Graham Sewell Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 I know an awful lot has been said to the detriment of Aldon and their distributors, but I happened to have a spare dizzy which I sent back to them to have the advance curve recalibrated. Following advice from Roger King and Dave Andrews, I decided on the following spec: 14' advance at idle (900rpm) advance starts ramp up by 1500rpm 34' advnace achieved by 4500rpm Discussing this with the engineer at Aldon, we decided to start the advance ramp at 1000rpm (immediately off idle) - so I sent off the dizzy and two weeks later fitted it together with a shiny new Lucas DLB105 sport coil. So far - with only 5 miles on the system I can only give impressions, but the fact that I got the tail out on a dry roundabout in second gear at around 2500rpm indicates that there is masses more torque/power in the mid-range than before 😬 The dizzy mods cost a grand total of £60 inc VAT and P&P and the coil was £25 from Halfords (took Phil at Winnersh some time to track down as you can imagine it is not one of their normal parts). So, without detracting from Bill's 3D mapping project, if you fancy staying traditional and getting a significant improvement in performance, then give Rob a call at Aldon. You will need to specify what the engine spec is and what fuel you wish to run and any other mods. Mine was 1700 Supersprint with Vulcan Maxiflow 2 head running on standard unleaded. The only annoying thing is that Caterham did not do this in the first place but went with an ultra-conservative advance curve - which I have used for 9 years ☹️ Low tech luddite - xflow and proud! Edited by - Graham Sewell on 17 Jan 2005 13:54:58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q998 Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Graham This sounds like a must for my 1700 x/f. Do you think the head mods make a difference to the required spec of the diz? Mine is standard. SI Of course it's not sensible.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil MH Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Graham, I'd also be interested in your opinion of how the Maxiflow 2 UL head compares with the standard Superpsrint head (apart from being unleaded, of course!) I think I'll now send my distributor off to Aldon in the winter - I've read the past threads on this subject - and your comments suggest it does make quite a difference in the mid range - I had previously thought it was more something you would notice only at the top end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sd Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 I tried this, to the same specs - well worth it, you do notice the difference through the rev range, from mid to top end RK used to say it was worth 8-10 bhp and it certainly seems it - has to be one of the best upgrades in terms of bhp/£! Service from Aldon was excellent as well - I took it off on Monday, replaced it on Thursday Another essential mod for those crossflows with 'unleaded' distributors Shame it didnt come with this setting in the 1st place ... Measuring beforehand it was only getting a little over 20degrees advance ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongy Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Graham Sounds great, I want to try this but could not get the link to Aldon to work. Cheers Strongy - trying my best to convince 'er indoors that there's no need to sell it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q998 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 http://www.aldonauto.co.uk/aprods.htm Working just now Si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongy Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Cheers, thanks for that, mine is still a leaded head so I guess I will need different advance figures? Cheers Strongy - trying my best to convince 'er indoors that there's no need to sell it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q998 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 So's mine and I'm thinking of getting my diz modified in tthis way so I'd be interested knowing that too and also if i'd have to change it again when I give in and get the head changed to unleaded Anyone know? Si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted November 28, 2004 Author Share Posted November 28, 2004 The advance curve is not so much concerned with an "unleaded" head as that is just replacing the valve seats. It depends on the fuel that you are using - and to some extent the state of tune of the engine. It is worth discussing your requirements with Aldon, but if you are using unleaded with a lead replacement then the octane rating is likely to be the same as unleaded and hence the same ignition curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Cat Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Recently swapped my Aldon Lucas Distributor for a later Ford 'Valencia' Bosch one with modified advance curve and the ignitor built in (my Lucas Amplifier died necessitating the change). These are available from OHV engined mk3 Escorts and mk2 Fiestas from the mid to late 80's I believe. This has proved a fantastic upgrade, much smoother and seemingly with a fair bit more power, also has comapratively readily available rotor arms and caps and is of much nicer 'Bosch' quality. I still have the old Aldon/Lucas one if anyone wants it (LRF contribution?) The rotor arm is probably useless, but I think the cap and distributor itself are probably ok (There is only one clip for the cap, the other side was hld on with a cable tie though). Edited by - New Cat on 28 Nov 2004 22:02:53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin b Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Sorry to jump on the thread but this seems to be a common question, how do aftermarket heads compare with the original Caterham supersprint head ? Is it worth changing the head for no other purpose than the unleaded conversion? Extra bhp always helpful !! Sorry if its a numpty question but is the Aldon distributor standard fitment. Anyone else tried New Cats replacement. Sorry, too many questions, I must calm down. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westfield Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 I have used one of the Valencia distributors in my 150 BHP Crossflow for about 5 years with good effect. The car came with the Lucas se-up but this was unreliable, hence the move to the Valencia Bosch type. I have now moved to a 3D setup which is even better but the Valencia type performed well… The gains you get from 3D are in driveability at lower RPM, out and out power remain the same. It’s a direct replacement on the car and the wiring is really easy, just three wires. You can’t use a standard distributor from an Escort or Fiesta however as the advance curve is wrong and it also comes with a vacuum advance on the side (although this is no problem to leave on, it’s better to remove it and lock the base plate) The advantage I see in using this distributor is that you get original manufactures reliability from the electronic ignition and its “fit and forget” All of the parts are easily available from Ford or motor factors if you do need spares. I see Burtons are now listing these in their catalogue at £235 exchange. A point to bear in mind with these is if you have to take the ignition module off the side of the distributor you will see some white grease in the joint. This is a heat sink grease and its important to apply some more when it goes together. It’s available quite cheaply from Maplins or electronics suppliers. If you do go down this route its important to remember to time the engine at say 4000 RPM rather than at tick over. That way you can ensure that the timing is correct (around 32 - 34 degrees on most Crossflows) at the higher RPM when all the advance is in (usually 3500 – 3700 RPM) New Cat, Glad the distributor worked well! I have another for sale if anyone is interested, mail me off line and I can send you some pictures. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Cat Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 John Hall emailed me, but his return email address didn't work. Please email me back with your current email address. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert green Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 Aparently the modifications are only if you have a bosch dizzy. Mine is a lucas one and I am told it is set up to provide the optimum advance. Is this right or is my info confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_H Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 *arrowup*that was the stock answer I got from Aldon. 🙆🏻 But, it was 4.55 pm........ I wanted the answer for tuning for SUL. - Interesting thread this, and goes to prove what I was already thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Shurvinton Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 Not detracting at all. I like all ways of improving performance without spending huge $$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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