My big car mod for this winter!

THOR

Fearless Prophet
Well here it is, my car will be the ONLY 1.6 Miata in North America with this on it. It is an R.S. Aizawa IRTB kit from Japan.

I got it from a guy who works for Rspeed, a big Miata shop in Georgia, it was on his car. Comes with the IRTB's, all the lines and hoses etc. and an HKS F-Con Pro ECU. One of the biggest parts of my decision was the fact that there is an HKS dealer with a dyno 2 hours away from me that can tune everything once I get it installed.

In the end I paid right around what I would have for a mid-range turbo or SC kit. I have a valve cover being powder coated chrome right now as well and my hood is at the painters having the underside painted. I think it will take us more time to clean up the grungy engine bay then it will take to get the kit installed.

As to the whys of this over a FI system? Well my car's odometer says 180,000 + miles but we have no idea what has been done to the engine. It doesn't burn or leak oil, after 3,000 miles the oil is as clear as the day it was changed. Motor runs strong with no problems. But it is an unkown. If money wasnt an object a motor rebuild, upgraded drivetrain and a coldside supercharger would be the ticket but that's not ever going to be realistic for my wallet. So since an FI system would strain the current drivetrain who knows what might go, especially probably the clutch and rear end. Also an FI system introduces a whole bunch of new moving parts and I like the simplicity of the IRTB's.

I did a lot of research over the past few months and basically there is HP and torque available the INSTANT you press the pedal with IRTB's. While it is not so much increased HP it is more the the throttle response and tourqe is better. Which is what I wanted not more top end speed which was the deciding factor against a turbo. Then there is the sound which communicates something vintage and raw. There is a bling factor and the bragging rights associated with these as well but the deciding factor was they fit exactly what I wanted to improve in my car.
 

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The car in the picture isn't mine it's the car it came out of ;) (there's a before and after of my car below) I hope to get my engine bay to look 1/2 that good. I am looking forward to going to car shows and cruise nights this summer and popping the hood for the 1st time. Last year I never opened it :)

IRTB's are supposed to sound awesome, I'll let you know when they are installed. They arrive tuesday or so but it will probably be a couple weeks before I install them.
 

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Thor,
That´s a really neat rebuilding job.
Congrats, great looking set of wheels.
Jorge
 
OK Thor I'm confused, isn't this a F.I. system? Them blue things is injectors ain't they?

Looks really cool though!
 
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Fast_Eddie said:
It's a throttle body set up Eric. Just looks like carbs. Super cool.

Yup. I knew that, what I meant was Thor refers to this instead of a F.I. system. I thought maybe he meant instead of a Turbo?
 
FI means Forced Injection, turbos and superchargers are FI, sorry that's the way they say it on the Miata forums. I didn't realize it might be confused with fuel injection ;)

IRTB means individual runner throttle bodies, gives you the benefits of carbs while keeping the ease of use of fuel injection. I guess actual carbs like Webers would require constant tinkering to keep properly tuned. With IRTB's once you tune the system using the ECU you only need to balance the IRTB's with a synchrometer every month or so depending on your driving:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...em=4579142207&sspagename=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:11

And once a year the ECU will need to be retuned. But these are guidlines for a daily driver, since my car is a warm weather, top down, sun only car my tuning requirements will be different I think.
 
FI is forced induction, FI is fuel injection. Any questions? :D
Actually, when I hear FI, I think "Fuel Injection."
Do you use a laptop for tuning? Er what?
 
No, users cannot tune the HKS F-con pro ECU's they can only be unlocked and tuned by an authorized HKS dealer. They are very powerful ECU's but I guess that's they're drawback. Not a big deal for me since I am clueless about tuning and would rather not do it myself. I have an HKS dealer 2 hours away. Since this system was on a 1.6 Miata we are fairly certain I should be able to install the sIRTB's and ECU and drive the car to final tuning at the dealer.
 
I don't think carbs would be any more hassle to run than this set up. It would just be kind of a waste since it's allready injected to go to carbs. You would loose all the computer mumbo jumbo and likely make it illegal to drive in many cities.

Take care,

Ed
 
THOR said:
FI means Forced Injection, turbos and superchargers are FI, sorry that's the way they say it on the Miata forums. I didn't realize it might be confused with fuel injection ;)

OK, that explains it. :thmbsp:
 
Can't wait to see the pictures when you finish installing those Thor! :thmbsp:

It'll be fun to get the "seat of the pants" feel the first day you road test the car with those installed! :yes:

Scott
 
That's lookin' friggen awesome Thor!! My car is the opposite, I'll probly scare evryone off until I open my hood. Damn Vega!

Keep us posted,

Ron
 
My engine bay is damm nasty, for one it's white since the car was originally white and it's got 180,000 miles of grease and grime in there. I never, ever opened it in public last year ;) Since these are gonna be under there I am gonna have to clean it up and at least paint as much of the bay black as I can. I am NOT looking foward to it :( At least once the IRTB's go in they eliminate a ton of tubes, hoses and wires so it will be easier to get at. This is what a regular Miata engine bay look like (it's not mine) you can see the difference from the pics in the first post:
 

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What kind of HP numbers are you looking at after your mods? How much can you wring out of 1.6 litres? I had an Alfa Romeo Spider many years ago that was 2.0 litres and 121 HP, stock FI ( fuel injected) fun to drive, but it had its' lunch eaten too many times, just not enough torque. There's no replacement for displacement. Should be a hoot to drive though, alot to be said for going topless - that I miss.
Keep us up on your progress, and post more pictures.

Kim
 
OK, I have another question or three :)

How do you get around removing things like the Air Flow Sensor, Idle Valve, manifold vacuum ports etc...

Something like this would be fun to put on my 87 Toyota P.U. but Calif smog laws make that impractical :no:
 
With a built engine I believe a naturally aspirated 1.6 can get in the 160 hp area, not sure tho but I believe I have read something like that. But that is like a serious amount of money. If I can get in the 120 - 130 range I would be happy. Even stock the car is pretty quick, considering it's hp but it's a light car at only 2000 pounds or so which helps. Stock 1.6 I think is 97hp or so, I believe this system on a stock 1.6 got around 114 - 117hp. BUT IRTB's are not about HP numbers. Guys with IRTB cars regularly beat forced induction Miatas with 200+ HP in auotx's. IRTB's are about throttle response and tourque as soon as you press on the gas pedal. Hector who sold this kit to me actually removed a super charger from his car to install it and he said the IRTB's made the car way more fun to drive. The only reason he sold it is that he has emissions in his state. IRTB's are not evironmentally friendly ;) So the IRTB's and a lightened flywheel should make me real happy on my stock motor.

"How do you get around removing things like the Air Flow Sensor, Idle Valve, manifold vacuum ports etc..."

That's why IRTB's require a piggy back or a stand alone replacement aftermarket ECU. The new ECU controls the fuel/air/ignition etc. Part of the IRTB kit are new sensors that replace the ones like in the air flow sensor.

Here's the basic instructions I was given:

Here are the basic steps so you can start looking at your shop manual to get prepared:
1) Remove intake manifold.
2) Remove Alternator bracket and replace with the one provided.
3) Replace intake manifold gasket (*very important)
4) install IRTB's
5) Connect fuel lines.
6) Connect?vacuum line to A/C solenoid and back to Throttle kick up.
7) Connect A/C solenoid to ground and AC on wire. (I'll let you know the wire)
8) Route wires for 2 new sensors through firewall. Plug behind fusebox. (*Map sensor must be on firewall ABOVE IRTB's)
9) Connect sensors. Connect ECU, and wires at ECU. (requires further explanation)

**Actually I don't have A/C so I will be installing a choke switch

Here is a photo that will give you some insight:
 

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