Been MIA for 9 months, back now

[phunky.buddha]

Hey fellas, it's been a while. Things at work have been ridiculously busy, and once I lost touch on the car forums, I just didn't go back for a while- to any of them. My Honda guys miss me too.

So I'm fixing the 5's AC right now. Hate that Mazda won't sell just the clutch, but I found a place to get a brand spanking new one for $80. That's better than a whole compressor for $500+, a new dryer, and new refrigerant. Screw that.

This will also all happen within the next month:

• Brakes will be upgraded to Speed 3 spec once parts come in about a week, will write this up in detail with easy bolt on parts list NOT from a junkyard.
• Full stereo rewire and install (I always install new from the battery all the way through to the speakers)
• HIDs
• Side skirts will go on
• Front bumper reinforcement- you know- the damn sides that pull out from the fender all the time. Annoying.
• Test fit a 15" wheel. Yeah, I have a 15 with a 5x114.3 bolt pattern (rare). Why not? I remember someone asking about this.

Then in the very very near future:

• Rear hatch spoiler will go on
• New tires, not sure if I want 215/50 or 235/45 on the next round
• Rear engine mount replacement to something stiffer
• Subwoofer install in a hidden location that won't eat into any interior space at all

Then in the near future, but not so near:

• Buy tools to do alignments at home, then corner weight EVERYTHING and set height and alignment specs myself whenever I want. Tired of dealing with asshole NTB managers in my area that don't honor alignment plans. Part of this tool batch will include toe scrub (bump steer) gauges to set things up on my S2000- these could come handy in the rear to fix the infernal toe wear issues that plague the rears of our 5s.
• To those that asked, yes I did get spring rates for the stock springs. If I can swipe sac02's from him Easter weekend, I'll get the gen 2 MZ5 springs measured too, then spec out a stock height higher rate spring for the rear to help those who don't want to lower their cars.

Other stuff I'm thinking about:

• Really want to turbocharge, but I don't drive the 5- the wife does- and I have 3 other cars that "need" boost before the 5. Still want to though. I know how to do it cheap, just don't have time or space.
• 6 speed swap. Maybe. I've already had the transmission fall on my head once, another try can't hurt. They're less than $1k. Maybe just get a taller final drive? Possible? Hmm.
• LSD? Worth the trouble for this thing? Maybe. Annoying to roast the inner tire on a turn? Absolutely.

BC Coilovers are still holding up extremely well, about 40k miles and counting. The plastic isolators broke a LONG time ago so the springs creak a little on turns (no bearings on top like OEM to make turning silent), but otherwise they still feel like the day they went in. Very impressed.

Wife killed one of the Miata wheels on a curb. I bought another for $120 and now have one with a bent hub sitting in my garage. Coffee table conversion?

K. I'm back. Kinda. Burning the candle at all 4 ends, but I'm here.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Welcome back bud.

-call them for ac parts. Awesome business.
http://www.polarbearinc.com/Index.htm

-15" won't clear MS3 calipers. sold mine and I really like them too

-where do you plan to mount the sub?

-tell me more about this DIY alignment kit please!!

-NEED those OE spring numbers, really really bad!

-BC's don't use pillow top bearings?!?!?!? Do you get coil bind when turning at low speed?

 

[Robotazky]

Good to hear you have time for cars again. It's always a nice feeling.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Welcome back bud.

-call them for ac parts. Awesome business.
http://www.polarbearinc.com/Index.htm

-15" won't clear MS3 calipers. sold mine and I really like them too

-where do you plan to mount the sub?

-tell me more about this DIY alignment kit please!!

-NEED those OE spring numbers, really really bad!

-BC's don't use pillow top bearings?!?!?!? Do you get coil bind when turning at low speed?

Thanks guys.

I'll look into Polar Bear. I got my clutch put on- just have to charge up the refrigerant a bit.

Sub- I feel like there's just enough volume to glass in the cavity inside the passenger side of the dash, but still have a removable enclosure that doesn't extend below the bottom edge of the factory plastic. With the right amount of polyfill I should be able to make an enclosure that's effectively .23-.25 cubic feet, which is just enough to run an 8" Infiniti 860 sub with a good response curve. They stretch really low for an 8 and have quite a bit of excursion- and with it being up front, won't need tons of power to stay loud for the front occupants. I couldn't bring myself to think of mounting it in the rear since you can't even hear the rear speakers. I did find space for about 1.2 cubic feet in the back under the floor and still keep the spare, but that's a little more work, and wouldn't be as easy to reproduce.

Not really an alignment "kit", just alignment tools that everyone uses in their DIY garage alignments at home. Takes forever, but if I get good at it, wouldn't take longer than a typical NTB round trip plus the hour and half wait to get onto the alignment rack. The suspension geometry at the rear with all the toe scrub through the suspension travel is why our rears wear so quickly, not the static camber or toe. With a bump steer gauge I might be able to relocate some of the links in the back or space them out to change the way the rears move. Maybe not. It's a thought. I personally don't need to worry about it because my rear springs are stiff enough now to limit motion quite a bit in the back, so I don't get funny rear wear as much as before.

I'll try to find the OE spring numbers. After I sell a few sets of springs.

BCs technically DO have pillow top bearings because the uppers of the shocks sit in solid bearings in the camber plates, but they do NOT have anything decent at the top of the spring where it turns against the upper mount. The factory setup and the YellowSpeeds have a bearing race that rides in a carrier at the top of the spring which allows the spring to turn with zero noise. The BCs have this cheesy plastic isolator that breaks and falls out after a while. It took me a bit to realize this... result is a kind of creaking sound as the spring slips against the upper mount. It's a little annoying, but not a big deal. It doesn't bind in a way that seems to cause any problems- the spring just doesn't twist in place as freely as it could.

Good to hear you have time for cars again. It's always a nice feeling.

Thanks! Sure is...

 

[Silentnoise713]

I'll try to find the OE spring numbers. After I sell a few sets of springs. .

don't just try, do it! I really need those numbers to reverse engineer/cross check in my attempt at a dual spring setup. The YS has quite a few advantages but also some drawbacks.

Btw, what springs do you have? I'm looking for 2.5" tenders or perhaps a longer 2.5" main.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I'm running the BC Coilovers, remember? 8kg/mm front, 7kg/mm rear.