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The indecisive and slow S4 build

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Old 04-19-14, 12:46 PM
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To clokker: I will try and find the slip from the weight station. I am mot attempting to spread false information. If I can't find it, I will go to the weigh station this week to validate the numbers.


In response to the ecu and injector statements. I am mechanically proficient and do not see the megasquirt as too big of a stepping stone (having installed ecu's before).

The injectors I am still keeping up in the air as I am not sure which way I want to do it. I would rather run primaries alone for simplicity.
Old 04-21-14, 04:38 AM
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My fc weighs around 2500lbs wet, so i have no trouble believing it. I haven't done any serious weight reduction, NA engine and drivetrain saves alot of weight over turbo parts.
Old 04-21-14, 07:39 AM
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Originally Posted by djSL
To clokker: I will try and find the slip from the weight station. I am mot attempting to spread false information. If I can't find it, I will go to the weigh station this week to validate the numbers.
Originally Posted by Pettersen
My fc weighs around 2500lbs wet, so i have no trouble believing it. I haven't done any serious weight reduction, NA engine and drivetrain saves alot of weight over turbo parts.
djSL, please know I'm not accusing you of deception or anything, the stated weight just caught my attention.
Specifically, the "half tank of gas and me inside" part, which must add up to @200lbs.
This would make your dry weight @2350lbs and that is a fairly significant 400lb reduction from Mazda's claimed 2740 lbs.

You ain't deleting that kind of mass by removing 15lbs of sound tar and the carpet, so you can see why I might get confused.
Old 04-21-14, 07:47 AM
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I remember seeing this Fc on cl. Good luck with your build.
Old 04-21-14, 11:21 AM
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SO I may have stretched the truth a little bit. I found the weight ticket. It was at 2740 including myself, a half tank of gas, and 17x8 heavy as hell wheels.
Subtract:
Myself: 185
~4 lbs per corner due to crown vics: ~16 lbs total give or take tire weight

We could calculate with less gas but it doesn't matter to me that much as I like to have fuel when I am driving.

That being said, roughly 2539 lbs.
I apologize about the inital false weight.
Old 04-21-14, 02:00 PM
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Oh please, no apologies necessary.

Coincidentally, my '90 GTU (no sunroof, AC or power anything) weighs 2740 with me in it (weighed at junkyard, unknown fuel load).
I had just stripped my chassis to the bone last year, so I was curious how I could have overlooked 200 lbs of mass so easily removed.
Old 04-21-14, 08:26 PM
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Well, I knew it would eventually happen. I was pulled over for having my license plate in my windshield and not on the front of the bumper. So, I stole the idea of a magnetic license plate from a exotic car forum, purchased some neodymium magnets, JB weld, and went to town.


Took off the bumper:



JB welded the magnets into the plate frame:


Applying JB weld to the back off the bumper:



So far it holds extremely well, and I can remove it if I am going to a meet or such.

All done:
Old 04-29-14, 09:03 PM
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Tackled a few projects today! I decided being able to use the cruise control would be a nice creature comfort and dug it out of my box o' parts that came with the car. Luckily, I had all the parts in there and re-installed according to AaronCakes guide.

Next I installed an aluminum battery tie down and beer tap shift **** extension that my good friend machined for me.

Custom tie down ( I am originally from Hawaii)



Beer tap and extension (don't worry, it is just for funsies and I still have my Tomei shifter)





After driving to work today, I noticed some rubber wear due to my fenders. Now, I had previously partially rolled them but apparently not enough. Also, some of the paint had cracked last time I attempted this due to not using a heat gun (my fault). I bought a heat gun and went to town. The right side was cracked to begin with so the heat gun didn't due much good. The left side came out perfect with no cracks.


Old 05-31-14, 11:42 AM
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Sorry for the lack of updates. I moved!

As a testament to the Rx7's reliability, My girlfriend and and I made the move from Duluth, MN to Gresham, OR in a 2.5 day drive. All in all, I believe it was around 22 hours!

Unfortunately, I think one of my mounting bolts for my fan came loose a few days after arrival ( I guess you could say fortunately then) and my fan somehow came unbalanced. This resulted some of the fan blades getting torn off.

Aftermath:


Seeing as I need to drive this to my new job tomorrow, I headed to the local Napa and picked up an Flexalite Black Magic fan that pushes 3000 CFM and hooked that up.




I had to LULZ when I read the boosts Hp and fuel economy.


There are no other major updates so far, but within the next week or two I should have a t2 transmission, lightweight flywheel, and clutch ready to be swapped in.
Old 10-01-14, 09:11 PM
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Update!

There has been a lack of progress in the past few months due to just being busy with work. However, I have been gathering parts slowly and I made some major progress this last month.

I purchased a very clean set of s5 tails for dirt cheap and installed immediately.



Since my NA trans was basically shot, I started on the T2 trans swap. I wanted to make sure I did this right the first time so I purchased the following and installed it last weekend.

T2 trans
New rear main seal
SR motorsports lightweight flywheel (t2)
OEM Exedy Clutch kit, pilot bearing, throwout bearing (t2)
Custom driveshaft
New Slave Cylinder (t2)
s4 counterweight


Due to some unfortunate setbacks (bolts snapping in the flywheel that had to be drilled and tapped out), it took two days versus 4 hours. All in all though, and expensive but worthwhile investment.

With all the big stuff out of the way, Shine aero is next on the list.
Old 01-05-15, 03:29 PM
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Door cards sir

Hello there,

Sweet looking build thus far!

2 questions,

How do those stance coils ride?

How much material (width/height) did you need for your door cards? Ive been looking but I cannot find anyone whom has listed it. I suck with that stuff so I dont want to mess up an order when the fabric i want is 125$ a sheet.

Would 40" x 60" be enough to do both door cards?


Lastly, you should consider the Mercury villager efan, your radiator is far to big for the fan i believe. Check out my build thread and I have many more photos if you need help!
Old 01-06-15, 10:20 AM
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Thanks for the comments!
The Stance coilovers ride fine to me. I keep them on the softest setting and they are still firm but not so firm that I am jarring my teeth out.

As for the door cards. You only need the fabric to be 2 feet wide to be safe. As for the length, I believe I purchased 3-4 yards to be safe (in case of errors).

Lastly, the fan has been replaced with a larger shrouded black magic fan that pushes 3200cfm.
Old 01-06-15, 10:34 AM
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Alrighty. I plan on buying BRIDE black on black material. I didnt want to short it, but its 60in wide and 40 inches long that should be good enough. I am having a professional wrap them so it should be fine.

Its pricey but so I am only looking to buy once and have it work haha. hopefully enough left over to make a boot.
Old 01-06-15, 06:27 PM
  #39  
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I like this build!

Like Pettersen, I had 2 ID1000s in the primaries on my itb setup this past year, and it ran beautiful. There's no need to worry about them. ID injectors are stout.
Old 01-07-15, 02:53 PM
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Thanks!
What ecu did you end up running if you don't mind me asking? I thought megasquirt but am unsure of the version to get. If I ever switch to staged injection, I would like to not have to buy another ecu.
Old 01-07-15, 06:02 PM
  #41  
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Megasquirt 2 v3.57 with the extra VR sensor. I had MS assemble the ecu. I forget I even have one, because, again, there's nothing to worry about. I like it. MS2 handles staged injection, but MS3 has many more rotary features.

However, you might consider what your nearest rotary tuner works with. My nearest rotary haven nearly scourged me for using an ecu you can "tune with a palm pilot" and forbade me to work with them. Needless to say, I'm still learning how to tune.
Old 01-08-15, 10:22 AM
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Interesting information. I had considered the MS, however they tried to up sell me on the ms3x pro which is nearly the price of an Adaptronic. I figured for that much I could pay a few extra hundred and have a plug and play system.
Old 01-08-15, 11:47 AM
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The biggest advantage of MS3X (not just "PRO") is more I/O. You also get seq. injection and ignition. There are plenty of people making big power on the stock coils and I don't think having seq ignition is necessary for most. I haven't heard much about seq inj on a rotary, good or bad. I'm running MS2v3.0 with the Zeal card. It runs well, cold starts and high idles better than factory. Being able to datalog is by far the most useful feature. MegaLog Viewer is a necessity. My biggest gripe is that MS1/2 doesn't have nearly as many available ports for additional inputs. I have 2 EGTs and fuel and oil pressure, but I'm not able to log them unfortunately.

I built my board myself, but all-in have about $500 invested in the MS2, Zeal, wiring harness, and connectors. Definitely worth the money.
Old 01-08-15, 09:29 PM
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Hmm. That makes the decision all that more difficult. The Adaptronic 420d is only 900.00 including a loom. However, this MS info makes me waver on the decision.
Old 05-03-15, 12:28 AM
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Updates!

4/29/15
Purchases haltech e6x with harness and sensors (got a great deal)

4/30/15
Drilled and tapped my itb manifold for two vacuum fittings (fpr, brake booster). I simply drilled out the existing omp holes on the manifold as I am just going to premix.

5/2/15
Purchased:
Aem Uego 4.9 kit
Racing beat thermo spacers
Adjustable FPR
Stainless fuel line and a bunch of -6 AN fittings.

So, as I wait for these parts to arrive I still need to figure out where to install my IAT (no provisions near intake) and my CLT (thermostat housing doesn't have that nice little spot to tap).

I also need to know if I purchase the id1000 injectors, which clip style they use and if they are compatible with the haltech e6x clips. If they are, I shouldn't need to purchase them as the haltech comes with the injector harness right?

Hmmmm. Alot of thinking to do but I am excited about the progress!
Old 05-08-15, 09:19 PM
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It's Christmas in May! Parts have started to come in!

New Aem Wideban with 4.9 Bosch Sensor:
I chose to mount this in the glove box as this is only going to be used as a tuning tool and to occasionally troubleshoot AFRs.


Drilled and tapped Vaccuum fittings:


Aftermarket FPR with tons of -6AN fittings and a few feet of braided stainless hose (not shown):



Picked up a new lower intake manifold gasket and started to port match my StarMazda manifold.



I believe this manifold was meant for a 12a judging by the difference in size to the s4 gasket scribing.

My Ecu and harness came in today! I was going to attempt to install the Coolant Level Temp Sensor, but for some reason my thermostat housing doesn't have a spot on the front to tap it.

The haltech also came with an 02 sensor. I am a little lost as to whether I need to use that one or just connect my Wideband to it.

Any input?
Old 05-19-15, 01:07 PM
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In an effort for a cleaner install, I unpinned injectors 3 and 4 since I will be running primaries only.





Ordered an eBay bosch style tps pigtail and wired it to the haltech harness.





Welded the wideband bung in at 26 inches downstream. It is the best I could do with my current exhaust setup. If it burns out quicker oh well.





Just a little more **** for a teaser. It is kind of difficult getting all this stuff installed while you are daily driving lol.

Last edited by djSL; 05-19-15 at 01:10 PM.
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Old 05-24-15, 08:34 PM
  #48  
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Drilled and tapped primary fuel rail for 6an fittings





Cleaned it up and painted it. Pre -installed fittings. I still need to purchase some copper crush washers.
Old 06-07-15, 05:13 PM
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Relocating main engine fuse box to up by the front headlight fo a little more sleek appearance.





Tore out the entire chassis harness and stripped what I didn't need.





The battery harness is still there just not in this picture. This is also the only spot of rust on the whole damn car. I am positive or is from the ps fluid when the PO tore it out. However, much easier to fix now.

Also, lesson learned. This took way longer than the one night I had estimated on haha.

Next step is to relocate the coil to the same spot Clokker did and get shorter plug wires.
Old 06-16-15, 12:56 AM
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While waiting to buy my injectors, I discovered a weird issue. The car has always had issues with cold starts due to emissions removal, of which it had been somewhat better in recent times. However, my cold start is now really weird. The car will start right away, but not hold idle for the first minute OR after letting the car sit at work all day, it sometimes doesn't want to start immediately and Belcher fuel out the back. The latter statement seems to happen when the car is parked at an angle and on extremely hot days when it is parked outside.

It does however hot start just fine.

What it in the sweet baby jesus?


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