Balancing S38 ITBs

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

Fantastic. If you end up making enough to offer through Pauls' website, I'd be grateful to help make those mantis' legs stretch across the pacific. It would be nice to have one in circulation around Australia and I'll be in need of the tool very soon so please keep me posted. Literally.

[HealeyBN7]

Father's Day proved to be a productive time to work on the Manometers.

[tn535i]

So I already have my own 'home grown' way of doing this but I'm tempted. You have done a nice job including the design and name. I would probably balance much more often and mine is probably due.

Does it need to have the height you used or is that just in case one is left open so it doesn't suck all the fluid out ? In other words if you had a way to prevent an accidental open tube couldn't it be much shorter and shallow fill level? Is that something you have tested for? And I assume it will work just as well if you plug three and just use three (Triumph Triple) or two or four, other motorcycles for example.

At work a couple of us are working on what started as a bootleg project idea where I made the first few sets of parts on my lathe at home. Now it's got drawings and a machine shop making the first parts and we are talking to others for packaging and assembly. We don't know if we will sell hundreds or thousands but it's really more of a service to our customers and it is fun to see it take on a life of it's own .

If you can tap into the right outlets you might go into production yourself.

[milarsky]

Dean,

Thanks so much for making these. Put me down for a purchase of one. Are they available yet?
best,
jeff

[HealeyBN7]

Does it need to have the height you used or is that just in case one is left open so it doesn't suck all the fluid out ? In other words if you had a way to prevent an accidental open tube couldn't it be much shorter and shallow fill level? Is that something you have tested for? And I assume it will work just as well if you plug three and just use three (Triumph Triple) or two or four, other motorcycles for example.

It is 32" tall. There needs to be a bit of height above the fluid level in the event the ITBs are wildly out of balance and the small tall tubes allow the vacuum to pull the fluid up far enough to make adjusting easy. I am assuming that all tubes will be connected and there will be a plug on the fill tube. There are multiple warnings in the instructions. Worst case is you draw in some oil and refill the manometer. I would think that wouldn't happen more than one time. I haven't done it yet, but I suspect it would be a "leaning experience". It is one of the reasons I decided to use Marvel Mystery Oil instead of a water based fluid. You never know.

I don't see why you could not use two, three, or four of the ports and just plug the other two. I have a set of Jenevy style ITBs on our Ford Zetec/Europa. I am planning to use it once I create vacuum ports. It should prove pretty universal.

To calibrate the tool the amount of fluid in the fill tube is critical as it the amount of sealed air above it the fill fluid. The tall tube makes it easy to add just the right amount. If you look closely at the photos you see two different fill tube heights. That was due to a small difference in the ID of the fill tubes. I suppose you could use a shorter fatter hose, or a small cylinder in the manifold, or make a larger manifold with a large capacity for reserve fluid.... Hmm.

It would be very exciting if these take off and I have to look for a manufacturing source. Congratulations on your project!

Dean

[HealeyBN7]

For those interested Mantis-Manometers are available for sale at:

http://www.mantismanometers.bigcartel.com

You will have an option to purchase just the manometer or the manometer plus the dial indicator with ITB mount. Price includes shipping.

Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm.

Dean

[HealeyBN7]

If you tried to contact me through the web site, we just updated the bigcartel-Manometer email address and added payment options for Paypal/Visa/Mastercard/etc. We should be good to go for real orders. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out via PM or here. I'll keep a close eye on mye28 to make sure we don't drop the ball in any way.

Thanks,
Dean

[Karl Grau]

I'm in.
Thanks for doing this.

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

Fantastic. Dean can you please pass on package dimensions and weight so I can get an estimate for international shipping? As your website doesn't support international shipping I'll have it shipped through my freight forwarding address if it's not viable to ship via a US based friend of mine. Thanks in advance!

[HealeyBN7]

I just could not figure out how to enable international shipping. Thanks for hanging in there.

The best packaging I found is through a USPS medium shipping tube (or triangle). It is 36"x 6"x 6". Weight 3lbs without the dial indicator option. Getting the weight down with this new design should pay off with shipping savings for everyone!

The box says it is for international shipping...

[HealeyBN7]

All paid orders shipped out yesterday. The exception was a special run this morning.



Sales were brisk. The http://mantismanometers.bigcartel.com web site seems to be working well, but if you have any questions or would rather work directly with me via PM, that is fine too.

More supplies are on the way. Thanks all!

Dean

[Karl Grau]

I got mine today and I'm very impressed with the build quality. I'm ordering O rings and am planning a valve adjustment. I've only put 6,365 miles on in the ten years I've owned it but I don't know when they were done last.

[HealeyBN7]

I got mine today and I'm very impressed with the build quality.

So glad you like it. I just love that testimonial! Now lift those long tubes up on the air and get that magic red oil back in the reservoir;)

I was thinking about offering o-rings on the web site or throwing them into the mix somehow. Do you think that would be helpful?

Thoughts?

Dean

[Karl Grau]

I was thinking about offering o-rings on the web site or throwing them into the mix somehow. Do you think that would be helpful?

Thoughts?

I think that's a great idea. That way, people can hit the ground running so to speak when they receive their package. I would have gladly paid extra for the O rings.

I made a hook for it using a piece from a plastic hangar:



And a shackle from my sailing Box-O-Junk ®. The shackle doesn't have to be this long, it's just the one I had that worked best. I might dip the hook in Plasti-Dip just so it doesn't scratch anything.

[HealeyBN7]

I love the hook idea. Too bad you had to take apart your sail boat:)

I kept grabbing short pieces of black 12 gauge copper wire from my scrap electrical supplies. I have wires hanging all over the place now.

I am getting close to understanding what changes are needed to produce an S14 version. I did some testing on my Zetec 2.0L Lotus with ITBs. I thought it was perfect with the German Synchronizer squirrel fan, but the Manometer proved otherwise. The vacuum signal was much stronger, so I have a dampener in the circuit and changed the fill volume, cap and tube size. The Lotus runs great now.

Some of the changes from the S14 testing I'll roll into the next batch of S38 manometers.

It would be fun to do a tech session now that there are several tools circulating with experienced enthusiasts.

Cheers,
Dean

[MrZ]

Just placed an order. I've been waiting ages to get something resembling decent idle quality after adding schrick 280s and 50mm throttle bodies to the stoker motor in the E34. I'll post a review and before/after results once I get some time to get it done.

Thanks Dean!

[HealeyBN7]

Excellent. I saw the order come in earlier today just before attending a memorial for a great car guy. I'll send you the tracking I find when it ships. It will probably go out on Wednesday. Be sure to reach out if you have any questions. I updated the instructions recently based on community feedback.

Dean

[HealeyBN7]

Just finished testing an S14 version of the Mantis-Manometer on a friend's E30 M3. We anticipated and encountered the same issue I had when testing it on my Lotus. The 4 cylinder vacuum pulses are more violent then the S38, so we had to install dampeners between the silicone lines and the clear tubing.

I'll post some photos, a video and update http://mantismanometers.bigcartel.com/ web site so you can see the S14 tune in action....as soon as I finish working on my range rover brakes:(

Dean

[HealeyBN7]

Here is a short video of the S14 version in use on an 88 E30M3. https://youtu.be/gKquThe88AQ

Dean

[milarsky]

Hey Dean,

Looking forward to the Mantis!

best,
jeff

[HealeyBN7]

Jeff,

Thank you. According to USPS you should be getting your Manometer tomorrow. Watch for the triangle shipping tube!

Also, it was nice to learn that Rob in the UK received his manometer. http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph ... 66#p208066

And I shipped the first production S14 version yesterday.

Dean
http://mantismanometers.bigcartel.com/

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

I apologize for not commenting sooner, I mustn't have clicked send on the post - my manometer arrived a few weeks ago in one piece and looks to be very well thought out and assembled.. No spillage or leaks from the mystery oil, dial indicator and attachment worked well in setting the throttle plates. Haven't hooked it up to a car yet but I look forward to doing so!

Thanks again, Dean!

[HealeyBN7]

Taking the latest batch of S38 Manometer orders to the Post Office on Monday. Thank you!!!

Keep those ITBs in tune:)

Dean

[HealeyBN7]

I finally took some photos of Ben German's ITB adapters and tried them out on our S38. What a fantastic addition to the Mantis Manometer. The full laminated instruction set has been modified to include Ben's adapters as well as the Big Cartel web site. Ben's ITB adapters work so well, I am no longer offering the modified adapter I was providing with the earlier sets.

You can purchase three adapters and three dial indicators along with the manometer or just the manometer by itself.

You can see the updated web site here.

mantismanometers.bigcartel.com

Thank you Ben - Great addition to the ITB tool set!

See you at Vintage.

Dean

[MicahO]

See you at Vintage.

Dean

You coming to Vintage? Excellent! I'll have the kit up for tuning and demos, alongside Ben's various tools, in a vendor spot.

[milarsky]

PM Dean!

best,
jeff

[HealeyBN7]

You coming to Vintage? Excellent! I'll have the kit up for tuning and demos, alongside Ben's various tools, in a vendor spot.

We are all booked and heading out tomorrow. Austin and Donna are also coming along. I am bringing a couple manometers for the S38 impulse buyer:). We are also bringing the big Mantis-Manometer banner. Hope to see everyone and share some beers!

Dean

[HealeyBN7]

Had a great time at Vintage. I'll post some photos of our group tuning session. Lots of fun.

I had an interesting discussion with a Mantis user this afternoon. He was working on an S38B36 and experienced a very high vacuum draw on cylinders 5-6. After re-checking the butterflies, he suspected the vacuum take off for the brake master contributed to the uneven readings. I have tuned several S38B36 cars and haven't notices that difference. Also the tech manual doesn't mention closing the brake vacuum line before making adjustments. Most of my experience is on the hydro operated cars.

Any thoughts on his experience?

If a footnote needs to be added to the instructions for the S38B36, I will happily incorporate the change.

Dean

[BenGerman]

Dean, the car you guys were doing behind the tent was also a S38B36.
Did you experience the same thing there?

[HealeyBN7]

Dean, the car you guys were doing behind the tent was also a S38B36.
Did you experience the same thing there?

Thanks Ben. Ah, that's right. No, we didn't see anything odd with 5-6 on Jim's S38B36 at all. Hmm.

The owner is going to go back through the mechanical setup and try it again. Maybe the linkage is sticking?

Dean

[SW]

Hello all - Is the mantis still available for use or is it only available for purchase?

SW

[HealeyBN7]

SW,

Sorry I don't have one ready to rent out. Maybe someone in the community can step in. We are a bit distracted with house remodeling at the moment.

Dean

[ertech]

hi guys new on this board , I have a E30 M3 and having trouble getting a good low idle after restoring my TB , the steps were not to clear for me on measuring the rods. do we measure A--B or C--D ?
also .10--0.15 mm seams like to much air is passing. what should I aim for?
thanks


https://www.autodraw.com/share/VWU44E9GX8YA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NSyjL2iU9ErWJ1G67

[HealeyBN7]

ertech,

That doesn’t sound like the right spec. PM me your email address and I will send you the Mantis PDF instructions. We rewrote the mechanical ITB set up to make it a little easier to follow.

Dean

[ertech]

It wouldn’t let me send a Pm I am to new I guess
Erickmarciano@hotmail.com

Thanks so much