Hello from FL Panhandle! Long time reader, new member
05-22-2023, 11:47 AM
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Join Date: May 2023
Location: Fort Walton Beach, FL
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Hello from FL Panhandle! Long time reader, new member
Hey all! Long time listener, first time caller!
I've had my silver 99 since 2017 and originally bought out as a fun second vehicle that I could drive hard and said to work on/improve as necessary. Up until the last couple years, she was mostly stock, with the only real addition being a hard top that came with the purchase and cosmetic changes. Other than normal maintenance, I didn't add much since I was enjoying driving and was involved with the local autocross chapter. I did have a purple plastidip at one point, but went back to silver. May change it up again someday.
Well, come two years ago I decided I wanted to add some power so I could enjoy track days without pointing by every. single. other. car. Ponied up for the TDR Rotrex kit with a C30-94 blower and took on my first ever engine rebuild. Fortunately, I have a friend that was a professional mechanic/engine builder for years that helped me out when he could and I grew up working on farm trucks/tractors so I all least know what a wrench looks like. Unfortunately, I wasn't always supervised and made some small mistakes... And one large one. Don't install a head gasket backwards (working while frustrated, not a good idea), bad things happen... A sheared cam gear bolt, new head and new cams later, I learned a painful lesson.
Between work, getting married, deploying and other life events the whole process took almost a year and a half and included many threats from the wife of "selling that damn car if it's not driving!" Fortunately I kept my stay of execution long enough to get her running.
I got her remote tuned and am using a ME442 computer. She runs and drives well, and the time seems good, but the power output, while fun, is significantly lower than what I anticipated, so troubleshooting is currently ongoing to find out where my power loss is. The S/C has a 100mm pulley installed, and makes ~10lbs at 7200, which seems normal for that pulley ratio, but that is only getting me to 180WHP on both a real dyno and data logs in virtual dyno. Based on everything I can find, I should be over 200, and probably closer to 220ish, so that's the current project. More to follow in the Supercharger forum most likely as I'm running out of ideas...
I'm always looking for other Miata owners to meet and drive around with, so if you are in the FL panhandle area and want to go for a drive just let me know!
Thanks for reading, pictures below!
Posting from my phone and can't figure out how to embed the pictures into the text, but they show the current setup and bonus pictures of the shredded head.
Build info:
Engine:
Decked block and head .001
ARP main and cap studs
Stock crank
Stock pistons (9.5:1)
Hastings rings
ACL bearings and thrust washer
Eagle rods
SuperMiata coolant reroute
Boundary oil pump (2 shims)
Stock cams
Volvo valve springs (yes, they aren't as good as Supertechs, the seat pressure is a bit high, but they work well enough for now until I can get Supertechs and SUBs)
Racing Beat header and RoadstersSport cat-back
RevShift poly engine mounts
SuperMiata clutch
TDR Rotrex kit with C30-94: (what a well designed kit, came with absolutely everything and dummy-proof instructions)
100mm pulley
FlowForce LS ignition coil kit... Still on wasted spark, having trouble getting the sequential to work.
Fuel:
FlowForce 640cc injectors
DW200 Fuel pump
DW fuel pump hardwire kit
V8Roadster fuel filter/pressure regulator adapter (pump outran the stock FPR, sent a couple fuel lines to heaven, really lucky nothing caught fire with the fuel geysers that appeared... Was told the stock FPR would be good, enough it was not... Oops)
Stock fuel rail
Suspension/tires:
FatCat bilsteins, 500/300
Kosei K1 15x8.5 and 6UL 15x9, both with 225/45r15 BFG Rival S 1.5s
Body:
CCP hood
Factory hard top (paint was awful, currently sitting in primer while I work other projects)
Missing interior carpet/foam thanks to a good rainstorm when I had the top off, need to replace it
Sparco Roadster seats, desperately need to be replaced or reupholstered
Unknown brand roll bar, looks like hard dog but with larger tubing. Have a hard dog with harness bar waiting to be installed
Trans: stock 5-speed, have a 6-speed I need to rebuild
Diff: 4.3 Torsen, have a 3.63 waiting to be installed with 6-speed
I probably missed something, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.
I've had my silver 99 since 2017 and originally bought out as a fun second vehicle that I could drive hard and said to work on/improve as necessary. Up until the last couple years, she was mostly stock, with the only real addition being a hard top that came with the purchase and cosmetic changes. Other than normal maintenance, I didn't add much since I was enjoying driving and was involved with the local autocross chapter. I did have a purple plastidip at one point, but went back to silver. May change it up again someday.
Well, come two years ago I decided I wanted to add some power so I could enjoy track days without pointing by every. single. other. car. Ponied up for the TDR Rotrex kit with a C30-94 blower and took on my first ever engine rebuild. Fortunately, I have a friend that was a professional mechanic/engine builder for years that helped me out when he could and I grew up working on farm trucks/tractors so I all least know what a wrench looks like. Unfortunately, I wasn't always supervised and made some small mistakes... And one large one. Don't install a head gasket backwards (working while frustrated, not a good idea), bad things happen... A sheared cam gear bolt, new head and new cams later, I learned a painful lesson.
Between work, getting married, deploying and other life events the whole process took almost a year and a half and included many threats from the wife of "selling that damn car if it's not driving!" Fortunately I kept my stay of execution long enough to get her running.
I got her remote tuned and am using a ME442 computer. She runs and drives well, and the time seems good, but the power output, while fun, is significantly lower than what I anticipated, so troubleshooting is currently ongoing to find out where my power loss is. The S/C has a 100mm pulley installed, and makes ~10lbs at 7200, which seems normal for that pulley ratio, but that is only getting me to 180WHP on both a real dyno and data logs in virtual dyno. Based on everything I can find, I should be over 200, and probably closer to 220ish, so that's the current project. More to follow in the Supercharger forum most likely as I'm running out of ideas...
I'm always looking for other Miata owners to meet and drive around with, so if you are in the FL panhandle area and want to go for a drive just let me know!
Thanks for reading, pictures below!
Posting from my phone and can't figure out how to embed the pictures into the text, but they show the current setup and bonus pictures of the shredded head.
Build info:
Engine:
Decked block and head .001
ARP main and cap studs
Stock crank
Stock pistons (9.5:1)
Hastings rings
ACL bearings and thrust washer
Eagle rods
SuperMiata coolant reroute
Boundary oil pump (2 shims)
Stock cams
Volvo valve springs (yes, they aren't as good as Supertechs, the seat pressure is a bit high, but they work well enough for now until I can get Supertechs and SUBs)
Racing Beat header and RoadstersSport cat-back
RevShift poly engine mounts
SuperMiata clutch
TDR Rotrex kit with C30-94: (what a well designed kit, came with absolutely everything and dummy-proof instructions)
100mm pulley
FlowForce LS ignition coil kit... Still on wasted spark, having trouble getting the sequential to work.
Fuel:
FlowForce 640cc injectors
DW200 Fuel pump
DW fuel pump hardwire kit
V8Roadster fuel filter/pressure regulator adapter (pump outran the stock FPR, sent a couple fuel lines to heaven, really lucky nothing caught fire with the fuel geysers that appeared... Was told the stock FPR would be good, enough it was not... Oops)
Stock fuel rail
Suspension/tires:
FatCat bilsteins, 500/300
Kosei K1 15x8.5 and 6UL 15x9, both with 225/45r15 BFG Rival S 1.5s
Body:
CCP hood
Factory hard top (paint was awful, currently sitting in primer while I work other projects)
Missing interior carpet/foam thanks to a good rainstorm when I had the top off, need to replace it
Sparco Roadster seats, desperately need to be replaced or reupholstered
Unknown brand roll bar, looks like hard dog but with larger tubing. Have a hard dog with harness bar waiting to be installed
Trans: stock 5-speed, have a 6-speed I need to rebuild
Diff: 4.3 Torsen, have a 3.63 waiting to be installed with 6-speed
I probably missed something, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.
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