Trogdor the ST5 Burninator!
 

I'm going to be documenting the rebuild of my miata race car named Trogdor. I'm changing it from a competitive SuperMiata car into a regional NASA ST5 car and considering participating in national championships.

I bought the car back in 2010 and slowly bought all the go fast bits with every penny I could scrounge together as I competed in Miata Challenge. Eventually decided to go W2W racing and got a BFW cage installed and started with NASA PTE in 2013 but didn't have the budget to be competitive. Quickly jumped ship after a hand full of races to the newly forming SuperMiata series where I've been chasing the championship until the end of 2018 when I decide to move from California to Colorado. Got a new job, bought a house, and now time to rebuild for ST5 in NASA Rocky Mountain region.

I rewired the entire car with all new connectors and components back in 2013 with aviation circuit breakers, AEM EMS-4, and RacePak IQ3 Dash. I learned a lot as an engineer in the automotive industry so I'm hoping to fix some things that really bother me everytime I see them. I'll be keeping the RacePak for now but purchased a MS3Pro EVO and ECUMaster PMU-16 over the holidays. I'm deep in the electrical planning phase and I finally pulled my car out of the trailer after over a year. Also picked up a used OS Giken with 4.77 gears from a buddy so Iooking forward to trying that. I had a fresh long block built by Haag before I moved that is waiting to be installed after I get the electronics sorted.

Any other Colorado or NASA Rocky Mountain people on here?

Finally in the garage
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8eee56df0d.jpg

Sonoma SuperMiata race from a few years ago
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...81d13afc51.jpg

SuperMiata action shot
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b3c8088fea.jpg


Interior shot as it sits now
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b3eca4310c.jpg

Corkscrew shot from Miata Challenge days
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6a80bc1c6f.jpg

I guess that’s one way to burninate the peasants.

First... you draw an S...

Consummate Vs in Colorado

Got a little bit of time today to start tear things apart.

Hardtop and windshield out. need to make some new brackets and possibly replace the 7 year old lexan
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d8d1e58622.jpg


Battery was still above 12V after sitting in a trailer all winter so that's cool.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f27d6626fa.jpg

So many zipties just to get the main battery cable out. Out with the welding cable too.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d5f138f5e4.jpg

Excited to get rid of this rat's nest
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ea3f8c849c.jpg

and ghetto power breaker bus
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...87105b62fd.jpg

Snuck in some more time than I thought I would be able to this weekend. Finished removing the old power distribution system and mounted the MS3 and PMU. I had some problems with my AEM not starting up when it got too hot (turns out it is a weird password glitch) so I wanted to tuck the electronics a little more under the dash and out of the sun. Bent some 1/8" aluminum brackets with space behind the boxes to hopefully run most of the harness between the boxes and firewall. Brackets don't look the best but the boxes are plenty sturdy. I used to have a full machine shop at my disposal at work but I'm stuck with hand tools and a vice for now.

I was thinking I would mount the battery in the passenger area but I'm not liking any spots where the battery would fit. Trunk mounted might be cleaner and more protected without having to rethink grounding.
I need to finish up my electrical planning so I can order the rest of my wiring supplies. I'm also planning other system upgrades to fuel, brakes, and front end aero.

Picture of MS3 and PMU mounted under the dash
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e7c0c9ba39.jpg

this is a great thread!

Been busy with planning and ordering.

Planed out the entire electrical system in excel down to the pin and wire color level. Also started working in Jira to track tasks and I'm building out the documentation in Confluence. Sampling here:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6004aeb9d2.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...98fe0c30a6.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0e6a7781e1.jpg


So many boxes to ship but supplies are starting to roll in
Got the ECUMaster CAN keyboard and Battery Isolator:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a4cbe505ce.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...631f4d5ef4.jpg


All new TXL wires form ProWireUSA, new connectors for all the sensors and items on the engine from Ballenger Motorsports, Radium fuel rail to go with the 450cc injectors i picked up earlier, and some deutsche motorsports connectors:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...95259203f3.jpg

I'm breaking the MS3pro 5v ref out to 9 sensors (TPS, IAT, CLT Temp, CLT Pres, Oil Temp, Oil Pres, Fuel Pres, Fuel Level, Brake Pres) and I was trying to figure out a graceful way to do that without a giant soldered glob of wires. I came across a deutsche connector splice which is a bus bar the connects all or some of the pins in a connector. Each pin can handle something like 13 amps so it will be good for this and allow modifications in the future without redoing a soldered connection. I picked up a couple 12 pin bussed connecters for the 5V and sensor ground distribution. Also picked up a couple 6 pin version for low amp grouding circuits to hopefully control the grounding rats nest.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...68843aebdf.jpg
Still waiting on a few more goodies and trying to figure out if I'll be able to connect the Battery Isolator, PMU, MS3Pro, and Racepak all on a single CAN bus and log it all on the Racepak. I refuse to buy a $450 universal CAN bus adapter and I've been eyeing an AIM MXL2 but haven't convinced myself I "need" it but I'd rather put the money towards that. I found this Vnet diagram so it's worth a try to go straight to the Racepak CAN.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d6d43fd087.jpg


I also starting putting together my plans for the fuel system plumping and moving the brake bias adjuster inside the cabin along with a break pressure sensor.

After only 3 failed and over complicated iterations, I finished my battery mount. Mounted to the Battery Isolater on the top. Waiting for the ETX14 to arrive but the ETX9 is dimensionally the same except for the height.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fb60a3cf00.jpg

Also worked on harness routing. Mocked up engine and chassis harness with some 3/8" nylon rope to determine branch points and mounting locations. Saw this technique in a High Performance Academy youtube video from their club level harness series. Watched the available free videos and picked up some good tips but not sure $200+ will make a difference at this point.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cd09543d56.jpg

Pulled it all out of the car in one piece so I should be able to build the majority of the harness to this template without dealing with the constraint of the car.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cce25dc456.jpg

Still looking for some good grommets for the large 2.75" openings in the firewall on either side. Ordered a couple to try off of amazon but not really finding anything else if these don't work. Anybody seen something that works?
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5a0d3732e4.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0d7ab0d758.jpg

Still been moving along with the build in my spare time. I'm fortunate enough to have a job during this pandemic that allows me to continue to work from home so still leaves me with just weekend time.

Decided to upgrade to an AIM MXL2 so got that mounted up with minor modifications to the mount I was using for the my Racepak IQ3. Also started learning about the CAN setup and digging into the analysis software and I'm pretty sure I'll be adding an AIM steering sensor string pot to he steering shaft. Lots of great youtube videos out there and articles to read. Stumbled on to a class that is probably way above my level being taught by John Block. He seems to have a ton of great data experience at the pro level and now retired so not afraid to spill the beans on things that might have pushed the limits of rules in Indy and NASCAR. He has something like 250 math channels setup in the AIM software and he is sharing most of his process and profiles with us.

Also go the center console setup with the CAN Keyboard, new AEM digital wideband with CAN interface so I don't have to deal with analog in inaccuracies, GoPro switch, and power save switch for the ECU Master battery isolator. 3 seperate Deutsch DTM connectors behind the console.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a5efbc1687.jpg

Been figuring out the fuel system. Going with all -6 AN lines and mounted a Fuelab 818 6 micron filter back where the original filter was. Spec'd out and ordered all the hose fittings I need but I'll get to that when I hit a road block on the electrical build. I was mainly focused on getting everything mounted that needs an electrical connection and I was hoping to install the flex fuel sensor near the filter but the filter is pretty large. Here I was able to use a top existing hole and made a new hole for a rivnut. When I first started modifying this car, I was heavily using SAE hardware at work so I brought that over to the car. Now I'm trying to only use metric hardware and mostly M6 bolts with a 10mm flanged head unless it really doesn't make sense for the application. I've got a growing assortment of 10.9 M6 hardware to support this effort.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...790d270272.jpg

Ended up putting the flex fuel sensor in the engine bay post fuel rail before the FPR. fuel already had to do a U-turn there so just have to use 2 90 deg fittings to make this work. Used M6 rivnuts to mount the flex fuel sensor to the firewall. Also installed a AEM 100 psi pressure senor instead of an analog gauge so I can log and diagnosis any dynamic problems from data. Maybe catch a clogging filter or dying pump.
Also mocked up the Radium fuel rail with AN ports for fuel line routing decision but didn't grab a picture.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...efb16cab7a.jpg

I'm also making new power cables for the alternator and starter but discovered a problem as I was disassembling the intake manifold to get access. 2 of the nuts were missing and the front runner has a decent size crack in it. I'm guessing it has something to do with the Hondata intake gasket I have been running for at least 5 years. I've heard some bad things about them just recently so I was already planning to ditch it but now I have to order a new lower squaretop intake manifold piece. The Hondata was pretty warped and misshaped so it would have been trashed anyways.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...da0120b362.jpg

Made up some 2 gauge power cables for the starter and alternator. Feeds from the battery lug on the PMU which is a direct connection to the battery. I'm running a NA8 alternator so all it needs is the 12V sense so I tied into the alternator output lug with a ring terminal for the existing connector. I had been connecting that to the starter before but seems unnecessary to have a longer wire.
You can also see the Bosch knock sensor installed on the block. I drilled out to match the M12(?) stock mounting hole which I read other people had done successfully. I'll have the sensor setup and wired in, but I'm not planning on putting a lot of effort into making it usable yet unless the tuner wants to utilize it.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6c36e95961.jpg

This is the best setup I could come up with on the battery to battery isolator. The output side will have a 90 degree bend and go straight up the interior of the car. just waiting on some more cable sleeving to arrive for that longer run.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ec565be45f.jpg

After All the end points in the harness were established, I went back and modified the harness to match and double checked I had everything on my spreadsheet accounted for. I'm using Deutsch DT/DTM connectors at all the components that don't have predefined connectors. Pulled the mock harness off the car and started with the existing MS3pro harness. Removed all the wires I don't need (about half) and starting routing the wires. Probably have to pop the main connectors off if I want to do a good job with heat shrink and cable sleeving but I'll figure that out later. I'll start running the PMU wires next. I also noticed some inconsistencies in the MS3pro EVO documentation regarding ground pins and shield drain pins. I'm hoping the prebuilt harness is correct vs the manual.
This mock harness will help me determine the start and end points of the CAN bus. I'm not sure how sensitive the lengths are but I'm running the CAN bus all the way back to the battery isolator in the trunk so I'm thinking end points will be AIM dash and battery isolator. I have also been interested in the IR tire sensors AutoSport Labs has been teasing. Those will be CAN devices so might need to run the bus all the way to the back of the car regardless but I don't think that battery isolator has a built in 120 ohm terminator so I'll have to do it manually.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3baab9bd4e.jpg

curious - were you using the intake manifold support arm?

I was not using the support arm.
It makes sense the manifold cracked where it did with the missing nuts and I don't think it's realistic to think the support arm would have stopped the nuts from loosening. Maybe slowed the process but not changing the result.

After a busy work schedule, spring yard work, and grad school stuff, I finally got to spend some more time working on the car this weekend.

All the cool kids are doing it these days and I had brand new squeaky clean square top so I decided to paint it red. I used some rustoleum enamel and a couple coats of clear so hopefully it looks good for a couple years. I'll probably sell the old one for cheap to someone that wants to weld up the crack.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4babb06573.png

Finished up the bench top wiring layout. I'll test fit in the car one more time to make sure the lengths are good and pull it back out to finish it up with cable sheathing and terminate all the ends with new connectors. Only had a to make a few minor modifications along the way so my spreadsheet planning was well worth it. Almost didn't catch that MS3pro has internal bias resistors for CLT and IAT inputs.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cf47d6107c.png

Started putting together my CAN mapping for the system. I haven't powered on anything on this list yet and some of the documentation is a little lacking on default CAN ID and default messages but I think I've captured traffic on the CAN bus well enough to get started. Creating the custom AIM CAN configuration to read and log everything will take a little bit of time but hopefully just a matter of typing in this information and converting to the right variable with correct units.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2c553a89d0.png

To Do list keeps getting longer:
-Finish wiring
-configure everything
-Fuel system plumbing
-new oil cooler mounting and plumbing
-rebuild radiator ducting
Then suspension, diff, safety gear, hubs, brakes, etc

Spring has sprung and yard work took over my weekend, but I bought some parts from someone local clearing out some unused parts from a planned S1 build that never happened for a decent price. Picked up a set of Xida Gen 2 1000/500 w/ coaxial billet mounts, RB front sway, and a custom Tilton 7.25" Clutch/Flywheel. Flywheel is a one off designed by Tilton and the clutch is designed for ~300 HP with standing starts and trailer loading in mind. Interested to try out the metallic clutch disc.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f0e8c94617.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...66ffb93d6a.jpg

Throw should be short. That allows you to set engage point down near floor. Just make sure there is a touch of freeplay in pushrod going into M/C.
Adjust pushrod and brake light switch so engagement point is near flooor. Technique to make it easier is to forget normal clutch actuation of lifting leg. That's modulating with your thigh basically. As clutch grabs (instantly) car moves forward, leg doesn't.. stall.
Instead keep heel on floor and release pedal by rotating ankle. Car lurches forward but foot stays on pedal. Feels weird but you get it quickly and loading ain't as difficult.

On track its just a slap to shift, easy transition from dead pedal. Or just put a damn sequential in it :)

Spent some time refreshing my trailer electrical system this weekend. My battery box was most likely a swimming pool or ice cube all winter so I had to replace a few things there. Plugged the top vents with silicone and drilled a few small drain holes in the bottom of the box to make sure it didn't happen again. Still plenty of ventilation from the cable openings on the box. New solar controller is now inside the trailer and all the in-line fuse holders and fuses were replaced. The deep cycle wet marine battery was doing some funky things on the charger until I realized it was bone dry inside. About a gallon of distilled water fixed that. I was installing a TireMinder TPMS system on the trailer last weekend which trigger this whole thing. I was forced to go to the truck's 7 way plug for power for the repeater but now it's running off a solar maintained battery and everything seems happy. Just have to remember to bring the battery in the garage during winter storage.

Trailer wiring took longer than expected so didn't get as far on the car as I hoped on Sunday. Managed to trim the harness down to all the appropriate lengths and extend a few runs where the MS3 harness wasn't long enough. Should be ready for sheathing and connectors now. Decided to wrap up the console wiring since that is the last major wiring outside the main harness that I haven't completed. Reused a Deutsch HD30 connector I had on my previous setup but had to make a separate 4 pin connector for the camera control due to the number of pins on the HD30. In the future I might change the camera system to an AIM camera but seems a little hard to swallow a $1000 setup for a camera that isn't fully integrated into the data analysis yet. I've heard that could change soon with AIM.

CAN Keyboard will control the switching on of powered accessories, ECU and engine related power, starter actuation, cool suit, wipers, manual fan, and NOS*.
*possibly not actually NOS.
The larger red button is the latching control for the battery isolator. Restoring power from the isloator will power the CAN keyboard only and the keyboard will also show status on the lighted ring around each button.
The smaller red button and LED is a hardwired button for the GoPro Hero3. Got this from the UK from www.gopro-remote.com and it's been working great along with a USB powered battery replacement. Never have to touch the camera except to retrieve the footage. You do lose time data but the file names are sequential.
There's also a Blue Marine USB charger I'll be using for the GoPro and backup dash cam.
After the picture, I added a panel mounted Deutsch connector above the USB charger for a CAN breakout for programming and diagnosing CAN devices. I'll look at adding the AIM MXL2 USB port above the USB charger too.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...038ca9697f.png

CAN is sexy on cheap race cars

First weekend in a long time I didn't have work and/or school stuff to deal with so I was able to spend a lot of time building my harness in my hot garage. Destroyed the circular Deutsch HD30 connector while trying to repin it so I have to wait for the new DTM 12 pin connectors to arrive to finish the console connector and sub-harness. Almost done with the injector and coil sub-harnesses too and then I should be ready to put this in the car. Not a single reused wire or connector on the harness. Only exception I can think of is the crank position sensor with the 1 or 2 inch leads going to the OEM connector I retained to make swapping of that part universal.

Labeled and almost ready to go:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3b75cf7dce.png

The tiny pins and connector for the ECUMaster Battery isolator. I thought it was strange to crimp the gold side, but that was the consensus on ECUMaster FB group and seemed to line up with other indicators. Now I have a crimper I might not ever use again.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...da905e6425.png

Next up is to finish the sub harnesses and mount in the car. Starting from a blank slate on the setup of the MS3Pro Evo, PMU-16, and AIM MXL2.

Also picked up an unused GT-250 wing with mounts from Renderos Racing and ordered tubular race splitter mounts from KazeSpec

Finished up the harness and started slowly figuring out how to get all the new electronics working together. Steep learning curve for the ECUMaster stuff but I'm starting to get the hang of it. Got the battery isolator and PMU booted up and working together and uncovered an oversight on my can network design. I couldn't figure out how to change the battery isolator bit rate and didn't realize I couldn't change the primary CAN channel bit rate on the PMU. A facebook post to the ECUMaster group page helped me sort out how to change the bit rate and then I just had to swap some pins on the PMU to CAN2 to be able to drop it down to 500 Kbps. The bummer is that I can only program the PMU through CAN 1 so I had to put a seperate CAN connector for that and I have to keep swapping between CAN busses to trouble should vehicle CAN vs PMU CAN but could be worse.

Started with something simple and safe when setting up the PMU. Brake lights work! I'll have to put some logic in to use the brake light switch which is wired as an analog input to the PMU.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3ce00bca77.png

Had some trouble getting the CAN keyboard working but I was accidentally trying to use the connector pin number instead of the output number in the software when assigning outputs so easy fix. The learning curve is steep. Started expanding outward and got the AIM MXL2 powered and updated and made sure the Wideband gauge powered on. I was getting all power output channels setup and about to start working on logic with the keyboard when I happened to check firmware on the CAN Keyboard. I had updated the battery isolator earlier when I was figuring that out so I figured I'd do the same. The ECUMaster software has an updater built in and it downloaded the file and as soon as I hit the start firmware update, the entire power system completely shutoff. I narrowed it down to the battery isolator not turning on and at that moment, I had the PMU, battery isolater and CAN keyboard powered on all on the same CAN bus. I think one of the CAN messages used to either put the keyboard in update mode or send the data probably bricked the battery isolator. I double and triple checked all the grounds and made sure nothing is connected to the isolator but I still can't get it to turn on. I posted on the ECUMaster facebook group and sent an email to tech support but haven't been able to figure out the issue yet. I was just starting to figure it out, but I have a problem with compulsive updating even when I don't need it. I'm at a dead end for diagnosing the battery isolator so I'll have to bypass it until I can figure out a fix. Hopefully I hear back from tech support soon.

Adding a rear rain light? Might as well while you're in that mode. Rains like every afternoon where you live right?

I wasn't planning on it but it would be pretty easy to add with 2 extra wires. I'll see what a good rain light would cost me. I have no idea if there is a standard for blink rate or even solid like a euro fog light.

I was toying with the idea of changing the way the brake lights turn on or off. Maybe instant on but slow fade or delay off might give me an advantage if someone is on my bumper.

I really like that the PMU allows me to see actual current draw. I wish I would have all this info prior to building the harness. It will be interesting when the car is running at full bore.

Did some further diagnosis and wasn't able to bring the Battery isolator back to life so I by passed it for now. Hopefully I will get some tech support soon or send it in for repair. Too expensive to just write off. Bypassing allowed me to keep working on setting up the rest of the electronics. The CAN Keyboard is pretty cool. I can set colors based on status and put in logic to activate certain circuits based on other settings.

Keyboard starts up when power is applied and the top left power button shows a red status. Push the power button to turn on accessories like Dash, transponder, and USB power socket. 2nd button turns on anything engine related like MS3pro, coils injectors, and wideband. Also logic in these power outputs where power button and ecu button has to be on so I can hit one button to turn it all off. Starter button is setup as a momentary button only active when ECU power is on and RPMs below 500 so I can't accidentally engage the starter. Cool suit, wipers, and fan follow similar logic with needing the power button. The PMU is receiving water temp over CAN and conveniently has a hysteresis setting to allow the fan to turn on and off a different temps or with the push of a button. Top right spare button is an indicator that turns orange or red if the PMU has any over/under currents detected. NOS button is for when i get the danger in manifold error message on the screen but also just cycles through the color options with each button press for now. I also setup the logic with analog inputs for fuel pump control and brake light switch and need to calibrate the fuel level sensor. It was a steep learning curve to get the PMU working but it's really just comparative statements in the PMU software interface and pretty easy to setup as you like. Lots of ways of doing the same thing so whatever fits your needs and it was generally pretty intuitive.

I also started setting up the AIM MXL2 and MS3pro Evo but had some problems with getting the data flowing to the MXL2. I'm starting from a blank slate on both and the first time in either environment so I'm slowly getting used to it. I have to manually create the AIM CAN config for all the data on the CAN bus from the PMU and MS3pro and lots of opportunity to get a check box wrong or CAN Id off but easy enough to test once it's in there. I bought the AIM through Matt at Trail Brake so I'm waiting for a response to the email I sent to figure out what I'm doing wrong. The data is there on the CAN bus but not showing on the screen. The MS3pro is a little overwhelming on where to start so I'm leaving it for last. My goal is to get all the sensors setup properly and at least get the car to run before handling over to a good local tuner. I have zero experience in turnerstudio but I'm hoping I can utilize a MS3pro pnp base map to build off of. I'll be leaning on the content of high performance academy's MS3pro section of their practical tuning class to get everything ready prior to the dyno.

NASA Rocky Mountain had their first event of the year this last weekend and I was pretty bummed to see only 2 cars in ST5. Looks like there were close to 10 in ST6. TT5 had 5 people and a BMW 330i ZHP crushed everyone by a significant margin. Big classes out here are GTS and SpecMiata but that's not an option anytime soon for me. I saw that when I was looking to move out here to CO but I'm still hopeful ST grows. I can always pivot to ST6 if need but I'll keep an out on Utah and Central regions.

Picture when I was playing around with colors. The outer ring color shows up more "white" based in the picture than in person.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...dd7ac2068c.png

Pretty cool to see everything moving along. Sucks about the isolator taking a shit.

My AiM PDM and Dash have been ordered for awhile now but they said they might finally be shipping within the next couple of weeks so I'll be doing the same song and dance with figuring all this stuff out soon.

And I feel you about the low ST turnouts. Here in AZ it seems like everyone is in either Spec Miata, some Spec 944 and then there are guys in ST2 and ST3. I won't have enough power to bring a fight to ST3, so hoping I can convince some people to get ST4 going...

Hopefully it's a smooth launch from AIM. I can't find a single mention of anyone using an ECUMaster Battery Isolator online so I'm really on my own so hopefully you get the support from the dealer network in the US. ECUMaster does some funky things with documentation. The information you need is somewhere but not in place you would expect. A good example is their tech support pointed me to a CANX configuration file in the PMU setup software to get CAN message structure for the Battery Isolator. Not a single mention of CAN message structure in the battery isolator manual and you don't use the PMU software to setup the battery isolator. I also found ECUMasterUSA's youtube unboxing video of the battery isolator mentioning some of the data available via CAN so I know it is the intention to have that data available.

I did get a response from ECUMaster saying they have a tech looking into my issue with the battery isolator.

Well at least that's some good news. I'm just going to go with the Cartek isolator and the PDM will also have an output in the kill loop so it will just control it manually in case of a crash or whatever other parameters I want to set it up for. No need for the isolator to communicate via CAN in my case.

I had missed that thread somehow, but it was really nice reading through it all! How do you like the ETX in terms of longevity? I was thinking of using one in my DD, as the price is right and weight is weight, even on a daily.

I'm not the right one to comment on daily usage as my car was track only and lived on a battery tender at home. I don't think my ETX9 really deteriorated over time but it was probably right on the limit of what I should have had. I'm hoping ETX14 gives me a little overhead to be more reliable. The only times I needed a jumper pack was the first start on cold mornings at the track with e85. I also had very poorly tuned cold startup parameters for a long time that ended up burning out a starter until someone much more knowledgeable than me adjusted the parameters. For a daily, i would error on the bigger side. No reason not to go with more capacity for a 2 or 3 pound penalty to make sure you can get home or get to work when you want to.

Yah, ETX9 worked but had to be finessed to keep it alive. ETX14 had reserve capacity with only a small weight bump.

Yeah, I was leaning towards the 14 as well. Thanks and sorry for derailing your thread!

I got the battery isolator working. After connecting with the ECUMaster Light Client, I could find the device and it said no firmware on device. Ran the update function and now everything is working. I guess I was depending on the LED indicator on the isolator too much but not sure how I missed that.

Made a gif of the start up sequence to celebrate. I'll disable once it gets old... but it stays for now.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6ec61429d3.gif

Great build.
Did you notice the stress cracks on your battery mount? Bend radius on 6061 aluminum strap bit to tight & will be cracking through with a bit of vibration soon.

Yeah, I saw it. I was considering remaking it in steel when I made it, but I was ready to move on and got lazy. I'll add it to my to do list. Thanks for keeping me honest.

I'm also using a vice and hammer so probably more induced stress than a real brake. Every time I go down the rabbit hole of buying a brake, I get lost in cheap crap vs overly expensive equipment. I just need a higher quality harbor freight option that isn't DIY.

While I'm not a fan of Home Depot aluminum strap, it can be made to work on the cheap. (Just not at my real job).:2cents:
Use a small deep socket or extension to clamp the strap in the vise to give a larger radius supported bend.

I had a very productive end of the week. It was an off-Friday for me and I was semi-trapped at home due to having the front end of my truck rebuilt after some very ambitious 4th of July off roading.

Finished up some loose ends on the wiring and started playing around with the AIM setup. Data is flowing but I have to check it is all in the right format and units. Lots of great instruction webinars being published by AIM recently and they just went through their Race Studio 3 Analysis public beta. I haven't used 2 so I might as well work with the 3 beta from the get go but it will still be a little bit until I have on track data to analyze. I can now access all my data at one location as seen in the first picture below. PMU setup CAN, everything else on vehicle CAN, and AIM USB port all easily accessible from the passenger side. I have plugs that fit in to the CAN connectors when not being used that I might tether to the base so I don't lose them.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a1890bcd63.png

Started pushing the rest of the harness out the engine bay but spent the majority of my time work on the fuel plumping. Installed new Deatschwerks 450cc injectors along with the radium fuel rail. Plumbed in the flex fuel sensor and FPR all with Aeroquip Starlite -6AN line. I also cut the hard lines going to the engine bay a little shorter to allow me to route them up along the firewall instead of up near the upper shock mount.
This Starlite line is super easy to work with, cuts with good cable cutters and doesn't fray like stainless so hose end assembly is way easier with less blood involved. It's a kevlar outer layer around the same inner tube used in the stainless variety. I've read of people getting a strong gas smell when they use it but that remains to be tested. I'll likely wrap with a little bit of rubber hose near points where it can rub.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...34f4af8538.png

I decided to replace all the rubber lines with Aeroquip Starlite. Pretty much impossible to do near the tank with the lines in the vehicle so I had to drop the rear subframe and tank to get the lines out and work on the bench. These lines had so much road grime and crap after 30 years. I wouldn't get nearly as dirty work on the car if I could clean the entire chassis.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5db9ac5830.png
Marked all the return lines and fittings with white paint because I always forget which is which and wanted to make it easy in the future.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c874f959f8.png

Fuel filter plumbing was a little bit bulkier than I had hoped but it all fits. In general, most of the fittings were longer than anticipated and let to fairly short hose lengths that seemed like there should be a better way. As long as it works, I'm good.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...057266e9d7.png

Also put in a new OEM fuel sock and DeatschWerks 255 pump while I had the tank open and cleaned out the inside of the tank as much as possible. The last time I ran the car, I had some issues with the fuel filter clogging but I had just swapped in a used NA8 tank about 4 months earlier and e85 was probably just cleaning it for me.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4156eab9e7.png

Since I had to drop the rear subframe and tank to get to the fuel hard lines, I decided to do some of the subframe maintenance off the car. Cleaned and greased the rear sway, replaced the 9 year old Goodridge stainless lines with SuperMiata orange stainless lines and dropped the outgoing rear Xidas. I had an axle boot split and spit grease all over and never really cleaned after so I got most of the easy stuff.
The main item was swapping out the 4.3 torsen for a 4.77 OS Giken. Ordered the OS Giken fluid and Kmiata diff brace from SuperMiata so I'll wait for this order to arrive before I reinstall the rear subframe assembly.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3e81ac0162.png

New diff all sealed up and ready to go. I bought this diff lightly used from Renderous Racing so it has already been broken in with a few track days. Should be ready to beat on from the start and I'm pretty excited to try it out. Haven't driven with an OS Giken before.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4a75af1603.png

Still lots to do. setup MS3pro, new oil cooler setup, Radiator ducting, aero, front hubs/brakes, suspension setup, safety refresh, and some paint

Got the Kmiata diff brace in but didn't grab a picture. It was generally pretty straight forward. While tightening it down, I could see one of the dimples pushing through the surface so hopefully I didn't tighten it too much.

Spent most of this weekend working on the front of the car. Took off the front hubs, calipers, rotors and brake lines and installed the new supermiata lines. Also pulled the trigger last week on some miatahubs after going back and forth on them. Sometimes, I swapped hubs along with rotors to fix a vibration just to make sure I was good for a race. Hoping this is one less thing to deal with while not having to repack anymore hubs.

Also installed AWR sway bar mounts. I would do anything possible to avoid removing the front sway bar because I hated dealing with the Racing Beat brace with the block and 2nd locking nut. Install was pretty easy with 4 bolts and 2 spot welds to remove on each side. Brackets were pretty tight on the frame rail and everything feels pretty solid. Also installed the thicker walled Racing Beat sway of 0.188" up from 0.125".
.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...772cf94698.jpg

Removed the home smashed power steering plugs made in an apartment carport back in the day with some MiataSource plugs. Makes it look a lot more finished and wont snag my hand.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...82f1b041f0.jpg

Also installed 5X Racing steer rack spacers since I'll be removing the extended lower ball joints to avoid taking additional points in ST.
Cleaned what felt like 5 pounds of crap off the steering rack and front subframe while I was down there.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8faa5ee9ed.jpg
Stayed at the front of the car and started playing around with the front bumper and radiator support bar. I swas surprised how much stuff I could remove from the front bumper beam just unbolting things. It was like 2 pounds of bolts alone plus some large bumper pieces and the plastic bumper support. Still need to figure out how much I want to cut on the cross beam and retain the tow strap mount. Also need to figure out where to mount the oil cooler but I have some ideas to keep it simple. Replaced the AN outlets on the sandwich plate to accommodate new 10AN lines up from 8AN.

Got tracking info for the splitter mount from Kaze Spec and saw the preview in a FB/Instagram post with the Very Red powder coating to go along with my cage and intake manifold. The splitter mount will bolt over the radiator support bar mounting plates but I might have to add a little bit of filler material to fill the gap in the lower outside corner where the radiator support bar plate is missing material.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ab4fafd9d5.jpg

If you haven't planned to already, I'd suggest cutting the beam the bash bar mounting points. Bonus points if you bolt or weld in a smaller diameter replacement structure. Ditching that section really helps with cooling.

Oh I'll be cutting, just figuring out how far. Finally bought a sawzall using this cut as my justification. I'd like to cut out everything from frame rail to frame rail, but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing for oil cooler mounting and the tow strap mounting beforehand.

It's been a while since I updated. Family events and emergency bathroom renovation due to leaking sink and mold put a damper on available time in the garage but we're all clear now to get back on this horse.

My goal is to get the car running and make it to a test day at high plains raceway in October before the snow comes. I'm prioritizing my engine and engine accessories prep to be able to schedule a dyno session but that list seems to extend to the entire drive train.
This weekend, I cut out the front crossbeam which was one of those "no going back" moments"
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5853c65ca6.png


Mounted the oil cooler. Still a few clean up items but new oil cooler mounted and -10 AN lines are made. I plan to eventually have dedicated air path for the oil cooler but that sounds like a winter project. You can also see the brackets for the Kaze Spec splitter mounts in the picture. Still need to put in a filler material the same thickness as the crossbar mounting plate. I think the baby teeth mounting locations are still plenty strong for a tow strap.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a1798a2cd0.png

I'm swapping in a new SuperMiata crossflow radiator I've been carrying as a Chuckwalla spare in my trailer for a few years but ran into an issue with not having the correct side brackets for an NA. Out going Koyorad just swapped the lower pins and upper mounting grommets to the new radiator but looks like I need the whole OEM side bracket as the one off the Koyorad must be shaped to fit the aftermarket radiator. Sourced one from a friend and waiting for it to arrive, but glad I never had to attempt to replace at the track or I would have been totally hosed. Also mounted a new brushless SPAL fan on the radiator for good measure and/or street cred.

Mounted most of the wiring harness to the chassis. Still finishing up some details on the top of the engine before I mount the harness, but the rest of the chassis is pretty much good to go. Still need to validate all the data is being transmitted and received over CAN in the correct units but I fixed the big obvious stuff.

After the engine is fired up, I'll be servicing the suspension. Bought new SuperMiata upper and lower ball joints for the front end and should be getting my SADfab bronze retrofit kit in the next week or so. Then Slap in the new Xidas with new spring rates of 1100/500 and miatahubs and set it all up. Still retaining Sport front brakes and 1.8 rear brakes and going to try out the GLOC 12/10 combo up from 10/8.

I have plans to repaint a few body panels where the paint is peeling. I was going to do the silver metallic rattle can special but I'm thinking about doing a wrap. This is my top contender so far. Should make the seams a little bit easier to deal with and I would probably still keep the "carbon fiber" appearance on the top half including the windshield frame. It's at least a brewing idea right now.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f046407368.png

Overall, I feel like there are a lot less unknowns and this is becoming more of an assembly job now. Biggest unknown is the front ducting but I have a feeling I'll go through a few iterations before I make something that I can live with long term. Excited to get this thing out on track as it's been too long.

Another typical Monday update. It was a hot weekend but I got a few things done this weekend and even setup a TV to watch the Indy 500 on Sunday.

I spent some time revisiting my oil cooler plans after a post in the oil cooler tech thread. Removed what I had just put in and planned out mounting behind the passenger side blinker on the NA bumper. I'll have to buy a new oil cooler core so I measured out about 20 different options and settled on a the Setrab Series 1 25 row. Put in my order to Pegasus so hopefully I can get that in next weekend. I wanted to make a little more room in this location so I moved the coolant reservoir tank to the driver's side. Was thinking about a nice aluminum tank with but saw a post with the stock tank located under the clutch master cylinder so I started playing around with the stock tank. Ended up finding a decent spot just in front of the wheel hump and bent some aluminum brackets to secure it. I might wrap the side braces in silicone tape just to make sure they don't rub through the plastic.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...45c7dae057.png

Spend a some time rebuilding my current and spare Skunk2 throttle bodies with the standard new spring hole, locktite, and even new hardware on the shaft screws. I ended up breaking 1 of the shaft screws on the new TB while I was removing it so probably wasn't the strongest screw to begin with. Already had the correct length TB to IM bolts. Also secured the wiring harness running on the engine a little bit better with some pipe clamps.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...beb4208e6d.png

Spent most of Sunday rebuilding the suspension in the front passenger corner. Got my SADfab bronze bearing suspension bushing retrofit kit in, installed new Supermiata upper and lower ball joints, and the MiataHubs front billet hubs. Spent more time that I expected just removing the old poly bushings and sleeves but luckily did not stab myself with a screw driver in the process. Ball joints were fairly straight forward but took some finesse since I was using a c-clamp press and the old lower ball joint needed a little extra persuasion to separate. The upper ball joint must have been the original but still felt pretty good. The Miatahubs we're almost as easy as a stock hub to install and finally got the Xida Gen 2 on the car. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't pull the upper long bolt out with the AWR sway bar brackets. I needed another 1/4" of clearance so I had to remove 3 of the 4 bolts to push it down enough. Now I just need to repeat on the driver's side and do the rear bushing retrofit. It's a pretty big difference in suspension movement resistance with the SADfab kit. Too many things will be different for me to single out this change once I get on track but I'm also thinking my alignments will be more consistent.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7633564ddd.png

Setrab 1 series are the most efficient of all Setrabs, per surface area. This info from a shop owner friend that conducted a bunch of testing over several years, but likely prefers to remain anonymous.
Short rows work better than long rows.

Good to hear.
I mainly decided off exterior dimensions, delta P, and HP rating on the Setrab site. I had a few options in 1-series or 6-series.
Setrab Engine Oil Coolers | susa

1 Series seemed to package better in the NA headlight area and have about half the pressure drop for similar HP rated cores. The port location for the orientation I was looking at for the Series 1 seemed like a bonus benefit and should equate to shorter lines meaning even less pressure drop.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...27506977b3.png

Looks like I'll have a 9-series 10 row for sale in the near future.

A little bit of a garage update.

My harbor freight vice has been having problems with holding in the griping plates to the jaw on the vice and I didn't really want to deal with fixing this piece of junk. Last weekend, one side finally gave up and I could no longer secure the jaw plate, but I worked through it. That piece would fall to the ground every time I loosened the jaw so I decided I wanted a new one.
Bought a Yost rotating combination vise. Might cause me to build a work bench and get rid of the hand me down craftsman bench and have a more stable work bench that better fits my space.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2f6e6b01a6.png

After I bought the vise, I was thinking about bending the ducting for the oil cooler and eventually the radiator. Ended up pulling the trigger on a brake I had in my amazon list for $130.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8100605416.png
Then I got to thinking about how bad my cuts were with hand sheers on longer pieces and I am horrible with the cutoff wheel. Starting googling and found one of these nibblers that use a drill and are pretty cheap at $35 so I'll give it a try.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...00d3f4ff03.png

Was on the fence on coroplast vs aluminum for ducting material but now I'm definitely going aluminum now.
I also liked having the Indy 500 on while in the shop last weekend so bought a cheap TV wall mount to get the extra TV off the bench. Already have an old Fire Stick that works well enough with my YouTubeTV subscription and other apps.

I've been starting to think about the plans for my workshop building that I'm hoping to have completed by end of 2021. Currently thinking a 24' x 28' 2-car garage with a 2 post lift. Should give me a place space to work, along with storage for a future out of season car protected from hail, and space to work on the race car. Still working exact location and might spill into an outdoor patio/BBQ setup with a shade structure of some sort. I've got close to an acre of property in a neighborhood where probably half of the properties have a secondary workshop or RV storage so I should fit in.

reworked the oil cooler mounting this weekend. It's not perfect but it should work pretty good for me. tried to make the radiator not too difficult to remove and have decent air ducting where I can still remove the bumper without a lot of extra work. It's not air tight should be functional. I think I'm going to swap out one of the 90 degree oil line fittings when I redo the oil lines for a straight to improve the routing.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...177fbe9ea0.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e71a6bbe74.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9d63192ee0.jpg

I wish my oil cooler was shaped like that. It would have make my mounting so much easier.

It's just money. Readily available Setrab series 1.
I took a lot of inspiration from your pictures in the oil cooler tech thread so thank you for posting those.

My likely version 2.0 will use that cooler. I was just trying to reuse what I already had and improve its efficiency.

Been a while since I updated. I've been busy with family stuff and changing jobs but I've had some time before starting my new job to knock a lot off my to do list. I'm getting pretty close to the first engine start and learning quite a bit about megasquirt settings as I go.

Finished the oil cooler setup and remade the oil lines for the new location. New lines are less than half the length of the 1st iteration which can only help.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c65f9a1a5f.jpg

Did a bunch of little things like filling the trans and diff, installing the rest of the exhaust, new eccentric bolts, routing wires from the new wideband sensor up to the gauge/controller, and clutch hydraulic refresh. Cleaned up the old rotors and reinstalled the brakes to use for now since I won't be driving till the spring.

I had to do a little bit of troubleshooting to calibrate the stock fuel level sensor feeding into my ECUMaster PMU-16. I thought I was going to be able to use a built in pulldown resistor but I misinterpreted a setting so I had to add one in the harness and start over. Overall pretty easy and now it's sent over CAN to the AIM dash where it is translated from litters to gallons and displayed. Pressurized the fuel system for the first time and sorted a pinched o-ring on injector 2 that caused a big leak along with wrong pinout on the flex fuel sensor. I was happy all the new lines and fittings didn't leak and the fuel pressure sensor seems to be working correctly. I set to the regulator to 50 psi for no good reason other than it is a nice even number and I should have plenty of overhead with DW 450 injectors.

The ECUMaster Battery isolator also had some kind of defective part and was recalled and replace by them. Didn't get a whole lot of details but the replacement was sent quickly can't tell a difference from my perspective.

I worked my way through all the critical sensors and configurations in the MS3Pro EVO and did some rapid googling to figure out my best guess at some of the settings. Used the 99 miata PNP base map to compare my tune and try to catch any critical mistakes but I mostly ignored idle settings and looked at general trends in the fuel and ignition maps. I'm just trying to get it started and idling conservatively before heading to the tuner.

With injectors and coils disconnected I started to test the cam and crank sensors and could get the crank signal to show up on the composite log. I checked everything I could think of in the settings and harness but couldn't figure it out. I had just added the FM 36-2 trigger wheel since I previously had a 12+1 for my AEM EMS4 so I changed that back and also swapped in my spare crank sensor. Ran new wires outside the harness direct to MS3/power with a new deutsch connector and still was hitting a wall. Cam sensor was working so I swapped the CMP+ and CKP+ pins to make sure there wasn't a problem on the MS3 and I was able to see a signal on the crank input which meant it had to be the crank sensor as the problem. I mounted my spare cam sensor on a real quick bracket to read the crank and now I have sync. I'm guessing the OEM sensor needs a pull up resistor on the signal but I'm just going to get the DIYAutotune threaded body crank sensor which has all the documentation needed and be done with it. I thought I was stuck on this one and sent out a few panic posts in a few Miata or Megasquirt groups on facebook but I feel so relieved to figure this one out.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1a1c832518.jpg

After I get the parts needed to have a permanent fix for the crank sensor, I think I can cross my fingers and try to actually start the engine. I still need to run through all the data channels running to the AIM dash and verify the formatting on both sides of CAN but that will be easier when I have a lot less non-zero data values.

I decided to throw a 2.49k ohm resistor between 12V and signal of the NB crank sensor and what do you know, I get a nice signal in the composite logger and a quick sync.
This is what throwing a resistor in looks like:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0391d89624.jpg

Received some Diode Dynamics 310 lumen LED tail light bulbs today and swapped these mini Hubble telescopes in.
Instant brake pedal switch illumination and definitely brighter. Old bulbs were drawing 3.93 Amps which is expected with 2x 27 W bulbs, but also a 14 amp inrush. LED bulbs hit a 0.65 amp draw and stay there.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6fa89fab9e.jpg

The more I dig into the ECUMaster PMU-16, the more I like it.

After specifically looking for the current draw difference on the LEDs, I figured I'd document everything else and see how it compared to my plan. This is with all the power systems activated except coils and injectors and the engine not running. I'll check again at idle and again while out on track once I get there.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d3a791ca8a.png
I wasn't too far off in my estimates. The one that surprised me was the starter. I thought the starter signal would be pretty small but it actually tripped my 15 amp limit the first couple of times I tried it. I only have a 20 awg wire which is a little smaller than I'd like for 11 amp continuous load, especially with cold morning e85 starts.

PMU-16 is handling my fan control. I added a Spal 12" Curved Blade Puller Fan behind a new SuperMiata Crossflow radiator. The PMU-16 has a convenient built in hysteresis function I used for the temperature on and off points. CLT comes in via CAN form the MS3 so I'll get that data whenever the MS3 is powered up. I also have an or statement and logic to use keyboard button to turn on the fan that doesn't require the MS3.
Fan control in MS3 has a throttle position fan shutoff feature I tried replicating a little bit with logic and I actually think I like the PMU option better. TPS is fed in via CAN so I'll turn the fan on if TPS is under 40% for 10 seconds and satisfying the temperature hysteresis statement. Should stop the fan from kicking in during braking while out on track.
I'll most likely tweak the temperature and throttle settings a little bit once I get the car running.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...80f5eee1f4.png

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...158c8b6b58.png

I presume you'll add serious strain relief on that connector and harness. That resistor is the pivot point for any movement in the harness at that sensor.

Definitely. This was a proof of concept level hack to see if the resistor solved my problem. Waiting for 3 pin DTM connector to arrive to make the final version which will be fully heat shrunk(shrinked?) and supported.

shrunkded

I got everything sorted on the trigger side just in time for a snow storm to come through. Now it's a little chilly in the garage to work on the car and I'm afraid to add water due to winter. I think I'm going full anti-freeze until spring so I can keep working and not worry. This weekend is looking good to try a first start up.

Since I didn't physically work on my car, I decided to draw out the harness. I used LucidChart and it was pretty easy to figure out. Tried to draw it mostly to scale by starting with a car outline with a real measurements, but the components aren't exactly in the right places. I think the architecture is captured which is really what this is meant to do. Even made individual layers for the car outline, components, power, signals, ground, and CAN so I can trace signals a little easier. Hard to see any detail in the screenshot but every single wire in the harness is accounted for and the correct color.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c1dbf44c88.png

Did you get around to first startup? I'm about to undertake rewiring one of my cars and curious on how your setup is working for you. I'll be updating my ms2pnp with a ms3pro and I have been trying to decide on which pmu/pmd to use and been leaning towards the ecumaster's unit like your setup.

I got the engine to sputter a little bit but I think the fueling settings are too far off in startup/idle/fuel map. I copied in a bunch of settings from various base maps and cranking feels close but I can't keep it running after that. It got cold in the garage, I lost some motivation, and I started devoting all my warmer weather hours to cycling. I need to get back out there and start chipping away at some of the tasks. I'd like to do a shakedown before the first NASA Rocky Mountain race in April.

I really like the ECUMaster PMU-16, but I haven't worked with any others. I feel like I've gone the simple route in terms of setup but I'll dive into the advanced logic if I see an opportunity once I start using the car. The AIM PDM looks pretty nice too and make one less device to setup and troubleshoot with the dash, logger, and power distribution in one unit. After setting up the AIM MXL2 and ECUMaster PMU, I do find it easier to setup non-standard interfaces in ECUMaster software as long as you know how to find the documentation in ECUMaster. AIM is great to quickly get up and running with standard devices but expanding off the standard items isn't as user friendly.

For starting fuel, start with what you're sure is far too little. Make sure its not soaked in fuel before tuning. Shut off injectors and crank for a while. Pull plugs if you think you have drowned it (kill ignition).
Once you have in cranking cleanly just add cold enrichment until it catches. Once you have it starting reliably, get it tuned so it'll idle cleanly. Once warm, tune hot cranking fuel by turning cold enrichment to zero past about 160°. Then tweak cranking fuel until it fires reliably hot. Then go back over a few mornings to tweak cold enrichment.

It's possible to get it to start cold by having cold enrichment and basic cranking adjusted kinda opposite of what they should be. You'll know that's the case when it won't hot start. E85 needs lots of fuel when cold, enrichment slope is steeper than gas.

Thanks for the response, The AIM one is on my radar but I already have a AEM dash, however I am more familiar with AIM's data analyzer since I had been running a aim solo lap timer in the past so i may consider switching back. Also thank you for posting your power draw chart, helps with planning out my harness.

It's been a while since I updated and I basically haven't touched my car in all of 2021. My uninsulated garage was not enticing except for a few months of the year and I was spending all the nice weather time out riding my bike. Now I'm making plans for 2022.

Went full nuclear option on the garage situation. Building a 24'x24' workshop in my backyard. 12' ceilings for a 2 post lift, fully insulated, heated/cooled, 220V circuits. Permit should be available this week and construction finished before Christmas, hopefully.

I have also realized I'm in no man's land in terms of car class. ST5 is non-existent in Rocky Mountain region so I was planning to shift my build to ST6. There's maybe 6 or 7 regular racers in ST6 on the results but just found out almost all are in a regional class called Front4, which as you can guess, isn't for Miatas. Changing to ST6 simplifies a few things on aero and power shouldn't be an issue. I think I'll finish the build in ST6 and then reevaluate my next move. I was super close to getting the engine running and then it's mostly small things and setup. Out here, SM, GTS, and Front4 are popular along with 86 Cup (running in TT5). SM doesn't do it for me but an 86 could be a lot of fun...