rmoltis build thread 96 aspire

[rmoltis]

I forgot to post an after image of the alignment of my vehicle after the accident.
firestone put it on the rack just to see. This was for my insurance adjuster to prove it needed one.

You should get a new alignment and see if it straightened the rear beam... Just kidding but maybe its a mixed blessing if you can get enough money out of it for a new chassis.Looks like there is a skid marks down the drive from where he pushed you? Glad you didn't get hurt-

he said over the phone incidents like these don't usually require alignments.
and that it could just be related to old or worn components.

So then i told him all my suspension components were under a week old and back on the road before this happened.
And that i had an alignment to bring it closer to factory settings.

and then i had the shop put it up on the rack and get an image of the alignment after the incident and there were some changes.

Then he agreed to get an alignment thrown into the mix.

[rmoltis]

Went out today and replaced my alternator belt.
Discovered the intermittent "knocking/rotating" sounds source.
It has been plaguing me for years now.

I used a solid metal breaker bar as a "stethoscope" and when I was at the area it was most noticeable.
It was the alternator. It sounded more like a bad set of bearings listening through the "stethoscope".

But now I'm not worried so much anymore.

Then I decided it has been 35k miles since initial engine tune-up after purchase.

So I went out and bought some new ngk iridium spark plugs (same as before)
New fuel filter
New cap and rotor
And topped of transmission just to make sure I had the level correct.
Also bough a k&n filter recharge kit to use tonight to rejuvenate my drop in filter.

Once everything was installed I proceeded to readjust the fuel pressure.
The fuel filter was being restrictive so fuel pressure was higher after replacement.
Tuned it back down to 40psi.

I didn't think 35k tune up was a good interval (too soon) but my vehicle has regained a lot of pep
Which just goes to show me I don't know what I'm talking about lol.

My vehicle has been having a "wobbling/rotating" noise coming from the driver front tire.

So while I was working on it I jacked it up.
Took the wheel off to inspect visually.
Everything looked solid until I checked the rotor set screws.
They weren't falling off loose but we're able to be tightened by hand.

This is definitely been causing vibrations while braking and driving.
People told me not to use rotor set screws they were for alignment only.

Well it goes to show they actually help prevent these things.
I even have hub centric rings for my rims.

Anyways.

Car has regained much more pep.
It's amazing what difference on time tune-up will make.

On another note what should my spark plugs look like.
They were mostly tan colored when the old ones came out.

Here are a couple pics help me out.

[nitrofarm]

Never heard of those Convenience screws causing a vibration. Maybe your wheel was loose?

[TominMO]

Never heard of those Convenience screws causing a vibration. Maybe your wheel was loose?

I'm thinking the studs or lug bolts, whichever you're using, will hold the Aspire rotor on. Some cars don't even have those little screws for the rotors.

[rmoltis]

I'm thinking the studs or lug bolts, whichever you're using, will hold the Aspire rotor on. Some cars don't even have those little screws for the rotors.

The wheel gets torqued down with a torque wrench everytime it comes off, 80ft lbs
And I do the star pattern then do it again in reverse.
The wheel was not loose.
Plus the wheels had just been rotated and balanced.

But my main question is those spark plugs.
Should I turn up the fuel pressure or reduce it.

[Movin]

You probably just centered you rotors that may have been a little off center ? The plugs look close enough to tune out the doggy spots rather than to change the base line .

[rmoltis]

You probably just centered you rotors that may have been a little off center ? The plugs look close enough to tune out the doggy spots rather than to change the base line .

The rotors were not off center.
The alignment screws slowly came loose from not being torqued down a 2nd time.
But they were still in their slots just slightly loose.
With stock fuel pressure and the exhaust my vehicle runs on the lean side.

The bump in pressure was needed to bring it back into the correct air fuel ratio zone all around..

The exhaust moved the power band upward in rpms.

The added fuel pressure brings it back down while fattening up power everywhere else.
It also helped smooth out engine hesitations due to lean cylinders
As well as the engine idle.
Off idle acceleration has improved much as well,
less wanting to stall or bog down from low volumetric efficiency at low rpms.
The added fuel helped bring my engine vacuum up slightly at idle too
Which was a good thing.


Also here is some food for thought.

Stoich for gasoline is 14.7:1.
12.78:1 wot
Our vehicles were designed to run at this point.

But e10 stoich is around 14.13:1
12.2 wot


Which means our vehicles benefit being a little richer than stock
To bring the combustion air fuel ratio into its optimal zone
Thus restoring at least factory power potential

[nitrofarm]

The wheel gets torqued down with a torque wrench everytime it comes off, 80ft lbs
And I do the star pattern then do it again in reverse.The wheel was not loose.

Then your rotor was tight.
And pull your new plugs out after a short spirited run. Thats the way to read plugs for fuel delivery isues.
Or keep the FP at stock till you get a wide Band. Then start messing with fuel pressure.

[sketchman]

Also here is some food for thought.

Stoich for gasoline is 14.7:1.
12.78:1 wot
Our vehicles were designed to run at this point.

But e10 stoich is around 14.13:1
12.2 wot


Which means our vehicles benefit being a little richer than stock
To bring the combustion air fuel ratio into its optimal zone
Thus restoring at least factory power potential

Good info. My B6-ME swap is a little soft on the bottom but comes on hard after about 2k. Gonna mess with an adjustable FPR today to see what I can do about it.

[rmoltis]

Then your rotor was tight.
And pull your new plugs out after a short spirited run. Thats the way to read plugs for fuel delivery isues.
Or keep the FP at stock till you get a wide Band. Then start messing with fuel pressure.

That's what everyone says.
But why did tightening the loose rotor screws.
Get rid of the vibration and noise that was being created?
No matter what rim was used it always originated from that position.

Another thing to consider.
Those rotors are not hub centric if I remember correctly.
And since it only requires 75-80ft lbs of torque to tighten to factory.


That holding pressure is pointed directly towards the hub.

Now during high speed driving or very spirited turning.

If the rotor is misaligned due to loose screws.
The faster it spins. The more noticeable the vibration.
That off balance point essentially increases in weight as it spins.
Not literally but due to the forces acting upon it the force itself becomes stronger.

Now all that needs to happen for the 80ft lbs of torqued lugs to be overridden.

Is for another force to come along and vertically or horizontally.
Such as the misaligned rotor imbalance to want to pull outwards as it spins.

The imbalance just needs to keep pulling outwards for the rotor to change position and be applying over 80ft lbs of force.
We all know as things spin faster the forces acting upon them increase.

So no matter what is thought. Unless those rotor screws are tight or in place.
The position of the rotor may change causing vibration issues.
Even if the rim being bound to the hub via lug nuts is torqued fully.

Engineers don't just add screws places for no reason.

And like I posted on fa.com I made sure to check my lug nuts torque before removing them.
Just so I could eliminate another variable, or discover the cause.

Scientifically what I did that fixed the problem makes sense.





Those spark plugs were pulled right after a long spirited run.
the picture shows you what it looks like.

I am still waiting to know if the pictures indicate lean or rich lol.
I have o2 sensor values in real time as I drive to give me close air fuel values when converted.
And yes I know narrowband suck.
Which is why I bought that wideband of fastiva.

This is about learning how to read plugs by what they look like.
I perceive those plugs to be very close to ideal color.

White is lean and black it too rich
I should want it somewhere in the middle?

Good info. My B6-ME swap is a little soft on the bottom but comes on hard after about 2k. Gonna mess with an adjustable FPR today to see what I can do about it.

That is awesome that's what I was experiencing.
I started out with ignition values at stock for baseline.
Because once you approach the ideal air fuel ratio it should fill up all the lean spots with fuel essentially.
Then you can refine ignition timing once in the right zone.

I was having problems during off idle acceleration and idle up to about 2500rpms then torque would climb.
With the resonant point of my exhaust is 4200rpm which is where all the power hits then holds until redline.

Now after adjusting it to 2psi over stock which has been a slow and incremental process
since I have no wideband to rely on for instant air fuel ratios.

Off idle acceleration is great
The torque produced from the engine overcomes the bogging induced from clutch engagement at times.
Torque loss was noticed immediately after exhaust install.
But it has all been since regained by compensating for the extra airflow into the engine with more fuel.

[rmoltis]

I guess a better way to word this situation.

Those set screws help center your brake rotor perfectly.
Then your wheel goes on and clamps it down.

But say they aren't there when you put your wheel on.
And they are slightly off center.
Or set screws are loose allowing play.

Then your wheel goes over it and clamps it down not perfectly centered.
Thus contributing to vibration during driving.

would that be a better description?
Because I agree that the clamping force of the lug nutz keep things tight for the most part.
So this may be a better explanation

[nitrofarm]

Engineers don't just add screws places for no reason.

Those spark plugs were pulled right after a long spirited run.

Correct- they engineered them to hold the rotor on the Hub so you can install the wheel easier.

You cant read plugs this way. Install Brand new plugs,then make a run & kill the engine.Read the plug.

[rmoltis]

I was just reading up on patents today.

And the set screw had a couple design functions.
One which everyone mentioned was to help cut down assembly costs.


The second was to ensure lateral run out of the brake rotors is kept at its lowest value.
To help reduce uneven brake rotor wear or and introduction of vibrations.

[rmoltis]

Someone one another post requested an exhaust clip.
I posted it in another thread but thought it deserved to be added to my build thread.

I went ahead and went out today to try and get a recording of my exhaust sound.
All that I could do was mount my phone in the center of the front windshield.
The. I rolled down both windows.
It only sounds as it would inside the car.

I went for a small drive to a local place then back home.
So there is lots of footage of normal driving conditions through city and even on the freeway for a small set.

I suggest listening to this on a good set of headphones.
Because there is lots of low frequency content which would not be heard on a cell phone, laptop, or other small speakers.

I personally listened to these whole videos on some reference quality krk headphones, their top model, and it sounds as if I was driving in the car myself.
Especially because it is in stereo.
There is a mic on both sides of my phone.
So there was one mic pointed towards each window.

I also made sure to record a small clip going through a small tunnel.
To get more of the effect you may not hear in the video due to being in the cabin.

If you guys hear a noise at idle it is my alternator bearings needing replacement


Tunnel clip

https://youtu.be/GyCPqAA4O5A

City driving exhaust demo.

https://youtu.be/fZKlqQyM-rk

[Advancedynamix]

The Miata uses exactly the same rotors as an automatic Aspire, except it doesn't have the rotor screws at all because it has wheel studs instead of bolts. once the wheel fasteners are torqued properly, the rotor can't move and is hub centric on an aspire or miata hub. Hint, you can get higher quality rotors for a Miata, but they won't have the holes for the screws, but work fine. If those screws were loose enough to hold the wheel out from the rotor slightly when tightened then you would most certainly feel that as a vibration.