Hey guys,

If you have already received your final drive, please do not install it yet until we can get this cleared up (unless you are DIY and don't mind playing around/setting things up)

from the set that we checked ourselves, and the few sets that we've sold previously for the S2000, none of the customers have mentioned any issue with performance or noise, however, PuddyMod is one of our S2000 dealers and we do value their input, so I will need to verify with them if indeed that video posted above was the initial prototype or not. Whether that one was a fluke and limited to that particular set or if it affects/applies to more sets from the initial batch, I will need to get to the bottom of this. The last thing I want is for this miscellaneous part (that we haven't even promoted/advertised) to ruin our established reputation.

for most of the parts that we offer, like most companies, we need to rely on customer feedback when it concerns any issues; if the customer does not mention any issues, then it would be assumed that nothing was wrong with the part and we would not know any better. If indeed this particular part has an issue (like the one in that video), we will of course accept full responsibility and either refund you in full or provide a replacement (TBD)

for what it's worth, back in 2013/2014 when that prototype batch of ring & pinions were made, we did not have the necessary machines to cut them in-house, so had to outsource the gear cutting.

it was only when we starting making our BMW ring & pinions that we invested in our own Klingelnberg machines to do it in-house (and thus quality being a lot higher). This is what our own ring & pinions look like:

http://store.ycwengineering.com/asse...TRS-02GT47.jpg

We do have several vendors on here interested in pursuing a custom batch of the 3.3's, so should the current prototype batch fail to meet your/our high standards, we can offer a replacement from the new batch (should production proceed)

Thanks!

I don't plan on installing these for some time. Will you be updating the people who bought these if something has gone wrong? I'd hate to install them in 2 years and realize then that I have an issue.

Yep, waiting patiently.

Waiting to ship the recent orders until you look at them?

I got mine already.

Did not get mine and I don't think I ordered it much after you. How does it look?

Dunno. Still in the packaging. Stuff rusts in my garage. Oregon is stupid. It will stay in its packaging until it gets installed.

Seriously. Fuck this years rainy season. I can not keep water out of my Landcruiser. I just POR 15ed the rust on the floor boards and I am bedlinering the interior. Leak you win.

I have mine, but no way to inspect it properly, and no spare pumpkin to put it in.

If you've not received your final drive yet (I believe around 4 of them were shipped out last week), it means we've not shipped it out yet, pending further investigation into this issue. We have for the time being cancelled the order, and will process the refunds. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.

For those that have received their final drive, as mentioned, we take full responsibility for this issue (if it is an issue), and will happily offer a full refund if you wish to ship the final drive back to us. If you do, please PM me and I can process your refund.

If this turns out to be nothing or if they require re-finishing, have we lost our spot(s) in line?

Of course not. Everyone who has ordered, will be able to re-order once the issue is resolved (be it from the current batch, or from the new batch we are having made).

New batch you say?

And the plot thickens

holy ear perk batman

Wow, I buy a Corvette, start playing around with it and step back from MT.Net for a few days/ weeks and then I come back and theres a frenzie for 3.3 R&Ps and I missed all the fun.

With that said, I am in for definite purchase if/when group buy happens. If anyone remembers to tag me in it that would be swell as I am likely balls deep in this corvette ;)

Maybe you should just sell the Vette, and focus on the only 2 things that matter. Miata's and KITTIES!!!

Well, they just cancelled my order that I placed last Wednesday. Not sure what that means, either I placed the order too late (although if that were the case, I'd expect they refund me sooner than they did), or the issue is a no-go for sale to customers with this prototype batch.

Sorry for the delay with the refund(s).

I'm actually a full day ahead of you guys (so your Wed is my Thu), but as all JDM orders are processed via our US office, there is some back-and-forth required to cancel and refund the orders (plus we're closed during the weekends).

After speaking with PuddyMod, that video was indeed one of the prototypes. As mentioned above, we're not willing to take the risk of this misc. part ruining our established reputation, so we decided to do an immediate recall of all orders placed until we've finished our investigation into this matter. We are checking over the remainder of the stock just now, and should know more later this week.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused by this.

Thank you for the transparency. Gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling even though my R&P may be junk :D

For those of us with parts on-hand, how will be notified of the next steps?

Thanks for keeping us informed.

Well obviously the interest in many has been reinvigorated by the mention of a new batch, so please keep us in the loop. I would definitely be in!

Any word on when you might have some insight into the R&P lash issue?

We're receiving one of the final drives back this week/early next week, and we can do our surface treatment on them and ship them back out to 949 Racing to test.

quality. You get this figured out and I am sure you will be able to liquidate your MOQ no problem should you choose to make another run.

Dragging this back up, any progress been made with this gearset????

Curious if anyone that got one of the 3.33 final drives has gone ahead and installed and if there were any lash issues etc or any other feedback. I've got one of them and I need to decide if I want to go ahead and use it or put in the Mazda 3.636 that I have also. I'm concerned I might end up running my OSG diff if there were issues with the 3.33.

I have one of the few sets that went out. I am going to be talking to PuddyMod soon down in Tampa about what I need to do to test and see if it is good or not. When I last talked to MFactory Mike in the spring, he said if the ones purchased ended up bad, that they would give us good replacements once the next batch was made. I have not heard anything since then.

I sent mine back for the surface process. Have not installed them yet.

I returned mine.

Well, I guess I'll wait a bit and see if I hear back on my last inquiry. Did you guys have to ask about the surface treatment etc? I hadn't heard anything from them about that as an option. I really would have liked to be able to use these. 65 in 2nd at 7200 rpm (or more) would be nice for auto-X on a higher HP car (I think). My 4:10 with the lower redline on my MSM sucked even at stock power. Always shifting to 3rd or bouncing off the limiter. I was really looking forward to trying this. Even if it was geared bit too high the TSE kit and MS3x (raise the redline!!!) I'm in the middle of installing would have probably made it work fine. At least that was my theory........

WPC is a Surface treatment. We sent ours back for that but it really made no difference. There were still huge tool marks all over the mating surfaces. We are waiting for our refund.

MFactory as a company has a pretty good reputation and bunch of people have their stuff and it's working quite well. But this thing with the Mazda 3.3 was a bit of a cluster. That someone commissioned to the thing and then pulled out sort of broke the normal development process, validation protocols etc. Unfortunately in Factory didn't catch that and they never inspected the kits before they shipped.

Alll of the current gear 3.3 sets that are made are so much scrap. If mfactory decides to start this thing from scratch and develop the gear like they normally do in-house I don't think we will have any problems. They just need commitment from enough buyers to start that process. We have a dialogue with them now so we'll see if we can get the ball rolling again

Thread recap: if it sounds too good to be true, usually it is.

Sorry guys for the late response (for some reason, not getting notifications).

Yes, we are looking into making a new batch of these now, which will not have the same issues as the previous batch. For those that did order from the previous batch, we are accepting returns and refunding everyone.

If any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us (probably best via email though: info @ teammfactory.com)

Thanks!

yeah, that was my impression as well. I did not really see much difference before/after the treatment, but I am no gear expert. I guess it is decision time for me.

Obviously, I am interested in a quality set.

What will it take to get commitment from MFactory? The 3.3 with 6 speed is such an appealing combination for me.

MFactory needs to develop ND transmission parts.

Let me know what you guys thinks of this (we just finished a new sample):

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4b391e3522.jpg

Looks like nice grinding marks to me.

Those who have the old batch, please PM/Email me asap to arrange return of the old final drive and a refund.

I will then re-process your order for a final drive from the new batch (after we've tested this sample of course)

It's been a long/frustrating road, but we're getting closer :)

For anyone wondering what those fading marks are, that is done during the lapping process as the black wears off, allowing us to determine if the tooth mesh is centre-aligned or not

Are the gears lapped or ground? They shouldn't be both

... question that you guys might know, since we're talking about MFactory upgraded gearsets (well, ostensibly, I know most went to talking about ring and pinions) Do you know what extent the RX-8, FR-S and 6 speed Miata gearboxes interchange? For my purposes, assume a willingness to put up with clutch and driveshaft splines that don't match the casing. In an ideal world, what I'm trying to make is something with the RX-8 front case, Miata tailshaft housing, and whatever gear stack gets me the 2.08 2nd and 0.86:1 6th.

Grinding, but we still need to make sure the teeth on the ring gear and pinion meshed together correctly (which is what I meant by lapping)

That is the subject for another thread. In fact there is a very detailed Thread about that very subject somewhere on this forum.

I can confirm that the miata 6-speed tailhousing bolts up to an RX8 box, but the shaft has a larger diameter. You will need to bore out the opening on the rear of the tailhousing to fit a larger seal.

OK; sorry I'll go digging.

Yeah, I'm that far already... well, like I said, sorry for the derail.

https://www.miataturbo.net/race-prep...-73618/page29/

https://www.miataturbo.net/suspensio...es-dust-75506/

Thank you - I had posted in both of those before and do not believe there were any conclusions but I'll go digging again. I'll just junkyard a BRZ trans and let everyone know - I'm trying to optimize for very different things than turbo folks anyway. Again, sorry for derailing.

Just to clarify, you're not pattern checking with lapping compound right?

Eagerly looking forward to getting a set from the second batch. I declined the refund that was offered to me, told Mike that I would rather have good gears, even if it meant waiting for a while. Looks like my patience/stubbornness might get rewarded :)

I am in the same boat. I have been talking to Mike and I am going to be waiting for the new gears to get made.

I want too, good to see they are getting made.

My thoughts exactly ...

This is what I sent Mike this AM


Ok I will get this shipped out.

When will these new designs be ready? I would much rather have 3.3 gears that work than my money back 😉

Just need to test the sample to make sure everything is good, then we can start the production run

Some closer pics of the ring gear

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3864064166.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...78ef4096ae.jpg

I am not sure if it is appropriate to cross post, and if not please delete.

howver, it might appear PPG could be coming related to 6-speed gearsets.

another complete gearset option in the works (Jacks Transmissions - Scion FR-S Forum | Subaru BRZ Forum | Toyota 86 GT 86 Forum | AS1 Forum - FT86CLUB

For a second there I thought this was like a Christmas miracle announcement about the 3.3 gearsets. :party:

I talked to Mike@MFactory a few months ago now. They are working on new gears. No eta that I could get, but supposedly a vendor on here will be doing testing.

Both 949racing (@emilio700) and Trackspeed have sample sets in their hands. I've not heard back from 949 yet, but Trackspeed have done an initial install of the gears and they fit without issue. I'm waiting to hear back with regards to road testing.

Also looking forward to hear good news