New Owner of '13 Club with GWR Supercharger w/Moto-East tune

Miata Parts, Intakes, Superchargers, Headers, Exhausts, Shocks, Springs, Sway Bars, Brake Kits, Autocross and track mods.
Zaphod
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 4:54 pm
Location: Phoenix AZ
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Re: New Owner of '13 Club with GWR Supercharger w/Moto-East

Post by Zaphod »

Brian,

I've been hearing a loud clunk when I start the car, since I purchased it, so I thought it was normal. I just discovered that the bypass actuator arm has been hitting and getting caught/stuck in the up position on 2 of the brake lines.

I'm wondering if this is part of my suddenly running rich problem and P0421 code suddenly coming up.

I've pried the brake lines as far back as I dare without kinking them. How much clearance is needed to be safe?
Zaphod
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 4:54 pm
Location: Phoenix AZ
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Re: New Owner of '13 Club with GWR Supercharger w/Moto-East

Post by Zaphod »

Update, and I think this is the end of a saga....

Jay Pabon owner of Tuning Done Right has spent several months and countless hours helping me resolve a series of issues with my 2013 Cosworth Supercharged Club. Below is my story of the past several months (as much as I recall, I wish I’d started a diary.)

First some background. I bought this car with only 13,post about to be deleted miles on it February 2016. The car had installed on it a comprehensive list of aftermarket parts, many of which had been installed at 10K miles. This included the SC.

Here’s some of what the car came with:
*HardDog M3 Sport Black Powder coated w/ Double Diagonal
*I.L. Motorsport Miata Competition Engine Mounts
*MX5 Speedsport SL-1 Super Light Carbon/Carbon Single Clutch and Steel Flywheel package: 2.0 6SPEED 2.0 6 Speed
*Moto-East MX-5 MP62 Cosworth/ GWR / FM Cold Air Intake
*Good-Win Racing MX5 Miata Intercooled MP62 SUPERCHARGER Kit Complete with MOTO-EAST Tune 2006-2015
*CSF Miata MX-5 Radiator
*Progress Technologies MX5 FRONT and REAR Anti-squat Bar Combo
*Progress Technologies MX5 Springs
*RoadsterSport "Q" Stainless Steel PREMIUM ADJUSTABLE Sound MX5 Miata Exhaust
*RoadsterSport MX5 STREET Header, BRIGHT CERAMIC FINISH
*RoadsterSport Stainless MX5 Miata Mid-pipe with Converter

I felt I got a fantastic bargain considering I paid current book value for a very clean showroom condition car and it had all this done to it already.

I went into this expecting issues, it is a modified car with a lot more power than stock after all.

So here is where the “fun” begins. I drove the car daily, for 6000 trouble free miles into the middle of July in Phoenix, AZ. Smiles all the way and getting about 22-24MPG, which I thought was great. Then the check engine light came on one day. It was P0421. In addition to the CEL, gas mileage dropped significantly to approximately 17MPG, tailpipes got black and sooty; I was getting new popping sounds lifting off throttle and puffs of black smoke on hard acceleration too. These were sudden changes; one day it was fine and the next it was not.

I reached out to Brian Goodwin in his forum and by phone. The first suggestion was going 1 step colder on spark plugs, which I did. I also discovered the car had the original OEM plugs in it at this point. This did not improve anything. He then suggested I reach out to Moto-East to get the tune looked at. I did that, paid them their fee to review logs etc. Their response was limited, but basically I was told the tune is fine but the header CAT might have an issue due to the P0421 code.
At about this time, Jay Pabon reached out to me on the posts I made on Goodwin’s Talk Forum. He offered free help and claimed to know exactly what was wrong and how to fix it. I was hesitant and skeptical being new to the NC community. I had limited knowledge of the tuners and noticed some less than flattering exchanges involving all the tuners on miata.net. Initially I didn’t respond to him, but Brian Goodwin made a post suggesting I accept Jay’s generous offer, as he’s a well-known tuner. This made me less skeptical I and I got to work collaborating with Jay right away.

(Side note: I was voraciously reading miata.net at this point and discovered I had the very common problem of my bypass valve getting stuck on my brake lines. I fixed this issue immediately.)

This was July 2016. I sent logs and Jay returned maps to test and log. During one of the days where I had him remote accessing my laptop he showed me a problem. The data from the MAF was erratic, he asked for a photo of my intake and he showed me the issue. There was a step in my CAI that disrupts smooth air flow 2 inches before the sensor. Jay asked me to put the original Cosworth intake on the car, but that was impossible, as I didn’t have it. Jay offered to create a new intake for me, which I accepted. I felt that he undercharged me for this custom, one-off setup.

I installed Jay’s new intake and went on to finding the next problem through logging. The next thing the data showed was that there was a significant restriction in the exhaust. This was found by Jay seeing that at full throttle and higher RPMs the airflow was not rising proportionally. So, on Jay’s recommendation I ordered a Racing Beat Header and Racing Beat mid-pipe. Upon opening the exhaust I discovered that the CAT in the header was gone, as in vaporized, there was nothing there. In all fairness, Goodwin’s site CLEARLY states that this header is NOT for supercharged cars. Its contents had been blown down into the second CAT, hence the restriction.

Back to tuning with the new exhaust and the next issue crops up. Intake temps are higher than they should be and not dropping as quickly as they should after boosting. Investigating this resulted in finding that the water pump with the kit just couldn’t move enough water through the system; there was barley any flow. My solution was to copy Goodwin, and that was to add a second pump. My intercooler water flow is now vigorous and intake temps are much improved.

Previously Jay had let me know that the fuel injectors with this kit run out of capacity at the top end and I would need to upgrade them. Running a more open intake and a much less restricted exhaust further exacerbates this. So I purchased injectors from Jay, he said they’re the same ones he uses with his turbo kits. I was surprised by how affordable they were, must less than I see injectors advertised on most tuners’ sites.

Somewhere along the line I also added a 3 BAR MAP sensor, Jay did not require this but I asked about it and he said it would help him create a more accurate tune.

It’s been about a month since I flashed the final calibration that Jay sent me, and it has been fantastic. The car is smooth and fast. It’s deceptively fast, in that I know it’s faster than before, but power delivery is so smooth that it doesn’t “feel” as fast as it really is. I look down at the speedo and think, “why am I at a 125mph on my morning commute? I didn’t think I was going that fast as I enter a long sweeper to change highways.” The biggest bottleneck and challenge I will always have is the low octane fuel in AZ, we only get 91 here. In the past month I’ve had zero drivability issues, no CELs, just normal everyday driving reliability. It has been frustrating along the way and a little expensive buying new exhaust parts etc., but Jay was true to his word. I offered to pay him, as this was a lot more work for him than just a quick recalibration. He refused to charge me, as his original offer in July was for free help. I had hoped he might “over-charge” me for the few parts he made and sold me, but he didn’t. I did send him a Christmas gift for him and his wife, as thanks and “payment” for all the work he did late at night, early in the morning, and on weekends. I also recognize that he did this for me, a complete stranger, while developing, testing, and demonstrating his RFT. That setup looks awesome.
blackone
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Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:36 pm
Location: South Florida
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Re: New Owner of '13 Club with GWR Supercharger w/Moto-East

Post by blackone »

Anthony thanks for such a generous post.
My goal from day one is been make sure anyone who jumps into the MX5 FI arena gets to enjoy their FI MX5 dream.

As I found out getting your MX5 boosted is the equivalent of being dropped in the Amazon jungle by yourself with no map and no bug repellent . NO ONE seems able or even interested in helping you! Even those whom you hire at times appear content to let you enjoy the beauty of the rain forest forever. :cry:

It is a world of pain for most.

Glad you are enjoying your car now.

Jay
Tuning Done Right USA.
Brian
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Re: New Owner of '13 Club with GWR Supercharger w/Moto-East

Post by Brian »

Great post Anthony...and great work Jay!
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
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