Eaton M45 Supercharger project
Discussion
I've started writing up the project on my blog:
http://kickingtyres.co.uk/words/petrolhead/mx5-sup...
It's a work in progress and will get updated as I go. I'm still waiting for the parts from Tim Lane and a sacrificial ECU, and then I can start work.
Also, if anything I've written is incorrect or unclear, please let me know. I'm trying to make it far more comprehensive than many of the build diaries I've read, so it can almost become a set of step-by-step instructions for anyone else following the same route.
http://kickingtyres.co.uk/words/petrolhead/mx5-sup...
It's a work in progress and will get updated as I go. I'm still waiting for the parts from Tim Lane and a sacrificial ECU, and then I can start work.
Also, if anything I've written is incorrect or unclear, please let me know. I'm trying to make it far more comprehensive than many of the build diaries I've read, so it can almost become a set of step-by-step instructions for anyone else following the same route.
Isn't the Mini SC the MP45, not the M45?
I don't know what, if any, difference there is between them but i thought the Jackson Racing kit was based around the M45, but almost everyone who "homebrews" the conversion uses the MP45?
I've not read through what you've written yet, but i'm sure i'll do so next week when work grinds to a halt - i'm hoping to put a supercharger on my Mk1 next year, so although it wont be exactly the same i'd be interested to read what you do.
I don't know what, if any, difference there is between them but i thought the Jackson Racing kit was based around the M45, but almost everyone who "homebrews" the conversion uses the MP45?
I've not read through what you've written yet, but i'm sure i'll do so next week when work grinds to a halt - i'm hoping to put a supercharger on my Mk1 next year, so although it wont be exactly the same i'd be interested to read what you do.
KevSeymour said:
Isn't the Mini SC the MP45, not the M45?
I don't know what, if any, difference there is between them but i thought the Jackson Racing kit was based around the M45, but almost everyone who "homebrews" the conversion uses the MP45?
I've not read through what you've written yet, but i'm sure i'll do so next week when work grinds to a halt - i'm hoping to put a supercharger on my Mk1 next year, so although it wont be exactly the same i'd be interested to read what you do.
The mini charger I have is an M45. ie 3d gen. I believe the 4th gen is the MP45.I don't know what, if any, difference there is between them but i thought the Jackson Racing kit was based around the M45, but almost everyone who "homebrews" the conversion uses the MP45?
I've not read through what you've written yet, but i'm sure i'll do so next week when work grinds to a halt - i'm hoping to put a supercharger on my Mk1 next year, so although it wont be exactly the same i'd be interested to read what you do.
Edited by feef on Wednesday 14th December 14:56
KevSeymour said:
Oh right, do you know what the differences are?
I'm not sure what the physical differences are, but the MP denotes that it's suppplied by MagnusProducts under licence from Eaton:http://www.magnusonproducts.com/mp45.htm
Magnuson Products handles service and the aftermarket for Eaton and provides superchargers to a number of companies that design and manufacture the installation system for specific applications. Magnuson provides more superchargers for aftermarket applications than any other supercharger manufacturer in the world. link
Also, the JSRC kits, I believe, used superchargers supplied direct from Magnuson Products, and so they were the MP45 unit.
All this is based on snippets of info that I've picked up from various forums, blogs and whatnot, so my understanding could be completely wrong.
Edited by feef on Thursday 15th December 09:53
MX-5 Lazza said:
I'm running a standalone ecu but I've left my stock ecu in place controlling the alternator, immobiliser etc.
I've managed to source an alternator (two actually, but that's no bad thing). I'll see what I can do with it as is. If the worst comes to the worst, I can modify my harness to pull in the stock ECU for anything else that's required.This evening I cut the mounting bracket off the supercharger to allow the outlet to fit. Fitted the outlet and bypass valve, and everything looks to fit fine.
Looking at the inlet that Tim Lane supplied, I removed the powder coating and it seems a fair bit more has to come off before it'll fit. I think I'm going to stick the supplied inlet in the milling machine to remove the excess, but will do that another night, when I've got an appropriate bit, i'm less tired, and it's not below zero (no heating in the workshop)
I'll update the blog later with images and a more comprehensive write up, right after I've had some more of this nice 2006 St Estephe and a mince pie.
Looking at the inlet that Tim Lane supplied, I removed the powder coating and it seems a fair bit more has to come off before it'll fit. I think I'm going to stick the supplied inlet in the milling machine to remove the excess, but will do that another night, when I've got an appropriate bit, i'm less tired, and it's not below zero (no heating in the workshop)
I'll update the blog later with images and a more comprehensive write up, right after I've had some more of this nice 2006 St Estephe and a mince pie.
Updated the blog with more words, pictures to be added soon, once I've sorted them out and resized them.
Updates are as follows:
Components section : Added info on alloy bypass pipe, wideband o2 sensor and misc plate/sheet for blanking panels.
Mechanical install : outlet, inlet and bypass pipe issues.
Costs : updated with additional components that have been purchased.
http://kickingtyres.co.uk/projects/mx5-supercharge...
Updates are as follows:
Components section : Added info on alloy bypass pipe, wideband o2 sensor and misc plate/sheet for blanking panels.
Mechanical install : outlet, inlet and bypass pipe issues.
Costs : updated with additional components that have been purchased.
http://kickingtyres.co.uk/projects/mx5-supercharge...
taustin said:
Looking good!! Any idea what sort of BHP you are running with the S/C? Haven't read through the whole build thread, but have you kept the internals unmodified, with no need for an intercooler upgrade?
Engine internals are stock. The 1.8 MX5 engine is based on the 323 turbo lump so is actually pretty robust as it is. As superchargers operate on a volume-per-revolution basis, so faster it turns, the higher the pressure. So with a standard pulley, no intercooling and standard injectors, I can expect around 5 or 6psi. With that, it's alleged (depending who you speak to) that you can expect about 40bhp more taking it to about 190bhp.With an intercooler, smaller pulley and injectors from a Supra, you can easily crack 200bhp
My stage one is the install as you see it, with a power card and timing card added onto the stock ECU.
Stage two will be to fit an Emerald ECU as a standalone unit, losing the MAF, installing MAP sensor and wideband o2 sensor.
Stage two WIL happen as I have all the bits, I just haven't had the time to install them and the sun's out.
Stage 3 will be the intercooler, smaller pulley and larger jets. I'm undecided if I should go this far and will wait and see how she drives after the Emerald is fitted.
How long is it likely to need on a rolling road to map the Emerald?
I am looking into buying a Mk2 in the next 6 months or so, but would definately want more grunt, hence why i am interested in your s/c project. From reading up, it looks like with a second hand M45 and tr lane kit can be had for circa £1k, and budget a further £1k to buy, get someone to fit, and program and ECU (thus avoiding the powercard route).
Is the above reasonable, or pie in the sky?!
Cheers
Tom
I am looking into buying a Mk2 in the next 6 months or so, but would definately want more grunt, hence why i am interested in your s/c project. From reading up, it looks like with a second hand M45 and tr lane kit can be had for circa £1k, and budget a further £1k to buy, get someone to fit, and program and ECU (thus avoiding the powercard route).
Is the above reasonable, or pie in the sky?!
Cheers
Tom
taustin said:
How long is it likely to need on a rolling road to map the Emerald?
I am looking into buying a Mk2 in the next 6 months or so, but would definately want more grunt, hence why i am interested in your s/c project. From reading up, it looks like with a second hand M45 and tr lane kit can be had for circa £1k, and budget a further £1k to buy, get someone to fit, and program and ECU (thus avoiding the powercard route).
Is the above reasonable, or pie in the sky?!
Cheers
Tom
That's probably the first post I've seen by someone who has been realistic in their costs.I am looking into buying a Mk2 in the next 6 months or so, but would definately want more grunt, hence why i am interested in your s/c project. From reading up, it looks like with a second hand M45 and tr lane kit can be had for circa £1k, and budget a further £1k to buy, get someone to fit, and program and ECU (thus avoiding the powercard route).
Is the above reasonable, or pie in the sky?!
Cheers
Tom
Most want to do it for under 1k.
This might be one of the oldest bumps in PH history, but since the project has finally got moving again after a LONG stall, I thought I should update things.
I'll bullet-point the updates here, but there's more comprehensive info on my website: http://kickingtyres.co.uk/mx-5-supercharger-projec...
Getting some custom 6-rib pulleys made up to spin the blower faster.
Got an intercooler going in
Larger injectors
Instaling uprated radiator, high flow fan and oil-cooler
Emerald is going in along with MAP sensor and wide-band O2 sensor.
Adding a proper triggerwheel so we can use sequential injection on the ECU
swapped out the alternator for a MK 1 model.
Stage 1 Exedy clutch is on order along with...
Findanza lightweight flywheel (about 1/2 the weight of stock).
I've also uprated the brakes and have some Tein sport springs to install
And for no other reasons than I fancied it, I've cleaned and painted the rocker cover and intake manifold.
I'm hoping to have it back on the road some time this summer if all goes according to plan.
I'll bullet-point the updates here, but there's more comprehensive info on my website: http://kickingtyres.co.uk/mx-5-supercharger-projec...
Getting some custom 6-rib pulleys made up to spin the blower faster.
Got an intercooler going in
Larger injectors
Instaling uprated radiator, high flow fan and oil-cooler
Emerald is going in along with MAP sensor and wide-band O2 sensor.
Adding a proper triggerwheel so we can use sequential injection on the ECU
swapped out the alternator for a MK 1 model.
Stage 1 Exedy clutch is on order along with...
Findanza lightweight flywheel (about 1/2 the weight of stock).
I've also uprated the brakes and have some Tein sport springs to install
And for no other reasons than I fancied it, I've cleaned and painted the rocker cover and intake manifold.
I'm hoping to have it back on the road some time this summer if all goes according to plan.
Fortuitous timing
In the middle of sticking a second hand SC kit on my mk2 1.8. My kit came with the extra rad and a charge cooler, as well as a knock sensor and a meth system to boot!
I'm a complete novice mechanically so I'm struggling a bit but plodding through. Have the charger mounted and wideband fitted. Rads are in and the injectors (rx8) are done. Just go to finish the pipe work for the charge cooler, fit the TB (waiting for parts) and dual throttle pulleys.
Then it's on to the megasquirt. At which point I think it's time to hand it over to an expert to get it fitted and tuned on a roller. Running out of puff with the project now if I'm truthful!
I notice you are in cambs? Still the case? I'm only up in Leicester so if you wanna compare notes over a brew some times then you can point out and obvious floors in my build!!
If you are handy with the spanners then there's some beer tokens in it for a day helping me finalise the stuff I'm struggling with.
In the middle of sticking a second hand SC kit on my mk2 1.8. My kit came with the extra rad and a charge cooler, as well as a knock sensor and a meth system to boot!
I'm a complete novice mechanically so I'm struggling a bit but plodding through. Have the charger mounted and wideband fitted. Rads are in and the injectors (rx8) are done. Just go to finish the pipe work for the charge cooler, fit the TB (waiting for parts) and dual throttle pulleys.
Then it's on to the megasquirt. At which point I think it's time to hand it over to an expert to get it fitted and tuned on a roller. Running out of puff with the project now if I'm truthful!
I notice you are in cambs? Still the case? I'm only up in Leicester so if you wanna compare notes over a brew some times then you can point out and obvious floors in my build!!
If you are handy with the spanners then there's some beer tokens in it for a day helping me finalise the stuff I'm struggling with.
Not impossible to pop by and help, or at least point and advise. I'll likely be busy with my own car between now and early July or late June if all goes well, as I've got my boy with me half the time and I'm trying to run a business at the same time 
A brief update on where I am now.
We're going to get a 36 tooth trigger wheel, confirmed with Emerald that this is the best route to take. They're going to get someone to take a look at the immobiliser to see if it's compatible with the ecu which would be nice as it also controls the remote central locking and whatnot.
Removed the 1.6 throttle from the ambient side and made a new mounting for the TR Lane supercharger intake to accept the original throttle from this car. The advantage of this is that it has a more compact idle air control valve. We'll make up a suitable intake flange for the intake manifold so the silicone hoses can plug straight on. In modifying in it, excess material was also removed which should help airflow.
The IL performance oil cooler and fan kit appears to come with a generic oil filter collar, which is about 20mm shorter than e stock water cooling collar. We're going to make up an ally spacer to make it fit, which should also help with clearance issues with the hose fittings.
I've brought some brackets and bits and pieces home with me to strip, clean and paint while they are off the car.
Dyno time is being booked for the beginning of July as they are pretty busy, but we're hoping to get it on late June if there's a cancellation.
A brief update on where I am now.
We're going to get a 36 tooth trigger wheel, confirmed with Emerald that this is the best route to take. They're going to get someone to take a look at the immobiliser to see if it's compatible with the ecu which would be nice as it also controls the remote central locking and whatnot.
Removed the 1.6 throttle from the ambient side and made a new mounting for the TR Lane supercharger intake to accept the original throttle from this car. The advantage of this is that it has a more compact idle air control valve. We'll make up a suitable intake flange for the intake manifold so the silicone hoses can plug straight on. In modifying in it, excess material was also removed which should help airflow.
The IL performance oil cooler and fan kit appears to come with a generic oil filter collar, which is about 20mm shorter than e stock water cooling collar. We're going to make up an ally spacer to make it fit, which should also help with clearance issues with the hose fittings.
I've brought some brackets and bits and pieces home with me to strip, clean and paint while they are off the car.
Dyno time is being booked for the beginning of July as they are pretty busy, but we're hoping to get it on late June if there's a cancellation.
Some more progress. Kieran from Emerald has confirmed that the wiring harness I've made up has been done correctly, which is nice. Also confirmed is that we can keep the immobiliser and remote central locking. Another nice to have.
Today I installed the alloy scuttle-mounted washer bottle and started wiring in the aftermarket fuel warning light.
John also got his lathe sorted out with a larger chuck to take the billet of T6 ally needed to make up the two custom 6-rib pulleys. A 36t trigger wheel is on order now, which will be mounted on the crank pulley
Clutch and lightened flywheel are still on order, should be another week or so before they're here.
Today I installed the alloy scuttle-mounted washer bottle and started wiring in the aftermarket fuel warning light.
John also got his lathe sorted out with a larger chuck to take the billet of T6 ally needed to make up the two custom 6-rib pulleys. A 36t trigger wheel is on order now, which will be mounted on the crank pulley
Clutch and lightened flywheel are still on order, should be another week or so before they're here.
Edited by feef on Thursday 5th June 22:32
Gassing Station | Mazda MX5/Roadster/Miata | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff