I just noticed I never posted a picture of my mounted air to water coolant box in the trunk.
oh and I picked up a very nice surprise for a great deal that I will show off once the car is started.

 

Also, I would like some opinions on what three gauges I should have in my tripple gauge pod in the car. I will have access to all the can data through a device call gaugeart plugged into my stereo head unit. So what I’m asking is what are the main three things I want to be able to have on a gauge in easy continuous view?
in the past I have oil pressure, oil temp and water temp.

 

AFR, boost, fuel Pressure is what I run. Arguments can be made for many different gauges but I find this info useful for when I don’t want my laptop plugged in.

 

I still have not decided on the 3 gauges I want to use. I'm thinking a combination of AFR, Boost, Oil pressure, Oil temperature. Thanks for your thoughts guys.
Here is a little update of sorts.
I have spent much of my time lately trying to get the turbo oil drain line correct. So I've learned you need at least a 5% decline in the line. Also, Last night I was reading borg warner suggestions for turbo installation and they recommend to not use a AN type adapter mounted directly to the oil drain port as it will cause a restriction, of course this is what I did. So I bought the flange and hopefully that will allow a 90 degree AN adapter which will keep my oil drain line at a decline. We shall see.
Also, I purchased some flexible mica sheet to incorporate into a 16 gauge steel heat shield for the lower intake manifold. I'm basically going to rivet the sheet onto the steel heat shield.
My plans for heat management will be this lower intake manifold heat shield. A Inconel heat shield for the turbine and down pipe. I'm also coating all the hot pieces as well as the compressor cover with Zycoat Zybar heat coating. I don't know if I can fit any shield or use wrap on my exhaust manifold. I'm also using some heat shielding tape to the underside of the air to water intercooler.
The other thing I have been thinking and planning for is directing cold air to the turbo intake. It seems I will not be able to pipe this out behind the bumper as I originally planned. So I'm looking at how I can duct air from the passenger side of the radiator to the turbo intake. It is basically a straight shot but the subframe and the sway bar are obstructing the path. I'm sure the up rights from the undertray will be an issue as well. Do any of you guys have experience with this ducting the air in this area. My other idea was to try to force air from the hood but I think my air to water intercooler will be in the way.

 

you can get the manifold and anything else wrapped in the inconel/ insulation

my understand is that this is the source supplier/installer to send the parts too

https://atpwrap.com/alloy-racing-covers/
.

 

So do you guys run oem engine to turbo manifold gaskets? Or are there others that are better? Also I’ve read that is proper to apply some sort of gasket maker to the gaskets as well? What is the stuff that is used for this and is it necessary?

Another question, how important is it to have the Wideband O2 sensor about 18 inches from the turbine discharge?

Last question. I’m fabricating my exhaust. I’m using 3.5inch 304 16g SS and vband clamps. I’ve included a flex pipe at the end of my down pipe. I’m keeping the stock connection points between pipes with vband clamps. Is some sort of flex spring needed like the oem flex connections?
Oh and should I include the brace from the transmission to the downpipe?

 

Yes OEM gaskets are the best, but are surprisingly pricey; the benefit being that they seal perfectly and are easily reusable where some of the aftermarket 1 piece ones won't seal again after removal (I switched to factory gaskets for this exact reason). I use a Copper RTV (Permatex has a good copper RTV), and I coat both sides of the gasket in it.

Pic for reference:




I don't think proximity will affect O2 readings right off the bat but having it too close, especially in rotary exhaust will burn the sensor out due to heat, I'd do your best to stay 18" away. I have flex pipe in at the end of my downpipe as well, I don't have my downpipe braced to the transmission and it is perfectly fine. I don't have any springs in my hardware for bolting downpipe to midpipe; I do however want to replace this flange and all of the flanges with true 3" vbands, still on the to-do list.

 

I have spent hours on my tubro oil drain as I have limited space to run the line. I have tried three different configurations with -12an lines and all have resulted in the connector or the line itself dipping below my front cover oil inlet. So I decided to try 3/4 inch pipe. Now it's not ideal as it has to take a sharp bend towards the passenger side of the car and wrap around the compressor but it all results in a gradual decline that never dips below the oil inlet.
Here are a couple pictures. Hopefully this works and I don't have to resort to a scavenger pump.




I've also had the time to mock up a duct from the front bumper inlet to my air exchanger, first with cardboard and second with some ABS plastic and rivets. I made inlet size about the size of the black grill that comes on the oem bumper. It is not ideal given the lack of space and the position of the bash bar in relation to the heat exchanger. I had to take a very step angle upwards to get to the top of the heat exchanger under the bash bar. I suspect the air will detach in that area. At this point I think I'm just going to test it out and see if its adequate. Hopefully the heat exchanger is large enough and I have enough coolant to prevent heat soak. I can also control the inlet size by how much of the black plastic air vent I hollow out.




Oh and soon I hope to have the intercooler pipe to route and mount the intercooler in the engine bay. It's a tight fit but I think I've found a winning position so I can still see my turbo when looking into the engine bay.

 

The next duct I need to make is something to route the air to my turbo intake. I found these little ducts on Amazon that I think I can modify. I plan to elongate one to fit along the passenger side of the engine radiator instead of blocking it with foam.

 

I'm thinking I can place the fast acting air intake sensor in the stock oem location, the underside of the upper intake. Hopefully it fits, I have not tried it yet. That would be okay correct?

 

Ok it turns out this will fit to the right side of my radiator. The question is can I only use one? Is a 17cm x 6 cm vent enough to feed the turbo or should I use more of the area! I can stack two of these to be about 30cm in height and the 6cm in width.
Anyone with any idea?

 

No nothing wrong with that location if it fits.

 

WHY OUR ROTARIES BLOW UP (AND HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM) ? Derwin

Has anyone read this article before?
Any thoughts about this?
What kind of fuel do you guys plan to run with your swaps?

 

yeah, he’s a reputable shop owner in Canada
.

 

Here are some pictures of my turbo exhaust header, turbine and down pipe with the zycoat treatment. It is essentially a cerakote type coating. Turned out great.

 

It feels great to get everything installed. Still working on little things, probably will be for a long time. Added transmission fluid the other night. Last night I downloaded the Haltech software suite. Things are coming together and should have a first start soon. Maybe over Thanksgiving Break.
Thanks Jesse for all your help with the wiring and working on a base tune so I can do all the necessary pre start checks. I’m thrilled your car is running so well.

God is good and he has blessed me so much!

 

I finally got the car started on December 30th... Still don't have the car running yet. Had to take care of some leaks. I now have those sorted out I hope, still may have a small oil pan leak and the car is ready to start again now. Hopefully soon I will have a tune on the car. I've been encouraged by Brady Holder (does anyone know him?) to use Kenny Mckee from Humble performance here in the Tulsa Oklahoma area since he is local and has a decent reputation. I'm talking to Kenny now and baring any issues he thinks he can get the car up and running on e85 quickly, he has a dyno as well.
Here are a couple videos I posted to YouTube today.

 

Oh and the surprise I spoke about earlier is the CarshopGLOW tail lights. I got a really sweet deal from someone who had them imported already. I think they look great.

 

She is alive. Only took 7 years. Granted most of that time I did nothing to the car. Definitely gave a lot of my extra time to the project over the last 1.5 years. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way. Most of all my awesome wife who has been so patient and generous the whole time. I could not do this without your support. My hope is that this car is used for the glory of the Awesome God, who is alive and most gloried when I’m most satisfied in him. May my satisfaction in this earthy thing be used to the praise of his glorious grace. I implore you all be reconciled to God! He is the most satisfying thing. He is the living water that will cause rivers of life to flow from our hearts. Natalie my daughter is amazing, so full of joy and Isaac was brave enough to ride with me because as you know it could blow up at anytime. Enjoy.

 

Still having some fuel/fuel pump issues so not running very well yet. The car has stopped smoking so it looks like turbo oil drain is working well so far, just one of many miracles.
I took the car to its first show, a local coffee and cars venue. While there I ran into a nice Rx7 FC with a great owner who enjoys the local track scene. I'm hopeful to go with him sometime. By the time I was finished talking with the Rx7 owner most of the cars were gone and the show was over but when I returned to my car there was a group of 4 guys who waited to talk. They were very excited to see the swap and were amazed I could get the Turbo in a low mount position. It was a good time.

It seems my water to air system is working well during cruising anyways. Ambient air temp of 74. Here are cruising temps:

 

Right on Brad!

 

I'm not sure if I have eluded to all the fuel pump/fuel related issues I've had with this project but I want to document this so that someone can benefit.
During all this time my car has been down, 7-8 years or so, I left the old fuel in the fuel tank. That ended up causing a fine sediment to form as well as a thin coat of residue to the inside of the tank. I did not know that these things could happen so I simply siphoned the old fuel out of my tank, thinking this was all that is needed when it was time to get the car started. The car started and even drove but quickly I started having intermittent fueling issues, fuel starving, hesitations when trying to accelerate and the engine when die when coming to a stop. With some investigation I found my fuel pump filter socks were very dirty, I mean black (picture 1). After some close inspection I found the residue covering the inside of the tank and could feel the fine sediment when running my finger along the bottom. So I pulled all the fuel out and cleaned the tank by hand with an old t-shirt ensuring that all the residue was removed. I then proceeded to blow the tank out with compressed air. I changed the fuel pump filter sock and inline fuel filter. I also bought a micro DW lift pump and swapped out the OEM pump as I needed the extra space to fit a filter sock on the lift pump. I applied some fuel cleaner treatment in with the new fuel. The fueling issues were better but still occurring so I removed the entire system (pumps and JDL manufacturing internal surge tank) to check everything. The filter socks looked clean this time. I decided to take the entire set up to Deatschwerks and have it tested to ensure the main lift pump was not starving for fuel due to the physical layout of the system and to check the operation of the pumps. What we discovered is that the JDL internal surge tank has a little drain at the bottom that is supposed to be covered by an one way rubber umbrella valve (picture 2 and 3) and is was not, that was not included in what I purchased either. Additionally, I needed a line to run the return fuel to the bottom of the tank, it just dumped out of the top hat and was not directed to the bottom of the tank. It was an easy fix. The rep at Deatschwerks had a valve that fit and I finished tapping the tread to place a hose adapter and line for the return fuel. I also had to replace the inline fuel filter and filter socks obviously. It took me a while to realize I need to change the inline filter because I had not put but 50 miles on the car. Since I've done that my fuel pressure has been rock solid for the break in miles. I'm hopeful that I won't have hard turn starvation.
Once that was finished, I started noticing another issue while driving the car. The power steering would intermittently go out and many of my dash lights would light up including the alternator light, the check engine light, and even the traction control light. To make a long story short I bought an aftermarket "upgraded" alternator from Power Bastards that can't keep up with the power demands of the car. It is supposed to be a 250amp alternator and perform well at lower RPM's. It's kind of interesting what would make the power steering go out, turning the steering wheel and increasing the car speed. The power steering would come back on if I left off the accelerator or tapped it a little or if I came to a stop. I could prevent it from going off as long as I did not turn the steering wheel. Anyways, I ended up buying a Wosperformance alternator from Walton Motorsport, It cost me 1,145.00 dollars, crazy. Its shipping from England.
That's the latest up date. I will not be driving much until I get the new alternator installed.

 

Fortunately, the Wosperformance alternator has done great, I've had no more power steering issues or traction control lights. I notice the alternator sounds a little different, it has a little whine to it but it looks great.
Otherwise, the car the has been running great after the last tuning session. I'm not sure if I mentioned it yet but I've been using Kenny at Humble Performance here in Tulsa Oklahoma. So far just remote tuning. He has a dyno so I can dyno tune the car as well if needed and it's only 1.5 hours away.
I'm starting to get real excited about driving this thing again. I can't wait to start adding boost and to put the flex fuel sensor to use. I'm attempting to hold myself back and remain cautiously optimistic because as we all know there are issues that arise.

 

I've done a few remote tuning sessions with Kenny at Humble Performance here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I live in Edmond so Tulsa only an 1.5 hour drive from me which is great because I've wanted to dyno tune the car. Lord willing me and buddy will have a dyno tuning session sometime in October.
The car is driving well now, the turbo spool sounds great and the the exhaust note is great. Not too loud. No one has complained in my neighborhood that I'm aware of. I've only taken it up to 5500 RPM though.
The rebuilt engine has about 400 miles on it now. I did the first oil change and spark plug change over labor day weekend. My oil pressures have been good with 0w40.
I installed the Rotarytronics Rx8 Cluster Gauge Kit as it has Haltech ecu compatibility, much cheaper than an IC7 or IC10 dash. I like it aside from the screen protruding so much from the cluster, its okay its really no that noticeable. Its great to have Can Data displayed right there on the dash. I tried the oil temp modification to have custom scaling but messed this up by getting a little solder on the copper windings.
If anyone is interested here is the website: https://rotarytronics.com/product/rx...ter-gauge-kit/
The next step will be introducing boost and e85 fuel which is going to be a thrill. Can't wait to feel the boost.
Oh I still have oil pan leaks as well. I will I could get my oil pain modified to accept a o'ring. Do shops do this kinda stuff? I will have to ask around.
Otherwise, I've had the opportunity to take the car to a few car shows and the interest is always high. My car is not a great show car as it has alot of body damage and aero parts are plastidiped. One day I will have dent correction and paint correction and install a Mazdaspeed spoiler, I have a knock off version which looks decent. I will post some pictures of the car all cleaned up.
I'm excited to maybe attend 7 stock this year, it will be my first. If not this November then next year for sure.

 

Looking good.

Would suggest HondaBond for the oil pan. The rear of the pain you have to lay it on alil thick.