Miata Turbo Forum - Boost cars, acquire cats.

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Probably one L bracket on the side next to the top hat where there are two M6 and one M8 threads, one L bracket in the rear where the chassis ground is threaded into the chassis, and one bracket bolted to the stamped piece of metal where the brake prop valve is attached.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...eafbde575e.jpg

Couldn't find rear ABS uprights from an NA (NB are 5 mm wider per side) at a sane price, so I just "machined" (i.e., handfiled) to standard ones and drilled+tapped threads.
i filed it flat, then made the threads and ground down the boss until the sensor had a gap of 1mm. Not pretty, but it works.

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Form follows function

Fronts are in. Luckily I had spare uprights with the provisions for the sensors.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...590950f20c.jpg

While I'm at it, I'll also swap from NBFL sport brakes to front WRX 4-pot brakes with 300 mm discs. We'll see if any of my wheels fit.

Stage 1 of my transmission cooler setup is completed. The radiator sits inward of the wheel line and higher than the sills/frame rails. Might be enough to avoid rock chips, yet get some fresh air.

Pump should arrive today and will be mounted to the PPF. Pics of the plumbing will follow soon. Full AN10 hoses, attached to the oil drain and former neutral switch.

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I was never happy with the way the Silverado coolant reroute hose just rested on the fuel lines and rubbed in various spots, even showed some signs of wear. So I replaced some of it with an aluminium tube that I attached to the intake with a custom made bracket. No rubbing anymore!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ceb3b9ae39.jpg

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Installed the transmission oil cooler pump mounts to the PPF next to the chassis ground strap and the fuel filter. Had to make a small bracket because it was impossible to mount all four bolts to the PPF.
The location isn't so bad after all, because the pump sits below oil level and thus is already primed once it comes on.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f348804f6c.jpg

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The pump wiring is fairly straightforward - from the fuse box, where I used an unused fuse (10A) spot, I run a positive wire inside the battery wiring harness to the pump. From there I run a ground wire to a single wire temperature switch which sits right next to the drain plug. The switch is fairly small, uses an M10x1 thread and closes the circuit at 100°C (opens at 95° C).
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Nice! I was wondering whether a duct level with the frame rail with some mesh material would help directing some more air to the radiator while keeping stones out. You could add a mesh screen in place of the cut part of the rear fender liner too to dodge larger stones and objects being thrown to the radiator by the tire

I had contemplated making a dedicated duct to limit the chance of stones hitting the radiator and also to improve the radiator's efficiency.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5742d9e60c.jpg

However, since there is so much work left to get the car running I have ranked it down on my list. The rad sits inward of the wheel line and is mostly shielded away from the front wheel. Bear in mind that motorcycles - in comparison - have their radiators totally exposed to the front tire. So we'll see if it is really a problem.

I try to avoid mesh, since it hurts flow a lot and adds aerodynamic resistance in an area I try to build as flat as possible.

Dang. The neutral switch has an M16 thread, not M18 like the reverse switch and drain plug. Another 2 days delay till it's finished.

Saw this on the Nurburgring Live Pics Facebook page. Looks great! How did it go?

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d48d4453a8.jpg

Really sad the trackday I had booked in May at the ring for my 300hp Turbo car couldn't happen :(

Well obviously he managed to get some Corvettes wondering why they couldn't catch up with the "little Miata" - even on the straights... ;-)

AFAIK car ran flawless.

Love your work and I have a couple of tips:

1. It would be better to brace the aluminium pipe from the coldside shelf or those OEM holes on the angled vertical brace, this minimises movement (which gets exaggerated/magnified from the motor movement when mounting to the outer edge of the intake manifold).

2. Use a more substantial hose clamp (ie. thicker) on your throttle body hose, I worry under high boost that your hose will blow off.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9c7032c8a6.jpg

PS: How did you get your intake manifold so clean and shiny?

hahaha thanks guys, Nordschleife was a hoot! I worked til the very last second to get the car running. On Thursday 8 PM i was finally able to start the car for the first time in 7 months. Washed the dust off, retuned the VE table, and the next morning I drove 600 km straight to the Ring. After 1h the Spartan2 lambda controller shit the bed, but as mentioned I luckily had been able to tune for the changes before.

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The next day I did my first Nordschleife laps ever. What a track! I imagined it being special, but DANG you really need to see and feel the gradients and blind off-camber turns in person. The Karussell killed my 4 year old V-Maxx coilovers within a couple of laps, so no rebound damping on the rear axle for sunday, but still I was having the time of my life.

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We managed to quickly engage with the local Miata community. Got to know a crazy guy from Luxemburg who does mid-8s in a 90 hp NA (gutted, rollbar, BC coilovers, Nankang AR-1 195s; but 90 horses remain 90 horses). He's done some 1,000 laps around the Ring and was so kind as to show me the proper lines and braking points. Also made friends with two spanish guys - Raquel works as an instructor for RSR and owns an Eunos Roadster, Dani runs an NB and got a season pass the day he moved to Germany. We agreed to do a few laps together, incidently bumped into 90 hp Max at the gate, and suddenly we were a train of 6 Miatas overtaking Porsches and generally having a great time.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c98d61e601.jpg

Since then, I have been thinking of going back to the Ring every single second. New coilovers from SPS Motorsport are on order (700/400 springs), and better brake pads (Hawk DTC-50/DTC-30) will follow too.

In general though the car worked perfectly from the get-go. NBFL ABS works a treat, the airbag system works just as it should, coolant never rises beyong 92° C and the transmission cooler only ever comes on when I return to the paddock. The EFR 6758 with the Kraken top mount manifold impresses with instant spool and great response. I will however try the lowmount Kraken manifold soon and do some back to back testing

A couple of short videos are on my IG account, but i am too stupid to embed them: https://www.instagram.com/maximnovy/

Jealous. Have been planning that (road)trip to Nurburgring from Greece for 3 years now. Hopefully will make it (sooner than later)

You should definitely do it some day. I recommend leaving the clock at home tho and taking your time. I feel like many people who come from abroad feel pressured to perform right from the start, without properly knowing the course. That's when bad things happen. Stay there for a couple of days and study the line before giving in to the desire of following the faster guys. Getting a coach or another experienced driver to guide you will drastically improve your learning curve.
I'm in stage 2: when you think you know the track but really don't. That's when REALLY bad things happen.

Right after my closing lap there was an E46 M3 who crashed at Pflanzgarten 2. Flipped numerous times and eventually fell across the Armco barrier. Firetrucks, ambulance, the full works. They actually had to cut the roof off to get the people out. I dunno whether they survived, I hope they did.

Such a great update, thanks for sharing! I'll keep driving the ring on the sim for now, but one day I hope to get out there!

Did you use Vibrant hose and fittings for the trans cooler? Custom mounts?

Yes, custom made brackets (they involve the use of a calibrated BFH and a lot of swearing) and aluminium dash fittings. If I do another one I'd use AN08 hoses instead of AN10, because the oil return port in the former neutral switch location has an M16 thread instead of M18 like the drain plug. M16 to AN10 adapters made from aluminium have a wall thickness of less than a millimeter. I broke 2 fittings without noticeable resistance before finally finding a steel fitting that would cope with the tightening force