boosted Miata dies, often.
 

So every time my brother calls me, he starts by telling me that my Miata died on the road. I'm in the Marines so he calls 2 or 3 times a week and every time the same ol story. Hes going to change the fluid, spark plugs and wires, but if thats not what it needs... then whats next? he said the boost spiked up to almost 20 lbs once (according to the random boost gauge) any thoughts? pics of the motor in a few.

more details about setup, are you running ebc, or manual. ms? Does your brother know anything about cars? i think your problem is either A a boost control problem which caused you to blow a coupler off the charge piping causing a power loss if your on a stock computer, or using the maf still. or B your brother needs to be nowhere near your car and changed something and messed it up.

hes a smart kid. Maybe not really a kid anymore hes 21 so not be. he is a pretty smart kid and slightly car smart. he said it has idol problems, smells of gas when it sputters out.

All this info came from the seller, i just got it this month.

This is 1996 mazda miata m edition it has the 1.8l 4cyc, 5 speed tras, limited slip rear diff
It has a custom top mount turbo kit
header is custom made for the Td05 14b and evo3 housing runs to a 2.5in down pipe to a 3in straight pipe
front mount intercooler and 450cc injectors
all this is controlled by AeM Fic piggy back, laptop tuned and innvative wide band o2
it has aluminium radaitor and coolant reroute 160f thermastate to ensure it can hold up in 100f temps
adj dual stage boot controller set at 9psi street and 15psi strip flip of switch
adj fuel pressure reg

https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1327193770

data logging?
PS: going to move to the turbo section

If it is logging i wont know for a little. my brother is still trying to get the software to check and tune. Ok yeah, i was not sure if it went in the turbo section, mostly cuz i didn't know if it was a turbo issue or something else. Thanks.

Also, with those 450cc injectors, can i bump that turbo up to a tdo5 16g with little issue? or would it be not worth it?

im not the person to ask about this, i dont see why not, start at lower boost and work your way up will probably end up at a lower number. im not a tuning person im just trying to help the guys who know alot about it with some of the basics.

Yeah, I'm just now learning the boost world, I have had a few turbo cars, but they always had factory turbos so it was easy to deal with. (factory warranted...) But thanks for any and all help, I'm trying to get a crash course before I deploy next Friday so I can hopefully get some kinda resolve.

ask your question on miataturbo.net they're more people over there wiht more knowledge then myself.

If you ask this over on MT.net, you'll get yelled at for using a crappy piggyback. Just an FYI.

My advice will be the same as you'll get over to MT: Ditch the piggyback, get a megasquirt, go standalone and actually tune.

PS have him check all couplers and see if one came loose, i lost power on my bandaid system before i went ms due to a boost spike that knocked a coupler off.

so a new ecu would probably help the stalling issue?

There going to tell you to go ms, i dont know a whole lot about it yet becuse i just got mine in the car, but Brain builds them, so talking to him would be a good start.

MT.net's hate of bandaids and piggybacks is almost legendary.

However, I can tell you I am certain it is related in some way to your ECU. Do you have a datalog (And something we can use to view it!) of when it does what you are talking about? As an example, a temperature or MAP sensor reading incorrectly could cause the ECU to pull enough fuel to cause it to do what you are talking about.

Just saw the MT.net response, I called it.

i caught it too, someone with some insight should help eventually.

Honestly, he's right. Piggybacks at the OP's level of modification may as well have the OP pissing in the wind in trying to track this issue down.

ps may want to make a plate to cover the gap between the where the radiator is supposed to sit and where it is now.

And you should at least install some kind of heat shield between your rubber lines + the brake master and the turbo.

And put an air filter on the empty nipple on the driver's side of the valve cover.

And...

Oh man, you got bigger problems to be worrying about than an ECU. Smack your brother and make him clean his ---- up.

Well ok then, im gonna have him try and hold it all together until i get back and i can give it a look over. thanks for the insight so far and i will try and build some things for it.

i would say, park it till you figure it out.

ps, get in touch with someone in your area they should be able to help you get it sorted out when you get back.

Ok, i will tell him.

BTW, we're not being assholes about this Mturbo.

Untill you get a lot of ---- sorted out in that engine bay, it really shouldn't be driven.

this, i spent about a two weeks going through mine. just cleaning up wiring, and a few motor odds and ends. im now going through to clean everything up. dont get discouraged with it, it doesn't look like there is much there that isnt fixable. just resist driving it to keep the motor from going, till you get the time to go through it with a fine toothed comb. it would also be helpful to have someone else with a turbo miata look through it and give you a hand.

thanks for the help. I'm not one to get down or worry about people being mean, as long as the info is helpful let them be as mean as they like haha. In the long run they are still helpful therefor being nice.

MT tends to try to scare you into fixing your ---- before it really craps on your day.

My advice is the same as over there. I'll add a bit to it though.

If you are willing to put fourth the effort to do the research, put in the wrench time, and get dirty this car has a chance. BUT as it stands right now, there is really no way of knowing how f'ed the car is. The list of things that are definitely wrong are long, and the list of possible things wrong is... well... not good.

I don't know your background with cars, but I'm guessing you have only done minor things in the past. Never too late to learn, but before you start digging in you either need to find someone that does have experience, or read up on how turbos work, what the various components are, and have a good understanding of what you are looking at.

I think at this time, installing a Megasquirt will just make the problems worse. You would just be adding more factors in to things that are possibly wrong. There was a good list posted on MT.net about what should be your first steps. The issues listed may fix your issue. For the love of god keep the boost limited to 6psi though.

where are you located, may be able to point you in the direction of someone to help out.

the car is in fort Bennings GA. my little bro is an Army medic. hes a not too bad with cars. I'm a little better but have never been down there to see the car so i didnt get a chance to work on it. As far as motor building goes i know the basics. I've rebuilt a bmw I6 twin cam, (that was a nightmare) and a 66' big block 428 ford but both were naturally aspirated, new to the boost game. Really I do thank you guys for all the help for me and my brother. I'm getting him to sign up on both forums as i will be out of the country until roughly September. Feel free to razz on him as much as you like.

edit: hes on both forums as remlap08

hahah how long have you been waiting to use that? thats pretty funny.

i looked it up on google right before i posted it lol

Good find, I'm a fan.

ps i would definitely investigate that offer to have the guy in huntsville give it a once over maybe work on it depending on your budget. he will at least be able to give you a list of things that need fixed.

yeah i have been PMing him so as to get some more info. he seems like a good guy and very knowledgeable. So I am trying to get some information and go from there.

ive been following the post over there, hes knowledgeable, i think he helped me get mine straightened out about 6months ago, through the forum of course but still the guys over there have alot of knowledge to share with you if they feel like it/ like you at all.

Yeah that last part is the big if.

heres just a stupid thought but one ive ran into. The ground strap going to the head.

Once upon a time many years ago i was working with some buddies at thier tuner shop building a turbo miata... there were 3 of us working on it all at different points.. they built the engine and put it in and I did most of the turbo setup. Once it got on the road once in a while it would just all of a sudden shut down with no rhyme or reason.. under various conditions. Well i tracked down the ground strap to the head never got anything more than a finger tighten and every once in a while would lose contact.

Just a suggestion... dont have much experience with the piggybacks and or thier problems but i do like the kiss method for diagnostics... keep it simple stupid... check the easy stupid ---- before jumping to expensive conclusions and throwing unneccesary parts at the problem.

The plastic brake master cylinder reservoirs are known to melt easily from radiant heat of turbine housings and downpipes. All brake lines and junctions should be shielded to avoid fluid boiling and subsequent loss of brakes that can commonly occur between 212* and 500* depending on the state of your fluid.

I would also consider eliminating the additional point of failure in the oil feed line to the turbo by going to one line instead of two. The longer one might reach by itself if routed between the second and third intake runners and over the top of the valve cover. Just beware that the steel braiding will chew through anything it contacts just from vibration. That counts for its current routing as well.

I thought there was an inherent problem with how the AEM FIC tricks the fueling but maybe I'm confusing it with the SAFC.