nerdstrike

Glad you found it interesting. I'd say the total mass I've added to the car is around 5kg - the isolating foam doesn't feel very heavy per sheet, and the Focal speakers wouldn't pass the Hifi "heavier is better" test. I also took out the rear speakers and their pathetic mountings and plugged the speaker hole, so I've saved half a kilo, before putting it back in around the arches.
This morning on the motorway sounded a bit quieter than I remember. I think this modest upgrade will improve my wellbeing during my Scottish road trip later in the year, but I'm still finding the tweeter/woofer separation irritating. Hopefully I'll stop paying attention soon, as I get used to the new setup.
Also, big success! I've cured one of the rattles from the rear. The cable runs are raised from the metal, but in several areas it doesn't stay lifted particularly in the rear left passing the seat. Plenty of wiring comes through there and I velcro-padded the metal underneath it. Huzzah!

This is gold dust. So in summary:
1. 2.4L engine has same exhaust flanges and diameter of initial exit so an aftermarket manifold from 2.0 will easily and neatly bolt onto a 2.4
2. Even without a tune the torque dip is nearly eliminated, which means the 2.4 is a very similar engine to the 2.0, just a bit more displacement. That is probably expected but proven now.
3. The 2.4 factory manifold has wider exhaust runners to and from the cat end, so likely to make more power on a 2.0 car as well, if fitted. This will be covered in their next video, so lets see what happens.
 
 
 

Id advise against engine swaps. The whole reason the car is NA and a flat 4 is for a low centre of gravity. Any other engine is going to mess up the weight distribution and subsequently the handling.
The FA20 is already a great motor. Makes more sense to Supercharge or Turbocharge it rather than swap it out.
I’ve done 8 engine swaps and I basically regret all of them as the reality never quite lives up to the dream. There is a good reason manufacturers choose the engines they do in their cars. They have lots of engineers, designers, accountants and sales people choosing what works best.

Then you'll be wanting an automatic gearbox and a truck engine. Not especially sporty, but you can spin the tyres right off! I expect you could get a boxer diesel in the engine bay if you really wanted... however I agree that low torque performance engines can be hard work, and not especially good at daily use, having owned a series of high revving engines.
On the original topic @Jay Bamrah it is disproportionately expensive to tune for NA peak power without increasing cylinder capacity. The "famous" NA engines all have ambitious red lines, complex adjusting intakes, fully variable valve timing and really strong engineering around the camshafts. That stuff doesn't come cheap!
If you soak in some of the press around engines like the Porsche block in the 911R, Gordon Murray's Cosworth unit, the Ferrari 458 V8, Honda's F20C, Mazda's Renesis you really get a sense of how hard it is to get more power when you can't make the flame front any faster. Anyone (sort of) can add boost pressure and fuel, but it takes bespoke engineering to raise the redline usefully and not completely ruin the engine for regular use. The FA20 is a pretty good but not exceptional NA engine at just under 100 bhp/L, but it's a much easier normal drive and more efficient than the F20C that just about squeaks 120 bhp/L.

Then you'll be wanting an automatic gearbox and a truck engine. Not especially sporty, but you can spin the tyres right off! I expect you could get a boxer diesel in the engine bay if you really wanted... however I agree that low torque performance engines can be hard work, and not especially good at daily use, having owned a series of high revving engines.
On the original topic @Jay Bamrah it is disproportionately expensive to tune for NA peak power without increasing cylinder capacity. The "famous" NA engines all have ambitious red lines, complex adjusting intakes, fully variable valve timing and really strong engineering around the camshafts. That stuff doesn't come cheap!
If you soak in some of the press around engines like the Porsche block in the 911R, Gordon Murray's Cosworth unit, the Ferrari 458 V8, Honda's F20C, Mazda's Renesis you really get a sense of how hard it is to get more power when you can't make the flame front any faster. Anyone (sort of) can add boost pressure and fuel, but it takes bespoke engineering to raise the redline usefully and not completely ruin the engine for regular use. The FA20 is a pretty good but not exceptional NA engine at just under 100 bhp/L, but it's a much easier normal drive and more efficient than the F20C that just about squeaks 120 bhp/L.

A few years back, iOS devices couldn't use bluetooth to connect to OBD devices. They had to have Wifi-based communication, so the ecosystem is a bit different. Don't know if that's still true? Check your dongle is suitable! Lots of issues with the apps often stem from the reader being a cheap knock-off.
Apart from that you could try dashcommand, or perhaps forscan.

You'll be able to see the revs adjusting at warm idle in combination with that click if it's the aircon as it loads and unloads the accessory belt. It sounds like aircon, as (almost) everything else under the bonnet is tied directly to engine RPMs.

Hi all! Picked up my 86 at the end of last month, 40k miles and all stock as far as I can tell. Excited to wear it in!

Sorry Church, but hahahahaha! You're absolutely right of course, but we're potentially talking about main dealer servicing here.

Good on you for finding the issue. This is a common failure mode, but it takes years to happen for the first time. If the slide plates and the carrier underneath them are not kept in good order, sticking pads are inevitable. Looks like some rather ugly corrosion on the top end of the squeal shim!

Nice to see the impact when nothing has been done downwind of that. 12 whp gain isn't bad going for still catalysed and with a nice 10-20 lbft improvement in the convenient range. In practice, a ~10% increase in torque at 3500 rpm is very much like the car weighing ~100kg less, albeit at the cost of a bit more fuel.
Edit: kmh, I knew it!

I took this one a couple of days ago after washing it.  Low light shot.

I imagine the typical "free safety check" involves peering at the brake pads to see if they can charge you for replacing them.

I reckon that would depend on condition. A total doofus (or poorly adjusted item) can ruin a clutch in 30k miles, so it's not a normal item to buy used when the cost of fitting (or several hours plus tools) gets quite close to the price of the item. I wouldn't expect a great deal.
One last hurrah at Santa Pod?

I think a car receives the highest praise when you come away wanting to see what more it can do besides pile on speed.

I think a car receives the highest praise when you come away wanting to see what more it can do besides pile on speed.

Yes it is configurable, mine (an 86)  only the drivers door unlocked with the smart entry. I changed it to both doors with this method (credit to codename47 as it was from his post):
Use the drivers door handle to open the door Leave the door open and hold the lock and unlock buttons on the fob for 5 seconds You'll hear a couple of beeps Voila - your drives handle now opens both doors. This can be repeated to reverse if wanted!

You must have liked the 86, you kept it for quite a while! May your next car be as good.

I got my Rayland BBK fitted yesterday at Rogue Motorsport. While fitting Mat found that one of my Whiteline roll centre correction kit boots had failed so that was also replaced.



Bedding the pads in showed the stopping power of the PFC.11 is stupidly good. Look forward to getting to try them on track at the club trackday on November 21st (Covid permitting).

I got one of these into an RX8 once without compromising seating or using the ski-hatch, so I know what I'm talking about!
55" TV, new toilet, £1200 of paint, all went in the '86 (not at the same time!). Quite a list of quietly surprised retailers in my wake.

Don't sweat it Tom! The '86 is a very practical and sensible sports car.

I wasn't this excited about my wife's Yaris

I wasn't this excited about my wife's Yaris

I wasn't this excited about my wife's Yaris