My red hatch (fix-up and restoration)

[davew7]

Excellent build !!! As to going with synthetic or conventional. I'm using a combination of both now. I had been using a 5W-30 synthetic, which worked well on the street. But on the track "at constant high RPM's" I pi$$ out way too much oil through the breather system, with the lighter wt oil. Using either synthetic or conventional oil, I would suggest, if planning on pulling high RPMs, that you use a 10W-40 or thicker oil. I'm now using 50% synthetic and 50% conventional that would probably be rated as a 14W-40. Plus, I added a 2nd breather to the system which appears to have solved the problem.

[Grant]

Excellent build !!! As to going with synthetic or conventional. I'm using a combination of both now. I had been using a 5W-30 synthetic, which worked well on the street. But on the track "at constant high RPM's" I pi$$ out way too much oil through the breather system, with the lighter wt oil. Using either synthetic or conventional oil, I would suggest, if planning on pulling high RPMs, that you use a 10W-40 or thicker oil. I'm now using 50% synthetic and 50% conventional that would probably be rated as a 14W-40. Plus, I added a 2nd breather to the system which appears to have solved the problem.

Ah yes, especially on a track with hard cornering, I'd expect a lot of oil to get into the breather hose. Where did you fit a second breather?
I'm actually planning to fit an oil catch can, but I have very little room to work with. Most of the catch cans are meant to mount up in front where the A/C condenser or oil cooler currently is. I'll report back here if I find one that fits my setup.

[Grant]

Another quick update!
Since my engine was running pretty smooth with the stock intake/exhaust, I went ahead and installed my Injen and Martelius parts.


The fitment of the Injen intake could have been better in my opinion, there is very little clearance between the pod filter and radiator, and the elbow pipe and the fender. I'll have to keep an eye on it in case of any chaffing issues.

The Martelius headers on the other hand were very easy to install. The only part that is difficult is putting on the springs that keep the collector pipe secure under the car. Again... CM Autohaus is an excellent resource for install tips.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yjpw18tw1c

Beware the exhaust will smoke a lot on first startup, but once it heat cycles it will turn a neat color.


I might wrap it to reduce engine bay temperatures. I'm sure it's not excessively hot now, but the cooler the better.

I'm also planning to find a local shop with a dyno to get some baseline numbers for horsepower/torque. I have no plans for aftermarket engine management yet, but I'm interested to see what this engine is actually putting out.

[oldeskewltoy]

"I'm also planning to find a local shop with a dyno to get some baseline numbers for horsepower/torque. I have no plans for aftermarket engine management yet, but I'm interested to see what this engine is actually putting out. "

as am I...

[Grant]

"I'm also planning to find a local shop with a dyno to get some baseline numbers for horsepower/torque. I have no plans for aftermarket engine management yet, but I'm interested to see what this engine is actually putting out. "

as am I...

We will find out soon. I have a dyno appointment booked for this Saturday (4/19).

Last week I finished up the last bit of work I wanted to do before considering the build "done" (for now). Exhaust wrap is a pain to work with honestly, and it wipes dust off on everything it touches. I thought about wrapping the headers on the car, but it would have turned out much worse and taken longer than wrapping them off the car. Now I just have to hope the header won't need to be removed again soon because it means re-wrapping the collector every time!




I'll report back in a few years once the wrap needs replacing, and share how the headers look. I know a lot of people claim wrap "ruins" them, but I think as long as they stay dry it should be fine.

[davew7]

Sorry for the late reply.
I fitted the 2nd breather to the rear of the intake cam cover. I drilled and taped the cam cover for 3/8 NPT. The cam cover is not that thick of material. I shorten the right angle fitting and put epoxy around the inside surface to get better thread contact. The cam cover has a small boss cast into it. I drilled and taped it, so I could bolt in a baffle, basically a 5 sided square box in front of the fitting. I also filled the baffle box area with a copper coated course scrub pad material.
The other thing you can do, to improve the breather system, is to replace the exhaust cam cover with another intake side cam cover. The down side is you will not be able to use the valley plug cover.

[Grant]

I just got home from the dyno, and I'm pretty satisfied with the results. Seems like I might be able to get things running even better if I want to continue down the tuning road. Below are the good runs, first a run in 4th gear to 5k RPM, then a run in 3rd gear to 7k.



I'm sure the 4th gear run would have ended up with similar results had it gone all the way to 7k. With the bigger cams that is where the most power is made. It's interesting that slightly more torque came from the 4th gear run though.

The main number the dyno shop pointed out was that the AFR was a little bit high at certain points during the run. The measurement was made at the tailpipe and not the wideband sensor location, so that might have something to do with it, but generally they said below 14 is better to avoid generating too much heat during combustion. Their suggestion was either to increase fuel pressure a little bit, or replace the ECU and actually tune it.

Anyway it was a fun experience, and making ~124 at the wheels comes out to 140-150 at the crank! That's pretty good and even more than I expected from this more mild build.

[oldeskewltoy]

That looks pretty good! Other than the TVIS dip, the torque looks good.

[Grant]

That looks pretty good! Other than the TVIS dip, the torque looks good.

Yea I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think about the AFR?
How much better could I get it running with a tunable ECU?

[oldeskewltoy]

That looks pretty good! Other than the TVIS dip, the torque looks good.

Yea I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think about the AFR?
How much better could I get it running with a tunable ECU?

The Poncams should make power over 7000 rpm... If you go again, I'd have the dyno operator to make the pull to 7500.

AFR of 14 isn't horrible, but it is a tad lean. You could run something like the 22RTE (turbo) injectors as they are rated at 250cc, instead of the stock 210cc injectors. OR you might get away running mid/late 80s Accord/Prelude injectors (low ohm, and 240cc).

Well, if budget isn't a concern, I'd say there is more tune-ability to run different injectors with a standalone. You also might find a few more hp, and #/ft

[Grant]

Okay thanks, I might look for some larger Toyota injectors if I can find them... I don't think I'm looking to go standalone ECU anytime soon.

If I swap injectors wouldn't I also need a bigger fuel pump? I'm actually not sure what the flow rate of the stock one is.

[oldeskewltoy]

If I swap injectors wouldn't I also need a bigger fuel pump? I'm actually not sure what the flow rate of the stock one is.

Stock replacement fuel pump(from Walbro) is 80 lph - unsure of what the OEM one's actual volume is.... I'm pretty sure(albeit not knowing) you can get away with a bit more injector volume.... but come to think of it, you should likely check the stock pump for it's current condition, running a bit lean could be the pump may be lacking.