| MIATA BUILD |
|
|
 | |  | May 6, 2007 - The subframe brace here is from a 2003 model.
Not only does it stiffen up the rear suspension, but it also protects the differential. It doesn't protect against rocks as well as a legit skid plate would, but I'm more concerned about bottoming out the car on pavement and it should help out there. It also wouldn't be difficult to add a plate or two to this solid frame.
The little skid plate on the red PPF is visible here as well, and the brace does make it rather obsolete when I look at it now. Oh well.
It's also possible to see in this picture that the exhaust system is in place. The main power line running from the battery to the engine bay has been cut and modified so it goes through the cut-off switch, then the wiring was properly secured. The driveshaft is on - and all of a sudden, I have a complete drivetrain!
entry 162 - tags: exhaust, wiring, drivetrain, interchange | | |  | May 6, 2007 - Because the header I'm using is from a 1999 model (simply because that's what I was able to scrounge up), I have to use a 1999-05 exhaust system.
The hangers are in slightly different places. No problem for most of the exhaust as I cunningly used a 2003 subframe in the rear (no, really, I did consider this!) but one of the rear mounts just isn't going to work. No worries, I have a welder...
This muffler is actually a stock unit from a 2005 Mazdaspeed. I'll probably replace it with something else later, but it was handy so it got bolted on. The midpipe is an old Flyin' Miata unit with a bad catalytic converter.
entry 164 - tags: interchange, exhaust | | |  | June 8, 2007 - Naturally, as soon as the paint was dry enough I had to put some panels on the car.
They're not bolted in place yet, but it's a start!
You can see the 2005 Mazdaspeed MX-5 turbo exhaust protruding beyond the bumper. Those cars have a deeper rear bumper. I'll cut the pipe down a bit, it's goofy looking.
I never thought I'd get so excited about seeing a white Miata.
entry 193 - tags: paint, exhaust, interchange | | | June 17, 2007 - The car also had an exhaust leak on the short test drive.
The two-piece midpipe didn't have a clamp on the slip joint, so I figured I'd put that on. And I discovered that I'd left the entire exhaust system put together with bolts that were just finger tight. Well, it's not difficult to solve that particular problem. It should be nice and quiet now.
I've also fixed the vacuum leaks and painted the headlight covers and fuel door. Now I have a complete white body. All I need to do is read the manual for the ECU cover to cover a couple of times so I can break everything in properly...
entry 216 - tags: exhaust, testing | | |  | August 9, 2007 - A lot of little jobs got done on the car tonight.
The most obvious underhood is the installation of the red valve cover - that's an instant 15 hp gain for sure, although I need to get a filter for that cam cover breather. I installed an interior rear view mirror, the plastic cowl at the base of the windshield, cleaned up a bit of wiring, changed the throttle cable bracket and generally did a few small things on the car.
The Mazdaspeed MX-5 turbo muffler sounded terrible, so it's been replaced by a Flyin' Miata part instead. That sounds a lot better and also drops a few pounds. I also determined that my recent addition of a no-slip patch was a total failure, as it started to creep around the footwell and announced itself to be a hazard. So it's gone now although the bits on the pedals remain.
The car's heading for the alignment shop tomorrow morning and then on to the dyno to get the engine into shape. It's part of the push for the track debut at the Flyin' Miata open house.
entry 281 - tags: ergonomics, exhaust, alignment, engine | | |  | August 12, 2007 - A number of little things were done today in order to prep the car for the track day on Friday.
This little filter is on the valve cover to feed the PCV system. That's a pretty misunderstood system, and in most cases a filter on the cover would be a bad idea. In my case, I have an engine management system that uses manifold vacuum to determine load, so there's no problem if some air comes through the valve cover first.
The car also got the first oil change and is now running full synthetic. The transmission and diff were drained and refilled with the correct fluids this time (whoops), and judging by the condition of the stuff coming out of the diff it's not a bad thing that I "flushed" it. I spent a bit of time working on exhaust system alignment, I'm afraid I'll have a bit of a rattle on hard cornering.
On the less mechanical side of things, I put some small rubber bumpers under the trunklid to ensure it doesn't rattle at all. Windshield wipers are in place (and functioning) and I added Grassroots Motorsports and SSR decals to the side of the car in front of the door. This is partly to acknowledge the support from GRM (go pick up a copy of the October 2007 Grassroots, you'll find my Seven in there) and to give SSR a bit of credit for originally supplying the wheels being used on the car. It's also partly a test of how to arrange sponsor decals on the car. Oh, and there's a big black FLYIN' MIATA on the nose of the car now to match the rear bumper. Pictures will come.
entry 289 - tags: drivetrain, exhaust, decals | | |  | October 30, 2007 - Time to get ready for a big test.
There's a track day in Pueblo on Friday. This will be the first time I've taken the car on a "big" track, instead of the tight kart track I've been using. It's going to be interesting to see how it does.
One of the jobs to be done before heading to the track 200 miles away is to swap out of the differential. Howard Booster is building a Westfield, and graciously allowed me to borrow his differential for the weekend so I could test with a Torsen and not have to disassemble the Seven. Thanks Howard!
While pulling the diff, I discovered the source of a banging noise under hard cornering. I'd figured it was the exhaust hitting the differential. Close,but not quite. It was the exhaust hitting the flange on the two-piece halfshafts! You can see the evidence in the picture. The two piece halfshaft was never used from the factory with the 1999-05 exhaust system I'm running. I'd used two piece units because it makes it a bit easier to pull the differential, but after dropping the open diff out of the car today I've realized that it doesn't really make all that much difference! Substituting one-piece halfshafts gave me the clearance I need.
So, almost ready to go. I'm going to tow the car over so Janel can come with me. I'll pile a bunch of swaybars in the back of the tow vehicle so I can play with handling, and I'm going to try a couple of different alignment setups. Oh yes, and I have to receive and install the new suspension! Little stuff, you know.
entry 330 - tags: exhaust, drivetrain, interchange | | | August 6, 2009 - I've noticed recently that I'm getting some vibration through the chassis of the car.
I'm not sure if it appeared after my last header r&r, but I got under the car to check it out. It turns out the catalytic converter was pressed up against a bump in the transmission tunnel.
The bump is one that I hammered in place to give myself a bit more room for the driver's seat. Also, the car runs a cat from a 1999 car because the whole exhaust system is from that generation. No problem, there's a heatshield on the outside of the cat so I figured I could bend that out of the way.
I pulled the cat off, reshaped the heatshield and went to put it back on when a chunk fell out. That's not right! The cat was breaking up internally. Since this particular cat came from discarded exhaust with "bad kitty!" written on it, this isn't exactly heartbreaking. I grabbed a long prybar and encouraged the core of the cat to break up completely. The hollow cat went back on the car. And of course, I was able to place it so there was loads of room between that bump and the cat.
I've had a bit of pinging at full throttle and high rpm recently. Could a failed cat have raised the backpressure in the exhaust system? Quite possibly. We'll find out tomorrow when I return to the track.
The car doesn't sound as good now, having picked up a nasty rasp at about 2600 rpm. The long-term solution will involve a resonator in place of the cat, but I didn't have time to do that today.
entry 689 - tags: exhaust | | |
|
THE DIARY