It's getting there....

concealer404

About time. Finally got the rest of my parts. Oil, coolant, and finish modifying the headlights to fit over the new piping is all that's left.

concealer404

Here is what $1300 worth of 1990 Mazda MX6 GT Turbo looks like assembled (yes i need to straighten out the bumper):



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Not too shabby if i say so myself. Had a productive day!!!!

nooshinjohn

Good luck with it.

concealer404

Thanks John! Now i'm just going to start setting aside money for when the transmission explodes in spectacular fashion. And it will. It was never built for 400wtq.

audiobliss

Congrats! Hope you get it wrapped up in short order without any more hiccups. 400wtq?? That's quite a bit! How much boost are you running?

I just got my Mazda back from the shop last week; had been without it since the first week of February (just dragged my feet getting it to the shop). I wish it had half that much torque!

concealer404

audiobliss wrote: »

Congrats! Hope you get it wrapped up in short order without any more hiccups. 400wtq?? That's quite a bit! How much boost are you running?

I just got my Mazda back from the shop last week; had been without it since the first week of February (just dragged my feet getting it to the shop). I wish it had half that much torque!

Thanks man, it just needs an alignment, new front strut mounts (already have), and waiting on the rest of the electronics stuff to come in.

It seems to run great, better than it ever has before, but it's a nightmare to drive because of the horribly out of shape alignment on it right now. That should be fixed Wednesday, though.

Currently i'm running 20-22psi on a 50trim turbo. Hard to tell exactly, it was wet yesterday, no traction in any gear.

By middle of June, i should be converting over to Megasquirt EMS, and running about 20psi on a 60trim turbo. Shooting for about 350whp/425wtq. This is still a bone stock, never opened 172k mile 20 year old motor.

PerfectCreature

That could be a very sharp looking car. Going to get a body kit for it?
I'd have to imagine you could find some nice looking ones that wouldn't cost to much.
1300 isn't bad....
I paid more than that for a worse car than yours...I happen to own a granny car (Buick Skylark) ...curse poor economics.

concealer404

PerfectCreature wrote: »

That could be a very sharp looking car. Going to get a body kit for it?
I'd have to imagine you could find some nice looking ones that wouldn't cost to much.
1300 isn't bad....
I paid more than that for a worse car than yours...I happen to own a granny car (Buick Skylark) ...curse poor economics.

Nah, no body kit. There's really only one good looking kit for it, and it's been out of production for about 15 years now.

I actually paid $900 for the car. It's got about $400 in further parts that count towards my budget for the competition in the fall. In reality it's got more like $900 in it at this point, but the organizers let me replace the parts that were stolen off of it at no hit to the budget.

I want to get rid of those wheels, though... can't stand them.

audiobliss

I'm getting mine re-aligned here in a few hours! And then hopefully it'll be good to go. Not sure, though, 'cause I'm still hearing some noises.

What kind of competition is this that you have such a strict budget to go by? I can't believe an engine like that is still in one piece with that much boost! :eek:

concealer404

audiobliss wrote: »

I'm getting mine re-aligned here in a few hours! And then hopefully it'll be good to go. Not sure, though, 'cause I'm still hearing some noises.

What kind of competition is this that you have such a strict budget to go by? I can't believe an engine like that is still in one piece with that much boost! :eek:

Grassroots Motorsports $2010 Challenge.

This year is 2010, therefor i have $2010 to spend on the car including purchase price to do a show, drag, and autocross.

As for the engine... this is normal. The "official" record is 349whp/468wtq on a stock motor. (This example had over 200k miles on it) However, there's some people that are making probably well over that, just haven't dyno'd or put up videos of their dyno pulls. I doubt i'm pushing the engine, there's a few guys running turbos off of Cummins motors @ 25+psi with no issues. And for that matter... i'm still running off the stock ECU.

It's built like a brick shithouse, and about as technologically advanced as one.

2.2 litre SOHC 12v 7.8:1 compression. It's essentially the same motor as came in the B2200 trucks, but with 4 more valves, and boost. It was turbo from factory with a tiny little turbo. Forged crank, forged rods, cast iron block, hyperpeutic pistons.

cstmar01

Ben, maybe if we can find a use jet turbo engine I'll strap that bad boy on the exploder and we can have some fun. hahah


go big or go home.

concealer404

cstmar01 wrote: »

Ben, maybe if we can find a use jet turbo engine I'll strap that bad boy on the exploder and we can have some fun. hahah


go big or go home.

Check Ebay. They're out there. There's been a few turbine-engine swaps on various cars over the years.

cstmar01

concealer404 wrote: »

Check Ebay. They're out there. There's been a few turbine-engine swaps on various cars over the years.

I wouldn't even swap out my engine, I was just thinking about strapping that thing to the top of my car...to the moon and back baby.

audiobliss

That sounds like a pretty neat competition! I guess the build and trying to meet the budget requirements would be a big part of the fun.

That's pretty awesome those engines are that stout. And it's certainly amazing how much boost you can throw at a diesel!

Will you be upgrading/flashing the ECU to get the most out of your upgrades?

concealer404

audiobliss wrote: »

That sounds like a pretty neat competition! I guess the build and trying to meet the budget requirements would be a big part of the fun.

That's pretty awesome those engines are that stout. And it's certainly amazing how much boost you can throw at a diesel!

Will you be upgrading/flashing the ECU to get the most out of your upgrades?

It's actually not a diesel.

I'll be ditching the ECU entirely for a new ECU that i'm actually building. I'm building a Megasquirt Plug N Play setup so i won't have to deal with any wiring harness modifications. Just assemble the boards, throw it in the box, attach factory style plugs and plug it in and go!

audiobliss

My diesel comment was actually directed toward your mentioning of Cummins. I could be wrong, but I'm not aware of their producing any gas engines.

I had never heard of Megasquirt before, but looks like that's a pretty neat route to go, judging from their website. Does it just utilize the existing harness and allow you to program it to you heart's content?

concealer404

audiobliss wrote: »

My diesel comment was actually directed toward your mentioning of Cummins. I could be wrong, but I'm not aware of their producing any gas engines.

I had never heard of Megasquirt before, but looks like that's a pretty neat route to go, judging from their website. Does it just utilize the existing harness and allow you to program it to you heart's content?

Oh... got it. Yeah, the Holset turbos off those motors are a nice budget friendly choice for the more insane among us.

Normally, Megasquirt requires some wiring modifications or changing ignition trigger wheel, but their PNP kits don't require any of it. This kit just uses the existing harness, you unplug the old ECU, plug the new one in it's place, and then program to your heart's content, yes. I'll be going a little further than that and deleting the Air Flow Meter and running the car entirely off the MAP sensor, replacing with a GM 3bar sensor, and also running a GM IAT in leiu of the AFM. One less restriction, one less moving part, and a less "moody" car.

audiobliss

Ok, yeah, I still missed your original point. Reading comprehension fail. So guys are running ~25psi using the turbos off Cummins engines. I got you now. Should have known you weren't speaking of the boost run on the actual Cummins engines themselves; they probably run closer to 30-50 pounds stock.

The PNP sounds like a true blessing for a lot of tuners! I don't know how to judge prices on tuning equipment, but for complete tuning capability and plug and play installation, doesn't seem like a bad price.

Hahaha. Less moody. Referring to a fwd vehicle churning out 400wtq. Now that's funny.

concealer404

audiobliss wrote: »

Ok, yeah, I still missed your original point. Reading comprehension fail. So guys are running ~25psi using the turbos off Cummins engines. I got you now. Should have known you weren't speaking of the boost run on the actual Cummins engines themselves; they probably run closer to 30-50 pounds stock.

The PNP sounds like a true blessing for a lot of tuners! I don't know how to judge prices on tuning equipment, but for complete tuning capability and plug and play installation, doesn't seem like a bad price.

Hahaha. Less moody. Referring to a fwd vehicle churning out 400wtq. Now that's funny.

Megasquirt has always been one of the cheapest options out there. The issue is that before now, it's been quite a bit more involved to actually install one vs. buying an off the shelf unit from SMS, AEM, Haltech, Motec, and the like. Doesn't affect me any, because nobody really supports this car in the first place, so mostly everything is custom work. And it is still more involved. Gotta assemble the board and all that. But hey... it's way cheaper than the $1500+ that i'll spend to do the same thing on the Celica next winter.

Heh, i see what you mean... the car will always be moody from that perspective, for sure, but at least the motor will run consistently. AFMs are annoying and primitive.

concealer404

The car getting attention at two recent meet/shows.

And yep, it's ugly.

Sherardp

I won't say it's ugly, but a decent paint job would make it stand out even more. I've seen worse racers out here in Japan. These guys take crappy cars and make them sick fast out here. I will say that car parts are cheap here, so if you need something give me a shout.

Face

Looks like your blinker and headlamp fluid needs to be changed.

audiobliss

Hmm, ugly might be a little too strong of a word. Just a little.

So is it all buttoned down with the new turbo, all the piping, the megasquirt, GM 3bar sensor, etc?

Something I didn't really think of earlier, but...I'll go ahead and take your word on those being some really stout engines, capable of the kind of insane abuse you're putting it through...at least for a timespan...but what about the drivetrain? Should you be expecting to be stripping gears in the transmission, frying the clutch, twisting half-shafts in two (not sure if that's the correct term...fwd terminology is not my forte), etc? Or should it all hold up long enough, fingers crossed, for you to finish with this competition?

And, congrats on the progress so far!!

Echosphere

concealer404 wrote: »

"Miss, what I am trying to say is even if we went out on a date, this is all it would lead to."

mdaudioguy

Echosphere wrote: »

"Miss, what I am trying to say is even if we went out on a date, this is all it would lead to."

You're a clever one! Lol

TouchOfEvil

looks like a fun little project.

concealer404

audiobliss wrote: »

Hmm, ugly might be a little too strong of a word. Just a little.

So is it all buttoned down with the new turbo, all the piping, the megasquirt, GM 3bar sensor, etc?

Something I didn't really think of earlier, but...I'll go ahead and take your word on those being some really stout engines, capable of the kind of insane abuse you're putting it through...at least for a timespan...but what about the drivetrain? Should you be expecting to be stripping gears in the transmission, frying the clutch, twisting half-shafts in two (not sure if that's the correct term...fwd terminology is not my forte), etc? Or should it all hold up long enough, fingers crossed, for you to finish with this competition?

And, congrats on the progress so far!!

The new turbo isn't on yet, the 3bar map sensor is on, though. And no, i'm still on stock ECU. I'm considering just keeping this thing stone age and tuning with an AFPR and base timing. As they say, the best driving car is the one with the stock ECU, and i'm hesitant to give that up. I should still be able to make over 300whp with the stock ECU, despite it's limitations, and that would be plenty.

The drivetrain, good question.

The axles are beefy as hell, and i've never heard of one breaking. For that matter, this has new axles in it now. The cup/tripod joint separated when i was doing strut bearings a couple weeks ago, so i just replaced the axles. They were cheap, and it's some peace of mind. The transmission is the definite weak point. Mazda has NEVER made a FWD transmission worth a damn. That said, i have the strongest FWD transmission they ever made in this car, and it's been proven to take well more than what i'm making as long as the driver isn't dumb. Mine still shifts like new, so i'm not worried about it.

The clutch that's in there probably won't make it to the competition. It's holding just fine now, but it's a stock unit. I expect it to start slipping shortly after i get the new turbo in and jump another 50-100whp. :eek:

audiobliss

Wow, sounds like a pretty tough little car all around; good base for a project like this!

I can't corroborate on the transmission MUCH since my Mazda3 (and a quick testdrive in a Speed3) is the only Mazda I've driven, but I frequently get the feeling the transmission would be the first thing to go.

concealer404 wrote: »

as long as the driver isn't dumb

Hmm, well...good luck!!

concealer404

Heh, i see what you did there.

concealer404

Car may be getting sold. It's getting a bit ridiculous for a daily driver.

audiobliss

You could send it down here and let me drive it a bit. My driving could use a bit more excitement! Argh, ESPECIALLY since the new tires I now have on the back have KILLED the handling aspect of my Mazda3.