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Made some progress this weekend. Got the head assembled and did a valve lash check. Painted the block gloss black using vht engine enamel, made it look alot fresher. Got the pistons and rods together while the paint dried then filed the rings. Becareful filing the second ring as it is a much softer material than the top ring, its easy to go overboard. I think I was sent oversized rings since I couldn't even fit them in the bores without them butting. There was also a 25 stamped onto the top of the ring, I figured .025 oversize. It worked out in the end because I could gap them to exactly how I wanted. Budget a few hours to do this correctly including hand filing the burs off the ends. Moved onto getting the crank in the block and checked endplay. Took all final measurements, ill post in a bit. Tomorrow ill be installing the pistons and rods in the block, getting the head mounted and hopefully the rms and oil pan on. My goal is to be seating the rings on a break in drive by this Saturday. *PSA* dont use permatex engine assembly lube, its wicked messy and stringy like honey which is annoying but ill deal with it. The problem is it doesnt stay put and sort of melts or thins out after a few minutes.
Pistons/rods installed and put the head on. Also put on the oil pump on. Tomorrow I’ll get the engine off the stand and onto the hoist so I can install the rms. Tomorrow I should have the engine completed with all accessories installed and ready to go back in the car.
So a bit of a hiccup this afternoon. Im my oem engine overhaul gasket kit Mazda decided to include 2 rear oil pan seals instead of 1 front and 1 rear.. called up my local dealer and they're overnighting one in for me so I can get this wrapped up tomorrow. In any case the RMS is on, water pump, timing pulleys, cam gears etc are all on. Only thing left pretty much at this point is installing the windage tray, oil pickup tube and oil pan once I get that front seal in then putting on the timing belt and crank pulley. Still on track to be ripping this b**ch on Saturday. Would like to get some first start and break in vids for you guys. Ill also be using my oil filter cutter to check for shavings after seating the rings.
Everything hooked up and running. Just need to fill the trans and hookup the cooling fans before a drive. Put the stock ecu and intake in as a control. No leaks, no odd noises, good oil pressure. Just ran it for a minute or two. First start video below, literally the first start. Also I’m running just straight 30wt conventional oil for now.
Took the car out to an industrial park this afternoon to seat the rings. Ran really well, no odd noises or leaks. Good oil pressure all the way through the rpms and at idle. Did the whole full throttle thing from 2500-5500/6000 engine braking back down to 2500 about 8-10 times. Came home and changed the oil and filter. Oil had that expected pearlescent effect going on which I wasn’t surprised to see. Cut open the oil filter and found just a few teeny tiny specs of metal in the filter material. I’m not concerned about it just yet since it was the break in oil change. First track event is in early May. It’s a 2 day event so I’ll take it a bit easy on the car the first day and change the oil/cut filter to inspect it before the second day. If something looks really wrong then I won’t run the second day.
My engine survived its maiden voyage this weekend but unfortunately my front right wheel bearing didnt. I did (4) 25min sessions on Saturday then (1.5) 25 min sessions today before I heard a loud growling coming from the front right which ended the day for me. The first 2 sessions on Saturday I took it a little easier on the car shifting around 5500-6000 but still WOT all over the place. Picked up the pace a bit on the 3rd session and sent it on the 4th session. No noises, smoke, ticks or anything like that. I changed the oil and cut open the filter at the end of the day on Saturday and have to admit I was a bit nervous of what I was going to find. Oil was a tiny bit sparkly but nowhere near as much that was in there after the first drive to seat the rings. The filter had absolutely nothing in it which I was pretty thrilled about. Im running straight 30wt conventional oil still but Ill likely change it out to a synthetic soon. When oil was at race temp 220*f or so towards the end of the sessions I was showing 40psi at 6500rpm. I was already expecting a bit lower oil pressure than before because my clearances are definitely larger than the OEM bearings. Ambient temps were pretty cool out (65*f) so im probably going to try 20w50 valvoline VR1 to help raise the oil pressure a bit especially when the summer rolls around and the oil could get even hotter/thinner. VR1 is cheap, high zinc and stocked at my local Advance Autoparts. Speaking with a spec miata engine builder he said he targets anything over 35psi+ WOT hot oil pressure and not to worry about it but I can play with the oil to get the pressure where I feel comfortable.
My engine survived its maiden voyage this weekend but unfortunately my front right wheel bearing didnt. I did (4) 25min sessions on Saturday then (1.5) 25 min sessions today before I heard a loud growling coming from the front right which ended the day for me. The first 2 sessions on Saturday I took it a little easier on the car shifting around 5500-6000 but still WOT all over the place. Picked up the pace a bit on the 3rd session and sent it on the 4th session. No noises, smoke, ticks or anything like that. I changed the oil and cut open the filter at the end of the day on Saturday and have to admit I was a bit nervous of what I was going to find. Oil was a tiny bit sparkly but nowhere near as much that was in there after the first drive to seat the rings. The filter had absolutely nothing in it which I was pretty thrilled about. Im running straight 30wt conventional oil still but Ill likely change it out to a synthetic soon. When oil was at race temp 220*f or so towards the end of the sessions I was showing 40psi at 6500rpm. I was already expecting a bit lower oil pressure than before because my clearances are definitely larger than the OEM bearings. Ambient temps were pretty cool out (65*f) so im probably going to try 20w50 valvoline VR1 to help raise the oil pressure a bit especially when the summer rolls around and the oil could get even hotter/thinner. VR1 is cheap, high zinc and stocked at my local Advance Autoparts. Speaking with a spec miata engine builder he said he targets anything over 35psi+ WOT hot oil pressure and not to worry about it but I can play with the oil to get the pressure where I feel comfortable.
Glad to hear things went well on the first shakedown! Also glad to hear the wheel bearing was caught before something failed on that corner. I'm always paranoid of wheels flying off.
Even with summer rolling around, 20W-50 seems a little...thick, but let us know how much it bumps up the oil pressure, the clearances are larger so there's no real harm in stepping up the hot weight. I'd be inclined to just run VR1 straight SAE 40 if you don't expect the engine to be ice cold (is it available locally for cheap too?).
Yeah ill report back at my next event which is mid June iirc. Just need to get my new hubs repacked with Amsoil Dominator grease and back on the car. Did the rear wheel bearings and refreshed all the control arms with POR15 and new bushings while I was under there.
The only thing I dont like about straight weights is the cold start psi. On straight 30 im showing around 75psi at idle until it gets some temp in it so anything thicker im concerned psi will be through the roof.
This car will most likely be turned into a arrive and drive customer racing car next season. Starting in champ car as my other nb will be raced in spec miata by me personally. Im building a spares package for this car now. Ill be starting another thread soon, economics of gentleman racing and the hidden costs.
04-11-2021, 06:59 PM
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called up my local dealer and they're overnighting one in for me so I can get this wrapped up tomorrow. In any case the RMS is on, water pump, timing pulleys, cam gears etc are all on. Only thing left pretty much at this point is installing the windage tray, oil pickup tube and oil pan once I get that front seal in then putting on the timing belt and crank pulley. Still on track to be ripping this b**ch on Saturday. Would like to get some first start and break in vids for you guys. Ill also be using my oil filter cutter to check for shavings after seating the rings.
