The journey to Apu

noobee · Postby **noobee** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:06 pm

been meaning to ask you how the Volvo turbo is going,sort of a long term review,and how do you think it compares to say a garrett 2560.(and would I be right in thinking the Volvo turbo is a td04hl-16t ? )
Mick

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:10 pm

Hi Mick,

It's going great. I can't compare it to a T25 as I haven't had one. I guess if you look at the output of 150rwKw at 7psi...not bad!

I'll bring it up your way at some point. Happy to take you for a ride.

Bryan

noobee · Postby **noobee** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:14 pm

damn that was a quick reply!

Postby **NitroDann** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:19 pm

I definately highly recommend it.

Dann

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:25 pm

Mick, can't remember exact model but it's the one for the T5...so the high performance version of the turbo.

It's very smooth in its delivery. I was lucky and got it brand new...and would like a bigger version for when I turbo the Integra :twisted:

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:13 am

Had the day off yesterday so fixed a bunch of other niggling things:
- the horn wasn't working...the fuse keeps corroding for some reason. And there was something wrong with the horn anyway...so pulled out the spare Stebel Magnums and fitted them on
- fitted a strap to the soft top so it's easier to raise and lower now

Strap.jpg

- Mania finished the brackets on the Elise seats, and I managed to fit the pump for the lumbar support and swapped back to NB seat belt stalk on the drivers side

seats.jpg

- And re-painted the GV lip which had so many chips, plus the paint was flaking off

GV lip.jpg

Much happier with Apu now, slowly coming back!

So the running to-do list remains:
1. remove fog lights and vent to intake
2. bonnet vent for turbo
3. water spray for oil cooler and intercooler...only doing both as I pulled the bottle off my Integra and it's a dual pump unit. Winning!
4. respray the GV lip and touch up the roll bar - DONE!
5. power steering back on...I'll probably track Apu less now given that's what I'm building the Integra for
6. respray rocker cover in wrinkle black

speed · Postby **speed** » Fri Mar 20, 2015 6:11 pm

Looking good!

I know the feeling of renovating a house and having multiple vehicle projects. Must be 10 times harder again with kids and another on the way.

Best of luck

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Fri Mar 20, 2015 8:02 pm

Thanks speed. I really want to do a big garage but unfortunately, could not extend the front of my house. All I can do is read Buid Threads and lust after what the guys are doing.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 9:16 am

Went to the JDMYard track day yesterday...my last for a while! Apu ran faultlessly...and surprised quite a few more powerful cars.

I realize I don't have enough braking now, with the turbo and water-meth injection. It's fine on the road, but the pads give up after a while - mind you, this is an "open track day"...but still, any opportunity for a mod... Might need to look at some aero too as there are a couple of corners where Apu feels really light, but not sure if I want to add a wing as the Integra will be the main track car now.

I didn't do any timing as I went with the intention of using Race Chrono or Harry's Lap Timer...only to realize I did not download the app onto my new phone. Doofus.

I'll be on paternity leave the week after...great opportunity to build the new shed, clear the garage and finish off the little mods I've been hanging out to do! And maybe help with the newborn.

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:00 am

Racecars > baby haha.
Congrats hope all goes well

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:47 am

What baby?

Oh wait, yes of course! Thanks Emily!

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:22 pm

Dropped by Mania today as Dave was giving Apu a run on the dyno to tweak the water-methanol injection.

It was about 14degC and drizzling so good conditions for the turbo.

163rwkW without water-meth, and 176rwkW with water-meth. Happy with that! Can't wait to see what the difference would be on a stinking hot day!

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:21 pm

Found out a little bit more about the turbo from my friend - he modified it for his T4 Volvo but never got a chance to use it. Ironically, he's now living in Canada, and just bought himself an NA and building it up.

This TD04 on Apu has been frankensteined with a WRX 14T compressor wheel.

I'll post the dyno chart up when I can shrink it sufficiently to post here. It's got a really nice power and torque curve however, without the water-meth injection, there is a dip toward the top of the powercurve just before it plateaus. With the water-meth injection on, the power curve just tapers off - no dip.

This explains how I could feel the difference at the last JDMYard track day - as the tank dried up, the loss in power on the straight (13kW according to today's dyno run) and dip it power was noticeable.

I'd be interested to find out the difference in power with water only, no methanol in the mix.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 3:12 pm

Finally got around to attaching a pic of the power runs, with and without water-methanol injection. Note the dip at the top end of the curve without water-meth.

IMG_0407.JPG

A touch over $1K for 13kW. Not bad I think.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 10:45 am

I spent the weekend fixing up a bunch of little things in Apu that were bugging me - deep scratches on the glovebox, centre console pockets damaged - one doesn't spring back and the big storage pocket didn't stay open.

Luckily Daniel (cobair) was stripping his NB (and even better yet, lived less than 10 min away) so I was able to get the pieces I wanted, including some dash trim which allowed me to properly fix the DIN units properly as it used to pop out.

The great thing about the simplicity of the MX5s is how easy it is to replace parts - undo a few screws, pop out the part you want to replace, unscrew the lock you want to keep, screw it all back together...all done!