Brian_K's Build Thread
- Thread starter Brian_K
- Start date
bikingpro5
Member
- :
- 03 Protege5
Mazda6 hatch wiper is direct fit, not MS3
Haven't really been doing anything major to the car lately. So far this summer has been dedicated to cleaning up/improving a lot of small things.
Rerouted my intercooler piping, ended up cutting off over a foot of length on the cold side. Sprayed the valve cover with some vht wrinkle black and added a breather filter. Bypassed the coolant feed to the throttle body and replaced some of the smaller rubber coolant lines with silicone ones.
before paint
after
applied some leftover smoke vinyl to the sidemarkers
Put the front plate back on since they've been handing out tickets left and right. I decided to mount it away from the intercooler so it doesn't block airflow. Threaded a bolt through the crash bar that goes through the lower grill and put together a simple aluminum bracket to hold the plate. It seems to be holding up well so far.
Also ended up getting rid of some 17x8 MB Weapons I never mounted. I decided I want something lighter and more legit lol.
the engine bay still needs a lot of cleaning up as far as wires and hoses go, trying to keep things simple.
Rerouted my intercooler piping, ended up cutting off over a foot of length on the cold side. Sprayed the valve cover with some vht wrinkle black and added a breather filter. Bypassed the coolant feed to the throttle body and replaced some of the smaller rubber coolant lines with silicone ones.
before paint
after
applied some leftover smoke vinyl to the sidemarkers
Put the front plate back on since they've been handing out tickets left and right. I decided to mount it away from the intercooler so it doesn't block airflow. Threaded a bolt through the crash bar that goes through the lower grill and put together a simple aluminum bracket to hold the plate. It seems to be holding up well so far.
Also ended up getting rid of some 17x8 MB Weapons I never mounted. I decided I want something lighter and more legit lol.
the engine bay still needs a lot of cleaning up as far as wires and hoses go, trying to keep things simple.
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Personally I dont mind it. It only added a little more vibration compared to when i first replaced the front one. I really like how much more responsive it made the car feel.
Pimpecoven
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege5
How do you like your ksport coils? Thinking of picking some up
i like them, they do ride a little harsher than some other brands but they arent bouncy at all.
Thanks!
Finally got my ssafc in the mail. I ordered one in a few months back and it ended up getting stolen in the mail... luckily i was able to get a refund. This one took 2 weeks longer to receive because USPS decided to ship it to somewhere in central california instead. When I finally did receive it today it looks like someone jumped on it a bunch of times lol... This is why i dislike USPS.
I'm glad I finally got it though. Hopefully it functions correctly, I'll have it installed by next week.
also did a little road trip with the gf this weekend down around san diego. With the VTCS/VICS plates removed and Air Temp sensor relocated i averaged 33mpg with the ac on cruising at 75-80 mph on the freeway. I'm pretty pleased with the results considering my highway mpg used to be around 28mpg.
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CR3 Motorsports
Member
Nice, where did you relocate it to?
its right next to the air filter (i'll install it into the intake pipe eventually), I made the mistake of originally putting in the cold pipe lol.
Got around to installing the ssafc today. The wiring part was easy, just a little tedious. But finding the right driver to work with my usb to serial comm cable and digging up my old netbook with windows xp was a real pain in the ass. Right now it just has the superstock map, once I do a bit more reading and install the wideband I'll get around to fine tuning it.
I'm impressed with how much of a difference the ssafc makes. It does everything everyone has said. Pulls harder and fuel cut/hesitation are gone. Really pleased with it so far.
I stumbled upon this thread last week and ended up wanting to try it.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-general/2931348-sideskirt-diy-part-1-a.html
i originally wanted to use Veranda vinyl trim from Home Depot, but found out that none of the ones in my area stocked it, so i ended up going to lowes and purchasing 2 8ft sections of a similar trim made of PVC.
one side had a wood grain texture molded into it and the other was flat with a few lines.
I broke out the jigsaw, measured the side skirt length on the P5 and chopped it accordingly. Then did a test fit
added some black paint and mounted them using a few stainless screws & fender washers
Pretty pleased with how it turned out, might do a little more rounding on the edges when i get the time. The two pvc trim planks and the stainless hardware came to a total of $37.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-general/2931348-sideskirt-diy-part-1-a.html
i originally wanted to use Veranda vinyl trim from Home Depot, but found out that none of the ones in my area stocked it, so i ended up going to lowes and purchasing 2 8ft sections of a similar trim made of PVC.
one side had a wood grain texture molded into it and the other was flat with a few lines.
I broke out the jigsaw, measured the side skirt length on the P5 and chopped it accordingly. Then did a test fit
added some black paint and mounted them using a few stainless screws & fender washers
Pretty pleased with how it turned out, might do a little more rounding on the edges when i get the time. The two pvc trim planks and the stainless hardware came to a total of $37.
CR3 Motorsports
Member
Looks good!
bikingpro5
Member
- :
- 03 Protege5
interesting idea.
thanks man
Since I installed the seats my elbow has been hitting the center console arm rest. So I decided to get a shifter extension.
Generic aluminum 3" extension
I thought it looked terrible since it left the top of the boot exposed and the contrast in color between the extension and the short shifter.
So I took a short piece of 1/2" copper pipe, added a couple coats of silver and clear and a washer at the bottom.
IMO now it looks much cleaner, although i think the washer could be painted flat instead of gloss.
Painted and installed the KMR front tie bar I recently received.
Also swapped my old ball joint rod ends on my rear endlinks with some heavy duty ball joint linkages. They seem to do a good job of eliminating all the creaking i had with the previous setup. I think it's time to buy some cr3 rear sway bracket relocators.
Also swapped my old ball joint rod ends on my rear endlinks with some heavy duty ball joint linkages. They seem to do a good job of eliminating all the creaking i had with the previous setup. I think it's time to buy some cr3 rear sway bracket relocators.
Got around to installing the CR3Motorsports rear sway bar relocation brackets today.
I ended up purchasing a set for a few reasons. I hate the way the bent brackets mount onto the sub-frame and unevenly squeeze the bushings causing them to wear out faster. Also, the welds holding the nuts in place on the sub-frame also broke off a few months ago which made it a real pain to remove the brackets and lube the bushings.
Quality is excellent (reminds me of the AWR brackets but powdercoated black). 2 19mm bolts were also included with the brackets.
The original bolts I was using for the brackets were too short, so I replaced them with some longer grade 8 ones.
Everything bolted right up and installation was very easy. The brackets clear the lateral arms as well as my v-brace.
Overall I'm very happy with them. Servicing the bushings will be much easier and the bushing brackets will last longer. I also like how it shifted the mounting point of the Progress rear sway bar about an inch forward(towards the front wheels). This allows the mounting holes on the bar to be closer to a 90 degree angle with the endlinks which should decrease how much the rear end leans in turns.
also just paid for a new downpipe and might be getting a 3" exhaust to go with it
I ended up purchasing a set for a few reasons. I hate the way the bent brackets mount onto the sub-frame and unevenly squeeze the bushings causing them to wear out faster. Also, the welds holding the nuts in place on the sub-frame also broke off a few months ago which made it a real pain to remove the brackets and lube the bushings.
Quality is excellent (reminds me of the AWR brackets but powdercoated black). 2 19mm bolts were also included with the brackets.
The original bolts I was using for the brackets were too short, so I replaced them with some longer grade 8 ones.
Everything bolted right up and installation was very easy. The brackets clear the lateral arms as well as my v-brace.
Overall I'm very happy with them. Servicing the bushings will be much easier and the bushing brackets will last longer. I also like how it shifted the mounting point of the Progress rear sway bar about an inch forward(towards the front wheels). This allows the mounting holes on the bar to be closer to a 90 degree angle with the endlinks which should decrease how much the rear end leans in turns.
also just paid for a new downpipe and might be getting a 3" exhaust to go with it
