INTRO
hey everyone, i'm going to be making some changes to the car. i've been wanting to do this for a while now, just never really got the chance. so now that i have the opportunity to, i'll keep a log here of the things i'll be doing.
it might be hard to separate what's new from what's old on this thread since i'll be updating existing posts quite a bit, i will keep a "last edited" list at the bottom of this post, as well as occasionally create a new post with my thoughts or pointing out new updates. the edits at the bottom will be listed in order of most recent.
i'll lay this thread out with sections. each section will be specifically about some portion of the car i will be working on/updating. there's no real rhyme or reason to the order of the sections.
sections
- BOV: POST #69
- CALIBRATIONS: POST #70
- CLUTCH & FLYWHEEL: POST #71
- ECU: POST #11
- FMIC: POST #56
- HEAD: POST #41
- INJECTORS & MAP: POST #55
- INTERIOR: POST #25
- LSD: POST #68
- MISC ENGINE STUFF: POST #105
- PCV UPDATE: POST #59
- SUSPENSION: POST #26
- TRACK & DYNO: POST #66
- WHEELS: POST #4
- WIDEBAND O2, EGT & DATALOGGING: POST #17
a little background on the car
it's a 1987 shelby csx, purchased in 1989. it sat on the lot for 2 years until my dad bought it. it was his daily driver until i started to learn to drive. that was the car i learned on. at first i didn't really know what it was. i was looking at buying my "own" car. but as i drove the shelby more, i started loving it more and more, until it got to the point that i didn't want any other car. i ended up buying it from my dad. it was my daily driver until it became unrealiable on the 8+ hour drive between home and college. so i got a 99 saturn sl2 as the daily, and the shelby stayed home until i came back from college. now it's my fun car, and i still really enjoy driving it. it's such a blast.
the car stayed essentially stock up until i got back from college. my father and i did a few things here and there. here are the specs on the car:
- 1987 stage II/csx ECU
- factory airbox replaced by smooth pipe with un-modded 1G BOV attached
- k&n cone filter on stock turbo compressor inlet pipe
- 180 deg thermostat with donovan hole drilled in top
- 804 injectors - update: or so i thought. after pulling the injectors out, they are actually 5277895, 34# ones. stock was 33.25#. apparently, even though we purchased the 804 injectors, some mix-up at the factory landed us injectors that were NOT 804s. the packaging did say 804. so that was interesting to learn.
- mpgmike ported exhaust manifold
- TU rebuilt stock turbo with stainless lines
- TU 3" swingvalve
- TU 3" downpipe
- FWDP 3" exhaust pipes
- 3" dynomax race bullet muffler in place of cat
- 3" dynomax race bullet muffler at end of exhaust
- custom 2-stage g-vavle MBCs for low & high boost
- gus mahon grainger/bleed in MAP boost line
- custom shift light in stock tach
- auto meter cobalt boost gauge
- nordskog EGT gauge (which doesn't work)
- Intellitronix-like O2 gauge (don't remember brand exactly)
- car has been painted completely black, which looks better then the gray bottom IMO
original parts
since the car has been in the family since it's original purchase, we've been in a good position to keep everything off the car as things break and get changed out. for example, the stock 520 broke on me at one point. a 555 was dropped in in place of it. i still have the 520 sitting in my garage. i still have the original factory injectors, i even have the original lug nuts. granted they are bad shape as they were on the car for over 15 years, but i still have them. i still have the original computer that got swapped for the stage 2 one, things like that. i've tried to be diligent about keeping records as well, so i have a pretty thick folder of receipts and stuff.
along the way, i've also found 2 build sheets in the car. one was sewn into one of the seats - when i had the seats reupholstered at some point in the past, the people that did it found the build sheet and gave it me. also, more recently, i replaced the carpet and found another build sheet under the carpet on the rear passenger side.
what i want to get out of the car
since this is a numbered car, i don't really plan on going all out. i don't want to make any modifications to the car that i couldn't undo later if i wanted to. so i tried to set some reasonable goals for the car that would satisfy the speed monster in me and also satisfy the sensible side. so, i'm currently looking for:
- 250whp to 270whp, somewhere in that range. boost will be whatever i need to support this - the lower the better, but i'm thinking 27psi max. i'll have to see.
- low 13's in the quarter - this would require me learning how to drive the car though
- the car already handles pretty well. i wouldn't mind improving on the handling, but not at the expense of cutting/welding any mounts or the frame or anything like that
getting an initial baseline...sort of
i took the car to the dyno on oct 30th, for a baseline run. i learned some interesting stuff. here are the results from the dyno session, i made 2 runs:
- Run 1: ~17psi; 194.92whp @ 5200rpm; 229.93lb-ft @ 4000rpm; ~12.5-13 A/F
- Run 2: ~21psi; 215.81whp @ 4700rpm; 248.44lb-ft @ 4300rpm; ~14 A/F starting at 4000 rpm
issue #1 is fueling, the car is too lean. which makes sense considering i have injectors in there that aren't even 1# more then the stock ones. at 5 to 9 more psi then stock, lack of fuel WILL be a problem. also, i'm not convinced that the boost numbers above are accurate. i think my BOV was leaking, so it's quite possible that the compressor was making even more boost, which would increase the intake manifold charge temp, lowering power. so i think those numbers are all hosed up and i don't put a lot of faith in them right now, especially the second run.
upcoming changes
i have a whole slew of things i want to modify/improve. here is a list of the things that i will be changing, along with an indication on the progess of that item. each of the sections listed at the top of this post will contain more details about what's going on with these items.
my overall plan of attack will be to make some big changes, then slowly work up to the hp gain realized from those changes. then perhaps some additional changes, more tuning, so on and so forth. i will try to approach things in the following order:
- create socketed LM using baseline CSX Stage II calibration POST #11 - COMPLETE!
- replace narrowband O2 wideband unit POST #17 - COMPLETE!
- verify car functions properly with wideband unit, datalogging, and narrowband O2 signal to LM POST #17 - COMPLETE!
- create custom cal for 2Bar, 36# inj, 12psi POST #70 - COMPLETE!
- upgrade to 3 Bar map POST #55 - COMPLETE!
- create/update cal for 3Bar, 36# inj, 15psi POST #70 - COMPLETE!
- upgrade to larger injectors POST #55 - awaiting install...
- acquire and install ported head POST #41 - in progress...
- install new EGT probe POST #17 - awaiting install...
- do something with the BOV, either modify the 1G for high boost or get an aftermarket one. i'm looking at the HKS SSQV right now... POST #69 - awaiting install...
- create/update cal for 3Bar, 72s (72#) inj, 12psi, ported head POST #70 - COMPLETE!
- street tune cal
- create/update cal for 17psi POST #70 -
- street tune cal if possible, dyno tune otherwise
- create/update cal for 21psi POST #70 -
- street tune cal if possible, dyno tune otherwise
- replace stock i/c with fmic unit from treadstone & reroute turbo compressor inlet to get fresh air and not underhood air POST #56
- create/update cal for max safe psi (goal is 27psi) POST #70 -
- evaluate dynos for improvements/gains/goals
in addition to this, there are supporting mods that i want to do that may not directly fit into the ordering above, or are exclusive from the ordering. those items are listed here:
- new, wider rims POST #4 - COMPLETE!
- new coil seats for the front struts POST #26 - COMPLETE!
- new carpet for the car POST #25 - COMPLETE!
- seat covers for the torn up seats until i decide to get them reupholstered POST #25 - COMPLETE!
- do something with the seatbelts POST #25 - COMPLETE!
- clean/paint interior panels POST #25 - COMPLETE!
- new interior roof panel thing - water leaks and time have made it crack and sag POST #25 - COMPLETE!
- exterior paint job (very badly needed) & new vent visors - waiting for paint job prior to install...
- positive impression decals - waiting for paint job before application...
- i would like to get some shelby floor mats, i'll have to see what i can find
- a new clutch POST #71 -
- new 255 fuel pump, depending on whether the stock can keep up with the new injectors and flow demand...
- paint engine bay and components...
- update PCV system POST #59 - in progress...
- install LSD POST #68 - paid deposit...
results from changes
the results from these changes will be documented in the DYNO & TRACK post. i also started a video compilation of the work that will be going into the car. i'm not done with it yet (as i'm not done with the car ) but here's what i got so far:
Vid Compilation
Recent Edits:
- updated ECU post (07/23/2009)
- updated MISC ENGINE STUFF post (07/22/2009)
- updated CALIBRATIONS post (07/22/2009)
- updated INJECTORS & MAP post (07/22/2009)
- updated HEAD post (03/30/2009)
- updated FMIC post (03/24/2009)
- updated TRACK & DYNO post (03/21/2009)
- updated BOV post (03/18/2009)
- updated WIDEBAND O2, EGT & DATALOGGING post (03/17/2009)
- added CLUTCH & FLYWHEEL post (03/14/2009)
- added LSD post (03/13/2009)
- added PCV UPDATE post (03/09/2009)
- updated WHEELS post (01/08/2009)
- updated SUSPENSION post (01/01/2009)
- updated INTERIOR post (01/01/2009)