TobiKi

Did some things.
I installed a new mohair softtop. It was alot easier than expected. Unfortunatly the fixing i did to the rainrail did not hold up and now it is leaking. Great. I was thinking about doing this "gonzo" fix but all the pics in the thread are gone and that makes it a bit difficult. It sucks that i got to take the top of again just because of this stuipid rail.Looks great though.
Does anyone have some DIY fixing suggestions? Also i removed the top heatshielding for the turbo to take a look at the wastegate actuator. Checked it for "Wiggle" while still being mounted to the flapper. Everything was nice and tight. But then i took of the actuator arm from the flapper.... the flapper was not closed at all with the arm attached. So i tightned the wastegate 4 turns. It´s still not fully closed because i was scared of overboosting. But the car now produces boost much faster. Boost is now hitting 0.31 if i guestimate from my shitty boost gauge. I wonder how the flapper got this lose.

Cheers

TobiKi

Hey guys,

i excuse my lack of posting in the past.
I did get around to do some things to my car.
These are
-changing to ME221 ECU
-AEM X Series Wideband
-Installing BMW E36 VTPS
-ditching the old RRFPR
-Installing 700cc Injectors
-Installing VW/AUDI IAT
-Installing the Rollbar
-Installing some Sparco Sprint Seats
-Installing Sparco Harnesses

ME221:
First about the ECU. Frist of i know you dont really like it here in the Forum. I ordered it anyway because of two reasons. First: I wanted to do the install Plug and Play. Second: Pricepoint.
About the plug and play thing... I was worried about that from the start. Mainly because my car is this weird 90hp euro model. It is from 96 and has a 2 plug B6HA ECU. ME offers two Versions of the MX5 ECU. One for 1989-1995 Models with 2 Plug ECU´s and one for 1996-1998 Models with a 3 Plug ECU. I asked the seller a few times about this problem but he assured me that it is no problem and i should order the 2 plug version. So i did. To cut things short: No it does not work plug and play with this ecu. The fuelpump is always on and the crank angle signal is not wired to pin 2e but pin 2f. Which means you have to depin the wires in the connector to the ecu, and switch them around. Took me a while to figure that out. Talk about PnP.... Other then that i really like the me221 and the meite tuning software. Although i must admit this is my first standalone ecu. I am currently running 0.4bar of boost on a basemap which i tuned the ve table to get decent afrs.

AEM Wideband:
Getting the old narrowband out of the exhaust was a major pita! Other then that i really like the AEM. It has some minor difference to what the tuning software shows me but i got this minimized by grounding it to a ecu ground.(the one for the injectors). INFO: THE AEM X SERIES DOES NOT HAVE NARROWBAND EMULATION! I know, iknow... It never said it does! Well, i thought since it was the sucsessor of the UEGO that this feature would still be there, but it turns out it didnt. Not a real problem just something that suprised me.

BMW E36 VTPS:
Be careful with this thing... i broke one trying to fit it. The center does not rotate 360 degrees and if you rotate too much you will break the sensor. Also, the polarity is wrong. In my case this does not matter because i just edited the VTPS Calibration Table.

700cc Injectors:
Not really sure about those. Bought them from a german company which sells these rebranded. It did not come with a datasheet or any sort of deadtimes. They do work okey but it sucks that i can´t really calibrate them.
In hindsight i would just have bought some DW or other Injectors that come with a datasheet.

IAT:
Fitting the IAT required me to fabricate some kind of bung. This really sucked because i have now welding skills nor fabricating skills. Luckily i have some good friends who helped me out on this one.
The bung looks like this:


Rollbar/Harness/Seats:
Rollbar still takes too much space for the hardtopmounts. I just run a softtop for now. The seats are mounted on the stock sliders on brackets which are diy. I mounted the harness to the stock lower seatbelt mounts and the upper to the harnessbar. This works well but i think the waiststrap sits a bit high. Its almost in my stomach area. Any ideas how to mount the harness better?



Future stuff:
I picked up a rear 1.9 nb subframe with a torsen diff. I plan on installing the torsen for maximum drifto. I thought if i already have to unbolt the propshaft i can also change the clutch and flywheel while im in there. So i ordered a Competition Clutch Stage 3 Clutch and a Competition Clutch 1.8 6.2kg flywheel. The clutch is a segmented ceramic one and i am really exited to see how it works with the lightend flywheel.
When i have upgraded the clutch and diff i plan to run more boost using an electronic boost valve. For this i ordered a N75 Pieburg valve. The next thing on the list would be changing the exhaust system. Right now it is just the greddy mani and its restrictive downpipe, stock midpipe and FOX backbox. I plan on going with a cast T25 Kraken manifold, ellbow, downpipe and exhaust. The big bummer is that i have to upgrade the turbo because my turbo has a t25 flange but a strange td04 exhaustside.

Again sorry for not posting for so long, i hope you liked this update.
TobiKi

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Harnesses have guidelines for installation. If the lap belt isn't low on your hips and pulling downward you will die in a frontal crash. You rupture internal organs and bleed to death in just a few minutes.

This is also why 4 point harnesses are deadly. The shoulder belts pull the lap belt upward off the pelvis in a frontal crash when there is no submarine belt.

TobiKi

Hey sixshooter,
thanks for checking by my thread again.
I know about the danger of incorrectly mounted harnesses. It is a 4 Point Sparco Harness. Is it entirely impossible to mount them correct/safe using the stock lower mounts? I feel like alot of peoole run dangerous harness setups. Thats why iam asking if there is some advice to mount these. I guess you would suggest to change to 5 point harnesses?

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

5/6 points are safer.

For the tunnel lap belt mounting point it was necessary to drill a new hole lower and add a backing plate to the backside to keep it from pulling through in an accident.

TobiKi

Just to give this thread a few updates.
I installed a new clutch and Flywheel to prepare for more power. I went with a Competition Clutch Stage 3 and a 6kg Flywheel. I would advise getting the lighter Flywheel since the 6kg one feels mostly the same compared to the OEM one.
Clutch bites hard but i like the way it feels. I also got a Torsen Type 2 Differential from a crashed 100k km NB2. Best 500€ spend on the car yet. I love the way it locks up and sends the car sideways without the usual twitching when you try to transition in a drift.
Furthermore i did quite a bit of maintanence. I changed all Belts, OEM Waterpump, Cas Oring, a dozend of Seals and so on. I also cut the valvecover to show off the camwheels. I really like the look.


I also installed a new 550x180x55 Intercooler.

It sits there totaly sexucre.


Routing the piping was quite a challange. Everything is super tight.


Now i just need to hook up the Cold Side piping and redo the Turbo oil drain.
Regards
TobiKi