Matt's Red GN

[d3v147]

The left hand front brake line was far too close to the manifold for my liking and also was in the way of the heat shield. I had ordered a 90 degree banjo but it still hadn't arrived. It became apparent I needed a devious plan.

Unfortunately Mitsubishi flare fittings have a lot more thread than nissan ones so the lines would not seal. This was easily rectified by hacking the master cylinder down a bit.

This T piece is from the rear of my S13. I'm not going into the details of why this works perfectly but be assured that it does. Brake feel is actually really good. Car does oversteer on braking just a touch but I like that. It doesn't lock the backs going straight.

Clearly not enough sikaflex used on the sump. I found it's resting on the rack and has to come of for notching anyway.

Because air is mostly nitrogen.

Hopefully an R31 diff will solve the rear fitment problem

Inevitably this would have caught fire.

Excitement was building

(Still not up to date)

[Tomica93]

profile pic looks sick, hope the rear wheels will pair with front

also great work on wiring, glad too see you connected all the earth wires into one spot, reminds me on my problem about earth loops

keep going, well done !

[d3v147]

profile pic looks sick, hope the rear wheels will pair with front

also great work on wiring, glad too see you connected all the earth wires into one spot, reminds me on my problem about earth loops

keep going, well done !

Thanks Tomica! Australian Deilivered Sigmas use live rear axles - so rear camber is not possible without an IRS conversion. I think it's way more trouble than it is worth to go down that path and I'm also not a fan of rear camber. I am likely to chagnge to an R31 skyline diff but that is a big enough job in itself.

This is pretty much as installed as a Megasquirt ever gets! It can definitely live there for a while while I am sorting out extra connections (Knock sense, speed sense, EGT, maybe oil pressure, maybe PWM fuel pump control.


It's unfortunate I couldn't keep the stock column cover as it is the correct colour and looks better IMHO. It also hits the underside of the dash limiting the adjustibility of the tilt. I May have to come back to this later and attack with the 3D printer.


I didn't want any gauges to mount and all the info I needed was available live from the MS. I also didn't want to drill into my dash as it is in immaculate condition. The soulition was to double side tape a large plastic panel to the dash and put 2x stand off in it to simulate the head rest pillars used by a standard tablet mount. It is adequate but I should probably 3D print something that matched the countour of the dash better so the double sided tape does not slowly peel.


It had been quite a while since I had seen the floor.



Works quite well at night at least.


Steering column was touching dump so needed mods.


Done ! Should have added the EGT port while I was there though.


Car was way too loud with only a 3 inch exhaust - you could here the turbo whining driving around off boost - it was like a diesel truck!

Made sure it wasn't going to rattle once welded in place

Installation on an angle ensured it wouldn't rattle. Worked very well! Quieter than the old broken exhaust that started the whole project! Didn't seem to affect the power.

[geezer101]

Good stuff Matt. The sig looks great! And now you can finally get some time behind the wheel and enjoy it. We'll all be eager to hear how it performs on the road.

[ddt]

Top work, Matt -she's lookin good
That's a lot of work done in a short space of time -major props.

How different does it ride and handle now with that rack conversion -are you happy with the result so far?
Any downsides?

[d3v147]

Top work, Matt -she's lookin good
That's a lot of work done in a short space of time -major props.

How different does it ride and handle now with that rack conversion -are you happy with the result so far?
Any downsides?

Thanks DDT. I have devoted a lot of time to this build. Pretty much all my spare time lol.

Ride handling is extremely harsh now. The front suspension are 10kg digressive coilovers intended for use with a 6 CYL in my s13. I keep the dampening to setting 1 and the rebound to setting 3 though and they seem to work really well without skating on uneven surfaces. Rear suspension has a little bounce when unladen, but seems a lot better with a full tank of fuel and the spare wheel in its place.

Steering feel is completely direct. The electric power steering works really well - i'd say better than the direct mechanical S13 pump that used to power the rack. Fee play when going straight is eliminated (Although i need to get a wheel alignment as I think I'm slightly toed out). Turn in even on crappy tires is scary - I initially found myself almost running off the road on the inside as there is no delay. I had trouble with the factory seat not being supportive enough and found myself coming out the side of it a bit. I replaced with a recaro seat which helped a lot.

The 40A stock alternator is a joke. I couldn't even have the fan running without running the battery flat due to the electric power steering. I jury rigged a triton 4g64 alternator I had laying around that was 90A. I can now run everything no problems at all. Strangely enough the motor now shuts off without having to pull the handbrake now :/

Biggest downside is sump clearance. Mitsubishi set the motor VERY low in the sigma. So low in fact that the rack almost sits between big end 3 and 4 when the sump is relieved. Having massaged the sump so much I am now having trouble with it leaking. This leak was getting into the clutch making it slip. (I since sicoflexed the clutch cover plate around the top so it couldn't get in)

Another downside is that to keep the wheel i have I need 5 degrees of negative camber even with the shorter control arms. Whilst I don't mind this, it kind of ruins the sleeper spec of the vehicle a bit. I can try running the the LCA in the other holes that I drilled, but I need to find shorter inner tie rods and am also concerned it may introduce nasty bump steer.

Tune is pretty good - i pinched it from a US starion site. It was a screenshot of megasquirt 12x12 maps. I used excel to spread them out to 16x16 and then adjusted the base fuel to get close. I then let auto tune do the rest. I just left the AFR targets that come with the megasquirt out of the box. Seems to work well and uses less fuel than it did with the magna ECU if I stay off boost.

I need to get knock sensing working but I have a lot of trouble with false alarms.

I am using united 98 RON ethanol blend fuel. It is cheaper than BP ultimate and ethanol is supposed to help prevent knocking as well.

[d3v147]

(Update from the past)

The sump was not only leaking but hitting badly in the rack still. One spot is particularly bad near the existing dent to the right and would have worn a hole untreated.


As the sump was already in bad condition I wasn't too elegant with the hammer. Incidentally this lines up with the main bearing which is quite convenient.

Turned the motor by hand after trial fitting the sump. It hit the big end. I fixed this with the hammer.

Got a sump gasket from repco to avoid sicaflex. Turns out the GN has its own sump and we could not get the proper gasket


I tried sicaflexing the sump on again. Weather was extremely cold so I left it for 2 days.
In the meantime I made a cover to replace the distributor cap.

[geezer101]

From one extreme to another - milling a distributor cap delete cover...to modding a sump with the BFH2000 (man, the last time I saw a sump that beat up was on a bush basher). I'm sort of surprised you haven't cut your own sump gasket considering all the other work you have done so far. I think Mitsubishi were well aware of needing to lower the cars centre of gravity (which is good for a production car) but didn't think anyone would be devoted (read as 'crazy') enough to do what you have so far. Hopefully you've killed the oil leak problem

[d3v147]

(Still catching up)

I was rough with the sump as it already had massive damage at the front from the previous owner and there was no point polishing a turd.

After multiple rounds with the BFH2000 the bolt holes no longer lined up with the block Being a wierd sump I could not source another one so I cut a slit and applied more hammer massage.


I then cut my own gasket



(Still more to catch up, ps still leaking )

[d3v147]

Should have had the sigma in the drifts! At the drifts was pretty close though!



Quick fix for the replacement seat. It's just an iron on patch



Seat is so much better. Sits lower so i can see the speedo without the steering wheel being in the way, holds me in when turning corners.

[75wagon]

Seat is so much better. Sits lower so i can see the speedo without the steering wheel being in the way, holds me in when turning corners.

Pretty much the same Recaro's as I'm running in my wagon.
Why don't more invest in good seats?
I've never understood it.
I've got another pair of Recaro's going the my current wagon build as well.

BTW, I'm loving seeing what you are doing with this. Everytime I get on the forum it's 'what has he up to with it now?'

Nice work, be real interesting to see how it drifts too

Dave...

[d3v147]

I really wish I had a pair. Unfortunately only have one.

[d3v147]

Finally got to clean the workshop so I could do some work that did not involve getting filthy or catching fire. It did not stay like this for long

I need to pull the windscreen out and do some rust repair as it leaks quite a bit. For this reason I felt it prudent to mount the ECU off the floor.
I just mounted on a piece of MDF. This all fits behind the glovebox no problems as I removed the aircon and replaced the heater duct with the stock item.

Was hoping for completely hidden. I suppose this is near enough. I can probably cover the opeing although you have to get down to see it anyway.

The standard 40A alternator was causing me hassle with all the extra load. I had a 90 4g65 unit in my shed which i jerry rigged. It worked quite well. Only needed 2 of the 4 wires as two of them seem to be for diagnostics.

I wasn't happy with the current tablet mount so i made a new one. Worked well until the sun got on it. I have since started revision 2

[d3v147]

As the last mount like to warp in the sun I designed one that I hope will be more rigid.




I had a GM 3 bar map sensor laying around from a broken electronic boost controller I was given. I though i should use it to do realtime barometric correction. I went for a drive around and saw a 5 kpa swing so i think it was worthwhile.


Don't use crappt T3/T4 combo gaskets


Latest problem is that I welded the cross member on 3.5mm off center. Not really a huge discrepancy given my skill level but leaves the camber uneven. I have been slotting the LCA hole on the side with the most camber to bring it back to spec. As I am only correcting on one side this means 7mm worth of slotting as well as shortening my tie rods (Again).

I am looking at doing something about the stereo next. I want to keep it hidden. Does anyone know what the maximum size front speaker that can easily be fitted in the factory dash location? I also need to figure out how to remove the dash without breaking it. It looks like just the top section will come off by itself but I would love some advice on this.

[d3v147]

Over 1000 views! Hopefully it's keeping some people entertained!

I have done some work on the audio.

New speakers, also head unit that i never ended up using


Comparison of drivers side speaker. Direct fit apart from pushing hard on vent pipe.


Passenger side fitter, this sucked. The factory speaker is larger on this side. I used some camping mat to seal the hole a bit.


Driver side. I actually added little tweeters and crossovers in here as well but never took any pics.


I decided to build a mixer using a bluetooth audio receiver rather than have a head unit.


Initial wiring. I later changed the left knob to be overall volume rather than front level.


Rough, but it's only temporary


Six RCA to boot. Allows easier tuning. I made the cables up from bits from Jaycar.


I tried to keep it fairly tidy


First sub was a dud so I got another. Firing into rear coner for max loading. Also the only angle it fitted anyway.


I bought some nicer hardware to dress up the panel as it shitted me a little


Plans for v2 as the response curve differs a lot from front to back. May also just use a USB 5.1 sound card with the tablet. Not decided yet. Module at top also has the same BT4 chip as used in V1

[d3v147]

Haven't done much with the Sigma, here are some random bits though

Got a 10Hz GPS, naturally 3D printed a mount for it. It was a little bit out but I just heated it with a heat gun and that allowed it to deform nicely.


Played around with CAN BUS in hopes of adding some instruments to my dash. Had a lot of trouble with various electronic gremlins getting this to work.


I got an earth loop and back EMF killed the can chips at both ends. This included the one in the ECU. Luckily only basic soldering skills are needed to repair megasquirt.


I got my EQs and they work a treat! They are only sitting there until I get the MP3/Bluetooth unit and then I will 3D print the whole section. I think I can just pull it off in the build area if i do it at 45 degrees


I got another tablet and it is larger and weighs more. I made a reinforcing piece to help with this


I am not a fan of the wanky pod gauges that seem to be in common use. I found these VFD displays in jaycar for $3 each and they are a perfect fit. They also look to be the same colour as the factory clock. Driving them is a PITA and i am doing the long wait for parts to arrive from china to facilitate that. The one in this position will be primarily for (Current AFR, Target AFR, MAP) something like (14.0 14.7 102) as i have 11 digits to play with.


The coil pack bracket eventually fatigued and cracked. I fixed it in a not so pretty fashion. You dont see the bad weld though so it doesn't really matter.



I also had some trouble with the triton alternator. I swapped it out for a magna one I had laying around. I had to swap the pulley and use lots of washers but it was ok. Initially i had it out of alignement and it nearly came off and a bit of wet weather mission. Luckily i didn't lose a head.

Most recently I discovered i was losing coolant. I thought it may have been head gasket so I pulled the plugs and checked with a little camera. Couldn't see any water. I then pressurized the radiator - probably too much as the cap bulged up. It then cracked the neck off a bit. It did look like it was on its way out though. Water obviously began to escape through the crack in the neck, but none in the cylinders which I was happy with. The rubber hose to the hard line that runs around the motor was the culprit. It was leaking even though the clamp was tight. I'm not sure if i'll solder the radiator or put another in.

[Superscan811]

Most recently I discovered i was losing coolant. I thought it may have been head gasket so I pulled the plugs and checked with a little camera. Couldn't see any water. I then pressurized the radiator - probably too much as the cap bulged up. It then cracked the neck off a bit. It did look like it was on its way out though. Water obviously began to escape through the crack in the neck, but none in the cylinders which I was happy with. The rubber hose to the hard line that runs around the motor was the culprit. It was leaking even though the clamp was tight. I'm not sure if i'll solder the radiator or put another in.

Also pays to check or replace the radiator cap. If they aren't holding pressure, you can lose coolant quicker than you think.


Cheers.

[d3v147]

Started modelling the radio panel. I still dont have the audio module to completely figure it out. I copied most of it from the stock panel.


I soldered the top back on the radiator.



I also replaced some of the water hoses and put another small turn on the sump bolts in hope of fixing the eternal leak.

I got parts to repair my tablet so I can do some more work on the tune once I am paid and can afford to fuel it.

[Sigmaproject]

What did you do about the Sigma small rear water port when using the Magna thermostat location. Is it as simple as opening it up with a die grinder..

[d3v147]

I put the whole magna head on. I didn't think there was a need to modify anything doing this with an Astron 2 block?

[Sigmaproject]

If you used a magna head..then there are no issues.

[Superscan811]

While I agree it doesn't seem to happen often, I'd at least put an air bleed on the front water port,
BECAUSE..
Look at the height difference between the rear and front water port, This can trap air, leaving the front of the head without water flow.

Even if it's just a small 2mm bleed into the hose going back to the radiator, it could save you from future head cooking problems.

Just my 2c worth.


Cheers.

[d3v147]

While I agree it doesn't seem to happen often, I'd at least put an air bleed on the front water port,
BECAUSE..
Look at the height difference between the rear and front water port, This can trap air, leaving the front of the head without water flow.

Even if it's just a small 2mm bleed into the hose going back to the radiator, it could save you from future head cooking problems.

Just my 2c worth.


Cheers.

Interesting. I had been bleeding it out from a port near the back of the head but had noticed some gurgling when i stopped the car sometimes. I didn't really think too much of it. I haven't noticed it since I fixed the radiator and leak and I didn't even bother to bleed it last time. I haven't had any problems but I think it's well worth looking into doing the mod you suggested. I can probably just come out the sensor hole for the in dash gauge and back into the stainless pipe. The gauge in the dash doesn't work anyway and I just go off the ECU.

[d3v147]

Windscreen was leaking pretty bad so I pulled it out. I just used a cheap box cutter and it was easy.













And another leak

[d3v147]

Getting ready for the onslaught.


More shitness




sometimes you rally have to ask yourself if it is even worth it. On a positive note I checked the heater core against one on ebay and it looked the same. Pretty cheap at about 140 bucks. While this is all apart I will probably put the aircon back in, albeit with the smaller more efficent compressor I have off a later model triton.

[d3v147]

Whoops on the double pic post

PS WHERE THE HELL IS THE EDIT BUTTON? What is this? 1995?

[geezer101]

Whoops on the double pic post

PS WHERE THE HELL IS THE EDIT BUTTON? What is this? 1995?

Fixed And yes, us admins know about the edit button thing and the chosen few have complained - but due to this function being abused it has been removed. As long as the site cops keep doing their funky thing, threads and posts will be kept tidy and there will be free sunshine and rainbows for everyone!

[Sigmaproject]

It's called DATA RETENTION and can be used against you if the admins think that you maybe involved in subversive activities.

But they would never use it just to spy on you

[d3v147]

Facebook has a edit and related history function. The biggest shitheads on the internet also frequent there and no one has died from either function.

[d3v147]

I made a curtain to keep fragments of decayed sigma from entering my electronics.


I began cutting, blasting, rust converting grinding and swearing. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing and would love some experienced suggestion of procedure here. I know I should pull the panels right off and do them on the inside but it is only a Sigma and I am not willing to go that far. Maybe oneday when my S13 is off the rotisserie I will give the white GN shell the full treatment but it's not happening on this one.