Well its out!

Well good news is that my Ethanol content gauge is up and running. Not so good news is I couldn't find the cause of my P0171 code and decided it wasn't worth my time/aggravation to figure it out. I had the car picked up this morning and taken to the shop I had build my motor.

Sometimes you need another perspective and someone who is a professional and I am more than happy to pay for the expertise. At the end of the day I am not a mechanic I am just a somewhat mechanically inclined person that enjoys this stuff and has spent WAY to much money on tools! The weather is getting nicer and I just want to be able to enjoy my car and start tuning this S3, I should have it back by the end of the week!

 

Well I am now officially FMIC based on recommendation from my tuner, jury is still out on how big a difference this will make but we shall see. I can say I do notice how fast BATs drop compared to the TMIC and the no heat soak compared to the TMIC issue is nice.

I have been unwilling to leave the stock crash bar as it seems all the aftermarket options for the Gen 2 are a bit of a joke when it comes to mitigating collision. If I do leave the stock crash bar I will probably have something made that I feel is a bit more structurally sound although I realize it most likely will not offer the protection OEM one does. That being said my only option for staying OEM crash bar with some potential was the Cobb FMIC kit. Worst case I end up on a TR8 and have a great set of charge pipes.

I did build some ducting as recommended to replicate the OEM ducting that had to be removed for the FMIC. I installed a Koyo radiator and I have a WhiteZilla water pump pully on the way as well to improve cooling. OEM hood scoop has been blocked off with some foam for now, I'll build a metal baffle when I have time. I also put some mesh in the grill to protect the FMIC as my AC condenser has seen better days after 155,000 miles.

Oh and I did have to move my dual CC setup with a bracket due to charge pipe interference. I really need to paint my valve cover now and clean the engine bay!

 

If you give me the exact distance from the bolt holes to go off of and how far forward from the car you want the crash bar I could definitely make you a more robust piece from some 2x2 1/8" square tubing man. Just an offer if you want to go that route!

 

I appreciate that Street, if I ever do decide to move to a TR8 I'll keep it in mind. I was reading up a bit on different tubing and what's used in roll cages. I'd want whatever could fit in there that would offer the most protection perhaps 4130 tube?

I see a lot of people mentioning to just cut the OEM bar and just have it boxed and welded. The issue with that is the OEM bar is ultra high strength steel and the min you weld it you weaken it so that's a no go. I think a properly designed bar welded correctly would be better than that.

TB performace makes a bar for the Focus that looks really good but no offering for us. No idea what they build theirs out of but it looks a lot more beefy than what's available for the Speed 3 crowd.

Just got some WOT logs this morning for the tuner and so far this Cobb core is doing the job! I'm taking advantage of the weather here at 530 AM before work!

As long as this core does the job I see no reason to change anything.

 

Well I'm officially on the corn mix. I've put 100 miles on so far on the initial map and everything feels great!

Dyno tune is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Damond Motorsports again. Plan is to drop the car before work and pick it up at the end of the day after Will and Matt work their magic.

 

Post up the before and after homie!!!!

 

Well I am officially out of fuel on the stock fuel system. The Mustang Dyno reads low and will break your heart if you are chasing numbers. Matt mentioned this when were tuning and if I apply correction factors for a DynoJet I seem to be right in the ball park.

Looks like that Gen2 S2 I had on the car was actually pretty strong because I only picked up about 30 HP going to a S3 on E30. Car feels great when it wants to run correctly but that's a different story.

I started tuning on the street with this and finished on the Dyno so the first set of curves is from where we left off before the Dyno.

 

Well its been one hell of a summer with this car. I have had nothing but issues all summer and its been rather frustrating. Finally got the car running the way it should be about the beginning of Sept. its been one thing after another but I guess that's part of owning a 10 year old Mazdaspeed 3!

Shortly after I finished the tune on the Dyno I started getting some break up at higher RPM so I decided to pull my plugs as they had about 15 k miles on them and check them out. I discovered that they had indeed worn and the worst was .031 so I threw in a fresh set gapped at .025 which did make a noticeable difference but something still seemed off.

I took a WOT datalog and discovered my fuel pressure was falling flat on its face going to 800 psi around 3-4 k at WOT which was no good.

So I pulled my HPFP out and saw this on my piston.



Lucky for me I was just under 2 years and Corksport took care of me and sent me a brand new set of internals. Thanks again Zach I really appreciate you guys taking care of this! I also decided to replace my PRV since I was still on my original one at 156,000 miles and my symptoms also seemed to point to that as well.

In the midst of all this fucking around I managed to crack the connector on the spill valve solenoid.....UGH! So I ordered a brand new Hitachi HPFP from Rock Auto and tossed it in with the new CS internals and new PRV. Car has been running awesome ever since and it feels good to finally have all this resolved.

Just switched the car back to 93 from the E30 blend today as things are getting colder here and I don't want to leave E in the tank all winter as the car will very rarely get driven.

Plans for the winter are to make the engine bay look a little nicer especially since I am now FMIC. I want to get the valve cover and intake manifold powered coated and do a wire tuck. Also need to get some Bilstein B8s to go with the Swift Springs and finally lower this thing!

 

Well its been a min and I spent the Holiday shopping season irresponsibly spending money on parts for this money pit. On the bright side everyone needs a hobby right?

I decided since I moved to FMIC last summer and the hood scoop was no longer functional I should do a thing....





I used some 3M Urethane white seam sealer to make the raw metal edges of the hood look a little better as well and seal things up. I also decided to use some M4 button head Allen screws instead of the supplied rivets. I pre bent everything as best as I could to match the curve of the existing opening in the hood. I could tell that it wanted to bow in the middle on the sides so I added two holes to pull things down. Just took my time with layout and thinking about how the metal would bow and bend as it started getting bolted in place. It wasn't bad at all just takes some patience and attention to detail. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I also can say I have yet to see a Speed with one in person so its a little unique.





I found a guy not far from where I live to powder coat the valve cover at a very reasonable price compared to some of the stupid quotes I was getting. He's actually so reasonable I decided to have him do the HPFP housing that sits on the end of the head as well as a couple of the brackets that hold the wiring harnesses and various other things.

I was planning to paint these items but after seeing how difficult it was going to be to actually clean those brackets I decided to give him a call. $50 to do the housing and the two brackets so needless to say that was an easy decision.



Took advantage of the Corksport sale back in November and grabbed a set of calipers. I don't ever see tracking this car and honestly just wanted a nicer looking caliper. I'm also going to install some Mazda 5 rear brakes while I am at it. Rear brakes will get the Damond bushings installed and I'll have them powder coated black so they look nice.

I also ordered a full set of urethane bushings from Damond so I can refresh my rear suspension. Plan is do pull the subframe and all the arms, disassemble and clean everything. I am going to paint all the suspension components with a 2K urethane gloss black suspension paint to make everything pretty again and then press in the new bushings. Front subframe will get dropped, cleaned and painted as well along with a Whiteline bump steer kit since the car is finally getting lowered this spring as a part of all of this.

Car will get lowered on Swift springs with Bilstein B8s, thanks again @DubC for those springs! I've also got a Whiteline RSB and some Massive Speed camber arms to go out back. I'll post pics of all this as time allows and things progress.

 

Do you have any other photos of the ducting you made for the FMIC? I did the same install, and need to add some to mine, cause without it the coolant temps are higher than I want. Looks like you just bent some aluminum and covered the edges?

 

I don't believe I do. I made templates out of cardboard and used those to cut some aluminum plate with a jig saw. I attached them to the sides of the core support for the radiator. It's just a process of trial and error to get things to fit right against the bumper cover. I used some edge guard to cover the raw edge as well.

Used this thread as inspiration

https://mazdaspeeds.org/index.php?threads/diy-radiator-ducting-gen1-fmic-woes.5286/

Thanks for that write up @mr_mazda329

Also if you search for threads about BATs you'll find some good information about maintaining/increasing the efficiency of the cooling system.

I believe @Mauro_Penguin has a pretty in depth thread about air sealing the car to improve cooling efficiency/airflow. I can't find it at the moment or I would link that as well.

 

Air ducting work like that is important and often over looked...

 

@Mtnbker3531

Smart phone fail
It starts on Post#8 (Monster Torque Steer: Part Deux!)

Build thread

Basically, Mazda left a FUCK TON of room for improvement in handling on this car, just from proper ducting and aero. Part of it is the platform we share with the economy mazda3's. There are some Skyactiv parts I looked into that we could use, but that's more money and further effort than what most people would do.

Some corrugated plastic boards (its an election year, so feel free to use those stupid political signs from your neighbors yard), and some metal foil tape is all you need. The boards are soft enough to cut with scissors and shape. I used magnehelic gauges from amazon to measure vacuum throughout the hood, and air pressure in the engine bay. I used a flashlight around the engine bay to look for leaks of light, and then I would seal them. It's about a whole day's worth of work if doing it by yourself.

You will stop better, accelerate faster, drive smoother, and run so much cooler. Best part is it will look stock. I went the extra mile and added hood vents to my old hood, still have to do those on my new hood later this year.

I emphasize how important this is before cutting into a hood. All the hood vents in the world won't do much if you don't seal up the front end.

I like the scoop vent you got. It looks great for a FMIC. I went back to TMIC so I did side vents instead.

The only thing I will mention, be careful with rain. I had some water leak into spark plug 1, even with the mesh cutouts I did under the hood vents. It fouled up the plug a bit, so just watch your electrical connections that are directly under and around the vent.

 

@Mauro_Penguin

Thanks for the reply and the warning about water incursion.

I do need to spend some time sealing up the front end better. I did replace all the foam around the radiator with some foam pipe insulation and build those ducts but there's def a lot more I can do.

Fortunately the Speed is no longer my DD which has had a direct impact on the direction I'm going with the car now. I have zero intentions of driving it in the rain or any kind of wet weather.

Long term plan is to move to PI and a bigger turbo AGAIN. I guess I just don't learn .

 

Love it!

If you want or need any info just let me know. I have a shit ton of notes written down from modifying these cars over the last 12 years. Everything from suspension tuning notes, to pics and data from heat management.

There is a lot of stuff that mazda did right, and a shit ton that they left on the table due to cost.

Plus it'll give me a reason to post regularly here again.

 

Thanks Mauro! Your build thread is awesome. I need to find some time to get on my laptop and read through the whole thing.

I do have a CS exhaust Manifold and I plan to run their intake manifold as well. I was planning on coating the exhaust manifold and have someone local that can do Cerakote.

I realize Cerakote only does so much for heat management. I noticed you used Swain Tech which I'm aware is supposed to actually do a great job with containing heat. What are your impressions of it?

 

Swain Tech is awesome! It's some extra money and work, but I would totally recommend them if you are on the fence.

I had the manifold ceramic coated by full race when I ordered it, just convenient. I sent the hotside of the BNR to swain tech.

First thing that was obvious, quality... unfortunately.... The full race coating was thinner than a post it, and chipped off easily if you looked at it for too long.

The Swain tech coating was significantly thicker, and tougher to remove! There was maybe a slight sliver of overspray on the downpipe flange, my OCD went ahead and removed it, but it took quite a bit of work to get it off! During the turbo install none of the Swain tech coating came off.

As for temp difference... the turbo hotside ran about about 20*F cooler than the manifold at idle/operating temp. After a few datalog runs, it was a 70*F difference, favoring the hotside.

Before the turbo, I was dead set on temp control. So I decided to get some titanium wrap for the manifold, and found a turbo jacket that fit the BNR. (My downpipe is wrapped too, but not coated) Both from DEI. I can't find the post wrap numbers, but it made a huge difference in addition to the ceramic coating too.

 

What's the idea with coating the exhaust manifold? I was looking at getting the Corksport manifold, it'll be one of the only things I haven't upgraded. Already got CST4, downpipe, exhaust, FMIC etc.

Is it strictly for heat management? Being in Texas we get brutal summer heat, which is why I'm working on the ducting and upgrading my radiator to the koyo rad one.

 

Yes, the goal is reduction in overall engine bay temps which has various benefits.

There are a few ways to achieve this, ceramic coating is one, some coatings are better than others at retaining heat.

Read through the build thread posted by @Mauro_Penguin a few posts up and you"ll see what he was dealing with.

Also search this forum there's been plenty of discussion here about this topic. It's definitely something worth thinking about.

Heat is basically why everything in a car eventually wears out so if you can take steps to slow that process down you'll be better off.

 

The swain tech coating explodes if water touches it while hot. Leaves little pock marks. I suspect all of the ceramic coatings act similarly, but it's something to consider with the hood vent.