Don't be fooled. It's all held together with zap straps and chewing gum :giggle:

I haven't thought too much about that. I'm just going to run wastegate pressure for a while (7-8psi) until I get bored with that. Do I need a PCV and catch can at that level?

I've still got some tuning and fiddling to do, but the broad strokes are there. This thing is seriously quick. On wastegate only, I'm getting a solid 10 psi and no creep.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1452058098


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1452058098

Looking good. What rpm are you hitting 10psi at?

4400 :bigtu:

See in my log where I get a spike of lean when I lay down the throttle. Is that normal?

Yes. Think about it. You open the throttle. Suddenly there is a shit ton more air.

It is tuned out using accel enrichment.

EBC should be next. Make sure you are on the 1.4.0 firmware for your MS3X. You should be able to get it to spool a good bit better, or somehow Carlos has a badass motor that is better then everyone else's.

I'd be really curious to see an EBC plot as well. 4400 seems a little slow for what it could be. Are you controlling VVT?

For any boost, I say yes to both.

If you're using the original pcv, :dunno: who knows until you've tested it 'if' it's holding that 7-8psi back and keeping it out of your crankcase. I had horrible oil consumption issues and a new FM pcv stopped the majority of it, car ran heaps better.

As for the catch can, I'd just keep it simple. I believe deezums maybe used a clear catch can that can hold gobs amount of psi?

Looks sorta like dis...
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1452096683

You would be eliminating any chance of oil vapors going back into the intake, mixing with your fuel and skewing your AFR :bigtu:

Efficiency! :fael: And it'd be neat to see what vapor soup your motor is venting.

That would be the deezums catch can.

I'm running a pretty conservative timing map, which might have something to do with it.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1452097455

Girz0r - Thanks for the suggestions. I'll get that going :)

Is there a reason why every post of yours in this thread is all effed up?
The deezums Catch Can - Miata Turbo Forum -Boost cars, acquire cats.
Makes it super hard to follow.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1452099194

Nope, all stock internals with a small bit of mechanical empathy. :party::party:
The EBC makes it spool much faster

Nigel, the lean spike means you need to increase your acceleration enrichment, I am happy to help. Still playing with mine though.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1452141719


This was with a passenger and I have been playing the timing a bit around the spool area. I can reliably spool in 4th between 3000 and 3200. When I first installed my EBC the hose popped off and I swear it spooled by 2800 and hit overboost. Not sure if I have a log because my hard drive died a while back, I will look.

Yeah. All my posts in that time frame are fucked up. IB fucked their shit up with the new editor. I need to post another complaint.

Sonofthehill. Set EBC to open loop and duty cycle to 100% see how fast it spools. The lower until spool slows down, thats your max duty cycle.

I am pretty sure the max duty cycle of my solenoid is 82% but I will play with open loop a bit. Now that I am no longer scared of overboost, took me a while to realize I wasn't breaking stuff. I was hoping to not use open loop anymore.

I love boost.








That is all.

Glad you are enjoying it.

Update time!

I added a new PCV valve and a Deezums-style oil catch can. Sweet.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1453597231

Also, while the MK kit does a great job at keeping the whole exhaust nice and high so the 3 inch fits all the way back without rubbing, the flex pipe on the DP is right at the front of the NB2 front cross brace. Looks like the section at the back of the brace is flattened and bent lower, so I'm going to try beating it with a BFH and I'll see if I can bend it down a bit to make room. Otherwise, I'll either just run without it or cut that section out.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1453597231


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1453597231

That's all for now. Driving down to LA on Monday (~800 miles round trip) so It will be a good test of reliability...

Sorry about that. That is one thing I did not test the fitting for since I don't have that brace. Hopefully the hammer works well. I wonder if I can make that brace fit on my 99 to use for test fitting.

Not a big deal. I think the only way you could make it fit the unmodified brace would be to move the flex pipe like 6 inches forward. I'll make it work and when I do I'll give clear instructions for others.

I finally think I've found a solution to fitting myself into this little car. I'm installing a Kirkey Pro Drag seat, bolted to the floor with the rear humps removed.

Hump removal was easy with a $5 spot weld removal bit from harbor freight.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454866658


I accidentally went through in one spot

I'll bolt these suckers back in place if I want to run my stock seat again. Either that, or I'll work up some other solution.

Next up was to mount the front side. I found that the most comfortable seating position was to have the front edge of the seat about 2 inches off the front hump. I used some thick steel bar stock to make mounts that attach to the stock locations. I bolted them into the seat in a spot that won't cause me any discomfort when I run on the track without padding.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454866658


Used a make-shift plumb bob to get the seat centered.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454866658


I beat the transmission tunnel senseless. This is about half way. I really wanted to be perfectly centered to the wheel, which means the seat need to be pretty far to the middle of the car.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454866658


steel tabs.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454866658


I had to heat them up super hot with a blowtorch in order to bend them, so I think they will be strong enough.

I'm working on the seatbelt install now. I'm going to use the same bar stock, bent 90 degrees, to tie a seatbelt mounting point into the floor and transmission tunnel, and use an NA seatbelt receiver.

Nice work and congratulations on solving the roll bar height! Guess you're not gonna sell it now.

Too lazy to go back and find it but I'm laying claim to the bolt in rear hump idea.

100%

I meant to give you credit but posted this in a hurry

Got the seat installed last night. I'll post photos soon, but the short version is that it is awesome. It is surprisingly comfortable, and easy to get in and out of. Because it sits me so much lower in the car, I feel like my head is where a normal Japanese person's head would be, so everything is better. I was also able to route the seatbelt through the waist belt harness holes, and my head is below the point of hitting the roll bar, so it should be as safe as stock. :party:

Nobody believes me when I say this

LIES

I should qualify by saying that the Sparco Sprint V I had in before was a PITA got get in and out of, and the Kirkey Pro Drag is surprisingly easy to get in and out of for a racing seat. I still need a little practice to do it with any semblance of grace, but it's seriously not bad.

ILUVALRACESEATS.

Don't forget to brace the back.

SADFab has your back. (we're working on a back brace)

The back of the seat is less than a fist width from the back of the car, and the headrest part is touching the roll bar. Not sure how far it can go...

Also, Aidan, you get a poscat for the awesomeness of sadfab.

Doesn't matter. If it's not constrained to the rollbar (which still isn't the best attachment location), the center of the seat will still likely buckle backwards and hit the rear of the car. Even though it's close, any impact is going to be much worse than a still seat.

On a side note, did you get you lower bracing banged with a hammer yet? Curious as to what it took to get the flex pipe to not hit.

I bought myself a harbor freight sledge and wailed on it for a while. Not even a dent. Made lots of noise though.

I'm thinking I could use some big ass flat steel and bolt it on, then cut away the top section. I'll lose some structural rigidity since that center tube is super strong, but it should be better than nothing. I'd weld it but I don't have a welder... yet

How much is it hitting. Could you put a few washers in between the body and the frame on the bolts. To space the frame down slightly?

It's in direct contact, so I need to make enough space so that it doesn't hit when driving over bumps or hard turns. Spacing it down a bit could buy a bit of extra space, so maybe I could just cut away some material and then space it down 1/4 inch or so.

SADFab inspiration:

Seat Base: https://www.miataturbo.net/build-thr...6/#post1125642

Seatback Brace: https://www.miataturbo.net/build-thr...9/#post1130499

Don't even think of going on track with an unbraced AL seat. If you do, I'll come over and break your back myself.

Gracias.

Are those exhaust clamps? I would switch to axle u-bolts.

Holy jebus that's fine work. I'm just trying to slap this thing together so I can fit in my car and not die.

Aidan's got you covered! And, yes, to not die is the objective.

I am happy to weld that brace for you but we can't cut the thing here.

Here is the seat installed:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1455039220

The seatbelt receiver is from a 1.6 and I removed the plastic and metal stiffening pieces. I'll use a bit of bungee to hold it loosely out of the way so I can just sit down without having to hold it up. When I'm buckled in, the receiver is just above the edge of the seat so it is both comfortable, and functions as it should.

For the back brace, there isn't much space back there (see the key fob is being held in place). Also note that my roll bar type doesn't have an easily accessible horizontal bar. It's under the parcel shelf. What if I made two smaller back braces - one from each vertical bar - that attach just below the harness hole on each side. And/or maybe a piece of square tubing just wide enough to fit in the back so it makes contact with the horizontal part of the roll bar (but isn't bolted to the roll bar). Thoughts?


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1455039220


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1455039220

I like the square tube there idea. Maybe 2 or 3 1.5x3" lengths run down there to take up the gap.

3 hours driving in the car today in surprising comfort. My limbs seem to rest where they were originally intended.

Another question - what should I do about a head rest? The kirkey is designed to support a helmeted head in a crash, but without a helmet there is a big gap. It's likely to be very painful in a rear ender. Does anyone know of a good solution with a removable headrest? I'm looking for something designed for crash safety not comfort.

I am picking up a 02 parts car so now for future NB2 cars I can design the DP around that stupid brace.

:party:

I made chipped away at a couple little projects today.

I finally got around to relocating the washer bottle. I used a kit from Amazon that turned out to be surprisingly decent, and I slapped together a little aluminum bracket to hold it in place.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1455692944

I'm not sure what clogged the nozzles up, but I had to poke them clear with a staple, and now they squirt in straight lines like a super-soaker. I'd prefer a gentle mist, but whatever, I didn't miss not having washer fluid for like 6 weeks.

I also made myself a little headrest for street driving so I don't concuss myself in a low speed rear ender. I just splayed open some roll bar padding, cut it up a bit to make it headrest-shaped, and zap strapped it in place. Surprisingly comfortable! I'll remove it for the track.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1455692944

Did some more stuff...

Installed an EBC. I got everything done except for running the wire from the MS3 to the engine bay to connect it all up. Really looking forward to turning up the boooooooost!!!

I also went ahead and bought a built short block from Silentorio34 - CP pistons (PO said 8.5:1, but I can't find anything other than 9:1 anywhere... like it matters for my application), Manley Rods, ARP hardware... should allow me to test the limit of the MK setup. I'm trying to snag a cheap VVT head so I can put the new engine together at my leasure and then either swap it over when I have time.

I think all I need to get now is an oil pump and some head studs :party:
It will be a few months before I install it, so I can enjoy each additional psi as I turn up the boost until I'm really craving the extra power.

Any ideas on how/where to run my ebc wire before I just drill another hole in the firewall? Thinking I could drill slightly larger than the wire, get it lined up nicely, and then wrap it with layers of shrink tape and jam that into the hole so it stays put and blocks sound and stuff.

My other options are the hole than I drilled for the vac line, but I tried that already and it would need enlarging, or where the rest of the wiring goes through... The second options is probably the most factory looking approach, but its bound in there pretty tight.

Ideas?

You have the EBC on the driver side of the engine bay correct? Cut a tiny hole in the rubber boot that that stock wiring harness goes through. Run the wire through that.

I've got it on the passenger side, but that will work all the same. I'll give that a whirl.

That's what I did.

Worked like a charm. Thanks!

Had some issues with getting hesitation under boost. Sonofthehill helped me pin it down to spark plugs. I went with BKR7E that everyone seems to run around here, gapped to .030, and I did the wires while I was at it.

Pulling out the old plugs was very telling. The two plugs under the coil packs (2 and 4) were finger tight, and showed signs of blow by. The other two (1 and 3) seemed to have lost the pins on the central electrode, making for an effective gap of .080. To be honest, I'm surprised my car even ran.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1458537952

Much better now. I hit overboost the first time I put my foot down. I've got it dialed up to 11 now.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1458537952

Glad I could help.
:fael:

So a new house (and associated wannabe handyman projects) plus a 2-year-old have kept me from moving this project forward with much speed. However, I'm almost ready to kick off the built motor swap. Ultimate plan here is to find the limit of my Flow Force injectors, which I'm hoping will be in the 300whp territory. 95% street toy, occasional HPDE. Probably do a 7500rpm rev limit. Looking for a sanity check here and see if I've forgotten anything:

Built bottom end, bought unused from a member - reportedly JE pistons 9:1, Eagle rods, possibly ACL bearings. Block decked and honed and everything assembled.
Head, bought unused from a member - reportedly new OEM valves and lifters, supertech single springs. A half-assed port.
APR head bolts, new.

My plan is to have a shop check the clearances on the bottom end, and tell me what's actually in there while they are at it. I'll also have them plane the head. Any good recommendations for a shop to do this work anywhere between Palo Alto and Monterey?
Once that's done, I'm going to put it together, and then once I'm ready to pull the engine from my car, swap over the intake and fueling bits and the oil pan. I'm also considering re-using my oil pump. I know there is much debate here about that, but I'd love to avoid paying the $400 for a BE pump. Especially considering everything else for this build cost me like $1200. Thoughts?
Finally, what am I missing that I'll smack my forehead when I'm halfway through? Probably timing belt and stuff...

TSE Inconel studs need to be purchased if you want to get it on track. I would buy the BE pump to be on the safe side.

Or try the newly suggested Peterson external oil pressure valve. Supposedly saves pumps too. I'm curious to see someone on this side of the world try it and document it.

you bought the head from that omar n00b?

oh boy

add "get it inspected by someone who knows what they're doing, and if at all possible, save the head by re-doing the porting on it"

Basically. I paid less than it would have cost to buy the springs, assuming they are in fact supertech.

I would never in a million years consider reusing an oil pump. BTDT.

Fine.