Rattle be gone!

While I've been tuning the turbo, excessively rich tunes have made for some serious backfires.These backfires have caused the baffles inside of the resonator on my exhaust to expand and become loose and rattle like my muffler is full of bolts.
I replaced both resonators once this year but they too have become a little too rhythmic. I decided to repair the loose baffles by cutting slots around the pipe and welding the baffles to the resonator housing, eliminating the rattles. The results....now I only hear the mean sounds of the Meany

DashDaq XL Data logger

I recently got a new data logger...now you say "but wait, surely you already had a data logger?" and you are right. I have had a Dash Dyno for years; however, just as every owner of the Dash Dyno has said to themselves "there has to be a better way" I decided to find that better way.

After some looking around I decided to order a DashDaq XL by Drew Technologies. The unit arrived, I plugged in the OBDII cable and with just a couple button presses I was set up and ready to monitor and log my cars data. It is incredibly simple to do most things..no reading of the manual or asking a buddy to help you figure it out.

In operation, once you have set up the parameters for the first time, using the Daq is as simple as pressing the one physical button on the unit. You can power on (actually awaken) the unit before or after starting the car and it instantly goes to the last screen you were on. Ready to log, just press the "log" button on the screen and it will automatically name the file to the next in the sequence (ie: log_005) and start recording. It is all so simple compared to other units.

As for the logging...this is where the unit hits the NOS and just blows the competition away.
the bullet points:

• outputs to a .csv (excel) or LogWorks file format. Easily viewed and sorted using Excel or the free Logworks software by Innovative Motorsports.
• audio and visual alams can be set easily on any data parameter
• has "global log parameters" where it will log up to 16 parameters anytime you are logging, regardless of what is displayed on the screen....This is perhaps the best feature of the Daq.
• can log up to 32 parameters!
• very fast sample rate..logging 11 parameters I get a sample rate of 42 sets of data per second!!
• records in the past- I have see it record back 23seconds before I hit the log button. Consider driving along, your car does something weird, then you hit the "log" button and you just recorded what happend 10 seconds before you hit the button!!!

The DashDaq also reads and clears CEL codes, providing the definition of the code in the code summary (ie: P0301 misfire detected in cylinder 1). The one shortcoming that I have found w the Daq is that it doesn't  provide a Freeze Frame data capture when a CEL is thrown.

There are a few other things that the Daq does, from allowing custom screen theme design to performance meters..these are things I have yet to delve into but for me are just icing on the cake.

Watch this video to see the DashDaq XL in use



If you'd like me to email you my configuration files so that you can just copy them to an SD card and skip configuring the Daq let me know.

The unit is not cheaply built, nor is it cheap. It retails for $550 and in my case I wanted to monitor Knock Retard (KR) which is a parameter that is only included in a vehicle specific expansion for another $100. For me, the extra cheddar spent on the Daq is nothing compared to aggravation and lost time spent with inferior units.
I wish someone would have told me years ago about the DashDaq.

Yeah, she's a badass

My wife driving at an AutoX at Tire Rack this past weekend. Any chick that can handle 13psi and 6 puck clutch deserves the respect of all. Good on ya Jess!

Battery relocated

Had to put the battery in the trunk. I made some brackets and used 2ga welding cable and a circuit breaker from DelCity. I like the results.

Lets Chill Out

here is a pic of of the intercooler for the 2860 setup I'm running

The Resurection

After saving my pennies, it's time to get the Blue Meany going again for 2012. Heres some of the goodies

2009+ NC motor

AWR 70 duro Motor mounts

FM hidden trailer hitch

this was pretty cool

Went to Gingerman Raceway for a mid-week test n tune and look what we saw..


AutoWeek was there doing a shoot of some sexy stuff....yes that is an LFA hiding back behind the GT2RS..(drool)
Thanks Mac for the conversation!

how to correct the timing on your NC w forged crank?

Setting the timing with the motor in the car isnt all that bad depending on your idea of bad. Off the top of my head..here's the process:
-remove battery and tray
-remove airbox and ECU
-remove nose of car and under tray
-unbolt swaybar brackets and let swaybar lower a bit
-remove trans (optional, but makes tightening easier/possible)
-remove plug on side of block and install crank stop pin
-rotate crank CW till it stops on crank stop
-install flywheel vise to lock the crank down at TDC
-loosen crank pulley bolt
-rotate pulley so that alignment hole is at 6 o'clock and insert alignment bolt (M6x1.0 30mm)
-remove valve cover
-using a big wrench rotate cams so that the #1 cyl lobes are at 1:30 (EX) and 10:30(IN) and slots on back of cams are horizontal
-insert a ~9" lenth of barstock into the slots in the cams to hold their position. (i'll update this w the thickness later)
-tighten the main crank bolt to 100Nm + 90deg (or more??) Use the 3 stage method
-reasemble car

Reflections

I did a little un-scientific testing to see if there is a difference w tightening the main pulley bolt in one stage or in 3 stages as proscribed by ARP.
I tightened the bolt to spec, 100Nm + 90deg. I then loosened it and noted the force it took to loosen.
Then with a different bolt, I did the following:
- 100Nm >loosen
-100Nm + 45deg >loosen
-100Nm + 90deg >loosen and observe force

there was definately a difference between the 1 stage and 3 stage force it took to loosen the bolt. While this is un-scientific and I have no empirical evidence, I am certain that it took more effort to loosen the latter method.

What I will do the next time: 
-Start with a new bolt (actually I did this last time, this is just a reminder)
-apply a liberal amount of Loctite high strength
-torque using the 3 stage method
-my final rotation value will be more than 90deg...maybe 135deg or so..that is TBD right now while I look into it a little more.

The main pulley sees much higher loads with the blower than the factory intended, and short of installing a load assist (keyway) I think more torque is the ticket (to a point)

Incedentally, when I fixed my timing I saw boost levels drop. How much i cant be sure as I also went from a 3.0 pully to a 2.8, bit w the 3" the car made ~12psi and w the corrected cam timing and 2.8 pulley i saw 11psi! Talk about breathing better.... 

planning..

heres a price list of various associated parts from MazdaMotorsports.

new long block $3100
loaded head (no cams) $1100
09' valve springs $3.79 each
Valves IN $9.95ea EX $10.29ea
Engine gasket kit $150
09' pistons $72ea
09' ring set $57 set

ughhh..

It's not looking good....


Click here to see the rest.

Going to take it to the machine shop next week to see what they think

Mrrrr...

My car looks like this way too often

Oh boy....this is getting old

So , I autoxd my car this weekend. Man was it strong. Need to dyno it still but what a huge difference. I placed 3rd overall. Not too shabby w my 235 Starspecs. 
Monday, after a 600mile weekend, on a datalogging run my crank pulley decided go it's own way. The crank pulley bolt loosened up and my cam timing was gone. so here is what the car looks like now.



I have not determined yet if there was any valve to piston contact, though I dont think so as everything looks ok from the top and the motor spins freely. Also I never heard a bang, crunch or otherwise. Hoping (though that is probably too soft a word) that I will just need to put a new pulley bolt in and retime the thing.

The weird thing is that I tightened the main bolt down to spec. 100Nm and then 90deg. Not sure what happened. I talked w Cosworth to see if they had any tips and they said that they use loctite on the bolt but still tighten the bolt to factory spec as I did. Ugghh

DSC Initialization

Someone asked for more information from a previous post The Blue Meany: Read this if you have an MX-5 w DSC
here is the rest of that procedure from the service manual

Blacked out

Painted my wheels, cant decide if I like the center caps in aluminum or if I should paint them black?
Please let me know your thoughts.

Specifications from manual

Supercharger Exposed

Got the opportunity to open up a Cosworth/Magnusson supercharger that had eaten a bolt and was in need of a rebuild. Interesting to see the gory guts of the beast. Thanks to Sandor for the donor S/C  Click for the gallery

Helpful little fella

Just had a hard time getting a bolt out due to clearance issues, so I cut a spare socket down.  Man is this handy! I've found myself using it quite often.  I just took an angle grinder with a thin cutoff wheel to the cheapie socket. 

Here we go again.....

I've decided to pull my motor, I have a few issues that need to be addressed.

First, I suspect that Cosworth did not set my cam timing properly. I'll post more about this when I check/correctit.

Second, I have a leak coming from the back of the engine/front of the tranny. Not sure what it is yet.

Third, I want to get rid of the EGR valve and all the crud it spews into my supercharger.

Fourth, I need to install a catch can setup, to get at the PCV valve the SC needs to be removed.

Fifth, time for stiffer motor mounts.

One could argue that all of this could be done in the car, but really, once you gett all the stuff off needed to access all of these areas, pulling the motor out is inconsequential and sure make all of the above tasks easier.

From MX5 2011

Been a long time..lets brake!

Sheesh, been forever since I last posted here, but I have been collecting posts in my mind this whole time...have you subscribed to my minds RSS feed? If not I'll start logging them in here with more frequency. Spring is in the air (buried under the 16" of snow we got yesterday) and I am getting my winter projects started now in anticipation.


Brake Caliper Rebuilding 
I've had to rebuild my calipers a few times now after frying them at the track (darn Cosworth) so I thought I'd make a video to show how to do it.

BTW, a new caliper was $400ish last time I checked and a rebuild kit for 2 calipers is $15ish. 

I used pn B2YD-33-26Z FROM Mazda Motorsports Dev.

Hope this video save some hassle and bucks.




Adam