Build thread

[speedjunkie]

I spent the entire day today running around with Bobby trying to find fittings to work with the catch can hard line. This is probably the most aggravating project I've worked on in a while. Very little payoff for the work involved. I've been searching high and low and I don't believe a 8AN to 1/8NPT 45 degree fitting exists, so it looks like I'm going to have to get a 6AN to 1/8NPT and then get a 6AN female to 8AN male adapter, and I'll check on that at Whisler Bearing on Monday. If they don't have it I guess I'll be waiting for a few more days to get this thing back on the road. The line is mostly made, I just need a way to attach it to the tank. Once that's made, I can put the UIM back on and probably get the car back on the ground. Although I did get all the stuff needed to upgrade the battery cable and bulkhead connector for it, so I may put the car in the middle of the garage and swap that and the driver's seat sometime soon. Or maybe that can wait until the big upgrade this winter.

[speedjunkie]

I ran some more errands today but I was eventually able to wrap up some projects.

When I reinstalled the UIM and everything I rerouted the throttle cable like Brad has his, but I didn't take a pic of that.

I got some fittings from Whisler Bearing that would work on the hard line and I made two more lines before I finally got one that worked. I NEVER want to do that again. This one is a little kinked by the fitting, but there really isn't much I can do about that. I was able to get it to fit pretty much perfectly between some tight gaps, and I had some clearance issues with the pulsation damper that Chris had installed and the wastegate coolant line where it connects to the rear iron and the fuel line going to the primary rail, but I massaged the lines and adjusted things until it all cooperated. It's super close to the oil filler neck too, and the top of the engine, and the coil pack...lol. What I ended up with for the fittings isn't quite as polished looking as I'd like, but it'll have to do.









I finished the fuel filter mounting plate and installed it. I didn't think to check them before installation to make sure the filters are actually inside the bodies already, so I broke out the inspection camera that Mom got me for Christmas last year and used it for the first time. I love that thing, thanks Mom! I was going to use the chop saw on the plate to cut it down, but I asked Mitch (the guy that welded the IC end tanks and piping) to cut it for me with his machine and it came out much nicer. It's only held on by two 10mm bolts, which makes me really nervous and I want to put at least one more bolt in on the top someday, but it seems pretty sturdy.




I had RTV'd the coolant fan relays and connectors already, but then I realized I didn't necessarily need the extra harness in there anymore, so I deleted that part. It was part of a recall by Mazda to run the fans after shutdown, but part of that fix was a little black box inside by the ECU that Chris removed when he installed the new ECU, so I didn't really need this harness either.
What I removed...

Normally the little harness connects to these, but I just put the relays right on the ends of these and crammed them into the front of the frame near the air filter.


There were other little things too, but nothing really worth mentioning. Or I just don't remember lol. That's more likely actually.

[speedjunkie]

I haven't done much the past couple days. I got the install kit for the stereo Friday night so I installed that last night, although it needs more tweaking to be a good fit. The stereo is a bit too long to fit with where I have the side mounts, so I guess I'll have to move those back a bit so the trim piece can snap all the way in.

I tried to recalibrate the fuel level gauge today, but I'm having issues with it again like I did before, and I can't remember how I got it to work last time. Speedhut's video says that you can do the calibration with the sensor outside the tank, but it doesn't seem to work for me. I seem to remember setting it with the hanger installed and just setting the empty part right before I filled up and setting the full right after. I have no idea why I'd have to do it that way, but I'm going to try it again tomorrow. It's really aggravating though.

Wez from Syvecs has been giving me pointers on how to fix my issue with the app not working on the stereo, but I'm starting to wonder whether this thing is going to work with the app at all. I can make phone calls through the stereo, but music won't play from my phone through it, so I'm wondering if the bluetooth function is a bit limited. I really like the stereo either way, but that's going to be a real bummer if it doesn't work for me.

[$crillaTor]

I can make phone calls through the stereo, but music won't play from my phone through it, so I'm wondering if the bluetooth function is a bit limited. I really like the stereo either way, but that's going to be a real bummer if it doesn't work for me.

Android or iPhone? In Android, when you pair the phone with your stereo, make sure you're checking the 'Media Audio' under 'Paired Bluetooth Devices' on your phone. You've probably already done this, but just something to check.

[speedjunkie]

It's Android. Yeah I made sure to check that because that's something I always check on the stereo in the Pathfinder, but I'll double check it tomorrow.

[RX-7 Chris]

I saw this recently and though it might be a good idea for your fuel tank instead of baffles.
https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/hydramat/

http://bangshift.com/general-news/new-p ... e-big-way/

[speedjunkie]

Yeah that's what I've been planning to use for a while now, good to know you read this thread! LOL jk.

Those things are awesome.

[speedjunkie]

I tried calibrating the fuel level gauge at the pumps tonight and still no luck. It's really pissing me off.

I also fixed another issue with the passenger side parking light that I didn't know was out until last night.

And I'm still working with Syvecs about the app on the stereo.

That's about it.

[speedjunkie]

Chris sent me two new tunes today and I tried them tonight. The first one was a lot better on the lean issue, not near as lean but still noticeable. The second one was worse than the last tune, bucking like a bronco. I also had asked Chris about using VE tuning and he told me today that it doesn't come on these ECUs. Which is weird because he told me before that it has VE tuning but he doesn't like to use it. And although he says these tunes shouldn't make a difference when it comes to starting the car, there are noticeable differences between them when hot starting. Cold starting they all kinda suck lol, but even then there are noticeable differences sometimes.

I didn't mess with the fuel gauge issue tonight. A company rep got back to me today and asked me the standard questions of whether or not I followed the directions, and also gave me a link to a video I watched last night already. Then he suggested testing the float sensor, which I'm going to do just to be sure, but I suspect it will be fine since it just worked on the last calibration.

[speedjunkie]

I talked to Chris the other day and he said he'd send me one more tune to try, and if that doesn't work we'll try remote tuning while I'm on a dyno. And if THAT doesn't work I told him I'd fly him out to tune it here. Actually he suggested flying out. But I'm thinking before he comes out to tune I'll go ahead and do the swap to the larger turbo.

I haven't done a whole lot over the last week or so. I installed a bolt into the coolant filler neck to replace the OEM level sensor that isn't being used anymore. I bought a black oxide set screw from Fastenal for it, but I felt it was too long and would protrude too far into the neck and disrupt coolant flow, so I ended up just using the bolt I had bought at ACE hardware already.


I got a CAT5 coupler from a buddy at work and installed it in place of the security system light. Actually because the cable was hitting the mount for the tranny tunnel cover, I moved the exhaust overheat light up and put the coupler in place of the overheat light. The security light wasn't working and it turned out to just be a burnt bulb which is tiny and I'll probably have to get from Mazda. I would have removed the exhaust overheat light but Chris hooked wires up to it so it would indicate a fault in the ECU. I'm still thinking about removing it though because it goes off almost every single time I drive the car and it just flashes annoyingly. Usually I think it's due to the turbospeed sensor which faults pretty much every time I rev I think. I still want to figure that out someday too. I'd think about leaving the security light out because all it tells me is if the security system is armed, but I've pretty much figured out when it's armed anyway. ANYWAY, I'll figure out which light I'm going to keep, or I'll put them both back and mount the coupler somewhere else. But I really like where it is now.



And tonight I decided to finally look into the fuel level float sensor. I tested it and it showed 6 ohms full and 82.6 ohms empty, but in between it would go erratic sometimes. So I thought maybe it was the sensor but I decided to change where I put the ground cable for the hanger and see if that changed anything. It certainly did.

I rested the ground wire against the hanger that the sensor was bolted/grounded to. When I removed the wire the gauge would fall back to empty after a second or two. Now it's calibrated at full for full and empty for empty, and although I'd rather have it calibrated with a couple gallons left at empty, I decided not to try my luck for now and just go with it lol. Depending on how much they cost I believe I'll still get a new sensor. This one is over 20 years old and fairly worn. Hard telling when it'll go out, although after 20 years it still operates alright for the most part, so I guess they don't fail that often. Knock on wood.


I still want to tackle the issue of why my blower won't come on for heat or AC. There is an AC relay in the box at the front of the engine bay, but if it's only for AC I'm thinking it's not what's bad. Not sure though.

The other day when I had the center console off, I noticed one of the wires for the rear defroster connector had broken, so at some point I'll have to get in there and solder that, but hopefully I won't need it anytime soon because I don't feel like doing it right now lol.

Chris said he got my OMP in the mail and is sending it back to me, and I'd like to install it right away, but I still need to get a tank made for that and I keep forgetting to get with Mitch about it. And the other day I decided to remove the glovebox and some panels (while looking to see if all the connectors were hooked up for the HVAC blower) and look at the ECU while I was down there. What I discovered was that I still need to connect a couple wires for the water injection to the ECU wires and I'm not sure I feel like digging into it lol. So I MAY just remove all the water injection stuff, although I really like how it treats the engine. And I plan on replacing the cowl at the base of the windshield I guess. They're so freaking expensive for what it is...$290 lol. I've put it off for so long because I couldn't justify spending the money, but always wanted to replace it.

I talked to Steve at WR Road Race today about renting his dyno for remote tuning, and also about weighing the car to figure out what springs I want to get. He said I could rent the dyno and said it would take a few hours but he'd figure out exactly which springs I should get. I really just want to know what the car weighs and I'll get the appropriate springs, or close to it. But I'll see what he says about it just out of curiosity. I like how Andy's car rides though and he's got really soft springs.

[lOOkatme]

even if you knew the weight of your car at each corner, how are you going to determine what springs you want?

I shot for a ride frequency around 1.5 Hz, mine comes out to 1.54 front and 1.53 rear, I also mimic'd the stock spring rate split front to rear as mazda did the R&D on this split, and I am running the stock sway bars which were designed for this split.

Most like running 2.0hz, not because they think stiffer is faster. 2.0hz is a spring rate of roughly 13.5KG front and 11KG rear.

If you are going to run race tires and push the car to the max, I think a 1.6ish hz would be good for everything. 9KG front and 7KG rear would be good. 10 KG front and 8KG rear would probably be the max I would go. an 8/7 might be a fun set up as well.

[speedjunkie]

I just want to figure out if it's still 51/49 or what, and get the exact weight so I can get springs close to that weight. At this point I'm thinking of getting 9/9, but I want to see what the balance is first. If it's close, I'll probably go with that.

[lOOkatme]

I just want to figure out if it's still 51/49 or what, and get the exact weight so I can get springs close to that weight. At this point I'm thinking of getting 9/9, but I want to see what the balance is first. If it's close, I'll probably go with that.

Just to let you know that the motion ratio on the FD isn't the same front and rear. they are different.

what that means is when the control arm moves up and down the lower control arm exerts a force on the spring, given where the spring connects to the lower control arm depends on how much leverage the control arm has on the spring.

so the front spring is connected to a different spot on the control arm than the rear. the motion ratio is front .6 and rear .68 (it means when the wheel moves 1 inch, the spring moves .6 inches).

This can be used to calculate wheel rate but I never really found this to be useful. I much perfer to talk in frequency or HZ. all this tells you is how the mass on the spring will oscillate given a spring rate. its just physics. the lower the frequency the more comftorable and more grip a set up will have at expense of a little transition speed.

I perfer 1.5ishHZ, aggressive street set up.

http://www.optimumg.com/docs/Springs&Da ... _Tip_1.pdf

http://www.worksevo.com/Spring_Rates_1.pdf


if you do the math
Pi^2 F^2 sprung mass MR^2 N/M N/MM
front 4 9.865881 2.0449 350 2.7889 78771.46556 78.77146556
rear 4 9.865881 2.1316 327 2.1609 59440.71131 59.44071131

front and rear ride frequency is 1.54 hz and 1.52 hz. I guessed a sprung mass of 300KG per corner with me in it.

1.63hz and 1.64hz is 9KG front and 7KG rear with 300KG corner weights.

typically to ensure flat ride the rear frequency will be 10-20% higher, I didn't find that being close to equal was a problem with high damping. that is also why ohlins did an 11/11. I think a single KG split might work very well. 8/7 (1.54 hz, 1.64 hz, 6.4% higher rear) or 9/8.

[speedjunkie]

OK, well I'll weigh the car to get exact weights and then I'll hit you up so we can figure it out lol. I'm curious to see what you and Steve come up with and how close they are.

Now I'm wondering if I don't want to just wait until the new turbo setup and exhaust and everything are on so I can make sure it's the weight it will end up being lol. Although I doubt that stuff would change it too much.

[speedjunkie]

The idler pulley is still making noise when I start the car and occasionally when I take a corner. I checked it out tonight, I'm pretty sure myself now that the bearing is bad, as some have said before.

https://youtu.be/9HNfTZBC-_o