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Plan of action when the remaining few parts arrive:
Remove Ignition
Remove Rats nest
Remove Fuel System, Fuel Hanger, Fuel Lines and Fuel Rails (depressurize the fuel system). Remove primary and secondary fuel diffusers.
Remove Emissions, install appropriate block off plates and install idler pulley
Install the new FFE step up 1700 cc x 2 secondary fuel rail kit, primary stock fuel rail w FPD delete, install new OEM primary diffusers and 550 cc rebuilt + RC engineer flow checked primary injectors
Relocate stock ignition kit (wait to install IGN-1A smart coils by SBG (unless I find a HKS Twin power for a decent price, then will sell the smart coils and potentially go with that. Scared of burning these coils in the future if I work on the car on myself)
Install Power FC, AFR wideband by AEM (from SBG), install datalogit on it and run EPS each week to verify the car runs fine
Do clutch job and install flywheel.
Finally, install the v-mount kit and the SBG dual oil cooler kit
But it's awesome because you kind of just summarized a complete build in 1 post - Nice.
Im glad you are willing to take on this build, you will save money in labor and gain a massive amount of experience you can use for the rest of your life because your family and friends will now expect you to maintain their cars for them...lol
pmd you on the fuel pump and FFE step-up kit.
Last edited by rotaryextreme; Dec 6, 2021 at 09:20 AM.
Didn’t want to update until completely done but was in over my head and having help getting it built now. My engine is practically Mazda spec compression wise. Super strong. Getting harness rebuilt and waiting on a tuner. Going either with Daniel Kuo or Nelson, whoever is available first. Only difference is I’m getting all my bushings replaced and 4.44 rear end and a diff rebuild. Really close, and should be done in a couple weeks, biggest wait will be the tuner. Then to body shop.
What ever tune you have it will just polish the rough edges.
you have a shitty ignition tune it will just polish it and smooth it out so you dont blow your motor - but you will have to run auto tune to get it dialed in.
if you get a proven good base tune, use that and then set your car setting in fc tweak to get a good base profile for your car.
also Testrun is right about the street tuning first to work all the bugs out and then go to the dyno to get some numbers.
and what ever the tuner does - run that tune through fc tweak to polish it up.
I know it sounds like an investment but PFC+FC Edit+FC Tweak + Xavier = you will never need to pay a tuner again. NEVER...lol
Also I know there are some bad asses out there that tune with the PFC, but if they are not using FC Tweak to fine tune there own tune then they are falling behind the times.
FC Tweak literally changed the game for the aging PFC and made it a major competitor again with all these newer aftermarket ECU's.
What ever tune you have it will just polish the rough edges.
you have a shitty ignition tune it will just polish it and smooth it out so you dont blow your motor - but you will have to run auto tune to get it dialed in.
if you get a proven good base tune, use that and then set your car setting in fc tweak to get a good base profile for your car.
also Testrun is right about the street tuning first to work all the bugs out and then go to the dyno to get some numbers.
and what ever the tuner does - run that tune through fc tweak to polish it up.
I know it sounds like an investment but PFC+FC Edit+FC Tweak + Xavier = you will never need to pay a tuner again. NEVER...lol
Also I know there are some bad asses out there that tune with the PFC, but if they are not using FC Tweak to fine tune there own tune then they are falling behind the times.
FC Tweak literally changed the game for the aging PFC and made it a major competitor again with all these newer aftermarket ECU's.
Thanks brother, I'll make sure I ask the tuner about this and will follow this advice to a T.
Going to run FC Tweak after the FD is done for a street tune. Might even make the process more efficient, and be able to get my FD to the body shop before I take it to get tuned in person. That sounds like an ideal idea right there.
Rotaryextreme hit it.
For me it is way more than a fine tune though. I would be weary of any tuner that doesn't take the 15 min to figure out how to use it. I don't care who the tuner is. This will cut the afr time in 1/4 or less and tune it better period. It will tweak ignition, omp output, fans, etc. Add soft rev cut via ignition if you want it. Point out any unsafe settings. The tuner can pretty much override anything he wants so if it is an ego thing it will all be ok lol.
If it wasn't for the lack of failsafes on the pfc I would say this program brings the PFC back to the market with a vengeance. I am in the process of adding some failsafe myself outside of the pfc via aem.
Keep us posted and good luck!
I just remembered also.
Things that should be done before the street tune and prior going to a dyno.
1. Calibrate your Map sensor to your altitude. Im at zero feet sea level so mine was easy I just had to set it to 0. If I change altitude it will been seen by the MAP sensor and the PFC can adjust for it. (this is covered in the FC Tweak manual)
2. Make sure you have the settings for what ever injectors you get and put them in the settings tab prior to tuning.
3. Verify TPS rang of motion and adjust to factory spec.
4. with the car running pull the vac off the FPR and set and verify your base fuel pressure to what ever you want - too many threads saying this or that on fuel pressure, you can draw your own conclusion but I have mine set in the middle of the battle at 40psi.
Once you have all that set, reload your map and it will make the PFC do a idle re-learn. When any map is reloaded on the PFC it makes the PFC perform idle re-learn. People please correct me if I am wrong but when you re-init the PFC it does this and when you upload a new map it does it as well.
Those are some of the main adjustments but you need those to work for stuff like acceleration enrichment, amongst a bunch of other cool things Testrun already elaborated on.
It is 100000000% worth the investment !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just remembered also.
Things that should be done before the street tune and prior going to a dyno.
1. Calibrate your Map sensor to your altitude. Im at zero feet sea level so mine was easy I just had to set it to 0. If I change altitude it will been seen by the MAP sensor and the PFC can adjust for it. (this is covered in the FC Tweak manual)
2. Make sure you have the settings for what ever injectors you get and put them in the settings tab prior to tuning.
3. Verify TPS rang of motion and adjust to factory spec.
4. with the car running pull the vac off the FPR and set and verify your base fuel pressure to what ever you want - too many threads saying this or that on fuel pressure, you can draw your own conclusion but I have mine set in the middle of the battle at 40psi.
Once you have all that set, reload your map and it will make the PFC do a idle re-learn. When any map is reloaded on the PFC it makes the PFC perform idle re-learn. People please correct me if I am wrong but when you re-init the PFC it does this and when you upload a new map it does it as well.
Those are some of the main adjustments but you need those to work for stuff like acceleration enrichment, amongst a bunch of other cool things Testrun already elaborated on.
It is 100000000% worth the investment !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Luck Bro
Seems easy enough, I am trying to find out how to download the free version, and whether the Pro/paid version is worth it. I see there's a USB version as well, would you recommend this?
I sent an email inquiring about the pro version, saying I'm interested.
Thank you! It's mostly been planning on this thread. The majority of the work hasn't been done by me unfortunately due to the learning curve and time dedicated to do justice to this build. I have a shop working on it and he's going over all the cut corners from the previous owner, and fixing them and putting this thing together.
Finding a tuner who also uses FC Tweak Pro, and will get a base map from Xavier once it's together to get it going. There's one issue where the front cover on the engine used straight up sealant and not OEM gasket that was supposed to be used which can be a major issue, despite good compression numbers. He's going to remove it and inspect what he can and ensure everything is fine and replace with OEM seals, along with gaskets throughout the build, where applicable.
I may have been able to do all the work on my own, but I likely could have missed the sealant vs gasket issue which would have resulted in catastrophic failure in the future.
Figured I'd post an update of pics of what work is being done right now. Anyone have any suggestions while the engine is out and on the stand on things to do while the engine is out?
FD Engine out. Transmission should be done on Monday being rebuilt. Can see the sealant used on front cover instead of OEM gasket. Another angle of it. The dual oiler kit from Sakebomb garage had cracking on the rubber, must have been old stock but didn't need to contact them since we have backups. More cracking on the rubber seals from the sakebomb dual oiler kit. Some repair work on the AC lines, had a few leaks but he will fix them most likely. Previously bent, when V-Mount is installed if it cracks, which is likely we will just repair it. The RE headlight replicas when installed looked like it had some shoddy wiring work, he's going to fix it up when installing the popups. A lot of odds and ends he's looking over. PPF was cracked. He's going to weld it and I bought a Banzai-Racing transmission crossmember to prevent it from cracking again at the weld spot. In the long run going to look for an RE PPF and replace it.
controversial - oil thermal pellet in the front of the e-shaft - if it fails closed it will starve the rotors of oil and ruin the bearings
cons - takes longer to warm up, there is a spacer that can move out of place if it is not done right and will affect the e-shaft end play.
pros - solid piece in fixed open position so it can not fail, zero risk to oil starvation from this piece.
Bad thermal pellet at 9:10
install with engine out, im told have the flywheel facing the ground and the front upward on the stand makes it safer. -
transmission brace from banzai will help with ppf woes. just get the rubber transmission mount found at an auto parts store - several threads have the info - including mine.
Last edited by rotaryextreme; Sep 22, 2022 at 12:34 PM.
Thanks bro, He's going to inspect it and maybe the previous owner changed it. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if the Vargas bros faked that video though. A lot of what Blue T2 said makes sense, either way doesn't hurt to check.
Originally Posted by BLUE TII
Some things I saw watching the Vargas video.
They removed the flywheel nut (hmmn, a cut scene...), removed the flywheel (not shown) and then remembered to check eccentric shaft end float and put the flywheel back on loosely ensuring an incorrect end float.
How do I know this?
Because in the subsequent scene he whacks the flywheel lightly with a deadblow and removes it.
I wish it was that easy. When you remove the fully seated flywheel you have to put the flywheel puller on, heat the flywheel, tighten the puller and whack it, tighten the puller and whack it till ... BANG! it pops off and slams against the loosened flywheel nut startling the **** out of you everytime.
Intererestingly, I did measure the end float on my brand new crate 1999+ high power spec part # Mazda crate 13B-REW. I Was surprised to find it was .0039" when the 1993-1995 limit is 0.0035".
I looked at RX-8 spec and its 0.0039" so, I ran it. I also ran it at 9,000rpm because I had read the 1999+ high power spec had factory side cut rotors.
Teardown after 20,000 miles and 3 race seasons did reveal the side cut rotors and no abnormal wear or damage from frequent 9,000rpm operation or 0.0039" end float.
I havent been able to find the 1999+ jdm manual to confirm if there is an official revised end float spec like on the RX-8.
______
The "bent" rotor oil bypass thermal pellet used as the video thumbnail and attributed to metal in the engine.
Just before the cut scene you can see the thermal pellet poking up out of the eccentric shaft.
When I saw the bent thermal pellet I wondered "would that even fit into the eccentric shaft?"
The OD of the pellet seals against the ID of the eccentric shaft to block oil flow when heated to closed position. Not a lot of room to be cocked askew by the out of alignment disk at the end of the plunger shaft.
I paused the video and bent a thermal pellet at less angle than shown and put it in the eccentric shaft.
It went into the eccentric shaft, but I had to use needle nose pliers to gently pull it out.
Next I bent the thermal pellet as much as the video and wasnt able to push it all the way into position by hand, but had to thread the eccentric shaft bolt in to push it into position.
Then I heated it up to test the expansion inside the eccentric shaft and it worked because that wax thermal expansion in sealed cylinder exerts a lot of pressure.
However, the pellet was now stuck in there when I removed the eccentric shaft bolt and had to be removed with pliers and force revealing scoring on the side of the pellet.
So, to recap.
If bent and installed the thermal pellet would seize shut (full oil flow to rotors) not open as the sealed thermal expansion of wax is a far stronger force than the return spring.
If bent that much the pellet would be stuck in the eccentric shaft as mine was when the front bolt is removed and not being pushed all the way out of the eccentric shaft by the return spring as seen in the Vargas video.
Further; as I observed, the thermal pellet would have scoring on the OD of the pellet where it rubbed the inside of the eccentric shaft from just 1 expansion event and the pellet in the Vargas video is still perfectly smooth.
My conclusion is after the cut scene with the thermal pellet shown still sticking out of the eccentric shaft the thermal pellet was remived and bent and then filming resumed.
Much like with the off camera flywheel removal and partial reinstall (not fully torqued/ re-seated on the taper) before the end float check.
_______
The claims of metal in the oil and oil pump scoring.
They claim there is metal in the engine that scored the oil pump. They claim it is bearing material from failed thermal pellet operation.
Every single cold start of a rotary is done with the thermal pellet bypassing oil and it doesnt trash the bearings. Why would Mazda's combustion check trash the bearings even IF the thermal pellet could be stuck open in bypass mode?
The silver bearing material is called babbit and it is a VERY soft sacrificial metal that overlays the harder (soft) Copper bearing.
It is not very unusual to have babbit in the oil of a fresh factory spec rotary engine rebuild. Very tight bearing clearances are used on stock engines and the babbit often gets pushed out of perfectly round as the bearing is pressed into the stationary gear and ESPECIALLY the rotor.
This is why Mazda recommends a longer break-in for a rebuild when using new bearings and recommends against the use of both new bearings and stock bearing clearances in a performance rebuild.
Babbit metal is so soft it harmlessly travels through the oil pump and engine.
If there was another type of metal in the oil then it would show there is an issue with their own diagnosis in the video.
Another metal in the oil would also indicate Mazda made a mistake on assembly, but because of what I see as an overall shadyness of the Vargas video and their motives I am inclined to not believe their "findings".
dang, nice detailed observation BLUE TII, well I really have nothing to say to this other then......
The video makes someone feel like they need to have a brand new engine taken apart to be reworked / upgraded. This would seem like an easy 2k turn around.
My friend ran his 99+ spec motor at 1bar with a single apexi turbo for a few drift SEASONS, motor never popped or had temp issues. So It makes me wonder are the brand new crate engines that incorporate the latest updates able to take more boost / abuse ? Boost controller was the Apexi-AVC-R.
Went in last night to see progress and drop off the Banzai Racing transmission cross-member brace, OMP block off plates and polyurethane motor mounts. Props to Banzai for shipping them out immediately, got them within 1-3 days. Transmission should be done any day now, hopefully today or tomorrow. It's across the street from the shop so once it's done, engine and transmission will be dropped back in pretty quickly. The front cover will be popped off just to inspect the housing/irons/seals for any potential damage if there was an oil leak. We suspect most likely not because of the amazing compression numbers that were a reliable 114-116-110. Hopefully no coolant seal leak but I don't think that's the case, there was 0 smoke before the engine was removed out of the exhaust.
Inside of the gas tank looks super clean! Huge relief.
Looks like the original fuel pump is still in great condition!
Dropped in with the Aeromotive 340, he redid the wiring and did a ground mod.
Oil coolers fitted along with the popups, lined up quite well.
The Garage Alpha baffle installed, cool little mod here
Now for the bad, the shop doing the work sent pics and showed me the shoddy repairs done o n the engine harness last night.
Broken butt crimps and connectors throughout the harness and engine with bad wiring. He's repairing all of this and redoing the harness.
