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Now added!!! (after 14 hours of fitment) longtube headers!!

14 hours of fun! Wheeee

Yeah, so... I got these headers from Mooneggs, because they did not, in any way, shape, or form, fit his car. So, I traded my regular style headers for his, so he could get his car on the road. They fit mine better, for no good reason.. Maybe the DE is somehow different down there
They didn't just fit though.. they just had a fighting chance on my car. Fortunately, I've got a very capable friend that helps me do stuff like this; Mr Cjthor.
Here's what we eventually had to do (it took 14 hours of testing, cutting, testing, cutting, welding, banging, testing cutting.. You get the idea); We cut the flanges off of the rear collector, and Y-pipe, because it would hit the unerside of the car, no matter what we did, and welded them together, using a 1inch +- new piece of Stainless tube. We cut, and reshaped the shifter bar that keeps the shifter assembly at the right relationship to the tranny, because it was too low for the Y-pipe. Since my engine is stabalized, and doesn't really move, we were able to cut down the clearance of this bar by about 1.5 inches. I was concerned that shifting would be affected, and it was It's more precise!
The 2 front exhaust studs had to be forcefully extracated, and replaced with bolts.
I wrapped the headers, and will wrap the exhaust until I run out. It will keep the velocity high, and protect my underbody aero plate.
I found that a 1 wire sensor to the oil filter was disconnected.

The headers have a ball & socket joint, instead of a flex pipe (this is 1 reason they make so much more power than the short tube headers), but my bolts weren't long enough for the springs that hold it together. We bolted it relatively loosely, so I'm taking it easy, until I know that the joint is working properly.
HOwever, I noticed that it has more torque really low, and then flattens out at about 2300rpm, then kicks again at about 3400.
It sound wicked! It has a low, hollow grumble at idle, and a mean rise. Then it's just loud until about 3400, and starts to sound like a serious racecar. It does have a tiny raspiness at about 5000, and that's as high as I've gotten.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what she's got!
Northwest dyno day, here we come!
Mooneggs called me on my 200 WHP projection He doesn't know I've got a replica of the Tiki of the God, Ku, the Hawai'ian God of Horsepower & tuning, and I'm gathering my Mana, and sacrifice. I'm just not sure if I'm supposed to throw her in the dyno
Eh, a guy can dream. The thing that sucks is that the dyno can't measure the improvements of a ram air system, so I'll just make an estimate.. According to the kids on CarDomain, something like this should make 10Hp... 20 with a sticker.
Thanks Cjthor, and Mooneggs, once again! And Jesus. Baby Jesus.

fowljesse wrote:14 hours of fun! Wheeee

We cut, and reshaped the shifter bar that keeps the shifter assembly at the right relationship to the tranny, because it was too low for the Y-pipe. Since my engine is stabalized, and doesn't really move, we were able to cut down the clearance of this bar by about 1.5 inches. I was concerned that shifting would be affected, and it was It's more precise!

picture of modified bar:

Thanks, Mark.
We cut about 2" from the bottom bend, and straightened the top bend to about 5 degrees, and welded it back together.
If anyone wants to put long tube headers on their car, PM me for a write-up. I could save you 10 hours of R&D.
I deleted the EGR, and had to close the holes. I remembered a mod on oldskool VW carbs, where you plug a dime into a hole. I looked through my change (which was only 1 Nickel, and a penny), and luckily, the nickel was close to the right size. I shaved the edge until the lip was gone, and stuck it in the bunghole, and tightened the compression hose fitting (without the hose) down on top of it. It works great, and cuts down the turbulence there, since it's fush against the tube.
Here's a bad cellphone pic:



I get obsessive, when building things.. For other instance, I ported out the headers, especially in the head flange. It won't make much difference in my N/A engine, but... why not do it? I think all the little things I've done that most people woudn't bother with, probably add up to a couple HP. It's more of a hobby, than a serious try for more power.

Is this the bar that doesnt move or the one that actually changes gears? LOLz...I wonder...is there any way you guys to make a modified shifter thingyfor me? Mine got bent when I stupidly left it attached to the engine when I pulled out my 1st ZE (bad headgasket and I was rushing) I bent it back a little but shifting isn't perfect. My rubber bushing is also destroyed so that doesnt help.

So.. some news....
I've always had the tell-tale hissing of a vaccuum leak, that has gotten worse. I finally started to look into it. It's the VRIS control box thingie, under the IM. I know for sure, because my VRIS doesn't work at all. The good news is that the car is still pretty strong . I wonder how/ if they were working when I pulled a 14.7 1/4 mile. It would be kinda cool, if they weren't! I'm too busy to pull off the IM, but will report back when I fix it.

onlytrueromeo wrote:Is this the bar that doesnt move or the one that actually changes gears? LOLz...I wonder...is there any way you guys to make a modified shifter thingyfor me? Mine got bent when I stupidly left it attached to the engine when I pulled out my 1st ZE (bad headgasket and I was rushing) I bent it back a little but shifting isn't perfect. My rubber bushing is also destroyed so that doesnt help.

It is the bar that doesn't move.
You'd have to ask Cjthor about that. It would be alot more cost effective to get a J/Y one, or put up a [WTB].
Try replacing the bushing first. That may fix it.

Ya I know it would be cheaper to get a JY one but I havent found a single mx3 in any local Junkyards. Wher can I get the bushing? Napa didnt know what I was talking about and I couldnt find it on rockauto. I have ebay headers and plan to modify some stuff over christmas break - mainly my pipe basically hits my oilpan, and I don't know how to weld, so I plan on adding some gaskets to try to increase the difference.

Car's looking good, when you going to make a plate on the bottom of your car to increase you MPG?

I was going to cover the bottom of the car yesterday, if there was time, but there wasn't. It'll probably happen around New Year's.
You might as well get the polyeurathane bushing kit. It slips my mind who even makes it.. You can find all the info with a quick search. It should last the life of your car, and improve shifting alot.

These look right? I was looking for shifter rod bushings, not stabilizer bar bushng

http://www.stagefourmotorsports.com/pro ... itemId=991" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah. I have those. They work great.

I'm getting MegaSquirt! 200 WHP, and 13 second .25 mile time, here I come!

fowljesse wrote:I'm getting MegaSquirt! 200 WHP, and 13 second .25 mile time, here I come!

Ambition drives success eh? I reckon it's doable Which MS shall you be purchasing? MS1 V3.0?

The one from rebel24K: "Megasquirt n spark V3.0 PCB. harness, wiring diagram, base map included. I can also include my 550cc tune. Worked perfect. Includes both GM sensors."