Dyno'd- now what? More boost!
 

Went to the PA dyno day with Gorillazfan. It was a fun day and my car, while it's still overheating, did NOT blow up. Yaaay!
Result was even lower than my already low expectations (expected 155hp). Turned out to be 139/139.

Running an ancient FM setup with T28 and 200 feet of intercooler piping. 6psi off the spring, tapering down to just above 4psi at redline.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1350914746

Blue run was 3rd and red run was 4th. Consistent little engine ain't it!
So time to get the knock sensor and EBC working, make sure my VEs are dialed in properly and then GO! 15psi here I come.

what ECU?

MS3 + MS3X running 850cc FiveO injectors and currently on stock ignition. LS coils and brackets are already in the 'future installs' drawer in the garage.

That AFR plot stinks. Heck, you could have run autotune once and got the AFrs flat through a nice pull on the dyno.

What's the timing like? At 6psi with that turbo I'd expect close to 160rwhp as well.

But you're technically running 4psi, so fix the damn boost control.

rawr.

Stefan,
I could clean your setup up really well and eliminate a lot of IC plumbing.
I'd also like to look at your tune, and help you get this thing corrected.
What turbo are you running?
There is no reason why you shouldn't have made at least 160whp.

you got all the ingredients for a solid daily setup

now make em all work together properly.

even if he added 200 more feet of IC tubing, he has other issues that point directly at his tune.

I know my tune stinks!
This car was barely running due to overheating. I drove it 150 miles to the dyno, constantly monitoring my water temp. Tried to stay out of boost, because boosting added another 5 degrees or so to water temps every time.
So I had two VE analyze live runs up to redline at full throttle before I hit the dyno. I'm mainly glad it didn't blow up. The AFRs are all over the place, but up where it counts, we're looking OK-ish.

To answer the question on timing: at 135kpa and 6800rpm we're looking at 28.7. I thought that's rather daring!

So I don't think I'll pick up the difference (15-20hp) with a better tune. And yeah- 133Kpa at 6800 rpm is pathetic. No excuse!

Need to get all ingredients set up properly and try again. I'd wired up the EBC after midnight the morning of the dyno run, but it didn't do diddly. Oh well. There's always next weekend.

Todd: Help with the IC and piping would be awesome. I HATE the setup and I think I have somebody who'll buy it for a few bucks....

I guess I'll ask the question that we all shoulda asked right off the bat: WHY THE HELL are you tuning/beating on your car when you have a massive overheating issue?
and
Why the hell is this not priority number ONE on your things to fix?

I can't even comprehend why anyone would take a car to the dyno when it is overheating.

that's about 1 degree advanced at 5psi.

but like 18psi said, fix your freaking overheating issues, bro.

If I knew what causes the overheating, I'd fix it. It just looks like the radiator is not removing all that much heat. Cruising with ambient temp at 65F, and with a 180 thermostat installed it gets to over 200 on long inclines at 70mph. That just ain't right. It should be able to remove all the heat from that little hp used and stay around 180 where the thermostat sits.
Going slower immediately cools it down.
Crusing around town it stays around 180 or so. Idling, it cycles between the set temps on the fan nicely.
I've replaced all the hoses, the thermostat several times etc., but can't for the life of me find the actual problem. The cap has been replaced and tested. System has been flushed many times. I also pressure tested the system and couldn't find any leaks.

Every time I park the car after a long drive the overflow tank bubbles. So my guess is there's some part not getting cooled properly and we get to a boil at some area in the system.

All this didn't happen before changing the short-block. So the issue has something to do with installing a new (but rather old) short-block. My guess is there's an obstruction somewhere. I'll try and reverse-flush with a garden hose next weekend.

18PSI: It's my car and I can blow it up if I want to! I'd told people I'd be at the dyno-day, so I went. And I dyno'ed. A dyno-run doesn't put much heat into the cooling system, since it's so short. Took a look at the water temp after the 3rd gear run and we only increased by 5 degrees, so I went for the 4th gear pull too. Increased water temp by 8 degrees or so. Ended up at 205 - nowhere near critical. I'm not vegan and I take -calculated- risks.

If I blow up this block, I have an excuse to build the block I already have sitting in my garage. Rods are sitting there too.

ohhhhh...so you dont have ducting?

lolol don't get me wrong: none of us give even a fraction of a shit if you blow it up.

Just seems like you're asking for help, yet totally ignoring something that absolutely should not be ignored no matter what.

Is your stock undertray still on the car?

This thread is fail-aids.

LOL, fix your shit man.

Before you do anything else, throw some pics up of your car. Pics of everything: turbo setup, cooling setup, pics from the front end of the car, etc...

Do it before something bad happens to you

All points are taken.

The duct under the radiator is there, but the big undertray is missing. I ordered it, should be here Wednesday or Thursday.

However: This did not happen before changing the short block. I was driving it in Miami in 95F heat, boosting to 15psi and not a hint of overheating- even without the undertray. All that changed from there is the short block.
So while the setup was not perfect before, it was adequate for 95F and the occasional 15psi. Now the same cooling setup is not even handling 65F and 0psi properly.

I will add an undertray, but there's got to be something else too. Something changed by swapping the block. When the car's sitting, the radiator and hoses get hot and the engine gets cooled sufficiently. Haven't checked that while driving though. Need to figure out how. It may be that something is restricting coolant flow at higher rpms. Or I may be wrong....

How about the dyno run? Does 139hp at just over 4psi sound normal? Seems a bit low to me...

its about spot on.

Yeah, powers fine for 4psi. Needs moar boost. Also, burp your cooling system better?

Compression/leakdown test performed yet? I want to guess headgasket leak.