XelderX's BG FSP Build

Car went to the dyno today. We made a few adjustments and ran into a few problems. There was a pretty large misfire around 2000rpm and 70-80kPa. We couldn't tune it out so we are going to have the fuel injectors cleaned and I'll probably replace the sparkplug wires too. It had to be a weird mechanical issue since it was only in one small area of the MAP and fuel/spark adjustments made virtually no difference. The car runs smooth everywhere else. We did notice that it falls off way too much in the higher RPM range. It looks like the intake and probably the cheap 4-2-1 is too restrictive. That's not too hard to remedy. Overall I can't be too dissapointed with my first dyno session since I wasn't looking for maximum #'s. I just wanted to make sure the A/F ratio was consistent and safe to run so I can start sorting the suspension. Now before you all gasp in horror at the WHP just remember that this was on a Dyno Dynamics machine which are notorious for reading low. I only had 6 disks in the Supertrapp for most of the runs as I was trying to make sure I kept under a certain decibel level. That is definitely not enough disks. I'll probably run at least 12 disks on Sunday and hope it's not too loud. The very first pull we made was 104whp. The final run we made wiith 6 disks in the exhaust and about an hours worth of tuning was 108whp. With the exhaust uncorked she made 112whp. Doing some completely arbitrary math to make these #s look more like Dynojet #s the motor is putting out just a little more than where it was the last time it was dynoed. It looks like the intake/exhaust setup is really hurting me. I've already put in a call to Tony at AWR for the exhaust and I'll be sorting out the intake over the next few weeks.

Overall this is really a good day. The motor works and doesn't have any major issues. Sunday might be a bit more stressful as I have no idea what the suspension is going to do. I'm bringing a few parts with me to make some small changes if needed, but if she is way off then I'll be bummed all day.
 
Did you by chance run a datalog while on the dyno (through MT)? What were your AFRs looking like at the top end?
 
My 112 HP (tune at nationls) at the wheels was on a Dyno Dynamics 2wd dyno as well.
Main difference with my setup is the 1.8L, AWR header, and big bore throttle body.
 
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My 112 HP (tune at nationls) at the wheels was on a Dyno Dynamics 2wd dyno as well.
Main difference with my setup is the 1.8L, AWR header, and big bore throttle body.


Cool. We noticed today that the VICS system isn't opening at higher RPM, but I'm not sure how much difference that will make on my setup when we get it working.


I ran the car at it's first autox today. Holy Hell....it's quick. The front tires were basically corded after the first run and the rears were almost completely bald. I still managed to get 2nd in RAW time and 3rd in PAX for the whole event. The car needs some adjustment though. I'll get to that in a later post.
 
My thoughts on the car from today...


I wasn't expecting much since the suspension was completely untested and all 4 tires were bought used and didn't appear to have much usable life left in them. This proved to be true as I corded the front tires on only my second run. The amazing thing is that run was good enough for 2nd fastest time of the whole event. I was only beat by a C5 Z06 Corvette who was on Hoosiers as well (1st place Super Stock Toledo Pro Solo car).

http://www.auto-x.com/results/2008/2008_event_9_raw.htm

After that run the tires just gave up and I couldn't better my time on my last two runs.

The car is extremely fast right now, but a little bit too loose. I can't decide if I want to add more front swaybar to keep the front from rolling over so far or less rear bar/spring to settle the back end. There was also a very noticeable vibration in left hand turns. I thought it was the passenger front tire rubbing the fender, but raising the car on that corner didn't solve it. Upon closer inspection it looks like the motor needs to be shifted in the car about 1/8"-1/4" closer to the driver's side. The passenger half shaft is getting in a bind when turning left due to it's compressed length. The driver's side half-shaft seems to have a little more room to play in it so I hope I can move the motor over just enough to free up the passenger side without putting the driver side half-shaft in a bind. I thought I had the motor/trans centered almost perfectly in the engine bay, but I must have missed the mark by a tiny amount.

In any case, this thing is a screamer even on corded Hoosiers. It's much faster than I remember the Protege5 ever being just from the acceleration standpoint. The brakes need a little work as they are much touchier than the old Protege5. It was fairly easy to lock up the rear tires and the course had some bumps in a few braking zones that caused the fronts to lock up too. Brand new front tires might help that, but the rears will probably need a proportioning valve or less brake pad. Pictures coming soon...
 
Congrats on the good driving and the success of the build. It must have been a good feeling to have the hard work pay off, especially with the build still being pretty raw.

When you talk about "disks" in the exhaust, what are you talking about?
 
So that's what all those really loud SP cars are running.

some of 'em, more than likely. Usually with no discs lol.

I'm more of a fan of the dynomax muffler. Quieter, better sounding, freer flowing. And that's from a supertrapp w/ 9 disks
 
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some of 'em, more than likely. Usually with no discs lol.

I'm more of a fan of the dynomax muffler. Quieter, better sounding, freer flowing. And that's from a dynomax w/ 9 disks

Kevin might have convinced me to switch to the Dynomax.

I'm not sure what the weight of the FrankenPro is. I might take it to the scales today and weigh it.
 
Good work Justin! Glad to hear the car is doing well and your driving too :D

I too am curious to see what your car weighs.
 
The car has been weighed. It's not an accurate weight by any means, but I do suppose that the local landfill keeps their scales calibrated pretty well. The car was in race trim with 3/4 tank of gas (about 3 gallons more than needed) and me (~150lbs) sitting in the driver's seat.

2360 lbs

Take me and 3 gallons out of the car and she is ~2190 lbs. That is over 300lbs less than the Protege5 ever got down to and there are still a few more pounds to lose.
 
Ooo, not shabby for a 4 seater. What do the class leaders weigh in at?
 
Ooo, not shabby for a 4 seater. What do the class leaders weigh in at?

The BMW 2002 that won this year is around 2040, but only about 100-105whp. The Focus was between 2400-2500 with a lot of HP. That puts me right in the thick of things as far as HP to weight ratio.
 
wow, that's pretty sweet. Put that power to the ground and you should be in good shape man :)
 
Will you be doing anything different in the future with the intake manifold and headers? Custom made headers and 626 IM maybe? I suppose the 626 im would only help you in the higher rpms though and with being in 2nd and 3rd gear most of the time that probably would not help you. Did you remove the VTCS and port and polish your 2.0 inake manifold?
 
Ooo, not shabby for a 4 seater. What do the class leaders weigh in at?

The VW's and the Hondas are well south of 2000--maybe in the 1800s...but don't make the power. And, yes the Mueller Focus is well into the 2300's or 2400 and breathes fire...like 170 at the ground...and a ton of torque too.

This car has nice numbers all around...and the big tires like the Focus. I smell a contender.

I suspect that we'll be joining yoa'll in FSP in a year or two as well. I still want finish sorting out car for ST. We came a long way in maybe 75 runs this year...and at least have a handle on what to do now.
 
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That weight is awesome, Justin. Any more areas to lose weight in? Can't wait to go at it with ya in Lincoln (http://sccaforums.com/forums/thread/331627.aspx) next year. Our FSP corolla currently weighs 2250ish sans driver. Last dyno was 90whp/85tq but we just compression tested at 130/140/95/60. Yuck! Rebuilding the engine over the winter and hoping to lose a few more pounds here and there.

300lbs less than the Protege5 is huge! Good job. :)

Van
 

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