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The Prong Song posted:I am now the proud owner of a 2001 base. It came with a Bethania Garage Deuce (which I am removing), FM swaybars and endlinks, and 7 (that's right, SEVEN) paint colors. I will be completely removing all carpeting and sound deadening, removing the audio system the PO stuck in, and eventually replacing the stock seats with some nice race seats. What is it about Miata PO’s and poo poo stereo installs? A few posts ago there was a lovely one, and when I bought my current NB the poo poo was horrific. Bad grounds, poorly done connections, rando wires everywhere, and the receiver wasn’t even secured into the dash. I also should replace the driver seat in mine but I am probably gonna go stock. Mine has a big tear right in the middle of the fabric, although the foam is in good shape.
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Mar 5, 2018 17:52
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Same reason you see tons of them with "style bars", slammed, and led pod headlights. They're cheap cars so people who like to waste money on poor decisions buy them. I like to think I'm saving my copy a little every time I reverse someone else's decision.
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Mar 5, 2018 18:25
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I was lucky. My PO replaced the radio but he used a proper adapter so the cabling is in good shape. The speakers he swapped in are kinda shoddily installed but nothing to bad. They sound pretty good too. I had to rip out the additional power lock system he installed though, because he couldn't figure out that it already had power locks and the micro switch in the driver side door had broken so they didn't work... Also had to remove that CAI because that poo poo isn't legal here. He still had the original intake though with all fasteners still attached so it was no big deal. So all in all a pretty alright PO.
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Mar 5, 2018 19:00
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By half assing it all he actually made it easier for you!
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Mar 5, 2018 19:16
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I'm still thinking of reversing to stock springs instead of the lowered ones the PO installed. I like the look and gotten used to the low ground clearance but I don't know enough about suspension to know if the stuff he put in there is actually any decent.
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Mar 5, 2018 19:42
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Imperador do Brasil posted:What is it about Miata PO’s and poo poo stereo installs? That's pretty much any stereo installed by a PO.
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Mar 5, 2018 19:46
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um excuse me posted:Same reason you see tons of them with "style bars", slammed, and led pod headlights. They're cheap cars so people who like to waste money on poor decisions buy them. I like to think I'm saving my copy a little every time I reverse someone else's decision. Definitely true. I got my Miata cheap and the guy I got it from had five (!) kids and was definitely the type to go cheap on stuff. He dropped the price $1200 in about ten days without me even asking him to after the initial meet where I told him good luck with the sale. It finally got to a point where I had to get it, price-wise. It only needed $180 in parts and like three hours of my labor to pass safety inspection but it needed a bunch of other little dumb poo poo like the stereo replacement, top latch adjustment, and a thorough carpet and seat cleaning to be drivable comfortably. It’s amazing how much little/cheap/free poo poo people let slide that makes such a huge difference. If he had spent the small amount of time and money that I have he’d probably have gotten his original asking price.
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Mar 5, 2018 20:18
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Blaise posted:No joke, my buddies wife actually did this. We have a pink breast cancer plate in our state and I always wanted one that said WHEEEE But it's always taken 
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Mar 6, 2018 01:07
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Speaking of previous owners, when I did my timing belt I* got rid of the crappy black crackle paint job he did on the valve cover while keeping within the theme he chose. Before:  After:  I'm also thinking of replacing the clutch master/slave cylinders since they were bled the same time as the brakes and went back to the original color within a week. Any brands better than others? *My wife actually scrubbed all the old flaking paint off and then did the recessed lettering. I just sprayed the red and primer on and took all the credit. Oh, I also did the black on the VVT actuator that's really orange peely because I didn't do as good of a job prepping the part.
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Mar 6, 2018 03:48
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Anyone know of any reason to avoid permanently removing the "parcel shell bulkhead" out of an NB? It was sliced into multiple pieces by the previous owner to do a rollbar install, and since I'm pulling the current one out and replacing it with a Bethania M2 HCHT I'm left with either "cut even more holes into it", "buy a new one and only cut clearance for the HCHT", or "just leave the thing off, it's a track car". And further into PO stereo install fuckery, he lost most of the door clips, completely removed the inner door card, and cut up the vapor barrier. Anyone know of a good alternative that I can (possibly) seal to the door? Like this, but for an NB?
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Mar 6, 2018 15:21
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The rubber fuel fill hose in the trunk that explodes every now and then is a good reason.
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Mar 6, 2018 21:24
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FatCow posted:The rubber fuel fill hose in the trunk that explodes every now and then is a good reason. Hell, half the fun of driving these goddamn death machines is not knowing if it's going to explode or if you're going to end up in a hedge rear end backward and upside down. 
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Mar 6, 2018 23:13
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My HPDE registration calls the car's color "Harlequin".   
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Mar 7, 2018 02:23
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Like the baby? 
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Mar 7, 2018 03:39
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Oh gently caress you for making at least one person google that!
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Mar 7, 2018 09:39
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FatCow posted:Like the baby? I was thinking more like the VW paint scheme, but lol. It definitely has some inside bits on the outside at the moment.
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Mar 7, 2018 14:07
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My parcel shelf bulkhead has been removed from my daily driver for years. I figure if my hoses explode they'll crack first and it's easier to check them when I can see them, easier maintenance and less weight. Every few months I'll grab anything rubber and make sure it doesn't feel weird. The PCV hose of all things dry rotted first, but I think that's the only one so far.
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Mar 9, 2018 10:22
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edit
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Mar 9, 2018 14:35
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Most of the POs' modifications have been dealt with. There is some slight surface rush on the passenger's side due to water ingress. I need to sand, paint and then seal the holes in the chassis from the previous rollbar, put the dash back in, cut the rear parcel shelf area to fit the new roll bar and install it, and then reinstall the seats. The Falkens have been mounted + balanced and are ready to go back on the car. On another note, I have a Bethania Garage Deuce for NA or NB with fresh hardware available for anyone interested.     
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Mar 10, 2018 21:36
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I would be interested if it was good enough for track days but I assume I would need a real deal hard dog or blackbird fabworx diagonal for that.
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Mar 11, 2018 02:13
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Most clubs (including NASA, BMWCCA, PCA, etc) want a diagonal and the Hard Dog satisfies that. Sigma: I hope you got that thing for a song because god drat
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Mar 11, 2018 02:37
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Phone posted:Most clubs (including NASA, BMWCCA, PCA, etc) want a diagonal and the Hard Dog satisfies that. I paid $3100 for it. Cheapest option I could find for an NB2 in two months of looking, that DIDN'T have structural rust or a rebuilt title. It's already got FM swaybars, adjustable end links, a big aluminum radiator, (EDIT: Oh yeah, Superpro offset bushings,) the Deuce which I'm hoping to be able to sell for a few hundred, and a fresh soft-top and top hardware which I'm hoping to be able to sell for a few hundred. Voltage posted:I would be interested if it was good enough for track days but I assume I would need a real deal hard dog or blackbird fabworx diagonal for that. The Deuce is a solid roll bar, it's from the same maker as all the Hard Dog series, but it's not legal for most clubs because it's a dual-hoop design, meant to look like old-school roadster like the Cobra: 
The Prong Song fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Mar 11, 2018 |
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Mar 11, 2018 14:43
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1.) Does anyone have any suggestions on coilovers + sway bars for the ND? Flyin' Miata would be my first assumption but never bought anything from there 2.) Will it ever become possible to get extensions for the OEM wheel without losing the airbag? I'm not even a weird height (5'9) and I either have to be way to close with my legs to get the wheel close enough (like, too close to left foot brake properly), or give up on not death gripping the wheel at the track. I know you can get a aftermarket wheel and get an extender for that but you lose the airbag and it looks dumb as poo poo
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Mar 13, 2018 06:37
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I got my bag of various Miata NB cruise control bits, smuggled in from the US by a colleague (I was supposed to go last week, but was unable to). All seems in generally good order, and somewhere around $200-250 for it all. Also need to bribe my courier a bit for hauling it all home. One change of plans is that the pedal assembly (brake + accelerator) was just too large and awkwardly shaped to fit in a normal bag. He didn't have tools and time available to properly disassemble it, but he found a hacksaw and just cut the accelerator part off and left the much larger brake pedal portion behind. Plan A is to just take the pedal and cruise control lever thing off this one and mount it on the assembly currently in the car. If things refuse to come apart or the bracket it mounts on turns out to be different, plan B is to make a matching cut in the pedal assembly I have and weld it back together with this one. I am not 100% certain the pedal thing in the car has the same kind of bracket to mount the cruise control bits on. It's a separate stamped part welded onto the backing plate that also has the endstop bolt for the pedal, so it is possible they weld different things on for different pedal assemblies. Pictures I've seen online of non-cruise-control pedals suggest all of them do have this bracket though, so grafting bits on still seems like a better deal.  As for the clockspring and stalk bits, I had just looked at guides earlier for how to do this on an NA, and there it seems you could just unscrew the wiper stalk from the rest of it without having to take the steering wheel off, as it had it's own separate cable and connectorfor the cruise control twisty thing at the end. Here though, the cable from the stalk goes onto a circuit board, and whatever output pins there are are together with "everything else" in a bundle of cables and one single connector. So, off comes the steering wheel with airbag and all. Hope it's not too big a deal. Also this is the first time I have actually looked at the mechanism where the steering wheel turns the indicators off. Beautiful mechanics in action, I sat playing with it for a good 5-10 minutes. I both got a brake pedal switch with the pedal assembly (which my mule also unmounted and brought with him), as well as an extra one because hey, $10. That means that even if I have the wrong type of brake pedal switch in the car and missing a clutch switch entirely (both of which could go either way), I should have all the switches I need. The vacuum servo actuator thing and the little computer both seem as they should, nothing strange there. Even the vacuum line seems in surprisingly good shape. As for the main on-off switch, there is something that confuses me. On the underside of the switch, there are four little plastic screw things that I have no idea what they do. They can all turn about 1/4 turn and have detents at either end. They feel like they are spring loaded (more force one direction than the other). No noticeable feel to the buttons in either position. WTF do these things do really?  Still not sure what I want to do with these switches. I currently have front+rear fog light so something needs to be moved to a separate switch. Will just plug this one in for now as I barely ever need to use the fog lights here in summer. Though if I do, it would probably be the rear one. It also remains to be seen what kind of cable harness I have in the car. The old NA has all the cabling there, but I haven't dug too deep in the NB. It does seem that all of them have the body harness for cruise control (which basically just means the servo), but not all of them have it in the dash harness (which is literally everything else). Electric wiring is just tedious but not too difficult so it'll work out. I figure I might be able to steal some connectors from the NA to make life easier, as I figure most others are not stupid enough to do a cruise control install on these anyway. A lot of this confusion could maybe have been straightened out if I just had looked inside the car, but it's been holed up in a barn since November and probably will be for about another month since there is a fair amount of winter still left here. And before I can get to installing this, I should install the new struts I have to get it back to stock ride height. It's just lowered a bit too much and made it a bit harsh, and at least without comically large wheels I was scraping it on even pretty small speed bumps. Also need to prep the old NA for sale, basically to pass it on with less PO fuckery for the next owner to deal with and also just have it up-to-date on maintenance. Timing belt + pump is due soon anyway, so that goes in there too. ionn fucked around with this message at 08:33 on Mar 13, 2018 |
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Mar 13, 2018 08:30
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I'm fairly certain the two brown ones are for light bulbs. They use the same color ones in the dash switch for headlight poppers/hazard flashers.
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Mar 13, 2018 10:51
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Cross post: Actually found a color-matching door for the Miata so I did a cannonball run to Philly (5 hour round trip) to pick it up as well as a new driver’s side seat. The door even came with a mirror and handle so I swapped my lock tumbler over to the new door since my old handle was broken as well. Old door; you can see the rusty spot at the front with the band-aid decals:  Old seat:  Currently   
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Mar 13, 2018 11:04
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A local dealer is offering decent prices on left over 2017 RFs. $31k OTD for a club with Brembo package or $29k for club with keyless as the only option. Im just not sure the RF is convertible-y enough. It is tempting though.
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Mar 13, 2018 14:39
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Scionix posted:1.) Does anyone have any suggestions on coilovers + sway bars for the ND? Flyin' Miata would be my first assumption but never bought anything from there Flying Miata is quality stuff. If you want the best, you're looking at 949racing coils + whatever they recommend for sways. Looks like 949 has rebranded to supermiata. Re steering wheel - I wouldn't be changing anything about it if you want to keep the airbag. Airbags are dangerous when you mess with the way they're set up from the factory, there's a lot that goes into designing of it and decreasing the distance between you and it could have all kinds of implications. Also I'm 6' and outside of the part where I really wanted to be about 3-5" lower in the seat (too much looking at the top of the windshield) I actually fit quite well in an ND.
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Mar 13, 2018 15:15
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How does something like this play with the transmission, direct-mount shifter, and PPF? https://www.flyinmiata.com/blackbird-fabwerks-drop-mounts.html Does everything just get lowered a bit? Does this even affect angles/positions by the time you get to the diff?
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Mar 13, 2018 17:08
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BloodBag posted:I'm fairly certain the two brown ones are for light bulbs. They use the same color ones in the dash switch for headlight poppers/hazard flashers. Ah, so it's something I can unscrew and it comes out? Makes sense. If the lights seem to work I should just leave them alone though, or I'd probably just break that little plastic screw thing. But then what on earth can the blue and white one be, and will I be able to not gently caress with it? Thinking about it, it seems unlikely that the wiring harness in my car has connectors that fit both a front+rear foglights and a front foglights + cruise control, as they both would be in the same plug. So there is probably some electric shenanigans upcoming, but I doubt it will be too horrible. As long as I can get a connector that fits the Gah I want my Miata now why isn't it spring here already need more global warming now plz.
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Mar 13, 2018 23:40
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Just a few weeks to go! Long term forecast indicates that spring is coming soon. What (front) brake pads are recommended for track and spirited road use? I can deal with some extra noise and brake dust, it's not my DD.
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Mar 13, 2018 23:48
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Wibla posted:Just a few weeks to go! Long term forecast indicates that spring is coming soon. I'm a fan of HP+, I run them for street and autox duty. You'll eventually outgrow them on the track, at which point there aren't really any street-able pads left for track use. These days I just leave the DTC60's on the rear and swap the fronts to DTC60's as well. Swapping the rears constantly is too much of a pain.
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Mar 14, 2018 01:34
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ionn posted:Gah I want my Miata now why isn't it spring here already need more global warming now plz. Having driven my NB through this particularly bad British winter, I can now understand why people put them away for the cold months. Had more than a few  moments in conditions that wouldn't have phased me at all in previous cars.
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Mar 14, 2018 10:01
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Theophany posted:Having driven my NB through this particularly bad British winter, I can now understand why people put them away for the cold months. Had more than a few The day I bought this NB was the day after some snow and ice had fallen, and when I got it home I went to reverse into the garage but the rear wheels were perfectly placed over a patch of ice in the driveway. Cue me thinking something was wrong with my reverse gear until my son just nudged he car forward six inches onto clear pavement. drat car is too light!
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Mar 14, 2018 11:19
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Imperador do Brasil posted:The day I bought this NB was the day after some snow and ice had fallen, and when I got it home I went to reverse into the garage but the rear wheels were perfectly placed over a patch of ice in the driveway. Cue me thinking something was wrong with my reverse gear until my son just nudged he car forward six inches onto clear pavement. drat car is too light! The lightness is a heckuva thing. At 50mph in the wet down the motorway my face was  for 60% of the journey as I felt the steering change to that unmistakable lightness you get when you either aquaplane or hit ice.
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Mar 14, 2018 11:41
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Theophany posted:Having driven my NB through this particularly bad British winter, I can now understand why people put them away for the cold months. Had more than a few I do not have any winter tires for mine which means I cannot legally drive it between December 1st and March 31st here (Swedenland) if there are "winter driving conditions" (which is usually all that time). If I did drive it in winter, I would likely be very miserable if it was more than a few degrees below freezing, have way too much fun drifting when not miserable, and then wrap it around a light post. On the odd chance I wouldn't wreck it, it would instead be completely eaten away by the salty slush that is on the roads here for most of that time. So I have made the policy decision to not acquire winter tires to save the car from myself. With a hardtop on though I can at least extend the season a couple more months. With just a soft-top the reasonable season for me here was basically late April -> late September. With a hardtop (which I now have), it's probably more like early April -> early November, which matches well when summer tires are allowed. My NA actually came with studded winter tires (on some cheap generic 14" wheels) when I bought it 3 years ago. The manufacture date code was 2005 or something so they were ancient (with rubber stiff like hockey pucks), but looked like they were barely worn at all. So the POs of that seemed to mostly agree with me on the winter worthiness of that car, and I have never used them for the MX-5 but instead stuck them on a 323. Wibla posted:What (front) brake pads are recommended for track and spirited road use? I can deal with some extra noise and brake dust, it's not my DD. I've had EBC yellowstuff on my NA for a couple years, and I generally like how they behave. I've done a couple trackdays a year and a Nürburgring trip, but I've never done track stints past 20-30 minutes with them. EBC is much easier to find and generally cheaper than other "performance" brake pads here, but since my new-to-me NB has the bigger brakes it now seems yellowstuff and HP+ are about the same price. There is very little in terms of actual objective tests, but it seems to me they are fairly equal in terms of performance but HP+ creates way less dust. So whenever it's time to change pads (no idea what's on there now or how worn they are), I'll probably go for HP+.
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Mar 14, 2018 12:55
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I'm over here laughing at all the hate for driving a Miata in the snow. With a decent set of winter tires and an understanding of car control it's one of the most rewarding and fun to drive winter cars I've ever driven. I'm in Canada, and when I originally bought it it was my only vehicle for two winters, both of which I ski patrolled (which means I had to be at the hill for opening time, regardless of the weather). There were a few highway drives where I literally had snow coming over the front bumper while managing about 80km/h, drives through the small towns on the way to the hill where you'd look both ways and then blow through the red light because I wasn't stopping in 2' of snow. I high centered once getting into a parking lot that the plow had gone by the entrance, outside of that I never got stuck. I've honestly thought about grabbing a beater Miata for a winter driver, they're so much fun.
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Mar 14, 2018 13:54
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TrueChaos posted:I'm over here laughing at all the hate for driving a Miata in the snow. With a decent set of winter tires and an understanding of car control it's one of the most rewarding and fun to drive winter cars I've ever driven. I'm in Canada, and when I originally bought it it was my only vehicle for two winters, both of which I ski patrolled (which means I had to be at the hill for opening time, regardless of the weather). I have no issues driving small RWD in the snow. I daily drove an FC RX7 for years through all seasons. But on all-season tires and sheet ice it just doesn’t work. I run winter tires on all my other cars, so I have plenty of other options other than the Miata. It sits in the garage during poo poo weather.
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Mar 14, 2018 14:14
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TrueChaos posted:I'm over here laughing at all the hate for driving a Miata in the snow. With a decent set of winter tires and an understanding of car control it's one of the most rewarding and fun to drive winter cars I've ever driven. I'm in Canada, and when I originally bought it it was my only vehicle for two winters, both of which I ski patrolled (which means I had to be at the hill for opening time, regardless of the weather). It's not hate specific to the Miata as I avoid driving in the snow wherever possible. It's more of a greater appreciation for how intrusive modern stability and traction control systems are on even the most basic of cars. If your first car with none of that wizardry on it is your daily, in an unusually harsh winter, on summer tyres, in a country that is hilariously ill-equipped to deal with inclement weather, it's quite the experience.
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Mar 14, 2018 14:43
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TrueChaos posted:I'm over here laughing at all the hate for driving a Miata in the snow. I don't hate it, the problem is that I would likely love it to death. Of me and/or the car.
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Mar 14, 2018 16:43
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