Garman

Well, I decided to go all in and light up the wheel wells and under the dash. There are zero performance gains with this install but thought I would share. It does make the Exocet much easier to see at night though so there is that.

The real work/fun begins in January when I install the FM turbo kit.

Garman

So, as promised, I am starting to install the turbo on the Exocet. I've been driving around for about 6 months or so and I've finally replenished enough of my bank account to tackle this project.

I had the turbo compressor powder coated and all the rest ceramic coated. I think it came out pretty nice. I'm currently getting the tune correct on my DIYPNP. I had an issue with no cam signal input but I finally got that resolved and I have a running car on megasquirt. I'll be installing everything this weekend and hope to have it back on the road by early next week.

Details of my components:
Garrett GT2554 (freshly rebuilt this week)
Flyin Miata manifold, elbow and downpipe
Innovate MTX-L wideband
DIYPNP ECU
HKS Super SQV blow off valve
Turbosmart IWG-75 wastegate
Greddy Profec B Spec II boost controller
Deatschwerks 700cc injectors
GM LS3 D510C coils
EMUSA Ebay intercooler

I doubt that I get the injectors or coils installed on this go around. I don't anticipate that I will be maxing anything out with this little turbo from the beginning. I'll probably install those along with a bigger fuel pump sometime down the road.

So here are some pictures of where I'm at:

Garman

Finished the turbo rebuild tonight. Four hours of triple checking myself on everything.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Very attractive.

I love my Profec boost controller. Three boost levels, WG, low, and high.

Garman

Yeah, I like your setup so I started looking. Found a decent deal on one.

Garman

Getting closer on having everything completed on the Turbo upgrade. I spent most of this weekend installing my gauges. I went with Prosport (supporting a local company) for the oil temp, oil pressure and boost gauges. Innovate for the wideband.

I decided to mount them directly on my instrument cluster surround. It's kinda spaceship looking and I'm not sure if I'm in love with it but the gauges are really easy to see when seated behind the wheel. I'm 3D printing a bracket at work today to mount the boost controller.

All of the turbo parts are installed and I just need to button some things up before I start it up. I had an issue with my idle control valve settings on my DIYPNP before the turbo install that I didn't really resolve so I'm trying read up on that subject. The car runs but when I set my ICV to the proper frequency the rpms drop considerably and if it stalls it won't start back up without dropping the frequency back down to the wrong level. I downloaded the basemap from DIYPNP for my year (1999) and started from there but I need to do some more learning before I try any more diagnostic changes. I don't want to blow up my ECU, ignition or engine.

Here are some pics of where I'm at:

LukeG

Gauge layout looks awesome! You are going to have a blast with the turbo on the exo. It ends up a wild animal that makes all kinds of awesome turbo noises.

Garman

That's what I'm hoping for. I've loved driving it around NA but the goal all along was to have boost. I installed a little GT2554 so it should spool quick. I really can't wait to get back on the road. The weather this time of year is perfect so I need to get it buttoned up and go drive.

Who knows where this obsession will end. I might follow your lead and put an LFX in once the novelty wears off. It looks fantastic.

LukeG

Now that I have some road time with the the LFX and the turbo miata engine in the exo...

Turbo noises are awesome and I miss them
LFX has so much torque it is ridiculous even from idle
LFX sounds better as a whole but no turbo noises
LFX is loud as all hell. I need earplugs to drive it even with a muffler. (not much room for a full size muffler)

There were a lot of custom fabbed parts for the LFX build, but it worked out great because I was trying to learn how to tig weld and my welder paid for itself five times over by being able to do my own fab.
Either way you can't go wrong. I haven't put the E85 tune on the car yet and the big appeal for me was 330whp(ish) on the LFX in a near stock setup, so super reliable and cheap. I got a 12,000 mile 2015 LFX for $1,200.
The miata turbo motor was great, but it was just a pain to work on and there were always small issues popping up. (20 year old motor with 100k+ miles)

All in all, I am very happy I made the jump to the LFX. Such an amazing motor and it weighs the same as the miata turbo setup. So no extra weight like an LS swap.

Edit: On the plus side if you decide to go LFX, you can sell the miata turbo setup for quite a bit and cover a lot of the build costs for the LFX. You don't need to immediately put in a getrag and new axles, so that saves a ton too. I'm still using my miata diff with 3.91 gears and it is holding up great. You can take your miata driveshaft and just have it modified for the mv5 for a couple hundred bucks and save a grand there too.

Garman

I finally finished up my turbo install and a decent enough tune to get back on the road. OMG, what a huge difference boost makes in these cars. Garrett GT2554. I definitely need bigger tires now.

I'm still working on my tuning. This is my first experience with TunerStudio so I'm learning a lot along the way.

I can say with confidence that there aren't many cars on the road that can hang with this thing from light to light. It's stupid fast now.

I also finally got my personalized plate.

I'm really stoked to have gotten this far in my build. I put my deposit down two years ago and now I'm pretty well done.

Some pics of the final product:

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Excellent. Lmk if you have any tuning issues. I'd be happy to help.

LukeG

Any idea what you are putting down to the wheels?

Garman

Yes, please!

Garman

No idea at the moment. I’m going to a show tomorrow with a dyno. I’m considering doing a couple pulls to see where I’m at.

Garman

Working on some aero.

Audrey Spency

There has been more than a few recent issues with LTL carriers damaging the frames, and UPS shipping is outrageously expensive. In discussing this with the owner of Exomotive, we decided this was the best (and cheapest) option, especially since both my friend and I will be picking up our frames together, splitting the cost of the airline tickets and box truck rental. Another plus is that I get to tour the place and hopefully be given a ride in their test cars!
Kodi nox

Garman

Great move on your part. Save some money and also ensure that it gets home without any damage. Kevin is very accommodating at the shop. He's got lots of toys around.

Garman

Not sure if I’ll keep the aero but it’s growing on me. Either way it’s a big racing go cart. I love this machine.

LukeG

Looks great and the exocet provides never ending smiles.

Godless Commie

iTrader: (2)

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you were supposed to precision balance a turbo if you take it apart and remove the compressor wheel from the shaft.

That is what I do every time. They balance it at 100+k rpm.