What have you done to your MSP today?
- Thread starter baconbitz
- Start date
Honestly I did consider it.. But like Valk said.. I'm not sure its worth it. IDK.. If I do a mold / repro bumper.. I really wanna try filling the gaps and making it all 1 piece. But I'm not sure I am gonna end up doing it. We'll see. Getting a proper hood and trunk mold with proper tooling gelcoat and big flanges for doing vacuum infusions is MUCH higher on my list.
I'm doing R&D on making our intercooler pipes out of CF. I've never seen a MSP with CF pipes.. (way less heat conductivity) I need to make "blanks" though. Which is why I bought the MIG 130.. I think I might make the blanks out of Stainless and then use those to produce the CF pipes. The process is challenging. I have some ideas.. but I'm not sharing them just yet.
ZealoustheEnder
Contributor
- :
- 2003 MSP
Just under 500 for all stock pipes in aluminum.
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hornsfan10609
Certified Mazda Tech
- :
- 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege x2
They are ~$10-15 depending which JY I go to.
Well if it's priced too high nobody will buy it.
Damn! Ebay kits are under $100 and include couplers and T bolt clamps.
So my passenger side exhaust manifold bolts exploded again. I had replaced the OEM with some grade 8 studs and stainless locking nuts but apparently those weren't high strength enough. Anyone got suggestions on what I can replace them with that won't break in 30-50k miles?
Zealous.. I already have aluminum IC pipes.. I don't need any more.. lmao. CF won't conduct heat the way steel and aluminum does.. and $500 for those pipes is like paying $400 for someone to weld them.. I'm not really looking for that.
I'm going to my yard next friday. If i don't find one there I'll take you up on it.
I'm gonna go play with the car today. Hopefully get all this interior stuff squared away. Steering wheel showed up so I'm ready to go
thepope540
Member
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- 2003.5 Yellow Speed - Sold, Spicy - Sold, #639 Black Mica
You've got a bigger issue than studs, there should be very little stress on the manifold to head connection. You either need to invest in some motor mounts or a flex in your exhaust or maybe both. If you're busting bolts you'll be ripping the threads out of the head - the aluminum is a lot softer than steel.
thepope540
Member
- :
- 2003.5 Yellow Speed - Sold, Spicy - Sold, #639 Black Mica
I looked at doing CF pipes and maybe someday I'll do a set for myself, but I'll be shocked if there's a market for them. I hope for your sake that there is, but you'll be asking guys to pay a lot more than ebay price for something they can whip up in their garage with some cheap u bends and a bag of couplers.
Installed 15mm spacers front and rear, then spent a few days this past week rolling the rear fenders for the right fit. In retrospect, 10mm would have been a better option out back; 15mm is just fine up front. Stock tire size, rears were very angry, even without passengers prior to the fender work. Much happier with the aesthetics.
I really don't plan on making a whole bunch. I really just wanna be able to fabricate, and fiberglassing / CF is something I've always wanted to learn how to do.. So this is more for me, BUT if someone sees something they like later down the road it might be something I consider. I want the hood and trunk molds, that way I can control the type of CF fabric, and make sure the hood/trunk match. Again, this is something I'm doing for myself (and two cars)
hornsfan10609
Certified Mazda Tech
- :
- 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege x2
It's far from uncommon on these cars, though. I even had 2 ARP studs fail, one stripped and the other snapped. ARP said it was 'due to the heat of the turbo' but I don't buy that. The welder that welded my cracked mani told me the two smaller upper bolt holes on the stock mani prevent the mani from expanding and contracting properly when it heat cycles. He drilled them out the same size as the others when he repaired my manifold, hasn't failed thus far. He also said to be sure NOT to overtighten the hardware as that can cause them to crack/break hardware as well.
This can't have only happened to me. My first MSP had it with OEM bolts, this MSP did it to OEM bolts and aftermarket hardened studs.
IllaNoizeTV
Member
- :
- 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege
Stock exhaust mani = garbage.
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Which ones are smaller? Since I don't want to fully uninstall the manifold to drill anything out I'll just replace the broken studs and make sure I don't overtorque the nuts. Since the ARP studs break as well, I'll skip them since they are way more expensive than the grade 8 studs I bought originally.
hornsfan10609
Certified Mazda Tech
- :
- 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege x2
The two holes that are studs from the factory. Of the five holes along the top, they would be the second and fourth holes.
Not necessarily true.
I found where I bought the replacement studs and they do sell ARP individually, so I could just replace the two that broke with ARP. Which ones should I go with, Grade 8 Medium Carbon or ARP?
ZealoustheEnder
Contributor
- :
- 2003 MSP
Cruising on level ground with the 5th gear swap.
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thepope540
Member
- :
- 2003.5 Yellow Speed - Sold, Spicy - Sold, #639 Black Mica
The fact that studs and bolts bust on these cars only reinforces the fact that there's an underlying cause of the problem - crappy motor mounts are well established as being an issue. Every time the motor rocks under accel or deccel the manifold and studs are trying to lift and drop the weight of the exhaust because there's no good flex in the system. This busts studs and puts a lot of undo stress in the manifold which probably contributes to the cracking and leaking. This is why I haven't shipped a downpipe without a flex section in years. New hardware is a solution to the problem, but doesn't address the root cause.
Cruising on level ground with the 5th gear swap.
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Is this with the new Mfactory gears?
