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Thread: 20B PP MX-5 Track Car (WTAC Open Class Specification) 20b Miata

  1. #1
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    20B PP MX-5 Track Car (WTAC Open Class Specification) 20b Miata

    Hi guys,

    Firstly this build project started way back in 2006 and due to various reasons (seven years on) it's still not finished.

    However, a few months ago I made a decision to change the engine spec which in turn has provided a clearer path to the finish line so to speak. Essentially the car was being built as nothing more than a toy to go and do some sprints with. But of course as the years go by things change, experience is gained and the project is viewed in a whole new light.

    A build thread exists on the MX5 Cartalk forum (http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=30796) so you can see the path that the project taken up until May this year when I changed the engine specification (http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopi...0796&start=480). I'll start the build thread from that point.

    Cheers,
    Danny


    Anyhow, the Renesis NC Track Car build project has effectively stalled.....so much so that I need to drop a PM to a forum moderator to change the title.

    I can't spare the time that is required to develop the supercharger kit to a level that would make it a robust/reliable engine package. It's pretty obvious that after three years of nothing in the engine R&D area that another year isn't going to yield much!

    The "third party" supercharger kit was/is lacking in too many areas and the market/demand has contracted for such a product (and the RX-8 ceased production 12 months ago)....ie. Low chance of recovering on investing in completing the R&D of the Renesis supercharger kit.

    So that door has closed...however another has opened! Stay tuned!
    Quote Originally Posted by orx626
    Quote Originally Posted by rxmx
    Seeing your involved with rota's 20b??
    Bingo! A peripherally ported 20B to be exact!

    Cheers,
    Danny



    Quote Originally Posted by orx626
    Quote Originally Posted by rxmx
    Will you be at time attack again this year?
    Yes I'll definitely be there in some capacity.


    Quote Originally Posted by 16bit
    350 to 400whp sounds good.

    you gonna have a centre bearing on the shaft?
    Hi James, with recent developments in this area it could possibly go well over the 400rwhp mark. A few weeks ago similar spec 20B PP made 520fwhp on 888 Racing's engine dyno! Time will tell what's achievable with my engine package.

    I'm using a 20B block as opposed to an aftermarket 13B based triple rotor (short crank). I don't require an eccentric shaft bearing support between the second and third rotors...also you would require a custom eccentric shaft for this. As it will be naturally aspirated not too much engine strengthening is necessary...which is good in keeping the costs down!

    Here's a Youtube video of a mate's 20B PP he built back in 2007 for his RX-2 sedan! Gotta love the free revving nature!




    Cheers,
    Danny
    Last edited by 20bppmx5; 06-30-2014 at 07:23 AM.

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  3. #2
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    This is the engine I'm based the build on. So much unnecessary crud!






    Stripping of the engine took this direction....














    None of that gear will be going back on.


    The only recent progress is that the engine core has been stripped down for inspection.












    ...and the most valuable part of the engine....




    The engine upgrade is underway!

    Of course the first thing to do was to extract the 'old' donk from the chassis.






    Up, up and away!






    ...and gone!




    Due to the extra length of the 20B engine, the engine bay member that supports the battery, airbox and power steering reservoir was removed.




    The engine core was reassembled so that the position of the engine could be determined.






    Lowering the dummy block into the engine bay.




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  5. #3
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    First interference is with the RH factory steering rack mount. So it received a trim.




    Most of the engine is still behind the centreline of the front axle.




    I'm rather chuffed to finally get some progress on the ol' girl. 8)




    The first item on the critical path was to position the engine in such a way that there's good clearance to all important engine externals whilst keeping it reasonably low, but not compromising the front aero package.

    The front cover in position.




    Some jewellery in the form of an integrated dry sump and pump assembly, and a side mount alternator arrangement. 8)














    With the engine in the desired position, the subframe was offered and notched accordingly.








    Due to the extra length of the engine the factory steering rack is not useable. I've acquired a custom powered quick rack to work with the longer engine.






    So the next job is to mount it without adversely affecting the steering functionality (ie. bump steer, Ackermann etc...).


    As previously mentioned the crossmember needed to be notched to accommodate the longer engine. The original steering rack mounts were also removed. A new top flange was then hand cut, bent and trimmed to suit the notch profile. The crossmember was also braced for this modification to ensure that the structure's critical dimensions were maintained.








    ....and welded out.










    The two flat tabs with the hole are temporary supports to assist with positioning of the new power-steering rack. Next is the job of getting the steering rack correctly positioned and attached to the modified cross-member.


    I'm pretty happy with the positioning of the new rack when compared to the OEM electric item. If anything I'm quietly confident that the minor geometry adjustment resulting from the new rack may actually be better than OEM with the appropriate adjustment out at the tie-rod ends. Bump steer and possibly Ackermann will be measured to confirm.






    Even though the rack centre line is lower than OEM, it's smaller size ensures that the ground clearance hasn't been compromised.




    The input shaft lines up well with the steering shaft too. Won't be too hard to get them coupled.


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  7. #4
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    Manufacture of the two mounting brackets to retain the steering rack is next.


    The power steering rack mounting brackets have been completed.




    The RH bracket takes the steering racks axial loads.






    The brackets were lifted from an NA/NB front subframe and modified to suit.










    The underside of the two steering rack mounting brackets were closed in....








    ...with a pair of these nicely dimple died items. 8)



    The next step is to re-install the front subframe in the car and then measure and adjust the bump steer as required.


    The underside of the steering rack mounting brackets.






    A few piccies of the re-installed subframe and power steering rack....








    We used these temporary adjustable drop pins to minimise any bump steer.






    Bump steer over the full travel of the suspension was measured at 10mm increments using a dial gauge. This process was done on both sides. Spacers above and below the "tie-rod" end were adjusted until we achieved negligible bump steer.






    More robust drop pins will be designed and manufactured to replace the temporary items.


    The build has been progressing rather well over the past three weeks...when considering pretty much jack happened for near on 3 years!

    With the engine position and subframe/steering rack pretty much sorted I moved my focus to the exhaust system. One of the most important parts is the collector....in this case being a triple rotor(obviously) there are three primary tubes. The collector is an assembly made up of three 15 degree mandrel bent tubes. In this instance the optimum tube size is 2 inch OD.




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  9. #5
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    To assist the fabrication I printed off a 1:1 scale of the developed tube profile.




    ...then this happened.










    This is the flange profile that will keep the primary tubes together in space and break the exhaust system up into sections.




    Work on the collector continued after I received the flanges and "ninja stars" from the laser cutters.




    Trial fitment of the cone reducer.




    Trial fitment of the 5-bolt flange.




    The end of the collector was tweaked to a rounder shape.






    Internal welding completed.




    Then tidied up with a little die grinding and TLC.




    5-Bolt flange welded out.




    ...and to complete the collector the cone reduce was trimmed to suit the 3 1/2" V-band flange and then fully welded out to complete the collector. 8)





    So that's another job ticked off the list! At some point (with the rest of the exhaust system) it will be ceramic coated.

    Next on the build program were the engine mounts. We started with the right hand engine mount as this is the side that the exhaust has got to make its way down. I selected a Mackay Rubber flexible bearing (A1928) as the core component of the engine mount. It's just a simple design were the bearing is housed in a steel sleeve. Members can then be welded to the steel sleeve as required. A couple of aluminium caps were turned up to replicate the overall length of the flexible bearing so it isn't damaged by heat when other members are welded to the steel sleeve.




    A pair of profiled plates were tack welded in the appropriate position on the right hand side of the front subframe. From here members would connect to multiple mounting points on the engine. It's important that members don't take up too much space which could have a negative impact of the routing of the exhaust headers.






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  11. #6
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    The first member is tacked in place.






    The second member is tacked in place....






    ....and then the third and final member is tacked in place.










    Fully welded out right hand engine mount ready for the flexible bearing to be pressed in.




    Ta-da!





    Time for some action on the left engine mount. Same concept as the right engine mount.












    The engine mounts when viewed from below.




    Some important components for the build have also been acquired over the past few weeks. The first being the clutch and flywheel assembly. It is an ATS & Access twin-plate carbon clutch and lightweight flywheel assembly. I don't know whether it's the standard or spec II (http://www.ppi-ats.com/carbon_clutches/Twin_Carbon.html) specification....just that it worked really well on a friend's bridge-ported 13B rotary engine that was fed by no less than an HKS T51R SPL turbo. It made ridiculous torque so it should be sweet behind my little old naturally aspirated 20B!











    The other very important item was the oil tank for the dry sump arrangement. It's a Petersen Fluid Systems product and has a 2 Gallon capacity. It will be mounted in the boot.




    To facilitate the dry sump arrangement and the aero package, the boot received some attention. Boot be gone!








    The dry sump tank is positioned here.




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  13. #7
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    So this is where the engine finished up....losts of room forward of the engine to control the airflow into the engine bay and for a decent radiator/oil combination heat exchanger unit.










    Things were about to get exciting...so this happened...




    ...so that this could happen. 8)



    The PP (peripheral port) rotor housings from Rohan @ Extreme Rotaries had arrived!




    Here's a few photos of his handy work...







    The extra tapped ports to the left of each of the spark plug holes is for additional coolant flow. This ensures that the rotor housing surface around the spark plug holes doesn't overheat causing the rotor housing surface to deform. This modification is recommended for use on rotary engines that will spend most of their life at high rpm.

    These are the coolant distribution manifolds.



    How good does the inlet manifold and ITB's look! 8) I can't tell you what the throttle body specs are because I haven't asked.








    Seeing that most of the engine jewellery was now fitted it was time to progress with a bit more of the exhaust system.

    First was the exhaust header flange. They were put on a bit of a diet too.










    Since the rear section of the exhaust system is not quite OEM, the factory hangers were removed....






    ....and a short length of SHS was added along the edge of the rear beaver panel to not only stiffen it but to also support the rear muffler.






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  15. #8
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    Here's some more gratuitous photos of the 20B PP.














    Exhaust time!

    Starting with the headers....it is very important to have the primary pipes exit the engine in the longest possible length of straight pipe before bending and heading rearward. The NC certainly accommodated this requirement. Everything is just tacked togther at this stage.












    Heading rearward to the first flange. The primary pipes will extend as far rearward as possible before collecting into a single 3.5" tube.








    The extra primary tube length will be trimmed to suit the flanges final position.








    Removed from the engine for welding out (except the rear flange).






    With the front section of the exhaust system sorted, the focus returned to the rear section. Then we just have to join the two sections together. 8)

    The trusty zip ties have been replaced!






    The merge collector clamped in place at the entry to the first muffler....






    Another hanger was positioned at the front muffler and attached to the PPF....




    Since the last photo of the NC's rear end the lower section of the rear bumper has been removed.


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  17. #9
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    With the 4" dumpy in place!






    From underneath....










    Continuing on with the exhaust system....here's some photos of the extractors welded out (except for the 3 tube flange). Threaded bosses for EGT sensors and wideband Lambda sensors are still to be positioned and welded so the whole assembly can be ceramic coated.
















    Also completed is the steering shaft adaptor/coupling. It joins the OEM shaft to the aftermarket shaft.










    ...and another gratuitous engine bay photo! =P~




    The next job to do on the exhaust system was to join the front (extractors) and rear sections. This is where the "ninja stars" came in handy. They were used to keep the primary tubes at the correct spacing whilst the centre section was being fabricated.










    Welding out....












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  19. #10
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    It's really starting to come together now....




    ...but the engine is only a dummy block. So this had to happen.




    The engine was required to keep the extractors in place when the main flange was welded out.




    So this is how they finished up....and as previously mentioned they just need the EGT and wideband ports added prior to being ceramic coated.








    With the engine removed and the finishing work underway my focus moved onto the front end. Those of you who are familiar with WTAC cars, generally the Pro and some Open class cars use a tubular front end. The NC is really quite a good front end (chassis wise)...what I mean is that it is quite light but also structural. So my intent was to maintain as much of the OEM front as possible but also achieve what I need to with regards to ducting for the heat exchangers (radiator and oil cooler) and also adding a suitable structure to support the front aero package (which is still just a concept in my head at this point).

    The first thing that was done was unbolting all front end components that can be easily removed. ie. guards and front bar reinforcement etc...






    To increase the available space for the heat exchangers the vertical section of the radiator support panel needed to be removed. It is predominantly spot welded in so I set about drilling the spot welds off.






    So it then looked like this....






    From a previous project I happened to have a spare top section of the radiator support panel.




    ....and with the front bar reinforcement bolted back on. It certainly has increased the amount of useable space forward of the engine.






    I also set about removing the remainder of the battery/power steering reservoir crossmember.






    Progress has continued body wise with a little adjustment of the firewall beside the clutch master cylinder to give some clearance to the end of the fuel rail.




    A general clean-up/removal of unneccessary brackets/tags/lugs from the front subframe and the body was also undertaken. The lower sections of the battery/power steering reservoir were also removed.












    The rear section of exhaust was also welded out.






    With the fully unboltable front end it was now necessary to add some extra brackets to properly support the headlights and to provide additional strength around where the bonnet pins/latches would be located.






    Extra bracket to mount the right hand headlight.


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  21. #11
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    Installation of the flush-mount bonnet catches.
















    .... a bit of show and tell time

    Fuel pump, surge tank and fuel pressure regulator.










    Now this was like buying jewellery! Priced and presented accordingly!!! They're ceramic apex seals BTW!












    I'm not using any of the factory wiring loom in the car as I've purchased a Motec PDM15 (Power Distribution Module) http://www.motec.com.au/pdm15/pdm15overview/ which essentially replaces the need for a multitude of relays and fuses.




    With the help of David Lenthall of GT Auto Garage we've spec'd up a plethora of sensors to not only assist in protecting the engine and associated components but also to provide feedback on my performance as a driver. Here's a few piccies of the various sensors...


















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  23. #12
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    Whilst engine component machining and finishing was underway another dummy block was installed to assist with other aspects of the build.






    The dash's steel back bone was removed and tidied up around the roll cage structure and any unnecessary brackets removed.




    Some effort was also put into reinstating the bulkhead between the boot and the cab. The standard panel was trimmed to fit around the roll cage and then zinc plated to stop it rusting. Additional panels will be necessary to make it essentially air tight.






    The roll cage received some more attention with attachments to the windscreen (A-pillars) frame being added.










    I thought I'd have a quick go at how the Andrew Brilliant designed APR rear wing looked on the NC...this is the wing being used on his Time Attack Eclipse. Probably a bit hard to see in these photos.








    Whilst things are under control at the front end, the focus is now at the rear.




    More specifically, the dry sump tank & breather, and the fuel delivery system.






    The mounting bracket....






    The boot bulkhead panel in position....




    A suitably sized pinchweld will seal between the dry sump tank and the bulkhead panel.




    All the oil and fuel lines are utilising bulkhead fittings to get from the boot to the underbody before heading forward to the engine bay.






    The following photos show the progression of the boot fit-out....












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  25. #13
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 20bppmx5's Avatar
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    The exhaust system components that need to be ceramic coated have also been completed with the tapped bosses for the EGT's and Lamba sensors added.














    The steering angle position sensor has also been fitted. 8)









    I'm very happy with the ceramic coating of the exhaust system. This was undertaken by Hi-Octane Coatings in Sydney.
















    The next major item on the project list is the electricals....all of it!




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  27. #14
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    This has to be THEE most insane build on a Miata ever!

    Love it, please please please keep us updated Danny!!

    Let's see some youtube videos once it gets running too!!!




  28. #15
    Admin / Pit Boss / Miataholic Phatmiata's Avatar
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    Bloody nice work on everything Danny, so much to see here !!

    BTW, what tool did you use to make such clean cuts on the hood with for your installation of the flush-mount bonnet catches?

    Cheers !!

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