What have you done to your car today?

Oh, good explanation dude, cheers :) Makes sense

OK, well I just got a call from the shop, the wastegate flap isn't hitting the downpipe, the problem is that the wastegate outlets need porting because the turbo is now flowing better due to the exhaust, and the wastegate can not let enough air through. So, they are now pulling apart the turbo to port the housing :)
 
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New radiator, water pump, timing belt, camshaft, valve springs and retainers.
...and a few gashes on me fingers.
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Eric.
[Honda + VTEC + torque]

:lol: Bought the wrong car?
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Well, yeah. I'm not talking about my own car, obviously, or therefore dragstrip-build amounts of torque (not only am I in the wrong car, but the wrong drivetrain altogether)... not that I've ever cared for straight-line racing to begin with. But for the typical build of around 500hp, I just prefer the constant, gradual delivery of a supercharger vs how a turbo does its business. I know turbos are much more efficient as you go higher in boost pressure, but you can't argue that these two types of forced induction are different in their approach. That was the whole point of my statement that I don't like turbos. Everyone's got different tastes, that's what makes cars so interesting.

Anyhow, I ordered some oil seals for the engine and tranny outputs. The site I've been using, Majestic, isn't the most obvious in their diagrams or part descriptions, so it looks like I'm going to have to hit up Advance (or the Honda dealer) for a few I wasn't sure on. Any recommended brands if I go non-OEM? Is Timken generally of good quality?
 
Punknoodle
What was up with the radiator that made that happen? You upgrade to a better one?
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There was just a crack between the core and the end (top) tank, so it still held enough coolant under normal driving, but turning right pushed it up enough to leak.

Yeah, have an alloy one in now, but gotta sort stuff out with that as well. Decided to change the hoses as a precaution (11 year old rubber probably isn't the best), and the bottom hose is a tad too long, and sorta folded up a bit when made to fit. I thought it would still flow coolant (and it does), but that (and/or the old clamp being past its use-by date) means I'm still losing coolant when the engines on. Gotta get some new clamps and trim the bottom hose a bit, and I should be sweet. Should.
 
Dang, too bad its the bottom one and not the top... I'm surprised with a crack it didn't just steam and spray fluid all the time seen as its under pressure. Just a thought - how old is your thermostat? Perhaps worth changing it seen as you have to take off the hose again anyway...
 
Moving to Houston next week, so i've been getting the miata ready for the trip. Changed the oil to Mobil 1 10w-30 synthetic, no leaks! Also reinstalled "most" of the interior and put in the original seats. Sucks, my cd player worked fine when I removed it, but now the only thing that works on it is the eject button on the faceplate.

I can't wait to get to Houston, i'm gonna track my car as much as possible! :)

Today my little sister gave me a one of those flip cameras, so I mounted it in my car and went for a quick test drive. I think due to the low mounting position it doesn't really give a good sense of speed.
 
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casey_2005
Today my little sister gave me a one of those flip cameras, so I mounted it in my car and went for a quick test drive. I think due to the low mounting position it doesn't really give a good sense of speed.
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It's a Miata..... OOOOOH! BAZINGA! hahaha :P
 
OK so I got my car back today, its running MUCH better. Boost has been set to 11psi for now, and on the dyno it pulled 130kW at the wheels, which isn't a large number at all obviously, but drivability has been improved 10 fold. For the first time I've actually revved it right through to the red line, and it felt brilliant (because it was running rough, and I didn't trust the tune, I never revved it that high previously). Coming off throttle when boosting, get back on the accelerator straight away and it has a nice back fire from having a BOV, and burbles away. The engine note sounds raspier now.

Anyway, I'm pretty stoked, but the low figure makes me want more. So the savings continue. This weekends project though:

P1010187.jpg
 
YESSS! My car still makes more horsepower for the time being.:lol: BARELY!:lol: I'm at about 180rwhp. My car weighs around 1400kg though. We should both go to Willowbank together some time.;)
 
Paulie
YESSS! My car still makes more horsepower for the time being.:lol: BARELY!:lol: I'm at about 180rwhp. My car weighs around 1400kg though. We should both go to Willowbank together some time.;)
Click to expand...

Wow, yeah that is close. Convert mine to hp and its 174. Curse my 4WD, if it was a RWD it would have more :)

The Celica is pretty heavy man. I'm pretty keen to go down the strip to lay a base time down before I start modding. Syncros in the gearbox make a "pleasant" noise when engaging second and third in a hurry, so hopefully I don't lunch my box :)
 
Got the head out last night and being rebuilt as I type. Next is timing belt and water pump. :(

imagebzf.jpg
 
Got it back from the shop! New exhaust, baby!

I started with a pair of rusty stock manifolds going into a rusty Y-pipe going into a rusty muffler.

Now I've got some headers, an X pipe, flowmasters, and chrome tips shooting out the back. Makes a noise like an angry lion gurgling mouthwash. Comparison video coming soon.
 
This weekend, Nina got polished and waxed. Believe it or not, there's actually paint under there...

100_0237.jpg

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I couldn't do this before...
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Granted, the hood is still pretty chipped, and there's orange peel on the passenger side, rear quarter...but it's much better than it was.
 
Cleaned up pretty nice. And it's an older car, it's going to be chipped and orange peeled, you just make the most of it. The fact you got a mirror-ish finish on it is good enough. Too bad the winter's going to mess it all up now...or do you guys not get the snow like we do?
 
Looks like we're putting the stock exhaust back on my car tomorrow evening so I can get the Vibrant catback to a shop to cut and weld a 2 bolt flange on. Then, next week the header and catback should be on. :D
 

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