kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

I figured I should start a build thread for my 01 se miata as seen in the pictures below:

FullSizeRender_zpsed1dcf45.jpg?t=1411481361

And an older picture before the turbo was installed 100%:


I missed having a turbo miata and circumstances changed making it possible to own one again. I have been hunting a 2001 se for some time and I purchased this car sight unseen on ebay last year. I wish I had gotten a PPI because when I took delivery of the car I noticed the pilot bearing was shot, the car had an aftermarket security system that made the windows and door locks operate funky, and there was yellow paint on the soft top.

The car also had some cheesy modifications such as an electronic exhaust cutout (I admit I did play with this a little when I found it ), a chrome style bar, a super JDM password tow hook, LEDs around the headlights, and an rpm and battery volts gauges mounted on the a pillar. I am not sure what the wheels are on the car but I assume some budget knockoff JDM wheel judging from the POs taste in other mods. I think they say A-Tech on them. Dunno- I plan to replace with 6uls like everyone else that owns a miata. The miata had copious amounts of ping pong ***** hidden throughout. Apparently the PO was a pro table tennis guy which is kinda cool I guess.

The first thing I did was spend all the monies. I bought a set of ID 725's and an MTX-L on this forum, an MS3 basic from rev, and an FM happy meal, and a walbro 190lhp fuel pump. Car put down something like 120hp on the baseline dyno after MS'ed. (This is on a dynocom dyno I assume its similar to a dynojet)

Fast forward to present day: The car now sits with a begi s4 kit with a 2860rs. I also installed a koyo radiator, FM stage 2 airflow kit, MTX-D oil pressure/temp gauge, VDO boost gauge, and 3" artech exhaust with a resonator and cat. Although it has a 7psi garrett actuator I am seeing 10psi with creep to 14psi the last few rpm to redline. Car put down ~250hp/230ft/lbs on the same dynocom dyno. Heres a really crappy dyno sheet. Not sure why there is not much info like AFR/Boost or correction used. RPM was just cut off in the picture. The pull was from 2k-7k RPM
dyno_zpsd8ef0f11.jpg?t=1411481358

Anywho the car is a blast. I know people on this forum hate on the disco potato but coming from a godspeed 3076 this thing spools so much better. Overall I am very satisfied with the cars performance. I just need to get a real roll bar, real wheels, and I will be set.

Feel free to post comments or question or disregard this thread completely. I will update this thread if anything interesting ever happens or just to add media. Thanks for looking!

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

heres a picture of the engine bay as it sits now


And a short video. Will post more when I get a proper mount and camera.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

So you have now owned 2 of my previous setups

good stuff man,

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

Thanks! I like your used stuff and I am a huge fan


I forgot to mention it but the artech exhaust was damaged in shipping. Abe is awesome though and had insurance on the package. I am still left with a goofy looking bent exhaust tip. See pic:


Any ideas on how to fix this up? I am thinking of buying/renting an exhaust expander like this.

swimming108

iTrader: (3)

i had the exact same thing happen to my exhaust tip from Abe...

It is easy to fix with an exhaust expanding tool that you can rent from any auto parts store.

Twodoor

iTrader: (2)

Does anything BEGi makes not have boost creep? I get around 3 psi over wastegate spring pressure, with another half psi just before redline, after a dip in boost when my intake manifold butterfly's activate. This is on a 38mm external Tial WG.

Keith

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

Good to know. I am going to rent ones sometime next week and try it.

I wanted to go the external route but I didn't feel it was necessary for my goals and it would cost a good bit more. I've been under the impression external wastegates don't creep. I guess I don't really know much about them though lol

Honestly, I expected boost creep to be worse on my car. The wastegate flapper doesn't feel like it opens all the way and its on a 3" downpipe/exhaust with the s4 manifold. I am currently sourcing from the compressor housing as well so it is certainly not optimal at the moment.

At what point does preload on the actuator increase boost? I am curious because I have a 7psi actuator and tightened the arm 3 full rotations for proper preload which would make it a 10psi (assuming each turn is 1 psi) which just so happens to be the pressure I see.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Glad to see you're back in a turbo miata. Did you do all the turbo install yourself? Used kit?

...did you actually buy that kit from Vlad?

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Ed! Yeah I did buy the kit from Vlad lol. I was looking for a used begi or artech setup and his popped up for sale at the right time for a decent price. One of the main reasons I went for a used begi kit was to avoid dealing with begi directly which unfortunately didn't happen. I had to source a few pieces I was missing from them on multiple occasions. The wait times were very painful and some of the fabrication and quality was questionable but it all worked out in the end and I'm very satisfied with my dealings with begi.

I did install the kit myself. It was a daunting task in the beginning and took awhile (making sure it was done right and waiting on parts). I have never done anything major to a car before but it turned out to be pretty painless aside from the mental stress of drilling the oil pan. I was certain the car was going to **** out all of its fluids catch on fire and explode when I first started it up. I did find out my radiator had a pinhole leak but once that was fixed it purred like a turbo kitten which was a huge relief and seems extremely reliable. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face after the first time I drove it. So the install ended up being an enjoyable and positive learning experience for me.

Actually here is the video of its first start


BTW Ed, your MSM is coming along nicely

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Woot, looks like fun. I like me some '01 SE

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

Rented an exhaust expander from advance yesterday to fix my exhaust. About 5 seconds of work and the exhaust looks miles better.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

I been meaning to ask: how do you like the bov?
I totally forgot that I re-welded the fitting and replaced the bosch with the piston style on your setup.

How is the sound? Any issues with it? Do you like it?

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

I like the BOV. The sound is like a baby version of the forge on your older white car. Baby as in not as loud but very similar noise. After adjustment there is a slight sound of compressor surge at very low boost but from reading that's pretty standard on a BB turbo. Overall no issues with it. Are you thinking of picking another one up?

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Yep

Thanks for your review. I think that's exactly what I was trying to accomplish, glad it worked out. Bout to order another haha

paNX2K&SE-R

iTrader: (8)

That's a good looking SE.

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

So I pulled the car out from winter storage about 2 months ago and added nickel 6uls with yokohoma s.drives (very meh tires BTW) and a Harddog hardcore hardtop roll bar. I also had it aligned at a local shop per 949racing's "street and autocross" setup.



A few weeks ago I got into a small accident. I was coming through a dark corner and there was a giant bundle of tree branches in the middle of the road (I assume they fell off the back of a truck). Anyways I didn't see it until it was too late and had to swerve to the right and I made contact with a guard rail. The rear quarter panel got a dent and there was a scratch along length of the passenger side. My insurance company fixed the damages but the body shop stripped the existing rock guard and applied a new coat. The new stuff is much more textured than the OEM stuff and it makes it look matte in color. The shop said there isn't anything they can do aside from redo the drivers side too. That doesn't sound like a solution to me so I am trying to figure out what I should do. Any input is appreciated.

While I wait to see what my options will be with the rock guard issue I took the car to the first autocross of the year. This is the first time autocross with a 6 speed car. The gearing is like my driving - miserable! Here are a few videos:

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

Just a quick update: Changed the exhaust hangers to standard FM poly hangers and changed the motor mounts to the mazda competition mounts. I wanted to change the exhaust mounts because my exhaust would rattle on some of the bracing occasionally. The FM mounts pulled the exhaust up about 1/4 - 1/2 inch and were simple to install. niiiiccceeee!

The car has ~57,000 miles on it and considering its a 14 year old car I figured motor mounts wouldn't be a terrible idea either. Honestly I wasn't expecting to find anything wrong with the OEM mounts but figured a fresh set certainly wouldn't hurt anything. So I read several walk-throughs on the procedure and felt confident it would be a simple job so I figured I'd plunge in.

First thing I noticed was there are 4 bolts rather than just 3 as all of the guides I read stated. I figured it still wouldn't be difficult and could bang it out in 2 hours with my trusty harbor freight jack under the oil pan. Boy was I in for a treat. Passenger side came out fine. The drivers side mount bolt was just about impossible to get out of the subframe though. By some act of god the bolt randomly popped out of the hole and I thought I was in the clear. Wrong. I couldn't get the mount out of the car or unbolt the mount while still in the area where it sits. Lucky the OEM mount was ripped all the way through and some wiggling popped it out into two pieces. Popped a fresh mount in and was ready for reinstall.

For the reinstall once again the passenger side was simple. The drivers side had to be installed one piece at a time. My first go at this I actually got the manifold support brace wedged behind the mount bracket and had to take everything apart again to free it. I'm a dummy. Once it was settled in lining up the bolt holes sucked big time. Jack goes up jack goes down. Rinse repeat. An hour later- BAM - installed motor mounts. I came out of this learning one thing: next time use an engine hoist. My life would have been made so much easier. Oh also check intercooler pipes when you're done. I separated IC piping lifting the motor and had a boost leak.


tldr: Change engine mounts with a hoist or you'll be miserable and NB2 motor mounts are the devil. Such a simple job and it took me 6+ hours.

Anywho here are all of the floppy useless crud pieces I yanked out of the car


The new mounts made shifting a little smoother. No noticeable difference in vibrations really. If you're looking for a very steerable motor mount the mazda comps are probably the way to go.

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

Went autocrossing at pittrace again. I love going up there you get a million runs when hosted by Pittrace. Here are some videos. It was actually neat because it was the same course I ran last time only in reverse.'




On another note I missed 3rd on two runs because the car wouldnt go into gear. Thats lame because I never had that issue before swapping motor mounts. Oh well it only happened 2 times. Also yoko s.drive still suck for autocross.

Surprisingly I was one of the fastest cars out there that day. From what I could see only a c4 vette on super wide hoosiers was faster (and by 2 seconds... that car was a rocket). Going to these events makes me want to dump money into my car and compete in SSM. But really I go to maybe 4 events a year and I am not serious at all. Street car FTW!

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

1. Love the turbo kitty sticker
2. Car looks like a lot of fun, and sounds nice
3. So jelly of that autox course. Looks like a blast.
4. street car FTW

kiladonut

iTrader: (1)

Turbo kitty stickers had to go on the helmet haha. I was so excited to put those on.