The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

[stuMR2lee]

Your car now and I know you'll look after it. I'm a big fan of subtle and classy so good luck with it. Be nice to see a cleaner engine bay - something I always wanted to do eventually.

[Magic Beans]

It will definitely be clean, that you can be sure of

Heard back from muckyman, as I wanted to check the behaviour of the car before I got it. Apparently hit 1.15 and held it, so it's pretty conclusive that I've made it leak boost Oh well, gives me something to do I guess

[stuMR2lee]

Possible although since that was a peak/target setting I still think the current warmer ambient temperature might be holding you back slightly. It was amazing how a much difference a cold morning made!

Check the settings and go from there. Once you understand how the controller works you'll see how simple it is. A boost leak is entirely possible though:)

[muckyman]

Possible although since that was a peak/target setting I still think the current warmer ambient temperature might be holding you back slightly. It was amazing how a much difference a cold morning made!

Check the settings and go from there. Once you understand how the controller works you'll see how simple it is. A boost leak is entirely possible though:)

Agreed, it was deffo faster in the cold weather.
When I first got the car, I think the EBC may have been tinkered with by the previous owner and not set properly. It had a value for duty but gain was zero. Wasn't difficult to set up. After a read of the instructions (same principle as other EBCs), I just found a long stretch of empty road and had it set up correctly in no time.

[stuMR2lee]

Yes, I hit my set boost limit a few times on very cold days. When I had it set up I would utilise a few different programs depending on the weather/planned driving/MOT.

No gain - oh dear! Completely lost all the benefits of the ECB if not set

[Magic Beans]

This is all good to hear. Well, other than knowing I'm the schmuck that's caused it

I'm going to replace the cold side pipe bits that connect to the IC. It's not ideal as is and is the obvious place to start. Just need to measure the ID and get something ordered. I'll not replace the rest as I'm probably not going to have this in place too long. Although it'll probably be the winter now until I make any real changes to the cooling etc.

[Magic Beans]

Bit more done tonight. Another few pipes swapped back, using the pile of spares I had. Going forward I'll swap the lot out with some nice new ones, but that'll be part of a wider change...



I also went out some of the boost piping again, to see if there was anything obvious. After taking it for another test run the lack of full/holding boost was still there I've got the ID of the pipe I'm replacing, so I'll get that ordered later this evening.

The other thing I'd been wanting to do is paint up the spare strut top/bridge/brace/links (whatever they're called?! ) I took from Mule VII for this reason.

Started with this.



After sanding and prepping and 4 coats of Super White II on each side we ended up with this.



They've now had a coat of clear and are drying in the garage, waiting for the time I swap the struts and do a few other bits.

Small steps, while I plan and wait on bigger things.

[Magic Beans]

Well, there's been some accidental progress. "Accident" being the key word here... Before I go on, this isn't a Mule I post tuning type post!

I've been systematically going through my piping, looking for this elusive boost leak. Last night I pulled the hot pipe, to check the BPV was seated properly etc. Everything looked ok, so back on it went and another test run performed. Same outcome; it didn't boost to the boost limit set on the EBC I decided to pull the VTV and check it was operating as designed. It's obviously got a little brittle over the years, with this happening.





So, back to bits it all comes again!



Look who's just been pulled out of retirement!



Took a bit of time clocking it so the outlet faced the right direction, but avoiding the end piece fouling the engine. I also tweaked the mounting plate, as it wasn't sitting perfectly flush when nipped up. Once done it was all back together and a new vac line run. It will be Autosol's at a later date, I wanted proof of concept first.



Out for another test run.. Same issue with the boost. However, the blow off noise of the HKS is actually much quieter/better than the stock BPV when recirculated?! I'll take that as a minor win!

I then decided to spend some time going over the EBC, to see if I'd inadvertently thrown the settings off when doing other things. Found a nice stretch of road and started tweaking. The police were parked up about half way along, so not sure what they thought of me doing laps of the dual carriageway?! First thing I noticed was that the Peak was set at 0.01?! I thought it was a setting I adjusted manually but after actually RTFMing I found that was auto populated by the boost you hit when doing a run in that particular settings module. So basically I must have adjusted something, which resets Peak to 0, then negates the Gain settings. So to correct it you have to be in the Duty module, do a full beans run to hit top boost in the various gears, which then records your Peak value. The Peak is somewhat governed by the value you enter in the Overboost module, basically to stop you boosting your turbo/engine until something gives.

Long story short: I ran through the set-up process again, set the Duty, Gain etc values accordingly and now hit 1.14bar. I'd accidentally knocked the settings out originally and accidentally identified the correction required I'll fine tune it all later, to get it perfect for my requirements etc. I'm also going to go through the whole engine with a fine toothed comb and weed out any potential boost leaks etc there might be. Things way beyond the regular boost piping, looking at other areas that aren't as efficient as they could be. All part of wider plans for the car, so this will be a gradual process. One that will need to be repeated as/when parts change.

Oh, the top mount joint/brace/bridge/whatever they're called bits are now painted and dry. I'll fit them at some point soon, dependent on if/when I fir the coilovers.



So in summary: Much user error and a couple of accidental fixes. I'll take that!

[stuMR2lee]

Nice to see the HKS back in place:). That'll be why I never had the same issues as you then! I couldn't tell a noise difference with or without a recirc pipe. The recirc adapter itself made a nicer sound than than usual HKS insert to my ears.

That bracket is a bit overkill I know but it works and all I had to hand after the flimsy stock HKS bracket snapped on me one day

[stuMR2lee]

Double post!

[craig]

Glad you got the boost problem sorted mate. Now, pull that recirc hose off the HKS!!

[Magic Beans]

Nice to see the HKS back in place:). That'll be why I never had the same issues as you then! I couldn't tell a noise difference with or without a recirc pipe. The recirc adapter itself made a nicer sound than than usual HKS insert to my ears.

That bracket is a bit overkill I know but it works and all I had to hand after the flimsy stock HKS bracket snapped on me one day

The adapter does definitely soften the sound. The bracket is a beast but it's rock solid. Just needed a bit of fettling to straighten it back up again.

It's all got to come off again the future, as it will need polishing and painting. Now the actual colour scheme for the bay has been decented. Clue: It doesn't include the silver

Glad you got the boost problem sorted mate. Now, pull that recirc hose off the HKS!!

Nope!

[ashley]

Sounds like progress Phil....have you bought a set of forged pistons yet though....?

[Magic Beans]

Sounds like progress Phil....have you bought a set of forged pistons yet though....?

Can you see my screen from there?!

If I were to go down that road again i'd prefer a built engine, ideally a 5S. Chances of that happening though

All hypothetical speak of course

[Magic Beans]

MOT day today! No matter how good I know a car is I always get concerned when it comes to MOTs I'm not sure what the rules are but I always get myself right in there and go through it with the tester. It's a good opportunity to get a good look at the underside. Which I'm pleased to report is in very good condition

Up she goes (had to get a cheeky photo. Albeit on the phone's potato camera



I was a little worried about the lack of Cat, but apparently it's not on the national database so is exempt *phew*! End result is a solid pass, as expected. An advisory about the handbrake lacking a bit, which I was aware about but haven't got around to checking. I'm assuming it needs nipping up, or might need replacing.



Next job is to cut the new boost pipe to size and fit, along with looking at the coilovers. I've also got a few little bits coming in the next week or so, which I've very excited about! Then I guess it's time to wait for an engine solution to manifest itself....

[stuMR2lee]

Well done on the MOT. I never had any issues without a cat either as my local tester understood the conversion

Strange about the handbrake. I always stripped the calipers down and cleaned them pretty much yearly - stainless steel pistons are fitted. The cables aren't that old but the pagid ones didn't seem the best quality in all fairness. Although lots of people use them and when properly adjusted the handbrake was spot on. I know the chap I sold the car to took it to Pacific Works soon after for some brake adjustments. No idea what they did though.

[Magic Beans]

Probably just needs tweaking then. Unless the guy you sold it to had a left arm like a gorilla and stretched it?

[Madabout]

Well done on the MOT pass. I know early Turbo cars to 1995 would be ok buttoir lucky yours didn't flag up. Guessing they went with the engine being from an earlier car.

[Magic Beans]

I did wonder that but it's the VIN plate details he uses to search for it. Could be wrong though

[craig]

Nice one Phil, 12 months MOT is a nice feeling! Car looks great*

*needs Greddy skirts

For emissions, on a turbo converted MR2, pretty sure it's the based on the year of engine fitted, not the car.

Otherwise you'd be using a rev 5 3SGE emissions table for a a rev 3 3SGTE....