Join my quest for fire

So this is my second build thread, the first being my dreadful attempt at swapping a VVT engine into my NA (go see The Definitive "VVT swap into 91 chassis" Failure Build in case anyone cares). Surprisingly, after the first build the car ran great. Learned a lot about Megasquirt tuning, the engine pulls strong and haven't had any break-downs, except for a wobbly ECU pin connector that gave me a hard time tracking down.

finished the interior


finished the engine


built a camber gauge. 2.5°/2.2° because wannabe race-car


went to a big MX-5 meet in Austria (yep, somewhere down there, there are 120+ MX-5s)


sported googly eyes


took the wife on a 1200 km / 3 days trip through the Italian alps


permanently moved to Munich for work and found a perfect windblock at IKEA


organized a 2 days tour through the Austrian alps. 30 people / 18 cars joined!


performed a V8 swap, albeit in the living room


did a track day and gave a GT3 a run for its money (yes, it must have been this way, for sure *lol*)


quickly found out that 400/260 springs suck on track


tried my best at being a Steve McQueen double


had a lot of fun but was clearly crushed on the straights by M-cars and new Mustangs (damn those things were quick!)


installed frame rails and stiffer springs (500/350)


blasted through the Dolomites with non-MX-5 friends (997, 928, VW Golf GTI, Audi TTs, BMW Z3 Coupé, Saab 900 Turbo)


In brief: I had a blast with the swapped engine. However, being completely honest, the VVT swap, learning how to tune the MS3-Pro and all supporting mods ultimately were the prep work for the fulfillment of a long hedged dream: a proper turbo build.

Ever since the day I bought my MX-5 (in 2005) I loved it, but felt like it could use a little more OOOOMPH. Unfortunately, back in Austria such feats were clearly disregarded by the authorities. Now, in Germany things are a little bit more car-friendly and less polar-bear-friendly. So over the next weeks this thread will become my build diary of a proper EFR 6258 build.

The car is my dual-duty, non-winter daily driver, alpine road thrill-seaker and trackday toy. So it has to be reliable on the road, look stealthy, but perform well on the track while keeping all daily driver amenities a bone stock NA has to offer (having no ABS, PS or AC this probably means a radio and working headlights....). Plans and ordered parts are:

engine
VVT engine, block bored and honed to 83.5 mm
EFR 6258 w/ T25 flange, goal: 17-19 psi (300-350 hp?)
Supertech pistons w/ Wiseco oil rings
ebay forged H-beam conrods
ACL bearings all the way
ARP head and main studs
new engine and stem seals
BE oil pump (stage 2 with 1 extra shim)
oil catch can with 323 GTX PCV valve, -10 AN line on passenger side
valve cover with copper scrubs, tiny hole mod and mini pod filter on driver's side
oil return bung and other fittings properly welded, not just tapped and JW welded
full 3" downpipe + exhaust system incl. cat

fuel & ignition
Hawley performance LS3 coils, wires + bracket, sequential spark
deatschwerks 700 cc injectors on stock NA 1.8 return-style fuel rail, sequential injection
stock fuel pump (apparently good enough??)

cooling
coolant reroute w/ 99-00 head gasket
460x160x90 mm intercooler
25 rows oil cooler with oil filter sandwich plate and thermostat
50 mm alloy radiator (already in use)

wiring & electronics
not happy with the original wiring job. All connections were soldered, and wires were not always color-matched. I have a spare NA 1.6 wiring harness that I will clear of unused wires and properly crimp matching colors as needed
chinese finger-trap nylon wire sleeves
oil temperature sensor in drain plug
VSS feed to MS3-Pro
"map switch" hidden in rear fog light switch (switches between wastegate-only and EBC)
stealthy 1-DIN 7" android radio to display Megasquirt gauges via Shadow Dash and enable ad-hoc tuning via MSdroid

brakes & aero
as of now 1.8 brakes (might switch to a proper BBK later, but now I'm broke as a joke)
GV style lip with DIY aero ducts to brake rotors
radiator ducting

drivetrain
10AE 6speed gearbox
10AE torsen diff
competition clutch stage-whatever-works
lightweight 15x8 ET 25 wheels with 205/50/15 Federal 595 RS-R tyres (only 225/45 available here is the Toyo 888 which given my yearly mileage would set me back €1,600/year!)



So here I am currently waiting for my parts to arrive. I hope I can start the build at the end of January. Until then I'll keep reading and preparing the wiring harness.

 

Oohhh this will be nice!

 

I hope so. 11 years of waiting are plenty nuff.

Fun fact: I probably would have waited some more if it weren't for the wife - she surprised me by promising to cover half of the turbo kit costs (FWIW, the one I tell her ;-) ) as a christmas present. She said: "I know you want to build it, and I want it too." She definately is a keeper!

Maybe it's because I once let her drive an MX-5...

 

1) A+ start for a build thread
2) A++++ scenery on those drives
3) Your wife is really cool
4) looking forward to seeing this car develop

 

Nice build dude. Those 205's will become nuclear waste in about 2 seconds though..consider any wider option IMO.

Those track pictures are great! much better than most.

 

and I'd reconsider the dw700's too (unless they finally switched from ev6 to ev14). mediocre at best
you want injector dynamics for your car.

 

I know 205s will be consumables on the track, but I do 10.000 km a year. The Federals cost €65.- a tyre. The only 225 UHP available here is the Toyo 888, costing €190.- a piece, and it wouldn't last a full season of shredding :(

 

Can you get the VR-1 there? Or an RS3?

 

Whose manifold/DP are you using?

 

The R-S3 is listed on the homepage, but nobody seems to stock tyres in 225/45

 

I like what you do there... Will be watching!

P.S.: Also thinking about switching to 225 - I think Jan @ SPS has a new option available... - I even think about going 15x9...

 

This looks interesting! Must follow this built... Also dreaming of "ultimate response 1.8 VVT & EFR 6258 combo".

Btw, I love Austria. Skiing holiday there in next month.

 

Do you have more info on this? I couldn't find anything on their Facebook or webpage..

 

Jan told me they will start selling nankang tyres, but at least to my knowledge they are not available in 225/45/15

 

Looking at the specs the 205/50/15 AR1's have a 214mm section width that is similar to their 215 wide tires, so those might be wider than their 205 markings might suggest. Otherwise the number of available 225/45/15 tires in Europe is down to zero.

 

lol nankang

 

That's how Hankook started too :-)
Nankang's line of UHP tires surprised everyone by being decent value for money. Recently they have become the control tire in several racing classes in Europe (slashing the required tire budget by two thirds because they turned out to be long lasting too). Laptimes were a second or so slower than previously on R888s.

I don't think they ever made it to the US, but I think they are probably comparable to the VR1.
The newer Semi-Slick offering looks to be a step up, much like the RC-1 is to the VR-1. Not the fastest tire out there, but cheap, consistent, hard wearing and a second or two slower than the competition.

 

don't get me wrong, I've run nankangs before on my cars (I'm not proud of it, lol)

..but a 300-350whp Miata with a 10AE 6sp and torsen will spin all seasons well into 4th gear

 

How do you pass TüV?

Can I be your assistant, I am trying to get back to Germany.

 

These ain't all seasons..



Supposedly worth a few seconds a lap over R888s.