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I ran the FM heat shield and really didnt like it. It mounts to the brake MC and i could feel a lot of vibrations through the brake pedal. It also mounted to the ground strap spot behind the coolant lines which was super hard to access. I sold it and built one myself that mounts to the firewall and some of the mounting hardware from the original airbox. I put some heat reflective tape on, but mine looked like his after putting it together
Thanks for the warning. I think I'll try out the FM heat shield, and if I don't like it go a different route. My main reasoning is I want to do this myself, so keeping complications to a minimum (at least to start) will really help me.
EFR turbo comes with 4AN port, but manual suggests to upsize to 6AN when line is > 18", so I'm doing that. Not sure of threading for bearing housing, but once I figure it out, should be straight forward for a 6AN fitting
Originally, I was thinking a sandwich plate for my oil source, but I think I'll save a sandwich plate for an oil cooler. That way I can have a thermostat in it and the turbo oil feed will be unaffected. I realize going AN lines for the water lines and oil drain line might be overkill, but since I'm just using the flyin' miata heat shield (or a later DIY one) I didn't want to worry about rubber lines getting too hot or anything like that. It seemed like a safer bet. I also realize all these ebay fittings may be a weak point, but from what I can see they're just raw metal fittings and it's kind of hard to **** up standardized threads. It's the way I'm splicing into the water lines that has me a bit worried, but the alternative is more complicated with a hose bard to 6AN fitting, then using a regular AN line. I figure making sure I get things right here would prevent a load of headaches down the road so at this point I'm just thinking out loud and hoping someone will correct my stupidity since I haven't done this before. I may be a bit too fascinated with AN lines at this point...
PRL Motorsports sells a Tee that threads in perfectly into the oil pressure sender port on the motor. Get that, it is stronger then the brass ones.
I would also highly recommend looking up hydraulic shops in your local phone book. There are probably some locally that can custom make quality lines. I would not trust anything that is not branded Mocal or AeroQuip myself. I have seen to many cheap AN lines have leaking issues and causing problems.
Which wastegate actuator are you planning on running? I'm planning a similar build and am thinking it would be best to go with the "low-boost" actuator rather than the medium boost actuator it comes with standard.
I'm worried about wastegate pressure being too much for stock internals with the medium can. I want to build my base of an EFR so I have everything in place if/when I decide to build the engine.
Thanks. I had not considered swapping that out, but it makes sense to be safe. It's also only $60.
What's wrong with building my own AN lines? It looks straightforward, and getting someone else to do it will probably add a good bit to the price. The reviews for the specific AN lines I'm looking at are also positive so it seems like a win-win.
As for the T fitting, I was basing it off of Flyin Miata's "bag 4b" and going from there. The threads should all match and be an easy install. I was planning on just using purple loctite as a sealant and nothing else on the NPT and BSPT threads. No sealant on AN threads obviously.
Thanks. I had not considered swapping that out, but it makes sense to be safe. It's also only $60.
What's wrong with building my own AN lines? It looks straightforward, and getting someone else to do it will probably add a good bit to the price. The reviews for the specific AN lines I'm looking at are also positive so it seems like a win-win.
As for the T fitting, I was basing it off of Flyin Miata's "bag 4b" and going from there. The threads should all match and be an easy install. I was planning on just using purple loctite as a sealant and nothing else on the NPT and BSPT threads. No sealant on AN threads obviously.
The brass fittings have been known to crack or break from fatigue. A steel fitting, while marginally more is a ton safer. They also offer a 2 port one so that you can wire in a real oil pressure sensor to your MS.
Have you ever built AN lines before? It is not really as easy as it looks in practice. If it all goes perfectly, then yeah they are not bad, when things just don't seem to do what you want it starts to suck. There is also a large variance in quality between brands and price point. All the low priced AN fittings show, and don't work as well. I have used probably 6-10 different brands over the years. from super ebay cheap, same ones you have linked to(I could never get the lines I made not to leak), and up to Aeroquip. When it comes to the oiling of the turbo especially a $1400 one, you don't want issues. Every hydraulic shop I have used does not charge anything for assembly of lines. Generally what I do is go in and tell them what I need. I will have them put one end on the hose the first day, and make the hose a little extra long. Then I will take that hose home, along with the other side fitting. I can then measure lines and mark for perfect fitment. Then I take them back and they finish them for me. I have had hundreds of lines done this way now. I have had a single failure, and the shop immediately made me a new line.
Oil lines are one of the places I just can not see cheaping out on. If there are issues it can cause loss of oil to the motor, or the car being on fire. Spending a bit extra to not have those worries is generally worth the cost.
I also realize all these ebay fittings may be a weak point, but from what I can see they're just raw metal fittings and it's kind of hard to **** up standardized threads. .
Many of the ebay stuff takes that as somewhat of a challenge.
Main issues i'd noticed from ebay stuff, regarding threads etc is:
Threads arent cleaned up, lots of flash left.
fittings can be off centre (ie: bolt head isnt centred to the threads)
mating surfaces often arent totally flat
QC is low, so hollow fittings sometimes end up with really thin walls in spots.
the metal used is usually pretty weak, probably not tempered correctly.
There's nit much consistancy, out of 10 fittings 3 may be perfect, 5 may be a bit off, and 2 may be unusable. you dont know which until you've paid and used them.
I'm happy to use ebay stuff for bits that dont do much work, like my catch can, but for important stuff like turbo oil/water lines, i'd really suggest spending the little bit extra, for peace of mind.
PRL Motorsports sells a Tee that threads in perfectly into the oil pressure sender port on the motor. Get that, it is stronger then the brass ones.
I would also highly recommend looking up hydraulic shops in your local phone book. There are probably some locally that can custom make quality lines. I would not trust anything that is not branded Mocal or AeroQuip myself. I have seen to many cheap AN lines have leaking issues and causing problems.
Yeap. I've tried 3 diff brands of cheap AN fittings, all of them eventually started to leak. I wanted to believe they would work great, and they did at first, but eventually they start to leak. I've run Jegs brand, summit brand, and some other cheap brand, all leaked after enough use. A local shop has some name brand stuff that doesn't leak and I've been using it lately. Cost more but no leaks!
08-27-2019, 05:51 PM
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