What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

Interested in corner weights. (thumb)

I forgot you mentioned looseness at the strut mount (camber plate) also - yeah, that could definitely be a BC assembly issue. Though it could still be a design issue. The semantics game I seem to be playing is that if the torque spec that the BC Engineering group gives to the Production group is wrong, that's a design issue. If the torque value is correct and the Production group isn't hitting that number, then it's an assembly issue. It winds up as the same defect in the eyes of the customer, but to the QC engineer (me) it's a distinct difference. (shrug)

For you or me, we can deal with these issues, but I'd be concerned about other, less technically-inclined people (are we still using the term "ricers"?) putting these on their car and sharing the road with me in a potentially unsafe condition.

i hear ya. They call for 40 ft lbs but looking at the design, i don't see why the instructions call for so much caution...and forbid the use of an impact where Megan Racing (i know,i know) recommends a quick brrraap with impact (too late for that). Also, the way the camber plate is designed the alignment collar that sits on the top plate makes direct contact with the tapered top nut. They are machined to perfection and mate spot on. The bearings ride on the side of the top nut so there's not much danger there. So why all the caution with torque? Maybe to spare the threads on the piston? Either way my next attempt to tighten the plates will involve a breaker bar (glare)
 
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I believe the ricers would dub that "dynamic ride height adjustment" and until the struts came through the hood, they would see it as a virtue. LOL IIRC, the locking collars on the Skunk2 COs I had on my Honda were aluminum and wouldn't accept much torque without stripping out.
 
LOL i'm not cranking down the locking collars with a breaker but i may beat them with it lol
 
I dumped a tube of blue Loctite into mine...

Side note, bought the replacement sliding door handle for the 5. Looks like I can finally put it on sometime this weekend since the weather's warmed up!
 
Just purchased a rear view monitor mirror off eBay. Hope I won't regret it.

Still worried about running the cable, doesn't seem like an easy job...
 
Just finished install of a trans cooler, the cost of the cooler was cheaper than the 4 gallons of ATF I just flushed
 
Here's what I did to it, just not on purpose. Glad it was just the steel wheel for the snow tires. Though if I did this the stockers, might have given me an excuse to get some aftermarket rims. This is courtesy of a crater, er, pothole. It was dark and filled with water, so I didn't see it until it was too late to avoid/brake.
DSC03334_zps7098ecb3.jpg
 
Would you mind posting some pictures, parts list and prices... how many beers and swearing did it take? Thanks

Haha no beers, I started working on it at 9am.

I used a Hayden 1677 plate and fin style (listed as full size car GVW 14,000lbs and 2,500lbs towing, my box said GVW 20,000), its larger than the Mazda really needed but the price difference was minimal and I like going over the top just a bit.

Sorry no pictures, my phone is in my pocket and my hands are always dirty.

The install was pretty easy though, the kit had the brackets bolts lock washers and the Mazda radiator support actually has a bunch of unused threaded holes! along the bottom that aligned perfectly, I found out that the belly pan bolts matched the threads and worked great, for some reason I had a few extra laying around in my box from other cars.

Here is a list of what I bought:
Hayden 1677
1 barb to barb 3/8"
4ft of 11/32" ID trans hose (I guess this is a pretty standard size for auto trans)
1 size 3 hose clamp (kit comes with 4 but u need 5 because of the barb)
Also two bolts that match the threads of the belly pan bolts (not the ones that screw into the bumper but the ones that bolt to the bottom of the rad support)

How to do it:
Remove front bumper and belly pan or at least the bumper and the front part of the belly pan (no idea why people are scared to do this its easy and very light)
Test fit the aftermarket oil cooler to the rad support
Connect your hoses to the aftermarket cooler
Bolt aftermarket oil cooler to rad support final fit
Run lines to the factory oil cooler, make sure the lines don't go lower than the bottom of rad support (the car is already low if you run it lower than the rad support you might risk the chance of damaging the aftermarket cooler lines if you run up on a curb).
Connect the hoses from aftermarket cooler to factory cooler (tip: the hose that is on the drivers side is the one that returns to the trans so this is the one you want to run through the aftermarket cooler, always best to use the factory cooler first then run it through the aftermarket cooler then back to the trans)
Zip tie as needed (use quality zip ties no harbor freight crap) to prevent the hoses from rubbing on anything.
Start up the 5 and let idle, check to make sure aftermarket cooler is getting warm, check for leaks
Top off fluid
Done!

Sit back and be happy you just helped your 5 live longer or at least helped your fluid last longer.
 
Installed a MS3 RSB. I wasn't going to get a rear bar until after the turbo, but a deal came up locally that I couldn't refuse (bar, greaseable brackets and bushings, and collars in exchange for a ride to auto zone and a $20 set of brake pads for his truck).

This install is so easy no write up is needed, but there are a free things to remember:
  • you need ms3 end links
  • you need ms3 nuts (or just M12x1.25 nuts) for the link x bar shot (mz5 uses M10)
  • if you disconnect the charcoal canister w/h connector (takes 2 seconds to disconnect and makes sliding the bar in a little easier) , remember to plug it back in.

I will refrain from giving my impressions on how it behaves until after the auto-x this weekend.
 
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Installed a MS3 RSB. I wasn't going to get a rear bar until after the turbo, but a deal came up locally that I couldn't refuse (bar, greaseable brackets and bushings, and collars in exchange for a ride to auto zone and a $20 set of brake pads for his truck).

This install is so easy no write up is needed, but there are a free things to remember:
  • you need ms3 end links
  • you need ms3 nuts (or just M12x1.25 nuts) for the link x bar shot (mz5 uses M10)
  • if you disconnect the charcoal canister w/h connector (takes 2 seconds to disconnect and makes sliding the bar in a little easier) , remember to plug it back in.

I will refrain from giving my impressions on how it behaves until after the auto-x this weekend.

Why would you disconnect the charcoal cannister?
 
Why would you disconnect the charcoal cannister?

Just the electrical connector. It points downwards and it is "kind of" in the way as you try to maneuver the bar in and out. You don't have to disconnect it, but it takes two seconds, it makes the install easier, and probably most importantly it makes it less likely that you would damage the connector or wire if you weren't careful enough installing the bar.
 
Just the electrical connector. It points downwards and it is "kind of" in the way as you try to maneuver the bar in and out. You don't have to disconnect it, but it takes two seconds, it makes the install easier, and probably most importantly it makes it less likely that you would damage the connector or wire if you weren't careful enough installing the bar.

Ah, makes sense
 
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