What should i do next?

mio · Postby **mio** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 10:19 pm

Ok guys, i'd just like your opinions on what I should do next to my car, I've recently fitted, a set of extractors and modified the intake. It made the car feel alot healthier when accelerating.

PIC http://mio.etherealblaze.com/Image230.jpg

Now i'm stumped on what I should do next to the car. My tuning 'philosophy' I have taken is kinda \"To provide a smooth strong acceleration feel without hesitation, Car responds to the driver's imput, Sounds nice revving, Bolt-on, no drilling/cutting heavy modification. Stay NA\"

Would a 2\" exhaust make a notable difference in power again?
What about spark plugs? Should I go out and buy a set of fancy plugs?

Limited budget.

Babalouie · Postby **Babalouie** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 10:30 pm

Don't waste your time with plugs. I've done a fair bit of experimenting in that area and the normal NGK BKR6E11s are just as good as any.

A 2in zorst is a good size for a 1.6, but also have a think about replacing your cat. Not from an upgrade point of view, more from a maintenance point of view as the original one is prolly pretty clogged by now (so you don't need a fancy hi-performance cat, just a replacement oem style one). When I replaced my zorst & cat (which in my case was 2.25in as it's a 1.8L), I would say that the subjective improvement was slightly more than the intake upgrade (which, as far as these things go, is pretty noticeable).

That's a good next step.

A left-field upgrade which you may want to try, is searching out something called an Apexi SAFCII. It's a very simple piggyback fuel computer, that splices into only 6 wires of your ecu. It's a simple install, you can easily do it yourself, and you can get it running in about half an hour or so. It's also simple to tune on the dyno (my first tune only took 15mins, gained 6rwkw and was paid for with a sixpack of bourbon and coke).

You can download instructions from www.apexi-usa.com and they can be found as cheaply as $250 second hand. So for an all-up installed & tuned cost of maybe $350, its a great bang for the buck.

mio · Postby **mio** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:57 pm

SAFCII sounds like a good idea Babalouie, would it matter if i got the 2\" catback before or after i got a SAFCII/tune ?

Babalouie · Postby **Babalouie** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:07 am

mio wrote:SAFCII sounds like a good idea Babalouie, would it matter if i got the 2" catback before or after i got a SAFCII/tune ?

Nope, I don't think it would matter. Generally speaking (well it is the case with a NA8 anyway) the tuning changes you will make with the SAFC will be pretty linear, so whether you get the SAFC tuned before or after the zorst won't make much difference.

For example when I fitted cams, I had the SAFC settings rechecked and they were still fine. I think the stock ecu isn't completely useless and can work well with mods, it just needs some "global" tweaks to get it pointed in the right direction, that's all.

Craig · Postby **Craig** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:19 am

You could try moving the air intakes snorkel to the front of the car, behind the headlight, more colder air there. Up in the back corner might be a tad toasty during the day next to your new extractors.

mio · Postby **mio** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 1:08 am

*happily skips off to buy a SAFC-II* tra-la-la-la-la :mrgreen:

just one more question bab, does the safcii allow you to monitor intake temperatures? what other things will it monitor?

Craig: i've tried to route the intake to face the front, but theres just no room! I'll have to rethink it agan.

Babalouie · Postby **Babalouie** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 1:14 am

mio wrote:*happily skips off to buy a SAFC-II* tra-la-la-la-la

just one more question bab, does the safcii allow you to monitor intake temperatures? what other things will it monitor?

Craig: i've tried to route the intake to face the front, but theres just no room! I'll have to rethink it agan.

Like I said, it's pretty basic, so only monitors rpm, airflow meter signal, battery voltage and throttle position (although I think in the case of NA6 this feature is disabled cost the throttle possy sensor doesn't have a linear output).

Boags · Postby **Boags** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:33 am

mio wrote: would it matter if i got the 2" catback before or after i got a SAFCII/tune ?

Isn't the NA6 zorst 2" from stock?

If you're going to replace, go bigger... :mrgreen:

The Loch Stewart cat-back is a pretty nice option... I was quoted $480 fitted.

Boags

Philip Lee · Postby **Philip Lee** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:03 am

Babalouie wrote:Like I said, it's pretty basic, so only monitors rpm, airflow meter signal, battery voltage and throttle position (although I think in the case of NA6 this feature is disabled cost the throttle possy sensor doesn't have a linear output).

can we ditch the stock AFM on the NA6 with S-AFC2?

Philip Lee · Postby **Philip Lee** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:03 am

Steve 818 wrote:A Megasquirt ECU will cost you the same as a SAFC-II and the MS is a full standalone ECU that will easily do fuel, ignition, control idle and give much more versatility for future mods as it will happily control a turbo/supercharger and give you knock inputs, traction control, etc.

If you just want fuel control then you could try a JayCar Digital Fuel Adjuster which is a whole lot cheaper than the SAFC-II and will do the same job.

anyone know any shops that sell Megasquirt ECU locally ??

thx

Babalouie · Postby **Babalouie** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:15 am

Philip Lee wrote:
Babalouie wrote:Like I said, it's pretty basic, so only monitors rpm, airflow meter signal, battery voltage and throttle position (although I think in the case of NA6 this feature is disabled cost the throttle possy sensor doesn't have a linear output).

can we ditch the stock AFM on the NA6 with S-AFC2?

Nope. AFAIK only the HKS FCon can do that, and that's a whole other kettle of fish and cost.

Matty · Postby **Matty** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:59 am

my two cents:

read www.solomiata.com

Get a cat-back exhaust. the car can now breathe in, but it can't breathe out yet!

Get cold air to that intake. Don't be aftraid of cutting unless your car is an absolute pristine example with 20000km on it (which clearly it isn't based on your photo).

Get rid of the air flow meter. This will require at minimum an interceptor, but a fully programmable ECU is better. Megasquirt may be cheap but it's a bit of work to set up and tune, with no local support.

Bump the ignition timing a little.

Drop in a 1.8 - face the fact that it's hard to get power out of a 1.6 nat. asp.

I wouldn't go cams if you're after a streetable car, which you seem to be. Too little return for the cost

Find a used turbo or SC kit.

Babalouie · Postby **Babalouie** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 2:38 pm

Warpspeed wrote:
Matty wrote:

I wouldn't go cams if you're after a streetable car, which you seem to be. Too little return for the cost

Nothing wrong with some mild cams, they will improve torque everywhere right from idle. Something like a pair of 254 duration 10mm lift would make a significant improvement without any disadvantages.

If you think those cams are wild, they are in fact the exact factory timing figure of the two valve EFI version of the B6 Mazda engine as fitted to Ford Lasers !!! That laser was not a lumpy spluttering petrol guzzling heap of crap either.

My cams are the Tomei ones, 252/256 with 9.5mm lift and they work fine with the stock ecu (in fact they seem to suit the stock fuelling a bit better than the standard cams!), idle fine and driveability is largely the same. Power gain was 8rwkw, so a good increase for not much compromise. Bit exxy though, and I reckon that unless you had a good free flowing zorst you wouldn't get the benefits of the bigger cams as much.

Matty · Postby **Matty** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:14 pm

Warp - I don't know what model you have but Babs has a 1.8. You definitely need the supporting mods to do a cam (ECU, cam gears, intake and exhaust flow).

As for the Laser comparison - not valid, a two valve head needs much more duration than a 4-valve one does to flow the same air. Stock cams are 236/248/7.8mm.

Plus you need to mod the head to fit in lift over about 9mm.

And as I said, for the cost (particularly when compared to a 1.8 swap), you're still behind...

Babalouie · Postby **Babalouie** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:40 pm

Matty wrote:Warp - I don't know what model you have but Babs has a 1.8. You definitely need the supporting mods to do a cam (ECU, cam gears, intake and exhaust flow).

As for the Laser comparison - not valid, a two valve head needs much more duration than a 4-valve one does to flow the same air. Stock cams are 236/248/7.8mm.

True! I was surprised as hell to discover that "stage 1" cams for old pushrod V8s (that don't really rev that high) are in the region of 280 degrees.

Matty wrote:Plus you need to mod the head to fit in lift over about 9mm.

Actually, depending on the brand, if the base circle of the cams is smaller, the head modification isn't req'd. But AFAIK only the Tomei cams offer this.

Mio's head must be spinning by now

We're doing a good job spending all his money for him