable fuel (methanol, nitormethane, etc.) or the fuel is specifiec in the rules. For our Truck, Busch, and Cup engine programs, the fuel spec. is part of the rules, so that's what we run. For the engine programs for which fuel used is wide open, we run a few different types of race fuel. The variations being octane rating and oxygenation additives. The reason we do not run AV gas in these programs, and we would if we could as it is less expensive in many cases, is that when we have tested different fuel chemistries for the engine specification (part of all of our open fuel spec. engine programs) and found that it produces less uniform cylinder temperatures and pressures, in many cases produces less performance, and in some cases lower longevity of engine components (valves and pistons primarily). So like, I said above, a person should choose what fuel they feel is best for them. I am certainly not going to force my opinion on anyone. I also do not feel the need to aid in the continuation of some of the AV gas myths that have been around for 100 years. If I can get a chance, sometime in the near future, I will dig up some of the docuementation I have on fuel additives, as it is nagging at me that there is something to do with one of the surfactants that may be used in AV gas that is bas news for your reeds. Maybe you can remember what it is as I feel that I am not that current on the subject. :thumbsup:

Stick welder from Walmart = a bunch of batteries strung together with jumper cables and a nail for an electrode

Let me take this opportunity to recommend a book then. The bible as it pretains to racecar suspen, steering and vehicle dynamics is written by Doug Milliken and title appropriatley enough, "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics." It's a bit expensive to buy, but you may find it in your college library or they might be able to get it for you. :thumbsup:

I have run 100LL before, actually, and I have never said it would hurt anything. I still stand behind my opinion that if you have a choice, it is better to run the proper race gas. To add a bit of fuel to the arguement, why is it that folks who race for a living don't run AV gas if it is that much cheaper, and no different than race gas. I am not going to get into a heated discussion about which is better or which you should as it always winds up with one of these folks getting butt hurt about it and repeating something that someone who is dumber than they are told them. I understand the chemistry behind the fuel, I do race engine development for a living, and I will not use AV gas unless I could not find anything else. That being said RNBRAD probably provides the most scientific arguement around for the difference between AV gas and race gas in the second link I posted. http://www.bansheehq.com/forums/index.php?...amp;hl=race+gas http://www.bansheehq.com/forums/index.php?...amp;hl=race+gas

If it were a Hot Rods crank it would say Hotrods on it. I am not sure what the IMS rods have on them for markings. It's probably just a stock crank that somebody has fooled around with. I would take it and have it trued and welded somewhere before you tried to use it. :thumbsup:

http://www.marinecrankshaftinc.com/ Several organizations swear by this place. I personally have never used them for a Banshee crank, but I have used them for other crankshafts and the service cannot be beat. I have no idea what they charge, but it is porbably more than what Jim-Bob at your local NAPA machine shop would charge. :thumbsup:

You can use a couple different types of Tingsten for this type of welding. Pure tungsten of 2% thoriated tungsten would probably be your best bet, but there are a couple others that would work as well. I am a bit confused about what you mean about tack welding the sides of the crank. All you are trying to do is preserve the press with as a press fit in this situation is stronger than a clearance fit and a weld joint any day. Of course penetration is necessary, but it is sort of a given if you are not using filler rod and doing an undercut weld from the webs to the crank pin. In my somewhat educated opinion, an undercut stitch weld pattern is all that is necessary on the crankshafts in question. :thumbsup:

Word. :thumbsup:

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

I had the same thing happen to me this year and i think I remember the engine exhibiting similair symptoms. It took me an hour or so to figure it out because the boot hadn't completely come off pf the plug. I would still bet he ran out of fuel one to many times and cratered a piston. :thumbsup:

Here's my $.02 on AV gas: There are several different kinds of AV gas and you need to know a bit about them before choosing what fuel you buy. For instance you can get an octane rating that is in the 110 rang via the (r+m)/2 method. However, if you are not aware of what you are buying you may wind up with a fuel that is similair to kerosene or you may wind up with something that is more like diesel fuel. Now, if you have armed yourself with the proper information you may find an unleaded gasoline type fuel that can range for 100 to 120 octane. However this fuel is derived from a different hydrocarbon structure and will probably contain additives that lower the surface tension of the fuel which prevents foaming and the trapping of air bubbles. This fuel is probably ok to run, but it is relatively the same price as an economy grade of race fuel. Afterall this you must know that the reason for the higher octane rating is to help stop the engine from detonating at altitude. It is not because piston driven airplane engines are very high compression, though as far as the engine is concerned, the results are the same. Two wrap up my rant..........your engine will make the most power when it has the most combustable fuel mixture in it cylinders. That means that you ought to run the lowest possible octane fuel that can be run without detonating. There are alot of people out there that swear by it, but I am not one of them. If I had no other choice, then i might consider it, but I have always been able to find race gas. :thumbsup:

Ahha. There are ton of options available if you are willing to relocate your frame side shock mount. If I were that interested in doing something like that then I would buy an aftermarket frame. I'd rather enhance what I have now as it is a little more unique that way. :thumbsup:

If you burned a hole in the piston, I highly doubt that it would smoke any more than normal. If anything it would smoke less out the side of the exhaust that has the respective hole in it. If you ran your bowls dry and burned a hole in the piston I think you probably would experience the exact symptoms that your are having now. You need to do a compression check to start out with. I have burned up alot of pistons and the only real clue that i had was that the bike would hardly run and that I had low compression in one of the cylinders. The spark plug looked fairly normal and there was not any metal shavings to be found. FYI: A Banshee will run without one cylinder firing if you fiddle with it enough. It won't run well, and it will seem like it is bogging and the only way to keep it running is choke it alot and keep the revs up. In all cases it will seem like it is down on power. :thumbsup:

There probably isn't a ral problem with running AV gas blended with regular gas. I would reccomend going to one of the racing fuel manufacturers web sites and using their dealer locator feature to see if there are any dealers around you. Sunoco, VP, Trick , would all be good starting places to look. If all else fails, wander down to your local cycle shop and ask the folks that work there. They ought to know where to get it. they may even be able to get it for you. :thumbsup:

You may need to grow a pair of boobies first. :thumbsup:

Do you have that shock installed? Could you get us a picture of it? :thumbsup:

A set of Marvin Shaw shocks may also be an option worth exploring. :thumbsup:

As for the heims, the inherent weak area of a heim is where the body transitions into the male thread. Double shear on the ball won't help you there. :thumbsup: Banshee steering geometry is fairly poor to start out with. Once you add length to the a-arms, that just exaggerates the problem. Correcting the problem needs to be done at the stem and in the arms coming off of the uprights. Steering geometry can be determined in several methods. It might be best if you told me what you had in mind, so that I am not speaking over or under your experience level. :thumbsup:

It depends on many things such as the welder, tungsten used, technique, etc. Remember, you are just providing a mechanism to preserve the press fit of the pin into the crank web. You are not attempting to forgew the two together. :thumbsup:

You can also buy them at your local VW parts store. They are made by Empi. :thumbsup:

I would tend to agree. 10 paddles are alot for most motors around here that aren't purely drag oriented. It may even be worth looking into an 8 paddle Extreme b2b tire. :thumbsup:

I have been making my own harnesses for awhile now. You get to use better connectors, wire, and actually solder joints. There are more reasons to make your own than there is to try and use an eBay harness. :thumbsup:

The jam nut from my clutch adjuust worked its way to the end of the adjuster and started machining my clutch cover once. It sounded sort of like that.

That guy is is a prime candidate for froced neutering. :thumbsup:

I don't even have MySpcae account and I think it's gay. :biggrin: