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Dan's K24 street car project
Hello MT.netters! I've owned my Miata for about 3 years now, and have thoroughly enjoyed it in it's current form. I bought it with just over 100k on the clock, mostly stock, and had some pretty ricey things done to it. It was pretty cheap at the time, and with a little suspension and some new shoes, it was exactly what i was looking for- something to drop the top on, that was cheap to maintain, and comfortable at an autocross. Here' s what she looked like in 2017, after the suspension, wheels and tires.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2ebfb8a75d.jpg Earlier this year, i was having dinner with a friend who mentioned the K24 swap. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to hear about this, but i was hooked! A month later, and i have this in my garage: https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...868309fc19.jpg JDM K24a from some JDM spec honda we don't get. First thing i wanted to do, was to tear it open and see what mistakes i've made.... https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...858b7693b8.jpg Looked pretty good! Of course i won't really know until it's in the car. This was the point where i needed to decide how far i wanted to get into this. I knew that the open diff was already annoying when pushing the car, so i found a torsen unit and swapped that in. (sorry, no pics of that). I did drive it for a week on the new diff to shake it down, and it's glorious :). Goals for the project: - Streetable, usable power - autocross and some HPDE days, while being reliable - educate my kids, get their hands dirty - don't want to separate the head from the block, i believe honda probably does a better job of that than i can - maximize power, with an emphasis on reliability. So i won't be interested in running alternate fuels, and i don't want to get serious in the head at this time. That being said, I am willing to put some cams and valvetrain in it to give it a little more of an edge. This began in April. I will update in more posts as time allows. Looking forward to getting this on the road again! Thanks for the read. Dan |
While i was tearing down the k24, and finishing up the Diff install, i did a couple of cosmetic things to the car. Found a subtle front lip that took away some of the 'hairdresser' from the car.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...88e1a5c0c8.jpg After that, i wanted to work on instrumentation. Found my way to revlimiter.net and poked around on there for a week or two, got some opinions from my kids, and placed an order! A huge shout out to Adam @revlimiter, the gauge faces came in very quickly, packaging rivals any new apple product, along with a handwritten 'Thank You' note! You just don't get that type of detail anymore. That, and the product is amazing! Cluster teardown: https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7ca7e02ac8.jpg The install went just like he says on the site. I ended up with the Dragstrip version with LED lighting, with a couple of modifications. I raised the redline to match the new engine, and changed the fuel quantity indicators to %. Here is the finished product: https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ff1e18961d.jpg But the coup de grâce is after dark: https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9601bc4dae.jpg I think they look incredible! Back to the K24. Continuing with the cosmetic theme, I wanted the valve cover to pop, and I was waiting on parts anyway....so i bought a few cans of VHT Wrinkle blue and got to spraying. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ee883199ce.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d2cdf8f64c.jpg This paint is different to work with, and i have to say the color is not what i was hoping for. Some of you might ask why i didn't do the classic wrinkle red, that's because intend to respray the car red at some point, and thought it might clash. More to follow Dan |
Cam choice and installation
I did a lot of research before committing to a set of cams. Since my goals for the project can be met without separating the head from the bottom end, I wanted a set of cams that drove well across the rev range, with noticeable improvement over stock. From the information i could find of the readily available off-the-shelf cams, i liked the price point of the skunk2 tuner series. I emailed the vendor, and then called David over at Kmiata to get his opinion. What i found was that the ramp rate on these cams seem to wreak havoc on the timing tensioner, which is already a weak point of the k series engine. To top it all off, the cams i wanted 'strongly recommended' valve springs, seats, keepers, and retainers. I never got a reply from the vendor about their recommendations. After i totalled it all up, i was within reach of a nice set of Drag Cartel cams (that i had my eye on from day 1). After speaking to some owners of various DC cams, i decided this was the way i wanted to go. Their customer service was excellent, incredibly knowledgeable and responsive, and we decided on a set of 2.2s to put in the car. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cf646f0dde.jpg Here is a crappy profile pic of the intake (i think) cam, stock vs DC 2.2. Should be a healthy bump! And some pics of the installation: https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...65b72c1624.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d949a59478.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...27e4f4e05a.jpg Keeping the rocker assemblies together was a bit of a challenge. I used a 20" wrench hanger magnet covered with masking tape to keep it all together while i did the springs. Some people rig up zip ties to keep it all together. As you can see, the complete valvetrain is in, torqued to spec, and lubed up. Buying from DC was great, the valvetrain kit came with everything you need to install them- there was no sourcing parts from anywhere else. Valve seals, keepers (which have a different angle from the stock TSX), retainers, dual springs, and seats were all included. Lash was set before i quit that evening. Dan |
Time to tear down the car, with the swap kit ordered! I put out a facebook marketplace ad for my engine, with the option to come and drive it before i pull it.
Surprisingly, that wasn't a very attractive offer! I wanted to show transparency, which i thought this would do very well. Most inquiries wanted to just come and get it ASAP. Either way, it didn't take long to sell. I took the evening with my demolition team and got it out, didn't even take that long. 2:10 between jacking up the car and the engine/trans assembly sitting on a pallet. Man this thing is much easier to work on than a BMW! My 'demolition team' https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1a28b51c65.jpg Afterwards, i really got deep in the project. The wiring requires the dash to come out of the car. I will be taking the opportunity to install a fresher carpet and steering wheel. Need to source some floor mats at a later date, suggestions would be welcomed! I'm also unsure if i will replace the heater core. It seems they are hard to come by, especially with the tubes going to the engine bay. Cores from local parts stores seem to just sell the heater core, and not the supply lines. I doubt it's really necessary, but one of those 'while you're in there' kind of things. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7775cc8c4d.jpg Yep. no idea if this will ever run again. Seriously questioning my decisions at this point. All of my free space in the garage is being taken up with parts. it's such a mess... This is pretty much where it sits right now. next steps, paint engine bay, show off the Kmiata stuff that's here, and hope for more boxes soon. Dan |
Moss Miata "better than stock" floor mats are nice and well worth the dollars.
I would gladly pay extra for some that DON'T say "Roadster" on them, but i can live with it. Re: Heater core. If the one you have in the car now is good, just leave it. They aren't especially failure prone and replacing one is a pretty easy afternoon job later, especially now that you know how the dash comes out. :) Looks fun so far, keep it up! |
Thanks for the tip, i'll check those out!
As for the heater core, the heater hoses were really stuck on there, and my dad smooshed one of the aluminum tubes with some pliers. I may try to straighten it out, or find one with good tubes. it's not awful, but it's there.... I really do enjoy these projects. I always wanted to build or swap something, about 7 or 8 years ago i nearly pulled the trigger on a Factory Five 818. I am glad i didn't, because i don't have the fab skills that some on this forum do! Dan |
I see a Kswap, I hit like!
good progress and keep the posts coming! |
Thanks a bunch! I have read your entire thread, that's some quality stuff there. When i got to the part when you acquired the K, i was excited to see where you'd take it.
Then a few posts later, the date got current....i thought "NOOOOO!!" I need some more of that :) After the wallet recovers i may contact you about fixing my night vision. For the other enthusiasts reading this, I will be needing some recommendations on rollbars for HPDE use. I'm 5'10", and taller in the torso than some. I was hoping to catch a deal on a used Hard Dog or something, and i know many mention the blackbird bars are great as well. I tried briefly to find their site or pricing info, but didn't see it. Dan |
Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1537237)
Thanks a bunch! I have read your entire thread, that's some quality stuff there. When i got to the part when you acquired the K, i was excited to see where you'd take it.
Then a few posts later, the date got current....i thought "NOOOOO!!" I need some more of that :) After the wallet recovers i may contact you about fixing my night vision. For the other enthusiasts reading this, I will be needing some recommendations on rollbars for HPDE use. I'm 5'10", and taller in the torso than some. I was hoping to catch a deal on a used Hard Dog or something, and i know many mention the blackbird bars are great as well. I tried briefly to find their site or pricing info, but didn't see it. Dan You just stumbled upon an insider meme! Have a cat. |
This thread pleases me and I'm also jealous.
Hard-dog "hardcore" is good for HPDE, "hardcore" denotes the rear braces are straight and not bent like the sport models. Some organizations require no bends in the rear braces of a roll-bar. The other piece of the "is my noggin guna fit" puzzle is the seat and seat-mount, have you looked into that yet? Also you're in VA and close..... You should absolutely come to miata track day Aug 1 @ AMP - https://www.facebook.com/miatasbeforethegap/ #shamelessplug . Then come to Miatas at the Gap - Miatas At The Gap #neverstoppedpromoting |
I appreciate the invite, but i'm 100% sure the car won't be ready for AMP or MATG. hopefully next year!
In regards to the rollbar/seat thing: My plan is to Foamectomy the factory seat and go from there. Do any of the off-the-shelf rollbars have more clearance than another? If i have to do seats, that will delay things a bit. The car really needs brakes before a good track day as well. These tiny stockers are a hard stop away from fading on a fast auto-x as is haha! |
Great project, looking forward to your progress reports!
On the heater core, that car is what, 20 years old? I'd replace it, preferably with an NA one (copper vs aluminium) while you can do so easily. NB cores do fail, and if there has been some brutality upon it that does not bode well for a long and happy life. On the other hand, if the aluminium one has lasted 20 years, I would not be dying in a ditch to get the copper NA one. Either way just do it. |
Yeah, you're right. Do you have a good source for a quality core?
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Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1537310)
Yeah, you're right. Do you have a good source for a quality core?
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Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1537275)
I appreciate the invite, but i'm 100% sure the car won't be ready for AMP or MATG. hopefully next year!
In regards to the rollbar/seat thing: My plan is to Foamectomy the factory seat and go from there. Do any of the off-the-shelf rollbars have more clearance than another? If i have to do seats, that will delay things a bit. The car really needs brakes before a good track day as well. These tiny stockers are a hard stop away from fading on a fast auto-x as is haha! Well, if you find the time, come down to MATG in any car and check it out! I honestly don't know for sure if one bar has more clearance than the other. You'll be hard pressed to actually pass broom-stick test with OEM seat, though you might get lucky. For brakes, if you HPDE in mind you'll want good pads. PFC, Gloc, Carbotech - these are the brands I would recommend, compounds would depend on the rest of your setup. You will be at power levels where a BBK(big brake kit) is recommended. I don't have any DPE(direct personal experience) with BBKs because I have pleab power and I've always ran stock 1.8. But I haven't heard anything bad about Stoptech's ST42 setup or event STR42 if you're a big baller. I've seen and heard of both good and bad things on Wilwoods, maybe that's because there's more of them out there on NA/NBs? Another component to consider with this upgrade, master cylinder......hopefully someone more well-versed with that will chime in? |
Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1537237)
Thanks a bunch! I have read your entire thread, that's some quality stuff there. When i got to the part when you acquired the K, i was excited to see where you'd take it.
Then a few posts later, the date got current....i thought "NOOOOO!!" I need some more of that :) After the wallet recovers i may contact you about fixing my night vision. For the other enthusiasts reading this, I will be needing some recommendations on rollbars for HPDE use. I'm 5'10", and taller in the torso than some. I was hoping to catch a deal on a used Hard Dog or something, and i know many mention the blackbird bars are great as well. I tried briefly to find their site or pricing info, but didn't see it. Dan Feel free to hit me up with any lighting questions and I can forward you links on the "go-to" parts to buy, or if you want me to do the work for you that works as well. As far as the rollbar is concerned, I have the blackbird single diagonal bar. I like it as it has the welded in harness bar, where the hard dogs bars require you to buy an additional bolt-on harness bar. By time you pay for the additional harness bar on the hard dog setup, you aren't far off the blackbird price. Both give similar helmet clearance from what I've seen. I'm 5'9" and fit under the broomstick test with sparco sprints, PCI brackets, and BFW bar without issue. It really depends on your torso length though, as I have a 6'3" friend who fits great and another who still doesn't. |
Originally Posted by flier129
(Post 1537318)
For brakes, if you HPDE in mind you'll want good pads. PFC, Gloc, Carbotech - these are the brands I would recommend, compounds would depend on the rest of your setup. You will be at power levels where a BBK(big brake kit) is recommended. I don't have any DPE(direct personal experience) with BBKs because I have pleab power and I've always ran stock 1.8. But I haven't heard anything bad about Stoptech's ST42 setup or event STR42 if you're a big baller. I've seen and heard of both good and bad things on Wilwoods, maybe that's because there's more of them out there on NA/NBs? Another component to consider with this upgrade, master cylinder......hopefully someone more well-versed with that will chime in? Interested in master cylinder opinions! Re: Seats- is there anyone out there passing hpde tech with stock seats? Really hope to make them work, since i don't want a track-only car. Dan |
I do just fine with stock brakes, stop tech sport pads, and good brake fluid.
Almost no brake fade at 20+ minute hpde sessions. And great braking power. As for roll bars, hard dog hardcore hardtop, is a great bar. They also have a slightly taller version that wont clear a hardtop. Also I have never ever been broom stick tested at an hpde. It seems all they care about is if you actually have a roll bar, not so much how you fit under it. |
Remove the rear seat mounting humps and bend the rear seat rail tabs to match the new angle. You can gain 3/4 inch by doing this and bolting straight through the floor and putting a small backing plate beneath the floor to ensure it doesn't pull through.
Rockauto has good carpet kits cheap. |
Originally Posted by sixshooter
(Post 1537331)
Remove the rear seat mounting humps and bend the rear seat rail tabs to match the new angle. You can gain 3/4 inch by doing this and bolting straight through the floor and putting a small backing plate beneath the floor to ensure it doesn't pull through.
Rockauto has good carpet kits cheap. I guess this can work for long torso, short legged ppl. |
It will if it doesn't hang up on the carpet. I removed the padding beneath the rear of the seat when I did mine with stock seats years ago and trimmed a little spot. Tradeoffs for having a rollbar. Can't see under the seat anyway.
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Made a little progress in the last few days. Not too much to show for it, but i found several problems that i've had to sort out. More parts inbound!
Problems I bought the timing tensioner cover from Drag Cartel along with the lower chain guide, however when i went to install it, i saw this: https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7b4d7f931f.jpg I contacted DC (on a sunday afternoon) and got an email from Jeremy in 5 minutes. That's pretty impressive! Long story short, all of the tensioner covers are the same, and should fit every engine. He offered to refund it if i wanted, but since i need a cover i decided to just clearance it myself. OK. on to the next issue. The belt setup from K miata appeared to be designed for a completely different setup to mine. It's designed to shim the alternator with washers to provide tension. My alternator bolts in from the front though, leaving nowhere for the washers to go. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7ec362676a.jpg And to top all of that off, the alt is locked up tight. The bracket is an integrated piece with the pcv system and water pump housing, which just won't work. eBay to the rescue! I ordered a used water pump housing and alternator for $85 shipped. For those of you looking to do a K swap and shopping for an engine, be aware of this. There is no easy way to do the belts with a front-bolt alternator. I suspect that the issue is that this engine is from Japan, and offered in their version of an Odyssey, which has different routing than USDM K24a2s. I also suspect that the crank pulley is larger on that engine, causing the interference with the tensioner cover. If anyone has a K24 available, i would love to get a diameter measurement on that pulley to confirm my suspicions! Mine is 6.5". On to the fun stuff. Parts showcase https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8442e6ff9a.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3a5f8acbc6.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...686b19b5b1.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6d3b1cdde3.jpg Beautiful parts. The header is a work of art. I went with the Race version, the dyno plots were much more favorable with the 4-2-1 design. Test fitting the manifolds and the wiring harness To run the Hondata Kpro, you need a harness from a very specific vehicle; a 2002-2004 RSX type S. Sourcing one was probably one of the more difficult challenges i've had in the early stages. I'm told the reason is that the later cars added immobilizers, so you have to run the ECU from the earlier car, with a harness to match. ECUs are everywhere, you can use one from any 02-04 RSX, but the harness must be from the type S. After passing on several $300 crusty used harnesses, i found an open box replacement harness from K Tuned. Although it was expensive, I think it's worth some peace of mind knowing that everything is new. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...48a82e6df6.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a4ca5b52d4.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...56d6992ade.jpg I do think i'll have to extend a sensor or two, in order to maximize the amount of wire going through the firewall. Not sure until it's in the car, and i find a place for the ECU to call home. Transmission clearance This photo shows the starter recess that needs to be cut in the bellhousing: https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f628a53aaa.jpg i'll clean that up more tonight. Engine bay Took out the clutch and brake masters, brake boosters, and unbolted everything i could. The rest was wrapped in tin foil so i could hack up the paint. Had some help with the prep, which was much needed! I hate sanding. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6cdb2b40db.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f9a083aac8.jpg If this were a show car, i would have taken a few more days to remove the rest of everything. But, it's an engine bay. For a 20 year old car. I think it'll be fine :) Here's a pic of the paint drying: https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...07b4a04d3b.jpg Hopefully we will have some more parts by the weekend! Dan |
Great progress so far!
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Nice work! I can probably get the pulley measurement off my K24A2 on the engine stand tonight
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Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1537325)
TSE doesn't list them on their site anymore, did they go out of production?
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The JDM engines do have some differences. The US K24 pulley is 6.125" compared to the JDM 6.5". The K swap Facebook page has some info about this from other people that ran into the same issues.
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Originally Posted by Savington
(Post 1537607)
Still in production, email me at info@trackspeedengineering.com and I can point you in the right direction to order.
Originally Posted by zellers88
(Post 1537623)
The JDM engines do have some differences. The US K24 pulley is 6.125" compared to the JDM 6.5". The K swap Facebook page has some info about this from other people that ran into the same issues.
Dan |
Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1537325)
Re: Seats- is there anyone out there passing hpde tech with stock seats? Really hope to make them work, since i don't want a track-only car. Dan |
Some progress this weekend.
Flywheel arrived, so i could take the engine off the stand and continue the assembly.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...27a0e9ae0f.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cf87a5aa02.jpg The rest of the parts should arrive this week. Somehow i ordered the wrong water pump housing from eBay. Grr... that's annoying. Current list of expected items:
Sunday i tackled the fuel pump installation and dash wiring. The fuel pump install was straightforward, no issues. Wiring: Since my car is a 99, the colors and pin locations matched perfectly (though i did pull schematics to make sure). I did run into a couple snags, and plan to call David today to double check before i solder. The instructions mention a single wire for constant 12v, and a single wire for switched 12v; however the conversion harness has two of each. With the dash wiring being something like 20ga, i don't feel comfortable splicing in two 14-16 ga wires to it, and there are no other pins in that connector that offer 12v. I want to double check before i continue. Next, i need clarification on the fuel pump wiring. The conversion harness has a large wire for the fuel pump relay, and is to be connected to the appropriate wire in the blue connector. That wire is nowhere near that size. Also, i need to know what fuel pump wiring mods need to be done. I'm also not going to be running a factory style o2 sensor, since Kpro can take it's signal from the AEM Wideband i am installing. I'll have to read the manual some more to figure that out. I'm getting very close to needing the engine in place to fit the manifolds and harnesses, this is getting exciting! The schedule going forward: Weeknights: install subframe, rack and pinion, finish wiring Friday night: Set powertrain in the car, connect driveshaft, PPF, engine mounts Rest of weekend: Install engine bay parts TBD: Mock up and fabricate exhaust Following weekend: Finish up the rest since i will have skilled help, install dash, do miata donuts. It's ambitious i think, but possible! Dan |
Post up what you find out from David. I'll likely use this as a reference when I get to the same stage as you.
Nice progress! |
Originally Posted by Padlock
(Post 1538002)
Post up what you find out from David. I'll likely use this as a reference when I get to the same stage as you.
Nice progress! I ran into a snag last night when one of the bolt holes on the subframe didn't quite line up. I need to chase the threads in the body, but that bolt size is not commonly found in a tap and die set. Once i fix that, i need to decide if i should open the bolt hole up in the subframe, or use a ratchet strap to gain clearance. I don't want to remove material and the coating on the subframe, but i'm unsure what effect that additional preload will have. I'll snap a pic tonight, didn't have time yesterday. Dan |
For the fuel pump, I didn't bother using the supplied new relay and instead just spliced into the stock relay trigger. Haven't had any issues.
For the subframe, I'm guessing its the passenger side rear hard to get to bolt? |
Originally Posted by zellers88
(Post 1538144)
For the fuel pump, I didn't bother using the supplied new relay and instead just spliced into the stock relay trigger. Haven't had any issues.
For the subframe, I'm guessing its the passenger side rear hard to get to bolt? but yes, passenger side. Common? Dan |
I had to open that one up and I've seen where others have too. Pretty sure there's an issue with the jig.
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^I've heard the exact same thing. Common issue on V8R subframe.
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^^ I will second this, i had to open up that hole as well.
On the wiring, i had to run my own switched 12v directly, i had it wired like it says in the instructions and it was a much smaller wire, after like a week or two of driving it, I was driving down the road and it just quit out of the blue and it turned out to be the switched 12v, it killed the power to my radio as well so i dont know what that was about. I had installed a switched fuse block to power my gauges so i ran my switched 12v from there to the swap harness. When i wired in the fuel pump i spliced the wire in off the factory fuel pump relay and not at the blue plug like in the instructions, i had trouble with this initially as well because i dont think the correct wire is located on the blue plug like the directions say. I also had an issue with the fan relay and just ended up wiring it directly to the factory relay under the hood but i think that may have been my error. My car is also a 99 so i thought all my wires were the same as well but i had to call a few audibles. Alot of this is written up in my thread as well (i think), but if you have any questions i am more than happy to help, i am also running the kpro setup. On your AEM wideband with kpro, get the part number for your AEM gauge, most of them are pre programmed into Kpro, you just have to run 1 wire from your gauge to the analog inputs on the kpro board, it will be 1 of the 2 plugs with like 10 wires in the box, one is for analog inputs, the other is for digital so make sure use the correct one. One suggestion on this as well, when you are running the ground for the AEM gauge, run it all the way to the valve cover where the rest of the engine harness grounds, this will ensure the gauge reads correctly, if you dont do it this way it can introduce some resistance and the gauge will read off slightly.I am currently running my car off the AEM gauge and when i first had mine installed my AEM gauge and the stock gauge read differently because i had it grounded in the wrong location. |
Originally Posted by golfandcars
(Post 1538255)
^^ I will second this, i had to open up that hole as well.
On the wiring, i had to run my own switched 12v directly, i had it wired like it says in the instructions and it was a much smaller wire, after like a week or two of driving it, I was driving down the road and it just quit out of the blue and it turned out to be the switched 12v, it killed the power to my radio as well so i dont know what that was about. I had installed a switched fuse block to power my gauges so i ran my switched 12v from there to the swap harness. When i wired in the fuel pump i spliced the wire in off the factory fuel pump relay and not at the blue plug like in the instructions, i had trouble with this initially as well because i dont think the correct wire is located on the blue plug like the directions say. I also had an issue with the fan relay and just ended up wiring it directly to the factory relay under the hood but i think that may have been my error. My car is also a 99 so i thought all my wires were the same as well but i had to call a few audibles. Alot of this is written up in my thread as well (i think), but if you have any questions i am more than happy to help, i am also running the kpro setup. On your AEM wideband with kpro, get the part number for your AEM gauge, most of them are pre programmed into Kpro, you just have to run 1 wire from your gauge to the analog inputs on the kpro board, it will be 1 of the 2 plugs with like 10 wires in the box, one is for analog inputs, the other is for digital so make sure use the correct one. One suggestion on this as well, when you are running the ground for the AEM gauge, run it all the way to the valve cover where the rest of the engine harness grounds, this will ensure the gauge reads correctly, if you dont do it this way it can introduce some resistance and the gauge will read off slightly.I am currently running my car off the AEM gauge and when i first had mine installed my AEM gauge and the stock gauge read differently because i had it grounded in the wrong location. I'll be doing a wiring update here by the weekend. |
More problems solved! State of the garage looks the same. If i didn't do the work, i would wonder what was actually being accomplished, lol.
Subframe: https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4f49094d74.jpg The offending hole was on the passenger side, second bolt from the rear. 5 minutes with a rasp and we have this: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ef67b76e2f.jpg That should clear nicely. Sprayed some gloss black on it, will put it in the car tonight. Wiring: I worked on that and snapped some pics, but i want to provide a separate post for the wiring, in an effort to make it more concise. Water pump housing: Cleaned up and painted the new water pump housing- https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...80cbfc6a7f.jpg Be advised that if you have the wrong housing and have to switch to this one, you will have to remove a stud and find some bolts, the depth is different on the new bracket. Throttle body adapter: The instructions say that you have to figure out where to mount the k series MAP sensor, and i assume that the kit has changed since then. There is a hole plumbed for it now, in the adapter plate. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a2d321364c.jpg You do have to press the roll pin in on the throttle cable bracket. This was self explanatory, but not mentioned in the instructions. That's all for now. Dan |
Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1538267)
Thanks for the information! Do you have a link to your build?
I'll be doing a wiring update here by the weekend. took me a few minutes to find it... i need to post an update. |
Quick question:. Does this mounting tab need to come off of the steering rack?
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...518b86d268.jpg Thanks. |
Wiring:
I'll go wire by wire for reference. Note that i have not run the car yet, i will update this later. These are all the splices or taps that i've made. Car is a '99 Miata using the Kmiata swap harness
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1d91192d6d.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b7184e367e.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8f816ffa53.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e0d394a3dc.jpg |
Tonight was eventful!
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f73bde98dc.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3034d3633e.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0283dbc117.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ffdc330b79.jpg PPF bolts weren't happy. Can't get the front one in. I'll mess with it on a lift at a later time. It's at the point the exhaust can be fabricated. That was the goal. Good night :p |
Looking good! Can’t wait for the rest of my parts to come in. Your thread is providing me much motivation to get mine done.
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Originally Posted by alienmiata1
(Post 1538674)
Looking good! Can’t wait for the rest of my parts to come in. Your thread is providing me much motivation to get mine done.
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Weekend update!
Engine is in the car, Exhaust is in progress, and a few loose ends got tied up. Exhaust pics: https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...58048966c4.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b8b87df8ad.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6a231974d1.jpg Had a really tight clearance from the body to the adapter plate on the passenger side. Clearanced that with a dremel: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...497327fb06.jpg And the shifter was installed: https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...befd859175.jpg No pics, but i worked on the charge harness. Got that sorted out, then threw the engine harness on there, put oil in it, and attempted to start it. Engine cranks just fine, but no fuel. Kmanager doesn't appear to be communicating, though i was able to pull the basemap from it. This was father's day, so i didn't get to spend much time on it. I need to clean up the wiring, bleed the clutch, build an intake, and figure out the fueling issue. Dan |
Making some fast progress!
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Last update i mentioned that i had the motor spinning over, but i hadn't mentioned what happened later. Wall of text incoming!
It's Sunday, Father's day to boot, and i thought i could spend 2hr in the garage to see if this thing would make smoke. I was able to get the starter to turn, but had no fuel. I had my son crank it while i messed around under hood, to no avail. I went from that to the laptop, trying to communicate to the ECU. He was in the drivers seat acting like Mario Andretti. Lol, have fun kid :) We had family obligations, so i couldn't mess with it until.. Sunday evening. Now the car won't turn over. Just clicks. I put a wrench on the crank, won't turn. Only goes about 10* backwards too. Now i have done it, the motor is locked up! But how? I never could give it any real rpm ... It was a long day, i called it and went inside. Monday morning: I woke up and laid in bed thinking about the car. After about ten minutes, the epiphany hit....i haven't bled the clutch! It's probably down there, in gear, no clutch, with the handbrake on. Sure enough, that was it! Feeling pretty good, it cranks again!!! Monday afternoon: My Honda buddy David came by, and did some diagnosing. Thought we had a power issue, traced all 4 12v connections, which were fine. ECU still won't light up. Started tracing grounds, and found that the hole in the valve cover i used to ground the harness is not acceptable. Moved it to a valve cover mounting bolt instead, and it has power! https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9bb4259d48.jpg Went to start it, low and behold she fired up! For about 3 seconds. She died in a clang, wouldn't restart. Cranking it sounds like no compression. Fck. Now I've really killed it. Pull the VC, check cam timing. Looks ok, so does the crank pulley. Need to pull timing cover to check the rest. Got the cover off, the marks might be off a tooth, but are close enough to run... David asks for a 17 to rotate the engine with the intake cam, and the bolt gives him no resistance... At this point I'm positive that I've screwed something up, either the VTC gear, sheared the pin off of the cam, something... But he is a trooper, so we soldier on. Pulled the gear off, and find that the gear walked off enough to disengage from the cam dowel pin. Probably bent valves. But, we are here, so let's just assemble it and try. We glued the timing cover, threw on the VC, and have it a whirl. (Made sure it was out of gear lol) That's the point i heard the most satisfying sound i could imagine. Not only did it fire right up, it sounded glorious! Even held an idle. The roller coaster of emotions from the last couple days ended well, but I'm seriously kicking myself about that bolt. Rookie mistake. Roast away! Current pic, I'll start cleaning up and reinstalling stuff tomorrow. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...495b883bd4.jpg |
This thread is amazing, but it makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life for the past 2 years...
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Originally Posted by thirdgen
(Post 1538981)
This thread is amazing, but it makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life for the past 2 years...
I read through your thread before, for some reason i thought you had it running? Thanks for the kind words. This whole thing seems to be happening really fast, haven't had too many serious hurdles yet! Dan |
Originally Posted by thirdgen
(Post 1538981)
This thread is amazing, but it makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life for the past 2 years...
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For those of you who have the 6.5" crank pulley, this is the belt you need:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...32e11dec5f.jpg That and three washers did it for me. More to follow this weekend. Dan |
Don't feel bad, I did something similar when building my S52 E30 a decade ago. Couldn't get it to fire up for two days, it would crank and crank, build oil pressure, etc. I quadruple checked the wiring, etc. The 2nd day I finally said the hell with it and went inside and had some adult beverages, went out the next day and was like, "Didn't I change the fuel pump as well?"
Yep, sure enough. I never put the fuse for the fuel pump back in. Put it back in, the car immediately fired up and settled into a steady idle. Derp derp derp |
Originally Posted by z31maniac
(Post 1539296)
Don't feel bad, I did something similar when building my S52 E30 a decade ago. Couldn't get it to fire up for two days, it would crank and crank, build oil pressure, etc. I quadruple checked the wiring, etc. The 2nd day I finally said the hell with it and went inside and had some adult beverages, went out the next day and was like, "Didn't I change the fuel pump as well?"
Yep, sure enough. I never put the fuse for the fuel pump back in. Put it back in, the car immediately fired up and settled into a steady idle. Derp derp derp |
I did an entire wire tuck on my old NA6 which included deleting the entire airbag system and de-looming the entire harness... The bay looked incredibly clean and easy to work on, BUT the car wouldn't start initially. I triple checked everything, etc [insert many frustrated moments]. Didn't find out until a few days later than I accidentally pulled the fuel pump fuse instead of the air bag fuse.. Car started up immediately after switching it around.. [sigh]
Good work tracking down the issue. |
Big update!
Saturday was filled with installing the rest of my parts and diagnosing little things. I was not very good about snapping pics for this one. The dash was reinstalled, gauges hooked up, seats installed. Clutch was bled, coolant bled. We pulled out the laptop, and started the car! Issues we ran into:
The vss and o2 codes could be turned off in Kmanager. I knew the VSS wasn't set up, and the o2 heater was probably due to the inop wideband controller. CKP on the other hand, was a hard fault that needed to be addressed. The car would start and run, but stumble after a few seconds. Some research revealed that there are two likely causes of this code, one is timing being off, the other is the trigger wheel was installed backwards. Either way, we had to dig into the front cover again. In our haste from monday night, one of us put the trigger wheel on backwards! Another deep sigh of relief. From there, we attacked the fan issue. After some basic wire tracing (to make sure i hooked it up correctly), we found a blown ROOM fuse. Replaced, no further issue. Next we spent a good deal of time working towards fixing the aftermarket gauges. To spare the blow by blow of electrical diagnosis, i'll just share some wisdom i gained. AEM widebands like their own dedicated ground. I had attempted to send a single power and ground to the vicinity of the gauges (as the other two have a daisy chain feature), but the AEM was not happy. That took a surprising amount of time to figure out! As some of you might expect, that fixed the problem with the coolant temp and oil pressure gauges as well. Time for a test drive! We hop in the car, and back out of the driveway. Man, this feels good. Really good. I am now about to drive something that I put together! *SCCCCKKKKRRRPP* Brand new exhaust scrapes really hard on my driveway. Wow, that's not ideal. Guess we are going to need to change that lol. Overall, the drive is better than i thought. i'm on a base map, there is no intake, and the IAT has nowhere to live. It is VERY torquey, and just begs to be revved! Let's take it down the road to put it on a lift, After all, i need to get that PPF bolt in, change the fuel filter, and check things over under the car. Test drive revealed some more issues.
Coolant leaks were simple hose clamps at this time. Going to keep my eyes out, that seems too good to be true. The clutch required another bleed, and pedal adjustment. The coolant also required another bleed, and i found that the bulk heater hose used is not going to work. Theory at this time is the heater core never got full due to the pinched hoses. That will be resolved pretty soon. While the instructions mention 5/8" heater hoses, the pipe from the honda T-stat is larger, probably 3/4" (maybe 7/8"). I muscled 5/8 on there, but i really need a molded S hose with 3/4 or 7/8 on one end, and 5/8 on the other. The second hose requires a molded L bend. If you are intending to run heat, just save yourself some trouble in the beginning and source some molded hoses. You can bend a coat hanger in the approximate size and just take it to the parts store. Test drive, take two The drive home was pretty good, coolant temps were under control, clutch felt good. AFRs were safe, so let's feed it some revs! The car is STRONG. Pretty smooth for a base map. VTEC is 5700, and everyone around you knows when you're in it! Didn't go much past 7200, but she wanted to! Save that for after the tuning session, currently scheduled for 7/31. Now I have a month to sort out bugs. Am i crazy enough to attempt MATG? Would there even be a room left? Place to park the truck and trailer? Can i get the time off? All questions for another time. I'll leave you with a couple pics. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4d528b1b50.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...510dae5805.jpg |
At given pace, I think you'd be crazy to NOT bring it to MATG. Would love checking it out as I'll be there the entire time.
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Originally Posted by Padlock
(Post 1539854)
At given pace, I think you'd be crazy to NOT bring it to MATG. Would love checking it out as I'll be there the entire time.
Dan |
Last year, I had a hotel room and I trailered my car down with a uhaul car hauler. I simply disconnected the trailer and parked it in the stall next to the truck for the week and there was still extra spots scattered around the resort. Nobody bothered it.
This year, I have a cabin booked and plan on driving the Miata down. I'm sure there are places you can dump a trailer. At this time, you'll probably have a harder time finding a room as I believe the resort is currently sold out, which means you'd have to go offsite to another hotel. Worth double checking availability with Fontana though! |
Originally Posted by Just Dan
(Post 1539377)
I bet that S52 e30 was fun. I've had a few BMWs in my time. good cars, but so expensive to modify! Do you still have the E30?
My 2nd E30 was on Jalopnik a few years ago. Greg lost the brakes and totaled it at the track. It hadn't been mine for a number of years at this point. https://jalopnik.com/bmw-driver-surv...ses-1795500447 |
Looking great! Come park it at our tent at MATG. And if you really want to put it through the paces, sign up for the Miatas Before The Gap track day on 8/1 at AMP. Good time for a proper track shakedown and you'll have the support of our whole team if you run into any teething issues.
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