fishdonotbounce
Registered Zombie
- :
- 08.5 CWP Speed3
OK so this thread has been a long time coming. I installed the turbo around a week ago and have since tuned the car to acceptable standards and have just finished up tucking up all the wires, connecting everything and cleaning the car.
THE BASICS
To begin with, the build started with a huge pile of parts. I decided to go with the MSP turbo setup since it was the easiest, most reliable and cost effective solution for what I was looking for. Seeing as how I have an ATX, I decided to upgrade the valve body with a new one from Lentech Automatics. The valve body reduces slippage that the stock one allows for and creates much faster, solid shifts. This was a must for the build.
The MSP mani, turbo, and s-pipe came to me with around 37k miles on them. The turbo had no shaft play and seemed to be in good condition.
For the intercooler, I decided to go with the altered customs kit from Metallic. The kit is designed for the protege (more specifically the MSP) and wasn't too hard to fit. More on this later.
The engine management I decided to go with is the combo of the Bell Engineering (or Begi for short) Fuel pressure regulator along with the Flyin' Miata o2 Voltage Clamp. This setup proved to be the most reliable and easy to tune in the past for turbo'd autos. Recently, however, I have discovered that someone has figured out how to use the SSAFC with the auto. More on this later as well.
I added 4 gauges to the car to monitor what I think are the most vital things on the car. AEM wideband, Boost, Fuel Pressure, Oil Pressure. The last three were all purchased from the ebay vendor Glowshift and are the tinted series. I have to say that I'm impressed with the quality for the price and so far recommend these gauges to anyone.
THE INSTALL
The install was a giant undertaking to say the least. Considering the fact that the biggest modification I had done on my own up until this point was putting on my corksport exhaust, it was a little intimidating. However, I spent a majority of the last 6 months preparing for the install by reading anything and everything that I needed to for the install. I printed out all the directions to any part that had directions and took it step by step. The biggest challenge was not allowing the install to get the better of me. As you will see in the videos, at around the end of day 2, I was ready to drop everything and just pass out. I kind of jumped around on the install going from the engine bay to the gauge wiring to setting up the FMIC. This way the job wasn't so monotonous and I didn't get too bored or frustrated with any one thing.
The following are problems that I encountered during the install.
1. When I was ready to put the banjo bolt for the coolant feed into the back of the block, I quickly realized that the bolt that ATP had sent me was way too wide. Since this was at the end of day one and I had spent the entire day working on the car, I was pissed. I spent a good chunk of day two driving around town searching for a replacement or another solution. The solution came in the form of two fittings from Jegs. I was lucky enough to go in on a whim and since they are based here in Columbus, I was able to drive over to the main store and find the parts I was looking for. I got a fitting that fit into the block and one that went on the other side of that one and had a barbed end on it for the 3/8" hose. I got one with a 45 degree elbow and it was perfect. Needless to say, if you do end up getting the banjo bolt from ATP, check the size. The bolt should be a 14mm. Mine looked like it was more of a 17mm.
2. When I got my oil pan tapped, I did not look under the car and take notice of the bracket that is attached to the engine right in front of the oil pan. When I put the new oil pan on, the fitting touched the bracket and there was no way to fit the oil return line onto it. As you can see in the video, I cut the bracket off and solved the problem that way.
3. When fitting the FMIC kit, I had to make some adjustments. The short ram intake provided with my kit was an EXTREMELY tight fit. I had to pull the one fan out, put on the intake, and then force the fan back in, cutting an opening in the top of the fan so that it could fit over the radiator fitting for the upper hose. For any of you auto people that plan on going turbo, the transmission cable is also right there. I also had to cut the splash guard on the driver's side which I didn't expect to have to do. No biggie but a pain in the ass. Another thing was the fact that I had to cut MOST of the lower grille supports and take the lower grille out completely. I have no idea how people with the P5 bumper could fit it on there without doing so. I even have the smaller core and there was no way it would fit without cutting. Also, mounting the core itself is a little tricky. The hardware provided is pretty stupid since the holes in the brackets are too small for the hardware provided. I simply widened the holes using a dremel. Getting the bolt in there and tightened was tough as well.
4. The intake manifold is a b****! More specifically, whoever designed the nut on the EGR pipe is a complete dipshit. When removing the intake manifold, I had to disconnect a variety of coolant hoses and wires in order to be able to slide it out while the EGR pipe was still attached. Be ready for this because I really wasn't. I'm sure that if I had to do it again, I would be able to do it in half the time now that I know how to do it. A word of advice on the manifold bolts and nuts. Use a magnetic bolt retriever. One of those that you can extend and get into tight spaces. Made life a good bit easier on those hard to reach bolts.
5. When priming the turbo, I realized a fuel leak at one of the injectors. I found out that upon putting that injector back in, the o-ring was pinched and cut at one side. This was remedied by going to advance and having them rummage through their entire stock of o-rings to find one that fit.
6. When connecting the fuel line adapted that housed the fuel pressure sender, I couldn't get the hose to fit over the fittings on each end. When I did get them to fit after fighting with them for a long time, they would spit and leak fuel upon start up. I found out that NAPA sold me 5/16's hose instead of 3/8. That extra 1/16 made a WORLD of difference and once I got the right size hose, all was right with the world.
7. Tonight I popped a coupler since I didn't use a T-bolt on a couple of them cause I ran out. DO NOT USE REGULAR COUPLERS! Make sure you have enough t-bolts and do it right the first time. If you don't know what popping a coupler feels like, the car loses power, you go REALLY rich, and you get scared as hell.
Disregard the comments about the lower radiator hose needing to be replaced in the video. The pipe that goes through there actually fits really well.
All in all, the install took a total of 6 days from start to driving off with all the parts in, bumper installed etc.
TUNING:
Tuning was quite easy with the begi and voltage clamp. At first, I didn't have the begi hooked up right and i thought that the voltage clamp was bad. It wasn't at all but I ordered a new one from flyin miata and now am selling the old one that works perfectly fine. I didn't figure out my problem until I had already installed the new one.
UPDATE: I got the o2 clamp to finally work. The problem all along was bad connections. When installing the clamp, SOLDER the wires instead of using the vampire clamps they give you. This will ensure a solid connection. I checked out a couple videos on youtube on how to solder and practiced on a couple wires beforehand. Nothing to it. A soldering iron and solder are very cheap but are ESSENTIAL when making connections.
Also, I do not know if this helped the situation but make sure that your MAF is AFTER the BOV, not before.
The begi and the o2 clamp work very very well but the SSAFC is a good alternative as well and gives you a much broader range of tuning possibilities.
OTHER COMMENTS:
As of right now, I'm happy with the way the car is running and boost has completely changed the car. It's hard to explain the difference between NA and turbo, especially on the auto. The valve body is the best mod I have ever installed aside from the turbo itself. It does amazing things.
TURBO PARTS LIST:
MSP Garrett T25 turbo
MSP manifold
MSP s-pipe
Altered Customs FMIC kit
Corksport Power Series Exhaust
HKS ssqv BOV
Lentech Automatics Street Terminator Valve Body
Hayden transmission fluid cooler
Begi RRFPR
Flyin' Miata o2 Voltage Clamp
Millenia PCV valve
AEM UEGO wideband gauge
Glowshift boost gauge
Glowshift fuel pressure gauge
Glowshift oil pressure gauge
ForceFed radio surround dual gauge pod
Gauge surround dual gauge pod (made by yours truly)
BLOX vacuum block
Turbosmart Boost Tee MBC
"Powered by FSDET" gunmetal oil cap
Glowshift oil filter sandwich plate
All fittings, hoses and adapters for oil and coolant lines
RECOGNITION:
My uncle - Since I don't have my own garage, it was his garage that I used for the 6 days it took from beginning to end. He put up with having a giant mess in the garage for the entire week and let me use any tools he had. He probably won't ever see this but he definitely deserves to be recognized lol.
Ogi (KrayzieFox) - Not to sound all mushy or anything but without Ogi, this install would NOT have happened. He provided me with an insane amount of information and help way before the install and was the person I called a million times during the install. If I had a problem, he either knew the solution or pointed me in the direction of someone that did. Thanks Ogi, Boost is ******* awesome.
Nate and Jasen (iSpoon and o0n8) - Thanks for standing around and making fun of me while I was doing all the work. Haha jk but like all the installs we do, I probably would have lost my cool a bunch of times if you guys weren't there to shoot the s*** with.
Midnitehour - I just recently internet met this guy but he has been nothing but helpful. He too has a turbo'd ATX on which he is running the SSAFC and 440 injectors. He provided me with a good bit of info both in his posts and through his build thread.
StarScream - I also just recently internet met this guy and he has also been very helpful. He provided me with a couple of solutions to my problems during tuning and was overall a very cool guy.
Edwin (TheMAN) - I know what you're thinking. Edwin? Even though Edwin may be rude and over the top a lot of times, his knowledge of our platform is insane and probably the best of anyone I know. He helped me with a couple of issues after everything was put together and for that I have to thank him.
If I forgot anyone, just yell at me and I'll throw you in here. Thanks guys!
THE BASICS
To begin with, the build started with a huge pile of parts. I decided to go with the MSP turbo setup since it was the easiest, most reliable and cost effective solution for what I was looking for. Seeing as how I have an ATX, I decided to upgrade the valve body with a new one from Lentech Automatics. The valve body reduces slippage that the stock one allows for and creates much faster, solid shifts. This was a must for the build.
The MSP mani, turbo, and s-pipe came to me with around 37k miles on them. The turbo had no shaft play and seemed to be in good condition.
For the intercooler, I decided to go with the altered customs kit from Metallic. The kit is designed for the protege (more specifically the MSP) and wasn't too hard to fit. More on this later.
The engine management I decided to go with is the combo of the Bell Engineering (or Begi for short) Fuel pressure regulator along with the Flyin' Miata o2 Voltage Clamp. This setup proved to be the most reliable and easy to tune in the past for turbo'd autos. Recently, however, I have discovered that someone has figured out how to use the SSAFC with the auto. More on this later as well.
I added 4 gauges to the car to monitor what I think are the most vital things on the car. AEM wideband, Boost, Fuel Pressure, Oil Pressure. The last three were all purchased from the ebay vendor Glowshift and are the tinted series. I have to say that I'm impressed with the quality for the price and so far recommend these gauges to anyone.
THE INSTALL
The install was a giant undertaking to say the least. Considering the fact that the biggest modification I had done on my own up until this point was putting on my corksport exhaust, it was a little intimidating. However, I spent a majority of the last 6 months preparing for the install by reading anything and everything that I needed to for the install. I printed out all the directions to any part that had directions and took it step by step. The biggest challenge was not allowing the install to get the better of me. As you will see in the videos, at around the end of day 2, I was ready to drop everything and just pass out. I kind of jumped around on the install going from the engine bay to the gauge wiring to setting up the FMIC. This way the job wasn't so monotonous and I didn't get too bored or frustrated with any one thing.
The following are problems that I encountered during the install.
1. When I was ready to put the banjo bolt for the coolant feed into the back of the block, I quickly realized that the bolt that ATP had sent me was way too wide. Since this was at the end of day one and I had spent the entire day working on the car, I was pissed. I spent a good chunk of day two driving around town searching for a replacement or another solution. The solution came in the form of two fittings from Jegs. I was lucky enough to go in on a whim and since they are based here in Columbus, I was able to drive over to the main store and find the parts I was looking for. I got a fitting that fit into the block and one that went on the other side of that one and had a barbed end on it for the 3/8" hose. I got one with a 45 degree elbow and it was perfect. Needless to say, if you do end up getting the banjo bolt from ATP, check the size. The bolt should be a 14mm. Mine looked like it was more of a 17mm.
2. When I got my oil pan tapped, I did not look under the car and take notice of the bracket that is attached to the engine right in front of the oil pan. When I put the new oil pan on, the fitting touched the bracket and there was no way to fit the oil return line onto it. As you can see in the video, I cut the bracket off and solved the problem that way.
3. When fitting the FMIC kit, I had to make some adjustments. The short ram intake provided with my kit was an EXTREMELY tight fit. I had to pull the one fan out, put on the intake, and then force the fan back in, cutting an opening in the top of the fan so that it could fit over the radiator fitting for the upper hose. For any of you auto people that plan on going turbo, the transmission cable is also right there. I also had to cut the splash guard on the driver's side which I didn't expect to have to do. No biggie but a pain in the ass. Another thing was the fact that I had to cut MOST of the lower grille supports and take the lower grille out completely. I have no idea how people with the P5 bumper could fit it on there without doing so. I even have the smaller core and there was no way it would fit without cutting. Also, mounting the core itself is a little tricky. The hardware provided is pretty stupid since the holes in the brackets are too small for the hardware provided. I simply widened the holes using a dremel. Getting the bolt in there and tightened was tough as well.
4. The intake manifold is a b****! More specifically, whoever designed the nut on the EGR pipe is a complete dipshit. When removing the intake manifold, I had to disconnect a variety of coolant hoses and wires in order to be able to slide it out while the EGR pipe was still attached. Be ready for this because I really wasn't. I'm sure that if I had to do it again, I would be able to do it in half the time now that I know how to do it. A word of advice on the manifold bolts and nuts. Use a magnetic bolt retriever. One of those that you can extend and get into tight spaces. Made life a good bit easier on those hard to reach bolts.
5. When priming the turbo, I realized a fuel leak at one of the injectors. I found out that upon putting that injector back in, the o-ring was pinched and cut at one side. This was remedied by going to advance and having them rummage through their entire stock of o-rings to find one that fit.
6. When connecting the fuel line adapted that housed the fuel pressure sender, I couldn't get the hose to fit over the fittings on each end. When I did get them to fit after fighting with them for a long time, they would spit and leak fuel upon start up. I found out that NAPA sold me 5/16's hose instead of 3/8. That extra 1/16 made a WORLD of difference and once I got the right size hose, all was right with the world.
7. Tonight I popped a coupler since I didn't use a T-bolt on a couple of them cause I ran out. DO NOT USE REGULAR COUPLERS! Make sure you have enough t-bolts and do it right the first time. If you don't know what popping a coupler feels like, the car loses power, you go REALLY rich, and you get scared as hell.
Disregard the comments about the lower radiator hose needing to be replaced in the video. The pipe that goes through there actually fits really well.
All in all, the install took a total of 6 days from start to driving off with all the parts in, bumper installed etc.
TUNING:
Tuning was quite easy with the begi and voltage clamp. At first, I didn't have the begi hooked up right and i thought that the voltage clamp was bad. It wasn't at all but I ordered a new one from flyin miata and now am selling the old one that works perfectly fine. I didn't figure out my problem until I had already installed the new one.
UPDATE: I got the o2 clamp to finally work. The problem all along was bad connections. When installing the clamp, SOLDER the wires instead of using the vampire clamps they give you. This will ensure a solid connection. I checked out a couple videos on youtube on how to solder and practiced on a couple wires beforehand. Nothing to it. A soldering iron and solder are very cheap but are ESSENTIAL when making connections.
Also, I do not know if this helped the situation but make sure that your MAF is AFTER the BOV, not before.
The begi and the o2 clamp work very very well but the SSAFC is a good alternative as well and gives you a much broader range of tuning possibilities.
OTHER COMMENTS:
As of right now, I'm happy with the way the car is running and boost has completely changed the car. It's hard to explain the difference between NA and turbo, especially on the auto. The valve body is the best mod I have ever installed aside from the turbo itself. It does amazing things.
TURBO PARTS LIST:
MSP Garrett T25 turbo
MSP manifold
MSP s-pipe
Altered Customs FMIC kit
Corksport Power Series Exhaust
HKS ssqv BOV
Lentech Automatics Street Terminator Valve Body
Hayden transmission fluid cooler
Begi RRFPR
Flyin' Miata o2 Voltage Clamp
Millenia PCV valve
AEM UEGO wideband gauge
Glowshift boost gauge
Glowshift fuel pressure gauge
Glowshift oil pressure gauge
ForceFed radio surround dual gauge pod
Gauge surround dual gauge pod (made by yours truly)
BLOX vacuum block
Turbosmart Boost Tee MBC
"Powered by FSDET" gunmetal oil cap
Glowshift oil filter sandwich plate
All fittings, hoses and adapters for oil and coolant lines
RECOGNITION:
My uncle - Since I don't have my own garage, it was his garage that I used for the 6 days it took from beginning to end. He put up with having a giant mess in the garage for the entire week and let me use any tools he had. He probably won't ever see this but he definitely deserves to be recognized lol.
Ogi (KrayzieFox) - Not to sound all mushy or anything but without Ogi, this install would NOT have happened. He provided me with an insane amount of information and help way before the install and was the person I called a million times during the install. If I had a problem, he either knew the solution or pointed me in the direction of someone that did. Thanks Ogi, Boost is ******* awesome.
Nate and Jasen (iSpoon and o0n8) - Thanks for standing around and making fun of me while I was doing all the work. Haha jk but like all the installs we do, I probably would have lost my cool a bunch of times if you guys weren't there to shoot the s*** with.
Midnitehour - I just recently internet met this guy but he has been nothing but helpful. He too has a turbo'd ATX on which he is running the SSAFC and 440 injectors. He provided me with a good bit of info both in his posts and through his build thread.
StarScream - I also just recently internet met this guy and he has also been very helpful. He provided me with a couple of solutions to my problems during tuning and was overall a very cool guy.
Edwin (TheMAN) - I know what you're thinking. Edwin? Even though Edwin may be rude and over the top a lot of times, his knowledge of our platform is insane and probably the best of anyone I know. He helped me with a couple of issues after everything was put together and for that I have to thank him.
If I forgot anyone, just yell at me and I'll throw you in here. Thanks guys!
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