NC MX5

[Kinkstaah]

Dose is unaware just how much fun 145-150kw would be in a 2.5L NC MX5. It would be one of the most fun things to drive to ever grace SAU.

[The Bogan]

3 hours ago, Kinkstaah said:

Dose is unaware just how much fun 145-150kw would be in a 2.5L NC MX5. It would be one of the most fun things to drive to ever grace SAU.

This is a controversial subject really, the whole power vs fun thing I mean

And this is the main reason I got back into a MX5

Of the last few notable daily cars I've owned whilst I have frequented SAU

R33 GTS-t: fun, but because I'm a idiot I modified well past a reliable fun car and ended up hating it, although that was my fault because I tried to have a daily cruiser and race car all in one, the family called it the sometimes car, because sometimes it was working, sometimes it was broken, gladly sold it

NB MX5: brilliant car, thrashed the Bejebus out of it, but, again, was stupid and deleted the air con, power steering and stripped the interior out, whilst still fun, and reliable, and super cheap on consumables, it was not a fun place to be going on long cruises, I did love it, but basically every family member hated going anywhere in it, sadly sold it

2015 WRX STI: soulless thing that looked like your average Kia sedan and had that horrible boxer engine with glass ringlands, the family did like it though, that thing was one of my stupidest purchases and I still regret it

2017 Toyota 86: 😪 if I didn't crash it, I would probably still have it, it was a fun little thing, even with that horrible boxer engine, the family did like it, the only reason I didn't get another 86, or, BRZ was the boxer engine, I should have learnt after owning the STI, but I'm a idiot

VX SS: great cruiser, fits the whole family, and was fast as.....in a straight line, but a big fat thing, so no enjoyment throwing it around corners, the family was unimpressed with the whole boganness of if, but they did admit it was a comfy place to sit on long cruises

As for the NC, I feel it is perfect for what I want, or need out of of a car, whether I'm cruising the Hwy, back roads, twisties or peak hour traffic, the Mrs doesn't mind driving it either, or cruising in it as well, although she does bump her head of the roof nearly every time she gets in, which is farking hilarious, and the kids love taking it for a thrash as well

So basically, I've had constantly more fun, and way less headache and heartache, both on the track and on the street, in low powered cars,  go figure.....LOL

One thing though, the Mrs has stated that the cams have made the exhaust sound much louder, which they have, but it doesn't bother me, in fact, I actually like it, but, to negate any future comments from the Minister for War and Finances I may look at some changes to the rear muffler set-up to drop the volume down a tad to appease her when we are out and about in it

[The Bogan]

The car revs up through the gears much better/faster now, and fuel consumption doesn't really seem to have be affected either on a Hwy cruise, which wasn't expected 

The FAB9 intake manifold has been problematic sourcing though, I've contacted Plasmaman to ask about their intake, which you can get different runner lengths spec'd, and, their different options for throttle bodies 

The only real physical drawback with the Plasmaman intake is how to connect it to my current OEM style airbox, as FAB9 make a OEM style back half of the airbox to suit the larger diameter throttle body, and all that is required is a 30°bend silicone pipe to mate the throttle body to the airbox

Car also goes in for some exhaust work in a week or so to fit the biggest resonator they can fit clearance wise in the front pipe to help remove some of the drone, there isn't alot of realestate under there, a rough guesstimation is it will only be about 3-400mm long and maybe 90-100mm diameter, and with a 60mm exhaust that doesn't leave alot of space for the internal volume of the resonator to do its thing

I'm thinking I may need to bin the "high flow" 100 cell cat for something a bit more substantial, yeah, and restrictive, like a 200-400 cell, to help, but, I have ample room for a really large bodied cat to replace the current one which has around a 4" diameter body

I may look around in the recycling bins and see if I can find a massive newish cat that was "replaced" with some new full exhaust system that the local exhaust shop in Western Sydney is doing

[GTSBoy]

200 cell cat will probably help.

Do you have room to tee off a Helmholtz resonator anywhere along the exhaust? These can do wonders for drones, with a little experimentation with regards to length.

[Kinkstaah]

I know it's an entirely different engine, but I noticed practically 0 difference removing or adding 2x 3in (5inch body) 400cell cats (one in each bank) with regards to sound.

So changing the cat to change drone I suspect will have very very, very, very, very, very very minimal impact.

[The Bogan]

1 hour ago, GTSBoy said:

200 cell cat will probably help.

Do you have room to tee off a Helmholtz resonator anywhere along the exhaust? These can do wonders for drones, with a little experimentation with regards to length.

Not alot of room in the front or mid pipe to play with Helmholtz chambers, plus they are pretty hit and miss getting the length and volume right, and time is money when it comes to trial and error testing at a exhaust shop, it isn't like test fitting mufflers or resonators

From previous experience with exhausts and trying to tone down the volume and eliminate some drone, a resonator in the mid pipe typically make it much better,  and even possibly stop Jackie complaining about it, me, I really don't notice it that much, but, I am pretty deaf 🤣

[MBS206]

2 hours ago, The Bogan said:

Not alot of room in the front or mid pipe to play with Helmholtz chambers, plus they are pretty hit and miss getting the length and volume right, and time is money when it comes to trial and error testing at a exhaust shop, it isn't like test fitting mufflers or resonators

From previous experience with exhausts and trying to tone down the volume and eliminate some drone, a resonator in the mid pipe typically make it much better,  and even possibly stop Jackie complaining about it, me, I really don't notice it that much, but, I am pretty deaf 🤣

Buy her some ear plugs.

 

Or, wear earplugs so you also can't hear Jackie whining...

[GTSBoy]

2 hours ago, The Bogan said:

trial and error testing at a exhaust shop

Is actually easier than you might think. Assuming you have a spot, youfab up the branch, then just hang a longer than you can fit length of pipe down from there, and chop bits off piece by piece and decde which length was the quietest/nicest, then just put that length up in the place where it will fit. Clever folk can actually make like a trombone slide type arrangement so you can just play it like an instrument to find the best length.

[The Bogan]

Nice cars and coffee at MX5 Mania today, saw a V6 engine swap from a Jag, and a super tidy K swap, heaps of MX5 of all variants, alot alot of other cool things as well

LOL

That truck was farking huge

[The Bogan]

Exhaust front pipe has been modified and the car is now a much nicer place to be cruising around in

Volume hasn't really changed much, although it has toned down by getting a bit of a deeper sound, also there's no raspyness or noticeable drone, well, to my deaf old ears, hopefully it is "Jackie approved" next time we are out and about in the car 🤔

It still has a little "fluffiness" but only on idle from the cam, much less than before, but there's still a little bit there, liveable, but noticeable when I'm sitting with my head near the exhaust outlet critiquing it harshly 

Maybe it could be removed by playing around with the cam timing a bit, but, currently it is at spec from the Kelford cam card, so I'm living with it until I stop procrastinating and decide on what fancy pants intake plenum and throttle body I want to get, and then send the car off again for more modifications that are not really needed 🤣

All in all,  I'm winning 😁

 

[Milkmun]

Would love some videos, and if Jackie is keen maybe even a fly by.

[The Bogan]

So, no videos, but, the FAB9 Elite manifold and 68mm Bosch throttle bodies are in stock, but, not the rear part of the air box

The FAB9 rear airbox thingie is made with a 3" intake pipe, to suit the 3" intake pipe size of a 68mm throttle body 

When they get some more in stock is currently unknown as I'm waiting for FAB9 to reply with a ETA on resupply, my assumption is they outsource their plastic printing stuff to "china", and with the current "tariff war" going on in 'Merica it could be on hold for an undisclosed time

Should I pull the pin on the Intake and throttle body, and wait for the airbox?????, that's what I'm thinking...

1. Would the standard 2.75" OEM intake on the air box really be that much of a restriction compared to the 3" naturally aspirated??????

2. If I don't get the 3" FAB9 airbox fitted at the same time as the intake and throttle body will it need a retune, when/if it eventually turns up??????

As I'm impulsive, to a fault, decisions will be made within....."what's the time now"???....let's say 12 hours......LOL

[MBS206]

So, what did you decide?

If these items were going in and out of stock, you could at least order the two in-stock pieces.

Also, I'd say the stock bit of airbox isn't that restrictive to your NA motor. To test if it is, fit a vacuum gauge between the airbox and throttle body. At WOT do you measure any vacuum?

[The Bogan]

2 hours ago, MBS206 said:

So, what did you decide?

If these items were going in and out of stock, you could at least order the two in-stock pieces.

Also, I'd say the stock bit of airbox isn't that restrictive to your NA motor. To test if it is, fit a vacuum gauge between the airbox and throttle body. At WOT do you measure any vacuum?

I decided to "spend baby spend", and "risk it for the biscuit"

2 Orders were made buying parts that I "don't really need but really really want" totalling $2.5k AUD

1: In stock items (intake plenum and throttle body)

2: The airbox thingie, with no real ETA for them getting more stock, so patience will be required 

[Kinkstaah]

I mean from V8 world there are gains to be made in intakes and such over stock items, but definitely only if you tune them. We're talking about I dunno, 10kw here and there on a 300KW v8, gains made by tuning in the 0.2 AFR that it changes so YES but also no you won't notice it other than the sound.

Duct the air as mentioned 750,000 times and you will notice happier IAT's which definitely make a difference N/A. I mean my unsubstantiated guess is you'd go from 140kw with everything stock (after cams) to 145kw with everything and a tune :p

[The Bogan]

24 minutes ago, Kinkstaah said:

I mean from V8 world there are gains to be made in intakes and such over stock items, but definitely only if you tune them. We're talking about I dunno, 10kw here and there on a 300KW v8, gains made by tuning in the 0.2 AFR that it changes so YES but also no you won't notice it other than the sound.

Duct the air as mentioned 750,000 times and you will notice happier IAT's which definitely make a difference N/A. I mean my unsubstantiated guess is you'd go from 140kw with everything stock (after cams) to 145kw with everything and a tune 😛

Yeah, playing with naturally aspirated is not smart bang for your buck power wise, but then I've never been known for being smart when it comes to cars and modifications 

[MBS206]

2 hours ago, The Bogan said:

Yeah, playing with naturally aspirated is not smart bang for your buck power wise, but then I've never been known for being smart when it comes to cars and modifications 

Really, anyone modifying a car isn't being financially smart. We're doing it for the things we love.

And honestly, a high revving, light, NA car is actually pretty darn fun. I used to have a Swift Sport, and I miss that thing as a daily, and yes, doing something like some intake and exhaust stuff would have made minimal gains, but would have bought an even bigger smile

[GTSBoy]

We have 2x Swifts and my plans for a Swift, unfortunately, do not extend to an intake and an exhaust.

I've been having dirty thoughts about a 2.5L Suzi V6, AWD gearbag out of a suitable donor, rear floorpan graft to take the rear cradle from same, and either trumpets of evil or a small supercharger. If I'm going to make noise in a Swift, I want it to be anti-social, evil handling and rough.

Probably need to be fully stripped inside, matt black paint, plastic windows, 7" wide wheels, big brakes, silly suspension, etc etc etc.

I have no idea if any of the proposed driveline components could take the pain. But it would be a hoot finding out.

[The Bogan]

So, as for the intake parts, part supply/delivery is currently problematic 

As the parts are not made in the US (probably China) new tariffs are making things slow to happen, thanks Trump

The joint I am getting the intake parts from, FAB9, are in the US, typically they are delivered to the US then sent out from there to, well, here, or wherever 

FAB9 are currently looking at shipping directly from the supplier to avoid tariff hits,  so now I'm waiting until that little chestnut gets sorted out

My impatience is blossoming nicely 

 

 

[MBS206]

1 hour ago, The Bogan said:

So, as for the intake parts, part supply/delivery is currently problematic 

As the parts are not made in the US (probably China) new tariffs are making things slow to happen, thanks Trump

The joint I am getting the intake parts from, FAB9, are in the US, typically they are delivered to the US then sent out from there to, well, here, or wherever 

FAB9 are currently looking at shipping directly from the supplier to avoid tariff hits,  so now I'm waiting until that little chestnut gets sorted out

My impatience is blossoming nicely 

 

 

Drop shipping isn't hard for them to sort out...