Earning my petrolhead stripes...
Discussion
Hi all
Long time lurker, really enjoy the readers cars section and it often has me off searching on Ebay for things I can't afford! I love the variety and randomness of some of the projects, no where else offers this range of cool cars!
Thought I would start my own thread here as part introduction and part sharing of a journey I'm currently on. I realise the rules of readers cars is to state the make and model of your car, but that's going to be a little tricky for this thread...
I will paste most of this journey to date across from another forum I'm on, which is a specific kit forum and doesn't seem to be attracting any interest, so bear with me while I catch up.
I had a Westfield which I had spent an absolute fortune turning into a championship winning sprint and hillclimb car. It was a savage beast and I loved the sheer pace of the thing (220bhp and 500kgs) but it had become quite highly strung and the demands of motorsport, the running costs and the self-inflicted pressure to win started to take all the fun out of it. So I sold it on to a really nice chap who would also compete with it, and set about the next part of my car ownership journey.
The premise for this is pretty simple - I was stressing myself out with a £15k budget and no specific desire or want in mind. Loads of random stuff kept taking my eye, usually on a Friday night after some liquid confidence, but I wasn't able to commit to anything. Then my lovely wife pointed out that I was looking at it all wrong, instead of just randomly searching, come up with a plan and work to achieve something. Shes a genius!
So the idea of ticking all the true petrolheads 'want list' came about. And that's what this thread is all about - earning my stripes by working through the types of cars we petrol heads yearn for.
I'll start with the list, and where I'm up to so far...
Long time lurker, really enjoy the readers cars section and it often has me off searching on Ebay for things I can't afford! I love the variety and randomness of some of the projects, no where else offers this range of cool cars!
Thought I would start my own thread here as part introduction and part sharing of a journey I'm currently on. I realise the rules of readers cars is to state the make and model of your car, but that's going to be a little tricky for this thread...
I will paste most of this journey to date across from another forum I'm on, which is a specific kit forum and doesn't seem to be attracting any interest, so bear with me while I catch up.
I had a Westfield which I had spent an absolute fortune turning into a championship winning sprint and hillclimb car. It was a savage beast and I loved the sheer pace of the thing (220bhp and 500kgs) but it had become quite highly strung and the demands of motorsport, the running costs and the self-inflicted pressure to win started to take all the fun out of it. So I sold it on to a really nice chap who would also compete with it, and set about the next part of my car ownership journey.
The premise for this is pretty simple - I was stressing myself out with a £15k budget and no specific desire or want in mind. Loads of random stuff kept taking my eye, usually on a Friday night after some liquid confidence, but I wasn't able to commit to anything. Then my lovely wife pointed out that I was looking at it all wrong, instead of just randomly searching, come up with a plan and work to achieve something. Shes a genius!
So the idea of ticking all the true petrolheads 'want list' came about. And that's what this thread is all about - earning my stripes by working through the types of cars we petrol heads yearn for.
I'll start with the list, and where I'm up to so far...
So far I have owned the following:
Classic car (1986 Mini)
Kit car (GTM Coupe, Westfield)
Twin Cam (mk1 MR2)
Flat Six (Boxster)
Hot hatch (Fiesta XR2)
Track car (mx5)
Rear wheel drive (most of the above!)
I think what is left for me to tick in the "must have owned to be a proper petrolhead" boxes are:
V8
Sequential gearbox
BEC
An Alfa Romeo
Turbo
Supercharged
V6
4x4
Straight six???
Handy to try and find a car that ticks as many of these? boxes as possible!! What else can you think of that is a must have for any true car aficionado???
Classic car (1986 Mini)
Kit car (GTM Coupe, Westfield)
Twin Cam (mk1 MR2)
Flat Six (Boxster)
Hot hatch (Fiesta XR2)
Track car (mx5)
Rear wheel drive (most of the above!)
I think what is left for me to tick in the "must have owned to be a proper petrolhead" boxes are:
V8
Sequential gearbox
BEC
An Alfa Romeo
Turbo
Supercharged
V6
4x4
Straight six???
Handy to try and find a car that ticks as many of these? boxes as possible!! What else can you think of that is a must have for any true car aficionado???
Right, just been to see a turbo mx5 - one of these is now high up the list!
Also looking at a couple of RX8's as they're just too cheap not to consider.
The turbo I saw was an utterly dreadful buying experience. The guy was difficult to get any information out of on the phone, and no better in person. The car had clearly lived outside, unused for a number of months (evidenced by the moss growing on the bonnet) and hadn't been cleaned in a long while. Battery completely flat, and the drivers wing mirror snapped off from rust. It was not what it was billed to be! However, a short test drive confirmed all the wonderful turbo noises where a definite appeal, and not having had anything turbo'd before (other than work dailies but they don't count) it seemed like a good move. First car I've ever walked away from though..
Also looking at a couple of RX8's as they're just too cheap not to consider.
The turbo I saw was an utterly dreadful buying experience. The guy was difficult to get any information out of on the phone, and no better in person. The car had clearly lived outside, unused for a number of months (evidenced by the moss growing on the bonnet) and hadn't been cleaned in a long while. Battery completely flat, and the drivers wing mirror snapped off from rust. It was not what it was billed to be! However, a short test drive confirmed all the wonderful turbo noises where a definite appeal, and not having had anything turbo'd before (other than work dailies but they don't count) it seemed like a good move. First car I've ever walked away from though..
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 18:13
Hot damn, got myself a turbski!
Here's the story of this one - I need a turbo'd car to tick that particular box, looked at all sorts of things - MR2 turbo, Impreza, Evo, all sorts. But I was never happy that they'd be a) reliable and b) cost effective to run/track/maintain. So, knowing mx5's well, it seemed sensible to go for either a converted car, or a cheap mx5 and do the conversion myself, which I estimated at £1000 in parts at the cheapest end, so probably nearer £2k when all is done. Decided a built one was the way to go. Saw a crap one that was only 15 mins from my house (worst buying experience ever, I'll tell you about it over a beer someday), walked away from it but confident I wanted a turbo mx5.
Put a wanted ad on the mx5oc forum and within a couple of days had a message from someone who had listed theirs about 18 months ago, but hadn't sold. Photos looked fantastic but seller was adamant it's better in picture than real life. A few big question marks though - a RR printout showed a measly 136hp at the fly (a stock 1.8 is 130hp) and the seller kept referring to poor paint and rust - as a UK car, this can be a killer. Anyway, after many WhatsApp exchanges and a good telephone call, we settled on a base price that to me was fair for a solid car with a good turbo system - so assuming the seller was overstating the issues.
Bit of research showed the RR printout stopped at 5900 rpm (these should go up to and beyond 7000 rpm) so may explain the power if it kept pulling - 150bhp would be more realistic. A video from the seller highlighting any grotty bits showed the paint to be ok for a 24 year old car and the rust not so bad (basically none - just some minor bubbling at the bottom corner of one of the front wings - mega result!). I also found that the turbo kit is the HKS bolt on kit, with an f con mini piggyback ECU, known to not release much power. A replacement ECU isn't too much and would/should transform the car and add a lot of value. So basically decided in my own mind that I would have it, and arranged for a colleague to drop me off in Kent on his way home.
I fell in love on first sight! It's a lovely 10 foot car, with the adjustable coilovers, good front splitter and nice Work alloys, it looks just right. It was clean and shiny, clearly well cared for, with all the bits I would add if it were my own car. Seller started it from cold - usual mx5 reliability, jumped into life. But I immediately heard an exhaust leak and a quick rev with the bonnet up showed exhaust fumes billowing out of the exhaust to turbo manifold. Hopefully not a cracked manifold and just a new gasket needed, but we'll see. Went for a test drive and confirmed it pulls like a standard car - nothing more. But the test drive also revealed a horrendous rattle, which I suspect to be the exhaust and potentially related to the manifold leak. Got back and the seller was good enough to acknowledge these weren't in his previous description/correspondence, so could be acknowledged in the price. I made an offer and a deal was done!
Amazing use of modern internet wonderment had the V5 transferred to me, car taxed and funds transferred in less than 10 mins. Chatting away, turns out the guy had a load of spares for a 1.6 (which is the same as our track car), so he loaded up the boot with all these bits free of charge - result! He's a really lovely chap and made buying the car very straightforward.
Drive home was fab. I flippin love mx5s. They're so comfortable, fun and relaxed to drive. I immediately chill out behind the wheel, so even with the Dartford Crossing traffic, I was calm and happy. I enjoyed the off throttle psssshhh of the dump valve, and look forward to releasing some more power. Temps were rock solid, and fuel consumption pretty good. Seats were super comfy, Momo Corse steering wheel a delight, and the new roof nice and tight and keeping road noise down. Got home absolutely over the moon, slightly high from the exhaust leak trying to kill me and super excited about the tinkering that lies ahead....
A few pictures to close out for now, but watch this space - more to come!
Here's the story of this one - I need a turbo'd car to tick that particular box, looked at all sorts of things - MR2 turbo, Impreza, Evo, all sorts. But I was never happy that they'd be a) reliable and b) cost effective to run/track/maintain. So, knowing mx5's well, it seemed sensible to go for either a converted car, or a cheap mx5 and do the conversion myself, which I estimated at £1000 in parts at the cheapest end, so probably nearer £2k when all is done. Decided a built one was the way to go. Saw a crap one that was only 15 mins from my house (worst buying experience ever, I'll tell you about it over a beer someday), walked away from it but confident I wanted a turbo mx5.
Put a wanted ad on the mx5oc forum and within a couple of days had a message from someone who had listed theirs about 18 months ago, but hadn't sold. Photos looked fantastic but seller was adamant it's better in picture than real life. A few big question marks though - a RR printout showed a measly 136hp at the fly (a stock 1.8 is 130hp) and the seller kept referring to poor paint and rust - as a UK car, this can be a killer. Anyway, after many WhatsApp exchanges and a good telephone call, we settled on a base price that to me was fair for a solid car with a good turbo system - so assuming the seller was overstating the issues.
Bit of research showed the RR printout stopped at 5900 rpm (these should go up to and beyond 7000 rpm) so may explain the power if it kept pulling - 150bhp would be more realistic. A video from the seller highlighting any grotty bits showed the paint to be ok for a 24 year old car and the rust not so bad (basically none - just some minor bubbling at the bottom corner of one of the front wings - mega result!). I also found that the turbo kit is the HKS bolt on kit, with an f con mini piggyback ECU, known to not release much power. A replacement ECU isn't too much and would/should transform the car and add a lot of value. So basically decided in my own mind that I would have it, and arranged for a colleague to drop me off in Kent on his way home.
I fell in love on first sight! It's a lovely 10 foot car, with the adjustable coilovers, good front splitter and nice Work alloys, it looks just right. It was clean and shiny, clearly well cared for, with all the bits I would add if it were my own car. Seller started it from cold - usual mx5 reliability, jumped into life. But I immediately heard an exhaust leak and a quick rev with the bonnet up showed exhaust fumes billowing out of the exhaust to turbo manifold. Hopefully not a cracked manifold and just a new gasket needed, but we'll see. Went for a test drive and confirmed it pulls like a standard car - nothing more. But the test drive also revealed a horrendous rattle, which I suspect to be the exhaust and potentially related to the manifold leak. Got back and the seller was good enough to acknowledge these weren't in his previous description/correspondence, so could be acknowledged in the price. I made an offer and a deal was done!
Amazing use of modern internet wonderment had the V5 transferred to me, car taxed and funds transferred in less than 10 mins. Chatting away, turns out the guy had a load of spares for a 1.6 (which is the same as our track car), so he loaded up the boot with all these bits free of charge - result! He's a really lovely chap and made buying the car very straightforward.
Drive home was fab. I flippin love mx5s. They're so comfortable, fun and relaxed to drive. I immediately chill out behind the wheel, so even with the Dartford Crossing traffic, I was calm and happy. I enjoyed the off throttle psssshhh of the dump valve, and look forward to releasing some more power. Temps were rock solid, and fuel consumption pretty good. Seats were super comfy, Momo Corse steering wheel a delight, and the new roof nice and tight and keeping road noise down. Got home absolutely over the moon, slightly high from the exhaust leak trying to kill me and super excited about the tinkering that lies ahead....
A few pictures to close out for now, but watch this space - more to come!
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 19:59
Quick update.
Priority number 1 is to sort the exhaust leak, so I've ordered all kinds of gaskets, exhaust hangers etc to cover all bases.
Then, an infectious disease, clearly lying dormant from Westfield ownership, has taken affliction. Upgraditis strikes! I've bought a new PnP ecu, injectors, electronic boost control, boost gauge and all associated fittings. I'm hoping that once the exhaust is sorted, this will see the potential of the engine unleashed!?
Priority number 1 is to sort the exhaust leak, so I've ordered all kinds of gaskets, exhaust hangers etc to cover all bases.
Then, an infectious disease, clearly lying dormant from Westfield ownership, has taken affliction. Upgraditis strikes! I've bought a new PnP ecu, injectors, electronic boost control, boost gauge and all associated fittings. I'm hoping that once the exhaust is sorted, this will see the potential of the engine unleashed!?
Good day working on the car yesterday. Got the exhaust leak and rattle fixed, and have now installed a boost gauge. Which only really goes to prove it's not making a lot of boost!
I now have a electronic boost control solenoid to install, which will be run by the me221 ECU. I also have an IAT to put in so I can get rid of the factory MAF. And then theres those beautiful injectors... Hopefully all these things combined will see the turbo operating as it should and making some good power.
To set myself a baseline, I downloaded a funky 0-60 timer app and performed a few runs to get an average. Over 5 pulls, the average 0-60 in it's current state is 7.9 seconds, with a best of 7.5 seconds. It's pretty much ballpark for the manufacturers published 0-60, so I hope this will give a metric for improvement! (Also established through this that the 5 year old T1R's on there like to spin up!!)
I now have a electronic boost control solenoid to install, which will be run by the me221 ECU. I also have an IAT to put in so I can get rid of the factory MAF. And then theres those beautiful injectors... Hopefully all these things combined will see the turbo operating as it should and making some good power.
To set myself a baseline, I downloaded a funky 0-60 timer app and performed a few runs to get an average. Over 5 pulls, the average 0-60 in it's current state is 7.9 seconds, with a best of 7.5 seconds. It's pretty much ballpark for the manufacturers published 0-60, so I hope this will give a metric for improvement! (Also established through this that the 5 year old T1R's on there like to spin up!!)
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 20:01
Had a good washing session with the car today, always find it a good way to 'bond' with a car. It cleans up really nicely.
Before:
After:
Sorted some little niggly things, like those awful wiper arms (look closely at the before and after!). Felt so good to repair and repaint them! Also did the air filter cage while I was at it. Will do the front splitter next too - doesn't really need it, but it's easy.
Went for a drive out to a spot where we took some photos of the last mx5 we had:
I really, REALLY like this car!
Unfortunately the downpipe decided that it didn't like being a part of the car so much, and decided to split in two. Sounded pretty awesome for the drive home though!
Chances of getting a direct replacement are slim to none, so will either need a new system or I'll see if my great mate feels optimistic about waving his magic welding wand (not a euphemism) and putting it back together. That's the new priority, so I've ordered a load of econoseal and OEM connectors so that I can wire in the IAT sensor, electronic boost control and ECU in as OEM fashion as possible. It's not going to look perfect, but I'd like it to be neat and I'm in no rush.
Before:
After:
Sorted some little niggly things, like those awful wiper arms (look closely at the before and after!). Felt so good to repair and repaint them! Also did the air filter cage while I was at it. Will do the front splitter next too - doesn't really need it, but it's easy.
Went for a drive out to a spot where we took some photos of the last mx5 we had:
I really, REALLY like this car!
Unfortunately the downpipe decided that it didn't like being a part of the car so much, and decided to split in two. Sounded pretty awesome for the drive home though!
Chances of getting a direct replacement are slim to none, so will either need a new system or I'll see if my great mate feels optimistic about waving his magic welding wand (not a euphemism) and putting it back together. That's the new priority, so I've ordered a load of econoseal and OEM connectors so that I can wire in the IAT sensor, electronic boost control and ECU in as OEM fashion as possible. It's not going to look perfect, but I'd like it to be neat and I'm in no rush.
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 20:05
Good bit of small progress today. Thanks to Marto (afore mentioned mate) for providing some wire, I have produced the connections to run the IAT sensor (enabling me to delete the factory MAF set up) and the electronic boost control. Below is a photo of my first ever attempt at wiring a connector!
I could have just hacked the wires into the car, but I want it all to stay "factory clean" so am using connectors that enable me to connect into the car's loom. It means a lot more wire, but I will run it neatly around the back of the engine bay so hopefully it'll still look pretty clean. I have two separate "looms" at the moment, but will combine them for the install. I have wrapped them individually in loom tape, and will then wrap them again to get them into one loom. Quite satisfying doing it this way, I must say. Any issue with my plans that those far more experienced than I can see?
I also pulled the broken downpipe off the turbo. It's a total mess. A great representation of why you shouldn't use exhaust wrap if you can avoid it.
I'm not certain this can be fixed, will take it all to Martin for his prognosis, but I don't have much confidence. I think this is going to be a bigger set back than I'd like, as the availability of t25 downpipes seems incredibly scarce. I really, really don't want to invest in a new manifold, turbo and downpipe, as that's a waaaay bigger cost than I have budgeted for, so I'll keep looking.
I also pulled the intake pipe off closest to the inlet manifold, so all round superstar Adam (another pal of mine) can very kindly turn down an IAT boss and weld it into the pipe for me. Hero!
I could have just hacked the wires into the car, but I want it all to stay "factory clean" so am using connectors that enable me to connect into the car's loom. It means a lot more wire, but I will run it neatly around the back of the engine bay so hopefully it'll still look pretty clean. I have two separate "looms" at the moment, but will combine them for the install. I have wrapped them individually in loom tape, and will then wrap them again to get them into one loom. Quite satisfying doing it this way, I must say. Any issue with my plans that those far more experienced than I can see?
I also pulled the broken downpipe off the turbo. It's a total mess. A great representation of why you shouldn't use exhaust wrap if you can avoid it.
I'm not certain this can be fixed, will take it all to Martin for his prognosis, but I don't have much confidence. I think this is going to be a bigger set back than I'd like, as the availability of t25 downpipes seems incredibly scarce. I really, really don't want to invest in a new manifold, turbo and downpipe, as that's a waaaay bigger cost than I have budgeted for, so I'll keep looking.
I also pulled the intake pipe off closest to the inlet manifold, so all round superstar Adam (another pal of mine) can very kindly turn down an IAT boss and weld it into the pipe for me. Hero!
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 20:07
Small update. First off, the car now has a name - Project BRG (Boosted Racing Green)!
I got all the final connectors through and thanks to Martin some wiring to make up the IAT sensor and MAC EBC wiring looms. I also made a bracket for the EBC to mount on, fairly close to the turbo so I'm not running miles of silicone boost hose. Also mega thanks to Adam who welded in the IAT sensor boss to the intake pipe. In usual Adam awesomeness, he even added some ribs for the silicone hose to grip to. Cheers dude!
Popped over to the garage tonight and got all that fitted, connected and neatly tidied away. Aaaaaaand relax. I'm really chuffed with the outcome, it remains a clean engine bay and you wouldn't know the IAT and EBC wiring was there. It's also a huge benefit to lose that MAF sensor!!
IAT sensor and EBC in situ:
Next job was to get what was left of the torn exhaust off the car. The three bolts that mount the downpipe to the exhaust were absolutely solid, despite liberal use of Poland's finest rust release spray (Vulcan!!!). Same was true of the exhaust gas sensor, so I did the sensible thing and unplugged that from the loom, and undid the two bolts to the cat, slid the lot out and did a little whoop to myself (the thought of doing that particular task has been eating a hole in my brain for a couple of weeks now!).
All that stands in the way of making boost now is fixing the exhaust, refitting it, and installation of the ME221 ECU. I've removed the relevant fuse so all I need to do is whip out the factory ECU (and the f con mini piggyback that's in there currently), replace the main board with the ME221, download the relevant map and away we go (to the nearest rolling road, obviously!). I'm torn as to whether or not to fit the injectors now, or see how I get on with the stock ones - bearing in mind I'm not chasing big power. We'll see as to how carried away I get I suppose!!
First up though is the exhaust, so next stop is over to Martin to see if he can work any magic and salvage the downpipe. At this point I'm somewhere between my usual state of hopelessly optimistic and thinking we can do something, and the reality that it's probably scrap. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
I got all the final connectors through and thanks to Martin some wiring to make up the IAT sensor and MAC EBC wiring looms. I also made a bracket for the EBC to mount on, fairly close to the turbo so I'm not running miles of silicone boost hose. Also mega thanks to Adam who welded in the IAT sensor boss to the intake pipe. In usual Adam awesomeness, he even added some ribs for the silicone hose to grip to. Cheers dude!
Popped over to the garage tonight and got all that fitted, connected and neatly tidied away. Aaaaaaand relax. I'm really chuffed with the outcome, it remains a clean engine bay and you wouldn't know the IAT and EBC wiring was there. It's also a huge benefit to lose that MAF sensor!!
IAT sensor and EBC in situ:
Next job was to get what was left of the torn exhaust off the car. The three bolts that mount the downpipe to the exhaust were absolutely solid, despite liberal use of Poland's finest rust release spray (Vulcan!!!). Same was true of the exhaust gas sensor, so I did the sensible thing and unplugged that from the loom, and undid the two bolts to the cat, slid the lot out and did a little whoop to myself (the thought of doing that particular task has been eating a hole in my brain for a couple of weeks now!).
All that stands in the way of making boost now is fixing the exhaust, refitting it, and installation of the ME221 ECU. I've removed the relevant fuse so all I need to do is whip out the factory ECU (and the f con mini piggyback that's in there currently), replace the main board with the ME221, download the relevant map and away we go (to the nearest rolling road, obviously!). I'm torn as to whether or not to fit the injectors now, or see how I get on with the stock ones - bearing in mind I'm not chasing big power. We'll see as to how carried away I get I suppose!!
First up though is the exhaust, so next stop is over to Martin to see if he can work any magic and salvage the downpipe. At this point I'm somewhere between my usual state of hopelessly optimistic and thinking we can do something, and the reality that it's probably scrap. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 20:09
Got a good solid afternoons work on Project BRG yesterday.
Bit of a battle to get the exhaust back on, but managed it, and I have to say Frankenpipe is looking mighty fantastic in situ! Keen to get the rest sorted so I can fire it up now.
With that done, attention now turns to the ECU and injectors. Not much to show here, but got the stock ECU and f con mini piggyback ECU removed, did the necessary adjustments to the ME221 PCB (fan switch settings, MAP feed etc), drilled the hole for the MAP feed line in the stock case and installed the ME221 board.
Plugged it all back in with the MAP feed connected, so after the injectors are installed I can go about setting it all up.
Injectors - this has been bugging me for a while. Haynes manual makes it look exceptionally laborious to remove the injector rail, basically having to remove the entire air inlet. I've googled and YouTube searched and nothing comes up. That suggests either no one replaces injectors, or it's so straightforward it doesn't need tutorials. I really hoped it was the latter but after a quick attempt yesterday, in which I got the rail off and the first injector out, I really struggled to get the new injector in so I decided to call it quits there and take a breather and get back to it another day. No photos unfortunately. Want to get it sorted though so I can get it running again!
Bit nervous about doing the mapping stuff next - theres a 1.8 turbo base map provided by Motorsport Electronics, but I need to change various settings to recognise the IAT sensor, MAC EBC solenoid and new injectors - well outside my comfort zone. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Bit of a battle to get the exhaust back on, but managed it, and I have to say Frankenpipe is looking mighty fantastic in situ! Keen to get the rest sorted so I can fire it up now.
With that done, attention now turns to the ECU and injectors. Not much to show here, but got the stock ECU and f con mini piggyback ECU removed, did the necessary adjustments to the ME221 PCB (fan switch settings, MAP feed etc), drilled the hole for the MAP feed line in the stock case and installed the ME221 board.
Plugged it all back in with the MAP feed connected, so after the injectors are installed I can go about setting it all up.
Injectors - this has been bugging me for a while. Haynes manual makes it look exceptionally laborious to remove the injector rail, basically having to remove the entire air inlet. I've googled and YouTube searched and nothing comes up. That suggests either no one replaces injectors, or it's so straightforward it doesn't need tutorials. I really hoped it was the latter but after a quick attempt yesterday, in which I got the rail off and the first injector out, I really struggled to get the new injector in so I decided to call it quits there and take a breather and get back to it another day. No photos unfortunately. Want to get it sorted though so I can get it running again!
Bit nervous about doing the mapping stuff next - theres a 1.8 turbo base map provided by Motorsport Electronics, but I need to change various settings to recognise the IAT sensor, MAC EBC solenoid and new injectors - well outside my comfort zone. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 20:13
Good day!
Amazing how stepping away for a while can make things easier. Bit of thought overnight and away we go.
First up, comparison of old vs new injectors. Can injectors be sexy? Not sure. But the new ones are pretty damn awesome.
Got the fuel pipes off so I could get the injector rail out fully, clean everything up, grease and install the new injectors and reinstall. Boom! Simple as that.
Also, the boot of my camper makes an exceptional portable workstation.
So, onto mapping the ECU. Followed the fairly straightforward instructions, clenched my a hole super tight and turned the key. Fired straight up. Woo hoo!! Its not running right, pretty obviously as it's on a base map, but it idles and revs fine, so hopefully I can drive it for mapping soon. Awesome!
Amazing how stepping away for a while can make things easier. Bit of thought overnight and away we go.
First up, comparison of old vs new injectors. Can injectors be sexy? Not sure. But the new ones are pretty damn awesome.
Got the fuel pipes off so I could get the injector rail out fully, clean everything up, grease and install the new injectors and reinstall. Boom! Simple as that.
Also, the boot of my camper makes an exceptional portable workstation.
So, onto mapping the ECU. Followed the fairly straightforward instructions, clenched my a hole super tight and turned the key. Fired straight up. Woo hoo!! Its not running right, pretty obviously as it's on a base map, but it idles and revs fine, so hopefully I can drive it for mapping soon. Awesome!
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 20:14
Mapping booked for 25th June!! Excited!
When I spoke to BBR earlier, they said the 640cc injectors would make it rich at idle, and potentially struggle with MOT. We'll see. Now I know how to do it, I'm happy to change out the injectors if needed.
Power-wise, I'd really like around 180bhp, but I think the set up and the 2" stock exhaust will be quite restrictive, so 160bhp may be more realistic. Whatever the outcome, I'll be happy for the learning and hobby tinkering experience of it all!
When I spoke to BBR earlier, they said the 640cc injectors would make it rich at idle, and potentially struggle with MOT. We'll see. Now I know how to do it, I'm happy to change out the injectors if needed.
Power-wise, I'd really like around 180bhp, but I think the set up and the 2" stock exhaust will be quite restrictive, so 160bhp may be more realistic. Whatever the outcome, I'll be happy for the learning and hobby tinkering experience of it all!
This post brings us up to date:
Back from holiday where my brain had enough time to think and plan for mapping on Tuesday. Main thing that was troubling me was that I haven't actually driven BRG since I did all the work, it's only been turned over and idled. Given that I'm driving it up to BBR for the mapping, I kinda need to know it'll be ok the get there...
So, plan of action - take it for a spin and keep fingers crossed!! So on this nice warm day, where do I go - the park? The forest? The hills for some photos? Nope. Tesco, of course!
It all went well, no major issues to report. Exhaust leak and rattle all gone (now noticing an exhaust rattle coming from the back box, will investigate that later). Drove smoothly apart from an intermittently rough idle, but most importantly, the turbo is now making lots of excellent noises! Whoosh chachachachacha
It's definitely a lot faster! Boost is showing as up to 8psi now, and that's only at about three quarter throttle and not using all the revs (my car is annoyingly a late 95 model and has a rare issue of the rev gauge not working with the ECU, there's a bridge that needs to be soldered to get it working which BBR will do for me). Bear in mind that it was only making about 4psi before (peaked at 6 but rarely) - so that's double the boost before it's been mapped!!!
Brought it home, gave it a wash and then loaded up with tools and spares ready for Tuesday. Oooh, shiny...
Tucked away back in the garage. The seller gave me a car cover for it, he said it was just something to keep the dust off in the garage, but it's a custom fit indoor car cover with a nice little Mazda logo on it. A really nice touch I thought.
Sleep well Project BRG, Tuesday will be an interesting day...
Back from holiday where my brain had enough time to think and plan for mapping on Tuesday. Main thing that was troubling me was that I haven't actually driven BRG since I did all the work, it's only been turned over and idled. Given that I'm driving it up to BBR for the mapping, I kinda need to know it'll be ok the get there...
So, plan of action - take it for a spin and keep fingers crossed!! So on this nice warm day, where do I go - the park? The forest? The hills for some photos? Nope. Tesco, of course!
It all went well, no major issues to report. Exhaust leak and rattle all gone (now noticing an exhaust rattle coming from the back box, will investigate that later). Drove smoothly apart from an intermittently rough idle, but most importantly, the turbo is now making lots of excellent noises! Whoosh chachachachacha
It's definitely a lot faster! Boost is showing as up to 8psi now, and that's only at about three quarter throttle and not using all the revs (my car is annoyingly a late 95 model and has a rare issue of the rev gauge not working with the ECU, there's a bridge that needs to be soldered to get it working which BBR will do for me). Bear in mind that it was only making about 4psi before (peaked at 6 but rarely) - so that's double the boost before it's been mapped!!!
Brought it home, gave it a wash and then loaded up with tools and spares ready for Tuesday. Oooh, shiny...
Tucked away back in the garage. The seller gave me a car cover for it, he said it was just something to keep the dust off in the garage, but it's a custom fit indoor car cover with a nice little Mazda logo on it. A really nice touch I thought.
Sleep well Project BRG, Tuesday will be an interesting day...
Edited by BeerBaconBoost on Sunday 23 June 20:17
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