S38B38 into my 1977 e12 chassis'd 633CSi

[DesktopDave]

Quite the odyssey! The car has made some incredible progress over the years!

I was outraged about that insurance subframe "repair" fiasco just from reading it. Despite the fraud they used to fleece & victimize, Aussie inspections appear to be somewhat more comprehensive to our slapdash American versions. Good thing you caught that and had it repaired properly. Although undoubtedly inconvenient & expensive, at the end of the day it only hurts in your wallet. The consequences would have been far more severe if that subframe sorted itself out!

Thanks for keeping us updated too, it's a treat to follow along!

[Shipper]

Thanks Dave.

The insurers eventually paid for the repair of the repair, after I got the new front subframe and proved the old one was bent. But I had to pay for it first. Not a good look when you client get's a bent car back and needs to repair it himself after you've found some b'ship excuse.

Hopefully mid December we'll finish the shop tune and road auto-tune prior to hitting the dyno, more than likely early next year.

[Shipper]

Things are hopefully about to get underway again, post the Xmas break. Note that;

1. Expecting ECU guru this Saturday morning to restart the ECU tune. Prior to the accident the car seemed to be running well. Now, 2 years on, the tune is for some reason all over the place, running rich at an AFR of 10:1. We need to pull fuel out so as to achieve an AFR of around 14:1.

2. We'll drain the fuel tank and put in new fresh fuel plus clean the spark plugs, that have fouled given the rich running. We don't want to replace the spark plugs each time this happens as at $35 each, that adds up. $420 a swap, so a clean it is.

3. Big brakes ordered and deposit paid. Going Willwood 6 piston front and back with AP Racing Rotars (323x32). Some old examples in the photos (used for test fitting).

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[e24mpwr]

plus clean the spark plugs, that have fouled given the rich running. We don't want to replace the spark plugs each time this happens as at $35 each, that adds up. $420 a swap, so a clean it is.

Are you using something like this?


https://sunextools.com/products/spark-plug-cleaner/

I like the concept in general, but boy I don't like the idea that any of the blast media persists and makes its way into my motor...

[Shipper]

I'd assume so. There's a tonne on ebay for $40. They all seem to use an abrasive powder. Hopefully it works well.

[e24mpwr]

I'd assume so. There's a tonne on ebay for $40. They all seem to use an abrasive powder. Hopefully it works well.

My understanding is they work very well. Just clean the ever-loving crap out of them to get rid of any of the abrasive media before you put them in the motor...

[Shipper]

First re-attempt to tune went well, post the poor result last year.

We cleaned the spark plugs and put in 42 litres of new 98 octane fuel.

Car struggled cold to not run rich. AFR was improved at 12:1. Warmed her up and we got the AFR closer to 13.5:1, much better than last years 10:1.

Still a bit to do. Still running rough and an issue with a voltage drop by 1 volt when the fan kicks in. This will effect the fuel injectors so we need to work out why and fix it. The Megasquirt PRO III can compensate but we need further turning to get there. As an example, when the fan kicks in and the voltage drops at the ECU when compared to the battery, the AFR jumps from 13.5:1 to 12.5:1.

But she is running, driveable, dirty, but we now have a solid base to work out the gremlins. In the vid where we give her a rev, we take her up to 5,000rpm, still 3k from the redline. So at redline she will absolutely scream!!!





Here's us taking her up to 5k.



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Checking voltage drop.


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Injector cover off.

[GazM3]

nice to see it running. I wouldnt be tuning it much leaner than 13:1 at full throttle at the absolute leanest. (12.5:1 is nice and safe and wont hurt power too much) Most of the power is in the timing, with very little advantage in going from. At idle and part throttle should be 1.0 Lambda (14.7:1) for best results. It would be a crying shame to damage the precious and expensive engine by tuning it too lean.

With todays autotune programs for air/fuel (which I assume your ecu has!) and accurate wideband sensors, it should be a breeze to get it running to 95% pretty quickly, as there is no Vanos, turbocharging, or flex fuel making things overly complex to tune.

[Shipper]

Brake kits have arrived, hopefully installed next week. Here's hoping. I'm an eternal optimist.

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[Shipper]

We think we've sorted the issue with the rotten tune and loss of voltage. Bad alternator and battery on the way out (according to auto electrician who went over the car last night). When the alternator is not charging (which can be any time) the tune goes horrible and the voltage drops, along with the tacho dropping to zero. So we believe that this is the voltage and tune issue we are having. The battery being older (given the last three years) is expected and a new battery is not a bad idea.

New alternator underway, along with battery.

[Mamod17]

I had this issue on my m30 - alternator rebuilt new battery and it feels like a different car - much more power. Previously was misfiring and coughing everywhere...

[Shipper]

Exactly what we think it is. when we start the car and the alternator is charging, we could track it. When we start the car and the alternator is not charging or, where we are running the engine and the alternator stops, it runs like a 1950's tractor. So hopefully we are right in a few weeks.

[GazM3]

It will be great to have this sorted. The poor car has been through so man sets of hands since the Matt days. Hopefully she gets out driving asap.

[Shipper]

New alternator in and car running perfectly (although yet to tune). Will organise the new battery but car seems very happy now. will get onto finalising the road auto-tune for the ECU.

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[Shipper]

Auto-Tune of ECU organised for this Saturday from 11am. Hopefully from there we can move onto the brake upgrade and then full 90% power dyno.


Here she is washed and ready to go (although missing front BBS centres as wheels have been off and on a lot lately).

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[Shipper]

Very productive Saturday driving. A few issues identified. Better now than on the rolling dyno striving for power. Note that;

1. Car was running cold. Would sit at 77 degrees C and needs to be running at 85-95 degrees C. We thought the thermostat was stuck open. Turns out it's sitting in a box waiting to be installed. Yikes.
2. Car is running at 20% idol in neutral with zero throttle, or that's what the ECU thinks so throws fuel at it. This resulted in (at 110km/h) the engine flooding on a down shift requiring a pull over and an ECU re-set.
3. Speedo not working.

So we need to get these issues fixed prior to the next drive. That all said the car, without any dialing in, pulled far harder than a brand new M30B35 635. As it was driven the ECU auto-tunned and within seconds became more driveable in each gear. Even down-changing the ECU tuned the engine up and every second on the road she became more powerful and far smoother.

Photos and vids as follows;

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[Shipper]

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[Shipper]

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[Shipper]

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[Shipper]

https://youtube.com/shorts/0Tioaoiu1lQ


https://youtube.com/shorts/a0VSmoy9Jug

[Shipper]

Getting ready for the next auto-tune and drive. Probably late July. Busy times.

Currently working out how to tune off the MAF.

Thermostat now in. With regards to the low temp issue we found that the temp sensor sits on one side of the thermostat while on REAL OEM, the sensor sits on the other side. Temps may vary between the two sides. We have a temp sensor location on the correct side so will try swapping the temp sensor over and see if this holds better temp. The thermostat switches at 79 degrees C so may still be too cool/low. Will check next drive.

We had placed screws to seal all vacuum lines above rocker cover but found a kit to run vacuum to the MAP at the firewall. So will do that. Kit here. Very cost effective. https://mx5mania.com.au/products/epm...m-manifold-kit

Checking diff and speedo sensor to work out issue with speedo not working.

Looking at issue re ECU thinking we have 20% throttle on zero throttle and will see what fix we come up with prior to next drive.

[GazM3]

Nice to see some more progress but the tuning side seems to be taking forever. My stand-alone ecu drive in / drive out took 2 weeks incl construction of a whole new loom and coil on plug upgrade fully road tuned, and drove back perfectly from Sydney to Melbourne with no issues
I’m surprised you are using the maf. Mine runs very well straight off the tps and wideband exhaust sensor. Hopefully you can sort it soon and start driving it rather than fixing it.

[Shipper]

Vacuum kit purchased. Will get this installed then brakes shortly, around the tuning.

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[e24mpwr]

This place needs a Like button

[Shipper]

Had a specialist tuner drop into the office. He went through the tune while in neutral and amended the map so the car now idles perfectly and is in tune when not under power. Looks like there are four or so items to address but then we are off the the dyno power tune. Items are;

1. Accelerator Cable fowling. Needs fixing.

2. Where does the MAPF sensor wiring go and is it wired into the ECU.

3. Switch on back of the manifold box, is it working?

4. Airflow meter not being used but if it has internals, will be a restriction.

5. Need to check it will go to full throttle.

Photos of these minor issues below.

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Loose accelerator cable gets caught on the black wiring box.

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What is that switch on the back of the manifold airbox? Is it on, hooked up, what does it switch?

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Are there internals in this airflow meter that are not being used but are an airflow restriction? If so, need to be removed!


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The tuning. Now runs great. Tuner has confirmed O2 Sensors, Temps, Pressures, AFR's and the lot are all ready to go and good for dyno.