We also have zero problems with rust in Finland 😀
All Chevy Vans has lost them rear frames allready 😱

 

Swapping the old actuator for new was easier than expected. The spring got moved over to the new actuator too.

Data logging tomorrow.

 

At least a couple of design changes even if it is not the HD version.

Was the weight and were the exterior features roughly the same?

As for tube and carbon fiber, I don't think your truck would be allowed on public roads due to the possibility of going airborne...

I noticed the rust when I was examining the air bag mounts. I noticed it so much that I completely forgot to look at the downward midship exhaust.

Truck was amazing in many ways Leonard and I hope to see it in the north GA area soon.

 

In today's episode of As The Turbonator Spins

Narrator: When we last saw our guinea pig (FrustratedTruckNoob), he was about to replace the faulty electronic actuator with a new actuator of the same design. This was after DPS was unable to send an updated controller and the new HD actuator.

FrustratedTruckNoob: Say, I thought you guys were going to send me the new HD actuator?
DPS: Yeah sorry dude. Pandemic production means we can't get our hands on anything.
FrustratedTruckNoob: Okay. Let's see how this new actuator with the old design works.

Moments later.......

FrustratedTruckNoob: C'mon guys, this new actuator is worse than the one I removed, Not only does it not open all the way like the one I just removed, this one doesn't even get down to the starting set point of 42%.
DPS: Gee we're really sorry, but we have no idea what is going on. Can you send everything back for us to test?
FrustratedTruckNoob: Everything as in all the wiring I carefully fished through existing harnesses, the controller, the turbine housing and the actuator? Everything?
DPS: Yes everything.
FrustratedTruckNoob: *tearing hair out*

Two weeks, $86 dollars in shipping, two emails and two voicemails later.....

FrustratedTruckNoob: Bueller? *Tap, tap, tap* Is this thing on...
DPS: Oh hey! We couldn't find anything wrong with what you sent back man.
FrustratedTruckNoob: Wut?
DPS: Yeah. Also, we can't get our suppliers to send us any new controllers and HD actuators. Pandemic production is bad. So we're going to send you a pneumatic vane controller so you can get your truck up and running again, even though you lose the ability to have an exhaust brake, tune the drive to boost ratio or control maximum boost.

Narrator: Join us next time when FrustratedTruckNoob rips everything out of the engine bay and converts the truck over to a gas turbine - electric hybrid with one Tesla Model S Plaid drive motor mounted directly to each axle. This might actually be easier than getting the Turbonator to work, only on <dramatic voice>As The Turbonator Spins. </dramatic voice>

 

Time to send it all back to dps and get money back. Plus another $1,000 fir all your time they wasted...... Shame, way they opperate I wont ever give them business.

 

That’s a shame. This has not been a happy adventure. The company seems less than ideal even if their product concept is amazing.

Wonder how a 363/68 would do with your injectors…. Insta-spool with no Turbonator headaches.

 

Food Truck, Im sorry to hear your being jerked around like this, i can feel the pain from here.

One thing seems consistent across the country - Pandemic is being used as a pathetic excuse for poor customer service/delivery.

Maybe its time to just build a set of twins??

 

Oh oh I forgot to add a new name.
FightingTurbonatorNow

 

So, I have been behind the camera helping Leonard film this episode of "As The Turbonator Spins" and I can tell you he is not happy with how things have gone. I had the chance to ride in Leonard's truck a few weeks ago and even though the Turbonator was not performing well, the truck was an obsolete beast. I heard it pull up to the pub where Kate and I were waiting when we were sitting on the patio around the corner of the building. Dan V will and has backed up this claim to being a beast.

I feel bad for Leonard and have been talking with him about ways ahead, how to make this right, how to ease the pain a bit and he is stuck at the moment.

If he sends everything back... Then he has a 372 SXE that is most likely too big for his Swamps performance build engine with 205/80 injectors.

If he keeps hanging on to hope... He has a pneumatic actuator that does not allow him to tune the EBP/boost ratio, but he has a truck he can drive instead of staring at in the garage and tell it "maybe tomorrow is the day you will be a real truck"...

If he keeps hanging on to hope... He has to deal with an unknown timeline of delays from DPS regarding the HD actuator.

If he keeps hanging on to hope... How many more episodes of "As The Turbonator Spins" will there be going forward from here... This thread was created on 6/26/20...

In my opinion it doesn't matter if the HD actuator is delayed due to COVID or not, I think this is a **** poor level of support from DPS for a premium priced product. I understand this is the "cutting edge" of technology and unexplored territory, but they have an obligation to their customer base as well. Delays and "bugs" can be expected during a R&D phase or if Leonard was a "real world tester" of the Turbonator, but he is not. He is a customer that paid full price for a system and it is not working as intended, designed or claimed.

I know he really wanted this to work out, as did we all. Perhaps it still will, when he gets the HD actuator in, but at this time who knows when that will be.

Sometimes 1st world problems are a real bitch too...

 

I floated the idea of a "go fund me" for him yesterday...

Just sayin...

 

Thanks for the moral support fellas. I am going to stick with the Turbonator for now since the original raison d'etre (exhaust braking) still exists. Having said that, I have been surfing compound turbo setups.......

 

The truck is up and running again, albeit with an interim mechanical vane actuator instead of the electrical actuator. It appears DPS calibrated the mechanical actuator to match my original starting position with the electrical actuator.




While the turbo was out, I decided to make some improvements to the CSD y-pipe brace.



The mechanical actuator has better cowl clearance than the electrical one. This bodes well for the new HD electrical actuator which is similarly shaped and mounted.



The truck now has reasonable EBP when I'm getting on the go pedal again. With the mechanical actuator, boost response is not quite as good down low and maximum boost is lower. This is not unexpected. Video and data logging to follow.

 

You and I have been discussing this offline for a while, but I would like to publicly say that it is very good to see your truck is no longer an 8,000 lbs garage ornament.

The Fiat too, albeit much less weight...

Hopefully DPS will receive their HD actuators soon and get one out to you quickly.

The next time we roll through MN, it would be great to see the truck at full power and potential.

 

Not if I roll your way first with any luck.