LankyKiwi's Rally-flavored SP20

[pcb]

Isn't black supposed to dissipate heat better too?

... though I'm not truly sure of the effectiveness of the sleeves. It'll keep heat out/off of the piping, but surely would hold any heat in too?

If the sleeve is highly thermally conductive, it may dissipate heat better.
If it's full of insulation or asbestos, it will hold heat in.

 

[pcb]

I think that if that heat sleeve makes good contact and is highly heat conductive, it could help.

 

[LankyKiwi]

That was the thinking of the black header, it won't radiate nearly as much heat as they used to! I've got some gold reflective tape that should help with keeping intake stuff cool as well.

Another option is the same grey that's on the engine block

There is a local company that can ceramic coat piping which would work a treat but $$$

 

[LankyKiwi]

Good news!
Everything fits, nothing caught fire and the microsquirt powered on no worries at all. The engine cranks so all my battery wiring is OK!

Not so good news!
I'm not getting a crank signal so it won't start I think it's because my engine doesn't have the standard toothed wheel on the crank pulley so it's not putting out a signal that the ECU can recognise. Hopefully I can grab a JDM FS-ZE pulley and get that working or figure out the settings for the microsquirt to read the factory pulley.

I also assumed that the A/C button on the dash was a direct trigger for the A/C pump, so I wired the supercharger clutch to it. Turns out it's not so I've got to go to plan B for that one

 

[BenjiHoggi]

Supercharging noob here. I should take a closer look at the details of your build, but I'll ask anyways.

I don't recall knowing that superchargers had clutches...is that something that's a little less common or specific to your model? Does that mean that it could just be a spinning accessory until you want "fast mode," in which case you push the A/C button? That would be sweet if it is the case!

I've heard that fuel economy with a supercharged engine is sometimes worse than a turbo engine especially when you're driving in grandma mode, since the supercharger is always producing some sort of boost, while the turbo isn't. If my assumption above is correct, would keeping the supercharger off serve as sort of an "Eco mode" with stock power/MPG etc.? I assume you'd probably need multiple maps on your ECU for the different modes.

 

[LankyKiwi]

Yep, correct! Some of the smaller superchargers have clutches on the pulley like an AC compressor, the Toyota SC12 and SC14 (the one I'm using) and I think some of the smaller Eaton chargers have a clutched pulley. It's not super common but it does mean that it can be switched on an off! Off would make the car behave as if it was N/A with a bit less power due to a slightly restricted intake.

MPG is going to be terrible lol. I've a feeling that the supercharger isn't going to be switched off that often The microsquirt works on intake pressure so it should be able to run both N/A and on boost, though it'll probably take some fine tuning. I'm planning on getting it drivable then having a pro give it a proper tune on a dyno.

In other news I scored a AutoExe/clone grille today from pick-a-part along with a spare rear caliper for the daily and a new fan speed switch (which DOESN'T fit, grrrr)

 

[31N007]

IIRC the A/C switch went to the ECU and that in turn triggered the clutch?

Just need to figure out that wire and send that out to the S/C. Probably on that hecking big connector assuming your harness is remotely similar to the USDM ones, just RHD.

That might explain why the A/C kicks off at WOY - the ECU knows it needs none of the drag lol.

 

[LankyKiwi]

IIRC the A/C switch went to the ECU and that in turn triggered the clutch?

Just need to figure out that wire and send that out to the S/C. Probably on that hecking big connector assuming your harness is remotely similar to the USDM ones, just RHD.

That might explain why the A/C kicks off at WOY - the ECU knows it needs none of the drag lol.

That's my thoughts too. I'm lazy enough to just put another wire and relay in instead of tracing wires around under the dash

Progress report:
- Oil leak found and fixed in the sandwich plate
- gold tape applied to the bearing case on the supercharger
- heater control fixed with a bracket to hold it in place

 

[LankyKiwi]

Last day of work for the year! Three weeks off to tinker and get this thing going (maybe?)

- base settings sorted for the MS (I think, getting some weird timing issues)
- all fluids in now
- First proper cranks today. It ran, but only on 2 cylinders so something isn't quite right.
- Front bumper and under trays cleaned and installed
- air guide/ intercooler duct mocked up for the front bumper
- AutoEXE grille in primer ready for some repairs and paint

To do:
- figure out the timing issue with the MS
- rewire the supercharger clutch switch
- paint that grille!

 

[LankyKiwi]

Question/ Opinion time!

While I procrastinate wiring and tuning, the front end is slowly coming together

The plan is to run a light mesh behind the top grille and just ahead of the intercooler. The new infill / duct piece will probably be red? Maybe black? I have an idea that I really want to do down there.

The question is, what should be done with the fog lights?

- New lights with the LED ring light like before?
- Blanking covers like a mazdaspeed protege? (DIY of course)
- Round spot light covers like an older Evo / WRX?
- Something else entirely?

I'd love to duct them to the intake or the brakes but there's a structural panel right behind the openings which I definitely can't cut

Let me know your thoughts!

 

[323]

The infill/duct piece looks proper with either red or black in my head. My only concern is with red is will there be too much red in that area? Maybe a quick photoshop will help you decide for sure. Or manual photoshop by painting the cardboard and taping it back on lol.

Round evo/wrx like covers would look dope.

 

[323]

Actually, here you go man. Quick photoshop, not meant to be pretty but to give you an idea. If you zoom out and shrink it, it gives you a better idea of how it looks.

 

[LankyKiwi]

Rad! Thanks! From the dead on front view, red is the winner, it'll blend nicely I think. I want to put a big Mazda logo down there so that might break it up a bit

That's 1 vote for round covers too!

 

[323]

Glad I could help out!

 

[LankyKiwi]

Happy holidays everyone!

The car is running! Figured out the timing issues and it turns out the fuel calc was waaay out, it starts and runs now!

BUT

There's a massive vacuum leak somewhere so it idles at about 1600rpm, I can block the throttle body with a bit of wood and it doesn't die, and it's not making any amount of difference with the SC on or off. I've checked the IAC Valve, EGR valve, brake booster and all the vacuum lines I could find with no luck. The last thing I can think of is that the whole manifold isn't seated right or the manifold is cracked somewhere

SO

The intake manifold is off, all the lines are getting replaced and clamped and new gaskets are going in. While it's off I'm tidying up and wrapping all the wiring as well as that all worked as intended!

All the gaskets seem Ok, there's no tears or lumps in anything, although the gasket where the manifold splits hasn't stuck in some parts (on the thin triangle sections below) so maybe it's slightly warped?

I'll run a straight edge over it and maybe lap both surfaces just for good luck

If anyone has any ideas on where there might be a leak, let me know!

Also, from the drivers seat the supercharger whine is at least as loud as the exhaust

 

[fuadmsp]

Great work. Can’t wait to see a properly tuned supercharged protege.

 

[LankyKiwi]

How this year started:

How it's ending:

Got the intake all together with new gaskets and super clean surfaces, wrapped up all the wiring while it was easy to get at too. Still had a high idle played with all sorts of settings trying to get it down and nothing was working...

Until I bumped the throttle mech and it dropped slightly. Turns out I had too much pre load on the throttle and it wasn't closing all the way! A silly, small thing but now it's fixed and the car runs sooo much better!

So happy to have the car on it's wheels and out of the shed! The only downside is that it shows just how rough the paint is

Next up:
- Nail down the idle tune and go for some short drives to check everything works
- paint the grille and make the lower grill piece.
- Give it a string-and-tape-measure alignment
- Book it in for certification to get it on the road!

 

[pcb]

It's refreshing to see that you are using the string and tape measure alignment technique.

I made my own alignment tool, and I'm confident that its accurate to within 2mm.

I'm not spending over $100 for an alignment on a car that's worth 250 bucks as scrap. Lol

 

[LankyKiwi]

It's refreshing to see that you are using the string and tape measure alignment technique.

I made my own alignment tool, and I'm confident that its accurate to within 2mm.

I'm not spending over $100 for an alignment on a car that's worth 250 bucks as scrap. Lol

I'll be giving it a decent go! Not sure how well it'll turn out but it'll get the car on the road
Got a photo of your alignment tool?


Took the car for a quick shakedown spin on Saturday, nothing fell off and nothing caught fire, so that's a win! The car tracks nice and straight already and isn't too bouncy, I forgot how much more responsive the manual is compared to the auto too.

Performance is good! I obviously can't go and do a full rev range pull with the car being slightly illegal at the moment, but it's making about 6psi at 4000ish rpm, it pulls super smoothly and makes a hell of a noise I'm going to attempt a video sooner or later and will post it here if it works

 

[pcb]

I'll be giving it a decent go! Not sure how well it'll turn out but it'll get the car on the road
Got a photo of your alignment tool?

You're supposed to measure the distance from the center of the tires, at axle height, at the front and back of the tires, to get a reading of your toe in.

You can't run a tape measure across, because there is stuff in the way.
This thing reaches around and up to get a measurement.

I have to lay it down, slide it under the car , then stand it up and work it into the wheel wells.

It's my homemade version of this...