My 99's Journey from the dark side to enlightenment.
 

My modification journey began when a co-worker was selling his M45 cheap. I figured "what the hell" and purchased it. I dynoed after installation and with stock pulleys making 5 psi of boost made 164.16 WHP and 139.23 lb-ft SAE corrected on a dynojet. After getting used to this I of course needed more power! So, I aquired an 01+ header, cone filter, put on a large crank overlay pulley, and a small supercharger nose pulley, and converted to E-85 using RX8 yellow 425cc/min injectors and walbro 255 lph fuel pump. Keep in mind this is all on a primitive piggyback non-adjustable fuel card and stock timing... hence the swap to E-85 to prevent blowing shit up at 9 psi of non-intercooled boost. With this setup (pictured here) I made 200.81 WHP and 174.34 lb-ft on the same dynojet I used previously.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...t-jr-m45-1-jpg

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...t-jr-m45-2-jpg

A few months back I sold the supercharger setup to some sucker (ummm, I mean I let it go, as reluctant as I was to part with it...) and purchased a Reverent built MS3. I already had the boost gauge and Innovate MTX-L wide band, so wired the wide band into the MS3. I will take some pictures of my current setup in the AM.

Next purchase was a full bore S6 setup from BEGi with the spud (now called S4 with external WG) along with clutch, flywheel, 3" exhaust with no cat, with the resonator and the "quiet" muffler option, radiator, coolant reroute... and commenced waiting. Also purchased full bore XIDA coilover setup from 949 racing... and commenced waiting.

The clutch and flywheel arrived, and I figured "if I have to pull the transmission to do the clutch I may as well throw in a 6 speed". My seller chose to trust UPS to package the transmission for shipment <sigh> The next set of pictures is the removed 5 speed, clutch and flywheel installed and the damage to the 6 speed it received during shipping. Mounting point for the slave cylinder was busted clean off!

Here is the 5 speed just after I pulled it out.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ed-removed-jpg

Here is the ACT pro lite flywheel... yes I cleaned off the fingerprints before installing the clutch!
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...t-flywheel-jpg

ACT clutch
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...act-clutch-jpg

6 speed as it arrived.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ed-arrived-jpg

View one of broken slave cylinder mount.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ng-point-1-jpg

View two of broken slave cylinder mount.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ng-point-2-jpg

View three of broken slave cylinder mount.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ng-point-3-jpg

So, purchased a used front half of the case and had it installed, cost me about $25 more than the insurance payout from UPS (had to fight hard for that, but they couldn't blame "customer packing" for the damage, so they are paying up).

So, at this point the status of the car is thus:

MS3, wide band and boost gauge, 01+ header, 3" no cat exhaust, ACT clutch and light weight flywheel, RX8 425cc/min injectors walbro 255 lph pump running E-85, 6 speed conversion with 4.3 rear end ratio, cone filter stuck right on the throttle body.

The final parts to my turbo system are due to arrive today "before end of day" according to UPS tracking.

I was surprised that the exhaust wasn't too loud, people bitch and moan about a large diameter exhaust on a naturally aspirated 1.8, but I don't find it that bad at all. It will be even quieter after the turbo goes on.

While waiting for repairs on the 6 speed I went ahead and did a shifter re-build since it had a torn lower boot, and the 6 speed shifts pretty nice. The clutch engages lower than it used too, but not "dragging" when disengaged so no harm no foul. I haven't stalled the car once with the 10.4lb ACT pro lite flywheel, and rev matching on downshifts is much "snappier" :)

I think I have dyno sheets for the M45 in the dyno sheets and timeslips forum, and I plan to do a naturally aspirated dyno session just for shits and giggles on the E-85 setup before installing the turbo system.

Here are some pics of the BEGi exhaust system compared to the stock setup.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...gi-muffler-jpg

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ipe-no-cat-jpg

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...-resonator-jpg

Only cosmetic change to the car is swapping to a NB2 center consol.

Thanks for listening to me ramble!

Keith

<edit> added pics.

Here are the thumbnails for above post

Keith

Very good start.

When you say the exhaust isn't loud now, do you have it on with the stock midpipe?

Nope, I put the BEGi midpipe and muffler on. I had to do some grinding on the stock downpipe bolt holes to get the midpipe to mate up to the stock downpipe... the bolt holes on the stock setup are slightly farther apart, and needed to be ovaled out a bit. I am not big on posting crap up on youtube, but I think I will take a couple video's of it.

Part of it is that I am used to driving turbo cars with a 3" exhaust and a strait thru muffler, so a muffler with baffles in it seams quiet :)

Keith

I see. I only ask because I when I had my enthuza setup on n/a, I considered it pretty loud, and it looks almost identical to your setup.

Also the raspiness was driving me insane. It would do it in a very specific spot - 2500

Be kind, my first attempt at a youtube video ever. Cold start and a few revs with the BEGi midpipe with resonator and their "quiet" muffler attached to a stock midpipe and 01+ header.



Thanks,

Keith

Your youtube-fu is weak Grasshopper.

Link was fucked up at first, but fixed it pretty quick... did you try to view before the link fix? Or is your comment because there is not enough tits and ass?

Keith

Posted before the fix, but now disappointed by lack of gay porn.

Sounds like Vlad nailed the raspiness range. It sounds nice and mellow coming down though.

Here is video of a run through the gears with the new BEGi 3" exhaust with the windows and top up.



Keith

Wait... 6spd and a 4.3? o_O

Yup, a lot of rowing through the gears :) My brain is still confused by the rapid RPM rise, the RPM's shoot up so fast in first and second that it almost seems like you are free-reving it, or have massive clutch slip :D

Keith

Are you planning on taking care of that before boost? Because well... that's going to be ridiculous. :rofl:

I remember those days hahaha

1st was so short I couldn't even hit full boost on the disco potato :laugh:

Here is a run through the gears with the top and windows down.



Keith

Nope, because I am looking at my brand new spud right now! I am out of town from Tuesday morning until next Monday, and it is killing me knowing that the turbo is sitting here waiting to go on while I am out of town unable to work on the car! I am thinking of doing a naturally aspirated dyno run early next week before I tear the car apart to put on the turbo. Depends on what the bank account looks like at that moment.

Question for everyone... when I do start upping the boost I may run out of fuel on these RX8 425's. I know that they will support 200 WHP because they did when I had the supercharger on the car... but if I start to lean out as I push beyond 200 WHP I will be upgrading to 1000cc/min injectors. My question is this: is there any difference between the $350 1000cc/min injectors sold by BEGi and the $500 1000cc/min injectors sold by other vendors?

Thanks,

Keith

You'll probably run out of motor before you run out of injector on those RX8s. (Stock motor, right?)

It depends: is begi selling ev14 flawlessly matched "injector dynamics" or hogged out ev6 "deatschwerks pnp" injectors?

too lazy to look.

PS: we've been down that road before if I recall correctly. I'm still of the same opinion I gave you then. Fuel injectors are one of those items that can make or ruin your setup.

If I was running gasoline you would be 100% correct. On E-85 I am not sure.

Back on my 05 EVO I had 1000cc injectors and I was running 100% duty cycle at 30 psi of boost and 550 wheel HP on E-85... so using that as my template I should be approaching 100% duty cycle at around 230 WHP.

I don't want injectors to cost me 20 usable HP... so I am pretty much decided to go ahead and order some 1000cc/min injectors after my next paycheck. Hooray for overtime money!

Keith

Oh, E85. Yeah, RX8s won't do that for you. Get the nice EV14 1000cc injectors. :)

BEGi site says they are "custom milled EV14 1000cc/min injectors". They come with flow charts and a complete latency table.

Sounds pretty sweet, but the price difference confuses me.

Keith

I think those are the "deatschwerks universal" ev14's. So basically like ID1000's, but not actually ID1000's. If you go on the deatschwerks site you'll likely find the same ones, for the same price. Five-o motorsports does something similar as well, and I think theirs are $299

I dunno, I haven't seen them (begi/dw ones) run yet............so you should guinea pig them :giggle:

Well since I wasted $150 on a new clutch disk when I buggered up the splines on the first one saving $150 on the injectors will get me back to even right? I will give them a shot and let everyone know how I like them.

Keith

Make sure you check out FAB9 too, I know for sure he has an account with DW

Final video, just idle after fully warmed up. It sure is quieter at 900 RPM than it was at 1500 RPM on the cold startup!



I am going to go take a picture of the engine bay as it currently sits with my GM air temp sensor zip tied to the outside of the cone filter attached directly to the throttle body :D

Keith

just watched the vids.

its even more raspy than my enthuza was lol.

Its ok though, once you go turbo the sound will be lightyears better, and it will actually sound amazing.

Here are those engine bay pics:

First one is the air filter with the GM air temp sensor zip tied to it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...air-filter-jpg

The next is the 01+ header.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...-01-header-jpg

Next week I will lay out all the cool new parts from BEGi and take pics of them before starting the installation.

Keith

LOL@that "intake".

I kinda like it

If you're going to be a guinea pig, try the 5-0 injectors. I wanna see how pnp they really are. They flow match and include the flow sheet and latency table. Looks like closer to $400 for what you're looking for.
2002 MAZDA MIATA L4, 1.8L, GAS Fuel Injectors

btw how are the rx8 injectors on e85? how's idle, part throttle, etc? I often wondered whether ev6's idle/behave better on corn due to needing higher pw's

Sorry for slow reply, didn't see this question.

The RX8's work great, idle is rock steady and no problems at part throttle. I do have the "lean on hot restart" issue, and I need to ask on the MS3 lean hot start thread if the others experiencing it are using RX8 injectors or if it is with a variety if different injectors.

Keith

I said in my first post I would dyno it "as is" to get a feel for what I am making with the exhaust, E85, MS3, and my awesome ultra-short intake... so here it is!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...irated-run-jpg

I asked what a stock 99 makes on this dynojet and was told "around 110 WHP"... so a solid 20 WHP gain over stock combined with the short gearing of the 6 speed makes it feel faster than it was with the M45 at 5.5 psi and the stock 5 speed.

You can see the rest of my dyno sheets over in the dyno and time slip sub forum here:

https://www.miataturbo.net/dynos-tim...6-speed-80497/

Later,

Keith

PS: pics of parts to come in AM before I start the installation.

Not the most exciting pictures... but it gives an idea of how the parts arrive from BEGi.

Pics of a bunch of bags of parts and still wrapped up parts... if interested click on the thumbnails... I am not going to bother putting them all in full size in this post.

Keith

aww yeah :party:

Fun fact... bag #1 contains the instructions on CD. I hooked up my external CD ROM (since modern computers don't have optical drives) popped in the CD... and it is a blank CD-R!!!

Panic mode e-mail sent to Stephanie, and I will be calling when I wake up in the morning.

Keith

Just got the shipping e-mail from 949 racing... my Xida's are in the mail! Build thread just got a boost in complexity :)

Keith

wow, s6 kit and xidas.

not a bad way to spend close to 10 grand :D

In the past I have done things half assed, and then upgraded to what I really wanted later... you end up spending 15K on it to get what would have been a 10K build if you had done it right the first time. Throw in wheels and tires to take advantage of the power and suspension and we are talking another 1.5K to 2K...

Then the daily driver will be "done for now" and I can start working on my drag car that I have been ignoring. 1984 Dodge Conquest (re-badged Mitsubishi Starion).

Keith

Couple new pictures, and a question.

I am very tempted to pull the AC system out while I am ripping things apart. Can you retain the power steering by just going to a shorter belt or do you need a dummy pulley where the AC compressor used to be?

I always remove the hood when doing engine work.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...od-removed-jpg

Old and new Radiators side by side.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...t-radiator-jpg

I had no idea how thin the stock radiator is!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...comparison-jpg

Keith

You need a dummy pulley. No longer available through Mazda, but Kia sells it.

There was a thread about it on here... the assembly was about $80.

That said... just remove PS, too. A properly depowered rack isn't hard to drive at all.

are you retaining stock fans/shrouds with that mishi?
if so, shorten those stupid mounting points now while its easy.

Yeah, keeping stock fans. Didn't realize mounting points were too long.

Thanks for the heads up on that!

Keith

PS: Looks like I will just keep the AC. Use it about twice a year, but not purchasing another part to get ride of it.

Remove A/C AND PS.

Remove many parts. Cost none of the money. Win at life. Man pants. Cool kids. Etc.

And the mounting bolts, if needed.

Looks like I can cut down a bunch of stuff and still have a gap at the bottom of the main fan, or I can stuff foam strips in the gaps, and duct tape around the edge's and call it a day.

Keith

More pictures!

Rather than cutting down and re-tapping the radiator fan mounting points, I purchased two strips of air conditioning insulation foam rubber.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...insulation-jpg

I put this around the entire parimeter of the radiator fans, probably better air flow with this setup than their was stock!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...iator-fans-jpg

I finally figured out that the hose barb on the lower radiator hose connection at the mixing manifold is for the hose going to the oil / water distribution block for turbo water supply / return. I feel like the hole for the barb fitting was drilled in the wrong place, the barb fitting is pointed directly at the power steering pump, and the rubber hose run right behind the pulley. I don't think it is touching, but it would be hard to slide a piece of paper between them.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...s-pulley-1-jpg

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...s-pulley-2-jpg


I e-mailed Stephanie about it, and expect a response first thing Monday morning... oh wait, no... I mean I will have to call her to get her to open the e-mail and look at the pictures.

Progress is being made!

Keith

:rofl:
That's another sign that you just need to take the whole pump out.
People who can't handle manual steering in a miata need to exercise their forearms more.:jerkit:

I just don't want to fuck with de-powering the rack right now amidst all the other stuff I am doing. My forearms are fine, back in my supercharged days, I ran for a couple weeks with the power steering / AC / supercharger belt removed. Even without a properly depowered rack it was only a pain in the ass at parking lot speeds.

What is your recommended method for depower if I decided to go that route? I only use the AC in the winter to help with de-fogging the windows, so if I do the depower, the AC is coming out as well... but from what I read I need a certain bolt to prevent an oil leak if I pull off the AC compressor.

Keith

More progress made, with some pictures.

I swapped out the RX8 425cc/min injectors for the 1000cc/min injectors BEGi sells. Came with a flow balance sheet with a crap load of test numbers, including the latency numbers at various battery voltages.

Here are the RX8's about to come out and go up for sale:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...t-come-out-jpg

Here is a comparison between the old and new injectors. The new ones have the electrical connection lower down than the old injectors... but I didn't have any trouble connecting them.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...egi-1000cc-jpg

Here is a view of the business end of both. The RX8's have multiple small holes, the new 1000's seem to have one giant pintle.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...-begi-1000-jpg

And here are the 1000's in their new home.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...000s-place-jpg

Here is a tip for anyone doing injectors. The first time you do injectors take some RTV and stick the spacers in their correct locations. This makes it easier to get the fuel rail back in place, and the next time you pull the fuel rail there is no chance of a spacer dropping down into the depths of the engine never to be seen again.


Keith

Yes, you need to stuff a bolt in the hole the bracket leaves in the block. I forget the size. I'll try to find it in a sec. There are a few ways to depower the rack, but it's best to do it the FM way by cutting the seals. Here's their write-up: Flyin' Miata : Tech: 1.8 conversion

Yeah, pain in the ass since I need the car running before this weekend. My vacation ends Friday. Stephanie did respond to my e-mails... but much confusion was avoided by me giving her a call to discuss my e-mails. The instructions I am using are crap, and I don't think she really has any intention of fixing them. Hell even if she does I will have puzzled out and put together everything long before she gets around to it. She has had since March to put together a comprehensive instruction set for this kit... and sent me a blank CD-R. Not sure if I talked about this already in this thread and I am repeating myself like an old man :) I am using three sets of instructions downloaded from their site right now, S4 kit on a 99-05, S6 kit on a 94-97, and coolant re-route on 99-05.

I use this car year around, and really don't want to loose the AC for the defogging function. Amazing how much better dry air is at dispelling moisture! So, for now I will leave the hose where it is... Stephanie said she will talk to Corky about it and show him the pictures.

Keith

I dunno if you already posted this, but what turbo did you have shipped with your s6?

I went with the classic spud with .86 Tial V-band housing. My last turbo car had a power band from 5000 RPM to 8000 RPM... so what people consider bad boost onset here is sort of silly to me :) Having 3500 RPM to 7500 RPM will be an extra 1000 RPM of area under the curve for me :D

Keith

That's cool.

Though you're gonna have to keep it at a boner-killing 10ish psi if you want those stock rods to remain inside the block. Which should motivate you to build asap, because the difference between 10psi and 15+ on a spud is astronomical :party:

I am actually thinking of doing the progressive boost control with the MS3 and EBC solenoid to limit torque but ramp up boost at higher RPM. Put springs in the external for 10ish psi, and ramp it up as RPM's rise past the torque peak.

Keith

PS: At first of course it will be limited to the 10ish psi. Then after I vent the block with a busted rod the sky is the limit!

Coolant re-rout complete!

Here is where the re-routed heater core line goes into the new lower radiator hose.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...iator-hose-jpg

Here is where I hose clamped the lower radiator hose to the swaybar to keep it away from the pulleys and belts.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...d-sway-bar-jpg

Here is the rear thermostat housing... got RTV everywhere putting that motherfucker in place.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...at-housing-jpg

Here is the rear section of the upper radiator hose.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...upper-hose-jpg

Here is the middle of upper hose. Highest point is below radiator cap height. Took a lot of test fitting and cutting to get it low enough. If I pulled the charcoal canister crap out it would have been easier.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...upper-hose-jpg

And finally the front blockoff and Radiator. You can also see the new lower hose.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...koff-plate-jpg

Next step is Fab 9 tuning coil on plug system. Looks like this will bethe easiest step in this build!

Keith

COP and power steering cooler are done. Pics

Here are the pencil coils installed. Plug gaps on the supplied plugs varried from .038 to .042, so I set them all down to .038 If I have spark blowout I will gap them down in increments until it goes away.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1409058975

Here is the plug and play connector, it is at the front passenger side on the NB1 cars.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1409058975

And here is the ignition module mocked up on the firewall. Didn't come with self tapping sheet metal screws, so I have to pick up some this morning to do the mounting. If I had some CPU heat transfer paste sitting around I would slather the heat transfer surface... but I don't and I am not going to order some just for this.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1409058975

Here is the BEGi power steering cooler mounted up front at the top of the opening in the bumper.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1409058975

And here in my opinion is the proper routing of the power steering lines for the BEGi power steering cooler. The stud that the rubberized clamp is mounted too is one of the mounting points for the fog lights, and the lines are running in the gap between the frame rail and the mounting point for the front sway bar.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1409058975

The last of the "fiddly bits" are the oil supply, and oil drain... then it is on to the meat and potatoes of the manifold, turbo, downpipe and intercooler.

Any advice on reaching the oil supply point under the intake manifold? Looks like a real pain in the ass.

Keith

It is. Either jack the car up and remove the passenger wheel, or yank the alternator.
And of course there's always the option of yanking the IM.

Its not too much more difficult than changing the oil filter though, just takes some shoving of hands through crevices that were designed for tiny japanese hands lol.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...s-pulley-1-jpg


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...%2520Corky.jpg

Keith... i have a stupid question:

What sort of sorcery are you doing with your heater lines, and why? I have a Begi homebrew re-route to do, with the Escalade hose or whatever the hell, and i don't remember seeing anything about that "T" in the write ups i was looking at.