Help me buy/mod a Miata
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 8,146
Total Cats: 1,087
From: Lake Forest, CA
First thing I notice is that the original boot is not real leather, it's vinyl. The new shift boot IS real leather. So right there, big upgrade in quality. Expect the new boot to last longer and look better for longer than the old one.
Looks great.
I want one.
Is this the same type of thing you got, and did you wait over 3 weeks to get it?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FITS-MAZDA-M...1ee82f&vxp=mtr
Looks great.
I want one.
Is this the same type of thing you got, and did you wait over 3 weeks to get it?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FITS-MAZDA-M...1ee82f&vxp=mtr
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Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 15,196
Total Cats: 1,398
From: Oregon City, OR
I posted the link in my post on 8/22. Received it 8/30.
They emailed me to verify the make model and year, which I promptly forgot about, which delayed it a day or so. X stitching in the one you linked automatically means NA. I had a spare NA boot I tried to test fit. They WONT swap. Possibly with new holes though.
They emailed me to verify the make model and year, which I promptly forgot about, which delayed it a day or so. X stitching in the one you linked automatically means NA. I had a spare NA boot I tried to test fit. They WONT swap. Possibly with new holes though.
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Elite Member
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 2,764
Total Cats: 951
From: Cedar City, UT
Curly if you have a problem with the shifter boot moving because it doesn't have a ring, I pulled the ring out of the old boot, roughed it up with some sandpaper, and used some shoe good to attach it to the new leather. Nice and tight fit with it.
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Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 15,196
Total Cats: 1,398
From: Oregon City, OR
I was considering that, but it seems to be fine for now. Unless it starts to open up and eat the bottom of the shift ****, I'll leave it.
The poor thing has been sitting for a week though. 2 days of carpooling with the wife in our 2015 CX-5, a day of driving around shopping for trees and shrubs for our yard (in the CX-5), followed by another 2 days of carpooling, and now we're leaving for a 3 day road trip to Olympia. In the CX-5.
Oh well, at least I'm not putting more miles on it!
The poor thing has been sitting for a week though. 2 days of carpooling with the wife in our 2015 CX-5, a day of driving around shopping for trees and shrubs for our yard (in the CX-5), followed by another 2 days of carpooling, and now we're leaving for a 3 day road trip to Olympia. In the CX-5.
Oh well, at least I'm not putting more miles on it!
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Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 15,196
Total Cats: 1,398
From: Oregon City, OR
I drove the smurf over to LO with a 6-speed in the trunk the other day, and blasted through the back roads on the way home, so I got my fix in middle of all that.
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Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 15,196
Total Cats: 1,398
From: Oregon City, OR
Same. Sadly the wife loves road trips, but wife country is more of her type of destination, not a race track.
We're averaging 27.5ish mpg with the 2.5 auto, the worst combo you can buy. The 2 liter can't get out of it's own way, although might be better with the much more economical manual transmission.
We do a lot of city driving though. I'm hoping to convince her to fill up down the street before our ~220 round trip vaca this weekend, and fill up again when we get back, to see what it got. Will report back.
We're averaging 27.5ish mpg with the 2.5 auto, the worst combo you can buy. The 2 liter can't get out of it's own way, although might be better with the much more economical manual transmission.
We do a lot of city driving though. I'm hoping to convince her to fill up down the street before our ~220 round trip vaca this weekend, and fill up again when we get back, to see what it got. Will report back.
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Josh, just use one of your, ahem, "rooster" rings.
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Same. Sadly the wife loves road trips, but wife country is more of her type of destination, not a race track.
We're averaging 27.5ish mpg with the 2.5 auto, the worst combo you can buy. The 2 liter can't get out of it's own way, although might be better with the much more economical manual transmission.
We do a lot of city driving though. I'm hoping to convince her to fill up down the street before our ~220 round trip vaca this weekend, and fill up again when we get back, to see what it got. Will report back.
We're averaging 27.5ish mpg with the 2.5 auto, the worst combo you can buy. The 2 liter can't get out of it's own way, although might be better with the much more economical manual transmission.
We do a lot of city driving though. I'm hoping to convince her to fill up down the street before our ~220 round trip vaca this weekend, and fill up again when we get back, to see what it got. Will report back.
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I was considering that, but it seems to be fine for now. Unless it starts to open up and eat the bottom of the shift ****, I'll leave it.
The poor thing has been sitting for a week though. 2 days of carpooling with the wife in our 2015 CX-5, a day of driving around shopping for trees and shrubs for our yard (in the CX-5), followed by another 2 days of carpooling, and now we're leaving for a 3 day road trip to Olympia. In the CX-5.
Oh well, at least I'm not putting more miles on it!
The poor thing has been sitting for a week though. 2 days of carpooling with the wife in our 2015 CX-5, a day of driving around shopping for trees and shrubs for our yard (in the CX-5), followed by another 2 days of carpooling, and now we're leaving for a 3 day road trip to Olympia. In the CX-5.
Oh well, at least I'm not putting more miles on it!
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 8,146
Total Cats: 1,087
From: Lake Forest, CA
Also should mention that yours is the FWD CX5 right?
Its funny... the 2.0 actually works better with the automatic .
Its funny... the 2.0 actually works better with the automatic .
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^ Yup. That's what I was saying.
I'd not changed motor mounts in a Miata with the engine in place for YEARS. I didn't remember it as being that hard. I thought it would be maybe a couple hours.
Passenger side: I'm sure there's a secret way around it, but I couldn't find it. I had to separate the hard and flexi brake lines to get the motor mount though the tiny available space. And that was okay, because the fluid was pretty old anyway, but it was still a pain. Took maybe an hour to do that side. I could have done it half the time if I'd just gone ahead and removed the brake line at the beginning.
Driver's side. The lack of a slot really screws you over. The passenger side frame is slotted. The driver's side has a hole. I don't know why I was surprised at this, as the NA is the same way. Still, I guess I expected the NB to be improved or something.
To get enough room for everything, I ended up unbolting the header and letting it swing free. No need to separate it from the exhaust. I worked literally for hours with two jacks to get the engine in juuust the right place to let me unbolt the damn mount. Then I had to put the new one back in place. More hours of inching. All the while, wishing I'd just pulled the engine out for a few minutes, swapped the mounts, and put it back in.
I'd not changed motor mounts in a Miata with the engine in place for YEARS. I didn't remember it as being that hard. I thought it would be maybe a couple hours.
Passenger side: I'm sure there's a secret way around it, but I couldn't find it. I had to separate the hard and flexi brake lines to get the motor mount though the tiny available space. And that was okay, because the fluid was pretty old anyway, but it was still a pain. Took maybe an hour to do that side. I could have done it half the time if I'd just gone ahead and removed the brake line at the beginning.
Driver's side. The lack of a slot really screws you over. The passenger side frame is slotted. The driver's side has a hole. I don't know why I was surprised at this, as the NA is the same way. Still, I guess I expected the NB to be improved or something.
To get enough room for everything, I ended up unbolting the header and letting it swing free. No need to separate it from the exhaust. I worked literally for hours with two jacks to get the engine in juuust the right place to let me unbolt the damn mount. Then I had to put the new one back in place. More hours of inching. All the while, wishing I'd just pulled the engine out for a few minutes, swapped the mounts, and put it back in.
Maybe it is harder on the NB2 for some reason.
Keith
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Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 15,196
Total Cats: 1,398
From: Oregon City, OR
Did 309.4 miles before filling up with 11.72 gallons, giving us 26.3mpg. I'm not terribly impressed, but a lot of that was 4 people and a baby, including the. 200lbs in gear they require, and quite a bit of city/traffic driving in and around Seattle.
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 8,146
Total Cats: 1,087
From: Lake Forest, CA
not horrible, isn't that right on the combined MPG figure? Not bad considering the weight.
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