High torque starter motors

[Keith in Norfolk]

I Just replaced my old Lucas starter motor with a Fossway high torque unit.
Wow what a difference , twice the cranking power and draws less current from the battery , highly recommended to those thinking of upgrading and less of a worry if you get stuck in traffic.
For those interested see the demo on You Tube ( Fossway starter motor )
:D

[iani]

High torque starters are a great improvement, I'm not sure that paying a surcharge for the Fosseway brand makes them any better however. I paid around ?160 incl VAT for mine from Moss, isn't the Fosseway unit more like ?240 with VAT?

Ian

[Keith in Norfolk]

I paid ? 199.00 + VAT for mine so yes I suppose compared with other starters its not cheap , however Fossway do state that these are original Denso units ( see you tube ) which convinced me from buying a cheaper option. Replacing the old unit is a bit of a faff to say the least so I wanted to get it right first time . Time will tell if its worth it but so far so good. :)

[malcolm]

Me being thick I'm sure, but why is it "less of a worry if you're stuck in traffic"?

[Keith in Norfolk]

Malcom.
Most of the time the Lucas starter is fine , however I have had in the past
problems restarting the car after switching off in heavy traffic .
For some reason the Lucas unit seems to struggle in certain conditions usually when its a hot day. I am hoping my new high torque unit will eliminate this problem.
What I am finding with the new unit is the car is now starting much quicker
and drawing far less power from the battery.

[mgcjag]

Hi Keith......have your battery and charging cct checked over....ive got a standard starter motor and never had a problem...normally when the engine is hot it turns over much easier anyway.....

[MarekH]

If you think about the problem backwards, it soon becomes clear that getting the correct air-fuel ratio into the cylinders is the crucial part of the starting process and a new starter motor doesn't actually address this.

Modern fuel injected cars start on the button at all temperatures because the manufacturers have a separate fuelling maps for startup and normal running. The starting map is temperature dependent, taking its cue from the coolant temperature sensor. The speed at which the starter runs isn't particularly important and if you look at the amount of ignition advance applied at start, you'll find it is quite tolerant to being mis-set.

If we now go back to the old technology, the only way to regulate the mixture on the carburettored car is with the choke and you'll want about four times as much petrol at 0'c than at full operating temperature. Because the jet/venturi is set up to be right at operating temperature, it is this extra fuel drawn through the choke which is the crucial thing to set.

Essentially, a stronger battery or the less power hungry gear reduction starter allows you more time to be getting the mixture wrong until you get it right. Sadly, the carburettored car gets it more wrong than right because the atomisation of fuel is poor at lower temperatures and unlike cars with fuel injectors, much of the fuel condenses on the cold inlet manifold surfaces rather than be pulled almost directly into the nearby cylinders.

kind regards
Marek

[JEP41]

I replaced all my old Lucas starter motors for the High Torque simply because they are lighter (weight saver) take up less room and are easier to install and remove :)

[malcolm]

Understand what you're saying now Keith. If you are having problems starting from hot, turning over more quickly will help. However, as with other comments here, I must say I never have problems starting from hot - cold, aftyer long periods without use, is more my problem. Perhaps you're set up too rich? Or plugs oiling up through worn valve guides etc?
Did also wonder why you switch off in heavy traffic - do you get overheating problems? Trouble is, if you switch off when the water is really hot, the heat seems to to return to the engine, making engine temp even higher when you re-start. Maybe hot enough for fuel to evaporate before reaching where it should?
There again, as you can see, I'm no technical expert!

[Keith in Norfolk]

I hear you Malcom and yes your right.
I had a prom to do one evening which was at peak time and got caught in heavy traffic , it was at that point that the fuse which controls the twin fans
decided to pack up . next thing I know the temp gauge is touching the Red
so I decided to switch off , after a while traffic started to move but I found the car struggled to restart but got there in the end ( just ) as if that wasn't enough when we reached the venue the gear leaver decided to break in half
( oh what fun ) Of all nights to have problems it had to be this one.
Oh the joys of classic car motoring.

[rswift]

I'm just in the middle of doing this job on my LHD 2+2.

My starter is from David Manners, and labelled and is from here;

http://www.wosperformance.co.uk/product ... tructions/

The old one was a bit of a pain to remove, wouldn't fancy doing it again in a hurry, but not impossible.

[rswift]

So.....2 questions which have arisen.

My new Hi-Torque starter, do I still need to use the spacer plate as found between the old starter and the bell housing ?

The new starter being smaller (and very easy to handle into position) now is too far away from the cable. How have people dealt with this. I can join it, for a few inches but it seems a bit of a bodge, or re-do with a new cable...or is there a re-route that I have missed. I'm obviously keen to keep it away from the engine block etc.

Thanks

[Alty Ian]

I had the same problem but found by carefully routing the cable in the most economic routes that it will reach, just.