ARRRGGGG!!!! My car hates me!

rthompsonjr · 09-15-2006, 08:20 PM

Ok so everything was good at first. Then I put on a header and cat delete. Then everything went to hell. I thought it was the fuel pressue, which I set to factory. But its still acting bad. At ldle its fine, as soon as I tip in it starts spurtering. Once it gets going if I floor it from part throttle it just dies, not to the point it kills itself, but it just doens't go anywhere! The exhaust lets out black puffs of smoke so I assume its rich, it sure smells like it!

All the adjustments on the SUBCON are to the lean settings, and the Fuel Pressure is set to 35 without vacuum. I have my new cat finally and I'm going to put it on tomorrow AM. Will that affect my F/A ratio? Any other ideas? HELP?!!!

4 Throttle Tuning · 09-16-2006, 07:23 AM

Just saw your post this morning & emailed one of my customers to see his exact setup. Here is his quote "I'm running an aftermarket header and currently running no cat. When you drove my Miata, she was equipped with a JR high flow cat. Both setups ran pretty rich The best I've been able to tune her would be running stoich @ full throttle in the mid to upper RPM range, and rich at cruising speeds". When I drove his car it idled better than mine and was running rich but not enough to foul the plugs. He's had our 1.6L IRTB kit with subcon for about a year now. I'll give you a call today since I will be talking to others about your problem. I always call Japan on Sunday evening(Monday morning) in Japan to get their input and see if they have come across something similar to you.

Jimmy
FujiRacing

rthompsonjr · 09-16-2006, 05:03 PM

Ok I feel like an idiot.....

I had four problems as far as I can tell.

1) Fouled plugs. Replaced with fresh NGK plugs.
2) Loose plug wire on #3, turns out the little clips that hold the wires flat against the valve cover, was holding it too tight and it wasn't all the way down on the plug.
3) The rear two throttle's linkage had loosened and they weren't opening the same as the fronts.
4) After fixinf all those it still wasn't quite right, put the cat back on and..........it got much better?!?! I don't really get it but whatever. I'm going to either just go standalone when I get back from a work trip and be done with it. Or I might dry dyno tuning it first with the SUBCON and see how good it can get.

Arg, what a frustrating coupld of days.

the blue potato · 09-16-2006, 08:20 PM

What year is your Miata? You using stock 02 sensors?

rthompsonjr · 09-17-2006, 09:55 AM

91, and yes its the stock o2.

90_mx · 09-29-2006, 09:26 PM

Reviving this thread...after all the issues you`ve been having, hows the IRTB finally ruinning?

FooSchnickens · 09-30-2006, 02:53 PM

I'm interested as well.

PS: Is that your miata in your avatar, 90_mx? It's been my inspiration for getting a hardtop. 8)

90_mx · 09-30-2006, 09:24 PM

Yup

rthompsonjr · 10-04-2006, 07:12 PM

They are ok, not great. I'm caving and going standalone. I've looked at all the options and decided to go the cheep but harder route and go megasquirt. I'll be ordering it hopefuly this friday when my paycheck hits. It will just be fore fuel to start and then I'll add ignition. It means my car will be down for awhile but in Colorado we'll start getting snow this month and thats a good time to have it parked in the garage as any I suppose.

They work ok with the subcon, but there are some quirky areas, like accelerating out of a corner after heel and toeing that it just boggs. I think that its not powerful enough to alter the factory maps enough to deal with every part of the rpm range.

The real downer is that all the issues I had made my bumper really bad, I think it may be stained permanently in some areas.

I was planning on having it repainted someday, since the Mazda white is supposed to be crap anyways. We'll see, I'll have it detailed after I get the fueling perfected with Megasquirt and see if they can get it to go away.

I still would recommend Jimmy's kit, but I'd say get one of the standalones he offers or somethig similar. His customer service is top shelf and the kit itself is very very well made.

I also wonder if part of my probelm is that I live at 5500ft and the piggyback can't get it lean enough considering the thin air.

moto_bruce · 10-04-2006, 07:35 PM

Try using a clay bar on the bumper. It should take the soot off.

rthompsonjr · 10-04-2006, 08:48 PM

Hmm I'll go get one and try it!

4 Throttle Tuning · 10-04-2006, 08:48 PM

Just put a call in to Japan to find out about the subcon in the 5500 ft. elevation with their customers. The person I always talk to doesn't come in until 13:00 today. In this past year our kits have been run with the subcon(Piggyback), AEM on a S2000, Hondata on a Civic, & the Freedom. All of them run on the rich side. Another customer will be using the MicroTech & I hope that they can make it work. My bumper is also black.

Jimmy
FujiRacing

Bryan · 10-04-2006, 09:06 PM

Jimmy, is the Microtech the AEM unit you're offering now?

4 Throttle Tuning · 10-04-2006, 09:29 PM

Hi Bryan

I now offer the MicroTech & AEM. MicroTech is wire & play with an integrated MAP sensor. AEM is a plug & play. I still haven't decided if I will go with MicroTech or AEM for my car. I will know in about a week & I hope to add technical information on both the AEM & MicroTech to my website.

Jimmy
FujiRacing

09-15-2006, 08:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	ARRRGGGG!!!! My car hates me! Ok so everything was good at first. Then I put on a header and cat delete. Then everything went to hell. I thought it was the fuel pressue, which I set to factory. But its still acting bad. At ldle its fine, as soon as I tip in it starts spurtering. Once it gets going if I floor it from part throttle it just dies, not to the point it kills itself, but it just doens't go anywhere! The exhaust lets out black puffs of smoke so I assume its rich, it sure smells like it! All the adjustments on the SUBCON are to the lean settings, and the Fuel Pressure is set to 35 without vacuum. I have my new cat finally and I'm going to put it on tomorrow AM. Will that affect my F/A ratio? Any other ideas? HELP?!!!
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	__________________ 1991 Miata 1598cc of fury!!!!!

09-16-2006, 07:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
4 Throttle Tuning Sponsor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Clermont, FL Posts: 902	Re: ARRRGGGG!!!! My car hates me! Just saw your post this morning & emailed one of my customers to see his exact setup. Here is his quote "I'm running an aftermarket header and currently running no cat. When you drove my Miata, she was equipped with a JR high flow cat. Both setups ran pretty rich The best I've been able to tune her would be running stoich @ full throttle in the mid to upper RPM range, and rich at cruising speeds". When I drove his car it idled better than mine and was running rich but not enough to foul the plugs. He's had our 1.6L IRTB kit with subcon for about a year now. I'll give you a call today since I will be talking to others about your problem. I always call Japan on Sunday evening(Monday morning) in Japan to get their input and see if they have come across something similar to you. Jimmy FujiRacing

09-16-2006, 05:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	Ok I feel like an idiot..... I had four problems as far as I can tell. 1) Fouled plugs. Replaced with fresh NGK plugs. 2) Loose plug wire on #3, turns out the little clips that hold the wires flat against the valve cover, was holding it too tight and it wasn't all the way down on the plug. 3) The rear two throttle's linkage had loosened and they weren't opening the same as the fronts. 4) After fixinf all those it still wasn't quite right, put the cat back on and..........it got much better?!?! I don't really get it but whatever. I'm going to either just go standalone when I get back from a work trip and be done with it. Or I might dry dyno tuning it first with the SUBCON and see how good it can get. Arg, what a frustrating coupld of days.
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	__________________ 1991 Miata 1598cc of fury!!!!!

09-16-2006, 08:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
the blue potato Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: South Posts: 4,431	Re: ARRRGGGG!!!! My car hates me! What year is your Miata? You using stock 02 sensors?
	__________________ The Blue Potato / 1995 NA8C Pitcrew #001 / R.S. Aizawa IRTB / RS Watanabe / KG Works www.thebluepotato.net \| http://www.thebluepotato.net/blog/

09-17-2006, 09:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	91, and yes its the stock o2.
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	__________________ 1991 Miata 1598cc of fury!!!!!

09-29-2006, 09:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
90_mx Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Socal Posts: 1,695	Reviving this thread...after all the issues you`ve been having, hows the IRTB finally ruinning?

09-30-2006, 02:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
FooSchnickens Supporting Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 9,430	I'm interested as well. PS: Is that your miata in your avatar, 90_mx? It's been my inspiration for getting a hardtop. 8)
	__________________ What has this become...

09-30-2006, 09:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
90_mx Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Socal Posts: 1,695	Yup

10-04-2006, 07:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	They are ok, not great. I'm caving and going standalone. I've looked at all the options and decided to go the cheep but harder route and go megasquirt. I'll be ordering it hopefuly this friday when my paycheck hits. It will just be fore fuel to start and then I'll add ignition. It means my car will be down for awhile but in Colorado we'll start getting snow this month and thats a good time to have it parked in the garage as any I suppose. They work ok with the subcon, but there are some quirky areas, like accelerating out of a corner after heel and toeing that it just boggs. I think that its not powerful enough to alter the factory maps enough to deal with every part of the rpm range. The real downer is that all the issues I had made my bumper really bad, I think it may be stained permanently in some areas. I was planning on having it repainted someday, since the Mazda white is supposed to be crap anyways. We'll see, I'll have it detailed after I get the fueling perfected with Megasquirt and see if they can get it to go away. I still would recommend Jimmy's kit, but I'd say get one of the standalones he offers or somethig similar. His customer service is top shelf and the kit itself is very very well made. I also wonder if part of my probelm is that I live at 5500ft and the piggyback can't get it lean enough considering the thin air.
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	__________________ 1991 Miata 1598cc of fury!!!!!

10-04-2006, 07:35 PM	#10 (permalink)
moto_bruce Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 291	Try using a clay bar on the bumper. It should take the soot off.
	__________________ driver of the white 95

10-04-2006, 08:48 PM	#11 (permalink)
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	Hmm I'll go get one and try it!
rthompsonjr Jr. Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 52	__________________ 1991 Miata 1598cc of fury!!!!!

10-04-2006, 08:48 PM	#12 (permalink)
4 Throttle Tuning Sponsor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Clermont, FL Posts: 902	Re: ARRRGGGG!!!! My car hates me! Just put a call in to Japan to find out about the subcon in the 5500 ft. elevation with their customers. The person I always talk to doesn't come in until 13:00 today. In this past year our kits have been run with the subcon(Piggyback), AEM on a S2000, Hondata on a Civic, & the Freedom. All of them run on the rich side. Another customer will be using the MicroTech & I hope that they can make it work. My bumper is also black. Jimmy FujiRacing

10-04-2006, 09:29 PM	#14 (permalink)
4 Throttle Tuning Sponsor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Clermont, FL Posts: 902	Re: ARRRGGGG!!!! My car hates me! Hi Bryan I now offer the MicroTech & AEM. MicroTech is wire & play with an integrated MAP sensor. AEM is a plug & play. I still haven't decided if I will go with MicroTech or AEM for my car. I will know in about a week & I hope to add technical information on both the AEM & MicroTech to my website. Jimmy FujiRacing

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