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Which box first? (Refer to post #154)

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Eunos Roadster V-Spec Maruha 2.1L BUDDY's Build

90K views 277 replies 72 participants last post by  iRoadster 
#1 · (Edited)
So after a not so-responsive thread I decided I should start another one in the correct section of CR. If interested you guys can have a quick look on my previous thread here: http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/20-exterior-sponsored-r-speed/64690-buddys-new-look-thread.html

I have a 1992 Eunos Roadster V-Spec (i.e. RHD). Below is an overall outline of the things I plan to complete:

- Maruha 2.1L stroker upgrade with ITB kit (power)
- lowered and stiffer than stock suspension (handling)
- wheels
- cosmetic stuff to go for the vintage-style look
- minor transmission mods, engine cooling, etc. etc.

Anyhooo, the build starts with the engine upgrade. In search for a reliable tuner, I came across Maruha where they seemed to be quite internationalised with their English/US version of their website. A brandname parts manufacturer with quality products was very important to me. I was sure many manufacturers out there offered quality products. However, the brand was equally, if not more, important. I didn't just want a high-end modification giving me superior yet reliable performance at an economical price. For me as a Miata owner, I hoped to keep most of my mods as JDM as possible (yes, there is some insensible JDM fanboi thing going on here).

So, I came across Maruha and RS Aizawa, with Maruha being what I wanted. From a bit of searching I found out that Chikara was the authorized dealer. So I contacted Ocean and everything started from there.

One very challenging issue about this story is that I live in Hong Kong but I'm from Vancouver. Meanwhile, Chikara/Ocean is based in Vancouver while Maruha is in Japan. Although it makes more sense to work with Maruha directly according to my proximity to Japan, me and Ocean are both Canadians and we communicated very well. Hence, the engine upgrade part of the build starts with me committing to Chikara.

In a nutshell, the engine will be built by Ocean@Chikara, shipped halfway across the world to Hong Kong for my Roadster.

So far the engine is coming together. Maruha parts were ordered in two shipments previously.
Here's the first shipment which includes the 2.1L stoker kit (pistons, rods, camshafts, crankshaft, etc.)



Mahle Pistons, Maruha Racing camshafts, connecting rods, and other bits ordered from Maruha via Chikara










While this batch of parts arrived Chikara, Ocean had been working on my engine base. More pictures of his work will be posted in the next few days. Those would be more interesting than the parts pics I think....
 
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#4 ·
Re: Eunos Roadster V-Spec BUDDY's Build

You Sir, are a baller. And I am excited to see this thread progress.
Although I agree its a lot of money, I believe anyone should be a baller at least once in their lifetime. Life is too short...:phillyb:

Thanks for the support tho, hope my upcoming posts will give you guys some surprise :mrgreen:
 
#6 ·
Re: Eunos Roadster V-Spec BUDDY's Build

oh btw i work wif ocean.tats why i know about damon.he is also my relative.so i already seen your sexy valve cover :p
Yes I know you work with Ocean. What's your name? Oh darn it you blew the surprise about the valve cover!:(

Oh well here it is then...



And yeah, Damon is currently helping me out with suspension while the wait is on for the ITB kit (don't blow the surprise here!).
 
#13 ·
Re: Eunos Roadster V-Spec BUDDY's Build

Yessss.

Looking forward to a quality build thread.

The words Maruha and Mahle just roll off the tongue, don't they?
 
#16 ·
For those of you who are wondering why I'm going this route with regards to the engine mod, here is the logic behind my decision.

First off, I had to have ITB/NA. You can say its personal preference but my reasoning is because the miata, being a roadster, I felt an ITB brings a tasteful "feel" to this genre of vehicles. The sound, the looks of the funnels, the response, and so on. Some like turbo/SC, each to his own.

ITB aside, I'm running 264 in/ex cams. Why not 272/288 or higher? Because I live in Hong Kong and the weather and traffic here is not as ideal as it is in Canada/US/Japan. HK is a sub-tropical place, our humidity is +90% for 8 months in a year, and +75% during the remaining 4 months. Hence, when it gets hot (summers reach 35-40C), it is fxcking boiling hot. When you pair this with the traffic in HK (those of you familiar know what I mean), there won't be any cooling effect from the radiator. What that means is that the traffic jams are like...not moving. So if the car is not moving and sitting in +35C, I would be fxcked no matter what performance cams are being ran on this old car coupled with the less than ideal idle behaviour of itbs.

So in essence, I won't really be driving that much in the summer in HK. You guys in north america/japan won't be doomed by my same fate.

Meanwhile, HK is a really small city with a lot of winding roads and streets that are short, compared to the long & wide roads or highways we have in North America. The Maruha 2.1L build has a very wide torque band starting somewhere between 2500-3000 rpms. So high revs would not benefit me as much as it would when driving in HK's environment. Of course, this doesn't mean the 2.1L isn't good for 7k rpm, high speed driving/racing. If you've watched the Tsukuba time attack, you know what I mean. The point is, I need the power/torque to kick in earlier in HK's stop and go traffic. That's a big advantage of the Maruha 2.1L build that I can really leverage on here in "Amazing Asia".

The above was explained to me by Ocean@Chikara and it made perfect sense to me based on my own driving experience in HK for so long now. I was quite fortunate that he was so thoughtful to my situation and not just treating himself as a salesman/tuner who just puts together a quality engine. Actually, he was convincing me to run the F-cam, which I didn't prefer, haha. So I'll have to behave myself depending on the weather.

That about sums up the reasoning behind the engine mod! :mrgreen:
 
#17 ·
This thread is full of awesome. Rekindled friendships, dope NA parts, there's only one thing it's lacking; pics! Post some of the pics from your exterior thread in your build thread! Can't wait to see some progress on this build!
 
#22 ·
I just really want to see that mahura stroker on a dyno already :(

I've yet to see an independent dyno of one. The info on their site makes very little sense.

Looks like a fantastic build, and that valve cover is awesome! Looking forward to seeing the end result.
 
#24 ·
I figure you know this, and it was just for the pics, so you don't need this pointed out, but don't store your cams horizontally. Always store them vertically so there's no risk of them bowing under their own weight.

Oh, and of course, this looks like it's going to be awesome.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Just to share with everyone what I am expecting with regards to numbers on my build. I know big numbers makes us all drool. When you see miatas with +250hp and up, running on a turbo/SC setup, it makes your imaginations go wild about how fast the car can go.

However, there's a few things one should always think about aside from just hp numbers. I tend to believe these other areas, when taken into consideration, stays true to the saying of "Jinba Ittai", as well as things like "balance", and "reliability of a racing engine". You are free to disagree, of course ;)

Firstly, Ocean explained very clearly to me that the Maruha 2.1L stroker is about long-term reliability. The Garage Hundred One 2.1L by Maruha is running 300 degree cams, NO2 dry shots, and is setup for producing 320ps power. Its a pure race-car for competition not intended for street use. Based on this engine, Maruha rolled out a "street-able" version that focuses on reliability. What this means is that the red-line is set around 7000 rpm, so the internals do not wear as much. Obviously, racing engines with high rpms require very frequent check-ups, repairs, and re-tuning. I cannot afford the time and money to do all that when I also want to ENJOY the car+engine. I want to be able to take a girl out on a date in a nice vintage car with a great sounding engine (LOL). Honestly, I'd be embarrassed to ask a lady to always ride in a stripped down racer, but each to his own purposes for cars.

Also, some may disagree with me but 300 degree cams are not street reliable. We have traffic lights, we need to stop at intersections, etc. 300 degree cams are way to rough for idle on the street. Even if you mimicked real race cars and set the idle to 1500-2000 rpms or higher to try to avoid engine stall, gas would cost a fortune. To put it simply, its not realistic to have a 100% race setup. Remember, I live in HK. Its stop and go traffic. Worst case the traffic isn't moving. Driving for practical purposes (work, errands) is hell during rush hours. Leisure driving on weekends is much better but still the roads are not like Canada's Highway 1. If you are intending to build a 100% track car, that's another story. You could try to see if Ocean@Chikara is willing to build you a 2.1L stroker with 300 cams. Its conceivable.

Rush-hour and most of daytime:



Non-rush hour:




Following from this, some people choose Turbo/SC setup to achieve the higher hp results without the above dilemmas. Yes it works! But as with everything, there are downsides as well. Turbo lag, throttle response, possible overheating issues depending on how much air you're forcing into the engine...etc.


Maruha website
The Maruha website quotes their 2.1L stoker running ITBs to be at ~230 ps (~220hp) and 25kgF-m torque. According to Ocean@Chikara they are running 288 in/ex cams. As mentioned, this setup would run too hot for me and would be risky of overheating and stalling in HK.




Tora's build
Looking back at his thread and understanding from Ocean, Tora is running 272 in/ex cams. I don't think its appropriate for me to state my guesses about his numbers. But you can all make your own guesses.



Buddy's Build

As Buddy is running 264 in/ex cams, I'm expecting somewhere in 150~160hp. Torque I can't make a guess (cause I'm a noob).

So to sum up the above, I am not maxxing out the Maruha 2.1L stroker build due to the environment I'm living. Interestingly, instead of always trying to up the numbers, I may consider to lighten the car to achieve a higher power-to-weight ratio. This is just an idea to share with you all on how to achieve good p-to-w ratio to make your cars faster.

So all you guys out there looking forward to dyno results, bear in mind the above. The Maruha 2.1L doesn't suck. To me, I prefer owning a "luxury" brandname, quality product. Some may prefer to own a product that excels in one area and can compromise on other areas. To each his own :icon_cheers:

My main obsession with the Maruha 2.1L stroker build + itb:
- the Maruha brandname (yes you can call it superficial/shallow). I use leather driving gloves and am planning to buy an IWC watch (I'm a big-city-boy, what do you expect??). Bitch if you must.
- its the first Maruha 2.1L in Hong Kong (and prolly Asia excl. Japan)
- throttle response
- itb/NA sound + feel
- wide torque band suitable for my driving environment
- a lot of prototype goodies from Maruha that are not-yet-seen (again, first in the world! subscribe if you want to see them in this thread, hehe)

If you're interested in building the same engine but want more oomph, by all means, go all out and use the 300 degree TODA cams! I'd be interested to see it! If you prefer oomph above all else, go forced-induction~ But you really have to watch youtube vids of both kinds of mods to understand only some of the real differences of ITB (not neccessarily Maruha).

I hope the above will give a comprehensive overview of the results of this build and no mis-led expectations.

Cheers!
 
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