Fun Family Car - The Stagea

Going stealth Josh. I like a clean interior

Found another local with a Stagea so heading over to swap the sensors and further narrow down the issue. If I get time today I'm going to put the boost control back to standard and remove the Gizzmo. I checked and the original solenoid is still there so just a case of extracting the wiring. Fun times!

Little update.

The manual boost controller arrived, it's a really cute little item and to get ready for the install I've ordered some vacuum hose caps, and a rubber coated p-clip to make it as tidy as possible. Plan is to remove the OEM solenoid and mount the MBC on that bracket, and use the standard hose routing. The hose runs should be considerably shorter than they were with the Gizzmo which is also good.



I also bought an OBD reader which according to google supports the random one-off protocol the Stagea uses. It was only cheap so we will see...

As an aside, when removing the Gizzmo the previous owner/installer had hacked up the little bit of trim by your knee to fit it. Wasn't happy about that as really they only needed to drill a couple of holes. I just happened to be browsing the G35/V35 bits on eBay and it looks like the Infiniti trim is exactly the same. Fingers crossed it fits!

One little issue is I've lost my garage keys which makes this a little awkward! Ironically the only tool I have is my 10mm!!!

Today was a big day. I had the OBD reader software trial downloaded. All the parts for the manual boost controller (MBC) install were here. I'd done my research. I had a massive hangover.

I started with the easy bit - plug in the OBD reader. Easy as reaching under the dash trim and slotting it on. Whatever I tried, I couldn't connect. I got bored so moved on.

Next up, boost controller time. I started with this - cover off, in OEM configuration but a bit cobbled together as I didn't have all the original bits from before the electronic boost controller was installed (badly):



I removed the airbox and snorkel, and, since this was a huge ballache, decided that I'd revert to the pod filter. Anyway, it's not ideal having the rad cap in the air intake!



Off came vacuum hoses, the standard solenoid and the bracket - I wanted this space for the new controller. So far, everything has been 10mm!



The standard configuration has the boost pressure signal for the wastegate actuator coming from just before the dump valve (left side of the first pic above). Between the intake and the actuator there is a tee that feeds the OEM solenoid, which bleeds back to the intake pre-turbo. The actuator is set at 7PSi so while it can build to 14PSi, it's slow. The new MBC deletes the bleed back in to the intake, so just restricts the boost signal to the actuator. Hopefully This means I can still have the same peak boost but with better response, fingers crossed. Anyway, the existing vacuum line from the actuator is a bit bigger than for the controller, so a reducer was used, with zipties just in case.



This was all clipped back in to the OEM positions and run to where the MBC would be positioned. I had a crafty plan to use a rubber P-clip to hold the MBC to the plenum. It worked out! New hose was run from the MBC to the intake by the dump valve. Zipties just in case!



Next up, boost gauge. I'd been tipped off that behind the glove box is the heater intake, which takes air from the engine bay, and that I could run the vacuum line that way. I started removing the glove box trim, all very straightforward with only a screwdriver and a gentle tug needed to remove the trim. Sure enough I found the heater intake, but also found you have to be a contortionist to get to anything! I'd have loved for the car to be at waist level at this point. Once that was in, I teed in to a vacuum line in the engine bay closest to where the hose would run. A neat little trick I learned from the Caterham days to hold hoses and pipes together but apart hopefully demonstrated below. Zipties again to save the day without you knowing!



Where the line ran through the bulkhead I protected it with some leftover silicone vacuum line.



Then all the trim went back on and at present the gauge just sits in the glovebox! I'll get a pod or holder at some point...



I fired the car up to make sure the boost gauge was working correctly, all seemed fine, so turned off again... Forgot the MAF was still on the floor and not connected, so gave myself the dreaded check engine light. Back to the engine bay to put everything back in and make sure it's all tidy and presentable - I think I did alright!



Last thing for today was putting a sticker on the boot. It's wonky I know, but it was my first attempt!



Figured out how to check engine fault codes, couldn't figure out the reset, so left that for another time.

All in all a busy day!

Started to debadge it. No one knows what it is, no need to make it easy for them!

The Scotland and GB badges came off easily. So did the letters. The sticky stuff behind the letters, less straight forward...

Years of grime resided between the letters. This had me slightly worried being a white car.



I unleashed the hairdryer (one of the perks of MX5 ownership is access to haircare tools) and the letters dropped off, but left the sticky pads. Not ideal.



Using the hairdryer and a credit card I slowly scraped the sticky stuff off. This was tedious as hell.



I then washed the area, and after drying it, unleashed detailing spray and a clay bar.



A bit more elbow grease and this is where I called it a day.



Not far to go but definitely needs a good polish once it's done to remove all the marks. Then it's the other side...

Well I've narrowed the rumbling down to a sticky caliper. No Japanese car is safe from this fate. Fortunately the brakes are from an X-Trail so not too expensive to get. Will need a new disc and pads too. Good news all round as CV joints and wheel bearings are a nightmare. Will book it in when I'm back from holiday!

In other news I received a small package in the post from a guy in the US. He's a machinist and G35 Infiniti/Skyline enthusiast. In the past he had made some rather nice gear knobs for auto G35s, and, since the shifter looks almost the same, I thought it might work in the Stagea. Dropped him a note, and he got back to me to say he was making another batch - count me in!

A couple of weeks later it arrives and it took all of three minutes to fit. It's so nicely made and is so simple and brilliant. I'll let the picture do the talking:



It's made up of four pieces, a collar that grips the shifter with FOUR grub screws (not going anywhere that), a dress up collar that threads over the other collar on to the gear knob, which is billet, and a spring inside. It was just a case of working out how high the spring seat collar needed to sit and screw it all together. Pizzle.

Next update I'll hopefully have a working brake, better economy and more information on a remote ECU tuning option a guy in Oz has been working on...

My rear left brake pads disintegrated today, metal on metal is boring. So bit the bullet and ordered a new caliper, discs and pads. They arrive middle next week, so hopefully I'll have it done just in time to leave at the airport for or next trip