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careful street driving, for about a year, 400+ whp, let go cruising the autobahn down to the "ring" after a full tank sustained speed over 100mph but with almost no boost.
careful street driving, for about a year, 400+ whp, let go cruising the autobahn down to the "ring" after a full tank sustained speed over 100mph but with almost no boost.
A new set of Advanti Storm S1s showed up at my door today..."happy birthday" from me, to me. Tires will have to wait until payday, though. Also got an ebc and have taken to figuring it out for power gains. Managed to blow my wiper fuse in the process, I'd rather not elaborate how Look at the wheels, not the messy garage
Anyways, onto a "yikes" moment; my oil filter sandwich plate decided to go from a little drip of oil (<1/2qt per oil change) to absolutely hemmoraging (1 1/2+ quarts) since my last fillup. As I was trying to tune the ebc, some nerd pulled out in front of me and slamming on the brakes resulted in my oil pressure gauge reading at zero for one or two seconds. I checked it immediately to find out my dipstick was bone dry and it took over a quart to fill. Anyhow...suggestions on alternatives for sensor location or recommendations on 1.8s in the mid Michigan area? Lol
No symptoms of catastrophic or impending failure thus far, so business as usual until she quits, if she does.
It's unusual for sandwich plates to leak much. Maybe you should try to determine the source of the leak and fix it rather than throwing out the sandwich.
I keep forgetting to update this thread when I do stuff to my car. I lurk too much and post too little, not sure if thats bad or not. Advanti storm s1's wrapped with nitto neo gen 205/50 15s
got new wheels and tires to fit a set of sport brakes I have sitting in my garage. I have to replace the seals, clean and paint all the calipers sometime over the winter months.
I also made a switch panel out of a piece of scrap stainless for things like boost control, interior lights, launch control and such. I found the last switch literally 5 minutes after i took this photo. Probably going to make or buy a deeper cubby, I bought this one from moss and its pathetic. I had to modify it to work and it doesn't fit anything BUT my sunglasses.
also, the sandwich plate was the source of my oil woes. I think it might've wiggled itself loose somehow, but my oil level hasnt gone down since I yoinked the plate off. I'll do a better job of installing it next time I change the oil.
this is the only picture I took of the parts before I boxed it all up, but I now have a spare 1.8 longblock (all in pieces) that I scored for a damn good deal from a buddy. Came with an escort valve cover for bonus street credits. Once finances free up I'll start building it up, but seeing as I'm in the process of house hunting, a built engine is going to the back burner. I jusy couldn't pass up the price and helping a fellow miata man clear garage space.
That's all I got for now. Last event of the year is coming up and I plan on storing the car immediately after.
Last edited by WigglingWaffles; 10-10-2018 at 12:19 AM.
I'll be adding photos later, but here's what I've been up to with the little Miata that could.
Got a house. With a garage for doing car stuff.
One more gear: Someone on the facebook was selling a 6 speed that wouldn't go into reverse or 5th gear for 200$. Literally just took it apart-ish in my basement, then put it back together and it worked. My theory is that the pivot-y bolt for the 5th/R selector was rusted to the pivot. I've been driving on it for almost 500 miles and I have no issues other than some gear whine when the trans is cold, likely due to it having some spare 75w90 in it and not The Good Stuff™. Oops. Gear ratios are wack though. I like it but I want a 3.6 really bad now.
Tuning. Wired up sequential injection. I wish I would've started with it, because now I'm just fighting with all of my prior problems all over again, but I'm making progress. Turned up the boost (obviously) and have been working on drivability, reliability and efficiency for the most part.
~170whp at 10.5psi and ~155 at 8 psi. Still running my dumpster fire 2" intercooler piping and baby intercooler.
Ricer stuff: My switches do things. Boost control, interior lights, ignition, and flatshift. Oil temp sensor makes allot of noise and water temp sensor is erratically incorrect. You get what you pay for with glowshift stuff I guess, so no big loss. Installed a bro-off valve. I love and miss the flutter but for the health of the turbski I had to.
Oddball: My dad and I were removing some old shelving and cleaning up the garage and found some an old 3 speed shift **** that still looked in good shape. I adapted it to the miata shifter and I absolutely love it. Origin is believed to be a 1970 Dodge.
I still drive the car just about every day, rolled over 88,888 miles not too long ago and am rapidly approaching 90k. It has yet to puke bananas, pee on the floor or leave me stranded somewhere.
Last edited by WigglingWaffles; 05-14-2019 at 11:30 AM.
Little update because I'm done modifying it for this season.
I got sick of rolling up to cars and coffee with my wack *** intercooler piping, so my AC/PS is now a pile of rubble at the local recycling plant and all of my piping is short and sweet. Deleted my charcoal canister at the same time.
My WB gauge pooped the bed. I've had on/off issues with it showing an E9 (low voltage) and restarting, or going into a heater cycle for no reason. Until last week when it spit out an E8 and stopped working completely. Ive heard of MTX-Ls eating sensors and I decided to switch to an AEM UEGO, which i like more so far.
Replaced front bumper support with one of those bent metal bars. It looks good and fit perfect but I didn't notice a huge change in coolant temps. Worth it for the street cred.
6 speed is holding up well. Having a 4.1 rear gear with it can be annoying though. Took the bronze bushing out of my old 5 speed and it fit perfect so I think that means its a version 6 speed right?
Had an issue with my crank pulley bolt. The 21mm had backed itself out to the point that i removed it by hand. Keyway still looked good so that's that.
Goals for next season are resealing the motor, (front and rear main plus valve cover) controlling heat, longer rear end and paint/dent correction, COPs and MOTOR MOUNTS; the trans rocks pretty hard nowadays and I've missed 6th more times than should be allowed. Maybe a BP swap.
Anyways, that's all I've got for now.
Last edited by WigglingWaffles; 12-29-2019 at 03:50 PM.
I lied: I was not done modifying it this season.
Put in more hours at work and bought me some goodies.
Comp motor mounts. The audible vibration at idle oozes street cred, and shifts feel slightly nicer. Super easy install too.
GTX pcv valve. Yes, i know I should've replaced this sooner.
3.6 fuji diff. The case was pretty rusty, but seems to be cleaning up nicely and I'm going to have to swap my torsen core into it. The innards were all intact but I did not install it to test. Need to figure out a speed sensor though, mine never got sent.
Other than that, the car is sitting for winter under a car cover and moving blankets. I'll add photos when I feel like it.
Howdy folks, so I got to thinking. My garage was missing something. Another broken miata!!
Well, sorta. My el cheapo 6 speed lost reverse and protested 5th gear and i decided to approach a busted up NB that I've noticed sitting in someone's drive for some time. Offered him a rusted penny and walked away with a set of keys, hardtop to boot.
original plan was to tear it apart and transplant its innards to my NA...until I saw how nice it really was. 70k miles, uncrushed frame rails, beautiful interior and even had the dealer documentation in the glovebox. No sense in making a thread or additional information on it as my plans for it include repair and stock-miata enjoyment. Its probably scrap but I see it as a gem that just needs a little polishing..and an exhintake swap...and an ms3...okay maybe stock isnt the word.
Onforth. El cheapo gearbox is fixed.
This...Bushing? Bearing? Sleeve? on the 5/R shift fork pulled an ejecto seato mid drive. For the first time in my life, I shifted 4-6. Im not sure what happened. I think it caught reverse somehow, despite how strong my lockout spring turned out to be. Quarantining had me bored enough to crack it open instead of a 5 speed swap. I replaced nothing in the midst of this, the 6 speed lives on!
Both Miatae are looking quite respectable nowadays. The banged up NB required quite a bit of pulling, prying, tugging and cussing...the only major damage was the radiator support being bent and twisted down from rear ending something tall. New front bumper, hood, headlights and a few other miscellaneous parts and it operates like a dream. Real, working AC and power steering too!
I cant believe how long it sat in the previous owner's driveway considering that it took me a single weekend to make it 100%...This is likely the last of the NB in this thread, I'm either going to keep it stock or sell it to fund the money pit next to it. I changed every fluid, belt and filter so it's ready to go regardless.
I really, really need to learn to take more photos of the work I do, I mostly just do it.
I also stepped up to a big boy turbo. Tossed ye ole sr20 for a 2560r, currently sitting on wastegate pressure but I can already feel a huge difference in response. I can't wait to get my ebc hooked back up to make some real steam. I'm aiming for 10-12psi at first, but I'm still not even starting to stretch the legs of my 6 speed/3.6 combo yet. Cruising is incredible though, I got 29mpg on my last road trip.
I'm not entirely sure yet but I'm starting to looking towards a 1.8 swap for power dividends...so here's the question of the day. I've been seeing shipped VVT motors for super cheap but I'm on edge about it. I originally wanted a BP4W for the lower compression and ease of install but the low cost (a fraction of what local people want for a BP4W) is incredibly appealing. I don't want to do internal stuff, so I'm not sure how much I can trust an overseas motor for reliability if I go that route. So, imported VVT or BP4W?
I re-read my thread and its cringy as heck. Whatever, another update.
Again, I've done some things and neglected to take photos again. Aluminum radiator and (unpictured) not-ebay intercooler were added. However, I have seen the light........
I got one of those import motors and refreshed it. VVT swap, mild wire tuck and engine bay cleaning went super smooth. Switched a couple plugs that were in the wrong places and boom, I couldn't have been happier to hear the alternator belt squealing like a rented pig. I have a ****-ton of little bits and pieces to iron out because I'm turning into a perfectionist lately, and with a now-heated garage I have all winter for little things. As it sits, the car runs and drives like nothing happened and I'm happy with the results of the swap.
My current goal is for the car to look, sound and act like a well-sorted garage build.
I'm thinking that planning for future mods is pointless because I will ultimately change my mind, but chassis modifications are definitely on the menu next year. I've neglected them this whole time and now that speed is almost sorted out, handling is up for grabs.
How easy was it to swap the torsion core in the 3.6 fuji diff?
Not sure, didn't end up doing it. Sold my torsen and the fuji's been holding up well.
I would assume its just a matter of unbolting the ring, swapping cores and then setting backlash as the pinion would be undisturbed. I tried calling several transmission, gear and 4x4 shops in my area to do it because I didnt feel good doing it myself and they more or less told me to bug off so I gave up on the idea and ran with it.
Update time, many changes
i have a tig welder now and am putting it to work. 2.5" one-piece intercooler pipes. Way easier than i expected and seals up perfectly with new silicone and clamps. Moved IAT and boost reference to an end tank too, this was much needed and i regret not doing it sooner.
Got a turbosmart gate for a mustang that was listed to have a 7 psi spring and had absurd overboosting problems. Cracked it open to find a 10 and 7 psi spring - win. Also gave up on spray painted valve covers and got one done close to velocity red. Hiding in there is also a new 36 tooth trigger wheel and brand new oem damper.
FD seats for the street cred comfortable ride. These seats are awesome, look great in the car, and mounted up super nicely with that handy welder i was talking about. I paid a whole 100$ for the pair and i couldnt be happier with them...except that i put in cloth NB seats until i can cough up to have the foam and covers replaced.
I regretted selling the one off the NB since it drove away so i got another hardtop. A really, really rough one. I will be learning fiberglass repair and body/paint work and will refinish it eventually. No defrost and has glossy latches so it's a perfect match for an NA.
Unphotographed:
MR angled shifter, MSM front sway bar, MSM shocks & springs (stock, will get replaced soonish with a proper set on sleeves), proper steering rack depower, aluminum undertray (which looks friggin sweet but its not done yet), front bumper ducting, legit catch can and a lot of tuning and learning and tuning and learning.
Reroute plate. So, i got one and am planning to do a reroute because the engine/trans are coming out again and I want to wash/paint/tuck the engine bay all at once and hopefully solve all of my leaks permenantly. Do i / should I switch to a BP4W head gasket? If I do, are head studs worth doing "while im in there"?
09-12-2018, 06:55 PM
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