Solarsurge's Ongoing 2013 LSM Build

It’s been cold and crappy weather, so I haven’t been driving it. No issues so far, though. Once it warms up a bit and tracks open back up I’ll let ya know.


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Just an update. Been super busy, changed jobs and had to give up the company car, so I’m now dailying the Speed3 for a while. She’s still got some work that needs to be done, still not fine tuned, and still running a super rich, conservative toned down map. Other than the vibes from the stiff ass mounts which have literally shaken my door panels loose, my self-built engine runs well, has 4,000 miles on it, has not leaked a drop of fluid of any type. She still gets 27 mpg highway when out of boost, about 6-8 mpg in boost LUL. She is angry as hell when boost comes on and I’ve broken the tires loose quite a few times with traction control off. I’m sort of in transition at the moment, so if anyone needs me feel free to DM me. I will have more to come on this eventually.


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What kind of oil do you run?


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Shell Rotella T6


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I also had this issue, any idea what's up? Have you had any problems since? I think mine was related to the tune being lean on base map but it's hard to say. Have you seen this thread? https://mazdaspeeds.org/index.php?threads/cracking-spark-plugs.9261/#post-73387

 

There’s absolutely no chance my cracked plug was related to being lean. My map is so rich my AFRs dip into the 9s. From my experience, cracked NGKs are usually the result of too much elbow grease putting them in. Also, since the strap is so freakin thick and they never come gapped properly, people bang on the strap with a hammer which can cause stress fractures that become cracked/shattered ceramic or broken straps.


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Not that it's really relevant to anything performance related, just an "update" of sorts...

The OPT7 LED headlights I installed, along with their 25,473 ft of unnecessary wiring/adapter/harness/etc., were removed today and instead I opted to go with a MUCH cleaner, leaner set of Cougar LED headlights from Amazon. ZERO extra wiring, ZERO harnesses or adapters (weight reduction! lol). In 3 years, 2 out of 6 bulbs (1 low beam, 1 fog) failed. I also looked on Amazon and apparently OPT7 stopped selling headlights. The Cougars also look like they're made pretty well. We'll see if I have better luck with them.

On the performance related front, the weekend weather has been absolutely shitty so far for the past several months, so I haven't had much time to do anything car related as I don't have a garage at this house, but the list of things I KNOW I need to fix/replace:

Control Arms (driver side ball joint is going out) - I still haven't done these yet *sigh*
Left rear shock mount is loose or broken - shock can be wiggled by hand and it rattles considerably.
Suspension Inspection/Adjustments - check over things, tighten, etc.
Alignment - badly needed

Also, next weekend (weather permitting) I plan on scoping the cylinders and checking the health of my built engine before I start to get back to squeezing the juice.

 

OK! So, I worked on the beast today and I have some good news and some bad news...

For starters, I had said before that I had never leaked a single drop of fluid from my car in 5,000 miles. Well, that all changed. In the last week or so, apparently my Oil Filter Sandwich plate came loose and pissed oil all over the bottom of my block and my under tray. That was a bitch to clean. But the good news is, it does not appear that I'm leaking anywhere else. Hooray!

As for the electrical issue with my lights and my fog light fuse blowing constantly, a buddy of mine who is FAR more electrically inclined than me realized that there was a short in the LED fog adapter wiring, which I didn't replace yet due to the electrical issue and planned to replace anyway, so I'm relieved that it was not my fault and fuses no longer blow. Also, since I had to take off the front bumper, I did myself a favor and replaced the front lip screws (that pull/fall out constantly) with actual bolts and nuts so it stays put. It now looks and feels much more stable.

Now on to the engine stuff...the real reason we're here. I scoped the engine, and I have some good news and some bad news. As for cylinders 1 and 4, they were pretty much spotless. No issues at all. Some carbon deposits on the pistons, but cylinder walls are in great shape and crosshatch still visible on the walls, no scoring at all. I had a bit of a scare when I saw an oddly colored stripe on the wall in cylinder #3, but I put on the 45 degree angle attachment and it turned out to be a funky reflection or something. However, the wall does appear to have some very light scoring. Not enough to be concerned about, but I'm hoping the new oil I just switched to will solve that problem. Now for the bad news...

My worst fears were correct...

Cylinder #2 -- the same cylinder I had the cracked NGK plug in -- I've always suspected to not be 100%. Upon scoping the engine, there does not appear to be any damage to the actual piston. However, there is definite scoring on the cylinder wall and there is a really funky heat flare looking discoloration on the edge of the piston right near where the wall is scored. The plug in Cylinder #2 was also fouled and completely covered in soot.

Now comes the possibly good news...

I just changed away from Rotella T6 and decided to go with a 5w30 SN Plus rated oil. I heard good things about the new Castrol Edge w/Titanium so I figured I'd give it a shot. I also put in new plugs. After making the change, I noticed IMMEDIATELY that the engine ran about 60 billion times smoother than it ever has and was noticeably quieter. There are also significantly less cabin vibes. I don't know if Cylinder #2 just wasn't firing right or whatever, but it seems to have fixed itself between the plugs and the oil change. I also compression tested all 4 cylinders and despite the scoring on Cylinder #2 it actually had the best compression out of the bunch and they were all fairly even.

Anyway, pictures below for anyone who cares, and I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Well, boys and girls, it's been a little while since I've posted an update on the ol' girl and I am sad to report bad news. The "revised" VVT actuator that I bought brand new from Edge Autosport 6,000 miles has failed, snapping my timing chain. After initial inspection of the engine, the VVT actuator rotates freely by hand (obviously not supposed to happen) and there was contact with valves and piston in Cylinder #3.

Luckily it happened at super low RPM as I was pulling out of a gas station in 2nd gear only around like 500-1000 RPM so the entire engine didn't grenade. Cylinders 1, 2, and 4 are completely fine and I did 90 degree scope the valves and could not see any damage, but I won't be able to tell if they're bent until I can get in there and do a leak test.

More news to come...

 

Valves are bent. Rotated the exhaust camshaft so the exhaust valves in both Cylinder #2 and Cylinder #3 were closed. Pictures speak for themselves. So looks like I'll be yoinking the engine and doing another valve job. *Sigh*

 

Also, just for the sake of the build diary, here's a link to the video I made showing exactly what happened to the VVT actuator:
Mazdaspeed3 failed VVT, snapped timing chain - YouTube

 

Broke everything down over the last 2 days and found out exactly what happened. Turns out the VVT was not the cause afterall. Apparently, my engine vibrates so much that my OCV filter plug vibrated about 6 full turns completely unthreading it. Both it and the OCV oil filter jumped over into my timing components, broke my VVT actuator, timing chain, and sheared teeth clean off the exhaust camshaft gear. Good news is the bottom end is good and the valves were replaced.

 

I got her running just to get it out of the garage at my job, but I need to open it up again and redo the valves. The shop that did my head work 3 years ago ground down the valve tips about .7 mm and the new ones are going to need to be ground as well because valve lash is too tight.

 

Holy shit man, what is the solution to preventing that plug from backing out? Dab of thread locker I presume?

 

Tighten better? You can’t really thread lock it because it has a filter inside.