tin-man needs some advice.......

[patrickt]

BTW, a rev limiter is a cheap little option that has a myriad of benefits. I have an adjustable one tucked away in the back of my glove box.

[tin-man]

John, is there a better option than springs that can be considered as being best design to suit the application? I may sound like a novice here and I give way to the experience of the Club Members, but looking at the pictures you provied it sure looks like a flimsy option paticularly if your life depended on it. just sayin. John, AKA tin-man

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by tin-man

John, is there a better option than springs that can be considered as being best design to suit the application? I may sound like a novice here and I give way to the experience of the Club Members, but looking at the pictures you provied it sure looks like a flimsy option paticularly if your life depended on it. just sayin. John, AKA tin-man

You have a quarter inch of fiberglass protecting you on your door side (where the SUV is going to hit you in the intersection). John's three carb springs are the least of your worries....

[tin-man]

patickt, OK I give up, help this poor sinner to understand what a rev limiter is and what are the benefits. My apologies guys, I can build you a factory anywhere on this planet and guarantee you profits within three years, but I do not have a clue as to what makes a Cobra tick. Automotive sciences was not my major. John, AKA tin-man

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by tin-man

patickt, OK I give up, help this poor sinner to understand what a rev limiter is and what are the benefits.

It just stops your engine from revving beyond a certain point, like say 6000 RPM. It will save your engine from hurting itself if something bad happens, or if you have some sort of mind-fart and try and rev it dangerously high. Mine is adjustable. I can dial it down to a lower number and the engine won't rev past that point. I like to joke that I can turn it down and then the valet can't get in to trouble (although I have never actually done that).

[tin-man]

patrickt, never happen, I will be mounting a modified anti tank missile on the back of my Cobra that is fused for proximity threats. The SUV will never know what hit it. Can we get back to the topic of what caused the throtle to stick? tin-man

[tin-man]

patrickt, what, got the valet into trouble???? sorry could not let that pass. Brit humor y'know. tin-man

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by tin-man

John, is there a better option than springs that can be considered as being best design to suit the application? I may sound like a novice here and I give way to the experience of the Club Members, but looking at the pictures you provied it sure looks like a flimsy option paticularly if your life depended on it. just sayin. John, AKA tin-man

Okay, you are approaching being borderline paranoid, or possibly jerking my chain. Not sure which.

Springs work fine. They have for over 70 years that I'm aware of, so don't worry about. In my 43 years of driving (I'm 59 now) I only had one instance where the throttle hung open. In that case it was a 66 Chevelle with an L88 in it. The motor mount broke and the engine torque twisted the motor enough that it stuck. During that time, I have had a lot of performance vehicles and only one issue.

And like I said, 99% of the "Throttle Stuck" stories are because the driver phucked up.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Okay, you are approaching being borderline paranoid, or possibly jerking my chain. Not sure which.

No, he's not jerking your chain. Now if it was me, I'd be jerking your chain. I'm even willing to go out on a limb and say that 99.9% of "stuck throttle" claims are bogus (not counting floor mats that creep on the accelerator pedal).

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Okay, you are approaching being borderline paranoid, or possibly jerking my chain. Not sure which.

Springs work fine. They have for over 70 years that I'm aware of, so don't worry about. In my 43 years of driving (I'm 59 now) I only had one instance where the throttle hung open. In that case it was a 66 Chevelle with an L88 in it. The motor mount broke and the engine torque twisted the motor enough that it stuck. During that time, I have had a lot of performance vehicles and only one issue.

And like I said, 99% of the "Throttle Stuck" stories are because the driver phucked up.

and neither am I approaching paranoia, I am taking your hypothesis that the spring could have failed and held the throttle open and making an observation of that application and asking, what I consider is a very reasonable question, was there a better method that would not result in a failure brought about by stress and a hydraulic piston came to mind actuated electronically by the pressure of the accelerator. As you should know springs are subject to lateral stresses and fatigue, that in time can cause failure whereas a hydraulic set up would eliminate that. You see John, you are not the only engineer reading these threads and not to put a fine point on it I have been in the machine business for over fifty years where I have seen the transition from spring applications to controlled hydraulics to support a design feature. Maybe this concept is beyond the scope of the generally accepted automotive sciences, or is not economically feasible for mass production, but if my life could be in jeapardy based on the failure rate of a spring then I would want to consider another option, that's all and thus I threw out the question since maybe someone has done this already? However, that said, maybe this is not the right place to discuss design parameters, so lets move on. Cheers, tin-man

[patrickt]

TM, here's a shot of my carb set up with the turkey pan removed. You can see my dual springs. For a failure to take place, there would have to be a simultaneous failure of both springs -- unlikely. What's more likely is that one breaks and I don't notice it; then a while later, the second one breaks. That's an interesting aspect because it underscores two important points when it comes to our Cobras: 1) You must give your car a "pre-flight inspection" before you drive it; and 2) You have to be particularly aware of your car. A new sound, smell, or feel must be investigated because your car is trying to tell you something (like "dang, my throttle pedal sure feels easier to push today than it did yesterday, oh well, WTF, I'm just going for a hard drive and not think about it...." )

[Silverback51]

I'm done with this subject.

[tin-man]

patrickt, outstanding, the visuals tell the tale exactly, thank you. I particularly appreciate your commentary about the preflight check, awesome analogy. You can be assured these two puppies will always be checked before I ever go for a ride. Cheers tin-man.

[dcdoug]

You have to really not be paying attention to fail to notice that one of your springs has broken. Pretty noticeable difference in throttle resistance.

Tin-man: run 2 springs, check them as part of pre-flight if you want to and pay attention to how your car drives and feels and you won't have any problems. Heck you can replace them once a year if you want as part of your tune-up for a few bucks.

Also, more importantly, pay attention to where your floormat is going....that probably causes more "stuck throttles" than anything.

Relax and stop sweating this issue.

[tin-man]

Thank you John I apprecaite all what you have said. Remember I am a newbie and am arguably getting a very powerful car and wanted the benefit of experienced drivers like yourself to answer some of my questions. Again thanks, and have a great weekend. tin-man

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dcdoug

Relax and stop sweating this issue.

Yep, he needs to now move on and start worrying about his spinners coming off in spite of the safety wire.

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Thank you John I appreciate all what you have said. Remember I am a newbie and am arguably getting a very powerful car and wanted the benefit of experienced drivers like yourself to answer some of my questions. Again thanks, and have a great weekend. tin-man

OK guys I believe this has run its course and I am very much appreciative of all your sugestions and will certainly apply the knowledge gained from these discussions.

Thanks to all who participated. Cheers tin-man

[patrickt]

tin-man, Undy's recent off-road excursion is exactly what we've been talking about. He's by no means "wet behind the ears" when it comes to Cobras and he should be credited for not chalking it up to a bogus "stuck throttle" claim. Speaking of morons doing spin-outs with excessive power...

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by patrickt

tin-man, Undy's recent off-road excursion is exactly what we've been talking about. He's by no means "wet behind the ears" when it comes to Cobras and he should be credited for not chalking it up to a bogus "stuck throttle" claim. Speaking of morons doing spin-outs with excessive power...

partrickt, I'm on it, see my questions and comments. Cheers, tin-man

[TButtrick]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Yep, he needs to now move on and start worrying about his spinners coming off in spite of the safety wire.

They tighten toward the front... correct?