NOOOOOOOO! The best autocross video of a turbo Miata I have ever seen is GONE! The one from post #46. I keep linking it to friends as a showcase of how much fun can be had in a turbo Miata. Please bring it back.

Youtube says:
This video has been removed by the user.

I'm glad at least one person likes it! There is a really dumb reason I took them down - I lost the pw for the account. If I ever accidentally logged off I'd have no control over it. So I'll put videos up on a new account and link them back. And write down the pw.

Thank you very, very much. I feared they would be lost forever.

howz that manifold? full of cracks, rips and tears? ;)

A couple of the old videos are up, hopefully future ones will be more eventful!
YouTube - ttssm2's Channel

Knock on wood....
The manifold is still on there and it's banging on the boost cut in the cold weather so I assume that there can't be that big of a crack/leak! Over the past 2.7 years I snugged up a couple of nuts/bolts ONCE. Turbo and VTA WG pipe braces are highly underrated. I still thank you for kicking me in the ass to add them before something did fall off.

This is from the gymkhana yesterday. The track owner gave me bonus points by deducting time from my run for doing big burnouts! I had to let off when I could no longer see the track in front of me.
http://www.sasca.org/forum/index.php...tach=202;image

Awesome burnout! :bowdown:

damn- that looks like a calendar photo :D

:werd: Definitely worthy of consideration.

This is my favorite:




Thanks again.

nice edit at the end :D sounds awesome!!! but the BOV is a bit loud lol...

Description and video from the gymkhana. It should have been called trackhana.
https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t43649/

Are you running an external wg? On that original number 4 runner?

Yup, an TiaL 38mm with a pretty short vta pipe. I bought it from markp for $50 since the wg mount on #4 was cracked and welded and cracked. I did a really poor welding job and it's been fine since. It does annoy me to have the wg only on #4 instead of on the collector. Oh well!

Old pictures from post #12.
Manifold, sort of:
Attachment 200288

VTA WG pipe prior to brace welded on:
Attachment 200289

First real failure!
 

m2cupcar, I blame you!

Long story short, the wastegate flange on the manifold cracked. The small crack sounded like a ticking lifter. The brace was still holding it in place pretty well.

Removed everything, welded up the manifold and welded on a small brace from the WG flange to the #4 runner. Not sure if this will make things better or worse but I'll be the first to know.

Not sure why but here's a picture with things mocked up.
Attachment 199743

FYI, the mild steel 3" downpipe made from mandrel bent Summit pipe pieced together has been heat wrapped the entire time. Contrary to popular belief, there is no corrosion, leaks or anything. The $20 downpipe still lives!

I posted this in another thread but this is probably a better place. This was called a gymkhana but should have been called a 'trackhana'. Running 195/60-14, 400 treadwear all seasons. Add water and mud on the track and it's really fun. There is one cone that you had to hit and I was able to hit over 7k - in reverse!

I don't think I jinxed you. I think you ran out of borrowed time. ;) And to think I was actually considering that port when moving to the EWG. Just think of this as an opportunity to but the EWG where it belongs- at the collector. :D

I thought about moving and replumbing the EWG for about ten seconds. The packaging would have been ugly and even more prone to cracking. When rods fly and take out the turbo and manifold, I'll take that opportunity to get/make a manifold that is very low mount and I'll finally have the WG in the right location. I hope that opportunity doesn't happen anytime soon!

Besides, I'm lazy. It was fairly low hassle to weld the flange and shovel everything back in to the engine bay.

Three Year Update
 

Three years and the Churbo/eBay Chinacharger lives. The used $50 SSAutochrome manifold lives.

The untouched 96 1.8 now has 207k+. Untouched other than a JB Welded crank pulley 35k miles ago and the Exhintake cam.

There have been a couple issues:
-The 19x,000 mile 6 speed trans had issues recently. I think it had it's first oil change at 18x,000 when I installed it. Running a POS 5sp until I find a good 6sp or a bargain Quaife setup.... Turned the boost down to 12.5psi until a 6sp goes back in.

-The Exedy Stage 1 1.6 clutch/pp finally gave up after 30k miles and over 300 R compound launches, many on the rev limiter pre turbo. Great clutch.

-At an autox last month someone pointed out a hairline crack in my turbo brace (thanks yet again m2cupcar but your tree incident scares the crap out of me considering there is a 70' Arizona Ashe hanging over the casa....). I fixed it and realized that it may have been cracked for quite a while thus causing the previous WG flange crack. No big deal.


-I was getting 25-26mpg until I realized that I had closed loop turned off. It went up to 27-28mpg on average. Duh.

-I'm burning a quart of oil in less than 1k miles. Don't really care. Refuse to do a compression or leakdown test. I top off with 15W-50, it helps.

-Replaced the lame ECU internal MAP sensor with an external GM 3 bar MAP sensor.

-Replaced fancy dampened (slow reacting, lagging real boost by a lot)Autometer boost gauge with cheap (very responsive and accurate reading) Autometer Sport Comp gauge.

I've been meaning to take some street video as autox and drag vids don't tell the whole story.

I hate you for spending a small fraction of what I have in my car and getting much more seat time in it. I... HATE... YOU!!!

DVCN for President. If he could accomplish as much with the Country as he has with his car, on proportionally the same budget, the national debt would be gone in his first term.

No doubt all the fancy engineering and fab work is paying off in reliability. :D If/when I go EWG it won't be off that runner port, it scares me. My brace broke twice before I got a combination of material that offers enough flexibility with support. I started with square tube which broke at the base where it attached at the mounting point, then after a reweld it broke in the middle. So I sectioned it and stuffed a short solid rod section in it and that seems to have worked.

Yes.... I wish the EWG was on the collector.

My brace cracked in a really obvious place. I didn't like it when I did it three years ago. I ground the tiny piece of angle into a tiny flat to clear the compressor housing. I added more beef to that area, it won't break there again. Seriously, your tree falling scares me!

I am jealous that your car is so highly developed! Mine has been a grenade with the pin pulled from day one.

I hadn't published this before but here are the rough costs including shipping. I'm sure there are some other small items that are missing. If I was going for 200whp-220whp things would have been considerably cheaper. Things are sized for future power goals.

$50 exhaust manifold - local
$165 turbo(included exhaust flange) - ebay
$200 injectors, regulator - local
$55 injector cleaning
$140 intercooler piping, clamps, hoses - ebay
$120 intercooler, 3" x 12" x 18" CORE - ebay
$180 3" turbo back exhaust - Dynomax, mandrel bent & straight tubing - Summit
$29 3" flex for exhaust - ebay
$120 braided steel lines, fittings, silicone vac hose assortment - local, Summit
$100 walbro 255 - ebay
$20 fuel rail - mod return to end of rail
TiaL 38mm WG $210
HKS SSQV2 $190 - ebay

------------------------
NA parts removed and sold:
$100 UR underdrive pulley
$325 RB header
$50 full 2.5" exhaust