Hello everyone!
02-26-2018, 10:32 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Athens,Greece
Posts: 7
Total Cats: 0
Hello everyone!
Hello guys,
My name is John and I am from Athens Greece. Recently I purchased my very own miata (at last...) after almost 5 years waiting to return to Greece, as due to my job I am living overseas. Currently I am staying in China but in two months' time I am going back to my new toy to start wrenching!
The car was purchased about two weeks ago and I had the opportunity to live with it for a week before I had to come back to China. Overall I am very pleased with the way it drives, although being a little bit harsh, so I have to tinker with the suspension and buy a new set of wheels (now it sits on 13"x7" rims with 185/60-13 tires) in order to stop the harshness.
The car currently has 230K km (about 143K miles) but it has a rebuilt engine with Wiseco pistons, eagle rods, cometic gasket tied all together with ARP studs. On the transmission side it has a 5-speed with an upgraded four puck clutch (not sure for the brand) and a VLSD with 4.44 ring-pinion (which is too short for my liking). As you can see the previous owner had already started a turbo build project from the ground up, but his project run to a halt when he found a mint condition RX7 FC! It also has a custom roll bar bolted on. On the suspension side it has a set of HSD dualtechs with the default spring rates of 9kg F and 6kg R. The interior has an OMP bucket seat and a deep steering wheel (turn one) without quick release... it's an experience trying to get in and out of this car hehe! Overall it is in acceptable condition, which I intend to better over time.
My future plans of course include a turbo build which I intend on doing on my own as I have a garage, most of the tools, most of the knowledge and ALL the motivation, but first I would like to live with the car for some time learning its quirks as well as fixing and adjusting all the details so I can get the most out of my miata before bumping up the power.
So, the first things for me to do when I go back home is to strip and clean everything from inside to outside and from top to bottom in order to thoroughly check the condition of the chassis (which I know I am not going to like...), as well as repairing the interior to its original state. Next thing is the proper adjustment of the suspension and a replacement of many (if not all) of the rubber bushings with new ones (again OEM rubber) as I am going to daily drive the car and am not keen on hitting the bump stops and banging everywhere on the pot-hole-full streets of Greece. Next up is a new set of wheels, preferably 15x8 6ULs or 15x8 advanti with a nice set of tires, and a brake disks and pads upgrade, to start experiencing the true nature of this car's excellent balance! Next I think a coolant reroute is due. Finally, in preparation of a turbo build I intend to install a set of RX8 injectors, upgraded fuel pump, an IAT sensor and a wideband O2 in order to be able to install a MS PNP2 and start learning to tune it so I don't have the learning curve of MS in front of me when I decide it is time to turbocharge!
I am sure many other problems will present themselves as I go along and will need dealing with, but hey it's a miata!! you have to love it!
Sorry for the long post. I hope I am accepted as one of the community's members and looking forward to this project hoping I will find all the help I need among the lot of you! Cheers!
My Car:
My Cat:
My name is John and I am from Athens Greece. Recently I purchased my very own miata (at last...) after almost 5 years waiting to return to Greece, as due to my job I am living overseas. Currently I am staying in China but in two months' time I am going back to my new toy to start wrenching!
The car was purchased about two weeks ago and I had the opportunity to live with it for a week before I had to come back to China. Overall I am very pleased with the way it drives, although being a little bit harsh, so I have to tinker with the suspension and buy a new set of wheels (now it sits on 13"x7" rims with 185/60-13 tires) in order to stop the harshness.
The car currently has 230K km (about 143K miles) but it has a rebuilt engine with Wiseco pistons, eagle rods, cometic gasket tied all together with ARP studs. On the transmission side it has a 5-speed with an upgraded four puck clutch (not sure for the brand) and a VLSD with 4.44 ring-pinion (which is too short for my liking). As you can see the previous owner had already started a turbo build project from the ground up, but his project run to a halt when he found a mint condition RX7 FC! It also has a custom roll bar bolted on. On the suspension side it has a set of HSD dualtechs with the default spring rates of 9kg F and 6kg R. The interior has an OMP bucket seat and a deep steering wheel (turn one) without quick release... it's an experience trying to get in and out of this car hehe! Overall it is in acceptable condition, which I intend to better over time.
My future plans of course include a turbo build which I intend on doing on my own as I have a garage, most of the tools, most of the knowledge and ALL the motivation, but first I would like to live with the car for some time learning its quirks as well as fixing and adjusting all the details so I can get the most out of my miata before bumping up the power.
So, the first things for me to do when I go back home is to strip and clean everything from inside to outside and from top to bottom in order to thoroughly check the condition of the chassis (which I know I am not going to like...), as well as repairing the interior to its original state. Next thing is the proper adjustment of the suspension and a replacement of many (if not all) of the rubber bushings with new ones (again OEM rubber) as I am going to daily drive the car and am not keen on hitting the bump stops and banging everywhere on the pot-hole-full streets of Greece. Next up is a new set of wheels, preferably 15x8 6ULs or 15x8 advanti with a nice set of tires, and a brake disks and pads upgrade, to start experiencing the true nature of this car's excellent balance! Next I think a coolant reroute is due. Finally, in preparation of a turbo build I intend to install a set of RX8 injectors, upgraded fuel pump, an IAT sensor and a wideband O2 in order to be able to install a MS PNP2 and start learning to tune it so I don't have the learning curve of MS in front of me when I decide it is time to turbocharge!
I am sure many other problems will present themselves as I go along and will need dealing with, but hey it's a miata!! you have to love it!
Sorry for the long post. I hope I am accepted as one of the community's members and looking forward to this project hoping I will find all the help I need among the lot of you! Cheers!
My Car:
My Cat:
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02-27-2018, 07:44 AM
#3
Moderator
iTrader: (12)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 20,664
Total Cats: 3,013
Welcome to The Forum.
The 1.6 cars had a very weak rear differential from the factory and they often fail at stock power. Consider replacing the rear diff and CV axles with 1.8 parts prior to adding more power.
Also, many of the RX8 fuel injectors being sold are counterfeit and do not flow like they should and sometimes do not flow the same as each other.
Good shocks and having the bump travel to stay off of the bump stops makes all the difference in the world in ride quality.
We have several other members here from Greece.
The 1.6 cars had a very weak rear differential from the factory and they often fail at stock power. Consider replacing the rear diff and CV axles with 1.8 parts prior to adding more power.
Also, many of the RX8 fuel injectors being sold are counterfeit and do not flow like they should and sometimes do not flow the same as each other.
Good shocks and having the bump travel to stay off of the bump stops makes all the difference in the world in ride quality.
We have several other members here from Greece.
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02-28-2018, 12:39 AM
#4
Newb
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Athens,Greece
Posts: 7
Total Cats: 0
Yes I already have in mind doing many more things than those I mention above. Torsen T2 is one of them. Plus I need to replace the R&P to something significantly longer because even now (N/A and almost 100hp) I cannot stand the highway noise (5th - 100 km/h @ 3500rpm)... Also thanks for the info on the RX8 injectors! I didn't know they had this issue. Anyway when the time comes I will consult the threads once again before any purchase. I am stalking the forum for almost 3 years now and every day I find new info on every aspect of these lovable cars, which is brilliant!!
Regarding the shocks I have some other issue which I will post in the "suspension, brakes, Drivetrain" section later with photos, as I am not sure how much is the maximum possible height they can provide...
As for the Greeks I have noticed there are many of us here from the early days of stalking the forum and I couldn't wait to buy my own miata to join them
!!
Anyways thanks for the welcome guys! See you around!
Regarding the shocks I have some other issue which I will post in the "suspension, brakes, Drivetrain" section later with photos, as I am not sure how much is the maximum possible height they can provide...
As for the Greeks I have noticed there are many of us here from the early days of stalking the forum and I couldn't wait to buy my own miata to join them
!!Anyways thanks for the welcome guys! See you around!
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02-28-2018, 09:46 AM
#5
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 83
Total Cats: 14
Xairetismata Gianni apo tin Ameriki!
I always wondered what would happen to my car hobby if I stayed in Greece for any long period of time. Living in America I am too used to low registration/tax costs and ~$2 a gallon gas. But with all the Greek members on here it looks like there is plenty of fun to be had.
I always wondered what would happen to my car hobby if I stayed in Greece for any long period of time. Living in America I am too used to low registration/tax costs and ~$2 a gallon gas. But with all the Greek members on here it looks like there is plenty of fun to be had.
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02-28-2018, 11:52 PM
#6
Newb
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Athens,Greece
Posts: 7
Total Cats: 0
Geia sou file doctor!!!
Truth is the tax and mandatory insurance costs are acceptable just because the taxation of a car in Greece is determined by its displacement. So for 1.6L and 1.8L, plus the fact that older cars (>20 years) get a more flexible treatment, it is ok (250~280 euro/year). The insurance on the other hand depends on the company you choose, but should be around 300~400 euro/year. The big problem is the gas prices... currently it is about 1.5 euro/Lt which roughly translates to ~6.9 $/gallon and people are happy, because 3-4 years ago it was around 2 euro/Lt (I'll let you do the math) which is absurd, and as you can understand you have to be kind of a millionaire to drive anything with a Wankel...
BUT nothing can stop Greek people from having nice cars because we love driving and most of us take pride in our rides. Especially if you've put personal work.
Truth is the tax and mandatory insurance costs are acceptable just because the taxation of a car in Greece is determined by its displacement. So for 1.6L and 1.8L, plus the fact that older cars (>20 years) get a more flexible treatment, it is ok (250~280 euro/year). The insurance on the other hand depends on the company you choose, but should be around 300~400 euro/year. The big problem is the gas prices... currently it is about 1.5 euro/Lt which roughly translates to ~6.9 $/gallon and people are happy, because 3-4 years ago it was around 2 euro/Lt (I'll let you do the math) which is absurd, and as you can understand you have to be kind of a millionaire to drive anything with a Wankel...
BUT nothing can stop Greek people from having nice cars because we love driving and most of us take pride in our rides. Especially if you've put personal work.
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