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awe, damn... NASA norcal is running Sonoma with the NASCAR bypass next week. dammit! that skips turns five and six and goes from four straight to seven which would be FKG awesome. (lol, That's the route you take when you spin out at 4 and wind up in the dirt and just continue on to 7...). and I just got the Garmin catalyst which I could try out for the first time... I'm really torn... I don't want to spend the money right now. I'm in the midst of upgrading two cars and paying off a bunch of bills. and I still don't have the damn camshaft position sensors installed in the Z. I've been insanely busy working 5 days a week. I know that's a normal shift but I also run the business in addition and so its 50 hours of driving plus everything else... like doing my own oil changes on all of the vans... $40 versus $110. I'm not a cheap *** but both jiffy lube and my local favorite shop keep tightening the hell out of the filter and drain plug and wrecking the air flow panels underneath. pisses me off when shops do that. so I do that myself. anything more difficult I let the shop do it. like $1,000 alternator last week and a $2,000 AC compressor 2 days ago. this **** is expensive but I don't have time or the inclination to do that kind of work myself. they had to pull the radiator out of both vans to do those jobs. just saying, the track is relaxation and the cost is negligible compared to some of these expenses, but... I've already blown to track days this spring due to problems coming up. as much as I want to go next week, I think I'd better not. odds are I'm going to throw the money away by not being able to go at the last minute. this has been a shitty year for my personal time. but I just meant to share with you guys that the NASCAR bypass would be amazing. I am so tempted to sign up and just go even if the car is not 100%.. The problem is when I start making compromises like that, then I'll run into problems, breakdowns, failures. it's better to not extend yourself too far out. and I feel very stretched right now. so, I think this year might be just a scratch for any kind of track progress. damn, what a frustrating year it's been. getting the car done and then not being able to drive it....
Last edited by Aeneas137; Jun 14, 2023 at 08:54 PM.
I got the CPSs installed and after warm up ran the car pretty hard for 40 miles to simulate one track session and not a single code light. for the first time in this car, I revved it up to 6K while simulating a track run on the nearby highway that has low traffic in the early mornings. I've never shifted at 6K in the Z. let alone 6600. I know, don't say it, just I've taken it easy on this car because it had 90K miles. so today I said screw it and revved to 6K, and was pleasantly surprised by how well the car performed. it has definitely been held back by the CPS errors.
2 years ago that showed up for the first time and I just cleared the code and didn't do anything about it. I know, that was dumb. now with the new sensors installed, it feels like the car has a lot more power. I don't doubt that the computer was pulling timing. for how long? I don't know but lesson learned... which is why the car felt like it could easily hit 6K for the first time.
while I was doing the install and the TB was out, I noticed a lot of grime inside the intake tube just past the TB. so I definitely need a catch can. this is a lot of **** in the intake.
putting on those miles, the goal was to get it ready for a smog check. because I disconnect the battery regularly. so often that I installed a quick release. so I'm getting ready to do a bunch of miles to prepare it for a smog test and it dawned on me suddenly.... I've gone past the point of no return with this car now. this is a race car. it's not comfortable. it's not a good cruiser. it's harsh and noisy. and I love every ounce of that but it's not a street car anymore!
so, I finally made the leap, this car is now a full track car and I am giving up street legal and registering it as a non-op next month. skipping the smog check. it took me a long time to get here but I'm relieved to finally admitted the truth that there's no going back at this point. no one is going to buy this as a street car, with all of the solid mounts and bushings. If I were inclined to try to sell it....
I am now free to do whatever I want with this car without concern for carb EO. which means I don't need the street legal vortech. I can install the tuner version and get it tuned for racing with high octane fuel. and skip that piggyback computer....
I just decided, screw it, I'm going to rent a U-Haul pick up and car hauler for track days. someday I will get a trailer but I'm not going to keep compromising because of that. I'm going all out now. however I'm not going to strip the car. I like the interior and it's not worth doing a complete strip down when I'm not a comp driver. My goal is still HPDE4 and TT. I wil go to a NASA event this fall and graduate to DE4. I'm there already, my cars just haven't been up to the task. Happy to say for the first time that's true. I was always the bottleneck in the past.
Heh, it's like a new girlfriend, you keep it casual, have some fun, then next thing you know her stuff is in your bathroom and she's moved in. Track cars sneak up on you the same way. Let me throw this out there, if it's going to be a dedicated track car I would at least strip enough of the interior to install a proper cage. You can never have enough safety.
As far as shift points, my car pretty much lives at 6.5k RPM, however past 6k I can feel the power drop off so there is no point of holding it in gear much longer. I'm really tempted to do the Kinetix intake manifold to get some power back in the upper bands.
One more thing, uhaul open trailers suck. Depending how low your front bumper is you might not even be able to clear the "wheel stops" they have on those things. I hate them with a passion.
I'm considering the mrev 2 lower intake as well as the stainless upper now that my options are wider. The mrev 2 lower does not help a DE engine but with FI it would help. and I am sure the stainless upper is a big improvement. I heard the early models had weld cracking problems that have been fixed in the Rev 2.
it would be nice to have a quick release for the front bumper but with the aluminum under shroud I don't see any easy way to do that properly. I love how the under shroud strengthens the whole front end. but if it means getting it onto a trailer, it's really not that hard to install the bumper and under shroud. maybe 10 minutes if it's already jacked up in the front.
Last edited by Aeneas137; Jun 19, 2023 at 08:05 PM.
So I've been looking at the mrev vs Kinetix. The mrev has good gains in the midrange but nothing on top, whereas Kinetix has nothing below 5.5k but then has major gains above. For a street driven car the mrev would be a no brainer, but for a track car I feel like I can get more out of the Kinetix.
install both? isn't the mrev only a lower intake? If there's a separate upper piece I hadn't noticed. The YT videos I found on these parts indicate with testing that neither one is worth the cost on a DE engine but they do work well on a rev up or HR. but when adding FI that extra breathing room makes a big difference.
The Kinetix intake I'm referring to is a full intake, replaces both upper and lower parts of stock intake
Edit: I should clarify that there is actual lower intake manifold that connects this intake to the cylinders, but besides some that are custom ported I don't think anyone makes an aftermarket replacement. I guess when we say upper and lower intake manifold we should really be saying upper and lower plenum
Oh, I see. I'm talking about the mrev2 lower plenum which is not needed with the kinetix velocity manifold. I was confused for a minute there. The kinetix V+ upper plenum could be used with the mrev2.
speaking of port and polish, I was looking at some install photos of the kinetix velocity and it looks like the inside neck past the TB is very messy. it could definitely use some cleaning up and port matching to the lower runners. Even without the performance upgrade it's a beautiful piece.
Just found this company that builds custom intakes. they have a complete upper and lower manifold. I'm sure this has been mentioned elsewhere on the site but it's new to me. The upper and lower can be purchased separately or together.
Let me throw this out there, if it's going to be a dedicated track car I would at least strip enough of the interior to install a proper cage. You can never have enough safety.
full circle back to early last year when I bought the 2003 for that purpose. it was already halfway stripped down. hpde4/tt is just as serious as comp but without the requirements. and with an unfair mix of cars, you're really just racing against your own lap times. I think the really good thing about this level of DE is that you won't run into jackasses with supercars who don't make it past DE2. since they just want to record videos to show off. DE4/tt is mainly serious track people who don't want to go comp or can't due to their health or finances.
My goal is to get into TT with several cars. different cars, that is, because I want the mechanical challenge of keeping them running. I enjoy their differences, from Japanese to German to American.
The Cayman was a setback. it was going to be my second track car but I don't trust the engine. it's a 987.1 M97 with two weaknesses in the oil system and the IMS. so unless/until I find better, the 2.8 Z3 will be my German wheels. I don't want to have to be careful when I'm driving on the track. The Cayman would actually do great in AX without any problems.
Guess what I'm saying is, I won't be going to the fully stripped/caged comp car here. trailered, not street legal, but that's for engine tuning. not stripped for weight. I'm leaving the free flowing kinetix cats in.
Last edited by Aeneas137; Jun 21, 2023 at 12:15 PM.
I found a local dyno tune shop just a few miles from home. I love the Z so I'm going to go ahead with the vortech as a winter project. I debated just stopping here because the car is in a good state now, but while it does great on the corners now it still struggles on the straights so I want to give it more oomph. it's just embarrassing when a cammed Miata passes me.
I'm sure the rear diff has a lot to do with it though. I'm going with 4.09 gears, torsen LSD, and the upgraded shafts. I'm hoping to do that during the hot summer months in time for a few track days this fall. I'll order the vortech for a winter project. with upgraded injectors, coils, fuel pump, and a 2.87 pulley, this engine should make up to 450 RW. I really don't want more than that. in fact that might be too much for the transmission. +50% would satisfy my needs. I'm sure a new clutch will be needed next spring. I'll stop by here again in a few months when I get the diff.
that will be sick, 450 whp will be fine for the tranny, you will need to upgrade the clutch. Thats gonna be a fun build this winter!
I've been trying to stop posting on here everyday, sorry 😆. I'm trying out car social media sites that would be more appropriate than posting here in a build thread. it would be great to have one profile with several vehicles and then parts installs, blog type progress reports, etc. WHEELWELL almost gets it right but there's no way to edit the parts list. what I like about it is that you can browse other builds with links to their parts. I'll give it another try... THRODL is in the UK and has no international options. also going to try CARDOMAIN.
The clutch is already starting to go. not slipping yet but I can feel the loss of friction. The VLSD is clunking BADLY. and there's something going on in the front right, an intermittent vibration. Don't think it's the wheel or caliper because vibration stops on clutch in. could be the new engine mount. maybe I forgot to use loctite? ugh.. it's tough getting in there. the y pipe has to come out at minimum. when I installed the mounts, I had the steering rack off also so it was comparatively easy then.
I am at the phase with this car where there are still some OEM parts wearing out that makes it seem like an endless job, that the car is forever needing attention, but these are just worn out parts. a new clutch and diff will make a huge improvement, I'm sure. I have to address all of these issues before installing FI. so much for the build being done....
wow those sites seem to be defunct now. lol I'll keep looking...
I just noticed this damage while making room in the garage... upon inspecting the right front fender, a wheel well liner tab was below the fender lip instead of above it. during hard left turns at THW last month the tire got shredded. That's a shame but I'm glad it wasn't an expensive new tire.
