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So I've been slacking lately working on the car primarily because I just didn't feel like wrenching. I did finally rip off the exhaust and started on the turbo. I did a quick test fit of the manifold and some of the exhaust. The exhaust is a kraken 3". Exhaust looks like it'll clear things nicely and should fit well. On removing the exhaust manifold I thought I might reuse my studs but on removing them I opted to just replace them. I ordered a new set from miataroadster. Some of the studs aren't looking the best and figure it makes sense to replace them. I also ordered most of the other hardware/coolant/oil lines and fittings I think I'll need so I'm hoping to get going on the install this weekend.
After test fitting the manifold/turbo I wish I could replace the water neck to just come straight out from the block so it wouldn't go underneath the turbo but it's probably more hassle than it's worth as I'd have to come up with a new water pipe for the heater core. I like the OEM metal pipe but I don't like how close it will be to the downpipe. I found the kraken install vid and I guess most people just take a pipe and bend it away against the dipstick tube basically? I saw an example (I'm pretty sure Roda) cutting and welding the pipe so it goes straight back towards the firewall rather than towards the driver's fender but I don't have the skills to do that.. :( On that note..
I was seriously considering buying a TIG welder with ac/dc so I can weld stainless and Al.. Is it a hard skill to learn? I don't care how pretty the welds are I just want them functional. I've borrowed my friend's MIG before for making some brackets but I'm debating buying a TIG so I can do more than just mild steel. A big "problem" I have with metalworking though is I might have to invest in more tools (like a band saw for clean cuts). I have limited garage space so not sure exactly what would be "required." I could borrow my friend's MIG but I'm getting the hankering to learn it myself and not have to rely on someone else. Everyone's busy these days and I don't want to have to bug a friend of mine to weld some stuff for me. Welders have gotten cheaper over the years.. a friend recommended the one he has, an Ahp alpha tig.. If anyone has suggestions or recommendations I'm all ears.
I have an Alpha Tig, and it's been a good investment for me. There's a couple folks here on MT.net that have them. TIG is an art form, and I don't do it often enough to be really good at it. It always takes me a couple hours of practice to get back in the swing of it. I've only really used mine for aluminum, but it's super handy when I need it. Nothing I've TIG welded has come apart, but I'm not posting glamour shots, either... LOL At 57, my eyes aren't as good as they once were, and my hands aren't as steady...
For steel, a good MIG with gas is invaluable. You'll likely get way more use out of a MIG than a TIG welder. With all the stuff on YT, you can be making nice welds pretty quickly with any decent machine and a little practice. I've stuck a lot of exhaust stuff (tubing, mufflers, resonators, etc) together that was mixed stainless and mild steel and it never came apart. If you're doing downpipes or headers, you'd probably want TIG, though.
FWIW, I did the coolant pipe with MIG.
A bandsaw is going to be a huge "YES, please" if you're doing a decent amount of fabrication. Harbor Freight saw and SWAG table will get you up and running without spending a fortune, and it's absolutely worth it. SO MUCH better than cutoff saws.....
I have an Alpha Tig, and it's been a good investment for me. There's a couple folks here on MT.net that have them. TIG is an art form, and I don't do it often enough to be really good at it. It always takes me a couple hours of practice to get back in the swing of it. I've only really used mine for aluminum, but it's super handy when I need it. Nothing I've TIG welded has come apart, but I'm not posting glamour shots, either... LOL At 57, my eyes aren't as good as they once were, and my hands aren't as steady...
For steel, a good MIG with gas is invaluable. You'll likely get way more use out of a MIG than a TIG welder. With all the stuff on YT, you can be making nice welds pretty quickly with any decent machine and a little practice. I've stuck a lot of exhaust stuff (tubing, mufflers, resonators, etc) together that was mixed stainless and mild steel and it never came apart. If you're doing downpipes or headers, you'd probably want TIG, though.
FWIW, I did the coolant pipe with MIG.
A bandsaw is going to be a huge "YES, please" if you're doing a decent amount of fabrication. Harbor Freight saw and SWAG table will get you up and running without spending a fortune, and it's absolutely worth it. SO MUCH better than cutoff saws.....
I saw your exhaust work recently, I'm assuming that was done in stainless, so was that all TIGd?
I hear you about the eyes.. I just ticked 43 and am getting a bit nearsighted but still have fairly steady hands. I hear you on the MIG. I borrowed a friend's mig for a few months and was able to knockout some brackets and decent welds without too much practice. A mig is nice as welding is a one handed operation which makes some things a lot easier. I will do some research and talk to the friend of mine who I usually have weld stuff and see what he thinks. My problem is really a lack of space for a mig and tig. There's some welding I'd like to do for the miata and I need to "fix" the downpipe and front part of the exhaust on my honda as the bends aren't quite right and it could have better ground clearance. I suppose I'm just looking for an excuse to buy a TIG. Do you weld with 110V with your TIG or is 220V 30amp needed?
Ya I hear you on the band saw. Cutoff saws/wheels are terrible for making good cuts. I've used them in the past for making simple/crude brackets, but when trying to do good joints on say a downpipe or exhaust you need a minimal joint and good cuts. Can I mail you a water pipe to weld?
All of the exhaust stuff for my K swap was MIG, and the only part that was stainless was the resonator. The rest was all mild steel. The only thing I TIG welded for the K swap was the intake piping and IAT and IACV bungs.
My MIG and TIG are both wired for 220.
That water pipe was a legit PITA... LOL Only because it was impossible to get really clean after being on the car for decades.
FYI, Kraken is either developing or making a water neck that I think is exactly what you're looking for.
Taken from Kraken's FB page. Seems like they're experimenting with a few designs.
Hmm thanks that is nice. I'm thinking for the time being I'll just bend the hard line out of the way a bit like the install video shows and see how much clearance I get. I do really like how it cleans up the OEM water neck. I saw R theory also makes a different water neck but I've seen some people complain about them leaking (seems odd but who knows). No need to fix what ain't broke for the time being. I will probably cross that bridge a little later depending on how much clearance I have.
So I hit one small snag with the kraken kit but it's my fault. I ordered the a/c kit which uses a 2" pipe that routes up then down. While it's not horrible and I could run it it'd definitely be nicer/cleaner to have the compressor outlet point down and away from the hot manifold (not to mention a heatshield will be easier to fit later). The issue is that the wastegate now no longer has a mounting point. I msg'd Kraken on FB and it uses a different bracket to mount the WG actuator. Anyone on here care to help me out and snap a picture of your bracket? I'll see if he'll see me just the bracket but maybe I'll just make one.. I'm guessing it's some kind of L bracket that goes through the top 2 comp housing bolts.
I thought you could just rotate the bracket, but I realized I never had to mess with the wastegate since it was already setup when I got my kit.
Thanks man. Ya it came clocked "correctly" to fit with AC but now that I've ripped it out I'd prefer clocking the outlet to the bottom and avoid the outlet and charge pipe being right next to the manifold. I messaged him on FB and it comes with a diff bracket for the wastegate if you choose the kraken kit w/o a/c where the charge pipe is routed down. I'm pretty sure that FM bracket is the same as the kraken piece (functionally), but anyone else who wants to chime in I'd appreciate it.
Backing up a bit.. the original studs had some corrosion and have seen better days so no point half assing it and reusing the existing studs/hardware. I ordered a new set from miataroadster. It comes with a set of studs, nordlock washers, nuts, and some special red loctite. Pretty nice. Fortunately the threads in the head were good. New fresh studs installed.
Since I had to swap hardware on the manifold I figured I might as well clean up some of the casting marks/flash where I could. Who knows how much it helps but can't hurt. I'm not trying to make a ton of power but every little bit helps.
Finally, installed the stage 8 locking hardware. Fairly straightforward. The tabs I hammered after installing to not allow the nuts to back out. Hopefully it'll work. Some cutting/trimming especially around the very snug fitting nuts is expected.
So that's where I've left off. I've opted to clock the comp housing so the outlet faces down and it's away from the hot manifold. Looks like I will need a new wastegate bracket. Will this one from flyinmiata work? https://flyinmiata.com/products/wastegate-bracket
Alright, so first thing regarding the FM bracket, it works. Not too exciting. I did later swap out the mounting bolts with some slightly longer bolts as the bracket is quite thick and I wanted to make sure there were plenty of threads. The bracket is quite a beefy piece of bent stainless.
I also cut down the bracket that sits on the comp housing and used a hard water pipe closer to the block which will be the water outlet (it sits slightly higher). I wanted to use banjo water pipes for both water inlets and avoid any AN fittings but couldn't use them on both water ports. I used a cheapo pipe bender to bend the 90 degree water pipe a bit to clear the housing. These pieces are really beefy/thick and don't really bend. The water inlet which is on the framerail side I will use a -6 AN 45 degree fitting to a 3/8" coolant line. I had to monkey with clocking the turbo a bit and the center section but I'm happy with where it's at now. I used one of these 90 degree water pipes for the water line: https://www.ebay.com/itm/155357133228 and I used this angled pipe and flange for the oil return: https://www.ebay.com/itm/184967020207
Here's the turbo clocked and ready to go.
The next small hiccup will be redoing the hot side charge piping but it's not bad at all. The original "up pipe" coming off the turbo can be used coming off the intercooler. I'll probably weld onto the end of this pipe to make it one piece from turbo to intercooler. Adding another coupler and small piece of pipe would be a little janky and not horrible but much nicer in one piece.
I took my jack handle and bent the heater core hard line so it's almost touching the dipstick tube. I'm not thrilled with how much clearance there is, I'd guess ~1" from the downpipe, but it should be ok for now. Ideally I'd have a good ~2"+. I'll see what else I can do to gain more clearance. I will trim the OEM rubber hose shorter to see if I can get it farther away and I might consider cutting an inch off the metal water pipe so it sits farther away from the cast elbow/downpipe.
Regarding the downpipe/exhaust. I test fit the downpipe and it has good clearance and is nice. Kraken makes nice stuff. I plan to make a small bracket for the downpipe that will bolt to the lowest left tranny bolt. The OEM downpipe bracket uses 2 bolts but I think 1 should suffice and 2 might make removing the downpipe difficult. Finally, I will need to get a radiator adapter thingy as the silicone elbow for the charge piping interferes with the upper radiator hose. Looks like FM sells one which is nice. https://flyinmiata.com/products/rero...apter-hose-kit For a minute I thought about putting in a SM radiator with the outlet far off the to the side but this radiator should be good, no need to change it.
Now the tricky part and something I will need advice on.. How to duct the bumper opening. I purchased a doryoku bar as I thought the OEM crash bar would interfere with the airflow more but honestly it's not that bad. In hindsight maybe the OEM crash bar would've been fine..? The advantage of the bulky oem bumper bar is it provides a nice spot to mount sheetmetal to for ducting. With the doryoku bar it opens things up which is good but could make ducting more work. So here's where I'm at and what I'm working with.
For ducting the bumper, does the intercooler need to be sealed off so air can't go around it or is some airflow around the IC ok? Here's a couple shots up close.
So the plan is definitely to trim the sheetmetal so that the opening to the IC is at least as large as the IC. I was originally planning on hacking away part of the oem metal above the IC so there would be more airflow going over the IC and give some direct flow to the radiator but is that a good/bad idea? I definitely will be sealing the underside so that air can't escape underneath the car and the space in front of the radiator needs to be sealed off so that air can't escape around the radiator.
Also thanks @OptionXIII for the suggestion of the AWR tow hook. One thing does it jut out past the bumper? Nothing worse than banging your shin on a tow hook.
Nope! You can see it clearly in these pictures. It doesn't draw much attention unless you put a bright color on it. I should probably wrap some red electrical tape around it to improve the visibility for track days, but I didn't want it to draw attention on the street so I got the nickel plated version. It goes with my car's silver paint pretty well!
Nice job on the water lines, they came out super clean!
I believe we talked about the stage 8 hardware a while ago and I forgot to mention something I noted not too long after. Remove the locking washers and give the nuts a good snug up after the first few outings with them! I checked mine somewhat recently and noted a couple had loosened up despite the fact that the lock washers hadn't moved. I'm assuming after a number of heat cycles the threads relaxed a bit or the studs stretched? I did install new inconel studs with the locking hardware. I gave them another good snugging down, reinstalled the hardware and they've been fine since.
I don't have any firsthand experience with ducting the OEM bumper cover but can say that chopping out the bumper support and replacing it with a crash bar (mine might be a little lower profile than yours) made a notable difference in cooling on my car. I'd keep that avenue open if possible.
I personally don't force air through the IC. My ducting forces all air that enters the mouth through the radiator, and I accept that some will go around the I/C, and that's by design to help get more fresh air to the radiator which is way more important (in my case). IAT's stay stable and aren't out of hand on my car, and that's with a not-huge ebay FMIC.
The main portion of my ducting is made from the DIY cement mixer ducting, as per a thread somewhere on here. It was a good starting point, then I finished off the ducting with some pieces cut from ABS to fill the other major gaps. I also run a stock undertray as well, with holes cut for the I/C pipes, and some metal "waterproofing tape" to seal up the rest of the cracks.
I believe we talked about the stage 8 hardware a while ago and I forgot to mention something I noted not too long after. Remove the locking washers and give the nuts a good snug up after the first few outings with them! I checked mine somewhat recently and noted a couple had loosened up despite the fact that the lock washers hadn't moved. I'm assuming after a number of heat cycles the threads relaxed a bit or the studs stretched? I gave them another good snugging down, reinstalled the hardware and they've been fine since.
I don't have any firsthand experience with ducting the OEM bumper cover but can say that chopping out the bumper support and replacing it with a crash bar (mine might be a little lower profile than yours) made a notable difference in cooling on my car. I'd keep that avenue open if possible.
Cool thanks for that note. After I get some heat cycles on the manifold I'll be sure to check the tightness of the nuts. Did you hack up the oem sheet metal that's behind the bumper bar? I tried to go digging through your build thread and don't recall seeing ducting pics. I guess I don't need to duct all airflow through the radiator so I can probably hack a bit of the sheetmetal and leave enough so that the hood latch mount is still stable. I guess worst case if I hack too much I'll just have to weld some material back. Sometimes I do too much thinking and just need to get **** done.
Originally Posted by Fireindc
I personally don't force air through the IC. My ducting forces all air that enters the mouth through the radiator, and I accept that some will go around the I/C, and that's by design to help get more fresh air to the radiator which is way more important (in my case). IAT's stay stable and aren't out of hand on my car, and that's with a not-huge ebay FMIC.
The main portion of my ducting is made from the DIY cement mixer ducting, as per a thread somewhere on here. It was a good starting point, then I finished off the ducting with some pieces cut from ABS to fill the other major gaps. I also run a stock undertray as well, with holes cut for the I/C pipes, and some metal "waterproofing tape" to seal up the rest of the cracks.
Cool thanks that's really good to know what works for you. Sealing from the bumper to the IC and then IC to radiator would be a big pita. I found that thread and will look into some more ideas regarding ducting. I got no problem using duct tape and other such things to air seal the front of the radiator to the inlet. Black duct tape blends in quite well I've found with the oem plastics.
Nope! You can see it clearly in these pictures. It doesn't draw much attention unless you put a bright color on it. I should probably wrap some red electrical tape around it to improve the visibility for track days, but I didn't want it to draw attention on the street so I got the nickel plated version. It goes with my car's silver paint pretty well!
Only posting links so I don't clutter up your build thread.
Thanks ya that's helpful. And by all means post pictures or whatever in this thread. I'm not ---- about my build thread. Appreciate all the help from you guys!
I don't have many pics of my ducting posted (it's nothing to write home about, could be sealed better in multiple places), but yeah I did chop the factory sheet metal out from behind the crash bar. I haven't had any issue without the hood latch support, but my hood is kinda crumpled up in that area and I always shut it gently. It's stayed attached at speeds up to ~135 mph so I'm not too worried about stability without that brace haha.
I've debated ducting the nose even further, but my car's temps are fine on track and I don't have to do any cooldown laps until it gets up to around 90-95*F ambient. The sheet metal chop and 5 hood vents definitely compensate a bit for my mildly imperfect ducting. It also already overcools on the street once it gets below ~55*F outside. I need to make some radiator/oil cooler block off plates this winter.
05-29-2024, 02:56 PM
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