The journey to Apu

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:30 pm

I took Apu to Spinning Wheels for a long overdue alignment. As always, Stu did a great job. Car tracks straight, and despite having the power steering removed, it's "light" again. It feels a bit heavier than with p/s but you don't need a whole lot of shoulder effort to turn the car from standstill like I did previously.

Anyone that's considering removing power steering...it's worth it! I suspect Stu reduced castor, which he had previously maxed out. The steering feel is a bit spongey on centre but he also pumped up the tyre pressure a bit I think. I'll check them tomorrow morning when it's cold and adjust from there.

I've refitted the washer bottle (along with the Mazda Tribute spray nozzles) which had to be removed due to the turbo install.

Will post pics when I get back into the office next week.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:57 am

Interestingly, a "downgrade" - black console trim vs the silver trim that came with NB8Cs...the old trim was scratched / faded, then wrapped in CF vinyl which would peel in the corners. Sick of it, so when cobair stripped his car, I bought his trim along with glovebox and centre console, replaced the locks and fixed the ugly scratches...plus the headunit doesn't pop out any more unless I'm on bumpy roads. Might swap the position of the HU and storage cubby around...hopefully that will permanently stop the thing from popping out!

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Refitted the washer bottle - had to move it backward about an inch, stuck some heat reflective tape on it to protect it from the heat off the turbo / manifold. As long as I keep it reasonably topped up, it should handle the heat OK. We'll find out when I get stuck in a traffic jam...hopefully I'll have the bonnet vent fitted before then!

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Might one day remove the manifold and perhaps rocker cover to ceramic coat it. Can't stand the wrinkle coat paint bubbling off - high temp paint on the manifold and wrinkle coat on the rocker cover didn't handle turbo heat too well!

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:19 pm

Apu wrote:Interestingly, a "downgrade" - black console trim vs the silver trim that came with NB8Cs...the old trim was scratched / faded, then wrapped in CF vinyl which would peel in the corners. Sick of it, so when cobair stripped his car, I bought his trim along with glovebox and centre console, replaced the locks and fixed the ugly scratches...plus the headunit doesn't pop out any more unless I'm on bumpy roads. Might swap the position of the HU and storage cubby around...hopefully that will permanently stop the thing from popping out!

Agree with your hate on the silver console trim, black looks better, especially with aftermarket head units - this despite the fact that I reckon there's "too much black" in the NB interiors. The faux chrome they used on the SE around the vents and gauge rings looks cheap and nasty compared to real crome.
Just beware if you swap the radio and cubby around, you'll end up with a face starring back at you (happy or sad, your choice):

Apu wrote:Refitted the washer bottle - had to move it backward about an inch, stuck some heat reflective tape on it to protect it from the heat off the turbo / manifold. As long as I keep it reasonably topped up, it should handle the heat OK. We'll find out when I get stuck in a traffic jam...hopefully I'll have the bonnet vent fitted before then!

When I replaced my washer bottle with a NoPro unit, it surprised me that the plastic tank was in such good condition, no melting whatsoever. The SE's turbo is tiny by comparison but I did expect some signs of the heat. Whatever they make it out of can certainly handle a hot environment. With your turbo and manifold, I'd recommend switching to a NoPro or similar bottle, you'll never worry about it again since it's right out of the way.

Apu wrote:Might one day remove the manifold and perhaps rocker cover to ceramic coat it. Can't stand the wrinkle coat paint bubbling off - high temp paint on the manifold and wrinkle coat on the rocker cover didn't handle turbo heat too well!

The rocker cover is another classic case of "Just do it and never worry about it again" - if only we had deep pockets

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:26 pm

I can't use the NoPro as my oil cooler is in that exact spot. It's a very safe and effective location when the car is moving...not so when caught in traffic. That said, I reckon most locations won't be effective when caught in traffic!

Which is why I'm going to place a vent over the turbo / manifold to let heat escape. It will be in the low pressure zone so that should be OK when the car is moving too.

As for the happy / sad face...I'm going to fit visors over the gauges - that's going to accentuate the look a whole lot more!

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:03 am

Got sick of temps getting really high (I'm attributing 110degC+ oil temps to really hot engine due to under bonnet temps) so I had a vent fitted.

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Unfortunately I forgot to use high temp paint....

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I haven't been caught in traffic as yet but I can see the heat vapour rising, and when I move, the oil temp drops faster, so that's a good sign. I reckon in traffic it will still get hot, but not as quickly and I would expect it to cool faster.

speed · Postby **speed** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:19 am

There is a lot of debate regarding bonnet vents and their location.

Good on you for giving it a go, I'm interested to hear more feedback once you've had a chance to play a bit, just so I can get an understanding of what works

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:43 am

Thanks speed. I went on the basis of that area of the bonnet being low-ish air pressure plus needing a vent over the turbo/manifold, so it's a slightly compromised position.

That said, the front of the vent is raised, so I would expect it to create it's own little low pressure zone behind it to draw air out.

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:51 pm

As long as the vent works and gets the still air out of the engine bay whilst you are not moving it is a positive. Not having forced induction or a car used as a daily I only have to manage track temps and yet to see any more than 101°c for oil or water, air intake temps are what needs to be managed better for me when stationary.

One day I'm planning on doing some pressure differential tests on mine and if somebody in Brisbane has a NB that they want tested happy to do that as well. All it takes is a bit of time to move the point being tested get up to test speed again, then rinse and repeat about 30 times.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:09 pm

Wow! Long break between updates!

Not a lot has happened - I swapped the vented bonnet back to a stock one...and then got these!

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They'll be coming on the market soon!

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:21 pm

Why did you swap the bonnet back to stock?
With the vent installed, did you notice any extra bonnet flexing?

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:28 pm

Two reasons - couldn't park the car out in the rain, and it was pretty obvious the car had been turbocharged...there was no mistaking the whine and fssshhht.

The bonnet didn't flex much with the cut at all. I will miss how effective it was at dropping temps though.

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:44 pm

Water ingress would be a problem, as the bonnet funnels water along there.
The noises are part of the fun! Whoosh, boom , bang...

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 4:41 pm

I haven't kept up with the tread so excuse me if i get this wrong but..

My understanding is this car no longer sees track work and you have the DC2 for that? If so have you thought about just converting back to stock oil cooler? It'll heat exchange back to the radiator which then has some nice big fans to keep it cool in traffic. While probably less efficent at keeping the oil temps down at the track, it might actually be a superior solution for daily driver duties.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 5:07 pm

Yes and no sailaholic! I have the DC2R but I'd still like to take the MX5 to the track. It's just that I've focused on the DC2 in the past year and it's at the point of diminishing returns now, so that might swing back into the MX5's favour again. I've got the Sparco Chrono Sport seat which has low hip bolsters and will using that on track days with a 4 point harness.

Oil temp isn't really a problem unless I get stuck in traffic, so...I just don't drive it to work much anymore!

What I'd like to do is fit a water spray on both the oil and intercooler - that will prevent a number of issues all at once. I have the unit from when I stripped the DC2 - it has two pumps built in, so all I need to do is wire up switches for either cooler and we're set.