beelzeboss

Hi,

my MX-5 is a 1993 with A/C and P/S, done 215,000 km's. It's currently stock apart from an NB8A front brake upgrade which I did last week.

I've been thinking of doing something to get a bit more power for a while now. I was initially against turbo, having owned an R33 Skyline GTS-T which had pretty bad lag and a very high boost threshold, and I was going to go supercharged. I then drove a mates WRX and it was completely different, much better to drive. So I decided to give turbo another go. If I don't like it I should be able to sell the whole turbo setup for more than what it cost me.

I had a TD04L from a 2008 Subaru WRX leftover from a previous project so I knocked up a simple log manifold yesterday (completely DIY, including the head and turbo flanges). Here's the current progress:





I'm not aiming for any spectacular power, I think I'll be happy with whatever the stock wastegate pressure gives me (7 psi at the turbo, maybe 5.5 at the manifold?)
I also have an Adaptronic E420C ECU, Innovate LC-1 and an intercooler ready to go in once I have the exhaust side finished.
Currently have about $1300 total in the project.

Cheers,
Andrew

hustler

iTrader: (6)

lol @ screen name

beelzeboss

Big update. I finished the wiring for the adaptronic and LC-1. I put the gauge in the air vent, but the boost gauge I have is slightly too big to fit :( I also bought some 550cc RX-7 injectors. Unfortunately they turned out not to be the plug'n'play ones but the Adaptronic can control them anyway.





Then I had to put the turbo oil return in the sump. I didn't have the tap required and I really don't like the idea of tapping the oil pan while it's on the car, so off with the sump.



I made a steel fitting which is threaded to go on the inside of the sump.





My turbo oil line arrived a few weeks ago, I finally got to install it



I had this intercooler which I bought for another on-going project, but it fit so perfectly in the MX-5 that it's staying. I haven't done the bottom mounts yet, I think I'll attach it to where the tow hooks are.
Slightly overkill for the power I'm chasing





I installed my yellow speed racing dynamic pro sport coilovers





I managed to break a few studs in the exhaust near the catalytic convertor, so today I started making a full 2.5" stainless exhaust.

Here's the free muffler I picked up from the scrap bin of the local exhaust place. It's a "Max Racing" brand which looks to be a pretty good JDM brand (http://www.maxracing.co.jp/)



2.5" 316 stainless tubing for the exhaust.



^There's also some 2" stainless I bought from a scrap metal yard to do the intercooler piping (I'm not good at welding aluminium). I bought a 200 cpsi metal substrate catalytic convertor on ebay. Who knows how well it filters the gasses, I'll be running E85 for the emissions testing.



So today I spent all day cutting, adjusting, and tacking together my new stainless exhaust. I was having trouble getting the muffler at a decent angle out the standard exhaust location, and then it hit me. Center exit exhaust! First I had to cut the bumper, after using a laser and careful measuring to find the centre of the car.



And here's the (almost) finished product.







Lobster back bends much cheaper than mandrel bends and good welding practice. They don't flow that much worse than mandrels and are certainly better than crush bent pipe.



New exhaust vs stupidly modified stock exhaust







Let me know what you think. Next up is to make the downpipe as soon as a few parts arrive, then intercooler piping and finally TEST DRIVE!

I just worked out the total cost of this 2.5" turbo back exhaust It's less than $250. Not bad for a 316 stainless system, I thought

localtech

iTrader: (4)

Good job man. I like the exhaust. Just dont like the can too much.

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

Looks good.

Pssssst!! Did you know that everything is backwards on your car?

I predict that when you car is excavated by archeologists in 5027, your oil return bung will still be intact and leak-free.

BTW, I'm using a combination MAP/AFR gauge on my car. Details in my build thread. It's all digital, but works great and saves space.

beelzeboss

Thread revival of the century.

I KL swapped my MX-5 which was awesome, but then it was defected by the fun police so I bought a cheapo BP to go in temporarily, and have once again decided to DIY a turbo setup for it.

Currently have the TF035 (from a forester GT, slightly smaller than a WRX TD04) turbo mounted on a basic log manifold and plumbed up, I just need to do the intercooler mounts and piping and it will be boosted. The car is running a haltech elite 550.

I'll try to put up some pics tonight, not much of a build thread without pics.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

I was about to Haze a noob for necroposting, but this is actually really cool

beelzeboss

Apologies for the phone pics but they're the best I have at the moment.







Little offset intercooler next to the single pusher fan



The setup is currently working, though I still have a way to go before I can call it finished. It's running 30kpa wastegate pressure at the moment with the stock injectors which is actually pretty fun on this tiny turbo. It reaches full boost by around 2200 rpm and takes about 0.5s between mashing the throttle anywhere above that to getting full boost.

However I've found this turbo has heaps of shaft play (it was $50) so I've sourced a TD04 from a WRX (for $80 lol) to replace it. The TD04 will be pretty close to a bolt-in replacement.

Next up is to install some 550cc rx7 injectors I have lying around, install the IAT sensor and, when it arrives, I'll install the MAC valve I've ordered for boost control and wire it up to the Haltech.

Final goal is to run 15 psi or close to, though not sure what sort of power that would be on a WRX TD04, hopefully at least 150 rwkw (200 rwhp)

18psi

iTrader: (76)

beelzeboss

Not fast yet but it is lots of fun, and makes many turbo noises :P

I'm based in Bathurst, Australia, and the video is taken driving the wrong way around the Mt Panorama racing circuit which is a public road for most of the year.

Verwah

I thought I recognized that scene! lol. So cool that you get to drive that circuit, or most of it, whenever you like. Also, tiny turbo mx-5 ftw. Sounds like fun.

beelzeboss

Thanks man! And the whole circuit is open unless there's an event on, though it has a 60 kph speed limit and the cops LOVE to catch people speeding around.

Current update on the car - I made an intake yesterday, making a heat shield tonight, picking up a good condition (apparently) TD04 on Friday night, fitting it on Saturday night and going on an MX5 drive day on Sunday, should be fun!
Then next week I'll be fitting 550cc injectors, making the rest of the 3" exhaust, fitting the intake air temp sensor, and then it's just a matter of waiting until my MAC valve arrives to turn up the booooost. I think I'll start with 10 psi (the base map from Haltech is tuned to 15 psi) and go from there.

beelzeboss

So I've been running the TF035 for a while and it's been making weird noises, and one day it belched a HUGE amount of smoke out the exhaust. I picked up a TD-04 to replace it, but it had to be modded the same way the TF-035 was. First - disassembly


IMG_20170923_172217 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Then you have to grind this tit off


IMG_20170923_172224 by jones_fli, on Flickr

It fits into the centre housing here


IMG_20170923_172231 by jones_fli, on Flickr

A quick buzz with the angle grinder and it's not a problem anymore


IMG_20170923_172525 by jones_fli, on Flickr

On the TD-04 there was a similar piece on the exhaust side but I didn't get a picture of it. There wasn't one on the TF-035

Then I had to pad weld the outlet of the compressor so a 2" silicone coupler would seal on it.


IMG_20170923_183142 by jones_fli, on Flickr

My TIG gas bottle read empty when I started but there was *just* enough left to do this (sort of). My gas lens cup also broke half way through and I didn't have a spare, so I had to change over to a standard type which uses heaps more gas. There was a lot of nail biting hoping that I'd have enough to finish the piece haha!

Once it's pad welded I buzzed it with a flap disc to make it roughly round again


IMG_20170923_183759 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Next step is to clock the two together, here's a rough assembly of what we want


IMG_20170923_184119 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Put the centre housing into the compressor housing and mess with this freaking GIANT snap ring for half an hour


IMG_20170923_184946 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Then hammer the exhaust side on and you have something like this:


IMG_20170923_190232 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Luckily for me the exhaust and compressor housings end up basically in the same alignment, with only the centre housing rotated, so I was able to use the stock wastegate mounts and just slightly bend the actuator rod


IMG_20170923_193734 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Reinstall


IMG_20170923_202752 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Heat shield and intake on and we're done!


IMG_20170923_162351 by jones_fli, on Flickr

I also went to change the injectors and found one of the bolts was just siliconed in


IMG_20170924_145142 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Ohh dear


IMG_20170924_130651 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Anyway! Got the injectors out and tried to fit the RX-7 550cc's I'd bought for the project the first time I tried to go turbo


IMG_20170924_130629 by jones_fli, on Flickr

Unfortunately the nose on the injectors was too big to fit into the intake manifold so they wouldn't fit.

Luckily I had some Supra 440cc low impedance injectors which were a direct swap. Got it all back together and also plumbed in my $17 MAC valve for future boost control


IMG_20170924_145136 by jones_fli, on Flickr

I've found that the new turbo sounds and works really well, it has a 7 psi spring in the wastegate rather than the 4.5 in the TF-035 so it's significantly faster, but if you push it hard for a while the sound changes from the standard whoosh turbo whistle to more of a SCREEEEE sound (best I can describe it haha). I believe the turbo is getting too hot without the water cooling connected (so much for the internet saying "she'll be right!"). If I drive gently for a couple of minutes and then get on it the sound is back to normal.

So, turbo coolant lines on tonight and - hopefully - wiring up the boost controller for maximum skids.