Road Star

[— John J —]

I would seriously consider using chassis reinforcement arms made by V8R, Boss Frog, etc. for stability of chassis with the extra HP.

[— Phatmiata —]

I would seriously consider using chassis reinforcement arms made by V8R, Boss Frog, etc. for stability of chassis with the extra HP.

I think he bought some already.

Car is coming along really nicely !!

[druz]

I have a set of the GarageStar fender/cowl braces. They'll go on before I'm finally ready to put the fenders on.

I'm currently using NT01s and since I don't even have wipers on the car I plan to stick with R comps. I wish I picked up the 225 RA1 since they've been discontinued though. The R888 is still available in 225 but unless something has changed they're not as good. I'm looking at 15" options too, mainly for more brakes.

[★ revlimiter ★]

Yeah. More brakes would be awesome. *sigh*

And thanks for the tire info! Not sure why I'd not considered R comp. I barely drive Sharka 2000 miles a year...

[druz]

I've spent the last few weeks starring at HP Tuners trying to figure out why my fans, vss and reverse lockout were not working. The later 2 issues related because one trigger for the rev lockout is vehicle speed. The ECM didn't come with the motor but was from a slightly modified 05 Vette. I copied over a stock tune and only deleted VATS.

I was able to manually switch on the fan after changing to a GTO config since the Vette uses a PWM fan, but it still wouldn't kick on at the programmed temp. After a few more changes related to AC codes, since I don't have AC, I still wasnt having any luck.

I took a break from that head scratcher and went to the vss. The scanner was not reading any vehicle speed at all. A test of ECM pins 44 and 45 showed AC voltage that increased with speed so the sensor seemed good.

In the end it turned out I had an automatic tune flashed on my ECM. Since the trans functions are controlled by a TCM and one was not connected none of those functions showed up in HPT, it didn't look like an auto tune, at least to my novice eye. The auto and manual tunes look like they have the same parameters but there's other info going on the the background. I flashed a stock manual tune and voila, vehicle speed and a working reverse lockout! I redid the fan edits during the flash and while testing the vss and watching the CLT as I've been accustomed to do during all this testing, I noticed the fan was now working too! I have no idea why but I'll take it.

Next I need to fix a couple of the fan mount brackets i made and then test how well the Taurus fan works with my current setup and duct or seal more if necessary. That means a little driving

[druz]

Summer is difficult time to try to get work done I managed to get my fan brackets made and go for another quick test. Fans worked well but my rad cap was a little loose and sprayed when I punched it one time so that cut it short. It was mostly a success though. Now in order to take a bit longer of a test I need to get the front bodywork back on. For quick testing purposes I've been using the stock LS2 Corvette intake box.



This obviously doesn't fit under the hood or bumper but works great for testing without either on. Now it's time to fit the LS7 intake which can be made to fit, get lots of cold air and look factory. The first step is cutting away a section of the front bumper support so the intake can sit a little further back.



I opted to use FM's weld in piece for convenience sake and it was only $25. I also started learning to weld so I took the plunge. It was a bit challenging since the brace is over 1/8" thick and being welded to sheet metal but I got bit in. Its got a couple of cold spots and burned through in a couple others but it's holding well



A small trim is also needed to the radiator support so it can sit low enough to fit under the hood. I still need to clean that up and I'm probably going to weld in some nuts to use to mount the intake.



To make the hood fit some more cutting needs to be done. First I decided to tackle installing the Aerocatch hood pins since the stock latch was removed for the radiator and also wouldn't work with the intake. It's pretty straight forward, mark where the pins are going, tape the template down and cut.



Although using a hole saw like FM suggests would be much easier than a Dremel like I did. There's actually 3 layers in some places, 2 layers of bracing, and it's hard to get to that middle layer in spots with a dremel.



A couple hours of cutting and grinding wasted the rest of my time so I didn't get to finish the install. Then I can finish trimming the hood bracing for the intake and then put the front back on.

[Cxmoney]

damn man. I wish I had the funds for a LSX swap. sooooo awesomeeee

[druz]

I'm trying to make a real push to have this thing driveable by the end of the month so I can take it to MMRLS. I'm almost there.

I finished the Aerocatch install. I put the pins in the standard NA position replacing the front rubber stoppers. I also installed the GarageStar fender braces which was very straight forward.



I trimmed the stock hood latch and some of the surrounding hood bracing in order to clear the LS7 intake. Getting the little spot welds off took some patience.



The front end is finally back together! Although some adjustments need to be done.



But it can't all be progress, I have to take at least one step backwards somewhere... When I mounted the Corvette drive by wire gas pedal I removed a stud that I thought was going to interfere. I read this in some build thread I think and it looked very much like the case.



Turns out this bolt was kind of important, imagine that It holds the middle of the steering column tight. While the bolts at the top just behind the steering wheel hub do most of the work, this one and it's partner on the opposite side do enough, especially with the extra force on it without power steering. On my test drives I could hear it making some noises. At least I was fortunate enough that there was clearance around the pedal. So I got my grinder and welder back out and put in a new M8 x 20 bolt. I don't know how I ever got by trying to work on cars for so long without being to unskillfully stick metal together.



Getting everything back in proved to be a royal PITA. Getting the steering shaft into the rack with the big ol' engine in place was a very tight squeeze and led to some nice bruises on my arms and wrists. But by the end of the night it was back together and I'm almost ready for another test drive. Just need to install the LS7 MAF and reflash the ECM with the required changes to the tune.

[druz]

In order to use the LS7 intake I also need to use the Ls7 maf. The Ls2 maf is the older hot wire style and the ls7 uses the newer card style. First step in doing this is changing the connector since they are different.



They sell adapter harnesses for such a conversion but it's cheaper and cleaner to just swap on a new connector. Another order to my favorite Metripack connector supplier Mouser.com for part
number 13519051 and I was ready to go. Pull the pins using the tool or small screwdriver and swap them into the proper new positions. Easy.





Then I copied/pasted the maf and iat tables from a 06 ls7 and wrote them to my ECM.

The test drive was full of fail I made it around the corner and clt was already skyrocketing up to 220 and then my throttle stopped responding. I let the engine cool a bit and tried again, same result so I limped back home. Throttle disappeared again but I was able to creep up my pretty steep driveway at idle, torque!

LS engines are notorious for bubbles in the cooling system so I decided to burp it again. Subsequent test drive proved that solved my cooling problem but not the throttle, it was still intermittently cutting out and throwing a code. Once I cleared the code it would be ok but not for long. This appeared after I pulled the assembly to fix the steering column bolt so I was hoping I didn't damage the APP sensor somehow. I pulled the connector for the pedal to try to do some tests and the first thing I noticed was a loose wire. It must have been loose and then finally came out when I pulled the connector again. Luckily I had a spare pin so I installed that which took a while laying under the dash. I'm cautiously optimistic after another short drive.

All the stopping and starting during the tests also introduced a hot start issue. The starter was really dragging. I'm using a Summit starter that has some gear reduction so it can still get it started but it's worrisome. I have it blanketed so my attention is turning to the battery. I'm using a Westco which has 475 cca and should be sufficient. A stock ls1 camaro is 525 and ls2 gto is 600. Race Corvettes get away with much less and I don't have much more of an electrical system than they do. Others have mentioned upgrading the small battery cables that have to run the length of the car so that's my plan. I've ordered some 2/0 cable for the hot and grounds.

Another code I'm dealing with is for the maf, p0102. I went back and looked at my previous logs and it's been present the whole time so it's not related to the new maf. The maf is reading a constant 0.40 lb/min which looking at the table correlates to the lowest frequency reading of 1000Hz. I've tripled checked the wiring and continuity and it all checks out. Also the IAT is working correctly so I'm stumped at this point. Next I'm going to do some more electrical testing.

It doesn't appear I'm going to make M@MRLS Although driveability is not bad at this point, I don't want to risk the 100 mile trip, especially with the maf problem which could cause it to go lean since it isn't reading the extra airflow. Also I still need an alignment and a new windshield and I don't have any time this week to get either done before Friday.

[— fwdtamiya —]

It doesn't appear I'm going to make M@MRLS

I was really hoping you would.

[druz]

I was really hoping too. Maybe I'll roll in with a cracked and paint splattered windshield and a really bad diy alignment, if I can figure out this maf thing Tick, tick.

[druz]

Turns out triple checking isn't good enough. I got a new DMM that can read frequency to check the maf but decided to check voltages and grounds first. Although I thought I had continuity to pin 14 which is switched 12v but I had no voltage on the pnk wire at the maf. Going back to pin 14 and it has 12v but no continuity to the maf. Pin 14 also goes to the O2 sensors and they appear to have power but I need to get in and actually test at the connector. If so then I have to trace the harness and find the break to the maf. Fun.

[druz]

While everyone else was playing at MRLS I was trying to troubleshoot. No power at O2s either so that was actually helpful. There's a large white 26 pin connector known as C206. The only thing I was using on it was for the reverse lockout. There is a pink 12v wire that I read as feeding some part of the interior harness. Turns out that it is the 12v source and then splits to the maf and O2s and to ECM c1-14. So now the maf is good. Bad is that my O2 readings are weird. Bank 2 trims are 20-40% while bank 1 is <8%.

So I swap them to make sure it's not a bad sensor but result is the same. Since I had it up on stands I decided to try a rolling test to see if a little load changed anything. Top tip, if you're going to do this make sure you take off the ebrake. Insight from an idiot, smouldering brake pads smell really bad and it lingers in the garage. At least I was smart enough to stop when I saw smoke

Nothing changed, still testing. I need to put the lights on so I can test drive at night.

[— Phatmiata —]

If you go next year let me know!!! I and planning to come out next year. Really hope to see your Miata in person!!

[druz]

If it's not done by next year it'll be parted out and burned! Pretty good chance I will be, extra effort if you're making the trip.