Steve-O Posted January 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Hi rich - they are 195/55/15 - i like the aspect ratio. not keen on wheels with no sidewall OK so Had the guys jack her up 20mm all round and tweak the geo. Now she clears the speed humps round my way with ease. Shes back to being a genuinely useable car now lol. Also in a bizzare way i preferred the ride from inside the car at the new height. Felt like putting on an old pair of slippers - comfortable. Might also be nonsense but i swear being a bit higher has helped the handling and grip. I dont understand how or why though - must be weight transition or something? Anyway heres how she looks now - another grotty pic since the weather is constantly crap. One day i will get a pic of her mint with the sun out!! Very pleased - nothing more to do on the handling now. Just going to focus on the exhaust manifold leak and the minor bits when the weather gets better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 That's much better...... You will find the lower wishbones and steering arms are horizontal now so having the correct roll centre the handling would be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Drove her into work today over the notorious speedhumps. The ones round my way - perfect not an issue. The ones in hampstead - fine again. If i take them to the right no problem. If i hit them straight i can get over them but i know the cat just literally a fag paper/knats c**k too low and the smallest of scapes can be heard. I am pretty happy with that - i know i have got it set the lowest practical height now. Seems the rear end grip/feedback has been improved quite a bit from the ride height. There is a junction i come out of usually that when wet tends to be greasy and does help the car leave sideways as i have a lot of toque down low now i don't even have to try. Last time when it was in slug mode it snapped quite quickly and the progression/transition was not there. Today i pulled out and it was a graceful slow motion glide into a minor slide whilst moving forwards which is exactly as it should be. I cant say i understand how thats come to be since the meisters springs are set seperately to the height, and i dont really understand the roll centre thing. Would that play a part in power oversteer ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 It's still looking good despite being higher I personally would prefer lower profile tyres and wouldn't they also improve the handling? Each to their own though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Another point to remember is the damper settings. The front/ rear bias will change the corner in, squat and alike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted April 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 OK next round of fun ! Cars been trailored this morning to Skuzzle. The car was stranded inside my garage for 2 months as the door had half fallen off and daren't open it in case it fell on the car. Now got a new door and able to get it out. The down side to all this is the MOT expired, and since i have an exhaust manifold leak that needs sorting before its even got a chance of passing emissions. I have not had it tested since supercharging and although its had some mapping specifically to reach a lambda within tolerances i am just not confident until i have seen it go though without any messing on the megasquirt. So off shes gone to winchester where the exhaust systems getting a full work over, and whilst its there an AEM inline wideband probe is being fitted and patched into the megasquirt. This will then ensure the car will definitely pass an MOT as the MS will be configured to read the wideband data and self adjust so its always idling at stoich and has a sensible lambda when fast idling etc. Should just mean the end of any further messing with the ecu for now anyway. Might get a few other things done whilst its down there like new belts and a once over before it hits the track in a month or so. After this i am going to start looking at a half bar whilst shes in back at the mx5 restorers getting some tlc on the front wings, a minor leak on the hood sorted and also a KG works rear spoiler painted and fitted. Might get to drive it soon if i am lucky haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Amazing how one option/ mod knocks on with cause and effect...... Fact is it reads like you take this in your stride and if i'm honest your reading way more educated on the engine side nowadays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted April 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Haha 2 things i have come to accept as part of this journey : 1) Modifying to this extent is not a fit and forget solution. You best like your cars. 2) It pays dividends to understand whats going on if you are reliant on others to help you out. You are kind of drawn down this route anyway buy following point 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Logical lateral thinking i call that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 How did you get the garage door off without it falling on the car? Sounds like you have a good plan, hopefully she will sail through the MOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 After all that bodywork/ painting i would hope so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted May 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2014 How did you get the garage door off without it falling on the car? Sounds like you have a good plan, hopefully she will sail through the MOT When the guys came to put a new door on we all grabbed it as we opened it and then i got underneath and supported the back of it. Lucky i did as it came off the railings about halfway up! Good thing is now i have a decent one thats got some additional security measures. No way anyone is getting through that without an angle grinder and a penchant for sliced limbs (and also a severe kicking from me). So... cars been at skuzzle since monday. An Innovate LC1wideband has fitted and plumbed into the megasquirt. I have opted not to have the 'worry gauge' as i am trying to keep the interior looking stock, and also just dont like the gauges that are on offer. The wideband basically has a sensor in the downpipe before the cat that analyses the fuel mix coming out the engine and determines if its lean/stoich (perfect mix)/rich and then adjusts fuelling to compensate. Its been configured so that it will adjust during idle/fast idle and under cruising conditions where it will trim the mix out and an theory allow better mpg to be had. Skuzzle run the car through the MOT yesterday and it passed without a single advisory. I am of course chuffed at this becuase i was worried primarily about emissions. But at the same time i kind of expected nothing other than that due to the amount of care the cars recieving! Upon investigating the blow coming from the manifold/downpipe area - he reckons its cracked where the collector pipes converge and will be impossible to weld. Since its the second manifold shes had in the last year i've decided to get one of these - a jackson racing 4-2-1 manifold : So this will replace the cracked manifold and old downpipe, and once installed once again its going on the dyno to again to give it a check over to ensure the change of manifold hasn't skewed the fuelling too much, and also optimise it further to make use of the manifold. We're expecting a couple of horse power realistically, and also more importantly Skuzzle reckons the boost will drop slightly as there is one less restriction so it will make more power with less effort which is always a good thing. Based upon my research i would expect the low/midrange torque to be improved with this since its a 4-2-1 manifold. If it were a 4-1 then better top end power would be expected. Being an mx5 obviously having the available performance lower down suits the character better and will be more usable generally. So might have a another dyno printout next weekend and we can see what the effect of this new part brings to the party 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 4, 2014 Report Share Posted May 4, 2014 The MOT is a result but it also displays the TLC you've put in over the years........ The exhaust looks awesome, Jackson racing is that an American make? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted May 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2014 The MOT is a result but it also displays the TLC you've put in over the years........ The exhaust looks awesome, Jackson racing is that an American make? Yeah it's American. Same people that made the supercharger so should fit like a glove Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 5, 2014 Report Share Posted May 5, 2014 Aha.... Thought so because i recognize the name from the TV program American hot rod and they made/ tuned a stupidly high bhp engine for a Corvette build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 That manifold looks awesome Pretty lucky with the garage door then, that would've hurt if it had come down on the car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 That manifold looks awesome Pretty lucky with the garage door then, that would've hurt if it had come down on the car! Yeah looks like a nice piece of kit. I am expecting it to last a long time as it looks quite high spec construction and materials. Hopefully picking it up on saturday so will see what it sounds like ! I dont know what happened with the old door it was all very weird. It was just after the high winds we had so put it down to that but i have a niggling doubt it was someone/kids who had a go at it. I think they either wimped out or they wasn't aiming at getting in. When i went to go in there i could see on top corner was not flush so i opened it up gingerly and got maybe 25% open and i could feel it coming off the runners. Thats when i abandoned it and closed it up and did my best to pull it all flush closed. It did come off the rollers once previously when i was a tad ethusiastic opening it but i put that down to lack of maintenance from previous owners and a load of debria in the tracks that derailed it. Anyway - new door is lovely and a pleasure to use, and no-ones getting through this one trust me. One of those things you don't really think about but makes a big difference to the whole experience and enjoyment of getting your pride and joy out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 So i picked the car up last saturday and the manifold issue has been resolved. Turns out there was a minor crack as suspected that was blowing against the firewall causing the tractor like sounds. In terms of the difference the 4-2-1 manifold makes - on idle and regular driving its not even noticable. Its only as you work the car harder that you can detect a slightly more angry note to proceedings. Which is good for me as i didn't want to make it any more louder than it is. At the moment its the perfect blend of sounding sporty but not rude. I can start it up at 3am and not wake the entire neighborhood. Higher up the rev range its definitely loosened things up - everything just happens that bit quicker so there is definitely an improvement in the driving experience at least. I asked to get it dyno'd again to see what the difference was but didnt have time after a cockup from the company who sold me the manifold leaving us mega short on time to get it fitted. The wideband has improved the MPG by quite a decent amount. Usually on the run back from Skuzzles i would expect to see at least a quarter of a tank gone through sensible driving and the occasional play, but this time the needle was visibly still in the upper 1st quarter. Only time would tell but at the moment that might be the surprise modification thats really impressed me. So now the cars back to me once again. Still some outstanding bodywork issues that need addressing but to be fair i just want to enjoy it for a while before sending it away again to get it sorted. So now i will be enjoying it whilst the suns out, head to the WIM meet later this month and in between fit this : With the track in mind this is going to be the next weak link : Cooling. So far nothing has reared its head but i would rather play it safe than be marginal. Should also say the minor water leak into the boot was an interior nut that was not sealing properly. Skuzzle fitted a washer and its sealed it up which had the added benefit of getting rid of the awful sagging that has crept in post respray Also he removed the chrome deck plates and sealed them up and refitted as apparently these never seal properly when they are disturbed during a respray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 God i love this blog I'm desperate to see and hear the car again but i'm going to miss the meet ...... My cruise sails out on the 31st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Thats a shame Tone - was hoping to catch up! Will be other opportunities no doubt. I've got a Action camera and some car mounts that i have set aside and been tweaking to grab some interesting angle onboard footage. I will see if i can get some rolling footage of my trip over to the meet and put it up. I want to capture the exhaust sound minus any wind noise so looking into a trick way of capturing the footage from the exterior and sound from the exhaust and overlaying it on the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Nice progress Steve Is that a new rad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Yeah Aluminium thick core Rad. IN theory its a direct swap and will hold a couple of litres extra coolant. I suspect it might foul my intercooler pipework so i might need a slimline fan and mount it centrally on the rad as opposed to the right which is where the OEM fan resides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Your engine bay is going to look awesome Have you added all the bills up yet!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Your engine bay is going to look awesome Have you added all the bills up yet!! The engine bay will look good - once i have steam cleaned it and given it a bit of a detail to be fair the car is a working example and i am not intending it to be an immaculate show queen. Its going to be clean and tidy where possible but functional. I wont be hand polishing things for hours on end! I haven't looked at the bills and don't intend on adding anything up either - thats not the point of the journey for me. Its something i love doing and is my only real hobby. I work hard and it motivates me to keep on going (obviously my partner and daughter are the priority though!!). If i ever did sell i would sell it for a price that was in keeping with the specification and condition its in - i think to be honest its got to be one of the best all round 'tastefully sorted' MK1's out there - Skuzzle has made noises to that effect and he sees a LOT of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I like your attitude....... It's not the money that matters ( within reason ) it's the reward. As said you work hard, you provide for your family so why not follow your ambitions...... Yours is the type of 5 i would buy personally?... Reason i say that is i don't have the knowledge in the engine department to evolve this type of sleeper so a ready made one is the way to go for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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