Better late than never

[Warhammer]

I ordered new headlights for my Miata. My old ones are badly hazed (I've polished them multiple times) an each light has a broken tab.

There aren't many options out there for NBs. New OEM headlights are PRICEY! Used OEM headlights are less pricey, but not cheap. And they often don't look much better than the ones being replaced. Aftermarket lights are pretty universally maligned as too "ricey." So... I decided to go aftermarket and attempt to de-rice them a bit.

Here's what I ordered:


My plan is to NOT hook up the three little LEDs at the top, then use white vinyl to make "eyelids" (a la Garage Vary) to cover up that portion of the lights. I actually like the halo rings, so I will hook up those.

[Warhammer]

Ok, got the headlights in and installed them today.

Here's a before pic of the car.



The headlights look better in that pic because the car was still wet from a light rain. When they are dry, they look much worse. I've polished them back to life twice, and even applied a clear coat the last time. But they once again look their age. The repetitive hazing and the broken tabs on both lights convinced me to just replace them.

So here's an old vs new pic:



Pretty huge difference!!!

There were a few different varieties available. Clear lenses/chrome interior, clear lenses/black interior or smoked lenses/black interior. I decided to go with the smoke lenses and black interior. Now, before anyone starts to scold me for getting smoked lenses (decreased light transmission, less safety, yadda, yadda...), let me say that I'll have 55W HIDs in the low beams and VLed V6 switchbacks in the turn signals, so I'm really not concerned about the slight tint on the lenses. The tint does help decrease how noticeable the
3 cheesy LEDs up top are. (I'll still be playing with adding eyelids, though.)

The lights arrive with a bird's nest of wiring at the back to power the high and low beams, 3 top mounted LEDs and the 2 halo rings.



So the first step was to tidy up the wiring, especially for the 3 top LEDs, which I won't be using. A few minutes and a few zip ties later:



The next step was to peel off the bumper. This is particularly easy with my beat up old bumper, as there are only 4 fasteners holding it on! The previous owner smacked a curb while parking and broke most of the mounting tabs off. Yeah, I really need to replace that old thing. Anyway, here she is stripped of her outerwear and the old lights. (Apparently, someone in the past decided the car needed a handlebar mustache and scratched one into the bumper, LMAO!)

[Warhammer]

After a bit of wiring and reinstalling the bumper, I now have this:



I kinda like it! Here she is with the running lights and and halos on. The halos are really very noticeable in bright sunlight.



With the low beams on:

r

High beams:



Right now, I just have the standard halogen H1 bulb in that came with the lights. I had to order HID H1s to go with the ballasts I've been using for the last few years with the OEM lights. I know they will make a world of difference. Those are also just run of the mill, cheap bulbs in the turn signals. VLeds is backordered on the V6 switchbacks I want, so I'll have to wait a bit for those.

I just got a message that my white vinyl has been delivered and is waiting for me in the mailbox. Eyelids are next![/QUOTE]

[Warhammer]

A few more pics of the new headlights:

[Warhammer]

Since (mostly) completing my dashboard project, I've been dragging my feet on mounting the new window switches.



Today, I finally took the time to get it done. I used switches that I wired up myself, and a mounting plate that I bought from Adam @ RevLimiter.com. I purposely canted the switches toward the driver to make them easier to reach. (I'm not really concerned with the passenger being able to operate them, lol!)







The switches are hardly visible if you aren't looking for them, but they're a detail I really l like. Pulling them toward me rolls the windows up, pushing them away rolls the windows down.

[Warhammer]

I received my VLeds V6 Triton switchback turn signals. Installation was quick and easy. These things are BRIGHT!!! If you don't know what these lights do, they transform your front turn signals into bright white DRLs, then switch to amber flashers when you activate your turn signals. You can add a module to make them automatically come on as DRLs, or just use your parking lights to activate them. You also have the option of leaving the white DRLs on at full power when you turn on the headlights, or tapping a headlight wire so that they automatically dim to 10% output when you turn on the headlights.

Here's what came in the kit:
- LED Switchback bulbs with built-in drivers
- 1157 adapters with heat shrink tubing and dielectric grease
- Wire taps and wire to enable the auto-dimming feature

BTW, I already replaced my stock flasher relay with an electronic flasher relay that compensates for LEDs to prevent hyperflash. You will need to do the same or purchase resistors for each light.







What didn't come in the kit:

INSTRUCTIONS! I had to go to VLeds' website to find the installation guide. Oh well, not that big of a deal.

These things are BRIGHT!



Compared to my 55w HID low beams. (Did I mention these things are BRIGHT?)



Add in some halogen high beams (I think I'll need to get some H1 LEDs for the high beams, too.):



Yes, I realize that running with 6 lights on is illegal in most places. I haven't hooked up the auto-dim feature yet, but I may later. I want to drive with them at night and see what effect they have on both my ability to see the road and whether they seem to bother oncoming traffic before I decide. Honestly, the only time I would ever have the high beams on would be in the absence of any other cars anyway, so I'm not too concerned about it.

All lights on with the left turn signal activated:

ckr

Just the DRLs on, with the left turn signal activated:



Pros:
- Easy to install
- You get DRLs
- REALLY BRIGHT DRLs!!!
- Much brighter turn signals, too

Cons:
- They cost $137 (Well worth it, IMHO)

[Warhammer]

Since I was already in the garage and working on the Miata, I decided to do a little project I've had planned for about a year.

I long ago dumped the spare tire in the trunk in favor of a can of Fix-a-Flat, a cell phone and a AAA card. It was a good way to loose some weight and gain some cargo space. (It was the original spare tire, so it was dried out and probably not safe to use anyway.) The only issue was the left over brackets for the tire and jack got in the way. So, a few minutes with a cutoff wheel and...



Next, I vacuumed, washed and dried the trunk. Then, I made good use of some sound deadener that was left over from when I recarpeted the cabin.

r

Reinstall the trim:



The last part of this project will be to cut some carpet to make a trunk liner, just to clean up the look. The thin metal floor of the trunk rings like a bell, so hopefully, this will help reduce noise a little.

[Warhammer]

Just a quick and dirty chop job on the original trunk liner:



The white bags are big desiccant packs to keep the trunk and it's contents dry and rust free. I'll put together a pretty trunk liner at another time.

[Demon I Am]

man, I can't wait to see the pics of these updates (work firewall). Those seats sound wonderful. Did I read right that they were $750 for the PAIR?!

This is some great progress!

[Warhammer]

man, I can't wait to see the pics of these updates (work firewall). Those seats sound wonderful. Did I read right that they were $750 for the PAIR?!

This is some great progress!

Thanks! And the seats were $650 for the pair, plus the universal brackets.

[Warhammer]

I started a minor project today that, as I seem to have a talent to do, I've turned into a not-so-simple project. I've seen the "single wiper conversion" on several cars and, while I like the idea, I rarely like the execution. I know that you can simply pull off the left wiper arm and reposition the right (center) wiper arm and call it a day. But that leaves the wiper making too short of an arc and sticking up on the windshield while its parked. A little research showed me that the sweep can be increased by either lengthening the linkage that attache the wiper transmission to the motor, or shortening the linkage that attaches the transmission to the wiper arm. So, it will take a little experimentation to get the the lengths right, but I'm going to play with it until I'm satisfied.

To start with, I removed the wiper cowl and promptly lost 2 of the little caps that cover the screws that hold it down. Looks like I'll be calling my local Mazda Parts Desk this week, lol! While I was in there, I pulled the cover off of the fresh air intake and cleaned out a few leaves that had worked their way in there. I also wiped down the area under the cowl and just did some general clean up.

Next, I removed the left part of the wiper transmission and the left wiper shaft. There's no point in having the linkage pushing the wiper shaft back and forth with no wiper arm hooked onto it.

Now comes the fun part. I pulled out the rest of the wiper transmission to check it out. I'll have to figure out how to reposition the ball joint on the center linkage or fabricate a longer linkage for the motor shaft. The transmission arm is a hollow tube with the plastic cup of a ball-and-socket joint at each end. The two link arms have the ball part of the joint press fit into them. I think it might be easiest if I dispense with the ball-and-socket joints and make some simple pivot joints.

[HarryB]

Nice to see someone doing it properly. It is not hard to figure out the new lengths; just figure out how much longer of a movement you need on the wiper ar a ratio, and then extend/shorten the linkage by that exact ratio.

[Warhammer]

I received my custom EUNOS lettering today. They are cut from 1/8" thick acrylic and finished in matte black. I plan to replace the red vinyl letters with these for a more OEM look. They aren't quite perfect; the "n" came out a little thinner than the other letters. It really should be identical to the "u" except turned upside down. I'll contact the manufacturer tomorrow to see about getting another one made. I know it's minor, but I'll know it's not right and that will bug me until I fix it.

[Warhammer]

Okay, here's an update of the wipers, er... wiper.

The after pulling apart the wiper transmission I decided to completely eliminate the driver side of the affair. Upon inspecting the two wiper pivots, I saw that the driver side pivot (the smaller one on the picture below) allows a wider swing, so I swapped it for the center pivot.



Next, I got to work on the motor arm. I bent a new one out of flat aluminum stock, making it as long as possible, without hitting the hood when it's closed.

The last link (literally) was the main linkage between the motor arm and the wiper arm. Since the plastic sockets on the OEM arm can't really be recreated, I had to come up with another way to connect my new motor arm to the linkage. I found a ball joint rod end at the hardware store and figured I could make that work. I cut off the end of the oem linkage tube and flared the end. Then I ground down the outside of a stainless nut until I could pound it into the flared end. Finally, I hammered the edges of the tube over the nut to hold it in place. So now I not only have something that will mate up with the new motor arm, but it's also adjustable for length. Here's what I ended up with:

New linkage on one end and oem joint on the other:



After a little playing with the starting position of the wiper, here's what I have so far.

Parked position:


Farthest sweep to the driver side:


So, I'm happy with the progress so far, but not with the result. I've made all the change I can by lengthening the motor arm, so now I'll have to shorted the wiper linkage to get any more sweep. My goal is to get as close to 180 degree coverage as possible. Of course, with both the motor and wiper arms remade, there's no need to try to preserve parts of the original tube that I've already modified. So I'll be remaking that one, too.

[Warhammer]

I installed a gas strut trunk lift kit from Clark and Clark. I'm pretty sure it would lift just about any spoiler. I'm planning on adding the Carbonmiata Monster Spoiler soon, so I figure I'll need some extra lifting power. If you really need EXTRA lifting power, the same company makes a kit that adds a second gas strut on the right side of the trunk.

Installation was easy and took about 10 mins.

Pros:
More lifting power than the OEM torsion bar
Lifts the trunk lid all the way open when you hit the button on the remote

Cons:
Limits the trunk lid from opening as much as the oem set up