Emily's 04 VR SE

[Ruffian147]

You're oil catch can is the wrong way around. It's upside down, oil will go back in.

[emily_mx5]

^Yes this has been established, however the fitting is 1cm up from the bottom, there is no way it will fill up to the point of backing up the hose at the rate of 1tsp every few months. Engine is healthy and doesn't have blow by issues.

[hks_kansei]

It will work fine.

worst case it will just act like a really tiny catch can (the 1cm bit)

The time it will take to even fill that would be ages if the blowby is anything like on my car, which has only a light mist and maybe 2 drops of oil in the breather pipes after 15 years.

Currently I just have a hose leading from the rocker cover to one of those ugly mini-pod things which i've hidden inside the guard since it looked like sh*t.

[emily_mx5]

^exactly
I've flipped it today just to be safe, will upload a pic later.

[Trackphotos]

Did those 16x9s ever go on?

[emily_mx5]

NitroDann SE upgrade kit

After very thoroughly servicing the car, including all fluids replaced with uprated synthetic options, new tyres, new brake pads, uprated cooling system etc etc I felt I had done enough supporting mods to start playing with power…

So began the rather daunting task of collecting the necessary parts.

Larger injectors: ID725s
Injectors are “universal”, however these come with beautifully machined alloy adapters to fit the fuel rail, and connectors to solder/crimp on to the wiring loom.



Larger intercooler: JJR Cooling pro unit
Intercooler install was straight foward, used the oem pipes with sections chopped off and rebeaded at the ends. Also used new 2” silicone joiners with Tbolt clamps.



BOV: Tial Q50
Hidden in the bumper behind the foglight, the oem undertray and wheel well liners completely hide this. Makes the greatest PSHHHHH noise.





Standalone ECU: Haltech Elite 1500
Behold. The most expensive part on the car haha.
Comes with an adapter loom, which required a few changes to work perfectly. Still in prototype stages, however I have been offered a completed sealed loom when it is ready.





WBO2: Haltech sensor + CAN controller
Requires constant 12V and ground, so I tapped underneath the fusebox for power and earthed underneath its bracket.
Very expensive, but i’m glad I went with the Haltech part, as it actually failed the first day of driving, threw a CEL and sent me into a panic attack haha. They remotely scanned the ecu, turned off the cel and told me it was fine to drive to them, where they replaced it instantly free of charge.



EBC: Haltech 3 way mac valve
I mounted this in the oem spot like most people, as the oem wires are easy to tap into and it just requires a simple bracket.



I had Dann fabricate a different throttle body intake pipe, as I now have the BOV on the intercooler pipe. It also needed to be a tighter radius to clear the stupid FM top radiator hose.





I also had Dann fabricate me a new intake, as I wasn't having the BOV or catch can recirculate into it anymore, and I wanted an enclosed filter. You know, because the car is so legal in every other way lol.

Just one barb for the boost controller, and a gradual taper to the 3” Works Engineering Carbon Fibre enclosed filter with a bellmouth. Filter is braced off the intercooler pipe. MAF delete because Haltech runs on an internal MAP sensor.





And no turbo car is complete without a full 3” exhaust…
So this was done too. Gorgeous welds and perfect fitment as usual.
Set up consists of turbo back 3” stainless steel, flex joint, bullet high flow ceramic race cat, NO RESONATOR, Magnaflow sports muffler, 3.5” rolled tip.









How does it sound? Astonishing. Completely unobtrusive when cruising around daily, no drone, not loud but audible. It has a beautiful note on idle, screams on harsh acceleration, and the best part? The burble crackle and pop on engine decell/overrun. Words cannot describe the rumble that carries on. It certainly does not sound like a little 1.8L lol. In fact, I had a red P plater kid in a Pulsar ask me “Does your Miata have a V8 in it?”. True story, its that good.
There are a quite a few people who can vouch for how amazing it is, shoots flames and everything. Phenomenal product and responsible for a massive power gain haha.

[Roadrunner]

Mmmm Nitrodann welds
Super jealous of your car

Got those wheels on yet?

[emily_mx5]

Wheels (well tyres actually) don't "fit".
They will, just not a direct bolt on right now.

[speed]

Wow. Most be awesome to have gotten to the power stuff. Car looks great and your standard of work is remarkable.

Next time I buy parts from you I'll be sure to bring some marshmallows to toast off your exhaust

Have two questions for you.

1. Has the tb elbow been beaded or was that not necessary?

2. Where and how did you run your WB wiring to get the unit into the cabin?

The plugs are massive and I'm thinking I either go thru the Trans tunnel or chop/de-pin the wires and run thru the hole in firewall with oem loom.

Thanks Again

[forcedfive]

Hi Emily,

The car is coming along great and like the feedback on the exhaust. What size muffler did you use? Do you have any pics of the rear section, muffler and tip?

Cheers

[NitroDann]

1. Has the tb elbow been beaded or was that not necessary?

Its beaded, you can make out one bead in the photo of it being made, the other end hasnt been welded on in that shot.

Necessary.

[Nevyn72]

2. Where and how did you run your WB wiring to get the unit into the cabin?

If it helps, I ran mine through the transmission tunnel and used the shifter's rubber boot to seal.
The bulk of the wires & plugs live under the centre console.....

[speed]

1. Has the tb elbow been beaded or was that not necessary?

Its beaded, you can make out one bead in the photo of it being made, the other end hasnt been welded on in that shot.
Necessary.

Thanks Dann.

2. Where and how did you run your WB wiring to get the unit into the cabin?

If it helps, I ran mine through the transmission tunnel and used the shifter's rubber boot to seal.
The bulk of the wires & plugs live under the centre console.....

Thank you Pete. Keep forgetting you had one.
Maybe if you would take me for a drive, I would remember more about your car ;)

Emily, Love your work and your helpfull threads. Cheers!

[emily_mx5]

What size muffler did you use? Do you have any pics of the rear section, muffler and tip?

Brand is XForce, size is a NitroDann secret, and I will try to get some pics soon

2. Where and how did you run your WB wiring to get the unit into the cabin?

The wideband sensor is in a similar placement to oem, slightly further down, beside the gearbox.
The wires for it follow the path of the oem O2 sensor wires, all the way up into the engine bay.
It then splits off to the fuse box for the power and ground, and through the passenger side firewall grommet to get to the ecu.
We de-pinned the Deutsch Connectors to pull each wire through, and then clipped them back into place inside the footwell.

[ManiacLachy]

Standalone ECU: Haltech Elite 1500
Behold. The most expensive part on the car haha.
Comes with an adapter loom, which required a few changes to work perfectly. Still in prototype stages, however I have been offered a completed sealed loom when it is ready.

Emily, are you saying you have a prototype adapter loom for the E1500 to fit the SE? And that Haltech will be releasing a production version in time?