Aaron's Festiva Build Thread

[Aaronbrook37]

General text update on the direction of the car and current thoughts on fuel economy. Still got a lot of parts waiting to go on the car for sure. Right now, I need to get my performance diagnostics up to spec before I go anywhere with the car, and so that'll be happening early next month I suspect.

1. Eclipse Stock BOV / Diverter Valve
2. Manual Boost Controller
3. Corksport Racing ECU
4. Wideband, Boost, and EGT Gauges

5. After that, I'm going to be swapping to Honda VX rims, new ball seat lug nuts, and brand new all season 185/60-13's to reduce weight and improve grip. My current steelies and 185/60-14's are practically bald, which isn't very nice in the wet when boosting the way the car does!

6. My turbo gushes oil, so we're either going to swap to another VJ11 or make a VF10/VJ11 hybrid. I already own the latter, so that makes the most sense if there's room by my radiator.

Then in the spring, once things are a little warmer:

7. Install new 9.4:1 compression long-block to upgrade from 7:8.1.
8. Install new control arms, tie rods, and suspension bushings.

And thoughts on fuel economy. My car refuses (or at least has thus far refused) to give me more than 17MPG. I think I finally have it figured out... loose O2 wire, cruddy wiring on the ISC and CTS, and a considerable number of vacuum leaks. My guess would be the vacuum leaks plus the improperly sending CTS was fooling the car into thinking it was constantly cold and thus was dumping fuel every chance it got. Maybe the lack of BOV is contributing too, I'm unsure. With new spark plugs, wires, ignition components, fuel injectors, filters, and fluids, it has to be getting close now that the timing is correct - both cam and ignition, and things are running pretty nicely overall. Here's hoping that the low compression isn't holding me back - the rings didn't seat properly and I'm stuck at 140-145psi dry at the most in some of the cylinders if I remember correctly.

That's the reason for #7... swapping the block out for something a bit more fancy. Miata automatic bottom end and a B6T stock head with new rebuildables, water pump, timing belt, and so on.

[Aaronbrook37]

[Flyin4stroke]

oh no

[Aaronbrook37]

Thermostat appears to be holding coolant/water successfully! Hurray. One thing leads to another though and the radiator is literally spewing coolant and spraying the turbocharger (when pressurized) with it. Replacement coming soon.

[Aaronbrook37]

So after cracking a second thermostat housing (what luck, right?), I've finally gotten a third one installed on the car today with a correct OEM brand new dual-stage thermostat. I'm waiting for the RTV gasket maker to dry so I can fully tighten up the thermostat, and then we'll fill her up with coolant and see what happens. I've taken it upon myself to re-torque a lot of bolts and nuts lying around the car that have come loose or were out of spec for a number of reasons. Whatever the case, it's good peace of mind.

In other news, I think the radiator might be leaking, but I'm not quite sure where the surplus coolant/smoke is coming from. With the cracked thermostat #2, I took it for a quick ride to ensure things are running alright after a month off and found coolant spattered throughout the front of the block and behind the radiator. May have just been spewing all over while it was under load out of the old dead thermostat. Here's hoping we're all good and there aren't any major problems come tomorrow!

I know it looks dirty so far... the engine needs a good scrub and shampoo. Soon enough. Here's the pics of the broken one, new thermostat, and work in progress. Man that bottom bolt sure is a pain on these DOHC motors:

[festyfreak39]

looks great, love how clean the engine bay is.

[Aaronbrook37]

Whole bunch of updates... mostly preventative maintenance and fixing various vacuum leaks and minor things. Attempted to swap to a dual stage thermostat, but the gasket interfered and cracked a housing. Waiting on that... so I did a little engine bay cleaning. Here's a before and after of the B6T swap:

[sasquatch]

pm'd

[Aaronbrook37]

You'll have to ask sasquatch! It's a custom welded battery tray that is exactly to the specifications of my tiny little lawnmower battery. I may be able to get you some more pictures if you like, but as I recall, it's a pretty simple design. Maybe he can chime in on his inspiration for the design!

[festyfreak39]

Hey Arron, how did you place your battery like you did, is there a writeup? any more detailed pics?

-Julian.

[Oren09]

....

[fastivaca]

Re: Aaron's Festiva Build Thread

It just isn't the same without the graphics

Sent from somewhere west of here!

[Aaronbrook37]

good stuff Aaron! Did you get the chance to check your cam timing yet?

NO! *grumble grumble* I did have some time to swap my grills and give her a quick wash though.

[Advancedynamix]

good stuff Aaron! Did you get the chance to check your cam timing yet?

[festyfreak39]

that is awesome thanks for the link!!!!!!!!!