electronics are a pain to overcome, but it's time to do some ECM reflashings

It's still not the most comfortable job for me to reflash those electronic modules into some Citroen and Peugeot HDi engines into used vehicles to be shipped from Singapore, but it's required to clear and prevent error codes from an EGR and DPF removal to ensure they're gonna still work properly after their arrival in Suriname alongside a bunch of Corollas and even a Prius. I'd rather replace everything with some all-mechanical injection systems for increased reliability, but altough electronics might still raise some concerns regarding their reliability under extreme environmental conditions and lower quality fuels it would be an even more complicated job to take all the secondary electric functions and controls to remain operational.

But what surprised me the most is a Citroen C5 Break converted from diesel to dedicated CNG, which looks kinda stupid from a technical standpoint and would require an extensive work to be a profitable deal.

Japan surplus Mazda RF turbocharged engine recently arrived, I tested it with pure biodiesel on the stand and it ran great. This is predicted to be adapted into a Chevrolet Venture, just need to figure out how to set the automatic transmission for it.

Altough a petrol engine is cheap enought, Palawan tricycles would be more fun with a diesel engine. Maybe that 400cc single-cylinder Kubota used in tricycles in India could be a good match...

Replaced the turbo of an Isuzu Crosswind this afternoon. Throwing a twin-scroll with ceramic-coated hot carcass into something so old-school as the Crosswind might sound weird, but it reduced the visible smoke belching measured thru a Ringelmann chart at any RPM range, even before the injection pump tuning that followed it.

Disassembled a JDM LoveLife Corolla today, with the 3C engine, automatic transmission and 4WD. I felt pity for that car, because of its not so usual configuration, but its driveline and wiring harness are going to get a glorious future into a RAV-4 soon.

The only good thing I could get in Singapore this time were some brand-new Garrett twin-scroll turbochargers that might be a great upgrade for Toyota 2.5D-4D non-VGT engines. I might confess I'm more favorable to twin-scrolls wastegateds than single-scroll VGTs for the dependability.

Singapore is a beautiful place, but the anti-diesel mindset embraced by many people there is pointless. They are more expensive to purchase, but still worth more than a hybrid. People who claim about the environmental benefit of hybrids but dispose their cars when they're 10 year-old should remember that a hybrid has a higher manufacturing footprint.

I've recently took a ride in a multicab repowered with a surplus Kubota D900 engine out of a refrigerated box truck. I knew it was usual in Cambodia, but never seen that in the Philippines before.

Fitting a 4HF1, a turbocharger and a water-to-air intercooler into a surplus American Ford E-350 DRW ambulance is not so hard as trying to make a 6-cylinder to find its way there, but it's far from being an easy job.

Power-to-weight ratio in small stern-drive boats is not so exciting. I don't understand why those 2-cylinder Yanmar and its Chinese rip-offs are still used for that matter, they should be restricted for the stationary usage they were initially intended for. Might be still OK for a kuliglig but on boats the dead weight is even more problematic. The cheapest is not everytime the best, there are many 4-cylinder engines that are not so heavy compared to the 2-cylinder stationary Yanmars, even though in certain cases displacing the double of them. I've seen the TDI engines from Audi being also available for marine purposes in other places, and due to the modular engine designs from the Volkswagen Group it woldn't be so hard to get them made in China too.