3 Weeks into Ownership.. - Page 2

talkingcars · 07-01-12, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quadcam24

catch tanks are completely unnecessary on a zs 180 imo, folks just fit them because its easy , looks bling under the bonnet and its another box to tick on your spec list.
You might as well throw 40 quid in the bin for all the good it does. My zs did half its total mileage on track lapping flat out, kevs did 120 thou miles with only a single vis motor replacement and thousands of them were on track and many trips to santa pod.
Imo catch tanks will cause more vis problems than they prevent....has anyone done 120,000 hard miles with a catch tank and had less vis problems than 1 power motor change ?

I suspect that cars that are driven hard suffer less vis problems than cars that are driven gently as most of the oil gets sucked through.

What is this dust you talk of Jay, there shouldn't be any if the air filter is doing it's job and any from the bushes should also get sucked away quickly.

Jay-ZS+ · 07-01-12, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talkingcars

I suspect that cars that are driven hard suffer less vis problems than cars that are driven gently as most of the oil gets sucked through.

What is this dust you talk of Jay, there shouldn't be any if the air filter is doing it's job and any from the bushes should also get sucked away quickly.

The dust from the brushes, the vis units are mostly sealed so theres no where really for the dust to go, especially if there is a thin film of oil on the inner surfaces of the unit for the dust to stick to.

Quadcam24 · 07-01-12, 08:34 PM

the motors are tiny , they don't make any dust to speak of, and there shouldn't be any coming in through the airfilter either. Ive never seen dust contamination in a motor or a plenum and ive took some apart.
The vis flaps need oil to lubricate their joints as they are ball and socket joints.
What happens if ball and socket joints ( the same as the flaps are operated by ) dry out, but are still constantly moving?........answer, they wear out at a much faster rate!!
Fitting a catch tank to save a vis motor is false economy, a knackered motor is not an issue, they cost 60 quid and you can change them in 10 minutes, if you knacker the actual flaps up because they are not getting lubricated its new plenum time and that's expensive!!

Jay-ZS+ · 07-01-12, 09:12 PM

I understand what your saying although as I see it. There is no way for dust from the atmosphere to get into the system as the air filter stop this. The oil vapours get in the motors through the small vent hole at the bottom of them. Having taken a number of failed vis units apart ive noticed a gritty paste can often be found, which I can only assume is the dust from the motors mixed with the film of oil. Having this around the circuit board cant go them any good.

Ive got a catch tank fitted and you do get a small amount of vapours still get though to the manifold. The ball joints arms in the manifold are a plastic and greased when manufactured. The unit fails due to poor tolerances and design which cause the arms to wear unevenly and even detach. there should be grease to lubricate the joints, theres no need for the oil to be there. It could be down to the oil vapour and temperature that dries out or breaks up the grease reducing the lubrication.

Quadcam24 · 08-01-12, 01:07 PM

oh i agree its poor design, but grease is, and can only be applied at the time of manufacture ..........realistically, how long do you expect a little dob of grease to last in such an extreme environment ?!?!?, this then, is why they need oil.
I have to grease my jcb every time i use it, all machines with moving parts need either regular grease or constant lubrication from oil.
A little dob of grease will not last thousands and thousands of miles, if plenums depended purely on grease they would be failing every thousand miles.

daytona365 · 08-01-12, 01:54 PM

Its all down to the fact that the design was "hurried". In the "End of the Road" book, an engineer explained that it was a cheap alternative to VVi to get make the KV6 more pwerful through the rev range. When it works the engine is ACE!!! How ever as with all british ideas at the time, it was done on the cheap. If Honda had of made it for Rover, we ZS180 owners would never be having these discussions

Catch tank or no catch tank, the KV6 engine still sounds and goes like a bat out of hell. As a parts advisor I get to see much more troublesome inlet manifold solutions, and some of them ****** the engine up so bad they dont run anymore.

So we should be glad that such a simple idea, still lets us drive our gorgeous cars.

Quadcam24 · 08-01-12, 04:38 PM

a vvc kv6 would have been something else.
i wonder how ludicrously difficult it would be to build one. lol

talkingcars · 08-01-12, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quadcam24

a vvc kv6 would have been something else.
i wonder how ludicrously difficult it would be to build one. lol

I think you'd be looking at custom built heads for a start..........

Jay-ZS+ · 08-01-12, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quadcam24

a vvc kv6 would have been something else.
i wonder how ludicrously difficult it would be to build one. lol

Timing it would be fun too!

Sonic_160zr · 10-01-12, 08:49 PM

Right so my new fuel tank arrived this morning. (bloody quick delivery!! only ordered it on saturday afternoon.)

What would be the best way to treat the tank? I was thinking about applying something like hammerite to the tank would this be ok?

Cheers,
Matt