timk makes up for talent with an EFR

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 2:31 pm

Yeah acutely aware of that but the other option is a race technologies dash which is decidedly expensive but potentially cheaper / better then gauges.

In reality it probably won't get used all the time but more likely at track events where there is a higher chance of the hardtop being on.

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sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Sun Mar 16, 2014 7:53 am

Any chance i could beg/borrow/buy/steal your serial to bluetooth adapter to have a play around?
I got a USB OTG cable but it dosn't seem by phone has USB OTG, it doesn't even recognize it at all. Might be the non-standard rom.

timk · Postby **timk** » Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:44 am

Hey mate,

I think it was $10 from eBay, I'm using the same one John Pham has on his site. :lol:

His setup guide will work, you'll just want the baud rate to be 57600:
http://omgpham.com/bluetooth-x-megasquirt

If you have no motivation at all we could try it at the Natmeet Lakeside track day if you are going?

Cheers

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Wed Mar 19, 2014 7:20 am

I'll see how I go. I tested the otg cable with a flash drive and it worked, so now I'm a bit confused why it won't pick up the adaptronic.

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timk · Postby **timk** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 12:38 pm

I took the car out to an MX-5 Club track day last Monday, it was great fun once I sorted out my thermal management!

We had a few sessions of the Clubman circuit, then Sprint, then Sportsman followed by National. I wasn't able to sort out my car issues until the Sprint circuit but still got some decent track time.

The new version of the Adaptronic firmware has a 'hot RPM limit' for when the car gets over a set coolant temperature. My car was hitting this temperature (105C) then setting my rev limit to 5,000RPM. I upped the setting to 109C and put the heater on, this seemed to keep things under control. It's surprising things are getting this hot as I am just running wastegate boost (0.6 bar). I think it is a great feature as I potentially may not have noticed the temps creeping up otherwise!

Here's a squirt around the National layout:

I'm a noob when it comes to this layout so don't look at my lines too closely! :oops:

One interesting metric I observed is the temps between the front and back of the head. I have a Maruha thermostat housing spacer with an extra thermistor fitted, and the maximum delta between the front and back of the head was only 2 degrees C:

Cheers

speed freak · Postby **speed freak** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 1:41 pm

Are you running a OEM spec radiator or an alloy unit? Were you having any high oil temps or just coolant temps?

Just curious thats all, Im yet to install any gauges to give me more accurate readings. Running the heater is a good idea though.

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 4:48 pm

The heater when turned on draws heat from the water system, helping the radiator deal with the heat. This is a very old 'trick' especially when towing up long hills etc.

I think the issue is the way the air is or is not going through the radiator. I know on my car I have a lot of air going around the radiator and this could be why my oil temps are high.

Looking at my data on the national, my water temp was around 95, engine bay 58, in front of radiator 23 deg c. However oil peaked at 120 (hence the slow down), I think there is a problem with the sensor as my separate warning light set for 120 did not go off. Off topic but the exhaust gas temps were up to 760 deg c. Before the session started the engine bay was at 68 deg and before the radiator 33.

timk · Postby **timk** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 6:37 pm

Hi guys,

My oil temps were fine and didn't go over 110C. I'm using an ASI 52mm radiator and it has adhesive-backed foam between it and the fan shrouds, plus between it and the bodywork on the front side. I did have a block of foam underneath the radiator to fill the gap between the radiator and the undertray, I will have to double check it is still in place.

Mark, that's great you have so much data to help you. Before buying a new radiator (I have been recommended the thinner Koyo 37mm) I'm going to fit a thermistor to the bottom radiator hose (using an in-line sensor block) so I can measure the temp of the cooled water.

Cheers

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:39 pm

Think about measuring the air temp each side of the radiator as this will indicate how effective it is. A thinner radiator will have more air flow but less surface area to exchange the heat.

Most track only cars have minimal radiators and rely on air flow only for cooling. http://www.stockcarracing.com/techarticles/general/scrp_0509_efficient_cooling_radiator/

timk · Postby **timk** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:44 pm

Yeah, the one in the thermostat housing will be good enough; it goes through about 200mm of hose then hits the inlet for the radiator.

speed freak · Postby **speed freak** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 8:05 pm

timk wrote:Hi guys,

My oil temps were fine and didn't go over 110C. I'm using an ASI 52mm radiator and it has adhesive-backed foam between it and the fan shrouds, plus between it and the bodywork on the front side. I did have a block of foam underneath the radiator to fill the gap between the radiator and the undertray, I will have to double check it is still in place.

Mark, that's great you have so much data to help you. Before buying a new radiator (I have been recommended the thinner Koyo 37mm) I'm going to fit a thermistor to the bottom radiator hose (using an in-line sensor block) so I can measure the temp of the cooled water.

Cheers

Hmm thats interesting, surprised it was getting so hot. Im hoping mine (n/a not turbo) isnt getting too hot on the track, although I do run the heater on the in lap and in the pits for a while after each session.

Is the coolant re rout a good idea for the NB's or was that mainly for the 1.6 in the N/A's?

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:21 pm

speed freak wrote:Is the coolant re rout a good idea for the NB's or was that mainly for the 1.6 in the N/A's?

Yes. NBs still need it. Mazda changed the head gasket for 2001s to help a little but still a poor substitute for doing it properly via a reroute..

speed freak · Postby **speed freak** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:50 am

rascal wrote:
speed freak wrote:Is the coolant re rout a good idea for the NB's or was that mainly for the 1.6 in the N/A's?

Yes. NBs still need it. Mazda changed the head gasket for 2001s to help a little but still a poor substitute for doing it properly via a reroute..

Thanks, something I should look into then, cheers.

Sorry for hijacking thread too

timk · Postby **timk** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:21 pm

I've been pretty busy with other stuff so the car has been neglected of late. After the last track day the dump pipe became loose which created an exhaust leak, so I gave the car to Jason at Automotive Plus and he is testing some Inconel studs and Resbond threadlocker. We are sticking with the deformed nuts due to the limited space, and the fact that the issue was always the studs backing out, not the nuts coming off the studs.

I've also gathered bits to test the radiator efficiency:

I had to tap the thread in the coolant sensor block to suit the OE thermistor (12mm x 1.5mm), props to Lokiel for loan of the tools. The hose pictured is the bottom radiator hose which I will cut to fit the sensor block inline. I already have a thermistor fitted very close to the radiator inlet, so with this extra sensor I will be able to see the inlet/outlet deltas with good accuracy.

Cheers