Nothing to see here, just project Sisyphus, move along
03-22-2014, 06:01 PM
#1
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Nothing to see here, just project Sisyphus, move along
Some of you may already know me, some of you may be meeting me for the first time. Welcome to yet another thread full of procrastination, indecision and doubt. No doubt some of you will feel right at home 
Our story opens already in progress. The car is an NB1 2000 Mazda Miata in 18K Evolution Orange: Bare Bones Edition. (That's right, its a factory color. One of 646 produced. 10AE owners, eat your hearts out.) It started life with a 5 speed, 4.30 open diff, AC, PS, stock NB 14" rims and fog lights. The car had (IIRC) 101k on it when purchased. It was 100% untouched, other than the thrashed fabric on the drivers seat. So untouched that it still had the Panasonic battery in the trunk.
After I bought the car I started doing autocross with the folks from NorCalUFO in Marina. Then I did a track day at ThunderHill. Then I stopped doing autocross. Haha!
Here is the Butchers Bill for current modifications...
Suspension, Brakes & Chassis:
Rims & Tires
Drivetrain, Engine & Cooling:
Other crap
Pictars of my dirty, dirty car:
Oh yeah, purple top
More glorious purple top and monstrous 9x 6UL/225 rubber combo. Also a glimpse of the horrors that await us around the front...
OH GOD WHY?! The Horror... the horror....
Much silver interior bits majesty. I don't know why but I like the color contrast.
Ungh, I really need to fix this...
Mostly stock engine compartment!
Glorious wrapping skillz y0
I don't know why I took this picture.
So yeah, that's about it. Not a whole lot to look at currently but there is definitely more to come.
Our story opens already in progress. The car is an NB1 2000 Mazda Miata in 18K Evolution Orange: Bare Bones Edition. (That's right, its a factory color. One of 646 produced. 10AE owners, eat your hearts out.) It started life with a 5 speed, 4.30 open diff, AC, PS, stock NB 14" rims and fog lights. The car had (IIRC) 101k on it when purchased. It was 100% untouched, other than the thrashed fabric on the drivers seat. So untouched that it still had the Panasonic battery in the trunk.
After I bought the car I started doing autocross with the folks from NorCalUFO in Marina. Then I did a track day at ThunderHill. Then I stopped doing autocross. Haha!
Here is the Butchers Bill for current modifications...
Suspension, Brakes & Chassis:
- FCM non-adjustable suspension 400/275 (circa Aug 2010, so pre AST/XIDA era)
- Flyin' Miata Swaybar Set
- 949Racing Adjustable Endlinks
- 11" Mini Cooper Rotor & Wilwood Dynalite 4 piston front brakes
- Stainless braided brake lines
- Wilwood BP-10 front pads (so much fail, don't EVER buy these)
- Axxis Ultimate rear pads
- TSE Brake Duct Kit (ducts are not hooked up yet)
- Winziger Sport Master Cylinder Brace
- Tien Strut Tower Brace
- Boss Frog Frog Arms
Rims & Tires
- 15x6 factory NB1 rims w/Yokohama S.drive 185/55 (because N/A DD)
- 15x8 Bronze 6UL (Gen 2) w/Nitto 205/50 NT01 (for N/A trackday shenanigans)
- 15x9 Bronze 6UL (Gen 3) w/Hankook 225/45 RS3 (because I have problems)
Drivetrain, Engine & Cooling:
- K&N Panel in the factory box
- Racing Beat 99/00 4-1 Header w/DEI Ti wrap
- FM 2.5" Turbo Exhaust midpipe w/cat
- Racing Beat 99/05 Power Pulse Muffler
- BP5A intake cam
- Racing Beat 8lb Aluminum Flywheel
- Flyin' Miata "FM1" Clutch Kit
- 949Racing full length braided clutch line
- M-Tuned Coolant Reroute w/195° Thermostat
- Mishimoto Silicone Heater Hoses
- Gates Racing Blue lower radiator hose
- Koyo 37mm aluminum radiator
- GMB Water pump
- Gates Racing Blue Timing Belt w/OEM Mazda idlers
- Factory 4.1 Torsen Diff
Other crap
- HDHCHTDD Roll bar
- Hardtop w/headliner & defroster
- Rennenmetal front & rear tow hooks
- Rennenmetal hard top brackets
- NB2 Miata nose (unfortunately still Crystal Blue Metallic aka "Faeflora Blue")
- 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata Headlights (sex!)
- 2004 NB2 Gauge Cluster (low fuel light FTW)
- swapped all the NB1 green back lit things with NB2 orange/red back lit things
- GarageStar NB "Cooling Panel"
- Eliminated underhood A/C system components (becausecalifornia)
Pictars of my dirty, dirty car:
Oh yeah, purple top
More glorious purple top and monstrous 9x 6UL/225 rubber combo. Also a glimpse of the horrors that await us around the front...
OH GOD WHY?! The Horror... the horror....
Much silver interior bits majesty. I don't know why but I like the color contrast.
Ungh, I really need to fix this...
Mostly stock engine compartment!
Glorious wrapping skillz y0
I don't know why I took this picture.
So yeah, that's about it. Not a whole lot to look at currently but there is definitely more to come.
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03-22-2014, 06:23 PM
#2
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Oo, what have we here?
MSLabs MS3 Basic for 99/00 Miata
Fuel Injector Clinic 650cc EV14 Injectors
Innovate Motorsport MTX-L wideband
After 14 months I'm finally ready to get a MS3 in the car and I can;t find my ******* GM IAT.
Time to go dig up a part number and hope I can get one locally
MSLabs MS3 Basic for 99/00 Miata
Fuel Injector Clinic 650cc EV14 Injectors
Innovate Motorsport MTX-L wideband
After 14 months I'm finally ready to get a MS3 in the car and I can;t find my ******* GM IAT.
Time to go dig up a part number and hope I can get one locally
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03-22-2014, 08:24 PM
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I'm going to jack content from my other thread about these...
Gauge Project:
I've done a lot of reading on this and trying to pay attention to what other people are doing. This was pretty much the genesis of what I wanted to do:
As you can see, I can't take full credit for this project. It was inspired by a lot of reading and connecting the dots. At the time I cooked this up, I was running an AEM UEGO and matching boost gauge in an A pillar panel. While visibility is decent, it also screams RICE! and MODIFIED! to me. I have the same set of demands... easily view-able non cluttered gauges, no live fluids in the cabin, etc etc.
So what I've got...
D1-BOP-WBA-MO
dual display, boost in psi & wideband in AFR, orange display (LC1 to support)
D1-IAF-WTF-MO
dual display, IAT in F & water temp in F, orange display
D1-OPP-OTF-MO
dual display, Oil pressure in psi & oil temp in F, orange display
...plus a bitchload of sensors.
I did everything in orange because I dislike red and blue is WAY to jarring in the cabin of the car. The orange has just the right amount of "softness" in the color, plus it will match the speedo and tach in the 04 cluster, and I've already changed everything else in the cabin over to orange.
It may end up being a little more yellow than I was expecting, but it should be fine. Again, because these are in the cluster under the gauge hood, I have no doubt that readability should be spectacular. I'll see if I can power these bishes up tonight and get some pics.
VEI gauges usully have a momentary push button on the face of the gauge that allows you to set parameters. As I'm mounting them behind the factory bezel, the default button placement will be inaccessible. VEI offers what they call the "motorcycle mod" where the gauge is built without a button in the face, and the leads are extended out the back of the gauge for a remote SPST momentary button. I don't plan on accessing these often so I'll probably stash them somewhere out of the way. I'm also reading there is recall and hi/lo alarm settings on these things... I didn't see documentation for that on VEIs site or in the instructions. This would be an unexpected benefit fo sho.
As I noted before, this could almost be its own thread.
Some pics:
The silver aluminum VEI housings are stupendously beefy and held together with roll pins. I'm going to have to either drive the roll pins into the body of the gauge (where the electronics live) to gut them, cut them in half (lol) or drill out the roll pins. I'm still not 100% sure how I'm going to do this, its tough trying to figure out how to destroy a $90 gauge.
I'm such a loser... I bought these on 3/24/12 and I still haven't gotten around to doing anything with them
The MTX-L is a placeholder for the MS3 until I swap over to the LC-1 and the VEI hardware
Gauge Project:
I've done a lot of reading on this and trying to pay attention to what other people are doing. This was pretty much the genesis of what I wanted to do:
Second this. Very happy with my combo AFR/MAP(boost/vacuum) gauge from VEI.
Unless all you're going for is "looks," you should spend some time thinking about the parameters you want to monitor, how you want to monitor them, and visibility. Some established rules:
1. If what you care about is a value (like AFR), then it has been shown that humans acquire a digital value more quickly than any other type of presentation. This was actually shown during Army studies towards the end of WWII, and the finding surprised researchers. A clear single needle on a fixed, marked background came in second, but there can be resolution issues with that kind of presentation.
2. If what you care about is the dynamics of a value and how those dynamics compare to limitations (like engine RPM), then the analog pointer with a large sweep angle is the way to go.
3. Having a lot of gauges scattered around is never optimal, both from a clutter and visibility standpoint. That's the strength of the VEI dual gauges, you can condense what you need to look at and can place them in good locations. However, the VEI dual gauges are all-digital. So, evaluate what it is that you want to see on them. I would not use them for a tach, but for AFR and MAP . . . they're perfect.
I'll call that $0.03.
Unless all you're going for is "looks," you should spend some time thinking about the parameters you want to monitor, how you want to monitor them, and visibility. Some established rules:
1. If what you care about is a value (like AFR), then it has been shown that humans acquire a digital value more quickly than any other type of presentation. This was actually shown during Army studies towards the end of WWII, and the finding surprised researchers. A clear single needle on a fixed, marked background came in second, but there can be resolution issues with that kind of presentation.
2. If what you care about is the dynamics of a value and how those dynamics compare to limitations (like engine RPM), then the analog pointer with a large sweep angle is the way to go.
3. Having a lot of gauges scattered around is never optimal, both from a clutter and visibility standpoint. That's the strength of the VEI dual gauges, you can condense what you need to look at and can place them in good locations. However, the VEI dual gauges are all-digital. So, evaluate what it is that you want to see on them. I would not use them for a tach, but for AFR and MAP . . . they're perfect.
I'll call that $0.03.
If I could do this all over I'd...
Do VEI dual display water and oil temp on the right where my Omori gauge lives
VEI Dual Boost and AFR gauge on the left where the fuel lives
leave the oil pressure
Then take the fuel gauge, glue/foam it into a cheap gauge housing and stuff it by the radio.
Do VEI dual display water and oil temp on the right where my Omori gauge lives
VEI Dual Boost and AFR gauge on the left where the fuel lives
leave the oil pressure
Then take the fuel gauge, glue/foam it into a cheap gauge housing and stuff it by the radio.
But gauges are usually an indication that something is modified. I had this happen last weekend. Thankfully the blower was out of the car and everything is back to stock at the moment, but the Sparco seat, roll bar and dual gauge A pillar pod definitely got the cop hard.
Skidude: You have an 02 NB? This might interest you... The 04 and 05 cars came with a low fuel level warning light built into the cluster. All NB's are wired for this, all you need is a 04-05 cluster. Pull the fuel gauge out of that cluster and stick it in a single gauge housing and stick that below the radio/in the glove box, and then mount your wideband in the hole. Coincidentally, this is now my plan using a VEI Systems gauge, except I plan putting the wideband where the fake oil pressure gauge is, and then put a VEI oil press/temp gauge where the stock fuel gauge lives. (Credit for most of this idea goes to Hustler btw...)
Skidude: You have an 02 NB? This might interest you... The 04 and 05 cars came with a low fuel level warning light built into the cluster. All NB's are wired for this, all you need is a 04-05 cluster. Pull the fuel gauge out of that cluster and stick it in a single gauge housing and stick that below the radio/in the glove box, and then mount your wideband in the hole. Coincidentally, this is now my plan using a VEI Systems gauge, except I plan putting the wideband where the fake oil pressure gauge is, and then put a VEI oil press/temp gauge where the stock fuel gauge lives. (Credit for most of this idea goes to Hustler btw...)
So what I've got...
D1-BOP-WBA-MO
dual display, boost in psi & wideband in AFR, orange display (LC1 to support)
D1-IAF-WTF-MO
dual display, IAT in F & water temp in F, orange display
D1-OPP-OTF-MO
dual display, Oil pressure in psi & oil temp in F, orange display
...plus a bitchload of sensors.
I did everything in orange because I dislike red and blue is WAY to jarring in the cabin of the car. The orange has just the right amount of "softness" in the color, plus it will match the speedo and tach in the 04 cluster, and I've already changed everything else in the cabin over to orange.
It may end up being a little more yellow than I was expecting, but it should be fine. Again, because these are in the cluster under the gauge hood, I have no doubt that readability should be spectacular. I'll see if I can power these bishes up tonight and get some pics.VEI gauges usully have a momentary push button on the face of the gauge that allows you to set parameters. As I'm mounting them behind the factory bezel, the default button placement will be inaccessible. VEI offers what they call the "motorcycle mod" where the gauge is built without a button in the face, and the leads are extended out the back of the gauge for a remote SPST momentary button. I don't plan on accessing these often so I'll probably stash them somewhere out of the way. I'm also reading there is recall and hi/lo alarm settings on these things... I didn't see documentation for that on VEIs site or in the instructions. This would be an unexpected benefit fo sho.
As I noted before, this could almost be its own thread.
Some pics:
The silver aluminum VEI housings are stupendously beefy and held together with roll pins. I'm going to have to either drive the roll pins into the body of the gauge (where the electronics live) to gut them, cut them in half (lol) or drill out the roll pins. I'm still not 100% sure how I'm going to do this, its tough trying to figure out how to destroy a $90 gauge.
I'm such a loser... I bought these on 3/24/12 and I still haven't gotten around to doing anything with them
The MTX-L is a placeholder for the MS3 until I swap over to the LC-1 and the VEI hardware
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03-22-2014, 08:30 PM
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03-22-2014, 08:56 PM
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Thanks! Its kinda my whole thing with this car. Quiet, inconspicuous, fast and fun.
Well, as inconspicuous as something metallic orange can possibly be.
For the love of god yes. I need to get off my *** and get things painted. I had a mask over the front for a while but I decided I needed the daily blue shame to motivate me to get some paint squirted at this thing. I kinda want to find another hood so I can get the hood, nose, hard top and sport lip painted at the same time. I have aspirations to a GT500 vent. Maybe.
Solid motivator will be getting another DD so I can loose this thing to wrenching/tuning and paint for a couple months. My intent is to have things buttoned up by Miatas @ MRLS this year.
Well, as inconspicuous as something metallic orange can possibly be.
Solid motivator will be getting another DD so I can loose this thing to wrenching/tuning and paint for a couple months. My intent is to have things buttoned up by Miatas @ MRLS this year.
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03-22-2014, 10:19 PM
#10
I've been using that dual oil temp/press one already and I'm seriously considering adding the dual water/in-air temp as well (since I'm about to lose my SG2). The thing I like about them is that, besides obvious compactness, is they have programmable warning capability in case you miss a temp spike in progress.
Have you had any trouble with the senders for the oil at all? Both of mine acted up within 6 months or so of being installed and were replaced under warranty; hoping that was just a fluke.
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03-23-2014, 01:09 AM
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I spent all afternoon ripping my garage apart looking for that stupid IAT and never did find it. I did find a bunch of other crap I forgot I had, so that was nice.
The temp senders have been installed for a while now but I haven't been motivated to wire anything up. This will change shortly. I need to find instructions for these gauges, its been forever since I looked into the function sets. To the point where I didn't realize you could set alarms (flashing?) on them. 
In all honestly I have been truly tempted to sell these VEI units off and buy the MTX-D gauges from Innovate to match my MTX-L, then use those to build up my cluster. Ungh. My project ADD is ******* terrible and makes me do stupid things like this. I'm trying my best to work with what I have rather than buying more stuff. It's a vicious cycle.
Most things do after they leave my possession Not that I ever doubted it, but its good to hear none the less.
Very nice.
I've been using that dual oil temp/press one already and I'm seriously considering adding the dual water/in-air temp as well (since I'm about to lose my SG2). The thing I like about them is that, besides obvious compactness, is they have programmable warning capability in case you miss a temp spike in progress.
Have you had any trouble with the senders for the oil at all? Both of mine acted up within 6 months or so of being installed and were replaced under warranty; hoping that was just a fluke.
I've been using that dual oil temp/press one already and I'm seriously considering adding the dual water/in-air temp as well (since I'm about to lose my SG2). The thing I like about them is that, besides obvious compactness, is they have programmable warning capability in case you miss a temp spike in progress.
Have you had any trouble with the senders for the oil at all? Both of mine acted up within 6 months or so of being installed and were replaced under warranty; hoping that was just a fluke.
In all honestly I have been truly tempted to sell these VEI units off and buy the MTX-D gauges from Innovate to match my MTX-L, then use those to build up my cluster. Ungh. My project ADD is ******* terrible and makes me do stupid things like this. I'm trying my best to work with what I have rather than buying more stuff. It's a vicious cycle.
Not that I ever doubted it, but its good to hear none the less.
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03-23-2014, 12:09 PM
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My wife was away for the day so I decided to do a little baking
Meticulously masked, trimmed with a razorblade and sprayed with .
After the paint dried, removed the tape and loaded up the oven...
6 house later and hopefully these will stay beautiful forever.
18psi inspired me to do this and watching Jeffbucc has shamed me into not cutting corners. This is the first time I've bothered to paint underhood parts for a project and honestly, it feels good
Meticulously masked, trimmed with a razorblade and sprayed with .
After the paint dried, removed the tape and loaded up the oven...
6 house later and hopefully these will stay beautiful forever.
18psi inspired me to do this and watching Jeffbucc has shamed me into not cutting corners. This is the first time I've bothered to paint underhood parts for a project and honestly, it feels good
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03-23-2014, 01:29 PM
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Thanks! I do my best. But yeah, about that valve cover...
I pulled out the donor valve cover and started cleaning it up. I popped out the PCV grommit and some unexpected weird brown **** came out. In a fit of OCD I removed the baffles and discovered this:
I don't know what this is exactly. Its got to be some sort of rust but I have no idea where it came from. The baffles are not rusty so it must have come from the block... sitting upside down in a puddle? I got the cover from someone here on the forum a while back so I have no idea of its history.
Whatever the **** is, BrakeCleen does not remove it effectively, nor does acetone. I've got a can of aircraft stripper and a box of Q-Tips to try next. I really wish I had access to a media blaster of some sort so I could blast strip the entire underside of this cover and start from scratch.
So the valve cover is going to take a while. Either way I sure am glad I pulled the baffles out.
I pulled out the donor valve cover and started cleaning it up. I popped out the PCV grommit and some unexpected weird brown **** came out. In a fit of OCD I removed the baffles and discovered this:
I don't know what this is exactly. Its got to be some sort of rust but I have no idea where it came from. The baffles are not rusty so it must have come from the block... sitting upside down in a puddle? I got the cover from someone here on the forum a while back so I have no idea of its history.
Whatever the **** is, BrakeCleen does not remove it effectively, nor does acetone. I've got a can of aircraft stripper and a box of Q-Tips to try next. I really wish I had access to a media blaster of some sort so I could blast strip the entire underside of this cover and start from scratch.
So the valve cover is going to take a while. Either way I sure am glad I pulled the baffles out.
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