Ahh gotcha. Indeed.

Yeah the rotors are the cheap part unfortunately, the calipers are expensive.

Well, i highly doubt I'll need them anytime soon TBH. the brake cooling ducts should increase the effectiveness of stock-ish rotors and calipers, and I've never participated in a real track day. Chances are, my first one will be Miatas at MRLS in September so I'll just be out to have a good time.

I'll upgrade them eventually though :) Just got to get the car first!

I haven't been let down. Tune is super conservative, car runs strong but nothing crazy. That will change :)

My rear end is going to be so hammered by the end of tomorrow :giggle:

Seriously though, this driver seat is wayyyyy too small. Maybe Vlad can hook me up with a stock seat on the way......

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391672766

Woot! Another grey NB to add to the NW stable of grey NBs. Enjoy that ride home. The wife and I just made in it her 3 from Glen Ellen to Oregon City. Shared the driving in a comfortable hatch. No thanks. Plane for me.

Very Nice!

Watch your ass driving through CA, we are finally getting some real rain today. I know you are an PacNW Bro so rain is no biggie but the locals get stupid when the rain starts falling.

Congrats!

Rain? NBD. Rain was great. Now this bull crap...https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391757015
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391757015
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391757015

So after I took that last pic I got in the car and tried to leave. Car said nope. Can't even get enough traction to move, even rocking the car forward and back. FML. I'm spending the night here.

Smart smart smart smart man. Waking up at 4:30 for a 7am shift...bull shit snow.

Keep you and your new loved one safe!

I thought you had gone all club ricer in the first pic, parked under a semi. ;)

Then I thought you were stuck under said semi..

Hopefully you got out this morning, and hopefully that's the last time the car see's snow. :drool:

Facebook said he made it home alive.


Car looks good Ed. Hope you enjoy it.

So, like Dillon said, I did end up going the rest of the way home.

As I sat in my too-small race seat I realized that was just NOT going to work. It was 11 PM, and the road would still be ice but MORE crowded in the daytime.

I went over to the free newspaper advertizement bin and grabbed a stack of them. laid them out behind the tires and jammed them under and was able to get moving again. Stopped about 18 miles south of Salem to try to get a room but they were all full... and got stuck again. This time it took me about 25 minutes to get the car moving again. Had to stop in Salem for gas and then rolled on in to Portland. I couldn't quite get the car up into our apartment complex, so I had to bust out the TDI to tow it the last 10 feet up the hill. Thank goodness for the tow hook installed by the PO :D

There is FAR more drama that happened on the trip: I had to stop twice to do repairs on the car, I put a pillow in the bottom of the seat to make it less painful (resulting in my head touching the hardtop), I went sideways in the snow innumerable times... But all in all, I love the car and I'm glad to be home.

Unfortunately it's going to have to wait a while before I'll get to drive it. What a mess Portland is right now!

Glad you made it home!

Time to update that avatar and user title ;)

Updated. I keep walking by the car in this awful blizzard. If I had gotten the car just one week sooner I would have been all up and down the awesome roads. Instead it sits cowering, ice hanging off it everywhere. I can't even wash it because I can't even move it.

So so so glad this doesn't happen often here. I hate it.

whoah dude, just came across your new avatar in another thread so i had to do a search of your history and found this one. Nice score with the new miata, congrats! I can't believe you found a car and pulled the trigger so quickly, +propz.

What repairs on the card did you have to make on this trip?

you don't have a garage? man, that's crazy keeping a car like that outside

You iz chilly turbo :rofl:

Seeing as how this is a SoCal car, you may want to check that the cooling system actually contains antifreeze. :brain:

Funny you should mention about the antifreeze...

So when I picked the car up the coolant was a little low so the P.O insisted on topping it off with distilled water. I could tell there was very little, if any, antifreeze. I also noticed that coolant temps on our drive were down around 130 (spa gauge). He said he wasn't sure if it had the thermostat mounted, but I had seen a thermostat housing in a box of parts so I figured it hadn't been running one. He said it was set up for fans to kick on at 180. I decided not to inform him that this is unwise and too cold.

As I was driving, the temps were often around 130 but sometimes as low as 120. Finally as I got further north, the coolant temperatures were down as low as 115 degrees. I had noticed that there was a black pipe where the thermostat housing should go in the rear out, so I decided to stop at an auto parts store, buy a proper thermostat, and put it in. Based on the super low fan on temperature I chose a 160 degree thermostat. It was a pain to get in but I finally got it in and then coolant temperatures stayed between 155 and 185 degrees.

after a couple of hours of driving like that, I noticed that the car suddenly began running quite rough and would stumble when I try to accelerate. I took the next exit and when I pulled up it was idling very rough and smoking. I thought I had blown the motor. (Note to Vlad: this was when I texted you). After several minutes of poking around under the hood, I couldn't find anything wrong, except the cold side of the radiator actually felt cold to the touch. It occurred to me that perhaps I did not burp the system properly when I installed the thermosEded

I started the car back up and it was running just fine, so I park it in a way appropriate for burping and let it burp for about 30 minutes. Ended up adding over a half gallon of coolant. After that stop the car ran as normal. a couple of times as the gas gauge was getting low but before the fuel light came on the caR would sputter some. I would fill it up and it would run fine again.

All in all I spent over an hour stopped for that. I also had to stop at Walmart to buy a pillow so my butt would stop taking so much punishment. Driver seat is toooooo narrow!

So anyway, that was the extent of the repairs. Car ran strong though. Amazing how it pulls past 100.

Vlad, I don't have a garage but I do have a covered space. The wind still produced icicles, and it's an utter mess after the trip. I wish I had a garage but for now will have to deal with what I have.

Thanks for the props and congrats guys. I have a ton to learn about this car and can't wait to get started. I will start with swapping the seats and doing a coolant flush and fill, the stuff in there didn't look so good (though I did ensure there's enough coolant to avoid freezing).

The car seems pretty solid. It has an exhaust leak somewhere, pretty sure right after the turbo. Will need to check the turbo to downpipe vband connection. I will need to get friendly with the Mazda techs at work.

I Also need to figure out a smog test solution. Exploring some options. I'll be going through the boxes of parts I got. I'll be selling some stuff, like my current driver seat. He almost gave me an FM intercooler kit for free too, but he decided to keep it. Blast!

Anyhow.... I know, too long. Will post more pics once the snow is gone. Should be Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

Damn autocorrect... That was way too long of a post to type on my phone. Will fix tomorrow when I'm at a computer.

Well the good thing is since you have to smog it you can take off most of the parts and make sure everything is installed right and fix whatever is not right. Him running no thermostat is pretty stupid, even if he did track the car. Oh well at least you noticed and fixed it

Overall it definitely seems like an awesome car. LOL when you text me first thing I thought was "I hope he's not too far away from here so I can borrow my brothers truck/flatbed"...Glad it all turned out well

Lol well thanks for the thought. Yeah I seriously thought it was borked but seems totally fine.

Can't wait to take it out again later this week. I have been pissed at this storm because it stifled my Miata joy.

As for taking all the parts off... we will see if I go that route. I have a few options.... I have the stock intake parts, but I don't think I have the stock injectors and pretty sure I don't have the stock ECU. Then again, I don't know what any of this stuff is supposed to look like, and I don't have any idea where the ECU plugs in and all that jazz. If I can avoid tearing into it, I will.

I've got an 04 MSM ecu somewhere in the garage ;)

Do you have the immobilizer, key, and ignition with it, too? ;)

I do ;)

as well as the whole parts car that comes with all of it too ;)

Me too!

All can be yours for the low low price of $14k.

Yep, I believe its all in there. Part of my previous CARB legal turbo masterplan was to swap an entire MSM drivetrain and exhaust system from a locally wrecked MSM into my NB. I assembled the complete chassis harness, sensors, and MSM specific electrical parts when the dude sold the drivetrain out from under me. :vash:

Not sure what I'm going to do with an entire MSM harness and electrics, but I've got it.

Put the harness and ECU on your 2000 when you boost it, because it's so good. Duh.

you want one?
lol

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392065413

You stay the hell out of this :vash:

Do you have a relative that lives in an area that is smog exempt? Talk to doppelgänger and see what he did he has a boosted NB that he did not have to put back to stock.

Thanks for the input guyths.

Will update when I figure out a clue about what I'm going to do :)

Still need to figure out the Smog bit.

Drove it to work today. This thing is FUN. need to get the seats swapped so I can drive it without feeling like an idiot.

Looks like I need a new heater core. Perhaps I didn't have enough antifreeze in there after all :( Defroster doesn't consistently work well. If I have the temp on hot I smell antifreeze, on cold I don't smell anything. If I run the defrost long enough it will eventually clear the windshield but it takes a while.

Other than that... Hmm... Still need to find the exhaust leak. Once I have the smog mess sorted I'll be much happier. Things at work have been insane... getting a small promotion and insane busy after the snowpocalypse.

You should talk to Mobius. He might be able to loan you his stocker, but I don't know how often he takes it out. Could only be for track days.

He also has a MSM friend who might have a lead on seats, or might be interested in trading for your current seats. I don't remember him being a big guy.

Also, Doppel might lend you at least a driver's seat, his car is down for the time being.

This is all if you REALLY can't live with the current seats and you don't have a lead on some stockers.

Sorry, wasn't totally clear on the seats!

I currently have 3 seats. A narrow, old recaro on the driver side, a sparco sprint v (which fits me fine) on the passenger side, and a stock passenger seat. I will swap the sparco to the driver side and put the stocker in on the passenger side. Just need to find time to do it.

Thanks for the suggestions though, I may still want to explore those other options, particularly if any of them would be interested in my recaro.

Paging wheel hop smartie pants:

I have wheel hop. Bad. Shifter goes nuts car hopping bad. PO says it's still on stock bushings.

I'm ready to order stiffer diff bushings, and I think I need trans mount bushings too. Anything else? I don't want to buy ALL the bushings right now as the rest of the car feels great, I just want to buy the bushings that will fix my wheel hop.

Kthx!

Trans mount, lol.

I'm such a freaking noob. Dammit.

Not trans mount... we have motor mounts, diff mounts, and the PPF right? So I need stiffer diff mounts and motor mounts. There seems to have been some debate as to whether the PPF braces sold all over actually help wheel hop significantly or not.

I've heard that just a good spring / shock / coilover setup helps a lot.

What the heck are you spinning the tires for? Get that power to the ground.

Make sure there are no loose fasteners holding the PPF to the diff, or diff to sub-frame.

Get the delrin diff mounts, mazdacomp motor mounts at a minimum.

The diff brace things work. Beatrush ppf brace in particular.

diff mounts and ppf brace
also you can get one of those diff braces too
these will also increase NVH quite a bit
or you can just not floor it in rain/snow cause every miata I've ever driven/ridden in had violent wheel hop in the rain or on bad pavement.

First check all the ppf bolts with a torque wrench or all of it, second rear long bolts on upper a arm, third poly rear a arm bushings, motor mounts, diff brace (nvh!)

I freaking LOVE the suspension on this car and have zero plans to change it. Thing is awesome and rides great. Revalved bilsteins. I don't know what spring rates.

I'm spinning because this damned place is always wet. And before anyone jumps down my throat for driving this car in bad weather, :dealwithit: because there's no salt here and if I'm not going to drive it in the rain I shouldn't have bought it.

But it breaks traction at half throttle in second gear at 3500 rpm... I definitely don't want to make it super noisy, just firm things up a bit.


OK. So first things first, get under the car and make sure everything is correct for stock.

If it is, I'm thinking to start with the energy suspension poly diff mount bushings and go from there. I'm thinking poly so they're a little more forgiving because daily. Is this dumb? Should I go straight to delrin like concealer recommends?

Would it mess anything up if I replace these and don't change the motor mounts?

Thanks for the help everyone. I haven't even looked under this car yet.... I'm hoping to get under it and take pics of everything to share. The build list from the PO is not very thorough so I'm gonna need some help identifying stuff.

you don't want super noisy but you're getting stiffer diff mounts? lol okay

I'm all for you upgrading bushings, just don't kid yourself and think it won't make the car noisier and harsher

And because I know there will be a billion posts about how people "daily this" and "daily that" I know you can daily a wooden log with a metal dildo on it, doesn't mean that it will be comfortable for "normal" people

Mazda Competition Differential Mount - PAIR Currently on sale for $75, much less than I paid. Because I rock these. I rock out.

Much like Mazda Competition Engine Mounts, these are rubber and stiffer than stock but not wooden log/metal dildo (aka: solid delrin) territory. I saw these as a decent compromise before stepping up to poly. I felt they were a worthwhile upgrade while I had the diff out.

This didn't seem like fun: https://www.miataturbo.net/suspensio...-softer-66520/ (Not that I have a KAAZ mind you)

/\ those are not bad. I'd probably rock those

Right, I don't want to make it unbearable. I know it will be louder, but I don't want to go solid mount, ya know? I don't think I want delrin. So, Mazda comp or poly. Thanks for the link G, I'll check them out and will order one or the other.

Vlad, do you or your bro have a heater core in your mess of parts? I need one.

Polys are like $40 on eBay... Great quality.

but of course

The reason I said this is because I once noticed an unusual amount of wheel hop, and later discovered some loose hardware. It ended up damaging some of the PPF bolts that had to be replaced.


You will be fine replacing the diff bushings and not replacing the motor mounts, but I think it is a good idea to replace them as well. In your case, I would stick with the stiffer Mazdaspeed rubber mounts all the way around. Keep your nice car nice.

The ES poly diff bushings, Mazdacomp engine mounts in our MSM added almost no measurable NVH.

Just bear in mind that the Mazdacomp engine mounts aren't much stiffer than MSM mounts. The diff felt a little more planted with the ES bushings, but added no NVH except under hard throttle, when you got a nice satisfying low volume "whine."

Doppelganger's 02 SE has a diff brace thingy, and NVH was still very low.


So to sum up: Mazdacomp Engine mounts/ES poly diff mounts is a VERY streetable setup with almost no more NVH than stock.

It's also almost no more performance as far as i'm concerned.

If i were a pansy, i'd start with Mazdacomp engine mounts, ES diff bushings, then add a diff brace thing if that wasn't enough.

Does anyone have a street miata that doesn't wheel hop in the rain though?

Like at all. In the rain

Our car still wheel hops like a sonuvabitch. I think the correct solution to get rid of wheel hop is just to keep adding power until you break through the other side.

MX6s wheel hop like crazy. Mine doesn't. Break traction hard and fast enough, and there's no chance for hopping.

Even bone stock Miata's in my experience deal with wheel hop in the rain. Not as bad as my Tacoma though.

Well. That's interesting. So the rain makes all the difference eh? Just live with it? Guess I'll turn the boost down so it doesn't break them loose so violently.

Concealer, I disagree with your theory about pushing through it -- this thing breaks them loose so damn violently and the wheel hop is horrendous. you mentioned yours still wheel hops badly... Is it any better? Did you end up with delrin mounts or stop at poly?

Also... I read a thread where doppelganger says the MSM mounts are actually stiffer than stock. I read somewhere else that they're about 35% stiffer than regular mounts, and the mazdacomps are 40% stiffer than stock mounts. If that's all true, it seems the mazdacomp mounts would be pointless. I'm thinking if I decide to do anything, I'll try the ebay poly diff mounts and go from there.

I stopped at poly.

Your motor mounts are more than likely shot as well. No point in doing one and not the other. Making one end strong and leaving the other side weak/old just results in accelerated wear and you're going to have to do the other end anyways.

The MSM mounts are harder than "normal" mounts. Mazdacomps are a small upgrade from there. This is why i'm happy with their NVH properties, but not wowed by their performance.

The wheel hop was improved slightly, but it's still pretty bad. It's a Miata thing. Wheel hop not a problem on dry warm days and we drove the car in wet weather maybe.... 5 times in 3 years?

Alright. Good info.

Now I wait for a break in the weather and in my damned job so I can get some free time to work on this thing. :party:

Just so you know, it may be easier on your car because modz, br0...

But the motor mount job sucks balls. Actually, so does the diff mount.

But now that i've done it once, i could do all of them in about 3 hours, rear end stays in the car.

Budget a whole day if you haven't done it before.