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Life after Westy's...earning my petrolhead stripes


B.RAD

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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!

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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!

 

20190504_161457.thumb.jpg.e0b49f1d653066d3812a33d2360d7197.jpg

 

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. 

 

20190505_112053.thumb.jpg.b3b3b91a092f4434ba48fbe48512829e.jpg

 

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!!)

1800049512_Screenshot_20190505-155925_DragRacer.jpg.07b5c4bf610e40f69fbc9f4fba3abb9a.jpg

 

 

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All problems can be fixed with more boost.

 

That's a brilliant set up and will definitely bring it alive!

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Cheers @Dommo! I certainly hope so. It drives really nicely as is, certainly quicker than a stock car, but I feel the need for speed!

 

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:

20190506_150528.thumb.jpg.1e1d9c96772c3f48624b1954950df601.jpg

 

After:

20190506_162703.thumb.jpg.4caeb7508f499747f19838a4bbc2565e.jpg

 

Sorted some little niggly things, like those awful wiper arms. 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:

 

20190506_165658.thumb.jpg.46134f9dcd56361b8151a8decb931427.jpg

 

20190506_165748.thumb.jpg.68d786b22bd7ff9f1d3e70533d4f3429.jpg

 

20190506_165837.thumb.jpg.4b376b1bbf36e5aebd43ee0c76f429a0.jpg

 

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! 😁

 

20190506_170225.thumb.jpg.4a840d044d97cb0a99774ba7ca33eded.jpg

 

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 @Marto303 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.

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You guys will have a really hard time putting that downpipe together...

I gess the only way you may have around it, is actually fabricating a new section to sleeve out the current one if you can clean the flange...

 

It looks shiny and nice. My clio sport with a hole in the gearbox, is about 100 times better tho...

 

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27 minutes ago, maurici said:

You guys will have a really hard time putting that downpipe together...

I gess the only way you may have around it, is actually fabricating a new section to sleeve out the current one if you can clean the flange...

 

It looks shiny and nice. My clio sport with a hole in the gearbox, is about 100 times better tho...

 

 

Ha ha! Lol to the Spanish man who loves French cars...you big weirdo! 🤣

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@BCF Yes yes. You can laught about it...

 

The trurth it tha my life as petrolhead started with this french ****s... Had 2 R5 Gtturbos, A williams, a 106 and a VTS... well before being kignaped by All sort of shapes of roadsters, Targas, and kit cars...

 

And right now, I'm feeling like I was 18yo again. The clio is not as fun to drive as my former Saxo, for example, but is much more capable than any of the above. I'm overwhelmed of how the car drives. I just come now from a quick shake down, and its been absolutely AMAZING. I'm going to hurt myself with it, as I'm not as sharp driving fail wheel drives as when I was 20. And is fair to say that the car is absolutely stock... I can't imagine that thing with the sachs shocks of the trophy, some decent brake pads and an LSD...

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On ‎05‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 16:03, BCF said:

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!

 

20190504_161457.thumb.jpg.e0b49f1d653066d3812a33d2360d7197.jpg

 

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. 

 

20190505_112053.thumb.jpg.b3b3b91a092f4434ba48fbe48512829e.jpg

 

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!!)

1800049512_Screenshot_20190505-155925_DragRacer.jpg.07b5c4bf610e40f69fbc9f4fba3abb9a.jpg

 

 

 

Hi @BCF what timer app did you download please?

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7 minutes ago, Oily Steve said:

 

Hi @BCF what timer app did you download please?

 

Hi oily Steve, I downloaded the Drag Racer app - I can't tell you how accurate it is, but it's really easy to use and gives a really cool graph showing your times. It was built for drag racing (obvs, given the name!!) and I think has had some criticism from drag racers as it doesn't match the times given at an event, however, for a simple 0-60 timer it's not bad, and it was free!

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Thanks, I will have a look at it.

Interesting thread discussion BTW. Myself and a couple of friends have had some discussions around getting an MX5 to use as a 'spare' track car :d

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6 hours ago, Oily Steve said:

Thanks, I will have a look at it.

Interesting thread discussion BTW. Myself and a couple of friends have had some discussions around getting an MX5 to use as a 'spare' track car :d

Go for it Steve, unquestionably the best bang for buck and pound per smile you can get. They teach a huge amount about car control and cornering speed, and driven right, even the 1.6 will outshine some much more expensive cars. If you've got a trailer, you can pick up an MOT failure for under £800, otherwise a mk1 with the right bits for track will be around £1500. So cheap for so much fun!!

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Good bit of small progress today. Thanks to @Marto303 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! 

20190511_112615.thumb.jpg.14e13f172ccfc47ace3cf522633bc1dd.jpg

 

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? @Kit Car Electronics?

20190511_142716.thumb.jpg.9d0d4f9f140c6cba6fb1134cff4dbf3a.jpg

 

20190511_142713.thumb.jpg.46a20576b77bcba8846c82dcb4b63af7.jpg

 

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.

20190511_124643.thumb.jpg.1266b0639dde64392bd3ce15ed32de17.jpg

 

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 @AdamR can very kindly turn down an IAT boss and weld it into the pipe for me. Hero!

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