Not a stock ms3 anymore build thread

[stockms3]

This community has been great through the process. I've researched for hours on here, I've never seen a forum with this amount of knowledge. I had very little time to create a thread during the process but I figured why not make one now. Sorry about quality of some of the pictures my phone isn't the best in low light. In the end, this has been an awesome learning process.

So my journey started a little over 2 months ago, I was going to get e-tuned so I figured why not make sure my compression is good. I've smoked after long idle and figured the turbo was taking a shit. When I say smoked you couldn't see shit behind me lol thick, blue clouds.

So, cylinder#3 was at 155psi adding oil brought it up to 180, cylinder#4 was slightly better.

Next I decided to perform a leak down test....this was the result


I posted in the local forums. I've pulled engines with a friend but I've never taken on a project like this on my own. I considered getting an engine from mazda but what if I wanted to go bigger turbo in the future? @MATT DAMOND; offered his help. I don't think I would have tackled this if it wasn't for him. Thanks Matt!

So, I've ordered:
New VVT
New chains
New oil pump
New water pump
New crank pulley
I decided to go with stock head bolts for now.
Gaskets and whatever else is usually used when rebuilding a motor

I went with oversized(88) ots wiseco pistons and manley H-beams. G & G(recommended shop in Chicago area) did the work on the block and head. Block was bored with torque plates. Crank was balanced. The balance shaft oil supply was plugged. They also performed a valve job. Kirk from G & G has been great through the process I had some silly concerns and he took the time to explain everything I would highly recommend G & G.

@MATT DAMOND; helped me putting the head back on and timing the motor. He was also nice enough to pick up the motor for me! The shop is about three hours away from us.


Sorry forgot to take picture of wiseco pistons.

Autotech internals
Fidanza flywheel, which you will see a picture of a little lower.
LUK OEM clutch
Toyota seals (corksport seal not available yet )
ARP main studs
JBR oil pan baffle
Ford unicorn tranny jizz(XT-M5-QS)
eGay downpipe


CXracing FMIC



The tear down (excuse the mess in the garage, we just moved in here and are in the process of remodeling, fixing my car was super inconvenient):


Engine out:




Head off:


After this I took everything apart and dropped the shortblock and head off at G & G.

While I was waiting I decided to paint the IM. I have used VHT wrinkle paint.


Also, painted the VC.



I apologize for not taking a picture before putting the head on. We were trying to put it together quickly.

Here's a picture with a VC on.


I've decided to use studs for the fuel injectors.


Flywheel torqued down ready for clutch and trans.


Engine in!


Coming together.


Front end/FMIC installed. The intercooler was a little tricky considering there were no instructions.


And my favorite picture! It actually looks like a car again


I've got about 80 miles on the new motor. I've used Lucas breakl in oil 1063 recommended by Matt. Performed first oil change at 20 miles.

I do have some issues I need to resolve.

Exhaust rusted and cracked where straight pipes where welded in. My oil pan has a slight leak, I will address that at the next oil change at 200 miles. My turbo is burning oil!!!

So, I've ordered CNT CBE. I'm also debating on replacing the CHRA in the k04 I simply do not want to spend the cash on a bigger turbo right now. I know that rotomaster makes CHRA for the k04 and it can be purchased for about $240. The part is made in the USA. Also, I still need to pick up the OCC from DamondMotorsports.

I will be getting etuned by PurpleDrank.

I will add some pictures once I get the exhaust from CNT, should be another week maybe. While I wait, I'm gong to debate what to do with this k04.

No race car is complete without carbon fiber so..........

[MazdaBoy2.3]

Congrats man!

[MATT DAMOND]

Glad I could help! I'll be sure to get you parts this week, as well as the stickers you asked for.

[sheston]

Seems a shame not to take this opportunity to upgrade the turbo. Excellent work

[macdiesel]

Nice journey. Your beast is no longer a stockms3.

[stockms3]

Originally Posted by sheston Seems a shame not to take this opportunity to upgrade the turbo. Excellent work

Agreed. I don't have the money to play with big turbo at the moment but it's a plan to put something bigger on it eventually.

[googlebutt]

Congratulations, friend. I hope all goes well.

[stockms3]

Got my rotomaster CHRA. Came with a tag and serial number. It was assembled in Canada.

[mr.speedy3]

Welcome to the club!

[stockms3]

Got CNT cbe since my stock had no resonator and was too loud

[Nate...]

I really like the black wrinkle on the IM and VC. Subscribed for more updates.

[Jtaylor]

I love my CNT exhaust, had it for about 4 years now.

Only issue is it has cracked along the beveled edge on the tip, but that's no big deal.

[sleeperstang1994]

looks good! glad everything is coming together. did the machine shop do all the engine assembly for you as well as the machine work?

[shamie]

Since your not using them for your TMIC you should remove those studs in your IM. They just screw out.

[stockms3]

Originally Posted by sleeperstang1994 looks good! glad everything is coming together. did the machine shop do all the engine assembly for you as well as the machine work?

Machine shop assembled rods/pistons/shortblock they cleaned up the head. I had to put the head on and the rest. Thankfully, I've had some help.

Originally Posted by shamie Since your not using them for your TMIC you should remove those studs in your IM. They just screw out.

Thanks! I was considering grinding those off he he. I'm glad I didn't.

[stockms3]

250 miles! Time for 2nd oil change. So far so good. Decided to install a stock TMM. I just couldn't stand TRZ with the light flywheel. So quiet now

I'm going to address the oil leak also.

[stockms3]

It has been a while since I posted anything. In the mean time I graduated from school and finally have a well paying career.

I bought a JBR 3in intake and TR8 front mount.

The plan is to put in CS turbo early this summer. Upgrade the clutch if it slips, install steel brake lines and run it on a road course this summer.

There will be more updates once it starts getting a bit warmer. I also plan on refreshing suspension and possibly respraying the whole car. We will see if I have time since I am house shopping. I plan on documenting everything.

[mituc]

Did you upgrade the pistons in the meanwhile?
If you did not upgrade your pistons with larger piston rings end gap I recommend not tracking the car with a big turbo unless you add meth.

[flapjack]

Originally Posted by mituc Did you upgrade the pistons in the meanwhile? If you did not upgrade your pistons with larger piston rings end gap I recommend not tracking the car with a big turbo unless you add meth.

He could also use an E85 mix if it's available. Even with just a 30% mix it would pretty much completely eliminate knock especially with an FMIC keeping BATs down.

[darkmx-6]

Can't wait to see what else you do.

[Fstrnyou]

Originally Posted by flapjack He could also use an E85 mix if it's available. Even with just a 30% mix it would pretty much completely eliminate knock especially with an FMIC keeping BATs down.

Knock isn't the issue during long pulls. It's the continuous heat load of long high load pulls on the race track with limited cooldown between pulls, also known as the turns. This heat expands pistons and rings. FMIC BATs and E mix helps, but they can only do so much if the clearances are otherwise too tight. Might be fine for a dyno pull and maybe a roll race. Continued beatings on a track are a different story. Spraying meth drops BATs to well below ambient to help further try to keep things cool.

Spraying meth strictly for cooling is a bandaid for improper clearancing for the application.

[mituc]

Originally Posted by flapjack He could also use an E85 mix if it's available.

^^ What @Fstrnyou says.
Power means heat. And heat is the enemy of cylinders 2 and 3 in these engines. Knock can be mitigated and it is a non-issue if the tune is properly engineered for the setup of the car, driving conditions and the fuel used.

Later edit: I just re-read the first post in this thread and I noticed OP used OTS Wisecos. I hope the oil squirters were already bent to clear the pistons and the rings gap was set properly (at least 0.4mm/0.016" which would work perfect for daily driving as well as track conditions).

[stockms3]

Yes, my engine is built by a shop most local nator guys used.

On the invoice it states "File fit rings .016 top and .018 second", sounds like I should be good?

I do have e85 stations, which I could run without an issue.

[mituc]

.016 is perfect.
If your current tune is not made for ethanol mixes I'd say to add no more than a gallon of E85 to a tank filled with gas.

[Fstrnyou]

In the summer, I ran 2 gal E85 per tank. No issues that I'm aware of. The only obvious change was fuel trims off by a few %.

I'm running the CS turbo and in the midst of a forged build. Aiming for around 450whp. My 2618 pistons and H-tuff rods are overkill for that goal though (Over-build : Under-drive). Going with 20/24 ring gaps.

[flapjack]

Originally Posted by mituc ^^ What @Fstrnyou says. Power means heat. And heat is the enemy of cylinders 2 and 3 in these engines. Knock can be mitigated and it is a non-issue if the tune is properly engineered for the setup of the car, driving conditions and the fuel used. Later edit: I just re-read the first post in this thread and I noticed OP used OTS Wisecos. I hope the oil squirters were already bent to clear the pistons and the rings gap was set properly (at least 0.4mm/0.016" which would work perfect for daily driving as well as track conditions).

Ah okay I see. Well in that case maybe an external oil cooler kit and a turbo blanket would help to keep engine temps down? Maybe set a radiator fan to come on around 190 instead of 217 stock would help as well.

[mituc]

Originally Posted by flapjack Ah okay I see. Well in that case maybe an external oil cooler kit and a turbo blanket would help to keep engine temps down? Maybe set a radiator fan to come on around 190 instead of 217 stock would help as well.

Dude, are we reading the same texts here?
Simply put the engine cooling system (oil and coolant) cannot transfer the heat from the middle of the engine out in the environment.

A turbo blanket doesn't do anything to the oil temps, an oil cooler can make a difference but the amount of oil and coolant flowing through the engine cannot keep up with the accumulation of heat during 10 hot laps on a 2-2.5 miles track, especially if it's a slow//technical one.

[flapjack]

Originally Posted by mituc Dude, are we reading the same texts here? Simply put the engine cooling system (oil and coolant) cannot transfer the heat from the middle of the engine out in the environment.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that the entire point of an engine cooling system? Coolant flows through the engine transferring the heat from combustion to the radiator which then disperses that heat to the environment via airflow.

Our factory oil cooler uses coolant flow over the oil filter housing to transfer the heat from the oil into the coolant. On a hot track day even when your doing pull after pull, the coolant is around 210F-217F and its just keeping the oil temps up. With an external oil cooler, you are taking that heat from the oil and transferring it out to the environment instead of keeping it in the fluids flowing through the engine. This should mean lower coolant and oil temps by a noticeable amount depending on the ambient temps and of course how big the oil cooler is.

Originally Posted by mituc A turbo blanket doesn't do anything to the oil temps, an oil cooler can make a difference but the amount of oil and coolant flowing through the engine cannot keep up with the accumulation of heat during 10 hot laps on a 2-2.5 miles track, especially if it's a slow//technical one.

The point of the turbo blanket is not to cool the oil. It keeps the heat coming from the turbine housing from increasing engine bay temps and instead keeps it inside the turbo or forces it down through the exhaust.

[Fstrnyou]

FWIW, I wouldn't run an external oil cooler unless it was thermostaticly controlled to maintain proper temperature.

Yes, the factory cooling system expels heat to the environment. But it's not sized/rated for continuous track use with an engine producing a lot more heat than stock. The thermostat starts to open at 180 degrees and is full open by 195-200. If your racing temps are over 200, the engine is making more heat than the radiator can remove.

Turbo blanket is a great idea. Keeps more heat inside the turbo, but at 100mph, theres probably enough air circulating in your engine bay to prevent cooking anything. Again, it's still a good idea to use it.