SWMBO?
Your wife. She who must be obeyed.
tsingson (02-14-2019)
I think if I go stiffer on the setting, she probably wouldn't like it but where it is set right now, she is fine with it. I am probably going to raise it just a tad more.
So I am probably going to go more old man mode as I will be pulling the vent windows and going back to stock. As much as I like the breeze they bring in, I like the noise reduction a bit better.
I drive mine at full-soft around town. I mess with the settings at the track.
tsingson (02-14-2019)
So a few weeks have gone by. I have driven it quite a bit since the install of the Xidas and I will say, they are freaking awesome. The ride is comfy but still allows me to test each turn. I ALWAYS take the long way home now. I find every excuse to go out and drive it. I did have a little annoying squeak on bigger bumps and found that the spring would slightly rub the rubber cover on the top of the shock. I reached out to Steven (KFJ) and he had the same idea I had. I rubbed a little bit of Shin Etsu grease on the rubber seal and BAM! No more squeaks. So are they worth it? As everyone else who has purchased them has said, yes, yes and YES! The car is becoming the comfy daily with a little wild side that I have been trying to transition to. Hardtop was adjusted and the OEM sail windows were reinstalled so noise has been brought down to a minimum. Thinking of even removing the MS rear section and just keep the cool intake noises but that might be getting too far ahead.
Agent☣Orange (03-22-2019),Greasemonkey2000 (03-22-2019),HarryB (03-22-2019),kung fu jesus (03-21-2019),MiataQuest (03-22-2019)
KFJ suggested Godzilla grease, what? And you believed him?
No todo que es oro brilla.
tsingson (03-22-2019)
If it works..........
So I have some updates.
I was getting tired of the yellowing headlights so I bought the Meguires headlight kit with the drill attachment.
Started with this:
After an hour or so, I got this.
On this pic, the passenger side is untouched and the driver's side is complete.
Before:
After:
It may be hard to see the difference in pictures but in person, it's huge. I also changed out my headlights for the Osram H4 Nightbreaker Laser. No pictures of it but they are pretty bright. Not like the LEDs I had before but I am ok with that.
Next was the airbag light that would flash on me. I tried to see if using the airbag defeat would work. It didn't. I did a little more research and saw that it might be the clockspring. I called Jason at usedmiatapartsonline.com as he is local and bought a new (used) clockspring.
Problem solved. No more airbag light flashes.
After that, I was getting the CEL for the cat. The car is coming up for inspection and I bought myself a year to get it done so I had to bite the bullet. I was looking into after market midpipes but I didn't want to make it any louder. I ended up buying a used one but it was from a California car so there was no bung after the cat in the midpipe. Luckily, Ethan (SigmaX) is replacing his entire exhaust and gave me his midpipe. The piping looks just a little bit thicker than mine was and he still had the resonator. In the picture, you can see the previous owner cut it out and had a pipe welded in there.
After firing it up, there was a noticeable decrease in sound. I absolutely love it. When WOT, the intake is the loudest part. The CEL has been erased and after 2 weeks of driving it, it has not come back. Time to get it inspected.
I also ended up getting a new (used) alternator. The pulley on mine was rubbing against the actual housing and would squeal like crazy. After cleaning it up, I installed it. No more squeals and it looks like my interior lights are a bit brighter.
Here it is installed:
Ended up taking the wheels off and cleaning them while they were in the air.
I also adjusted the Xidas to full soft. The ride is so plush now. For everyday driving, this is the setting I like. Very comfortable for the street but still pretty capable when I want it. In the future, I will take them off and put something in between the spring isolater and the top hat. It's metal to metal and sometimes I can hear clunking. No big deal but will do it when I get a moment.
Next up is some interior stuff and the brakes.
Greasemonkey2000 (05-01-2019),HarryB (05-01-2019),kung fu jesus (05-01-2019),MiataQuest (05-02-2019)
Looks great Anthony! Sometimes these series of little fixes are the most gratifying. Nice work!
tsingson (05-01-2019)
It's a decent amount of work getting them out, but if you clearcoat those freshly restored headlights within the next couple months, they won't yellow again. Use something like one of those 2 part clear coat spray cans. Those hold up a thousand times better than rattle can single part Krylon clear.
And a breathing mask. Use a particle filter mask when spraying that stuff.
HarryB (05-02-2019),kung fu jesus (05-02-2019),tsingson (05-02-2019)
The kit came with PlasticX or something like that. It applied clear and I had to let it dry for 15 minutes before touching. I also couldn't get the car wet for at least 24 hours. Will that do the same thing?
Probably not. A true clear coat is the best solution, Anthony. When I had my paint guy clear coat my headlights for my Bullitt it was a big difference, cost me $50/each iirc.
'01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
'97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
Instagram: @greasemonkey2000
tsingson (05-02-2019)
Literally just bought a can of clear to do my wife's headlights. If you don't clear coat them, they'll start to oxidize again in about a month outdoors. Garaged will probably last longer.
kung fu jesus (05-02-2019),tsingson (05-02-2019)
Agreed. Two-part clear is the way to go. Its not too difficult to remove the lights, but the bumper does have come off. The first time is always the hardest, but its a good Saturday job. You can re polish the lenses, clear them in the driveway, reinstall everything on Sunday.
tsingson (05-02-2019)