Lachstock and Four Turbo Charged Cylinders ['04 NB SE]

[ManiacLachy]

Thanks, Kev. You should definitely snap up a KG Works while you can. Try I.L Motorsports or RSpeed.net, it would look fantastic in your interior!

I may have more power, but I suspect your tune is a little nicer than mine right now - it's OK, and I'm improving it more and more but there's still a couple of rough areas. At least I'm learning, right?

[KevGoat]

Had noticed a couple of niggly items in your "to do" list.

Although I'm really happy with mine, probably enough that I don't know now if I will go any further with it, I still tend to second guess myself when I look at the smooth power curves and think it would suit my driving style more. After nearly 3 years ownership, I'm still getting use to how quickly everything happens when the boost comes in ... bloody good fun though!

But *ahem* as someone mentioned elsewhere I just need to drive it more!:roll:

[ManiacLachy]

[bruce]

Neat install of the pie sign!

[ManiacLachy]

I knew someone would see the subtle hint

[Daffy]

Mmmmmmmm......... pies

[rascal]

Only juust missed that pavement....

[ManiacLachy]

98 vs E85 WHP and TQ - Gotta start this update with a bang!

As I've mentioned in the last few months of updates, I haven't been 100% happy with the tune. I've tweaked it a lot and had gotten it really close to where I wanted it. I drive it every day and it's never left me stranded, so it's not like the tune was unusable or anything. I just didn't have complete confidence in it, and there were a few areas I just could not get right.

About 6 weeks ago my Mum got a chance to visit my sister in the US for a month, this gave me the perfect opening to drop my car back down to Nitro Dann and because I could use my Mum's car while she was away, I wouldn't be without transport!

So I talked to Dann and because I can't leave well enough alone, I asked him to hook me up with a Flex sensor and an E85 tune as well as a sorted 98. Above are the results. 250whp/228tq on E85 and 220whp/210tq on 98.

I picked the car up this weekend, and to cut to the point, I'm very happy and the car is fast! The tune feels great, no stumbles, no unexpected behaviour I need to drive around, the idle is rock solid, and the boost is epic

This is about all you'll be able to get out of a stock motor/turbo SE. That little pin-wheel Mazda stuck on it just doesn't have enough puff to do more. A flattop or a BNR turbo upgrade could get a little more, but I won't be chasing those. This is it for me for a while as far as power goes - I hope. I'd love to run this for the next 100k kms.


Going nowhere fast!

Ok, if all you were interested in is results you can skip the rest. Now for the wordy bit.

A few notes.

Firstly if you've been paying attention you'll see that my 98 tune got about 220whp up there, and in my last visit we got 227whp, what gives? Well, it's a different dyno and a different day, and 7whp is within any margin of error and likely isn't noticeable. Also, the whole tune everywhere feels better and faster, so even if it were down on peak hp, the overall performance is undoubtedly better.

The feel between E85 and 98 in daily driving isn't night and day, E85 doesn't suddenly turn the car into a monster. The drive feels more urgent, a little more torquey. It's noticeable for sure, but the real benefits come when you're on it which you can see in the dyno, and I just can't do that sensibly on the street

I don't know what kind of mileage I'll get on E85 yet, I'm on my first tank of it now. I'll report back. It'll be interesting to see how practical it'll be daily, most of my drive is highway, so if cost vs mileage isn't worth it I'll have to try to balance 98 during the week and E85 on the weekends. I've got two United stations near me so availability isn't an issue.


Sweet, sweet corn! This will become a familiar sight

Dann had to replace my clutch. It seems the one Automotive Plus installed ~2 years ago isn't the unit I thought they put in. There was some issue with Auto+ first install, the pressure plate would cause a horrible juddering and jerking when slipping. They replaced the pressure plate with something else, I was under the impression it was still an HD plate, but it seems it was a stock unit and it wasn't up to the task (also, the rear main seal was leaking and looked to be the original). I'm pretty disappointed in all of that, to be honest.

Dann installed one of his clutches, it takes a little more controlled effort on set off and parking lot speeds, but it's completely street driveable. He had me a little worried at first, but I think he's just concerned with how picky I am and didn't want to disappoint me or give me a false idea of what it would be like. The clutch is great, I have no concerns tackling peak hour on my drive home from work tonight.

So, to recap. This car now has a full suite of Nitro Dann enhancements, 3" turbo back exhaust, throttle body elbow and diverter valve (Turbosmart), intake and box, EBC, MSPNP-Pro, Flex sensor, flex tuned, Flow Force 640cc injectors, Walbro 255 fuel pump, ebay intercooler, and clutch. I don't think there are many SE/MSMs running E85 or a Flex setup, and this is pretty much as good as an SE will get.

I won't say this ishow it should have come from the factory because it's a bit over the top honestly, but it's awesome for me. Powerwise, this is where I've always wanted to get the car. I'm super happy with it right now. I've got confidence in the car now, I can't wait to get it into the mountains and bounce it off the limiter a few times. Might even make my way back on to a track!


After a wash once I got home, looking very pretty

[Lokiel]

This is definitely the "sensible" way to upgrade an SE without resorting to an engine rebuild and turbo/manifold upgrade.

Now you need to address those boat anchors

[ManiacLachy]

Now you need to address those boat anchors

They are on the list! It's been something I've been pondering for a long time. I've been torn between 15x8 and 15x9, and then which manufacturer's offering. And it's something I actually discussed with Dann while we were driving about.

I think I've come to the conclusion that 15x9 running the only available tyre the 225/45/15 RS4 is a little too wide, a little too much grip. I want some slip and some play!

So, 15x8 with a 205, there's a few options in rubber. But which wheel? 6ULs are really nice, but the offset on the 8" is a little high at +36. RPF1s +28 are almost perfect, but a touch boring in design. This is what I'm thinking about now, any other suggestions?

[KevGoat]

Nothing worse than niggly issues that play on the mind and reduce driving enjoyment. Great that it's all sorted now and nice results. Now you can really start to enjoy it all!

[NitroDann]

Regarding the difference between E85 and 98 performance, the boost pressure request table is actually a little lower in the midrange on e85 as compared to 98. The fuel and the ignition timing are doing the work to make the extra power.

At the top the boost is set to 'flat out' on E85 just because torque is already dropping off and there is zero chance of knock/detonation/pinging.

I'll post a screenshot.

Dann

[Lokiel]

For DD I think that 15x8s with 205s are a no-brainer based on tyre-choice, price and availability since tyres are consumables.
15x9s or 15x10s are best saved for the track unless you don't mind spending money constantly on expensive tyres.

Fuel economy will be better too.

[NitroDann]

To help understand the difference in low end power for acceleration around town : (E85 red/98 blue)





And at redline its about 50rwhp.

Dann

[ManiacLachy]

Thanks Dann, that's interesting. It's too easy to just compare peak to peak, 30hp, but that doesn't tell the whole story. I hadn't noticed how big the differences between the two are at those points. A 30hp gain @ 3000rpm is excellent, and 50hp at redline is pretty huge.