Jeffbucc

As far as getting the car dyno tuned(which I believe I finally have the car to the point that I CAN) is it up to the discretion of the tuner whether or not they will use Tunerstudio/Megasquirt if not directly listed as supported software? I've been reading conflicting posts that a lot of dyno shops won't touch it. Going to give a couple shops in Salt Lake City a call. I was going to go to Vegas but it looks like it only has dyno shops for Fords(merica') or euro vehicles.

Dialed in my closed loop idle settings after extensive reading, I finally have wrapped my head around how everything directly affects each setting.

-No more crack, snapple, pop on decel
-fast idle recovery with highbeams/fans on and only a 20rpmdot oscillation
-smooth shifts with no more rpm hang/judder
-boost is much smoother with less hesitation. Will be even better once I get my new wastegate bracket.
-coolant temps holding steady between 187-200

I am not liking my ACT clutch very much. Either my flywheel has some imperfections in it or what but 1st gear is publicly embarrassing to use in town. I can get a smooth engagement about 60% of the time, other times it is bucking bronco, 'oh god how do I drive a manual', engagement.

Looking at a Speedsport clutch solution from Goodwin. Supposedly amazing engagement and pedal feel. I was looking at the 949racing twin clutch but I think it might be a little serious/rough for my needs.

I have some new stub axle seals on the way for the diff to hopefully quell the tiny drip I have on it.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

act 6 puck? xt pressure plate? yep, those blow chunks.
get an FM2

and I doubt there is any other way besides TS to tune MS.

Jeffbucc

Yup....and yup. How well does the FM2 hold up to 300 +/- HP?

Well I'd have them use my laptop obviously, would they is what I plan on finding out tomorrow.

Boost comes on so hard in 2nd now that I basically just evaporate rubber and bounce off the rev limiter till I shift. It's some good clean expensive fun.

Ryan_G

iTrader: (8)

Its rated for 353 ft/lbs. I daily mine with ease.

Jeffbucc

At $369 it is pretty damn cheap too. Probably go this route since it has such a good track record. Not psyched about dropping my transmission, but it can't be much worse than what I've gone through building the car.

Also, major thanks to Onyxyth for bringing the spreadsheet to my attention. After using that to smooth the map and TS to interpolate the car accelerates much more smoothly. It will take a little more autotuning to get it better but it is headed in the right direction now.


Not sure why I have such a deep valley in the 2-3k rpm range but my logs looks good so *shrug*.

Zaphod

+1 running the FM Happy Meal stage 1 now and loving it (though I should have got the stage 2 in the first place)

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

Seriously, the only thing I would ever tune on a dyno is the spark map. Street tune everything else.

Find a tuner that is familiar with your ECU. Otherwise, you'll be paying for their learning curve and probably not getting a good end result.

Jeffbucc

Yeah I've got 6 shops I plan on calling today to narrow down my options. Don't plan on jumping the gun on this.

Nice thing about driving 3+ hours is I've got a cruise control unit on the way. No more cramping in the right foot!

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

If you drive on the right roads, your foot won't cramp. You'll just have to stop often for fuel.

Jeffbucc

Right? I can't wait to get a track day in.

Jeffbucc

Emulating Soviet somewhere in Mexico...sorry for the shaky cell phone recording and audio. 60ish-120 in 5th gear.

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

Looks strong. That dead op gauge freaks me out.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

omg, yeah.

Zaphod

+1 - change that sooon. It's certainly a dead sensor or such...

ScottyP3821

iTrader: (2)

Or unplugged. I forgot to plug mine in a couple times I put the motor back in.

Jeffbucc

You guys forget there is an AEM oil pressure gauge in the dash

Hell no I wouldn't do that without some idea of pressure!

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

I didn't forget. I just said it freaks me out.

Jeffbucc

Ah yes, I too at times get momentarily panicked by it. Been thinking about replacing it with an oil temp gauge, or something else that would fit in that location.

My brothers roommate dropped by to pick up my brothers record player. Never had been in a Miata before, had a pretty poor opinion of one as well.

So I told him it will only take one drive to change his mind on the gayness of them(granted mine is a bit faster than stock). Decided to go a little crazy, or at least I pushed the car way harder than I have before.

Our house in St George is on a plateau with not a lot of houses yet(being developed) so you can drive fast without worrying about pedestrians. Pegging redline in 2nd & 3rd going quite a bit sideways and looking over at your passenger as he is laughing/shitting his pants/looking for an oh **** handle, just made my day. He was saying it was probably the fastest car he has ever been in and definitely changed his mind about the "stereotype". A nice compliment to hear from someone after all your hard work.

I just can't imagine Soviet's car, with 150 +/- more horsepower. I am more than happy with my power...for now!

I love this car so much. Even doing all that it was completely predictable and balanced. Just a second or two of nervousness is always had after full boost is hit.

These tires will not last long.

Jeffbucc

Got a little work done on some issues I was having in the engine bay.

Bought a universal Wastegate bracket from ATPTurbo. Was going to have one made but this was only $15 and it had a lot of adjustment built into it. Way quality and much thicker than my old bracket. Nice that it is CNC cut as well. Gave me the extra 1/4" I needed for the wastegate to align properly.

Then I had to grind down the wastegate arm so I could fit the E-clip properly. Mine was too thick and I couldn't get the eclip in the groove properly.

The TSE inconel studs haven't moved a single MM, they were expensive but worth it.



New 90º throttle body elbow. The flyin' miata piece was too thick and wouldn't allow the clamps to properly seal it against the pipe. Tested it by burning some paper and saw it suck the smoke in under load. New one was perfect after trimming an inch off of it.



Curly shipped me the upper timing belt cover to help protect it from crud a little better.



Decided to put the Cusco Brace on the car and see if I can feel a difference at all. Plus I should hopefully be done yanking crap out of the engine bay for a little while so it won't be in my way now.

Malibu Q

Followed the link in Jeffbucc's sig on MazdaRoadster to this build thread. Over the last few days I've read through all of it. I may have skimmed a bit of the wiring and tuning though. Beautiful car Jeff. And watching the build was fantastic. All the eye candy but none of the pain. I cheered when I saw that PPF. Awesome.