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This is gonna be a long one. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
First pic was the state of the car last week, just to get an idea of where I started.
I picked up my intercooler from Gesso. He welded my IAT sensor bung on and fixed the janky welds that the previous guy did on the mounts.
I finally got to installing my fuel system. I converted to true return so that meant running custom lines. I went with -6an fragola 6000 series PTFE stainless steel line wrapped in Teflon for durability. Russel fittings all the way around. I went with a Fuelab 818 6-micron filter. Not pictured is an e85 flex fuel sensor I plumbed in that shoots out to the radium fuel rail. Off of the rail I have a radium fuel pressure gauge and DMR (direct mount regulator). Then it’s another -6an line all the way back to the tank where my dw300 pump is. Took a while to figure out what fittings will work where but I got it all sorted.
Part 2: Wiring.
Part of the fuel system was the TSE fuel pump rewire. I originally had a gen 1 kit which didn’t work on my car for some reason. So I picked up a gen 2 kit and redid everything. The power wire for the new relay had to go to a kill switch in my application. So now was a good time to set that up as well. I installed a 2 pole switch which meant cutting the factory battery cable to length and running a new 4awg cable to the battery. I then had to run a new 10awg power cable to the alternator. All the connections on the small wires were done with heat shrink crimps. I went ahead and put abrasive resistant sheathing over all the new wiring to keep it safe and to clean up the interior a bit. I wrapped the wiring for my new AIM VDO oil pressure sensor as well to keep it safe. To mount the sensor I spec’ed out a custom stainless line with the appropriate fittings. That was about it for the wiring department.
Part 3: AOS. I had an extra port in my oil pan waiting for this radium air oil separator to get installed but I was waiting for the right time. I had to make custom lines for this as well so it was a bit tricky getting everything planned out. I put a check valve in the drain line to prevent anything from coming back up, which meant I had to make 2 -10an hoses for the drain. Then I ran a -6an line from the drivers side port on the valve cover to the top of the AOS. Water lines are ran to the bottom of the AOS using the stock throttle body coolant loop. The passenger side PCV port I drilled and tapped for a 1/2” NPT plug, capped the intake manifold and that was it. Repainted the valve cover while I was at it and done.
Part 4: The final push. With the mechanicals and wiring done. It was a scramble to get the car ready for the dyno and alignment/corner balance. I was up till 2am the night before finishing the mechanics, up at 8am for the guy to install the windshield. While he was doing that I swapped the rear brake lines to SS. I needed new pads so I was able to expedite some PFC 11s from Goodwin racing to me just in time. While cleaning up the rotors I found a hairline crack. I was able to borrow a set on the way home from the dyno from Codrus as spares just in case.
I managed to repair my old splitter after it getting ripped off when the car was caged. I swapped my front sway bar to the 1.25 bar, threw threw on the hood, hardtop, and wing and rushed to go pickup my trailer.
Huge thanks to the tunerfor getting me in last minute to help me out with the tune. I am really stoked on the improvements. I was not looking for more power going into this, I just wanted the car to be safe after all the changes. The car made ~250whp however we were running into boost creep that was bumping it to 14psi (from 12) and 260whp. I was still running the low boost wastegate (5psi spring) so we weren't able to really turn it up that much. At 12psi the car was making 253whp. Incredibly smooth power band. The tuner was shocked how fast the turbo built boost and how it didnt fall off.
I will return with e85, IGN1As, and a high boost wastegate to really see what it will do.
12psi
14psi.
I was supposed to align/corner balance the car after the dyno but was 10:30 by the time the tune was done and we had to pack up, understandably. I wouldn't have stayed even if I could.
I got to bed at around 1am after packing the trailer. I hadn't eaten a single thing all day and I was exhausted, so I made some nachos and hit the sack. I had to be up at 5am to make it to the track by 8:30.
Part 5: Just wasn’t meant to be.
On the dyno, we had no tack on my AIM MXL2 dash. So I said that’s ok, I’ll sort it out later, lets just get the tune dialed in. After looking though the settings everything looked ok. So I thought I’d call AIM when I got to the track and sort it out there. Little did I know they are closed on Saturday’s. No biggie, I’ll just shift off of sound. Didn’t have time to align/corner balance the car either.
I miss the first session because we rolled in late due to a low trailer tire. Ok whatever. I get everything unloaded and head out for session 2.
On my out lap while I was bedding in my new pads I was thinking to myself. “Damn, my car is LOUD”. I come out of the last corner and send it into t1. I make it out of t3 and I hear a loud “ping” followed by a massive vibration, and deafeningly loud noise. The next corner the car shuts off for a second then all electronics reboot. “What the...”. When I got out of the car the exhaust at the midpipe was on the floor. The v-band nut had fallen off (the ping) and the clamp had slid back and bent. Great.
I struggled for about 2.5 hrs fixing it for reasons I won’t explain on here. That meant I missed the 3rd session of the day.
4th session rolls around and I head out. I complete my warm up lap and as soon as I exit onto the front straight the car shuts off again....cmoooonn. I try doing a few laps but the car won’t stay on long enough for me complete a lap. So I head in and call it a day.
It’s part of the game. I understand that. It’s just how hard I pushed to get the car done just for it to slap me in the face is what sucks.
The car shutting off turned out to be the battery tray cracking and letting the battery arc against the chassis. The exhaust is “fixed” but I wanna make sure it’s not gonna happen again, so I might make some revisions. The lack of RPM signal ended up being the CAN splice into the harness. I used those yellow in-line splices. Absolute GARBAGE. So I fixed that with proper crimps and now it works.
Shout out to my dad who was nice enough to drive to and from the track so I could get some rest. He also got some pics of me looking like a dweeb.
Staring at my broken car in defeat.
I drove on sticker 245 RS4s from 2017, they felt "okay". The car was loose on corner exit on low speed corners and would push on high speed sweepers. That being said I didnt have enough laps to dial in tire pressure so im sure that would help a lot. The tune was frickin unreal. The transient response is NUTS. You tip into throttle and its just there. I am in love with this turbo.
The suspension changes and cage were also very noticeable. Extremely responsive. You turn in and the car just darts. The 1100s actually might not be enough. It still feels a bit soft but Im just gonna run it like this for a while.
Im exited for the next event. I am gonna shakedown the car on the street somewhere remote just in case. I dont wanna drop $200+ on another track day just to go home after 1 session. Overall I am happy with where the car is now. At this point its just chassis tuning and refinements here and there.
I will likely be returning to Indiana for a month or so here shortly. So track days will be put on hold for now, but I will get in more before the end of this season for sure.
That was the original plan. Sav recommended me NOT to do that. He said that going up in size just lets more oil escape. I guess VVT motors are finicky.
Are you sure the fuel line running from your tank is e85 rated? My understanding is that the only stuff rated is the gates barricade stuff.
Also, be careful of the splices in the in-tank fuel pump wiring. I had my barrel splices fail causing the wire to just fall out of the barrel. If you can, I would buy a new fuel pump plug and wire it directly into these: CONN-100989 https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/pr...oducts_id/4316
Thanks for the reminder on double nutting v bands. Just put a new clamp on and it came with a nyloc. That's gonna last like a warm up lap.
Yup. Slipped my mind and I paid the price. All v-bands have double nuts now.
Originally Posted by HarryB
6an is basically stock breather size, right? I measured the OD of the barb at 9mm or so.
Yes. 3/8" but same thing.
Originally Posted by Chiburbian
Are you sure the fuel line running from your tank is e85 rated? My understanding is that the only stuff rated is the gates barricade stuff.
Also, be careful of the splices in the in-tank fuel pump wiring. I had my barrel splices fail causing the wire to just fall out of the barrel. If you can, I would buy a new fuel pump plug and wire it directly into these: CONN-100989 https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/pr...oducts_id/4316
Yes. I have gates barricade in the tank. As far as the crimps, they are high quality heat shrink crimps from pegasus. Id be very surprised if they fail.
Last edited by icantlearn; 09-24-2020 at 03:55 PM.
You should look into something like the permaseal terminals for butt connectors/spade terminals/ring terminals. I noticed you used some of the normal vinyl or whatever insulated ones you can get from the parts store/HD, you'll like the permaseals a lot better, they've got adhesive lined shrink tubing on them and they're not too expensive. Just make sure to pick up the right crimper for them.
Here's a link to one of them, you'll have to go through the site/catalog to pick out all the ones you want, but you'll never want to go back after using them.
I finally aligned and corner balanced the car. It was so out of wack I cant believe I drove it like this. The front right was 200 lbs less than the front left. Which explains why the front right kept locking up so easy. The rear was also big wack. The alignment looked horrible as well. I had 1.3* of toe out on the left and 1.5* on the right. This explained my unusual tire wear.
This is what my corner weights looked like with me in the car after I spun some spring perches. I have no idea if this is good or not for a miata but its way better than where I started from. Wish I got pics of that.
2388lbs with me in the car and a half tank. I weigh about 145. So the car weights roughly 2250 without me. I'll take it.
Per usual, this was a super last minute ordeal due to scheduling on the shop side. I had a track day at Laguna the next day (yesterday) and was rushing to get the car ready. More on this in the next post.
Yesterday I went to Laguna for the first time in years. I have to say, I took this track for granted. I forgot how fun this track is. Its so fast, the elevation change is awesome, and the track is super well maintained. Compared to the midwest tracks this place is super nice (you'd think so being such a premeir racetrack).
Anyways, the first session out I scared myself shitless. The track was really damp/wet. Its usually foggy/a little damp but this was more like "it just rained" type of damp. I guess "wet" is the right word. Whatever. it felt like the car was skating on ice. I tip into the throttle a tad and the car just went sideways. Oh you wanted to turn? FAGETTABOUTIT. I came in after my second lap becase I didnt wanna push my luck and I just wasn't having fun. I came in and set the rear sway bar to full soft, and turned the rear shocks down a good amount to hopefully tame the rear when the track dried out.
Second session I go out, track feels great, the car felt good sans a rattle from under the car (exhaust). I thought I had fixed it, but I guess my car hates me soooo. ya. I just ignored it till it became a bigger problem. I just wanted to drive.
Let me just say. HOLY ****. This car is a straight up missile. All the work I did, all those hours, and all that money paid off in this session. The car makes so much grip on 3yr old rs4s. The chassis is so responsive. You turn in and the car just goes. I know it's a combination of the 1100lb springs, cage, and delrin bushings, I just dont know if the cage or springs is making the biggest difference. I have yet to pull data from the dash, but I would not be surprised to see over 1.5 lateral g. Unfortunately on my first flier lap I got black flagged. So I pulled in and I blew sound. I was clocked at 96db. They flagged me and the car behind in (silver s2k). They must have gotten mixed up becase the s2k had a massive laguna pipe so there was no way it was him. But they let me go anyways. This was a 2 strike event, so I had to lift for t5 the rest of the day. Even with a lift, I saw a 1:42 on the dash before I got flagged in. Hell yeah.
The setup changes I made pushed me in the wrong direction however. The car was now pushing a little more than I wanted. So I put the rear sway on medium and put the wing up a notch. This seemed to do the trick.
3rd session I go out, car feels great, on my first hot lap, I lift for t5, downshift for t6 and the car shoots a massive fireball out the back and I get flagged for sound again. Bruh. Session over.
Technically this is my first sound violation, so im treading on thin ice now.
I missed my 3rd session becase the exhaust **** the bed as I was backing out to head on track. The mid pipe was hitting the diff damper and knocking around. My brake fluid resi started to melt too. So I spent the session fixing that.
Last session of the day, the car feels phenomenal. No more exhaust rattle, no weird ****, I have the brake bias dialed in, buuuuttt I see the water temp warning light flashing at me. Sigh. I guess I do need ducting.
Heres some pics. Footage will come later.
Tomorrow I will be at Sonoma with NASA. Its going to be absolutely horrible. Way too many cars. They are mixing TT and HPDE4 (didnt know till they sent the schedule after signup, *******). So I have no hope of a clean lap. Stay tuned
Welp. I guess the universe was trying to tell me something with all the difficulties I've been deal with. Im fairly sure I lost the motor at sonoma yesterday.
The first session the car ran perfect. NASA mixed HPDE4 and TT so there were probably 70-80 cars on track at one. This meant I was not able to lay down a clean lap. BUT I had an absolute blast slicing and dicing through traffic. I had no idea how NASA works so I was last to grid. I had high expectations in terms of pace from the HPDE4/TT groups but I was either wrong, or my car is fast as ****. Mabe a bit of both, dunno. I managed to pass all of group 4 and was making my way well into the TT group when I saw the checkered. I got out of the car and was elated. I absolutely LOVE Sonoma. Its by far my favorite track ive driven. Its so technical, and flows so well. The car straight up ripped. It was sick.
Second session was much of the same, I gridded halfway up in HPDE4, so still tons of traffic, but I really enjoyed setting up passes. This session presented the first issues of the day. First off, I noticed that car faintly sounded like a it had EWG. My AFRs stayed solid at mid 11s, so I didn't think much of it. At the end of the session (last lap) the car got very loose. I remember the car stepping out at t6, and nearly every turn after that, t10 was a huge pucker moment. I was driving the car hard so I just assumed the rear tires had gotten greasy. As soon as I got out of the car I noticed the left rear tire was flat. Its a miracle it didn't de-bead and send me into a wall. In this same session, a TT s197 mustang hit the wall hard at 8a. I saw the dust cloud from t7 as I was coming down the hill and knew it was a bad one. The flagger at t7 was waving a yellow and the medic flag. I rolled by a very very smashed car. I hope the guy is ok. It must have been a very hard/fast impact.
I pulled the flat tire off and took it to the tire shop, we dunked the wheel in water and saw no bubbles. The rim isn't cracked, I still don't know how/what happened. Slapped the tire back on, went to start the car for the next session and I heard a fat exhaust leak. 2 of the nuts on the turbo had backed out a little. Fixed that, started the car, still leaking. I looked under the car to check for a cracked/separated downpipe and it looked fine. In the corner of my eye I saw a hole where the primary 02 sensor bung was. The bolt had backed out and fell out. Great. Another quick stop to the local sops and I had a junk 02 sensor to sacrifice as a plug. Put that in, started the car, and checked for leaks. Everything looked to be fixed, but thats when I did a double take right before closing the hood. I heard a very faint ticking/knocking coming from the engine. My heart sunk. I shut the car off and rolled it in the trailer. I was pretty devastated.
In the last post I said how all the work I did, all those hours, and all that money paid off. Well this was a huge kick in the nuts to that. I pulled the valve cover when I got home, and didn't see any damage, the oil is clear as well. I checked valve clearances and the last intake valve is tight. spec is .2 - .23mm and its at .1. So ill get a new shim to throw in. Also doing a compression/leak down test to see what that shows. Then I'll cut the oil filter open to see if I can find any shavings/debris.
I told myself if I lost this motor then im gonna just part the car out and switch chassis to something that wont be this high stung. My driving style works well with bmws. So im considering an e36/e46 m3 again. Idk. Right now im just really done. Im burnt out. I just want to drive. Im so over working on this car.
Ill upload more track pics and footage later. But heres what I have for now.
This was on the way to the track in the morning overlooking SF. Pic kinda sucks but I thought it was pretty.
Car when it worked.
Hole in downpipe
Car not working. Parked next to the car I should have built.
And this is what I found when I checked valve clearances.
08-26-2020, 02:06 AM
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