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ppdd posted:I'm REALLY jonesing for a Miata right now. Like, BAD. My wife is pregnant with our second and due in August and I really, really want to enjoy what free time I have for the rest of the summer. My plans to pick up a project BMW 2002 have fallen through and summer is wasting away. There's a couple pretty close to that price range on the Chicago Craigslist...
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Jun 15, 2010 02:45
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Do you guys have any recommendations for alignment? My '92: Dunlop Star Specs FM Springs (plus FM rear strut mounts) Tokiko Illuminas Driven on the street only, possibly autox on occasion. Rarely sees over 80mph. I was gonna go with the miata.net recommended alignment but was open to input. 1/16 toe out front max caster front -1.5* camber front 1/16 toe in rear -2 camber rear I actually took it to a shop to align it to those specs but somehow they 'couldn't' align it to those specs so instead they aligned it to the super-loose factory specs (and zero camber). I got my money back after bitching for 20 minutes.
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Jun 15, 2010 15:59
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^^ those specs look good to me, especially for spirited street/auto-x. For track I'd get more camber. IOwnCalculus posted:I did it with just a big loving HF breaker bar and a shallow Craftsman socket. Put it in fifth. This worked great for breaking the crank bolt (and reinstalling) Everything after that went smooth. Even though I have a new water pump and new cam seals sitting right here, I decided not to change them and the ones on the car are working fine. It really wasn't that hard to get down tot he timing belt so I'll just replace that stuff if it goes bad. I DID have a problem with the car not starting when I put it all back together.  I was pretty pissed off. It was cranking over hard and misfiring and back firing. At first I got all worried that I had left a paper towel in the throttle body (I put it in there to keep from anything getting in while working on it) So I pulled the upper plenum off and searched in the runners for the paper towel, then I pulled the plugs and turned the motor so each cylinder's intake valves were open and blew compressed air through the spark plug holes hoping to shoot the paper towel back out. When I didn't find anything I thought maybe it was the wrong firing order because thats what it felt like (when you put the wires on wrong on a distributor car). So I took the crank trigger wheel off and it turns out I had it on backwards. It wasn't easy to tell but there's a fuzzy picture in the manual, and there's a paint spot on the side of the trigger wheel that's supposed to go forward. Put it all back together and it runs perfect. I'm a total idiot.
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Jun 16, 2010 04:19
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Backwards? Or upside down?
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Jun 16, 2010 04:55
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I did something super ghetto today. I removed the snorkel and bottom of the airbox, then tilted the AFM sideways and ziptied the filter to the top half of the box. Cold air intake noise for $0!!!
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Jun 16, 2010 05:25
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aventari posted:When I didn't find anything I thought maybe it was the wrong firing order because thats what it felt like (when you put the wires on wrong on a distributor car). So I took the crank trigger wheel off and it turns out I had it on backwards. It wasn't easy to tell but there's a fuzzy picture in the manual, and there's a paint spot on the side of the trigger wheel that's supposed to go forward. Ahahahaahaha I did the same loving thing on my '99. Why the hell is it dished by like 2mm?
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Jun 16, 2010 06:22
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destructo posted:I did something super ghetto today. You forgot the part where you left a voicemail on my phone.
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Jun 16, 2010 09:28
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IOwnCalculus posted:Ahahahaahaha I did the same loving thing on my '99. Why the hell is it dished by like 2mm? To clear the crank pulley.
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Jun 16, 2010 09:59
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Savington posted:To clear the crank pulley. Except it will go on just fine in either direction?
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Jun 16, 2010 14:13
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destructo posted:FYI, everyone with an NA or NB ought to try and take off their windshield visors sometime. The increased field of view and decreased interior noise was a no-brainer for me to leave them off, as you ought to have a pair of sunglasses in the car at all times anyway. Are you joking? I couldn't live without my visors (at least the driver's side one.) When I have the top down I'm constantly moving the visor to block the sun. I can't imagine driving without them. Moruitelda posted:There's a couple pretty close to that price range on the Chicago Craigslist... Since he asked about rust, allow me to show you what the underside of a 13-year-old Chicago Miata looks like: (That's not the worst of it, and overall it's probably not as terrible as you might imagine, but it's painful for me to look at.)
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Jun 16, 2010 21:15
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Mine is worse as it's winter driven. I've never noticed the PPF bolt guard wedge until now. I don't think I've ever seen any cars with it. What year?
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Jun 16, 2010 21:27
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Ziploc posted:Mine is worse as it's winter driven. Mine is driven all-year-round. It's a '97 STO. Anyways, my car's been running fine since I got it back from the mechanic; it was overheating because the oil filter housing cooler lines had been damaged or ripped off, etc. It wasn't a major repair, but the tow cost just as much as it did to fix the car. I just neglected to post about it here because I had been talking and typing about it to so many people that I got tired of discussing it. While the car was at the shop, I had them put my Redline MT-90 in the differential and transmission. (I don't have a lift and it's difficult to get underneath the Miata.) I can honestly say it made a huge difference in how the car drives. The car shifts a little more smoothly, but more importantly it bucks back-and-forth significantly less. The car is 13 years old and has ~67k mi on it, and to the best of my knowledge the trans/diff oils have never been changed. I couldn't say for sure that the MT-90 made all the difference since the main issue could have been old oil, and changing it with anything new might have made a noticeable improvement regardless. In any case, from my new-found experience I'd recommend changing these oils at least every 60k mi if not every 30k mi. I just returned from the mechanic again a few hours ago. This time the car is mostly fine, but there's been a rattling/vibrating sound underneath the car for some time now, most likely involving the exhaust system. It turns out a seam between a pipe and the resonator is splitting apart, which sure as hell explains what I was experiencing. In the attached photo, you can see the split is visible just off to the right of the center. I was underneath the car when it was up on the lift, and of course I forgot to take photos or videos at that time (I drove it up on ramps at home to get this shot.) I could wiggle the pipe/resonator and see it move apart at the split. Not a huge deal; my mechanic suggested trying to weld it, but I think I'd prefer to just replace the whole thing to have it fixed permanently (until it wears out again years from now.) I'm still figuring out what's the best (and least illegal) course of action. If it's practical I'd prefer they just put in a straight pipe and avoid another resonator, but I don't know if that's a good idea. What exactly is legal for me to do here in Illinois? I've read about people getting pulled over for modified exhausts (not necessarily Miatas) and I'd prefer to do whatever will amount to the least hassle. I've never been pulled over in the Miata and am always on the lookout for cops so I don't anticipate this being an issue, but I will take your advice seriously. I don't particularly care about the sound (as long as it's not terrible) or the performance (as long as it doesn't introduce a lot of additional back-pressure.) For a long time I've been considering the Flowmaster 60 Series 952462 (http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=34_145&products_id=3434) if I ever needed a muffler replacement; if my mechanic will do it, is this Flowmaster plus a straight pipe a realistic option? Also, there's a minor oil leak coming from the rear of the engine, which is why it's difficult to find. I'm just watching it right now, checking the oil every time I fill up, but I'd ultimately prefer to get it fixed if possible. In the meantime, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with any of those Bar's Leaks products. I don't necessarily put much belief into mechanic-in-a-can things, but some people speak favorably of them. Any thoughts?
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Jun 16, 2010 22:39
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I bought an ebay catback (stock style) for about $150 shipped and you probably just need to replace the CAS o-ring for the oil leak. That's the most likely culprit. Check for oil on the heater coolant lines. I bought a new o-ring from Ace hardware for about $1.
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Jun 17, 2010 02:32
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I got a OEM replacement (stock class rocks!) from MazdaSpeedMotorsports for close to 150$ I had the same problem. Broke right there too, it finally separated into two pieces in the middle of a timed run. *goes around a corner which has a crease in the pavement* "Oh hay my car just got louder!"  --Fast forward to the end of the day while packing up from autocross-- "Uh, Dad, why is your car REALLY loud?" "Oh yea, my flex joint broke on they way here." *Sees who's straight pipe car is louder the entire way home.*
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Jun 17, 2010 16:40
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lokk posted:Never saw this thread, but I had an old guy who lived a few houses down the street from me offer this '06 Galaxy Grey with 6000 miles on it to me for dirt cheap. Now I own a Miata. And I like it. Stock picture attached. Must lower ASAP. What's a good coilover or shock/spring combo for this that will drive smooth enough for a daily driver?
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Jun 17, 2010 18:53
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But what about replacing the OEM catback system with a straight pipe running to that Flowmaster? I figure if I have to replace it I'd like to go with something a little more interesting than stock, and that muffler has appealed to me for some time. Plus, I don't really care about the resonator one way or another unless it really is illegal to remove or would make the car sound or perform worse, so I just figure a straight pipe has less area to break next time. So, is this a good idea or a bad one? Should I just ask my mechanic to go with the Flowmaster and replace the OEM components from the cat to the muffler?
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Jun 18, 2010 03:48
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whelp, looks like I just dumped the entire contents of my cooling system on the autobahn...I'm not sure when the hose blew, but i wasn't on it for more than 15 km or so. unfortunately, I was pushing it pretty hard, I was averaging 170 km/h or so most of the way when I pulled off the 'bahn the needle was pegged, and I was sitting in a cloud of sickly sweet steam. when I added some water to the rad i got some awesome hissing sounds (may or may not be related to the fact that I was feeding it several bottles of carbonated water) I let it cool off a bit and drove very slowly to my place, where I refilled the rad with hot water and started it briefly so hopefully some water got up into the head. Looks like tomorrow I'm gonna need to either replace the hose if I can get one (tough on saturdays in germany) or figure out a way to block off the flow to the heater core so I can at least get to work. anyone got any suggestions? I figure I should do a compression check while I'm at it, hopefully I haven't done anything too expensive to it.
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Jun 18, 2010 22:07
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As long as you're still steaming and the reservoir wasn't close to empty when you pulled off you might end up ok.
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Jun 18, 2010 22:57
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You can't block off the flow to the heater core - the most ghetto fix you could do would be to bypass it altogether, the BP relies on that loop to keep coolant flowing properly.
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Jun 19, 2010 00:21
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Ziploc posted:Mine is worse as it's winter driven. Blowtorch has just become a default step in the process whenever we make a mod to my miata at this point. We even had to blowtorch a lugnut off my winter wheels this year because it loving exploded in the socket.
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Jun 19, 2010 04:58
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Frank Dillinger posted:when I pulled off the 'bahn the needle was pegged, and I was sitting in a cloud of sickly sweet steam. when I added some water to the rad i got some awesome hissing sounds (may or may not be related to the fact that I was feeding it several bottles of carbonated water) I let it cool off a bit and drove very slowly to my place, where I refilled the rad with hot water and started it briefly so hopefully some water got up into the head. This is all too similar to what happened to me, although I didn't try to refill the radiator itself; please tell me you let the radiator cool before adding water, though.
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Jun 19, 2010 07:22
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My 99 clutch is slipping on a full throttle 1->2 shift so I will need to replace it soon. I'm planning on getting the FFS supercharger soon so I want a 'stage 1' clutch. I will get a lightweight steel flywheel at the same time. I feel steel will be more durable than aluminum at the cost of a single pound or so So from what I see I have 2 options for the clutch and the flywheel Clutch: $349 FM Stage 1 http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=4531&parentid=0&stocknumber=08-19010 or $379 ACT stage 1 http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/15-1020.html Flywheel: $295 10.3lbs FM lightweight flywheel http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=4531&parentid=0&stocknumber=08-26500%20%2010.30 $338 9lbs ACT PROLite STEEL http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/60-1155.html For clutch I'm leaning towards FM and for the flywheel I'm leaning towards the ACT for lightweight. Any experiences with the stuff? Any other ones I'm missing? Do I need to have them balanced as a unit when I get them? I always have my flywheel/clutch balanced together for my VWs.
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Jun 19, 2010 07:35
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Are you sure you want a lightweight flywheel? I put one in my SHO, and I've regretted it ever since. Clutch chatter, stalling in stop and go traffic, revving to the moon before letting out when going up a grade, and really no tangible benefit in performance I could feel. I seem to recall the FM is a rebadged exedy iirc.. There was a ACT group buy a long time ago at mt.net, http://www.miataturbo.net/showthread.php?t=29025 . You can see there most peeps got ZM2-XTSS, which was an uprated pressure plate and organic disc. Why not just grab the FM happy meal?
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Jun 19, 2010 09:20
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IOwnCalculus posted:You can't block off the flow to the heater core - the most ghetto fix you could do would be to bypass it altogether, the BP relies on that loop to keep coolant flowing properly. ah, ok, gotcha. Looks like I'll need to scrounge some hose then. thanks a lot guys!
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Jun 19, 2010 09:48
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aventari posted:My 99 clutch is slipping on a full throttle 1->2 shift so I will need to replace it soon. What exactly is "a full throttle 1-2 shift?"
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Jun 19, 2010 21:29
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Atomizer posted:What exactly is "a full throttle 1-2 shift?" Sounds like he means either: (A) "When I drop the clutch in second, it's slipping," or (B) "When I try to go fast, I get on the accelerator too early when engaging second gear and have been gradually burning the clutch up."
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Jun 19, 2010 22:08
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quick 1-2 shift at redline, like when drag racing. drop the clutch quick and the get on the throttle and the it doesn't chirp 2nd or anything like a healthy clutch would, it just slips
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Jun 21, 2010 00:28
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Fatcow and I went on a gay Miata roadtrip together (Fatcow driving lokigoesrawr's old Miata); here are some pix  
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Jun 21, 2010 17:18
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Not interested plz post video of "brb shortcut" II
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Jun 21, 2010 17:19
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destructo posted:Not interested plz post video of "brb shortcut" II Fatcow needs to give me my videos from Saturday. And it wasn't a shortcut, it was a sweet hand-brake turn. I was practicing my sweet Elwood Blues skillz.
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Jun 21, 2010 17:21
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Jun 21, 2010 17:25
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That guy is not even a local. e: fuckin' turn 1s, how do they work? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSe9Kr351Eo&fmt=22 Phone fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Jun 21, 2010 |
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Jun 21, 2010 17:26
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Here is me running 2:15 around the same track. Phone was doing it ~2:10 i think. ;_; You can see his car in the distance at some points. You can see him entering the pits towards the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmu7KNhsPzE&fmt=22 My clutch is doing what I think aventari is describing. FatCow fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Jun 21, 2010 |
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Jun 21, 2010 17:48
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aventari posted:quick 1-2 shift at redline, like when drag racing. Ok, that's understandable. When you wrote, "full throttle shift" I thought you stayed at WOT in 1st and then tried to shift into 2nd with the pedal on the floor. Still, dropping the clutch quickly like that can't be good for it; I asked a question about this same topic several pages back and didn't get particularly helpful replies, but all the same I'm much more careful when letting out the clutch. Mine has absolutely no slippage in any gear after 13 years and ~67k miles. With that being said, I have known a slipping clutch to be most noticeable when in higher gears, as in, you're in 5th and put the hammer down, and see the tach rise but the speedo stays the same. If your clutch slips in 1st/2nd then it must be trashed. Phone posted:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSe9Kr351Eo&fmt=22 FatCow posted:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmu7KNhsPzE&fmt=22 May I ask what kind of camcorder & mount setups you guys are using?
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Jun 22, 2010 02:56
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GoPro HD + Rollbar mount.
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Jun 22, 2010 02:57
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Phone posted:GoPro HD + Rollbar mount. Wow, that was a quick response. Anyways, I've been using a Kodak Zi6 and a Delkin Devices vice grip mount attached to the cockpit brace; the video is fine but the angle of view is too narrow. The GoPro is exactly what I'm looking for, but is way too expensive for me.
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Jun 22, 2010 03:01
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Phone posted:That guy is not even a local. Oh hey I'm sliding. Should I countersteer? MmmmmmmmmmmmmmNOPE. 
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Jun 22, 2010 05:13
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Ziploc posted:Oh hey I'm sliding. Should I countersteer? MmmmmmmmmmmmmmNOPE. Still can't figure out what the hell happened. Looks like a perfectly standard turn followed by an inexplicable slide. Did the driver randomly lift off the throttle and/or brake mid-corner?
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Jun 22, 2010 05:37
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Atomizer posted:Ok, that's understandable. When you wrote, "full throttle shift" I thought you stayed at WOT in 1st and then tried to shift into 2nd with the pedal on the floor. Still, dropping the clutch quickly like that can't be good for it Atomizer posted:With that being said, I have known a slipping clutch to be most noticeable when in higher gears, as in, you're in 5th and put the hammer down, and see the tach rise but the speedo stays the same. If your clutch slips in 1st/2nd then it must be trashed. Phone posted:That guy is not even a local.
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Jun 22, 2010 06:02
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iscariot posted:Are you sure you want a lightweight flywheel? I put one in my SHO, and I've regretted it ever since. Clutch chatter, stalling in stop and go traffic, revving to the moon before letting out when going up a grade, and really no tangible benefit in performance I could feel. I'm sure I want a lightweight flywheel. I love them. I lightened the stock flyweels in both of my sciroccos and have never had problems with chatter or stalling or anything. I think as long as you have good modulation skills it really won't be a problem. I was thinking about the FM happy meal, but I like the looks of the ACT flywheel over the FM one.
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Jun 22, 2010 07:12
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