[Success Story] My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Your chance to introduce yourself and your vehicle
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Post by Nightsknight45 »

Hello! I'd like to introduce myself and my car. I named her Natalia because I thought the name sounded nice. She's a 2001 Mazda Miata base and has been my daily driver for the past three years. I bought back in 2018 around 103,xxx and she now sits at 168,xxx on the chassis and original unopened engine and transmission. My plans are to eventually fit ITBs on her and shoot for at least 160whp as I have no plans for forced induction. I was on the search for an aftermarket ECU to push my build to the next level and while I was at Miatas at the Gap I came across the Rusefi based ECUs by BeerMoneyMotorsports. The quality and for the killer cost is what made me bite the bullet on purchasing my own, overall I'm pleased with the ECU and I am glad I gave it shot!



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Mods would include:
Flyin Miata vmaxx classics
Flyin Miata front and rear sway bars
TR motorsports C1M 15x7 wheels
Squaretop intake manifold
Revshift poly motor mounts
Racing Beat headers
Racing Beat catless midpipe
Racing Beat intake elbow with MAF delete pipe
Roadster Sport 3 muffler
Hellen 72 ECU
Torsen 4.1 rear diff swap with poly bushings
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natalia.jpg
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AndreyB
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by AndreyB »

Welcome :)
Very limited telepathic abilities - please post logs & tunes where appropriate - http://rusefi.com/s/questions

Always looking for C/C++/Java/PHP developers! Please help us see https://rusefi.com/s/howtocontribute
mck1117
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by mck1117 »

Already running on rusEFI?
BeerMoneyMotorsports
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by BeerMoneyMotorsports »

Thank you for posting! This is the car where we have some concerns on the VVT functionality shown in thread https://rusefi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2177&p=42901#p42901

Please update that thread with your latest info that you texted me. Save your tune and log to rusefi online, then use those links to post your logs to the thread. Seems to be more to it than just dropout.
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

mck1117 wrote:
Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:59 am
Already running on rusEFI?
Yes! However I'm dealing with an intermittent vvt issue at the moment
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

AndreyB wrote:
Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:51 am
Welcome :)
Thanks!! Happy to be here
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

Back from the dead... I was having issues with the ECU ( I killed two of them) and I finally got my hands on a revised board that seems to be working well! I've put under 300 miles in about 4 days of driving. Here is my most recent tune: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=789

The car drives pretty well with good AFRs throughout the rev range. It still needs work on idle and some work on initial throttle response from idle but overall it's completely drivable!
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

Today's tune: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=790

I believe I have made some improvements to idle and some changes to the VE table to better hit my desired AFRs
BeerMoneyMotorsports
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by BeerMoneyMotorsports »

Great to see you happy! When does it get boost?
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

Haha no forced induction on this one. I have plans to fit some ITBs in 2022-2023
BeerMoneyMotorsports
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by BeerMoneyMotorsports »

that works too. not a ton of power but lots of fun.
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

If anyone is running the AEM series X wideband on your build, I found that these settings worked best for me.
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mck1117
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by mck1117 »

Nightsknight45 wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:05 am
If anyone is running the AEM series X wideband on your build, I found that these settings worked best for me.
AEM X-Series? You should connect it over CAN! The digital interface is much faster, and more accurate.
Nightsknight45
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Location: Tampa FL

Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

I was messing with the "Experimental" launch control setting and it seems to work but only when the clutch pedal is up/disengaged. I tried messing with the settings to have it active when I push down the clutch but no matter what settings I change it will produce the same result. I also tried messing with the speed threshold and if you change it to "0" the launch control would fully disengage and any number above it would enable it. however, the launch control will still be active regardless of speed and the set launch rpm becomes the new rev limiter even when moving and would only disengage when the clutch pedal is depressed. Any ideas on what I should try?
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Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

mck1117 wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:14 am
Nightsknight45 wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:05 am
If anyone is running the AEM series X wideband on your build, I found that these settings worked best for me.
AEM X-Series? You should connect it over CAN! The digital interface is much faster, and more accurate.
Hmm, maybe in the future but im working with what I have lol. The Aem Series X wideband is a pretty dang good option
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AndreyB
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by AndreyB »

Nightsknight45 wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:41 am
Hmm, maybe in the future but im working with what I have lol. The Aem Series X wideband is a pretty dang good option
I think Matt is saying that what you _have_ has digital CAN option.
Very limited telepathic abilities - please post logs & tunes where appropriate - http://rusefi.com/s/questions

Always looking for C/C++/Java/PHP developers! Please help us see https://rusefi.com/s/howtocontribute
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AndreyB
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by AndreyB »

Nightsknight45 wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:31 am
Any ideas on what I should try?
Please post way more details. Please upload your tube to https://rusefi.com/online as a tune not as a picture.

Please upload logs to https://rusefi.com/online and maybe even youtube video of your attempts. As it while you are hinting at your issues a lot is still very invisible for us.

It could also be that many things are still not in the logs and maybe we simply do not have the tools to troubleshoot those functionalities remotely. I am hoping that Live Data would become useful one day not sure if it's helpful at all as is.
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Very limited telepathic abilities - please post logs & tunes where appropriate - http://rusefi.com/s/questions

Always looking for C/C++/Java/PHP developers! Please help us see https://rusefi.com/s/howtocontribute
Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

Definitely! I'll upload some logs and a tune as soon as I can.
BeerMoneyMotorsports
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by BeerMoneyMotorsports »

The actual clutch input is configured in a different section. see image below for settings.
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Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

BeerMoneyMotorsports wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:46 pm
The actual clutch input is configured in a different section. see image below for settings.

image.png
That fixed the issue I was having! I had a feeling that I was missing something
Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

Now that I have the launch control active when the clutch is depressed, I'm still running into an issue with the launch control being active while at speed. The VSS has been set up within the ECU to accurately match my speedometer, which I'm assuming the speed threshold setting within the launch control menu uses to determine vehicle speed.

Datalog: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=644

Tune:( launch control was disabled after datalog was taken ): https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=868
Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by Nightsknight45 »

I had the opportunity to take my car to the dyno. I wanted to see how much she was putting to the wheels with my street tune (tuned myself), I was fully expecting at least 140 whp and she surprised me with 150 whp! That's not bad for a 175k mile engine!

Tune: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=894
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BeerMoneyMotorsports
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by BeerMoneyMotorsports »

Dyno sheet?
OSprey42
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata

Post by OSprey42 »

Nightsknight45 wrote:
Sat Feb 26, 2022 7:43 pm
I had the opportunity to take my car to the dyno. I wanted to see how much she was putting to the wheels with my street tune (tuned myself), I was fully expecting at least 140 whp and she surprised me with 150 whp! That's not bad for a 175k mile engine!

Tune: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=894
How good is the idle throttle blip in this tune? I've been trying to tune that in my NB1 but it always bogs a bit when tapping the throttle at idle. What I have currently in this tune isn't really bad but could be a lot better. I was also wondering how tuned your spark map is. I took mine from someone elses NB on REO a few months a go and have basically left it but noticed at WOT yours is a bit more conservative

My current tune: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=897
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AndreyB
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Post by AndreyB »

Why we had VVT activation delay calibration setting for some time I've only implemented the actual logic about six minutes ago see https://github.com/rusefi/rusefi/issues/3443

Another thing - your tune is officially the best rusEFI NB2 tune so I've just made some progress cherry picking some of your settings into the canned default NB settings and some actually all the way into global rusEFI default settings.

That work is done under https://github.com/rusefi/rusefi/issues/4038

Here's a tricky issue: tune difference report mixes your improvements with rusEFI new calibrations for new features which did not exist when your tune was originally created. Pretty much we do not have a mechanism to propagate new defaults into existing tunes like yours - at the moment when new defaults appear your tune would have all zeroes in corresponding memory region.

TL,DR: please consider upgrading at least to latest rusEFI release https://github.com/rusefi/rusefi/releases/latest/download/rusefi_bundle_hellen72.zip

At some point it would be amazing if you reset your tune to canned defaults and re-apply all your custom settings to leverage default calibrations of all new features. Not sure if it's worth doing right now.
Very limited telepathic abilities - please post logs & tunes where appropriate - http://rusefi.com/s/questions

Always looking for C/C++/Java/PHP developers! Please help us see https://rusefi.com/s/howtocontribute
Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Post by Nightsknight45 »

AndreyB wrote:
Sun Apr 10, 2022 11:41 pm
Why we had VVT activation delay calibration setting for some time I've only implemented the actual logic about six minutes ago see https://github.com/rusefi/rusefi/issues/3443

Another thing - your tune is officially the best rusEFI NB2 tune so I've just made some progress cherry picking some of your settings into the canned default NB settings and some actually all the way into global rusEFI default settings.

That work is done under https://github.com/rusefi/rusefi/issues/4038

Here's a tricky issue: tune difference report mixes your improvements with rusEFI new calibrations for new features which did not exist when your tune was originally created. Pretty much we do not have a mechanism to propagate new defaults into existing tunes like yours - at the moment when new defaults appear your tune would have all zeroes in corresponding memory region.

TL,DR: please consider upgrading at least to latest rusEFI release https://github.com/rusefi/rusefi/releases/latest/download/rusefi_bundle_hellen72.zip

At some point it would be amazing if you reset your tune to canned defaults and re-apply all your custom settings to leverage default calibrations of all new features. Not sure if it's worth doing right now.

Here is the tune uploaded with a more recent firmware: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=985


I appreciate the compliment about my tune, it still has its hiccups here and there but I do plan on smoothing things out. I'm glad to hear that some of my changes will be making their way into the official default tune. I hope that more NB2 users will chime in with some tunes so we can compare and improve!
Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Post by Nightsknight45 »

I've been piecing together my diy itb kit using cbr1000 itbs and 3d printed bits.
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Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Post by Nightsknight45 »

The Miata is running on CBR1000 throttles with a 3d printed adapter manifold. The tune is using Alpha N and it runs fairly well! I still need to work on idle and figure out a solution to my brake pedal becoming stiffer. I plan on having the car professionally tuned eventually but I got the car drivable which is an accomplishment with my ape brain lol. I have some more pics n stuff on my Instagram silvertop.nb

Tune: https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=1035
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duhafnusa4
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Post by duhafnusa4 »

need vids of gonk sounds ;)
Nightsknight45
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Re: My 2001 Mazda Miata [Hellen]

Post by Nightsknight45 »

Here's another update since it's been so long!

The first rendition of the itb setup was good, but flawed. The throttle bracket ended up fraying the cable and I had to pull the setup to revise it. This was back in late July.
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