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

[ManiacLachy]

Yeah, it's a Kraken system, I'm not sure why the issue, maybe it's not completely oriented correctly? That's a problem with v-band, it each piece can rotate 360*, a 2 bolt flange can only be in one of 2 positions.

Brisbane is pretty special, it's true, but I suspect if a guy in Poland in a shed can weld stainless, then so can a muffler shop in Australia. Maybe 10 years or more there weren't so many shops that would do it, but these days stainless is the go-to material for exhausts, I'd be shocked if they couldn't do it.

[NitroDann]

Ill tune it if you bring it down. Just on the side to relive old times.

Pm me on facebook or sms.

[ManiacLachy]

Ill tune it if you bring it down. Just on the side to relive old times.

Pm me on facebook or sms.

Dann! Good to hear you're still around mate. I hope you're doing well, you've been missed. The current tune could use your touch to get the best from it.

I'll send you a PM, I need to sort a few things first, the exhaust hanging and a heat shield around the turbo, but then I would love to get it to you for a run on the dyno.

[ManiacLachy]

I finally completed a long overdue mod, the 95MSM Boost Gauge mod! On the old mazdaspeed MSM specific forum, a user 95MSM installed a Speed Hut boost gauge into his stock gauge cluster where the useless Oil Pressure gauge normally lives. This is a great OEM+ style mod, it integrates beautifully, looks near stock and you don't have a gauge sticking out of the dash or A-pillar. This mod only possible with the Speed Hut gauge due to it's a construction and low-profile guts, and its ability to easily disassemble.

They are expensive, but Speed Hut offer a great deal of customisation options, from fonts, to colours, back lighting, needles, units of measure, warning lights, even custom text - you can have a lot of fun with their configurator! Ultimately you can build the gauge that will match your cluster very closely. They make gauges for all sorts of functions in various sizes; people have done full cluster replacements with their setups.
https://speedhut.com/gauge-type/boost-vacuum-gauges/boost-vacuum-gauge/2-1-16-classic-boost-vac-gauge-30inhg-0-20psi/?dd-link=0knhw2a8ftx&_ga=2.114997767.1213705342.1668389259-158878394.1666307483

Many people have done this mod over the years, and our very own Lokiel built a 3D printed cup which makes it even easier! I bought my gauge close to 4 years ago, and Lokiel gave me his 3D printed cup probably 3 years ago. And I finally began the install 3 weeks ago

See Lokiel's post in his build thread for all the glorious nerdy details
https://www.mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=76716&p=937004&hilit=speedhut#p937004


The before photo


The boost gauge as it comes from SH, and Lokiel's 3D cup

The Speed Hut is so low profile because the sensor is not part of the gauge, it's a remote unit with a lead going to the gauge, so I mounted the sensor in the cabin with a P-clip in a threaded hole neat the fuse box, then passed the lead through the firewall under the steering wheel.


Nicely and securely tucked away

As luck would have it, Lokiel had just printed new versions of his 3D cup and his OLED display housing in a new carbon material, so I picked those up on the weekend and finished off the install.

Another part I've had on the shelf for a long time is the Jass Performance billet needle caps that go on top of the OEM needle caps for a little extra bling, and look great with the KG Works surround. But the Speed Hut's needle cap is much smaller than the Mazda's so I had to attack it with the Dremel, and widen the slot for the needle.


A little marked up, but I have a spare

I put a little double-sided tape inside the cup to stick it to SH needle cap.


The after photo

I had a little fun with the wiring, you need to connect an inverter into the dimmer switch wires so the gauge responds to the dial. I tried to use vampire taps first which didn't work and had to crimp them properly. I'm pretty happy with the results, the needle cap is a little marred up, and I might revisit it down the road, but for now I'm happy.

Now I just need to go for a test drive, make sure everything is working as expected, and there's no boost leaks from tapping it in. Best wash the car while I'm at it too!

[Lokiel]

^
This is what Mazda SHOULD have done in the first place with the MSM/Aussie-SE.
A turbo-charged car without a boost gauge is insane and possibly cost a few sales yet the marketing boffins saw fit to install heavy 17" rims on the car that were detrimental to performance, handling and comfort.

I suspect you'll kick yourself for not doing this earlier, the small middle gauge is the perfect place to mount the boost gauge, you can actually read it without taking your eyes off the road.

[KevGoat]

Awesome looking cluster! Yes this boost gauge is a great mod and agree with Lokiel it is what Mazda should have done. I'm constantly disappointed at the dummy oil pressure and water temp gauges in a sports car. Unfortunately when I did this mod, the gauge lighting regulator and shortly after the gauge itself produced bad faults. To their credit the support from Speed Hut was great with prompt replies and requests for tests for me to do and finally a full replacement sent. By then though I'd fitted a VDO boost gauge in the center 3 gauge cluster and decided despite it being less conveniently positioned to leave this one in and sold the Speed Hut gauge. The Speed Hut gauge is expensive, but the customisability makes a very nice gauge.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[Nevyn72]

The Speed Hut gauge is expensive, but the customisability makes a very nice gauge.

Very true, it's hard to believe this one isn't factory....

[bruce]

I like the white faced gauges.

[greenMachine]

Jeeze, those gauges have gone up!

I have a set of three in the shed, bought for the last of the GMs before I sold it. That is probably $2k worth, with freight and duty, at today's exchange rate , probably double what they cost me at the time!

I had better move them out of the shed to under the bed, where I can keep an eye on them ...

[Roadrunner]

That looks fantastic and matches well to the existing gauges. Great job.

I like the white faced gauges.

Sadly Speedhut don't offer the grey/white face with red numbers anymore. Shame and I'm not sure why. I wanted to update my 20psi gauge to the 30psi one but it won't match any more
I did the speedhut water temp gauge as well.

[ManiacLachy]

I drove my car!



A friend who moved to Norway some years ago is home for a few weeks, and what better excuse is there to go drive? We went and did a skid pan day out at Mount Cotton. 2 of us brought turbo MX-5s, the other's hired the organiser's car - which turned out to be a new Toyota(BMW) Supra!







It was a great morning driving with furious intent, spinning out, laughing and going again! We all swapped about in the cars, and I even got a run in the Supra, which was cool - and very different to the Mazda



By the end of the session, I think we were all a little bit less bad at sliding around Everyone agreed the Mazdas were more fun than the Supra for the task as well.

[ManiacLachy]

For the past, oh I don't know, 5 years or more my AC has been anaemic.

When Darren was installing the turbo I had him attempt to get it working, they gassed it and fixed a leak, but it failed, turning the AC on triggered the compressor and fan, but did nothing to the air coming out. Since then the turbo cooked everything in the vicinity, and it stopped even turning on.


Over-view of the cooked AC

You can see how close the hoses and AC drier are to the turbine and dump. It's a bit of an ask to expect anything to live in those conditions!


The AC heat-shielding couldn't shield any longer!


The drier was getting boiled, and the wires melted

I thought about getting a heat shield around the turbine and dump pipe to protect things. I'd been planning this for about 2 years, but it wasn't getting done. I did try to do some cardboard design one day, but it's super tight in there and I quickly realised I was not skilled for it.

So I reached out to the team at AutoWorks in Sailsbury, where I've been for a few times of late. They're a great team and work on plenty of modified cars, including SlugDub's pride and joy. I went down one morning to chat with Darren (different Darren from the turbo Darren, aka Daz) in person. He had a look in the engine bay and suggested instead of cramming a shield in, we should move the drier and re-route the hoses. It would cost a little more, but it will better protect things. And then if a shield is still needed, there'll be more room for it to fit.

With that in mind I booked a day to drop it off and have it done. Along with the AC I wanted to get the car's ride heights set with corner weighting (with ballast) and a full alignment to my (949 Dual Duty) specs. And last but not least I wanted the exhaust adjusted as the exhaust was pulling tight on the rubber hangers and putting a strain on the system.

So not a small amount of work, but it would all make the car better and easier to drive.


Dropping the baby off at day-care

[bruce]

Is your aircon drier in the stock location? It's usually down near the condenser next to the radiator.

[ManiacLachy]

That's the stock location for NBs, or at the very least the SEs. Lokiel did a DIY move of his a while back for similar reasons, but he's a mad scientist

I'd actually recommend that you do something similar to what I did (and show them pics), it moves the A/C cannister to a MUCH safer location.
I'd also recommend you do it with an A/C specialist too.

Something bizarre is going on here, I (Lokiel)responded to ManiacLachy's post and it ended up with his name on it???

[ManiacLachy]

After a week I called to check on progress. I wasn't worried about a rush, I had given them a decent list of work, and the AC stuff would be custom and it's difficult to predict timeframes.

Darren reported that the exhaust was done, they adjusted the rotation of the pipes, and some of the hangers so the exhaust would sit without stress on the system and to improve clearance from the diff.

The car had been corner weighted and ride heights set, alignment still to come. The car is heavy in the front right (driver side) for some reason. They got the car well balanced, but it still heaviest in the front right for some reason. No obvious bending, or out of shape components under the car. I took 95kg of weight plates and dumbbells to be used to stimulate my weight as driver, but even without the ballast it's still off. I wonder if there's something in one of the control arms or the subframe?

AC drier had been relocated and hoses routed as needed. Unfortunately, there was a leak from one of the alu pipes, an attempted braise repair was unsuccessful. Darren suggested we either fabricate a flexi hose to replace, or find a 2nd hand line. In the end he acquired a kit to fabricate new hoses, as this looks like a re-curing job for his shop with other cars, and it was my preferred solution.

On Thursday afternoon I got a call that the car was ready. Alignment was set, but still some difficulties with the drivers right, it couldn't get less than -3* camber. I have extended lower ball joints for additional camber, but it should allow for a range of ~-1.5-3.5* or so. The left is as expected, but the right can't go lower. So something isn't right. In the end though the numbers left to right matched and on target.

Front:
Caster: +6
Camber: -3
Toe: 0.2mm

Rear:
Camber: -2.0
Toe: 2.8mm

The car weighed in at 1224kg with 95kg of ballast and about half a tank of petrol.

Final weight % on each corner came out at:
FL: 23.4%
FR: 26.1%
RL: 24.8%
RR: 25.7%

So, I now had an hour to find a ride to take me the 30-minute drive to get to the shop to pick up the car before close of business on the eve of a long weekend!