Car should run very strong and consistent, and is very overbuilt to run a million years and abuse at that power level.

Would really be the perfect DD Miata IMO.

 

Can you post a link to the full size of this image? I want to put it as a desktop or backdrop photo somewhere. I just love the movement, the perfect reflection adding mystery to who is driving, the slight blur of the wheels while still showing their shape and detail... I just love this photo.

 

Kinda surprised it didn't put out more, considering built engine and that much boost. Is it on stock exhaust?

 

Do we have a KO-ER dyno comparison? We need someone to dyno at KO, Pre, and ER and see what they all read.

 

KO reads slightly lower. But I have a dyno graph comparing Laz and this MSM, both at KO. Should have made it STD correction, but it's uncorrected.

The differences are pretty small. This MSM has a FM downpipe and FM exhaust, but the DP has a cat. Like I said I pushed Laz harder for sure, I think his max boost was close to 16psi. He's also a close friend and a 30 minute drive away. I think being within 15hp and 6ft/lbs of Laz is damn impressive considering the compromises in this car's setup, because OBDII swapability.

Here's the high/low boost plot:



And the final piece of the puzzle, redline's shift boot finally showed up, 4 hours before delivery to Mike.

 

Those numbers sound right to me with the stock turbo and FM exhaust things. Bet it drives REALLY nice, and should be super reliable! Awesome job!

 

right after I drove it and gave it my seal of approval. Enjoy the car Mike.

 

I guess it's not surprising that we haven't heard from Mike since Friday morning...

 

I just saw this. I have installed both a HD and BBFW bar. I ran into alignment issues with both bars with backing plates being too tight to the frame and needing to be shaved down to meet the holes drilled for an upper rear footing.

Moti, I talked with you on the phone at length prior to installing the bar about aligning the bar very carefully before drilling and read the directions. The issue I see is that the tolerances are so tight that if anything is off by even a hair, modifications to something will be needed. That means either the installer's alignment of the bar, the straightness of the car or the straightens of the bar. Given that any or all three of those things can be off at one time, someone should not blame any other thing.


Nice work, Curly! Car looks great. It was fun to see it nearly done. Tune numbers look awesome! I can only hope.

 

While the owner is off enjoying his car, I finally received the dyno run files so I can post a proper picture. Here is high boost and low boost settings, available to Mike with a flip of a switch. I'm not sure it'll be in the down position very often. I also applied a standard correction factor, and eureka! 5 extra hp and ft/lbs. It also brought the torque above 230 which I am very happy about.

 

Car looks fantastic. When my MSM needs rods and a bearing refresh, I will definitely place it in your hands.

 

Thank you good sir, I'm glad you enjoyed the build! Let me know when you're ready for your own CSTG build!

 

Sad update to this thread. The owner actually told me he had lung cancer before the car even came to me. I was quite shocked he still went through with the build, and it ended up being an emotional time for me, knowing he didn't have long to live.

He posted a photo January 26th while driving his car around the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon. I meant to message him since I've learned a lot since tuning his car and was willing to refine his tune some via email.



Unfortunately his daughter started tagging him in posts on Facebook over the last 72 hours, and I just read the update this morning that cancer took another life.

Godspeed Mike, I'm glad you had almost a year to enjoy the MSM.

 

Wasn't this the Houston MSM?

 

Yes. Born, raised, and abused in Houston TX, blindly bought and shipped to Grants Pass OR, trailered and rebuilt in Oregon City OR, and has been living back in Grants Pass since April 24th 2015.

 

Damn. I half-thought you were pulling my leg when you told me about this during the build (can you blame me?). Glad he got to enjoy it as long as he did. RIP Mike.

 

RIP Mike.

Life is short, guys. Treasure what you can, when you can. It's important to plan and prepare for the future, but at the same time you have to live each day as much as you can, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

 

holy crap... condolences to the family...

 

Wow! That's crazy! Read this thread all excited to see the car get fixed up. Wasn't expecting this ending. :(

My sincerest condolences to his family.

 

A year and nearly 12,000 miles apparently.

Car came back to me via it's new owner, Duane. It was nearly undrivable. Somewhere between the car leaving me and showing back up almost exactly a year later, a few changes had been made. Uego was reading 10:1 in boost, which was probably closer to 8 or 9:1, as it was causing a flooded misfire condition, absolutely drowning out the spark.

Leaned it WAY out, retuned lo/hi boost, now making 10hp/ftlbs less with 20kpa less to go a little easier on the turbo setup, and since table switching was now enabled, low boost is a little higher, 185 vs. the previous 175.

New owner thankfully lives in a non-emissions compliant area of Oregon, so either a VICS or flattop manifold is being considered, along with a non-catted down pipe. These changes should net 20-30ish hp, I've never actually tuned a MSM with a flattop, so that will be interesting!

As for the looks, the paints faded quite a bit, along with what appears to be a few more scratches, but I'm glad Mike got to drive it. The BBFW bar is absolutely horrible for me though, cutting off a lot of the seat travel if you want to avoid the horrible squeaking of the leather on the bar. I'd love to see a Recaro/harness thrown in, not sure that'll happen though.