Things are coming along on my projects. There are a few more that are not in this thread and I'm going to at least toss something in here on that.
But, first, the second iteration of the emblems is done and on its way to me. Second, the vent pieces are done and I'll put them on the car and take pictures. Third, the back of the grille opening will be cleaned up by the screen going in.
Finally, my motor is about to go back together with the new intake plenum, runners, and cold air intake. I have a thread on the plenum and runners in the 20b section. The bottom line is that the motor will be back together next week and I should have some dyno results shortly thereafter.
Sort of the final thing is the exhaust. It is the last thing we are working on before Deal's Gap. The idea of the new exhaust system is to (a) increase NA power and to (b) make a nicer looking exhaust.
Not to ramble on about the obvious, but NA motors are tremendously effected by the intake and exhaust volumes and speeds and I think rotaries are particularly sensitive to these effects, much in the same way 2-strokes are extremely sensitive to intake and exhaust changes, in addition to porting. As I said, I have made an entirely new plenum and intake runners ducted through a NACA duct in the hood on the drivers side.
3-Stage Smart Exhaust
But, I am losing hp due to the straight through 3 inch exhaust. At lower rpm, a smaller pipe would speed up the gas flow notably, but that would in turn create more back pressure at higher rpm. The solution is a small pipe at lower rpm, adding another similarly-sized pipe at somewhere around 4,000 rpm, and then adding a quick open air (laker-style) sidepipe above something like 7,000. There's a simple drawing of it:
The pipes are added and taken offline by smart remote actuators that open and close butterfly valves separating the pipes and controlled by the Microtech. Ferrari did this with the Modena on.
Dual Thru-Bumper Exhaust Outlets
I have never been excited about the FD's exhaust location and how it exits through the plastic valance. When I first got this car in 06, I had a lot of ideas, including a different back end and exhaust:
Well, I did go that far, but did put on the aluminum rear under-valance that has no exhaust opening in it. I designed an exhaust that goes into the rear bumper and into a stainless steel resonator box welded into the middle of the aluminum impact absorption crossmember. The inside of the bumper skin will be covered in DEI fabric good to 2000 degrees and the rest of the bumper interior will be filled with insulation. The 2 exhaust tips exit through the bumper:
