The White Mouse
 

I've had this White 2003 since 25 February 2014 and from then until now it's covered 3189 miles, most of which has been to and from events. It's the first time I've owned a turbo, or any car that is this far from stock.
At present it has a built engine courtesy of the previous owner (Arias pistons 8.5:1, Carrillo H beam rods), and an AVO turbo kit (2560). It is running solely on e85 with ID1000s and a Haltech at 256hp.

The more I learn, the more I find holes into which at least $1000 can be stuffed. In 2016, I cracked a PPF, and destroyed a torsen (I suspect) through wheel hop (later discovered it was an OBX center that eats itself anyway), and set out on a quest to improve that and eliminate some of the engine movement that seemed to be a contributing factor in the death of the death of the PPF, and possibly the wheel hop that helped the OBX devour its belleville washers. 2017 is here, I'm poorer, and I still have wheel hop, and I'd like more power.

My most recent change to the car was fitting a set of the ELBJ's and having the car re-aligned accordingly. It now sports camber: -4/-3 (F/R); toe 0/+3 (F/R) and at 4 1/3 / 4 1/2 at the pinchwelds (F/R). The next event I'm planning to attend is at Mount Panorama (Bathurst) for a two-day hillclimb event - a 1300 mile round trip from where I live.

Hopefully this thread ultimately provides some entertainment value as I seek to plug some of those $1000 holes, find more power, and drive my little NB at as many events as I can afford.

Leyburn Sprints
 

Gatton Street Sprints
 

The last year of events was a lot of fun, but a few things broke, I think largely as a result of the launches required at the start of each sprint, combined with wheel hop and reasonably sticky tires (medium compound semi-slicks). The first thing to fail was the powerplant frame, which cracked around the bolt holes at the diff.
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The second was the diff center (which turned out to be an OBX helical).
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After replacing the PPF and the diff with another 3.6 with T2, I started working through a few things that might limit wind-up in the PPF which I thought may have been contributing to the wheel hop, PPF cracks and probably the early failure of the OBX.

A set of Energy Suspension diff bushings went in with the new diff:
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Followed by a set of Super Miata engine mounts:
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And...I still have wheel hop, unless I launch with loads of wheelspin....
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There will probably be some Delrin in my near future - the Aussie dollar is tantalizingly high relative to the greenback at the moment...

Try these:
https://v8roadsters.com/product/rear...-control-arms/

They are on the list - waiting to hear Savington's feedback

You mention sourcing another 3.6. Got any links to yards/suppliers?

No particular sources - there is a local fellow who has diffs built to specs. 3.6 gears are pretty common and you can pick them up cheap from time to time. There's a complete 3.6 for $150 on a local classifieds page right now. I think the shipping would be the obstacle.

Any chance for a contact info for the gentleman that Builds them?

I think the only way to solve the horrible wheel hop is to brace the middle of the PPF to the frame rails.

Pm'ed

Ready for the first two events of the year
 

https://flic.kr/p/SjxvcH

Looks right

Wheel hop is almost always attributed to bushing deflection, right? The stiffer the bushing, in my head, the less chances of a wheel hop. So a spherical mount would probably eliminate it almost completely, but transfer a lot more energy into the chassis, i.e. vibration and noise. Next best thing might be a spherical mount on the outside and then a poly/derlin on the chassis part of the mount. Or stiffer poly and such. Just my take on it. RUCA would probably solve your issue by being stiffer unit and stiffer mounts.

I believe stiffer bushing material will help, but not necessarily cure the wheel hop. As I mentioned above, Savington was going to try a set of replacement RUCA's - will be curious to see the results.

Im going to stick with Delrin and poly - not interested in spherical at this point.

Bathurst Road Trip
 

After a rather long break and a few modifications, I drove down to Bathurst on the weekend for round 1 and 2 of the CAMS NSW Hillclimb Championship.

I left early on Thursday morning and had decided to travel the Newell Highway as my tow car is not exactly powerful and I wanted to avoid the towns and hills of the New England highway (and the coastal route is a good hour longer than either inland route)

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After grabbing a coffee in Toowoomba, the next stop was Goondiwindi…

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…followed by lunch in Moree…

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A quick stretch in Coonabarabran…

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…and finally, dinner at the hotel in Mendooran.

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Just about every building in Mendooran has mural on some part of it, and once I’d unrolled my swag in one of the covered rest areas, I went for a wander around the town.

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The following morning, I made for Bathurst and almost got caught out when I discovered that none of the smaller towns that I’d planned to refuel at had diesel. After a rather long detour, I was able to refuel and make my way into Bathurst. By lunch time, I had pitched camp in McPhillamy Park on top of Mount Panorama.

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Good facilities, hot showers and toilets, and the toilet paper didn’t run out until Sunday morning.

Tony had contacted me via the forum and offered to show me some lines for both hill climb courses on Friday afternoon – I gladly took him up on this offer! This was a tremendous help, particularly for the Mountain Straight course, which requires some careful positioning and a bit of nerve to get right.

Friday night ended up being a bit wet, which set the scene for competition the following morning.

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Scrutineering kicked off at 7am followed by the drivers briefing.

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First runs up the hill began around 9am. ‘The Esses’ hillclimb runs in the reverse direction to the usual use of the track and starts before Forest Elbow and finishes at Skyline. I drove most of it in third gear. There are a few corners that require very late apexes and you cannot see around them to the apex thanks to the walls and the steepness. With practice, I am certain I could carry more speed, and in particular could make better use of the braking assistance that comes from the steepness of the grade.

This clip is my first run up 'The Esses' on Saturday morning while the track was cold and still damp:



This clip was my last and best attempt at 30.77:


Tony was able to break the class record on one of his runs. This is his track prepared SE (in which I could not catch him!)

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Keith Hammond was also there with his NA8 and produced some impressive times

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As usual there were a host of other interesting machines. This Rx7 made all the right noises…

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Day two began cool and damp, but warmed quickly into very good conditions.

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The course for day two runs up the other side of the mountain and is called ‘Mountain Straight’. It’s easily the fastest hillclimb I’ve done, ending in 5th gear over the finish line. Because of the lines you have to take to set up for the last corner, I found this course to be genuinely frightening across the top of the mountain. My best attempt was a 54.97.


The class I had entered was the ‘Road registered, non-log booked, rear wheel drive, 2500cc and over’. There were 23 entries in this class, and I placed 13th and 9th for the two courses respectively.

After this experience, I am pretty sure I will be back at some point for another attempt.



After the last run on Sunday afternoon, I left almost immediately and made my way to the New England Highway. I stopped at the Burning Mountain rest area near Wingen, north of Scone and about an hour south of Tamworth. I unrolled my swag in a covered area complete with red backs and roosting swallows and slept like a log.

I stopped in a foggy Tamworth for a coffee and breakfast in the morning…

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…and was back in QLD by midday…

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… and home in Brisbane by 2:30pm

Work commitments have completely upended my years' motorsport plans, and I've ended up stuck in taxis, planes and hotels. The car is still on the trailer since I parked it in March.

The only thing I can do while stuck in a hotel somewhere is buy parts, right?

I've had no spare time to really drive it, but I've managed to tick a few items of the safety gear list.

A two layer suit:

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...and a 20 degree HANS device:

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My helmet does not accept HNR posts, so I will be on the hunt for a helmet as well before the next event.

I can't recall if it were the helmet of HNR instructions, but they said to drill a hole in the helmet, and use the provided anchors. Provided Hans provides anchors like Schroth does.

Unfortunately, this invalidates the helmet under the rules of the Australian motorsport governing body.

Good bye 3.63 T2...
 

Diff swap - Os Giken
 

The Torsen 2 went to a new home and the OG Superlock is in the shop getting set up with a set of 3.63 gears. I should have it back in the car by the end of the weekend.

After a long break, I'm entered in two hillclimbs in the next two months: Bulahdelah Hillclimb and the Noosa Hillclimb.

I took the Os Giken diff for a second drive this afternoon.
Once the diff 'grips' under light load it seems to hold itself partly clamped (unless there's been some firm engine braking), which seems to lead to some chatter if you happen to do a u-turn or tight low speed turn, but otherwise it's mostly invisible. Tight figure-8's don't create chatter until there's some moderate torque in play. Push it a little more than part throttle and it starts to lock and spin the inside wheel to keep pace with the outside.

The inside wheelspin of the Torsen in steep, tight uphill corners is gone - it feels like just grips, and I didn't notice anything that felt like it wanted to 'push'. I'm looking forward to trying it at the Noosa Hillclimb in November.

I think I will have to do another motorkhana with this diff!

Clutch pack diffs are a new experience for me. I was happy with the Mazda Torsen that I thought I had until it became a single spinner. When I pulled it out, I discovered it was an aftermarket 'OBX' helical (essentially a torsen style diff). After I replaced the after market helical with a Mazda Torsen, I researched the failure. I found that the OBX helical diff is known to fail as a result of poor quality Bellville washers that provide preload to the gears that limit the slip. The OBX is also rebuildable. I also read that Mazda torsens used in spec miata racing are known to lose effectiveness for essentially the same reason that my aftermarket unit had failed, and are not so easily rebuilt.

Persistent inside wheelspin and the spectre of failed Torsen diffs, combined are the reason I decided to sell the Mazda LSD and switch to the current diff.

I still have the OBX helical, and have ordered the parts required to rebuild it. I also have a 3.6 open diff into which the OBX helical will be installed once fixed. This will go in the spare parts stash.

After reading reviews of the OSG diff, I wasn't expecting the chatter this one makes. It is factory S Spec 1.5 way.

Bulahdelah Hillclimb
 

OBX Helical
 

The reason I started down the path towards a clutch-pack diff, was the apparent failure of the 'torsen' that was fitted to my car when I bought it. The diff had begun behaving more like an 'open' and limiting less and less wheelspin. It became most apparent to me that it was 'had it' when a fellow competitor at last year's Noosa Hillclimb sent me this clip of the White Mouse leaving the start line, and doing a very convincing single wheel peal.


On further inspection, it was clear that something inside the diff had come adrift:


As a result it, came out and was replaced with another torsen. At that point I discovered that what I had was actually and OBX helical diff and not a factory Torsen. I also learned that these are prone to failure of the belleville washers and are rebuild-able. The 'slop' visible in the video above seemed likely to be the failure of the bellville washers.

I over the last few weeks, I got around to disassembling the diff center with a view to rebuilding it, with new belleville washers and bolts.

Removing one side of the case reveals a collection of gears:
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Between the left hand and right hand center gears, at least 6 washers should be present and be providing preload to the diff: I found only two remaining that looked like this:
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The second observation, less obvious, was that the two center gears had been installed in reverse, meaning that under forward load, they would be drawn together rather than being forced into contact with the very stout housing. The result of this is that the belleville washers take the full load and friction of the drive and as a result, fail quickly.

So where did the other 4 washers go to? The got chomped up and powdered:
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There is no where for the broken washers to go within the housing except through the gears, and this particular main gear appeared to have done most of the chewing. :cry:. I spent a good while cleaning metal powder and flakes of washer out of many places.

The washers are held within a single case that sits between the central gears, and are sandwiched between two splined washers that are designed to slide in and out of the central case as the washers deflect.
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The washers are stacked like so to create the preload spacing that keeps the main gears of the LSD pressed against the housing:
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Sitting inside the splined washer, and inside the central housing:
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The two halves of the diff go together, located with a single down and clamp on the washers. I used blue Locktight on the bolts and torqued to the recommended 28ft/lbs. Sometime soon, I will get it installed in a spare 3.63 open diff.

I would think it may generate more metal over time with all of those chewed up surfaces interfacing. It looks like a paperweight now to me.

The last few adventures...
 

The White Mouse has had only a few outings this year. My young family and work related travel are taking precedence over play time with the car.

The first adventure for the year was to a regional street sprint event - The Oakey Street Sprints. This event is held on streets in an industrial area, and usually attracts up to 200 competitors. This was my best attempt at the course and it was enough to grab first in the class for the weekend:



Unfortunately, my last run of the weekend ended like this:



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Fortunately for me, someone in a Mini had already cleared out a large section of industrial fencing behind the tyre bundle I collected, otherwise the damage would have been more significant. The cause? Driver error ultimately. I missed my braking point and experienced massive brake fade and couldn't slow enough for the corner to get around it.

Fortunately, the damage was superficial. A new guard and mirror were all that was required to get the car back into usable shape for the next event.
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Sadly, my fog light oil cooler was a casualty. Amazingly, the lines and cooler did not rupture inspite of being smashed off the car, and then driven over to the point of causing the front wheel to skid on the cooler core.
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The next event was the Noosa Hillclimb. It was a bit of a non-event for me. I was way off my previous pace - I think I was still a bit nervous after the last incident.

Between the Noosa Hillclimb and the following event, I changed my coilovers with relatively soft spring rates for a new set at 600/400. I had a bit of fun with the gopro and a timelapse:

Goldrush Hillsprint
 

The next event was a brand new hillclimb event on a range crossing in Central Queensland, near a location known for a historical gold rush.
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Makeshift pits set up in the middle of nowhere:
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Start line:
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Passing a spectator point:
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This was my best run for the weekend, and enough for 2nd in class:


Finally, last weekend The White Mouse came back from paint - back to better than new
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Gymkhana fun - after six months and zero miles travelled
 

Finally the drought is broken!

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Took home a second in class (over 3L) behind an LS engined BMW

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[youtu]https://youtu.be/-BOi0rNwFPo[/youtu]

Nambour Sprint
 

This was an experimental event for the motorsports club I joined earlier this year. It worked well and will be a two day event in a few weeks time.

You Tube

Gold Rush Hill Sprint 2019
 

Winter is beautiful weather for motorsport (here at least). This was the second running of this even (ever) and it was over two days this year. I was bumped from 4th in my class by an old Alpha Romeo by .001 seconds. It was clear to me by the end of the weekend that I need more time in the car to be competitive/confident enough to make the times need to get closer to the front.

Nice car, great driving, and an awesome thread. Thanks for sharing. Looks like you are having fun with the car!

Gorgeous car! That looks like a really fun hillclimb! Thanks for sharing.

I went back to the Nambour venue for a two-day sprint event a few months ago, and finished 4th outright, but broke an axle in the process. T'was a hoot

The axle sheared right at the inner CV

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When I had extracted it, I the hub end was also fractured (I finished it off so I could have a a look at it:

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New DSS axles
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and SadFab MR2 hubs

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and the White Mouse is ready to roll again - will be competing a round in a sprint event on Sunday.

In other news, the White Mouse now now has a slightly scruffy stablemate - the Black Rat - which I am stripping out for a pure track build, starting with a floor drop for my 6'5" frame, and then a weld in 6pt cage.

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Floor Drop
 

I thought some here might be interested in my take floor lowering. This is not a kit. The containment seats are now fitted to the floor and the car is off having a full cage built.

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The Black Rat progresses
 

Since completing the floor drop, I have put a full weld-in cage in the car...

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...and have stripped the engine down for forged a rebuild

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I'm continuing to enjoy the trove of information that is here to make use of.

The new build will use a Trackspeed manifold which I've had sitting in a box for quite a few years, and a BW EFR6758.

Fuel pulse damper
 

I’m in the process of plumbing up a return style fuel system. The referenced FPR and flex sensor are mounted, and the feed and return lines are underway. A Walbro 460 will go in the tank with upgrades wiring courtesy of Trackspeed.

I have not had any luck finding a NB8A return style rail and so I have been looking at the Radium products.

Do I need a pulse damper (OEM’s would suggest ‘yes’)?

Has anyone checked whether the radium direct mount FPDs will fit under the Mazda manifolds (I have a flat top with deleted EGR)?

**edit** Having reviewed the diagram of the rail and the location of the port in relation to the flat top manifold, it looks like a direct fit should be no problem with EGR removed.

Engine is done!
 

After collecting lots of bits, I dropped off my head, block, crank and a two large boxes of bits in September to the engine builder. The engine in all it's clingwrap glory is now back, and waiting on me to get get started on reattaching things.

I am hoping for mid 400's at the wheels from this engine and an EFR6758.


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Looks awesome man, going for big power I like it!!!

Black Rat Progress
 

I've been working on getting this car back together and it is now 90% ready for first start.

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This was before the engine went in, showing the various lines attached.

I decided to use an Os Giken twin plate to manage the planned torque output. Getting this aligned was a pain until I was able to borrow a steel tool.

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The engine back in the car, the next several jobs involved making intercooler pipes, mounting things and making up the last of the fuel lines. These pipes are using TSE's recommended pathway - I don't have that much experience with a TIG, but I'm happy with how these turned out.

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The exhaust is done too
 

I paid a shop to put this together for me, but I want to make the next exhaust I need (I will have regular access to a hoist soon). It's 3"from dump to tip, has a 100 cell cat, resonator and muffler. V-band connections, except for the bottom of the dump which is a two bolt flange.

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This side of the bay is getting very crowded now, with remote mounted coils, FPR, fuel composition sensor, coolant reroute lines, remote mounted oil filter and (soon) lines for the oil cooler. The offset inlet for the radiator has worked out nicely with a straight shot down the side of the engine.

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I had a first attempt at making a catch can today. It's not finished yet, and I still need to weld in the baffling, attach the inlets and a vent, and figure out a drain (yes, nowhere near done!) but the overall shape and fit is fairly sorted.

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This is where it fits in the engine bay. It shares a bolt with the power steering reservoir, and there will be a second bolt and nutsert underneath the intake pipe.

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In terms of total capacity, it is about 1.6 quarts.

In terms of baffling, I am hoping to keep it fairly simple and allow the air to slow and turn back on itself a few times. The inlets will be located just above the little leg with the hole for the powersteering reservoir bolt, and the outlet will be in the top at the farther end. Any thoughts on the baffling?

The drain will probably be through a port on the bottom which I think should pass comfortably through the sheet metal into the same area where the intake filter sits: Empty catch can, clean and reoil filter perhaps?

Oil/air separator
 

This is the finished article:

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Here is it fitted and plumbed:

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Barriers to 400+hp
 

My 2003 is nearly ready for first start, run-in and tune.

I’m bracing myself for a dyno result (hopefully not a disappointment) and am interested in feedback on what I’ve put together and where it might fall over in the quest for mid 400’s.

The engine itself is VVT, has forged H beams and 9:1 forged pistons, ACL race series bearings, ARP main and head studs, Supertech +1 intake SS and +1 exhaust (Iconel) valves with ST heavy double springs, BE pump with two shims and standard cams. The lifters are converted to shim under bucket (probably not needed). The head is not modified other than was required to fit the larger valves.

The fuel system is a return set up with -6 lines to and from the tank which has a W460 pump and TSE wiring. Fuel goes into the rail at the rear and out at the front. After the rail, a boost referenced FPR and fuel composition sensor are plumbed. There’s a referenced pulse damper mounted on the rail itself. The injectors are id1050x.

The hot side is a TSE manifold, 3” exhaust and EFR6758 with a medium spring in a two port actuator and a four port solenoid.

Cold side is a flattop manifold and a skunk2 with the spring hole mod. The intercooler is a PWR 19x11x2.75.

Spark is by remote mounted IGN-1a coils wired for sequential fire.

The clutch is an Os Giken twin (ts2b) and so should have plenty of capacity.

Dyno tune booked
 

I should know what the set up is good for by mid next month. Will be nice to have the thing moving under own steam again after what will have been 11 1/2 months in bits

Sounds ace. My Turbosmart 2 port wastegate wore the bore of the brass bushing which the main shaft runs through. There must be some angulation in my setup. This means the bottom chamber leaks and so the available boost suddenly dropped off.

Worth checking you have your actuator alignment bang on through the full range of wastegate movement. As a quick fix I'm using the top port only with no issue or leaks. I may get another brass bushing and try to re align and go back to 2 port operation or may just leave it as is as boost control is currently very good and meets my range requirements.

will do! I did test the actuator motion with compressed air and it seems to operate smoothly

It's physically impossible for the rod to not pivot while it's doing it's thing, and the way the turbosmart is designed doesn't allow any. It might be made better with a much fatter o-ring seat, so that it doesn't bottom out and actually allows some flex. Then the rod won't slowly machine the never-seal into a nice gaper, although I doubt it.

I think the much better solution is putting a ball joint on the rod, which is what turbosmart eventually did. They don't sell parts to upgrade the junk one, and they wouldn't sell me a replacement brass bushing either.

So it’s doomed to fail!

Not selling the bushing is a little off!

I think mine sealed for c.2000miles before being gaped. I notices very fine brass powder on a hose under it. The arc of operation of my turbo wastegate lever is far from optimum so the arc is twice the relative distance it needs to be if it was set up right with a neutral mid point. I will be adjusting the turbo in the future to optimise this but rushed to get it on and start enjoying it.

A thicker o-ring may provide a little more flex.

How much power do you want it to make?
 

Got a call from the tuner today.

My new engine made 462hp on 22psi.

Holy cow - that is fantastic! Congratulations, you must be very happy. You have also made me quite excited - I am transitioning from a Nitro Dann (!) twistmount to a Kraken topmount. Our builds are pretty much identical except I have a GTX II 2867R, so I'm not expecting quite as much as what you have found, but even 450 at anything under 30 would make me happy.
Can I please enquire who your tuner was? Even with such a stellar parts list, they must know their stuff... Top form :)

Can I also quickly ask what your gearbox plans are? With that much power... ah - you know how the rest of that sentence ends. I have had a year now on the Mal Wood T5 gearbox conversion, and it has been great...

Ace work - at the wheels?

Spotted the coolant reroute - what did you do for headgasket and sealing on the VVT?

Standard cams peaked at 6700 NA on mine so its a hard sell to try changing them out unless wishing to rev to the moon which is not really needed with a balanced turbo. V interested to see the graphs once you have them.

Simply Tuning at Brendale. They were recommended to me by the people who helped with the wiring, and they support a number of the cars that compete at the same events as me.

PAR- Engineering gearset (Precision Automation and Robotics). I have one of their 1st to 5th replacement gearsets to go into the Aisin 6 speed (reusing factory 6th which I will not use on track)

The power figure is at the wheels.

The headgasket is the 99-00 from Cometic.

Green lines are HP and boost pressure on 98/premium. Red lines are e85. The runs were done in 5th gear which is 1:1 and the car has a 3.63 diff. The handwritten numbers are RPM (added in by me).

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...95969475_k.jpg

Thanks for the straight answers: 400+ torque = handful for you and the drivetrain!

With the meat from just before 4,500rpm - should be able to keep that on the boil with a 6 speed and 3.6 rear on track.

Looks like the tuner was playing with ramp rates - possibly controlling temperature/wheel slip. The 130 kph HP blip looks like a DD smoothing error - swear they use excel graph for smoothing and it looks like total error between the actual recorded points at 127 and 134.

Looking forward to videos once you get this back on the hill.