94 AbsurdFlow/ARTech GT2871R build
 

So I have been super lazy and never got around to making a build thread my first time around but figured since I have pretty parts this time people might actually wanna see some of it. Or point out things that suck. Either way I will have something to entertain me at work since I am surprisingly slow after the long weekend.

Car: 1994 miata with maybe 185k? I dont remember. Solid drivetrain, not so solid interior but I planned on gutting it anyways so i didnt care. Pretty much bought it and put it on jack stands within a week and started ripping stuff out

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

Got rid of PS/AC right away, emissions junk, then started on the interior.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

Originally went with cutting the dash and pulling all the HVAC/radio etc but got bored and ended up ripping it all out when I put in my new seats.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

gutted the doors, ended up removing the center track also once I realized i didnt need it to keep the windows secure when they are in.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

Then I remembered I had a credit card..so i spent way too much money too fast. Oh well

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

I was pretty excited when I stacked them up to compare. Calculating differences is not as powerful as finally seeing it in person.

swapped out my suspension using my patented "damnit i cant quite rip this out by hand..what is within arms reach of me? oh hey this might work" method. It worked.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932
Before

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932
After

Upgraded my clutch to a ACT unit, I had one in my last car and once i got used to the pedal feel I actually liked how snappy and quick it was so I went with the same setup again.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

New seats came in

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

They fit pretty well, I ended up bolting them straight to the floor to maximize clearance for my helmeted head once I get a roll bar in. Might sharpie the Sparco logo out, looks a little ricey but as I mentioned already, I am lazy so I may never get around to it.

Then it got fun when I made a purchase from GeneSplicer. He was enjoyable to deal with, great correspondence efforts via email, answered all my questions and is apparently the devil because he mentioned he took credit card, so i was unable to resist the temptation and I bit the bullet. This is what actually started my spending spree.... But in all seriousness, thanks for the stuff GeneSplicer!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

Went with a full 3" exhaust from ARTech, looks great and I cant wait to hear it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

Went to install it and realized I still needed to come up with a modified mixing manifold/water pump inlet so I was going to go with the flip/plug/tap etc method but my aluminum rad with stock fan didnt allow that. Ended up cutting out a section, grinding, JBwelding back together, capping the old heater core hardline (turns out a quarter is almost a perfect fit, JB welded over it all, drilled hole for old water line nipple, drilled out old hole and ground the casting to be round to accept a rubber hose to mate to the trimmed hardline.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

Turned out pretty good, I might still need to modify the old elbow for the lower rad hose to tuck it closer but I am waiting to finish my IC piping first.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

Now I have clearance for the turbo, nothing hitting or rubbing

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378226932

That is where I am up to now. Not pictured is boring stuff like EGR blockoff plates, Cheap IC/Piping, PS looped lines etc. Waiting on some silicone couplers for IC piping, fitting for the oil pan, oil/water lines, v-band clamps for the exhaust, and I should be done with the hotside stuff. Only things left after that are swapping injectors, hooking up WBo2, boost gauge, plugging in MS and I should be able to start it up. Went with a MS2 this time instead of the MS1 I had on my previous build so I'm expecting there to be some updates and changes I will have to learn but I barely remember setting it up the first time so I will basically be relearning it all anyways. Going to try to get the injectors/sensors done this week while I wait for parts.

Sweet build and some nice parts you are throwing on this thing.

I'm VERY concerned with the use of JB weld on a vital coolant line though. That could make a big mess of the track you are on as well as end with a fubard engine if it lets loose.

There are lots of things I use jb weld for, but that would not be one of them Just my .02. Good luck with the build!

I briefly debated if the JBWeld should be a concern or not, but I figured since it will be experiencing negative pressure and water temps below the limit of the JBWeld, and little to no stresses (the weight of the lower RAD line isnt much) That I shouldn't be too concerned. I ground down the JBWeld after it cured to check for porosity but it seems to have bonded pretty solid. If others think this should be a concern, let me know and I will look into a welded version, I actually found out my friend has a TIG welder AFTER I finished working on this part but I don't feel like making another part unless this is in fact a potentially weak point of the system.

BP engines are notoriously buzzy and emit tons of vibration, especially with stiffer motor mounts (which I would do for sure with a turbo build). Pretty much every case I've ever had where JB weld failed, it was due to vibrations over time.

So I can prob slap some duct tape on it and call it a day then right?

looks like I have another project to add to the list. Guess I get to brush up on my (terrible) TIG welding skills soon..

Duct tape fixes everything. Honestly it's your car, leave it if you truly feel comfortable with it. I know with my experience with JB weld I'd expect that thing to fail 100% for sure, just WHEN it fails is the question.

For most other things I'd say run it, and fix it if it breaks. The problem is, if that thing breaks you will likely end up needing to fix more than just that coolant neck.

Well thanks alot, now im going to be paranoid watching for puddles of water behind me whenever I drive this thing haha. I guess i should look into getting it actually welded. at least for peace of mind at this point.

If the surfaces were completely clean/scuffed and it was mixed properly I wouldn't see any serious issues with it. I've mended many broken steering columns, lock housings, and various other things with the intent of it being permanent. I've had it fail on occasion but knew it would as soon as i finished. you just know.

It's not like it's really weight baring. just my opinion.

Yeah i ground down the whole surface to be mated and cleaned it/dried it, even ground in a beveled edge on both surfaces to be mated so there was a channel for the weld bead. I figured that would be sufficient but now I am second guessing myself

I am excited that I'll help get this thing running!

I was also unsure of the JBweld although I don't have much experience in torture testing it. Then I got distracted by dem fat tires... are you rolling or pulling fenders?

Nothing wrong with getting to play with some TIG.

What is your MS2 exactly; Brain, Rev, diy?

It is a Brain MS2. I think I am more excited I don't have to drive to greensboro to have my dad help me since all my friends have Macs and I cant figure out how to get stupid tunerstudios to work on stupid macs. So Win-Win.

I rolled the fenders with a teeball bat even though they didn't seem like they needed it much. I shouldn't have to pull them any. I did get a chance to drive it around with the new suspension/wheels/tires before I pulled the engine etc and it gripped like whoa. There didn't seem to be any rubbing but I could only push it so hard on the streetz.

So I got my injectors installed last night and when I was tightening the 3 fuel rail bolts, it seemed like it got pretty tight before the plastic retainer/spacers were fully locked in place. It almost seemed like the injectors were longer than they should be. Has anyone else had this problem? This is what I installed

EV14 - 550cc/min Import Long; Mitsubishi Eclipse/Galant 3.8L, 3.0L, 6G75, 6G72 - Import Fuel Injectors - Custom Milled High Performance Impreza WRX and Mazda RX7 Siemens Injectors - 026IMP550X

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378297412

I also noticed the connectors are farther down the body making it a little difficult to attach the plugs. I had to rotate them some which put the front most injector wire under a bit more tension than I would like so I will have to see about getting some more slack in the harness.

Also, on these vband clamps, would it make more sense to flip the castellated nut around so the ground out bowl shape of the clamp would sort of crush the tabs and make it grab the threaded shaft better? They all came the other way but it doesnt seem like the flat hex portion of the nut would nest inside the bowl shape very well. Thoughts?

http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0747ed46.jpg

What clamp is that?! I assume it's the big clamshell clamp for the 3" vband used on ARTech exhausts. If so, it should have a large thumb nut thing. I would not use that fancy lock nut on that clamp, and if you do, definitely not upside down.

That nut is for a regular vband clamp like in your picture above in the first post...the one that goes on the tial housing for example.

Not recommended, but I have been running my regular ol' 1/4-28 mockup nuts with copper antisieze on my vbands without issue, but I'm a street guy. I had a set of nuts that I used for building/mocking up kits, as it's easy to spin them on with one finger while holding the clamp tight with the other hand...not easy to do with those fancy lock nuts. I had my car together with these mockup nuts, figuring I would install the lock nuts on top of the mockup nuts. I decided to leave them on there alone and see if they loosed up on the street. All are tight so far, I have the fancy lock nuts in a safe place just in case. Those lock nuts tend to gall up and destroy the $$$ vband threads if you aren't careful.

Solid start, and ABSURD stuff always gets props around here, but seriously I almost spit my coffee out when I saw the jb-welded waterneck. You can't be serious lol. I hope that was an attempt at a joke.

they are the ARTech vband exhaust clamps. Those are the nuts he sent on them to me. I think I remember hustler pointing out using these nuts on his exhaust since his came loose when he tracked it, unless I am remembering wrong I thought he was talking about his exhaust clamps as well, not the turbine housing clamps.

I guess regardless of the nut I use, I didnt like the idea of the nuts digging in to the cupped surface that the nuts will be digging into. Why didn't they just leave it a flat surface like my turbine/wastegate clamps. I debated adding a washer but there has to be some reason they shaped that part the way they did.

I was under the impression JBWeld was pretty tough stuff. I dont have much experience using it other than stuff like IAT bung or oil pan fittings. I guess it is ok to use as a heavy duty sealant like on the oil pan since it is really being held in by the tapped pan wall, not the JB? But if I should be worried about the waterneck failing I guess I need to look into getting one welded.

Sorry I made you waste your coffee 18PSI

Last thing you wanna do is find out the hard way. Our engines vibrate harder than an industrial sized dildo

You should probably pick a less desirable comparison if you want it to sound like a bad thing.

:giggle:

:rofl:

Also, apparently this is the first absurdflow setup I guess originally made for Savington? then passed to who knows, then genesplicer before me so I know things could have changed but does anyone know what PSI springs are in the wastegate? It has a large and a small which both look to be a beige/gold/brown/copper (arent those all pretty much the same color) so I am having trouble identifying them.

I think they are the medium sized one on the bottom left and the large one on the far right.

Wastegate Spring for Tial V38 (MVS) and NEW 44MM (MVR) wastegate : atpturbo.com

What color would you guys call those? Genesplicer led me to believe it was ~15psi but that doesn't match up with the spring rate list below in that link. are they considered copper and brown maybe? or gold and brown?

I know they went to a new color system at some point, why the hell didnt they do that in the first place. All their colors are basically just different tints of each other which makes it even harder to tell when they are covered in soot.

My ARTech Vbands look identical to yours. I put my nuts on the way they came (opposite of the pic you took) which I'd suggest. They've held fine, though I wish I had the fun thumb hole version. Hope you have a deep socket that fits the nut for ease of install.

I have to check if I have a deep socket that small. Otherwise, time for another trip to Harbor Freight.

Got the MTX-L installed and calibrated last night, and the boost gauge in. I tried sharing the 12V switched and the ground with the boost gauge and it just kept flickering. Is there some reason it doesn't play nice with the wideband power/grounds? I ended up just removing power to the boost gauge for now.

So I think I got trolled. It's like somehow ATP turbo knew this hose wouldn't work with my -10 AN fittings..

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378471538
Luckily Auto Zone has awesome employees who feel bad for you when you tell them about ordering fails and they like to help you out by giving you free heater hose to use for the time being.


On a brighter note, its pretty nice having aluminum sheet and a machine shop downstairs. Now I dont have to ziptie my gauges to the dash bar uprights.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378471538

So it started. I have a pretty significant exhaust leak from the mani/turbo or turbo/dp cant tell which yet. do you tighten these vbands til you literally cant anymore? I was worried about stripping out the threads if I tightened much more.

Also, idling, the IAC valve makes a weird pulsing buzz noise. I am guessing it is just a semi stuck valve so I tried squirting some seafoam in there. it worked for about 3 seconds then started buzzing again. anyone seen this before?

first start turbo miata IAC noise - YouTube

And are injectors normally this noisy or am I just being paranoid? I don't remember the injectors clicking louder than the HLAs.

adjust the frequency for the iac

and yes five-o's are really noisy for some reason. my buddy's sounded like taht too

Cool. I'll check the frequency later. I don have a laptop I can use for TS so petrolmed is helping me with it later. I just started it to check for leaks and let it come to temp

What freq should I aim for?

The one that doens't make it sound like a duck lol

*goose* it'a a more masculine bird.

Got it all set up and running thanks 100% to petrolmed. I learned a good bit about tuning going over it all with him and we got it running safely for now. I started getting spark blowout so I got some BKR7E plugs to swap in and noticed I had oil in my cyl 4 plug well so a new valve cover seal has already been ordered along with some new plug wires because those are probably the originals on there so could stand to be replaced.

I am most likely getting dyno tuned next sat before an autox sunday so I can get some spark tuning done and see what kind of power level I am at.

Pretty excited to finally be near the end and get to start enjoying the car again.

Plug wires replaced with NGK blue and plugs replaced with BKR7E and all is well. No oil in plug well after driving around for around an hour cruising/light/hard boost. I will keep monitoring it to make sure but maybe PO just spilled oil in there but it was black so either it got cooked from sitting in the hot plug well or ir is leaking from under the VC. Time will tell.

Passing people on the highway in 5th by lightly pushing the gas pedal is awesome.

Masculine bird/gander actually describes the sound really well lol.

Hooray no spark blowout! Lets do another tune this week so you can drive around in all imaginable conditions worry free, better performing, and more efficient. Get a beater computer for tuning!

I'll email your tuning files once my apartment has internet so you can post them. Or I'll just post them. Only have connection at work for now.

If you wanna post them that's fine with me. I wouldn't mind some suggestions on what to adjust. I am still thinking about the dyno this Saturday still but if people can suggest some better spark tuning and I am happy with that I may pass on the dyno.

Ended up going to the dyno. I was assuming I would be around 200hp because my butt dyno told me this car felt similar to my last one which was 198hp. Initial pull was 208hp so I guess my butt dyno wasn't too off haha. This was just base spark map and autotune with petrolmed at around 9 psi

Smoothed out the AFR table alot and played with timing a bit, upped to 14/15psi and got 259/236 which I was happy with. Waiting on the dyno guy to email me the datalog and dyno plot and I will upload them.

news to cause me sadface: removed plugs to gap them closer due to spark blowout and there is oil on my cyl 4 plug. tested compression and it was just under 180, compared to cyl 1 is about the same but cyl 1 is dry. anyone see oil blowby without seeing low compression numbers? I know this is on the low end of the range but they were all about the same.

Possible that the vc gasket is leaking and it got on the plug? Or is the rest of it completely dry?

180 is a pretty decent compression number but compression doesn't tell the whole story. I'd do leakdown too just in case.

Congrats on the numbers. Sounds solid. Post the dyno plot, datalog, and your msq when you get a chance.

Well i did have oil in the cyl 4 plug well when I changed my plugs last weekend after autotuning. I suspected VC seal but I have been checking the well and havent noticed any oil accumulation since I swapped plugs. I had never checked plugs before though so there is a chance the PO spilled oil when doing an oil change for all I know (I can lie to myself right?) but when I pulled the plugs after the dyno session, there was still no noticeable oil accumulation, except for the portion of plug inside the cylinder that was pretty wet. Would oil leaking into the well be able to travel down the threads inside the cylinder? I ordered a new VC gasket I need to get that in and hope it fixes my problem.

leakdown test sounds even more useful after that post

just clicked the link for your injectors.


Were they really $80 for the set of 4?

Link you provided : EV14 - 550cc/min Import Long; Mitsubishi Eclipse/Galant 3.8L, 3.0L, 6G75, 6G72 - Import Fuel Injectors - Custom Milled High Performance Impreza WRX and Mazda RX7 Siemens Injectors - 026IMP550X

sorry to disappoint you, but that is per injector lol. Notice the field under the price that has qty 1

18PSI - I've never done a leakdown test, what would it show me that a compression test wouldn't show me? low compression test suggests worn rings, leakdown yielding significant pressure drop also points to worn rings (or potentially valves) but wouldn't the opposite be true as well? (decent compression test would suggest a decent leakdown test as well?)

Learn me some knowledge

Compression test: dummy test. Just tells you your compression numbers, the most basic diagnostic.

leakdown test: Much better for troubleshooting. Will tell you if you have excessive leakdown (low compression), and you will be able to listen and pinpoint exactly where the leak is (be it rings, headgasket, valves, etc.). Leakdown you can apply 100PSI of pressure to the motor and listen to various places to see where most of the leakdown is coming from. For instance, if you hear air hissing from the intake manifold, that's intake valves leaking. If you hear air coming from the exhaust, that's exhaust valves. If you hear air coming from the oil fill cap, that's rings, bubbles in the radiator is head gasket.

To perform a leakdown you must have a leakdown tester, an air compressor, and have each cylinder at TDC on the compression stroke so the valves are closed when you do the test.

Thanks, I understood the concept but i just was getting at if my compression is good wont i not have much leakdown either? and vice versa? if I have low compression numbers, THEN I would want to do a leakdown to pinpoint where the leak is? but since my compression is fine, won't I have very little leakdown? otherwise I wouldn't have had good compression numbers? Or is that statement not true?

Thats Ok .

I found 550s for $10 each on ebay.

M

Here is the msl (is that the dyno plot?) and msq files

I am blocked from installing anything on my work laptop (my only laptop) so I cant install winpep7 to view the dyno plot. So if anyone wants to open this and save it as an image and reupload it I wouldnt complain any...

IBM thinkpad t43 great shape... lolz. But seriously, it has a serial port ready to screw in. Cut the price down and dedicate to the miatah.

I'll see if I can get away from my family in town visiting to translate your results. Only if you promise to get a cheap lappy that you can use. I'd prefer not to come to bail you out with adjustments at 6am on a Saturday in January when you car wont cold start :dealwithit:.

Haha I know I know...

Hopefully ill never be stranded anywhere at 6am on a Jan morning since I don't have heat I prob wouldn't be driving this thing ha. But no rush to convert it. I know what it looks like already, its hanging up on my fridge haha. Just figured other people might want to see how the setup did.

Sidenote, no pressure sensor/wideband o2 was hooked up to the dyno so plot is only hp/tq vs rpm. I can upload datalog if anyone cares to see everything. I think what I uploaded was just the plot and the tune files?

I think you uploaded the tune (.msq) and the datalog (.msl), the plot would be a .DRF or .### according to winprep7

True, true, I forget your car is gutted and has no heater. BTW I have some rubber stoppers that would plug the old heater line holes.

Onyx is right, my dryno runs are .drf files. Look for something not .ms(x)

Oh yeah i have 9 different drf files. Looks like I cant upload those though. Ill just zip it all and upload that.

Matt, I will totally steal those plugs from you. Then all I have left is my AC line holes. and a new shift boot(s) and I should be pretty well sealed against gas chambering myself when it gets cold(er) out.

looks like its mad about the cold weather already and/or the IAC has gotten worse. Took a while to start and it revved up and then sagged like usual but it sagged and died a few times and I kept having to restart it. I might have to scoop that cheap laptop off craigslist and retune with the IAC capped completely. (I think I heard somewhere that was possible)

You can have them, I've got no use for them.

I told you that the cold will bring trouble lol. It doesn't even have to be COLD, just less than 80* F.


Best .drf:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1380473771

That 259/236 isnt in there? that's the one I have printed out from the dyno shop hanging on my fridge haha.

Either way I guess it doesn't do anyone much good without afr/boost pressures plotted but thanks for posting it up.

Yeah I am hoping it starts in a couple weeks for the autox. I should be going home the saturday before so once it cools off I can try tuning the cranking settings with my dads laptop.

Damn dude, that looks like a hoot. If you want to compare it to the NA VVT hotness, swing by my place.

I will double check, but that was the highest power and last of the run files as far as I know. Wish you would've datalogged one for the afr and boost info.

We can do a rough fuel PW compensation bump for the upcoming cold so it is not as likely to leave you stranded. Plus I need a ride with the new tune and I need to give you the USB driver CD back.

Because boobs

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1380577785

The graph has an error when engine speed is used, deleting the curves that the boobs encompass.

I don't get that dyno, feel like there should be a much sharper 'knee' in torque

Andrew, I might have to do that sometime. You planning on going to the Auto-x in Winston in a couple weekends? I think its with TSCC, ill probably be terrible with it so tail happy now. Ill have to try real hard to stay light on the gas.

Matt, let me know when you are free this week and we can meet up. My buddy cut that splitter DWG file I sent him into some coroplast I still need to fit up and see how good the file was and either trim it into an undertray and attach it to the lip I just ordered, or trace it onto some aluminum or wood for a splitter, but I prob dont need a splitter until I have a wing on there or I would just be even more tailhappy. But I remember you mentioning being interested in the splitter fit up so if you wanna be involved let me know.

Soviet, I was kinda thinking the same thing yesterday when I saw this. Looking around, alot of other dyno curves have a steep torque slope, then flattens out/tapers off as HP keeps rising. Mine almost rise parallel. Is there some reason for this?

because 2871.

Proper sized turbo for the 1.8 miata so that torque doesnt drop too much.

That graph is exactly how my 2871R miata would feel...

Possibly. You missed out this past weekend, THSCC had a surprise circuit-cross. This isn't me, but the course was fantastic.

Late to party (out spending your cash;)) - you're welcome!!

Damn that course looked pretty fast. Only ones I have been to have been slower parking lot courses. My buddy just bought a stock miata (user name nchomegrown or something) so he and his dad are going and I think my roommate and I will be going so it should be a fun time.

Made it to my first Auto-x this weekend with the new car, had a blast. I got first place in SSM.....I was also the only one in SSM.... but I still think I had an ok time from what I saw throughout the day. 33rd in PAX and 14th in RAW. For having not done an auto-x in a couple years, I am totally fine with that haha.

http://www.auto-x.com/results/2013/d...8_save_pax.htm

http://www.auto-x.com/results/2013/d...8_save_raw.htm

Someone out there took pics all day though so I got a few good pictures of my car.

Edit: for some reason they arent uploading so I just added the links too. Mods can you fix?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/105451293@N04/10394271364/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/105451293@N04/10394024756/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/105451293@N04/10394167723/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/105451293@N04/10394013786/

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