03 mazdaspeed protege build

In reply to Cleverfrog:

Guess I lied, did not sell it and its -30 to 20psi sport comp autometer gauge, let me know if you still need.

Cel came on so I went to check it with my code reader and it didn't turn on. Checked the reader in another car it connected fine. So, there's no power going to the OBD2 plug. I really don't know what it could be.

Still no luck with the obd2 plug. I did fix my cel light though. I attempted an egr fix and it failed so I just deleted it and it went away. According to the inaccurate boost gauge I have, I have a vacuum leak somewhere. Also, had a run in with one of my neighbors. He may or may not have been drunk. He blocked me from coming in the neighborhood and then proceeded to curse me for having a loud car. I drove on home while he was shouting and he followed me. He then threatened to run me off the road if he ever saw my car again. Not too sure how to react to this one. Oh well. Next autocross is sept 28th so, I should be able to get some real testing done at that event.

Cleverfrog wrote: He then threatened to run me off the road if he ever saw my car again. Not too sure how to react to this one.

Call PD. Lodge Complaint. Don't worry about him again.

In reply to Cleverfrog:

Report that dickhead to the police!

Yup I would definitely report him to the police. Before he reports you for your loud car lol

Well after some thinking and debating, I am going to finish this autox season out with the MSP as is and then yank the engine and part the engine out to fund the next step. I've done some comparing between my MSP and an Evo4 and I believe I can fit, with lots of work, the engine and driveline into the MSP. The MSP is slightly bigger in every dimension which should make it all fit nicely. How awesome does that sound? AWD in the MSP. It's the way mazda should have done it in the first place. Anyways, I've found a couple potential auctions on fleabay that have the engine, trans ecu, rear end, etc. Basically everything that I'll need other than custom drive shafts and half shafts. Lots of work, but in the end worth it to me. To finally have the power and drivetrain of champions.

Damn that would be an awesome idea, probably not very grassroots price wise I would have to think.

Well you say that, but after some searching I found all the evo4 parts I would need for 2500 shipped from japan. (since the evo didn't come over here until the 7). There would probably need to be custom drive shafts half shafts and some modifications to the subframes. Shouldn't be too bad since I have access to modeling software and machinery. Perks of being an engineer

JtspellS wrote: Damn that would be an awesome idea, probably not very grassroots price wise I would have to think.

Well, I didn't have the best day on sunday. Car felt extremely easy to unsettle, like a horse that hasn't been broke. The first run I went off in a slolum of all things and lost all confidence in myself. From then on was rough. I wasn't getting close to cones or carrying the speed I could through the turns. I went in knowing it wasn't going to feel good, but I didn't think it was going to be that drastic. I need to invest in a brake proportioning valve to help stop locking up the rear wheels and I need to get my race tires mounted. Then, I need to mod my driver. A LOT. Here's a couple shots from the event and some video.

first run

http://vid1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Coinshark/firstrun_zpsf557fa55.mp4

fastest run

http://vid1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Coinshark/seventhrun_zps1cfc023a.mp4

I'm struggling to think of places that I can shed weight on the car now without spending mahoosive amounts of money. Hopefully I can pick up some materials and do some carbon fiber work myself. Thinking about a front bumper with the lip and headlights integrated. Also thinking about how to do a rear diffuser to help with downforce. Perhaps integrate the rear bumper into the diffuser. A hood can be bought in CF, but before I go and do that one of my fellow autoxers recommended cutting a vent in the metal hood to free up the air in the engine bay. So, I'll go ahead and cut a hole and grate it. I'm not sure what other parts I can lighten or delete. The rear glass needs to be swapped for the lighter polycarbonate. That material I already have. Perhaps a bunch of wiring can be cut out. Also could probably take the plastic dash out of her and store it. Removing sound deadening materials.

Any other thoughts?

In other news, I'll be picking up a brake proportioning valve to stop the rears locking up before the fronts the month. Still working on the adjustable lateral links also. Just waiting for funds to pick up the rod ends.

FYI, I tried cutting a hole in the hood of my Civic to help relieve underhood temps. With nothing done except the hole, I had some weird airflow/pressure issues that actually reduced flow through the radiator. Ultimately a "gurney flap" kind of thing on the leading edge of the hole was in the works, but then I sold the car. I know a few others who have since done the same thing (with the flap) and been ok. Just a heads-up, especially in a car that already gets pretty hot.

I guess you could test the hole in the hood theory by using some thick washers between the hood and the hinges to raise the back of the hood 1/4 inch or so. Then hot air could flow out on top of the windshield. Would be easy to do/undo if it doesn't end up helping.

It's more for staging and grid, but I plan on doing something similar to the below picture.

Well, over the weekend I made a small amount of progress. Started by cutting a nice vent hole in the hood with a buddy of mine. Plan on putting a lightweight aluminum mesh (black) over the hole. Then I was planning on disassembling the turbo and manifold until I saw a bear in the cave. Turbo seems to be blowing a good amount of oil. May try to rebuild or just pick up a slightly bigger turbo. Haven't decided quite yet. Also, pickup an HVLP gun and a heat gun. I'll use the HVLP gun for gel coat most likely. I sense carbon fiber in the near future. The heat gun is for fender rolling so I can lower the back end a bit more without hitting the fenders.

Make sure you make the leading edge of that hood vent higher than the trailing.

Will do, thanks Probably just use a scrap piece of aluminum. Or I may mold some fiberglass or cf when it gets warmer.

Have you by any chance pulled the headliner? I'm considering getting another one and doing a rag top, but don't have any idea how much cutting and bracing would be needed.

I did pull the headliner. I don't have any pictures showing whats up there though.

In other news I got my proportioning valve for the brakes :) Now to wait for warmer weather here.

I've been contemplating parting my MSP out and using that to get an FC. My wheels, tires, and front brakes would all fit it. Plus I could use the seat and harness for it too. It's difficult to convince myself to keep the protege and dump a huge amount of money in it to make the engine stronger and have more horses.

Cleverfrog wrote: I've been contemplating parting my MSP out and using that to get an FC. My wheels, tires, and front brakes would all fit it. Plus I could use the seat and harness for it too. It's difficult to convince myself to keep the protege and dump a huge amount of money in it to make the engine stronger and have more horses.

That would be a massive shame with all the success you've had in the car, your history with it and the effort you've put in.

Unfortunately I've seen this many many times and been there myself. People mod a car and love it and use it a ton. They mod it more, love it more and use it lots. Then they go all the way, strip it out and remove all semblance of streetability from it, hate it, never use it and loose interest. I was lucky in that I could pull the roll bar, put softer suspension back on, add some of the removed interior bit and use the car again for a few years until I sold it.

You may have gone too far, but could you put some interior and HVAC back in and make it more streetable and see if it re-ignites your MoJo with the car?

Failing that, keep the current wheels, tires and front brakes, put the stock parts back on and sell it as a complete car to someone who will use it for track days, time trials, hillclimbs etc?

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

It's so far stripped down. Streetability isn't really the issue I have with it. I don't have any of the HVAC parts or hardly and interior pieces anymore anyways. Not having AC isn't a big deal to me up here. I could drive it, my only fear is other drivers. The main issue I'm facing is wanting RWD or AWD. That and to be able to push more boost I would have to dump close to 5k into pistons, rods, cams,new turbo still and all the misc things to do it right aka gaskets, studs etc. Then the issue would be the weak transmission components which would turn into another 5k(ish) for stronger gears, diff, and a case brace. Just a massive amount of money and work for a feeble FWD car that still wouldn't be fast lol.

Hate to see all that hard work go by the wayside, but I'll be there waiting like a vulture in the background lol.

I suggest anything RWD over AWD for the track personally and wish you luck no matter the outcome!

In reply to JtspellS:

lurking in the background huh. Are you wanting parts? If so, what?

Wow, it's great to see a Protege out there kicking some A**, would hate to see it go to waste. I have a regular 01 protege upgraded with the MSP turbo and a megasquirt on it, I'm going to be parting mine soon too for pretty similar reasons, I've run it at about 9 psi and done really well with it on autocross, but everything is starting to break and it's too much of an investment to get it where I want it. Much love for the chassis though, and I love how it looks. Good luck with whatever you end up doing with it!