concealer404

iTrader: (3)

I have no idea what i'm going to do with this car. I'm definitely keeping a running tally of what i've got in it vs. what i'd need to get out of it if i were to sell it, and so far i'm still ahead, so that's fun.

For the moment, i'm just tinkering and trying to figure out what this whole Miata thing is REALLY about. The MSM was cool, was a great beginning "taste" to Miatas, but it wasn't a complete package. Vteckiller2000 has it now, and it was a great car, but just wasn't doing it for us.

This car is more to my liking, despite being red. It was just a suspension and minor work away from being a complete package.

Think of this as a "primer" to get truly familiar with the chassis before i start work on the 93, that will likely make each and every major Miata "sect" rage and vomit uncontrollably.

What will likely happen is that we keep it at least through this summer, then try to capitalize on summer sports car rush 2015. I'm not looking to drastically change the car, so no big turbos, no huge aero, no big dollar brake kits, blah blah blah. Just optimize what's already there.


Big update coming soon-ish pending pre-purchase inspection.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

I have some pictures with it hanging out in the corner, but no detail shots. :(

And yeah, i rebuilt the whole damn thing.


The REALLY sickening part of that mess was that it's not necessary. You can just separate the loom and bring the VAF harness back out until it splits at the firewall, then re-wrap, and it'll reach to the VAF just fine.

You know... like what was done on Swank Force One. No soldering or hackery necessary.

Efini~FC3S

iTrader: (4)

Not to bring up old news but -

When I received my ISC tophats and excitedly opened the package I remember being a little disappointed and thinking "shoot, I could have just made something like this myself..."

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

I re-wired damn near the entire car this weekend.

About a week or two ago i noticed that the water temp gauge was being flaky. I pulled the panel out to investigate, saw this, and promptly went NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE.




So Saturday, i decided to tear into this thing for round two. It also had an aftermarket alarm and keyless entry that i didn't have the fob for, and in talking to the guy that had the car before Vteckiller2000, he said it didn't work right anyways. YAY. Never removed an alarm before.


Sooo.... a few hours later, this is what i had collected out of the car. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: ALARM-DECTOMY.



After rebuilding the ignition harness, i decided to move back to the gauges.

Yep... doesn't look any better the second time.


The radio install didn't make me happy either. I don't know WHY the factory harness was cut so far back, or even why it was cut in the first place, since i'm pretty sure there's PNP adapters for these damn things.



Extra crap that we cut out of the gauge wiring.



So, observations:

1) ALL the gauges were wired not only improperly, but incorrectly. This is why the AEM Boost gauge wasn't working prior.

2) I can only imagine how fucked up the wideband voltage offset was. The MS on this car has a breakout aux plug thingymabobber that has 12v, ground, sensor ground, and wideband input on it. Only the wideband input was actually run to this aux harness. With... 4 different kinds of wire spliced together with butt connectors, and tapped in with a vamp clamp. Sensor ground for some reason was built with a similar array of wires and butt connectors, and vamp clamped into a ground on the factory harness.

Now that sensor ground and wideband input are wired properly, the car is going to have to be re-tuned slightly i think. At the very least, i need to re-enter the voltage curve values for the AEM, as i don't feel like this is matching at all right now. Idle is a little weird and erratic compared to before.

3) It's nice having matching gauges, but i'm not much a fan of the AEM boost gauge. Stepper motor and matching gauges because AEM are nice and all, but the stepper motor is a little slow for my tastes for a boost gauge.


Aside: Got into the Megasquirt to see what the pins were for the breakout harness. 1-4 are accounted for. Brain says he usually uses 5 or 14 for VICS, and 15 for EBC. I don't have any of those in use, but i do have 13 attached to a something. This is a unit that i was told should have VICS and EBC ready to rock. Anyone have any ideas?



Oh, also installed a TDR radiator cooling panel. AWWWWWWWYEAH. MODS, BRO. No pictures for you.



Now, let's talk throttle body. It seems i've run into the same thing that Jeff did. 99 head and intake manifold, but still has the NA8 throttle body. The stupid huge hoses and crap off of it are going to make the coolant re-route impossible with the BeGi pipes. Can i just slap a 99-00 throttle body on the car, cap where that big air hose goes on the intercooler piping, and roll? Just recalibrate TPS? (Or swap TPS from NA8 assy to NB1?)


Let's talk BPV/BOV.
1) My intake fits like ****. The filter is rubber up on the headlight motor quite hard.
2) I ******* HATE that crossover tube.

So... anyone know if BeGi makes their intake pipe without the recirc crap on it? I can't find it on their site. Also: Besides potentially louder ricer noises (Doubtful, it's not exactly quiet now), is there any downside at all to running a BOV instead of recirculated BPV on a Megasquirt Miata?

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

Throttle body. You need to put the right connectors on. The NA tps is about as far as possible from being able to fit on an NB throttle body.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Ok so i need an NB1 throttle body with TPS and pigtail, then just wire it into the stock harness?


Well... i suppose i'd have to dick around with IACV too, huh?

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

Yup, NB iac uses a different connector than the NA as well IIRC.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Same wire count/signal type run from the electronics though, yes? I need to ask for an NB1 with sensors and pigtails, and from there i can just strip and connect into the stock ****, fix settings, and roll?

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

yeah. I think you need to change the frequency of the IAC though. The NB TPS also has one less wire than the NA one.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, i noticed the frequency change in another thread. Looks easy enough.

thenuge26

iTrader: (2)

Hmm there's a '99 for sale on the Indiana Miata owners facebook group for $1500 if you want to buy another parts car...

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Not particularly. I'm knee deep in Miatas and i really only want ONE.

thenuge26

iTrader: (2)

If I had room for it I would think about it, he says it has a torsen too.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

ORLY?

I'll have to tell Josh about it.

Jeffbucc

I haven't messed with tuning the IAC or TPS yet but for the hassle it was, I'd say it is worth it. It looks 100% cleaner and more organized in that area. wiring for the TPS is the same but you need to change some settings. My TPS reads 500 low input, or around 51% throttle.

I just took the intercooler pipe to an exhaust shop and they welded the IAT port shut for $10.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

That's the other option for the pipes... just bring the intercooler pipe to have the IAC crap welded shut, and same for the intake. I itch myself uncontrollably every time i see that damn crossover tube, and i can't see any good reason to not just run a BOV VTA. Would also get rid of the vacuum line crossed over the valve cover.

Next weekend's project: Dicking with the tune, removing emissions crap, and doing some general cleaning.

Not quite Jeff-style, but this engine bay gives me the heeby-jeebies.

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

That wire . . . I have nightmares.

VTA all you want. No issue at all with MS.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Right?

Good thing i'm a boss.

Most excellent. Now i just need to take a measurement to see what BOVs will actually fit on the pipe pre-TB.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

Just got up to date on this, and at this point I'm just re-iterating what other have said, but from my experience:

1) yes go with NB TB. It's easy to get running with MS, just wire up the IAC and TPS. IIRC you need a throttle cable bracket as well. Either make your own, or buy the FM/begi one.

2) yes, VTA. Why the hell not? MAP cars dgaf.

3) GJ on de-wiring the alarm and whatnot. MY car has some **** up under the dash, and I really should tackle that soon. Thanks for inspiration.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

FWIW, the entire top end of the motor is BP4W, except for the TB. Still need the bracket? Or is this one of those things i don't know what i have, and you don't either, until i take a picture? I'm wondering if it's already got it.


I know the cars don't care (for that matter, the stock ECU MX6 doesn't care either), but i didn't know if there was some sort of actual performance benefit to recirculate.


Honestly, it was all just time consuming. Miatas are electrically VERY simple from what i saw, and the only part that really sucked was working in tight spaces.


I suppose i should double check the fuel pump install this next weekend since it looks like there were at least two people in this car that had no idea what they were doing, and i'd rather the car not go up in flames any time soon.