Kilo Racing 3 Rotor FD Conversion
05-12-16, 09:31 PM
#4276
I am flying down to pick up the car at the end of this month. I've been assured it will be ready to go. That means the paint has to be completed and then whatever is left on Kilo's list. The plan is to hang out a few days to ensure everything works and then to dyno the car as well. I am then going to drive it back to Asheville NC. As Kilo says, "we'll see".
Cheers,
:-) neil
05-30-16, 05:36 PM
#4288
Made it home safely yesterday. A big thanks to Rikk on this forum for the heads up on the flooding on I95. It was shut down for a number of miles. Took the back roads home just south of Rigeland SC. Was kind of fun except for the pouring rain and snarled traffic. The BF Goodrich G-force Rival tires did well. Was worried about them as they are a go between street and track tires.
Will post up more soon on the good, bad, and fugly of it all.
Will post up more soon on the good, bad, and fugly of it all.
06-01-16, 05:18 PM
#4296
^ Read the whole thread. That is impressive!
So....the car is back in Asheville resting in the garage.
I spent Wednesday afternoon thru Saturday down at Kilo's. Drove the car to Jacksonville FL Saturday evening and then back home on Sunday. Again, thanks to Rikk for giving me the heads up on the crazy flooding on I-95. Another forum member just sent me this pic of the car, one he took as we were driving together on Sunday:
I have never met him before so didn't know he was a forum member. To show you how small of a world this is, he and his wife were down in Orlando at the same time as I, he has his first gen being painted at the shop my car just left from paint, and he was at Kilo's checking out my car. And we didn't meet.
Look in the background of this pic of my car being glazed and you can see his red first gen. Love the color - it's going to look great:
Back to the first pic. It was nice and sunny then but you can see the clouds building in the distance and it dropped buckets of rain starting around mid-SC. I think this pic was taken in GA. Was quite the interesting ride home, taking the back routes thru mid-SC. Had to stop at a Piggly Wiggly for some snacks as I couldn't find a fast food place and dropped below 1/8 of a tank of gas before finding a gas station. Gotta say though, it was kind of fun and the rain kept things nice and cool.
Speaking of temps, the v-mount is the bomb and solution to my temp issues. Never got above 187 or so, even down in 94 degree and humid Orlando. With the AC on, little to no change in temps as well. You may recall Engine Ice (coolant) sent me two boxes of coolant to test out on the car and we can say that yes, it does work well. We did not get the "up to 50 degrees" cooler results stated, but saw around a 5-10 degree F difference with the use of Engine Ice. We also note the car cools down much quicker now than before. We'd guess we didn't see as big a drop in temps because of the v-mount and because of the thermal heat dispersant used on the coolant parts. However, with a normal setup, Engine Ice should achieve greater results and even with our setup, its worth it.
The synopsis of the trip:
Wed afternoon - Pretty much spent most of the afternoon working on putting the car back together after paint. Prior to this, I had around 2 hours to kill so I helped Kilo pull the engine out of Rocketeerbandit's really nice car. Fun job and this is the third time I've helped do this (including my own) so I am learning the in's and out's of the job.
After pulling the engine, I then hung out at Integrity Body Shop and helped to reinstall the rear fender flares and the front bumper. Had to do some trimming on the front oil cooler ducts (custom to the car) as the position of the coolers had changed slightly when we flipped them upside down. The helped to wash the car, they re-glazed it, and we washed and vacuumed it out. Finished up around 6 pm or so and it was off to Kilo's next door.
Was then on the phone with PLX to diagnose my water temp gauge issue. To recap, the Haltech sensor (positioned below the PLX on the backside of the water pump housing) reads about 15- 20 degrees F lower than the PLX unit. We verified the accuracy of the Haltech by using a laser temp gauge and found the Haltech to be correct. You could also tell by placing your hands on the radiator piping. If the PLX was correct, then the temps would have been about 212 F and too hot to touch. We'd also hear gurgling which we did not.
So, it was on the phone with PLX (fortunately they are in CA so we had some extra time). After a few hours of trouble shooting (I have a new sensor and sensor module) we determined the issue is not with the sensor, but with its higher placement on the water pump housing. When the car is turned off, the unit reads within a few degrees of the Haltech yet it is higher by around 15 - 20 degrees when the car is turned on. This leads us to conclude the difference is due to flow of the coolant at this location. In any event, we are confident in the Haltech readings and if there is a way for me to calibrate (maybe use a resister) the PLX to read lower and correctly, I'll tackle that later on. For now, I can subtract 15 degrees from the reading.
This took us until around 8 pm so I called it a day and went back to the hotel. Grabbed some food and drink at the bar.
Thursday - Major "work on the punch list" day. This included installing the turbo back pressure gauge, reinstalling a bunch of engine bay components, working on making the alternator look nice by painting it, plumbing back in the AEM methanol nozzle and the AIT sensor to the underside of the intake body, reinstalling interior parts on the car including the seats and various trim pieces, working on the door handles to ensure the open smoothly, as well as unravelling the mystery of why 1/2 of my PLX sensors were no longer operational. This involved about 3 hours worth of wiring together and then taking apart the sensor modules and trying various methods, only to fail repeatedly until I realized a termination cap (about 1/16 of an inch long) was incorrectly installed in the slot of one of the modules. Removed that and shazam!, they all worked. Crazy time consuming task.
Back to the hotel for more food and drink!
Friday - My father in law showed up and spent the day at Kilo's. While Kilo worked on larger issues like the reinstallation and activation of the AEM methanol system and some tuning, we cleaned up the car, continued reinstalling various interior bits and pieces, and then shined up the inside leather and plastics. Also, reinstalled the now working PLX devices, put the carpeting back in the car, and then took the car out for a one hour drive.
This was the first time I've been back in the car in about 3 years. Was a blast.
Wanted to check out the temps on the car and was very pleased to find no issues. Got on it a little bit and noted the tune was just okay. AC was ice cold until it started to blow vapor out - thought it needed coolant but found out the thermostat is not activating the compressor and it's always on, leading to the unit freezing up. This did not get fixed at Kilo's so I drove it back with me manually turning on and off the unit to cycle it. Worked but a major pain for sure.
Saturday - Was supposed to be dyno day but go figure, no dynos were available due to the Memorial Day weekend. So, continued working on the punch list which included way too much time and trips to AutoZone getting the horns to function and tracking down a series of blown fuzes related to the use of incorrect relays on the car. Major pain here as the relays looked stock but were not. Got those replaced and we solved a number of issues caused by them.
By this time, the rental car was due back so Kilo's nephew drove me back to the airport while Kilo worked on the AC. Got back around 4 pm and told him to forget the AC and let's go do some street tuning. Did this for around one hour or so and left his shop at around 5:30 pm for the drive back to Jax. Met me mom for dinner
and spent the night at my in-law's condo.
Sunday - Had breakfast with the in-laws and hit the road around 10 am for the drive back. Due to the rain and traffic congestion, the 6.5 hour trip took around 8.5 hours but I didn't mind much as I didn't need to rush back. Took the car by a car wash to get the bugs off of the new paint and then stowed the car in the garage. All in all, a good trip.
THE GOOD
1) The car is back home!
2) The mechanicals, including the engine, are doing really well. The engine broke in during the trip and my gas mileage went up from a dismal 11 MPG to around 16. There is improvement to be made here for sure but I'd take 16 MPG on a 3 rotor.
3) Temps on the car, my biggest past issue, are now solved. V-mount FTW on a 3 rotor! Things stay nice and cool and this is without proper ducting which hasn't been installed yet. I'll do this in stages and then see if it helps.
4) The paint looks really nice and brand new. I am waiting until the weekend to wax the car so the paint can cure.
5) Love the way the new rims look. Forgeline makes some really nice high quality wheels and the new look is a nice updated one.
6) The BF Goodrich G-force Rival tires live up to the promise, at least on the streets. They are very grippy and a blast to take around corners. Want to see how they perform on the track but they seem to be every bit the "tire that makes you seem like a better driver than you really are".
8) Free Siruis XM! - cancelled the subscription 3 years ago as why pay for satellite radio when the car sits in a ship? Was surprised to find out the service was active and that helped a bunch on the drive home.
THE BAD
1) The tune is not what it should be. I have a number of "holes" in the maps both under and not during load. During the trip back I repeatedly hit a number of these sections and it got old quickly. I am going to resolve the drivability ones, including the cold startup maps myself and then take it to a professional for load tuning. Not sure when I can do this but hopefully this month.
2) AC issues - Need the AC to work reliably so this will be a priority. Going to take the car to my Supra buddy that owns a large mechanic's and tire shop in town to fix.
3) Interior components - I am pretty **** about the interior fit and finish and a number of plastic items are not up to snuff as they have been damaged. I also want to redo the leather on my steering wheel as the workmanship is not up to standards. So, I've got a punch list started for these.
I also just ordered a new headlight control arm as the bushing broke off of my left headlight assembly. Kilo tried to fix it but it didn't work and the arm rattled off the motor ball about 1/2 dozen times during the trip, causing the left headlight to flip up, irritating me to no end. Didn't have any duct tape with me or I would have taped that sucker down. :grin:
4) Pettit short shifter bushing broken - need to take apart and rebuild the bushing on the short shifter, if this can be done. It works but has a bunch of wiggle to it now that was not there before.
THE UGLY
1) Timing for work - Simply too long to have the car there and it not get down. Part of the issue is I didn't care much given life events, but I want to someday have that "overhauling" moment, you know, the one were the garage door opens and you are given the keys to you completed, clean and ready car? Thought that would happen this time but it didn't.
Anyway, definitely some good news here. Hope you enjoy the update.
So....the car is back in Asheville resting in the garage.
I spent Wednesday afternoon thru Saturday down at Kilo's. Drove the car to Jacksonville FL Saturday evening and then back home on Sunday. Again, thanks to Rikk for giving me the heads up on the crazy flooding on I-95. Another forum member just sent me this pic of the car, one he took as we were driving together on Sunday:
I have never met him before so didn't know he was a forum member. To show you how small of a world this is, he and his wife were down in Orlando at the same time as I, he has his first gen being painted at the shop my car just left from paint, and he was at Kilo's checking out my car. And we didn't meet.
Look in the background of this pic of my car being glazed and you can see his red first gen. Love the color - it's going to look great:
Back to the first pic. It was nice and sunny then but you can see the clouds building in the distance and it dropped buckets of rain starting around mid-SC. I think this pic was taken in GA. Was quite the interesting ride home, taking the back routes thru mid-SC. Had to stop at a Piggly Wiggly for some snacks as I couldn't find a fast food place and dropped below 1/8 of a tank of gas before finding a gas station. Gotta say though, it was kind of fun and the rain kept things nice and cool.
Speaking of temps, the v-mount is the bomb and solution to my temp issues. Never got above 187 or so, even down in 94 degree and humid Orlando. With the AC on, little to no change in temps as well. You may recall Engine Ice (coolant) sent me two boxes of coolant to test out on the car and we can say that yes, it does work well. We did not get the "up to 50 degrees" cooler results stated, but saw around a 5-10 degree F difference with the use of Engine Ice. We also note the car cools down much quicker now than before. We'd guess we didn't see as big a drop in temps because of the v-mount and because of the thermal heat dispersant used on the coolant parts. However, with a normal setup, Engine Ice should achieve greater results and even with our setup, its worth it.
The synopsis of the trip:
Wed afternoon - Pretty much spent most of the afternoon working on putting the car back together after paint. Prior to this, I had around 2 hours to kill so I helped Kilo pull the engine out of Rocketeerbandit's really nice car. Fun job and this is the third time I've helped do this (including my own) so I am learning the in's and out's of the job.
After pulling the engine, I then hung out at Integrity Body Shop and helped to reinstall the rear fender flares and the front bumper. Had to do some trimming on the front oil cooler ducts (custom to the car) as the position of the coolers had changed slightly when we flipped them upside down. The helped to wash the car, they re-glazed it, and we washed and vacuumed it out. Finished up around 6 pm or so and it was off to Kilo's next door.
Was then on the phone with PLX to diagnose my water temp gauge issue. To recap, the Haltech sensor (positioned below the PLX on the backside of the water pump housing) reads about 15- 20 degrees F lower than the PLX unit. We verified the accuracy of the Haltech by using a laser temp gauge and found the Haltech to be correct. You could also tell by placing your hands on the radiator piping. If the PLX was correct, then the temps would have been about 212 F and too hot to touch. We'd also hear gurgling which we did not.
So, it was on the phone with PLX (fortunately they are in CA so we had some extra time). After a few hours of trouble shooting (I have a new sensor and sensor module) we determined the issue is not with the sensor, but with its higher placement on the water pump housing. When the car is turned off, the unit reads within a few degrees of the Haltech yet it is higher by around 15 - 20 degrees when the car is turned on. This leads us to conclude the difference is due to flow of the coolant at this location. In any event, we are confident in the Haltech readings and if there is a way for me to calibrate (maybe use a resister) the PLX to read lower and correctly, I'll tackle that later on. For now, I can subtract 15 degrees from the reading.
This took us until around 8 pm so I called it a day and went back to the hotel. Grabbed some food and drink at the bar.
Thursday - Major "work on the punch list" day. This included installing the turbo back pressure gauge, reinstalling a bunch of engine bay components, working on making the alternator look nice by painting it, plumbing back in the AEM methanol nozzle and the AIT sensor to the underside of the intake body, reinstalling interior parts on the car including the seats and various trim pieces, working on the door handles to ensure the open smoothly, as well as unravelling the mystery of why 1/2 of my PLX sensors were no longer operational. This involved about 3 hours worth of wiring together and then taking apart the sensor modules and trying various methods, only to fail repeatedly until I realized a termination cap (about 1/16 of an inch long) was incorrectly installed in the slot of one of the modules. Removed that and shazam!, they all worked. Crazy time consuming task.
Back to the hotel for more food and drink!
Friday - My father in law showed up and spent the day at Kilo's. While Kilo worked on larger issues like the reinstallation and activation of the AEM methanol system and some tuning, we cleaned up the car, continued reinstalling various interior bits and pieces, and then shined up the inside leather and plastics. Also, reinstalled the now working PLX devices, put the carpeting back in the car, and then took the car out for a one hour drive.
This was the first time I've been back in the car in about 3 years. Was a blast.
Wanted to check out the temps on the car and was very pleased to find no issues. Got on it a little bit and noted the tune was just okay. AC was ice cold until it started to blow vapor out - thought it needed coolant but found out the thermostat is not activating the compressor and it's always on, leading to the unit freezing up. This did not get fixed at Kilo's so I drove it back with me manually turning on and off the unit to cycle it. Worked but a major pain for sure.Saturday - Was supposed to be dyno day but go figure, no dynos were available due to the Memorial Day weekend. So, continued working on the punch list which included way too much time and trips to AutoZone getting the horns to function and tracking down a series of blown fuzes related to the use of incorrect relays on the car. Major pain here as the relays looked stock but were not. Got those replaced and we solved a number of issues caused by them.
By this time, the rental car was due back so Kilo's nephew drove me back to the airport while Kilo worked on the AC. Got back around 4 pm and told him to forget the AC and let's go do some street tuning. Did this for around one hour or so and left his shop at around 5:30 pm for the drive back to Jax. Met me mom for dinner
and spent the night at my in-law's condo.Sunday - Had breakfast with the in-laws and hit the road around 10 am for the drive back. Due to the rain and traffic congestion, the 6.5 hour trip took around 8.5 hours but I didn't mind much as I didn't need to rush back. Took the car by a car wash to get the bugs off of the new paint and then stowed the car in the garage. All in all, a good trip.
THE GOOD
1) The car is back home!
2) The mechanicals, including the engine, are doing really well. The engine broke in during the trip and my gas mileage went up from a dismal 11 MPG to around 16. There is improvement to be made here for sure but I'd take 16 MPG on a 3 rotor.
3) Temps on the car, my biggest past issue, are now solved. V-mount FTW on a 3 rotor! Things stay nice and cool and this is without proper ducting which hasn't been installed yet. I'll do this in stages and then see if it helps.
4) The paint looks really nice and brand new. I am waiting until the weekend to wax the car so the paint can cure.
5) Love the way the new rims look. Forgeline makes some really nice high quality wheels and the new look is a nice updated one.
6) The BF Goodrich G-force Rival tires live up to the promise, at least on the streets. They are very grippy and a blast to take around corners. Want to see how they perform on the track but they seem to be every bit the "tire that makes you seem like a better driver than you really are".
8) Free Siruis XM! - cancelled the subscription 3 years ago as why pay for satellite radio when the car sits in a ship? Was surprised to find out the service was active and that helped a bunch on the drive home.
THE BAD
1) The tune is not what it should be. I have a number of "holes" in the maps both under and not during load. During the trip back I repeatedly hit a number of these sections and it got old quickly. I am going to resolve the drivability ones, including the cold startup maps myself and then take it to a professional for load tuning. Not sure when I can do this but hopefully this month.
2) AC issues - Need the AC to work reliably so this will be a priority. Going to take the car to my Supra buddy that owns a large mechanic's and tire shop in town to fix.
3) Interior components - I am pretty **** about the interior fit and finish and a number of plastic items are not up to snuff as they have been damaged. I also want to redo the leather on my steering wheel as the workmanship is not up to standards. So, I've got a punch list started for these.
I also just ordered a new headlight control arm as the bushing broke off of my left headlight assembly. Kilo tried to fix it but it didn't work and the arm rattled off the motor ball about 1/2 dozen times during the trip, causing the left headlight to flip up, irritating me to no end. Didn't have any duct tape with me or I would have taped that sucker down. :grin:
4) Pettit short shifter bushing broken - need to take apart and rebuild the bushing on the short shifter, if this can be done. It works but has a bunch of wiggle to it now that was not there before.
THE UGLY
1) Timing for work - Simply too long to have the car there and it not get down. Part of the issue is I didn't care much given life events, but I want to someday have that "overhauling" moment, you know, the one were the garage door opens and you are given the keys to you completed, clean and ready car? Thought that would happen this time but it didn't.
Anyway, definitely some good news here. Hope you enjoy the update.
Last edited by David Hayes; 06-01-16 at 08:18 PM.
06-02-16, 02:00 PM
#4299
David, congrats! I know it was a ton of extra work on your part to make it happen, but I'm glad she's finally back home!
"Speaking of temps, the v-mount is the bomb and solution to my temp issues. Never got above 187 or so, even down in 94 degree and humid Orlando. With the AC on, little to no change in temps as well."
Glad to see the design is working well. Truly one of the best things FD owners can do to bring down coolant temps.
"IF" Mazda ever comes out with a new turbo rotary car, I certainly hope they consider a similar mounting configuration for the RAD/IC before heading to production!
"Speaking of temps, the v-mount is the bomb and solution to my temp issues. Never got above 187 or so, even down in 94 degree and humid Orlando. With the AC on, little to no change in temps as well."
Glad to see the design is working well. Truly one of the best things FD owners can do to bring down coolant temps.
"IF" Mazda ever comes out with a new turbo rotary car, I certainly hope they consider a similar mounting configuration for the RAD/IC before heading to production!
