Most lift tables carts have the hydraulics directly under the table, which can be hard to use under a car... that one is cool because it's cantilevered out so it gives some reach. Kind of like an 'inverted' cherry picker. Looks like it wouldn't be too difficult to build...

 

Track the Jack! We have all the boring track cars, but what we really need is the track jack.

 

I guess you could say yesterday was busy. Worked from 7am till 4 and got all the parts transferred over and the motor in the car!





Topped the "build" off with a Supermiata 8.3lb flywheel because it was a killer deal at $289 if purchased with a clutch. I'm glad I bought the kit because I didn't realize you need to add a pilot bearing to the 2.5. The pilot bearing on the MZR/Duratec motors is pressed into the crankshaft, and being an automatic, mine didn't come with one installed. I already needed a clutch for the 6 speed trans I'll be swapping into this thing eventually. Reinstalled the 5 speed into the car for now, though. The driveshaft for the 6 speed is also different and I need to source one of those.



The whole clusterf*ck ready to go back in. Not too many hiccups went on during the swap and install. The Xidas are so long at full extension that they'll get hung up on the fender wells during the subframe removal. Had to pull the upper control arm bolts and loosen the lower shock bolts to get them to clear. I forgot the 5 and 6 speed clutches have a different spline count so my 6 speed clutch alignment tool wouldn't work. Had to measure that manually to get the friction disc to line up but it wasn't that big a deal. Also, the dipstick hole on my eBay valve cover was slightly too small so I had to shave down the OD of the dipstick to fit. All minor stuff really.

Got the car fully reassembled yesterday and rolled it out of the shop, but had to stop there as I had plans last night. The whole engine swap went smoothly and I think it actually took me a little less time than swapping the engine in my NA. That being said, it'd be a much bigger procession to swap the engine without a lift and all of the assorted jacks I had access to. I cheated for sure.

Anyways, my dad met me at work today to finish the job. Esslinger states the new cams need to be broken in at 2,000-2,500rpm for 20 minutes from the second the vehicle starts, so I needed someone to be a second set of eyes for leaks and such after starting the car. I dry-cranked the engine over for 20 seconds to hopefully get some oil flowing through it. Sounded like it had good even compression. I then turned the key and it fired up on the first try! Got the break in done with mostly no mishaps. I was also bleeding the cooling system with a tall funnel while doing so and that overflowed much quicker than I was expecting, so we had to shut the car off and cap the radiator. Then, with about ten minutes done, the car suddenly got really loud and started setting off car alarms all over the place. I'd forgotten to tighten the muffler bolts and it rattled itself off. Oops, lol.



Got the break in done, changed the oil and filter (more break in oil for the first 500 miles as recommended by Esslinger), and drove her 20 minutes home without incident! The new motor has a good bit more kick than the 2.0L. It's not mind bending, but it's there. Based on my readings, it should be just another ~25whp more at peak but with a much wider powerband. That's about what it feels like. The car's got more pull everywhere in the rev range but especially down low and near redline. Again, not neck breaking, but I'd say the project was worth it! Hell, even with the 8lb flywheel, it still takes off the line quicker and easier than with the previous powertrain.



Proof that I actually drove the car home under its own power. Gonna start putting some miles on it this week so I can dump the break in oil and get it back on track! My buddy's putting on an event at Chuckwalla on the 27th this month. Should be a reasonable timeframe to work through any teething issues and have it ready to abuse.

 

Holy crap, you've been busy! Great work. Stoked to see some vids of it running soon!

 

DAMN. Nice job man. It continues to impress how quickly you got through these projects while I'm still thinking about my next small step ha. Yes, we need videos!

 

Thanks dudes! I was motivated for this one and we're currently tight on parking at work so I couldn't have my car sitting in the lot or on the lift for too long haha. I'll get a vid rowing it through the gears at some point this week. Probably won't look super fast but the exhaust note is killer lol. Super throaty and the engine's even got a nice little (super little) chop at idle with the cams.

 

Any chop counts as a chop in my book haha. Sounds like you're enjoying it and that's great to hear

 

Quick progress for sure, nice work. I'm so spoiled with my $million+ shop and $10k+ in Snap-On tools, nothing takes me longer than ~2 hours to do on an NA/NB. I never want to go back to tiny apartment garages or jack stands only. Gives me the chills just thinking about it.

And I'm not trying to be an ***, for anyone reading, having a big shop to work in is about the only decent benefit of being an auto technician.

 

Haha, much appreciated Curly. I’ll second all of this as well. The perks of the job almost make all the other aspects worth it (I like my job but f*ck can it be agitating most days).

 

No video yet but I’m gonna bring my camera with me tomorrow and try to shoot one on my way home from work. Had to take an update training course in LA tonight and took the car to put some miles on it. New motor now has 180 miles out of the 500 that Esslinger recommends for cam break in. The midrange torque continues to excite me. Above 3k rpm, the car just wants to take off. No more need to downshift for overtakes on the freeway.

Really excited to dump the straight 30wt break in oil out of the engine and swap back to some 5W30. Oil pressure is quite high (and temps subsequently hotter) with the break in oil. At 185*, oil pressure hovers around 60psi at 3,300rpm. I don’t want to run the engine all the way to redline as I’m not sure if there will be enough oil flow to keep everything happy. I’m sure it’s fine, but am still erring on the cautious side. Asked around and the general consensus I got was to just follow Esslinger’s recommendations on the cam break in as they build lots of Duratec motors.

Pic of the car next to an on ramp as proof that it’s still moving under its own power.



Ah yes, I almost forgot. I was going to keep this car stickerless, since it’s a street car too and I’m not a professional race car driver. However after delving through the NASA contingency list, and how many I could have qualified for at the last two races, I have decided the car’s getting a mild sticker bombing next year. Just in case anyone was curious why my Mazda now has Mazda decals on the rear fenders.

 

Success! First outing with the 2.5 went splendidly. It's still not an absolute face-melter, but the power on tap compared to the stock engine is awesome. Previously, the car felt like it only really made any power between 4.5-6k rpm. With the 2.5 (and cams), there's no more peaky torque curve. The power just comes on above 3k and keeps pulling all the way to redline, and there's more of it across the board. Very happy with how it feels.

Got a text from a buddy last night saying some of our group were going to drive the canyons this morning. Only caveat was that everyone was meeting up at 7am to avoid the crowds. After my last canyon drive, I was properly willing to trade the extra sleep for some empty roads. I dumped the break in oil and filter last night and refilled the motor with the usual Motorcraft 5W30 I've been running. Got up at 5:30 this morning and headed out shortly after. We hardly saw any other cars on our way up. Total win.



The engine's been running great. Only minor things need to be addressed so far. The current tune that I was sent goes excessively rich at WOT (averaging 11.2:1 across the whole rev range) and doesn't have flat shift or rev-match enabled. Otherwise, it seems perfect. Drives like it did OEM (or at least as close as possible for a cammed engine with a superlight flywheel), hits steady AFRs and logs at WOT show no knock detected. I threw in a new Stant thermostat/housing while dressing the new motor and it seems that unit is a 190-195* 'stat as opposed to the 180* one that was in the car before. I'm going to throw the 180* one from the 2.0L back in when I get a chance this week. Oil pressure on this engine is WAY higher than the oil pressure that my 2.0 used to show. We're talking like 30psi at hot idle versus 9psi. And 90psi at redline as opposed to the high 50s. I did some research and it looks like the pressures I'm seeing are right on target for spec, so I'm not worried about that at this point. Finally, the rear passenger side of the valve cover is making hard contact with the lower cowl panel. In all of my research, I've never once seen anyone talk about this, which is perplexing to me. Luckily, that 16" section of the panel is removable, so I'm just going to pull it out.

I brought the tune to Bryan at Fab9's attention and received a revised tune this afternoon that should target a leaner AFR at WOT. I'm going to load that up and try it out tomorrow. Hopefully leaning it out results in a noticeable power increase as well. All in though, there's nothing currently keeping me from enjoying the car, and for that I'm thankful.


Made a little stop at Newcombs Ranch on the way out just to check out the car park. This is where the more mature and reasonable crowd comes to hang out and show off their toys. Today's stars were a couple first-gen NSX's and a small gaggle of Lotus Elises (more than in the photo).

I've been having a recurring weird thought recently, and it feels almost blasphemous to say, but... maybe I can stop throwing money at my car next year and just run it in this configuration for a while. Once I receive and install the wing, it should be a damn near maxed out build for NASA TT5 class. It'd be cool to race the whole NASA SoCal series, go for championship points and hopefully take more than a few podiums and "cash in" on the available contingencies. And once the aero package is rounded out, the car should still put down some times similar to what I was doing in my NA. Tentatively, I think the move would be to run as many TT5 races as I could next year, plus GTA finals at Buttonwillow, then maybe add the turbo at the end of the year. Instead of putting money into the turbo and supporting mods, I could grab a set of track-only wheels and fancy tires, really put effort into refining the setup (maybe even buy a pyrometer and get the car corner balanced finally), and grab a spare engine to have at the ready in case of emergency. It's still just an idea, but I'm liking the thought of it more and more.

 

I'm a big fan of this approach. Ridiculous build threads are fun to read, but remember why you bought this thing - to get back on track reliably. Why even grab a spare engine? I don't think it took you too long to grab the current 2.5. You're staying below the regularly cited limits for reliability. Unless you come across a great deal on a cherry engine, just run what you've got.

It doesn't make for easy internet likes, but having a car that is get in and go reliable, no asterisks, is a great feeling. Track day tomorrow? Alright let me swap tires, do a quick safety check, and pack up my gear. No worrying about new mods. No constantly checking every gauge with worry down every straight. It just goes and goes and goes.

 

D'oh! Double post.

 

This.

Being able to just drive the car and have fun is priceless.

 

That's a wise thought Zak, and I completely agree Option XII, there's nothing quite like a fun/reliable car. I have a handful more mods for my car and then I'm "done" for a while. I just want to drive the thing, do maintenance, and enjoy it. There's an ego thing for sure where you want to get faster and faster, but I'm at that point where being the fastest doesn't matter. Ultimately I care about (in order of importance) not having to point everyone by, going out having fun, hanging with friends, and improving as a driver. That's been the goal for my car and I'm going to stick to it. Good to see you're having fun out there Zak!

 

Man, I knew you guys would support me making a reasonable decision haha. Like I said, it's a working thesis at this point. However, getting seven track days in quick succession after not being able to track my car for over half a year really has me leaning towards the "keep it reasonable" end of things.

I'm beginning to slide into this camp as well, although I do still have some of that ego drive where I want to be at the front of the pack. My original goal was to have a 370whp track car that could run down any other car in sight. While that would absolutely be super fun, I think a low-200whp NC (and even a 175whp NC like mine) could accomplish the same goal to a certain extent, while costing less and requiring way less modification and upkeep.

As for the spare engine, I figured it couldn't hurt to pick one up and have a backup ready in case the worst happens. They're only $600ish shipped and could minimize downtime or lost track day fees if I have a failure mid-season. Maybe you're right though and I'm getting ahead of myself. I should probably just get a few track days under my belt with the new engine first. Hoping it proves to be a workhorse. I've heard of failures with these 2.5s but also have a couple buddies and an acquaintance with 20+ track days on theirs and no issues yet.

 

Yeah, good plan. Seat time is king, being able to concentrate on driving technique rather than fettling a boosted car.

I tell the story of one of our club members, he ran a NA 1.6, high mileage bog standard in a standard road car class. He absolutely drove the ring off that car, the angles it adopted were frightening, all he did was replace pads and tyres for several years, ending up with a shelfful of trophies and championships, knocking off all sorts of improbable notionally faster cars in the process. He just worked on getting the most out of his car, fine-tuning the nut holding the steering wheel (as the saying goes).

If you do that, invest in a lap timer and learn to use the software - he used a Racechrono or something like that, and he studied the data hard, and with very good effect.

 

This. I mean, I agree with everything else you've said as well, but I've been lagging on getting myself a proper lap timer/data acquisition setup. It goes back to my previous point, I've been more focused on messing with and upgrading the car. I don't necessarily regret doing so, it's tons of fun, but I could probably be a substantially better driver at this point if I were looking at and using said software.

Same goes for car setup too. I still need to get a pyrometer and use it/make adjustments accordingly. I'm lucky enough to have access to an alignment rack six days a week but I've been making suspension and tire adjustments solely by the seat of my pants for two plus years now haha.

 

Ya I think the key to having fun and improving is having a reasonably quick car to start (or just being a better driver off the bat so you're able to make up for the lack of speed/power in the car). Having to point a lot of cars by sucks, so being quick enough to find a nice pocket and turn quick laps is fun to me. I'd bet a low 200whp NC would be just that. For $600 it's probably not a bad idea to buy a spare motor and leave it sitting around. That's cheap insurance.

 

Nice updates! I gotta say, I'm on board with the seat time idea for sure. It's not like this is a NA6 that desperately needs more power.

Drive it as-is until you get bored of it. For sure the itch will come and you'll be going F/I, but until then focus on all the other things. Car setup, driving skills/seat time, aero, etc.