"Honey Badger" Miata: Turbo Track Build (new brakes installed)

[CleanNeon98]

Chrome would have been nice if I had some more of it, it looked out of place IMO and it's easier for me to spray stuff black than spray more stuff chrome to match. Imagine a chrome intake mani, not for me lol

[TalonTsi97]

How about that other pipe in the lower right corner, couldn't wrinkle that as well?

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by TalonTsi97

How about that other pipe in the lower right corner, couldn't wrinkle that as well?

Oh, I will, but the clamp on the other end of it is behind the bumper and I wasn't up for taking the bumper off this weekend, will do it over Thanksgiving break probbably, but it's definately on the list of things to do.

[boostislove]

sick picture bro keep up the good work

[CleanNeon98]

More from JhnRX7

Couple new ones from this weekend.

[BigWhiteTodd]

so clean, your car makes me like miata's.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Seems off, why is the filter all up on the firewall? Seems inefficient

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by OutToWinPAHC

Seems off, why is the filter all up on the firewall? Seems inefficient

Away from engine temps, though I guess the FMIC does more to cool the air on it's way in than the filter placement does..

[CleanNeon98]

A few updates.

After having some vaccum issues I retightened just about every hose in the car and got them to go away.

Also in the process I realized I had a bad boost gauge, it read 15hg at idle which usually means the motor should be blown like soon, got an autometer and it reads fine, still in the same awesome location as before.

On my way to the bank today I did a pull, as I'm going for 3rd I smell rubber and think "funny, I can't roast tires in 3rd". Get to the bank, pop the hood, and don't ya know it. Alternator belt (which as I know now also drives the water pump) is scattered all over the bay and wrapped on my intake, tie rods, PS belt, sway bar, etc. Mind you this is the belt I've been meaning to replace for about a month now and had a new one in my trunk. Driving to the mechanic not really watching my gauges, get there and pop my hood, coolant EVERYWHERE, even bubbling in the reservour. Get in the car, turn the key, temp needle is pinned to hot.

Luckily the mechanic wasn't a long drive away from the bank and I didn't have any problems. Ended up paying $40 to put the new belt on (which took them nearly an hour to do because of how the tension from the belts is relieved), topped off my coolant, and was on my way. Temp needle stays where it should and I'm not getting smoke from the exhaust so I think the HG made it out from this disaster fine.

Moral of the story: Maintenance before mods, I feel like a class A idiot.

[russiankid]

So you didn't know the alt belt drives the water pump? You got lucky you didn't blow the headgasket.

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by russiankid

So you didn't know the alt belt drives the water pump? You got lucky you didn't blow the headgasket.

Yea I was under the impression that the water pump was driven by the timing belt, seeing as they are always changed together too lol

[CleanNeon98]

After much decision for more power/efficiency/smoother power delivery/drivability, I've decided the following.

A nice long chat with Evan K has led me to choose MS (Megasquirt) in the spring. IIRC, Evan is the first and so far only MSM on MS (I will be the second if my info is correct). He told me about the system, and why it would be a good choice, offering Hydra features for half of Hydra price (even with wiring and a wideband included). Here is some info for now, I will be using this as my log of sorts to monitor and update you guys on my progress. The car will then be tuned by Paul, same guy who did Evan's tune, and also does MS tunes for Miatas from all over. Conviniently, Evan and Paul are both over in NJ so this should be feasable.

Current power mods:
FM intake full
FM DP

Pricelist:
MS system = ~550
Wideband = ~300
Boomslang = ~100
Injectors = ~100
Custom 2.5 catback = ~200

For those who don't know, a boomslang is an ECU wire harness extension, this will make splicing in the Megasquirt easier and make "going back to stock" a plug and play procedure. What are my plans and goals with MS?

Redline upgrade, from the measely 6500 to 7500
PSi upgrade from 9 to 12-13
Horsepower upgrade from 180-190 to 220-230 at the wheels
Smoother power delivery
Better MPG

The setup will practically pay for itself as well, since I'm sure MPG will go up once the stock garbage tune is tossed out of the window.

A bit about the stock tune on these cars. Even with no mods, it's garbage, for those who have been in my car you know how much worse it is with mods. Basically the ECU hesitates to give fuel coming into boost, and then dumps fuel in finally at 5000rpm. While it's cool to blow plumes of smoke at 5k almost every time the ECU makes up it's mind on what to do, it also causes a momentary lean condition which is bad for the car over time. Furthermore, with mods, the turbo spools faster than stock confusing the ECU even more. The result is painful, unlike any other turbo car I've driven, this feels like it is completely untuned, there are no big problems running the car this way, just annoyances. There have been times where I've gone to pass someone, step on the gas, and the car moves nowhere, then launches forward a few second later like someone just rear-ended it. I installed an o2 modifier made for this car to help with this condition but it doesn't work at WOT and the car stays in closed loop longer than it should, often times even at partial throttle.

Here is a dyno graph to illustrate:
http://flyinmiata.com/tech/dyno_runs...ke_2_no_AF.pdf

Notice the ECU trying to figure out what to do between 3500 and 5000, and at 5000 the turbo is already tapering down. In other words, this is a very inefficient tune to say the least.

So here goes, wish me luck, and I will keep this updated along the way. Suggestions always helpful. First things first to prepare for the MS unit, I will be getting a custom 2.5" catback made and then ordering a wideband. Should anything get in the way of me completing this project, these 2 things will be useful regardless so they will be done first.

[Vr-4-Life]

Wow... a water pump powered by the acc belt.... that relly sucks dude... I usually just use my acc belts till they break... I can make it MILES on battery only... i cant imagine running still coolant because of that...

btw want to chill tonight?

[TalonTsi97]

What wideband do you plan on running?
I'm glad your finally doing something about the tune, even though I'm sure a bunch of idiots will come in and talk crap. Mazdaspeed ECU's are junk, trust me i know all to well.

[Elliott18t]

MS is a good system. Are you putting it together yourself or buying complete version?

good luck, sounds like the stock ecu is a piece of poo.

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by Vr-4-Life

Wow... a water pump powered by the acc belt.... that relly sucks dude... I usually just use my acc belts till they break... I can make it MILES on battery only... i cant imagine running still coolant because of that...

btw want to chill tonight?

Birfday Party tonight, no can do...maybe Saturday night though..

Originally Posted by TalonTsi97

What wideband do you plan on running?
I'm glad your finally doing something about the tune, even though I'm sure a bunch of idiots will come in and talk crap. Mazdaspeed ECU's are junk, trust me i know all to well.

Not sure on the wideband yet, but I do want to use a standard 2" gauge so I can stick it into my other AC vent, not like the Zeitronics (box kind).

Originally Posted by Elliott18t

MS is a good system. Are you putting it together yourself or buying complete version?

good luck, sounds like the stock ecu is a piece of poo.

Putting together. The assembly is simple and the price difference is ~300 from what I was told, worst comes to worst, Paul can assemble it for me for nowhere close to that I'm sure.

[DPancoast]

good to see your car isn't toast.

do Zeitronix... you know you want to =P... you could get rid of the boost gauge and monitor everything from that box and no one would ever know.

[Elliott18t]

Originally Posted by DPancoast

good to see your car isn't toast.

do Zeitronix... you know you want to =P... you could get rid of the boost gauge and monitor everything from that box and no one would ever know.

hmmm im looking that up lol

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by DPancoast

good to see your car isn't toast.

do Zeitronix... you know you want to =P... you could get rid of the boost gauge and monitor everything from that box and no one would ever know.

Honestly I prefer analog gauges, they are less of an eye-sore for me plus they are more "real-time".

[DPancoast]

fair enough.

my stuff reads just as fast as any analog gauge...

but either way, it'll be cool to se the MS system