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Pulling front cover, inspecting and replacing with S5 Turbo II front cover for proper oil drain.
This required also removing the oil pan, and in the same time period I swapped to the ATKINS oil thermal pellet delete, new crush washer as well as new O-ring.. Took a few days for everything to come in and once arrived completed quickly! Ready for paint!
After front cover swap, cleaning and painting engine, I also made the decision to replace the OEM clutch kit for a stage 1 NA clutch from Exedy. It should have decent holding power for the HP goals set on this build.
The engine has now made it's way now back in the car and ready to begin accessory mounting.
I had my good friend take care of the S5 Turbo II lower intake manifold that I purchased, he welded, ported and milled for a great port match on the 6 port Irons . After a good cleaning and blasting it was ready for re-installation and to prepare for the fuel system to be installed...
I have begun working on installing the intake manifolds, as well as fuel injectors, replacement of rubber grommets in the manifolds and swapping over all the old rubber fuel lines to accept E-85 (bio friendly hoses going in) Found a tidy place to mount the fuel pressure regulator as well as flex fuel sensor on the upper areas of the firewall. Next up is installation of the new fuel pump and it's nearby hoses at the tank to hardlines under the chassis.
Aeromotive Stealth 340 Misc gaskets for front cover and intake manifolds ect... S4 TurboII Rails are being used without a FPR or FPD 1050's and 1700's installed! Continental Flex fuel sensor with fluid temp sensor built in also. Fuel system upgrades for e-85 including a SS 10 Micron filter. Fuel pressure regulator on the return side of things. Coming back together!
So there's a slight issue that i'll need to resolve with my exhaust. The car is currently running a true dual setup from Racing Beat and I don't neccessarily want the expense of a full TII exhaust setup. SO i've purchased the 3" Racing beat unit and plan to have it modified and a dual flange installed to mate up with the rest of the midsection/silencer. Hope it goes well, kinda sucks to have to cut into a brand new Downpipe! I'll also be having another bung welded on further downstream for wideband longevity.
A few other pictures of the setup, I need a solution for the D585 coils for mounting and also plan on keeping everything very clean and tidy as possible.
Did the GM sensor swap for coolant temp as well as intake air temp sensor. A bit of tapping was required on the TB inlet to allow the much larger Sensor. The coolany temp is OEM size threads FYI.
Also will need an intake plenum/filter solution as the Stg 3 BRN has quite a large intake on the compressor . Maybe able to use the existing NA ducting and add a filter? Ideally I'd like to retain the airbox, if only for looks and engine bay correctness. We'll see!
Exhaust downpipe welding is finished up. Had a Bung added downstream for wideband install, hoping the flange angles are just right to mount up to the Racing Beat mid section "pre silencer".
Have also started working on fuel system: Pump install, hose replacement, routing, flex fuel sensor and e-85 capable fuel filter update. Went with a 10 micron filter and Gates Bio friendly hoses.
Aeromotive stealth Pump hanger Custom Downpipe to mate with Racing Beat "True Dual" Naturally aspirated mid section Flex fuel support with fluid temp sensor Rails closeup with ID 1350 and ID 1700cc Gates Bio Fuel. OEM vs Upgraded 10 Micron filter
Definitely have started a box of "ITEMS NOT BEING USED" !!
Custom downpipe fit like a GLOVE.. Need to remove it again to wrap it but going to get the car up and running first.
Started working on Turbo mounting/mockup. Found an OEM turbo oil drain to drain into the front cover as intended, and also installed oil pressure sensor for Haltech and Turbo oil supply line from the oil filter pedestal.
Working on coolant supply and return to and from the Turbo as well as replaced the NA throttle cable with the appropriate Turbo version.
NA vs TII Throttle cable Removed Misc NA items or items that will no longer be used. MAC Valve, Turbo, Coolant routing Coolant routing and turbo heat shield. Oil pressure and Fuel pressure sensors. OEM S5 Turbo Oil drain assembly.
Working on getting auxiliary parts back into the engine bay. For OEM+ look i am planning to retain the factory air intake system cover (mazda logo). I ended up mounting my cylindrical air filter with the OEM NA intake ducting directly onto the Turbo and the filter itself is sitting under the airbox assembly lid. I think it works for now, need to mock up and fabricate some brackets but it's satisfactory.
Picked up a D585 coil bracket mount from LRB Speed out of clearwater, Florida. It's very tidy in the fact it holds the coils near the firewall in the OEM location. I'll have some custom ignition wires made up for the distance from the D585's to the plugs.
My buddy Chad, the previous owner of this car, is spear-heading building my Haltech Harness and will also be a keystone and major help in getting the car running and tuned. Chad is a miracle worker and great friend to have, he truly just enjoys helping others and working on these cars!
He has started preliminary measurements of the harness and break off points for the different circuits of wiring. The car will retain HVAC and also in the event of any sensor not seeing what it wants or needs to see will illuminate the OEM check engine light with an optional limp mode and I can diagnose from there.
So far the Harness has Oil pressure, Oil temp, Fuel pressure, water temp, knock sensor, Electronic boost control , dedicated fuel pump wiring, and a solid state fuel pump controller from a subaru. Of course Ignition (D 585 Coils) , CAS, Wiper power, HVAC, Wideband sensor have all been built into the harness as well.
Needless to say we are getting CLOSE!!! LRB D585 coil mount Preliminary Haltech wiring, measurements, break off points ect.. Hidden air filter, need brackets and finishing touches. It's starting to look like it's getting somewhere!!
The Haltech 1500 harness is coming to fruition and photos are hitting my inbox of it's awesomeness since last week! Today May 8th, we did a final measurement before he finishes the plug installs and shrinking. He's using Raychem DR-25 to finish up the harness shrink wrapping and also will be labeling for easy install. "Virtually plug and play" is what we are going for here. I still have a few items to finish up on the mechanical end of things before we get the car started up for the first time.
-Mount a dedicated circuit breaker/fuse for the haltech power source.
-Isolate fuel pump ground to chassis for the PWM relay to function properly
-Resolve binding issue on waste gate arm and verify lowest opening psi.
Fingers crossed this car will be running in the week or so!
-M
Service loops Measure twice, cut once... Last time measuring before terminating harness.
My good buddy, tuner and all around rx7 guru made his way down with the finalized version of my custom plug and play Haltech harness. Factory connections for TPS, windshield wipers, fuel pump hanger, flex fuel sensor, 100 psi fuel and oil pressure sensors, GM coolant temperature, GM intake air temperature, direct fire D585 ignition coils, subaru 2.5 bar map sensor, AEM wideband, Subaru fuel pump controller and Air condition signal!!
Today is the day. We finished up wiring the PWM controller for the fuel pump, he made his last connection length checks and starting hooking up the appropriate connections and shortly after calibrating sensors and TPS. I mounted the upper intake and FINALLY got to use the brand new gasket and LONG BOLT i purchased. Wiggled everything into place and secured everything neatly out of the way for a first start..
After a few ignition setup changes we have a FIRST START!!! Custom plug and play Haltech Harness Turbo II hood ready to mount up after paint... The finished product after 5 months. Much easier to mount the intercooler with the proper intake hose in place.. The Ebay junk wasnt cutting it. Chad working his magic touch Out in the sunlight after 5 months!
Cleaning up misc items in the engine bay, the car is running fantastic now has around 250 miles on the setup and the Haltech 1500 is slowly filling the cell's with LTFT turned ON. I am waiting on the TII hood to be completely repainted before I start driving the car many many more miles to finish up and fine tune everything. HAPPY TIMES!
-M
Cleaning up the engine bay and making it look nearly as much OEM as possible is the goal here.
I'm in the middle of Negotiations for a well kept GTU with 55k mi on it (Hopefully they take my offer). but looking at your build inspiries and also terrorfies to do the same (but drifting oriented).
I'm in the middle of Negotiations for a well kept GTU with 55k mi on it (Hopefully they take my offer). but looking at your build inspiries and also terrorfies to do the same (but drifting oriented).
This GTU was in excellent running order as a naturally aspirated factory ecu car. After the nearly 2000 mile road trip without a single hitch I had taken with this car just last year , I was very apprehensive to take the plunge in modifying it. But now the hard part is done and I get to continue to enjoy the car.
Hope you get the car you’re looking for and plan to enjoy it.
Hooked up with my buddy this AM and we did some final tuning on 93 pump fuel. Car is pulling a STRONG 10-11 PSI without a hitch !!
Only issue I’m having is I NEED to get a dual alt/waterpump belt setup. Was having just a bit of issue with slippage at higher RPMs.
Also need to get the Downpipe wrapped up for some heat management. Turbos and DP’s get HOT. WAY more so than NA cars LOL.
Otherwise I am very satisfied so far with about 600 miles on the car since getting it back together in May. Next step is e-85 tuning later this year after another trip to the Tail of the dragon.
For now enjoy this little video I put together , hopefully YouTube doesn’t kill the music..
How does the low-end torque feel with the port matched intake? And when do you feel the turbo start to spool?
A 6 port turbo is something I want to do once everything else with my car is sorted, and I'm wondering whether it's worth the effort to retain the aux port functionality or just port match the intakes and be done with it.
And excellent work keeping that car clean, it's rare to see Rx7s in that shape
How does the low-end torque feel with the port matched intake? And when do you feel the turbo start to spool?
A 6 port turbo is something I want to do once everything else with my car is sorted, and I'm wondering whether it's worth the effort to retain the aux port functionality or just port match the intakes and be done with it.
And excellent work keeping that car clean, it's rare to see Rx7s in that shape
Thanks for the kind words! I’ve never owned a turbocharged car before so I’ll give my best opinion about how the car drives and runs :
The Drivability is very similar to when it was NA, down low rpms just driving around normally as a commuter car is the same as ever , once more throttle is applied the car begins to build 5 lbs of boost right at 3000 RPMs and I’m seeing 10 psi by 6000 rpms. At this point I’m very happy with the setup. Keeping the Aux ports would require a custom / spaced manifold for turbo to fit. This is all literally a bolt on solution. I had to notch the TII lower intake manifold slightly with a grinder to clear the enlarged bnr compressor housing. I maybe removed 3mm worth of depth in 1 quarter sized area.
The car is a blast to drive and I look forward to many fun drives in the future.
The Drivability is very similar to when it was NA, down low rpms just driving around normally as a commuter car is the same as ever , once more throttle is applied the car begins to build 5 lbs of boost right at 3000 RPMs and I’m seeing 10 psi by 6000 rpms. At this point I’m very happy with the setup. Keeping the Aux ports would require a custom / spaced manifold for turbo to fit. This is all literally a bolt on solution.
That's good to hear, I was concerned that a port matched manifold would make the car worse to drive in town (aux ports open + poor transition due to port match) but it sounds like that isn't a big problem. I was looking into the whole custom turbo manifold solution but that quickly spirals into getting a turbo (since you're making the manifold anyways), external wastegate, a front mount with same-side end tanks or a custom UIM to get the intake to end up on the driver's side, custom downpipe, etc.
The bolt on solution of the TII parts looks hard to beat. Especially since I already have most of them and they seem to work well on your car
That's good to hear, I was concerned that a port matched manifold would make the car worse to drive in town (aux ports open + poor transition due to port match) but it sounds like that isn't a big problem. I was looking into the whole custom turbo manifold solution but that quickly spirals into getting a turbo (since you're making the manifold anyways), external wastegate, a front mount with same-side end tanks or a custom UIM to get the intake to end up on the driver's side, custom downpipe, etc.
The bolt on solution of the TII parts looks hard to beat. Especially since I already have most of them and they seem to work well on your car
And of course it always depends on what the goals are for YOUR own personal car. For me it was to have an OEM + looking car, turbocharged with more hp than a factory TII car. Using my NA engine that has 75000, miles on it is of course a risk. However the supporting modifications add a level of safety for the engine and definitely added some level of cost increase to the project… , and albeit the 1500 elite is probably more than I’ll need at the moment but to have the auxiliary inputs for a later date / build modifications ect.. are nice to have handy. Who knows if in a few years this engine will tire and I may switch to a 4 port block/rotors at that point
I must say I was totally amazed at how well the car drove on just a base map on the Haltech . It wasn’t happy making boost above 2 psi and going full rich for safety but breaking in my clutch just driving normally for 500 miles was handled perfectly by the ECU. I must give credit to my friend and also previous owner of this car for getting my wire harness completed for me, and
assisting In getting the car running and now tuned.
if you do decide to dive into a turbo 6 port just take your time and collect all the parts first before tearing the car apart. Enjoy man !
The car came together very nicely!! That's impeccable work right there!!
Thank you I appreciate the kind words! The car has just over 800 miles on it now since getting everything back together and finalized the tuning on 93 octane. Everything is running excellent, no fuel, oil or coolant leaks (WOOHOO) The car begins to build boost around the 3500rpm mark and full boost 9-10 PSI is around 6000 rpms. We have started transitioning into e85 tuning but that will take a bit of time still. I am amazed how easily the Haltech is to use, tune, verify sensor readings and overall am extremely happy with the results of my 6 port turbo setup.
The real test is this weekend... We are heading back to deal's gap, Tail of the dragon in TN/NC mountains as a group of cars to take the mountains on and just enjoy some fall scenery driving (nearly fall) I plan on leaving Florida Sunday and returning Wednesday evening, should be over and around 1500+ miles for sure so wish me luck! HAHA
I am bringing a few spares for the road trip (Spare alternator/Spare waterpump/coolant hoses/extra vac tubing and fuel tubing, and have ensured no fuel hoses or parts of the wire harness are being pinched or damaged by any components the last 800 miles of driving and tuning.
The car is “finished” for now.. I still have a few things I want to change on the car but I’ll update this thread at a later date. A couple weeks back I drove from Tampa to the NC mountains to hit most of the fast mountain roads and the tail of the dragon several passes without a single issue and back home round trip about 1600 miles successfully !
here’s an updated walk around video of the car and an engine bay view. Enjoy and stay tuned for future changes coming !! -M
A quick "Winter" update on how things are going with the 6port Turbo. I've driven about 2800 miles since finishing and getting the car up and running. I am now transitioning into running and tuning on E85 fuel. Over the last week I've been driving the car A LOT, mainly to begin blending in E-85 while burning off 93 and refilling with E. Usually only once or twice a month but this week 3 consecutive days in a row and I plan on commuting to work again tomorrow. I am up to E72% according to the Haltech software and here are my thoughts on this interesting fuel source:
Pros :
There is a noticeable increase in power in every part of the rpm range according to my butt dyno
The throttle response is much crisper and quicker to rev with no load over 93 pump fuel
I literally watched carbon deposits shoot from my mufflers/exhaust/engine internals?? after 2 days of running E85 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G5y...ew?usp=sharing
The stench of burning gasoline at idle is gone (No emissions in Florida = No cat converter..
I no longer stink after driving the car !
No more black soot or residue on the RB muffler tips
Intake charge temps remain COOL (Sub 115f) while boosting consecutively through the gears..
Even if it burns 30+ % more fluid, it IS much cheaper than 93 pump fuel. But I am not too concerned with fuel mileage in actuality.
Cons:
Must use an alcohol friendly premix. I am running renewablelube BIO Rotary premix which is safe for ALL fuels according to them. So 93 and E..
I don't drive this car often. Therefore I am genuinely afraid to leave the car sitting in my garage with E-85 in the tank... I average about 100 miles per month usually... I am unsure of the long term of letting the car sit with E in the tank..
I'll update more once I get another few hundred miles on the car. I will most likely switch back and fourth from 93 octane AND E85 (Which is a huge bonus of having a flex sensor!!! )
Monthly update.. Still running e85. Boost map set to 12psi and it happily and consistently sees that much each time I have the car out.
I have been premixing 100:1 with E85 (about 1.2-1.3oz PER GALLON of Klotz Super Techniplate and recently pulled my 10 micron SS fuel filter to find NO issues , no gum, no tar substances.
I will continue to use e85 for the foreseeable future. (Florida pumps are e70% currently during winter).
I am half tempted to modify my boost controller target to 13-14 on e85 but I do plan on consulting with my tuner first of course.
One issue I did have which I forgot to mention was the NEW D585 AC Delco coils I purchased on Amazon DO NOT LIKE the dwell timing we had set. They started to auto discharge around 8psi and 5500rpms These are the brand new style coils they look identical to the older coils found on the 5.3 trucks. I swapped a used set of coils in and my ignition issues disappeared instantly (I was having slight breakup of ignition around 5500 rpms while running e85 only. This problem did not show its face on 93 octane (less volume of fuel in chambers). I strongly suggest the old junkyard available coils D585 type
I’ll continue to keep y’all posted on any changes moving forward ! For now enjoy a few photos and be sure to check my Instagram for more up to date posts/photos. Thanks !
-M
Work vibes Feb 2022 brake inspection OEM + JDM legends E85!!! 3.12 /gallon Feb 2022
02-04-21, 09:29 PM
