This ain't no build thread!

[chiefmg]

Pictures:





The picture of the header shows how clean I was able to get most of it, closer to the flange there is discoloration but I got rid of the majority of the corrosion. I have to wait until tomorrow to finish assembly, the dealer has none of the dipstick tube O-rings on the shelf. I'm getting 4 just to have them on hand since I seem to pull the tube quite a bit.

[chiefmg]

O-rings came in early this morning so I have everything buttoned back up. Only took 1 1/2 hours to put the 'charger back in with all the ancillary bits installed. From some recent research it appears it is now recommended to connect the wideband ground to the power ground wire on the ECU (last place I had it hooked up was on the intake manifold where the ECU base ground is). Can't figure out which of the wires that would be so I've sent a message to Reverant asking him for help.

[chiefmg]

Looked at the Ohlins when I got home last night, they sure are pretty. Hope they ride as well as they look. So far this morning I've checked measurements and set them per the instructions. PO had them about 1/2" lower and none of the springs had any preload.

I had to send some pictures of the circuit cards inside my MS to Reverant so he could tell me which wire he used as the power ground.

[chiefmg]

Got the Ohlins installed, NSFW picture:



Reconnected the wideband where it was, I had the boost gauge ground connected to it before but they are now divorced. With everything back together I took a little test drive. Didn't push it a lot due to temps and dampness, but the ride is very nice. The bypass actuator was hanging up a little so I had to make a minor adjustment.

[Demon I Am]

Ah, look, I've gone and wet me self

[chiefmg]

I know, I had to hose out the garage.

[chiefmg]

Beautiful day here, so I was up early and washed her. Drove to cars & coffee with the wife, had a good time catching up with some friends. This afternoon I removed the Carbon Miata extenders, I don't feel they are safe with how the belts won't retract. I may try using a different spacer configuration. Also took a drive to do some autotuning of the MS.

Impressions of the Ohlins: driving the car with them shows how good suspension can be. They soaked up the usual bumps on the routes I drove that had the VMaxxes dancing around. Handling around curves is very good as well, I can't push it a lot as the alignment is off (I could feel things were a little light, like letting go light) but everything points to a major advancement. I am very glad I bought these.

[chiefmg]

Pulled the MS this morning and proceeded to rewire the ground for the wideband. I heard back from Reverant but the wires he told me didn't make sense based on previous information from him. So I pulled out my manual and a diagram I found on line, crossed all my multiple digits and put a take-off in. Got it all back together and she wouldn't start. Thought maybe I had screwed up majorly so connected the wideband ground back where I had it and checked all the fuses. All were good so looked around some more, and found I had only connected two of the factory connectors to the MS patch cord. With that corrected she fired up. AFRs are much closer now, only about 0.3 difference between the gauge and TunerStudio. I loaded the software from Innovate and tomorrow will be adding a correction factor to adjust the input to the MS so it sees what the sensor sees.

[chiefmg]

Did the correction factor thing, but due to my misunderstanding initially I changed the numbers in both the wideband and the MS. Got that corrected so it's now only in the MS (that is easier for me to change with my installation). I dropped the Ohlins as much as I could, which was only 9mm but it looks good without being slammed. Had a little drive today and I like it. Now to get an alignment this week.

[chiefmg]

Yesterday I received my package of switches for my next little project:

[chiefmg]

Small project for today. You may recall the new radio has power to the antenna constantly, so it is always in the raised position. Someone on Miata.net said he installed a switch to handle this so I decided to go that route. I found the SPST (single pole single throw) switch in my previous post on Amazon, got 10 of them for $12 shipped. I was thinking about installing it in the radio surround but it didn't look like it would fit. I prepared everything to install it in the ashtray, but while I had things out I made some templates so I can replace the plastic side radio mounts with metal ones. With the surround in hand I took some measurements and was pleasantly surprised to find the switch would fit. A little work with a drill bit, a razor knife and a file and I ended up with this:





Works great, now I won't have the antenna up creating drag if I'm listening to a CD or using the BlueTooth.

[Demon I Am]

pretty clever solution

[—tsingson—]

Looking good. I am a little confused though. I see pictures. I thought you don't do pictures?

[chiefmg]

pretty clever solution

Thanks Tony.

Looking good. I am a little confused though. I see pictures. I thought you don't do pictures?

That is true. I'm conducting an experiment. I basically have this thread across several forums, all of them get a lot of views without many comments. I'm going to see if having more pictures generates commentary.

[MemphisMiata]

How do you like that Nakamichi H/U?