2016~2023 Ultimate “Grand Tourer”

The chrome was mostly peeled off of the logo on my key fob, so I pulled it apart and dropped all the buttons and logo in a cup on bleach yesterday. Painted it today and reassembled. Satin black and satin red to match my vehicle. Could have done a better job on painting to avoid orange peel. I haven’t mastered the Texas heat and humidity in regards to paint. Epoxy was a tab sloppy too, but this stays in my pocket so it doesn’t bother me too much.

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Welp. Got bad news today. Not coolant leak level bad news. Just found out the wheels I ordered are not expected until June now! That’s not gonna work for me so I guess it’s back to the drawing board
 
Got two fun things in the mail today. Some Sparco bronze wheels and my new fog lights! Good thing too because one tire got a sidewall tear last time I drove the CX-9 and when we got back from our trip, it was sitting with two flats.

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Got the 255/55/19 Wildpeak Trails and Sparco DRS’s mounted earlier this week. 3D printed some center caps to retain the Mazda logo. Won’t be doing the red stripe on the wheels as originally planned due to the red Mazda logo. Total weight saved per corner averaged out to right around 9 pounds

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Pulled the fog lights off last weekend and spent the week designing some new brackets for the new fog lights. The blue is the new bracket, 3D printed in ABS. Could be any color but this is what was loaded when I wanted to print. It’s inside a bumper so nobody will see it anyway.

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There’s a little gap, but the majority of the light gets out. Much better than stock. Diode Dynamics SSC1 SAE fogs with amber backlight. I added the amber backlight to the DRL circuit as it is a 15A circuit and the backlights only add a total of 40 milliamperes. These things are bright. At $240 for the pair, I would strongly recommend over the OEM versions. Backlight is on when the DRLs are. Fogs are controlled with normal collar switch.

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Very nice!! Would love to see some pictures from the driver's seat, if possible.

Does the OEM fog light harness plug right into the new SSC1, or is an adapter/rewiring necessary? Nice to see that there is a backlit option for when the fog lights are off.
 
Very nice!! Would love to see some pictures from the driver's seat, if possible.

Does the OEM fog light harness plug right into the new SSC1, or is an adapter/rewiring necessary? Nice to see that there is a backlit option for when the fog lights are off.
I’ll adjust them properly and get some pictures hopefully tonight.

I clipped the fog light plug off and wired in the 4 pin (only 3 used) DT Deutsch plug. If you had the right tools, you can de-pin the existing fog light plug and wire that in, but I figure that I can just rewire the old plug back on when I go to sell it. Or just leave these on.

Backlight is awesome. I love how the vehicle looks with the fog light pockets lit up, but running fog lights all the time increases foreground lighting therefore decreasing your ability to see things in the distance. These also prioritize the fog light so you’ll always have them when you need them
 
I’ll adjust them properly and get some pictures hopefully tonight.

I clipped the fog light plug off and wired in the 4 pin (only 3 used) DT Deutsch plug. If you had the right tools, you can de-pin the existing fog light plug and wire that in, but I figure that I can just rewire the old plug back on when I go to sell it. Or just leave these on.

Backlight is awesome. I love how the vehicle looks with the fog light pockets lit up, but running fog lights all the time increases foreground lighting therefore decreasing your ability to see things in the distance. These also prioritize the fog light so you’ll always have them when you need them

Nice, sounds like a pretty simple installation, as long as you've got those custom made brackets. I know that many owners here find that the fog lights are pretty underwhelming when it comes to functionality. Do you have any plans to sell the brackets, or make the design files available on a site like thingiverse?
 
Nice, sounds like a pretty simple installation, as long as you've got those custom made brackets. I know that many owners here find that the fog lights are pretty underwhelming when it comes to functionality. Do you have any plans to sell the brackets, or make the design files available on a site like thingiverse?
It is very simple. Hardest part was finding the DRL wire since the colors didn't match the workshop manual. I have no intention of selling them for profit; this is just a fun hobby for me and I am not trying to get into the customer service business. I have posted it to thingiverse for others to make if they want. If someone wants the bracket but doesn't have access to a 3D printer, I can potentially print them a pair though!
 
I wasn’t happy with the beam pattern and lack of adjustment on my previous mount so I redesigned it. Also realized there was a ton of wasted material on V1. V2 had a little cutting. The left cut was not necessary but I was experimenting on how to get the light positioned better. The top/right cut was needed to clear the nut.

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And finally got output shots! They do not do the lights justice. There is a strong yellow light where needed and a slight yellow everywhere else that wasn’t captured well

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Pulled the fog lights off last weekend and spent the week designing some new brackets for the new fog lights. The blue is the new bracket, 3D printed in ABS. Could be any color but this is what was loaded when I wanted to print. It’s inside a bumper so nobody will see it anyway.

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There’s a little gap, but the majority of the light gets out. Much better than stock. Diode Dynamics SSC1 SAE fogs with amber backlight. I added the amber backlight to the DRL circuit as it is a 15A circuit and the backlights only add a total of 40 milliamperes. These things are bright. At $240 for the pair, I would strongly recommend over the OEM versions. Backlight is on when the DRLs are. Fogs are controlled with normal collar switch.

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exactly what I want to do on my CX5! Was concerned about the light output if they're mounted too far inside the bumper with the trim piece and all...

Also, haven't seen too many examples of the SSC1's used as foglights.
 
exactly what I want to do on my CX5! Was concerned about the light output if they're mounted too far inside the bumper with the trim piece and all...

Also, haven't seen too many examples of the SSC1's used as foglights.
Mine ended up pointed out a bit further than I would like, but still very much functional. We’ve had thick fog since I installed them and they worked well. Nowhere near as good as the SS3 pros on my wife’s 4Runner, but as good as the SS3 sports
 
Got the oil analysis back for the 60k oil change. Fuel dilution is 3% which isn’t great. It had been pretty cold here and know that could be why the fuel dilution is higher so I’ll keep an eye on it next oil change and see if it’s the same. From research on this forum, I didn’t really get a consensus on what the likely problem is. Still no coolant leak though!
 

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Changed the spark plugs. My combined MPG had dropped to 19.9 (8.46 km/l) with mostly highway driving at 70-75 MPH (112-120 KPH). On my commute today under generally the same conditions, I am back to a reported 25.6 MPG (10.88 km/l). They were reported changed at 41k miles by the dealership. I have my doubts…

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Added mudflaps and shackles. We go on road trips fairly frequently and usually have the dogs with us. When we stop to change diapers or eat or use the bathroom, the dogs need to be attached to something so they don’t run off and get hit. Some rest stops have angled spots and some have spots you can back into so front and back hooks are easier. Really only needed the Mazda tow hooks to accomplish the same thing, but the shackles cover the holes left in the bumpers. Hooks are plastidipped (unsure how long it’ll last but did 10 coats) and I 3D printed a spacer to keep the shackles from wobbling.

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Added this phone mount before our last trip. It’s hard mounted to the trim right above the vent. Wasn’t my first choice but the other options were ruled out. Tinted windshield so no mount from there. I had 3D printed other brackets and didn’t like how they cluttered up the dash or how in the way they were for the screen. This is strong enough to hold an iPad on a bumpy road so I’m pretty happy with it.

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Took a week longer than I was hoping, but got the JB4 installed! Pretty easy and if I had known exactly where all the connectors were, I wouldn’t have pulled the bumper off. Tucked it right in front of the air box and seems pretty firmly attached

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Low end, the butt dyno isn’t noticing a huge difference, but it feels like you have more power for longer in each gear; you don’t fall off a cliff for power in the higher RPMs. That doesn’t necessarily reflect what the real dyno runs say, but it’s how it feels to me. I am using Map 2 which is for 93+. Where I fill up, they have 87 or 93 and have been running 93 for the last 6 fill ups in preparation for this install.

As for install, the official guide is good enough to show you what the two MAP sensors look like if you aren’t sure, but the locations they say they are at are wrong. This is noted in the guide as well. After realizing exactly where the third connector is, you can reach it without removing the bumper. You will be blind and I would suggest removing your license plate. To pull the plastic shield out of the way, you have to grab the top of it. Below is a picture of my hand grabbing the top of the shield. It will be difficult and you will hate doing it. For my placement of the JB4, the brown wires are not long enough to follow the OEM wire harness around the outside of the “frame rail.” They have to divert down on the inside of the frame rail or you will have a very taunt set of wires. All in all, it took about 45 minutes to install with bumper removal. I can take more pictures of the install with approximate locations of connectors if needed!

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