College Student Attempts Full Rebuild
 

A month ago I got home from school (thanks corona) and started screwing around with my Mazdaspeed. I have had a somewhat random and sudden power drop under load for a while now (felt like a misfire), so I did some datalogging with the Hydra to diagnose the issue... and I broke the car. A quite loud tick started after the second pull and I think I bent a rod.
Kinda sucks but now I have an excuse to do what I have wanted to do for a while: make the engine and turbo bullet proof so I can drive and occasionally track the car with confidence. As such, I am aiming for 250-275 whp around town and 225 whp on track with the rev limiter set to 7200rpm. 225 whp is right around where the car was before I broke it and will be plenty for me around the track (for now atleast).
So here's the part list:
Engine
Supertech 84mm 8.6:1 Pistons with Winesco Rings
Manley H-Beam Rods
ARP Head and Main studs
ACL Race bearings
Boundary Engineering 2 shim oil pump
Fluidamper Damper
OEM 98-00 Head Gasket
Supertech Heavy Double Spring Kit
Supertech Intake and Exhaust Valves
OEM valve stem seals
Turbo
BorgWarner EFR 6258
Kraken Cast Manifold and downpipe
Oil and water hardlines
Inconel hardware
While I am in there
LS coils
New clutch and pressure plate
Timing belt and general maintenance (new gaskets, seals, etc.)
Things I already have
Intercooler and piping (that will need rerouted)
Hydra 2.7
Walbro 255 fuel pump
550 RC injectors
QMax Coolant Reroute
A big aluminum radiator
FM 2.5" exhaust
Things I could be convinced to get/do
MS3PnP
Port the head
Larger fuel injectors

As a mechanical engineer in training who wants to someday work in motorsports, this should make a good learning experience and I hope to have some fun in the process. The goal of this thread is to document that process and consult the great collective wisdom of this forum. So, if you have concerns about any of my methods, ideas, or decisions, please let me know below. Thanks for reading :party:

First things first: pull the engine. Labeling stuff was tedious but very necessary as I am not the one who messed with the wiring when the Big Enchilada was installed years ago. The lift made things easy and she was out in no time.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3160fc6527.jpghttps://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a6728b21af.jpg
Tranny came off next and the clutch actually looks pretty good to my untrained eyes. I am inclined to replace it while I have it apart but I could be convinced not to.

First person to correctly guess what the other engine is in the background gets a pos cat.

390fe?

Get the ms3

Skip the port

Definitely throw those injectors away and get some flow force.

edit: skip valves too unless they are leaking.

Headwork is expensive and not worth it for your goals.

Nice list of part$$$$$$. but holy overkill batman.

I would not touch the head, unless theres something wrong with it.
Not worth it for a ~300hp build.

im running a 6258 on kraken hardware, on 94 block/stock 94 pistons with a 200k mile untouched vvt head, making 250hp on medium wastegate spring pressure (9-11psi) track mode and 309hp at 17psi street kill mode.
done autox, track, drag without issues.

like said above, look into Flowforce 640cc injectors, they are good for about 320hp pump gas. or get 960cc for more head room or e85.

nb2 coils are fine for ~300hp, not a must to have ls coils.

Close enough. 428 CJ
Noted. I may move the money I budgeted for the head to the MS3. My concern would be that swapping ecus would result in wiring issues but if they are both PnP I guess there would be no problems. I'll have to do some more research first.
Flowforce 640s definitely in the budget now.

Carnage pics for your viewing pleasure. The ticking noise was piston number 3 contacting the crank at the bottom of the stroke. Some of the oil squirters were bent as well. I think what was causing the stuttering before the car broke fully was the ecu detecting knock from the pistons just barely contacting either the oil squirters or the crank and then moving to an emergency fuel and timing map until the knock receded.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...469092eec7.jpg
Crank and cylinder walls look good. The big end bearing journal pictured had the worst mark but it is smooth to the touch. My only concern is damage done to the crank from it hitting the piston skirt.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...31124b5088.jpghttps://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1b4cd6bbc9.jpg

Was there significant damage to the skirt of the piston? Are there marks on the crank?
The crank is forged steel, while the piston is cast aluminum. IMO if you have incidental contact then you are fine. Can u post better pictures showing the damage?

This

There are no visible marks on the piston skirts but they could be slightly bent and I would not be able to tell. Could that be a mark on the crank? That would be the point of contact as the number three rod was the most bent. Going to the machinist tomorrow so we'll see what he says but seems to me that it is ok. There were a few small shards of something stuck in the oil pick up tube screen but no metal in the oil otherwise.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...275de1f2c7.jpg

Counterweights are of no consequence. Crank should be fine. Buy forged rods and pistons and go forward.

A quick update. I took the block to a machine shop a friend recommended and only to find out a week later that he doesn't have small enough tooling to align hone/bore a BP4W or to bore the cylinders. :facepalm:Wish he told me he would not be able to do when I said it was a 1.8L.
I also need to source a new EFR 6258 so if anyone has any suggestions on the best place to do that let me know. Cheapest I found was at turbokits.com.

Try here:
TCS

BorgWarner part # listing
datasheet

(I presume you're looking for a supercore)

You linked to a super core, he needs the whole turbo. T25 .64

Ok did a bit more digging and TCS has the whole turbo here for $1325.41. Probably going to go with that because I just read some good reviews. Thanks guys.

So the machine shop mic'd the cylinders and they are nearly dead straight and wouldn't require more than a light hone. Machinist said it would be a bit of a shame to go 0.020" for the Supertech pistons and I kind of agree with him. CP 9:1 is the only off the shelf billet or forged aftermarket piston I could find in the stock bore with a reasonable CR but they are 2618 alloy which I would really rather avoid. I should probably just go with the Supertechs but man am I torn.

Stock pistons will work fine for the power goals you have listed. If you are really holding yourself to those goals, and your stock pistons are in good shape, then why change?

Trying to fit new pistons into old bores is usually an exercise in futility.
Forged pistons always require larger bores than cast so the bores will have to be increased .001-.004"
Sometimes this can be accomplished by honing alone but this is not as accurate as boring and then honing.
Only time I re-use the original bore I am also reusing the original pistons and I keep them in their respective bores.
The 2618 alloy requires looser clearances and thus a bigger bore.
I would go Supertech in the first oversize or (if I was cheap shitting it) reuse the original pistons. The original pistons should work ok to 300HP and maybe more.
The original pistons will NOT have oil consumption issues if the honing and ring fitting is done correctly.
I've also never seen a used bore that I was completely happy with. They almost always have some "out of round" or taper issues that I can seen on the bore gauge.
Most of the time they work ok but if I'm being serious (and you are) boring is the way to go in my book.

Your original parts list is way overkill unless your shooting for 400+
Folks here have achieved 400+hp on stock heads.
One thing you original list is missing is a intake manifold change.
Go with a flat top or 99-00 VICS.
The stock MSM manifold sucks...

6758 is 100$ cheaper there

Stock MSM CR is 9.5:1 so mainly detonation concerns in case anything were to go wrong. Of course, I could get cast 9:1 but why spend the money on new cast when I could just go forged and not have to worry about it as much. I'm just going to bite the bullet and bore for the 83.5mm Supertechs. No sense in messing with a proven formula. It does suck and I will eventually go with the flat top. Might buy it from PrestigeSparesUK if one doesn't pop up stateside. A little to big for what I want to do I think. Also, the reason I chose the 6258 was for the fastest spool around.

I’ve been having that dilemma. Figured car passion channel made good power with 62. I have a similar setup to you and am in pa. Good luck with everything!

Update:
Head is close to finished and I made sure my machinist understood that valve seat widths must be 0.060". He expressed concerns about grinding the tip of the valves to set the lash but I assured him it wasn't an issue. I wish Supertech would just make them in the OEM length.
The block is taking forever but at the very least I now have most of the parts I need including a shiny new EFR 6258. My goal is a running car by the end of June but we will see what happens.

I would urge you not to use supertech valves.

I had the same concerns about ST nitride valves so I went with inconel on both intake and exhaust.
Jmann has had good results with the inconel intakes and he runs his car way harder than I probably ever will run mine.

I reached out to Rev for an MS3 Basic (PM and email) and I haven't heard back. I understand everyone is busy so it's no big deal but I'd really like to get an MS Labs unit and not have to mess around with DIY. Should I send him more spam or just be patient and let him get back to me?

Why not use DIY? I ordered an ms3pnppro and it shipped fast and I used base map from trubokitty. Just saying if he doesn't get back to you

Reach out to him via facebook. Always responsive. Even if it takes a day or two.
dimitris stasinopoulos

OK thanks for the help everyone. I got a hold of Rev and my ECU is ordered.
I also got the head back to day and I will need to order shims for the intake side as the lash is 0.016" at its highest and 0.012" at its lowest. Exhaust is perfect at 0.013. I am going to aim for 0.009-0.010 on the intake because I expect the lash to decrease by a one or two thou in the first few hundred miles as the head settles. I called a few Mazda dealerships and unfortunately they do not have such a wide variety of shims as they did in the past so the lash won't be perfect but it will be within spec.

I got the block back, cleaned it, hit it with a coat of paint, and threw the crank in. All the main bearing clearances check out at 0.0016-0.0019 so that is good.

Unfortunately, I made my first mistake when filing the Wiseco rings. On the first set, two of the damn feeler gauges were stuck together and I didn't notice until I had already taken too much off the second ring. My goal was 0.018 for the top and 0.020 for the second but the one I screwed up got to 0.029 before I realized.

So, if anyone out there happens to have a spare Wiseco 8350XX second ring lying around their garage, please let me know.

Did the exact same deal the other day when setting valve lash smh

I know you can order a single lower and upper rings from a few places. Not sure where is the cheapest but I saw them for $25 when I was looking at parts. The off chance that someone has one laying around would be great too

Ok got a new ring set from Summit (living near their Ohio store is pretty nice) and now the bottom end is together and the head is on as well as most of the other bits and pieces. Just waiting on my Kraken low mount manifold which should be coming this week. Getting excited now.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e57f3c2fcb.jpg
Ft. Zima from 2018

Turbo is on and it looks very spicy. Flow force injectors are installed as well as the squaretop. Only thing left to do is route the turbo water and oil lines. I want to keep my lines short so the oil feed is -4 AN coming off the MSM oil port on the side of the block and the oil return is two 5/8" flanges, one for the turbo and one for the MSM oil pan utilizing the stock drain hole and M8 bolt pattern. Feed line is less than 10" and the oil drain is less than 6".

For the water lines with a Qmax reroute, I was thinking about feeding the turbo from the heater core and returning to the Hawley water pump inlet which would reduce the number of lines. I am retaining PS and AC and going low mount so this would help with packaging in a really cramped area.
Here's a diagram:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3ef34b8af3.png


Let me know what you guys think or if you see any problem with this. The only thing I can thing of is that there will be less water flow through the block while the thermostat is closed (due to the restriction on the heater core path) and I could see this potentially causing hot spots. One advantage is slightly more water to the radiator which would help cooling on track.

That much of a restriction, might as well consider the heater core blocked off - which isn't good.

It comes out to a 40% restriction so you are right that may be too much.

Another update sans pictures. The engine is back in the car and everything is hooked up with the exception of hot side inter cooler piping and the GM IAT. There was a moment of crisis yesterday when I could not get oil pressure after multiple attempts at cranking without the spark plugs out. Sucking on the turbo oil feed with a shop vac is actually really effective and I eventually got pressure which was such a relief. From just cranking at 300 rpm it was up to 20 psi. Nice

I then went to start it just to hear it run for a sec and got nothing. Output test mode verifies that injectors and coils are working and I triple checked the cam timing (19 teeth at TDC and with both cam gear marks completely vertical). So if I have spark and fuel and the cams are right it must be some sort sync issue where the ecu is getting incorrect timing. Perhaps the crank sensor gap?

Datalog of cranking

I would send it but the sensor gap is exactly what the problem was. With the correct air gap, car starts with 65 psi of oil pressure. The next problem is that the AEM X-Series EUGO 30-0300 is stuck on HEAT and will not display a reading on the gauge or to MS. Every so often it cycles and starts the heating process again. Anyone ever have this problem?
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9646c6b3a6.jpg

So far, I have tried switching it to the cigarette lighter 12V source and made sure it was well grounded to the engine. No dice. I am afraid it might be DOA.

The sensor was DOA but I got another one via Amazon for $32. Gauge itself is fine which is good because that's the expensive bit. Car starts but still cuts off once the extra cranking fuel runs out. When I get a chance, I need to check if the injector settings are correct.

So the car was dying for two reasons. There was a massive vacuum leak because I put the throttle body gasket on backwards and Megasquirt was going into closed loop idle. Both fixed and she runs and sounds quite smooth.

30 mile initial break in is completed despite an oil line leaking halfway through and scaring the shit out of me. Luckily I never lost oil pressure. First two oil changes were a bit shimmery which is to be somewhat expected. My hope is that by the third change the contamination will have mostly subsisted.

Speaking of oil pressure I am getting 8-10 psi hot idle with 5w-30 on a BE pump with two shims reading with an autometer gauge. Seems a bit low to me especially because pre-rebuild was more like 15 psi hot idle with 10w-30. I did read a 2017 thread where a few people were experiencing similar oil pressure under similar conditions so maybe I am just being paranoid. Either way I think a heavier weight like 10W-40 is in my future.

Another 60 miles in the books. S/O to Rev for a great basemap that has needed very little idle tweaking and just in general works well. Car is running a bit rich but that is fine by me at the moment. I did a little bit of VEAL tuning and that seemed to help a bit. Only concern is still the hot idle oil pressure which is less than 10psi at an 800rpm idle with oil temp at 185F (assuming the autometer oil pressure gauge can be trusted). Cold startup is 55psi and cruise is about 37psi for reference. Before I go for another break in drive, I am going to throw in 10W-40 with that hope that is raises the idle to at least over 10psi.

For anyone that is on the fence about an EFR, it is so worth it. The car has power everywhere and pulls so hard even on just 7psi of wastegate pressure. There's essentially no waiting for spool and the brakes now feel very inadequate relative to the acceleration.

I've also read through the various crankcase ventilation threads and have decided to block off my PCV valve and just VTA on the exhaust side. The risk of detonation from sucking blow-by into the intake just is not worth the emissions hassle.

I’ve not run with 10w-30 but I see close to 15 psi hot idle on setup that has oil cooler, remote oil filter and squirters using 5w-40. IIRC it was 5-10 psi higher on previous build that had plugged squirters. The ECU “alarms” were driving me crazy so I dropped them down to 15 and only rarely does it flash at me. 8-10 psi would make me squirm a little bit too and I’ll let the experts comment on that.

I'd be interested to see packaging with the low mount, EFR and AC/PS retained. Awesome build.

Subbed to this build as it’s almost identical to the build I’m doing. MOAR PICS PLZ, THX! 🙂