Datfreak's NA6 - bringing back the dead

slug_dub · Postby **slug_dub** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 8:24 pm

A lot of work to get to this point congrats on getting it registered at last!

NASilverStone · Postby **NASilverStone** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:21 pm

Congratulations, we Toowoomba mx5ers should get together. It would be great to see your car and all your hard work has finally paid off! Cheers NAS

RileyR · Postby **RileyR** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:52 am

NASilverStone wrote:Congratulations, we Toowoomba mx5ers should get together. It would be great to see your car and all your hard work has finally paid off! Cheers NAS

I agree

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:46 am

Congrats as well. Hopefully a meet of MX5's in the west area can happen soon.

datfreak · Postby **datfreak** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:58 pm

Thanks guys. it is such a relief to be past the roadworthy and get rego. Yes we will all have to have a meet sometime.

I got insurance thru shannons and I was surprised how inexpensive it was.

Drove her to work for the second time today.
Even after a long day at work and with a beer waiting for me at home, I still found myself driving home the longest way with lots of corners in the back roads. I've had some funky cars, but I've never done that before.

Thoughts now about the car:

The wheels need balancing as the car shudders but the tyres are old and I'm thinking new or secondhand rims and tyres are the go. Will keep a eye on Gumtree for 4X100 with decent offset and weight. Another option would be a tyre/wheel package for about $1000- 15x8 with about +30 to 0 offset.

The radiator is original - is isn't leaking but ive had a few plastic tank rads POP on cars that aren't half the age of this car. I'm thinking of buying a ebay $160 52mm alloy one and a $120 mx5 mania hose kit. Are these any good? If I later put in a 1.8 will the hoses fit?

I have yet to inspect the cam belt as I have no service history. The car is a short nosed crank so Ive got to be careful there.

After the above as done the dream list would be:
Coilovers, a rollbar (even a simple mazdaspeed one) and a stainless exhaust.

speed · Postby **speed** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:34 am

Good stuff. I have s $1,000 wheel and tyre package with those specs ;)
Also have s 52mm asi radiator that I'm yet to fit. I bought this from a forum member before doing research. Apparently the 42mm is plenty good enough and not so tight between the fans and motor.
There is a mazdaspeed roll bar for 400 in the classified section.
Is also a set of SE suspension that could be an option for you ;)

Keep up the good work!

datfreak · Postby **datfreak** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:53 pm

thanks speed for the info- the wheel package is tempting but I need to save my pennies. I know I should have gotten the smaller rad but went with the 52mm one.

Ive got a secondhand koni yellow/ kings low springs coming, which hasn't done too much work since a rebuild, so that will help the handling out and should drop it about 50mm. Will be nice to have an adjustable spring perch and hard/soft adjustment on the konis.

Ive fitted a $33 bluetooth headset- http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291329376734, a plastic pocket for the second din and some $30 Pioneer 6.5 coaxial speakers.

I thought the mx5 exhaust and softtop would limit the sound quality anyway so, yes I went cheap with the audio gear. Im surprised how good the sound is - better then my ute that i'd spent $400 with Pioneer splits and a mid range pioneer head.

I also have a 52mm ebay radiator and silicon hose in black kit coming thanks to the 15% ebay sale last weekend. Also bought a highflow thermostat, with the standard 1.6 which this much rad the little mx5 should be almost passively cooled

Im thinking about the exhaust now - leaning towards buying ebay stainless gear and getting a local muffler shop to weld it up with hangers etc.

600mm hotdog $50- http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MUFFLER-STAINLESS-STEEL-ROUND-HOTDOG-2-1-2-INCH-IN-AND-OUT-600-LONG-/281276213607, Oval muff $70, Hilflow cat $100 + pipe and a couple of stainless mandrel bends should be less then $400 for a new stainless exhaust inc fitting and new cat.. I was going to get a secondhand Japanese exhaust but most of them are old and the ones ive seen have been knocked around a bit.
I'm going 2.5 straight thru - its too big for the standard 1.6 but ok and will be a fine size for any later engine mods inc turbo etc.

So to summarise.
Koni yellow with low springs coming, also big rad and new hoses. $63 ebay sound gear bests $400 name brand.
__________________

datfreak · Postby **datfreak** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 9:12 pm

I just installed the front koni yellow/ low kings springs... Is it strange the car now sits at the same height?
I was expecting it to drop 50mm or so ;(

The konis do have a circlip for spring height adjustment but I dont think that would give me anymore then 5-10mm of extra drop

I know the standard springs would have sagged ove the years but, really this much?

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Sat Oct 10, 2015 7:05 am

Well...your new springs have yet to settle as well.

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Sat Oct 10, 2015 12:02 pm

Did you tighten everything up with the suspension under load?
When I did the coilover install on my nb I tightened eveything with the car still off the ground and it sat higher than I thought it would.
Dropped a fair bit once loosened and retightened with the car on the ground.

I'm sure they'll settle, all the reviews I've read about the yellows say that the lowest spring perch is almost unusable with stock springs because it's so low.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

datfreak · Postby **datfreak** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:43 pm

Koni yellows with kings low springs and new wheels - warning not beige polo shirt wearing original mx5 owner friendly ;)

http://www.overclockers.com.au/pix/index.php?page=image&id=ip4yz

http://www.overclockers.com.au/pix/index.php?page=image&id=tjhrn

http://www.overclockers.com.au/pix/index.php?page=image&id=rxgbj

The new 52mm rad, a chinese made thing of beauty. The silicon hoses were difficult angry pieces of rubber to install - so tight and no room to push. I also used a high flow thermostat so now the little 1.6 in very over rad-ed.

http://www.overclockers.com.au/pix/index.php?page=image&id=pc5p7

Budget but surprising good sound

http://www.overclockers.com.au/pix/index.php?page=image&id=zhrmd

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 11:36 am

Ride height looks good.
You're lower than me up front but a touch higher in the rear.
Looks like a good compromise and you've kept the original rake.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

datfreak · Postby **datfreak** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 1:47 pm

smy0003 wrote:Ride height looks good.
You're lower than me up front but a touch higher in the rear.
Looks like a good compromise and you've kept the original rake.

Yes you were right, they did settle nicely. I used 205 50 15 tyres which are a little taller then the originals as I like more sidewall.
I'm happy with the ride height now -
I'm guessing if I later want to go lower some new top hats and use the lower koni mounts would give another 20mm ish and still give decent handling.

Some notes of the work ive done in the last few days:

Silicon hose kits are difficult to get on- the ID is small and very cramped esp under the inlet manifold and lower heater hose. Also buy new hose clamp before installing them as the silicon has a much thicker wall and the old clamps will not fit.

The quality of the 52mm radiator is very good, the welds and fitment perfect. The standard fan does fit but does leave a large gap between the core and the fan - still working ok though. If I eventually install a 1.8 the longer engine will prob be a problem and will need to use low profile fans.

Springs/shocks will settle lower after a few days or so, even if they have been previously installed in another car.

For wheel alignment I took advice from Manga_blue and Magpie in this thread here:
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=15398&start=30

So- Front -2.0 Rear -1.5 camber, zero toe and as much castor as the shop could get. And it is handling very well with this setup.

datfreak · Postby **datfreak** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 8:54 pm

Some progress.

I've bought a megasquirt pnp and a lc-2 wideband sensor from forum members here. The mspnp is for a na8, but seems fine on my na6.

Im running it without a tps I have a vtps from a capri that ive tested on the car (with multimeter) but i think the na8 ecu has different pins to run this. I was keen on running a vtps but the car is running so well without one I won't be in a rush to install

I've done a rough tune with the lc-2 wideband and a keen ear for pinging. Its been many years since ive done tuning with a ecu but the tunerstudio software is really nice - i remember tuning a microtech back in the 90's being very tedious with a handset.
So with the tune ive gotten the WOT 1-7k rpms @ 13:1 AF and light load at 15-16:1 with moderate load inbetween. Still needs a little work to get AFs consistent but it is a safe tune now.

What ive found:
The standard na6 flatspot at 3800-4200 is now gone - I find this weird as I believed this was caused by the AFM restriction. The AFM is still in place - so was the standard na6 tune causing the flatspot?

WOT at low revs ie <2000 pulls smoother now and idle is a little more consistent now.

As mentioned above - runs nice with no tps wired up. It does have a lean spike with sudden accel but I can't feel it. i will add the vtps after I figure the na6-na8 ecu wiring with this. I've checked and there is no 5v at the plug atm.

What to do next(when money and time becomes available):
Obviously the AFM has to go. Was thinking of just adding a extension of pipe at the AFM junction with a pod or replacing all the plastic inlet with 75mm ali pipe and the pod with a heat shield..

The exhaust. This is difficult, I have to decide if Im ever going turbo. I think 2.5" with a big oval and hotdog would be ok if the car stays na but.. If I ever go turbo I think 3" is the go.
I'd hate to do this twice.. Im thinking of going 2.5 and na.

If all goes well I'll have a na8 engine coming in the new year, which ($ and time providing) I'd like to rebuild with reground cams and 10:1 pistons.
I will ask the gurus in the motor part of the forums about options on this engine whn i get it but was hoping to use :
b6 rods -are the std bp ones strong enough for na?
265 degree cams with 9-10mm lift
later model bp high compression pistons (non forged type as non turbo)
4 to 1 extractors
b6 flywheel and clutch.

I'm hoping the engine would be fun - obviously not much power compared to a turbo setup but rev happy and a joy to drive

speed · Postby **speed** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:35 pm

I thought that I had read somewhere that there is only one pin that is different from na6 to Na8. If I'm right you should be able to Google the pin out for both and find the difference.
There is a lot of turbo 5s around making good power with a 2.5 inch exhaust. Food for thought vs drone.
I was also very impressed with TS and my MS2. Similarly to you, the last ecu I tuned was a microtech!
Keep up the good work