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Thread: Meet Mica

  1. #1
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    Cool Meet Mica

    (Formerly known as the Green Hornet)
    -As of today (01/08/12) My car is a 1995 Mazda Miata M' Edition, Merlot Mica which looks like this:

    I've gone through a Journey to get her like that...

    Having driven a Dark Forest green Nissan Maxima for most of my upperclassmen (high school) years had me itching to get into something else. I loved my Maxima, it was quick, torque-y, four doors, and my friends loved it. I left her at home for 10 months while I went away to Israel to study abroad with the thought of selling her off and buying a 350Z or something.
    Fast forward to 2010 and my goals weren't gonna happen. My brother crashed my car and my dad shelled money out to repair it and paint her. I quickly grew tired of not having a proper car to mod, and no matter what Ideas I had in my mind I just never got around to it.
    Clean, and boring with lots of oil leaks:




    I finally convinced my father to let me sell the Maxima so that I could get something of my own to play around with. I had several Ideas of what would be an ideal car for me at the time. I've always been around MK3 Supra's, so I wanted one. I LOVED 300ZX's, but I only really wanted a twin turbo, and those were out of my price range. Having seen plenty of Low FC's also had me wanting one, and I almost traded the Maxima for a relatively clean NA FC3S, but the rotary engine scared me away. I recall having either a Smurf Blue, or BRG Miata in the back of my mind. The time arrived that I sold my beloved Maxima for $2,100 and was left carless.

    My father felt that going down from a 97' to a car older than that would be a big mistake, thus really limiting my scope of cars that I would be able to chose. I also got antsy really quickly, because I hate having to take a bus anywhere.
    Craigslist became my friend, I would basically live on it for the two weeks before I got my car. I came to know a little more about Miatas, and recall reading stories of some very nice ones on Speedhunters, which prompted me even further to get one.

    Sure enough, I found a 95' M edition Miata, which I really didn't know much about, for a decent price. I think it was advertised for about $3,100 bucks. I didn't really care for the M edition things, I just saw the car for what it was. It had a Torsen, BBS wheels, 1.8, and cool leather seats... I drove up 100 miles with my parents to go see the car, drove it around a bit and decided to buy it. S


    I sadly don't remember the date I got her, but I know it was February 2011.
    I had joined CR* the week before, and sent money to Mr. Woolery for his cool stickers. I also got an R-Package front lip from Wes at Treasure Coast Miatas as part of the package.

  2. #2
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    I feel that I should have gone around closer to home to test drive other Roadsters, but I'm pretty impatient so I didn't really think my purchase through too much. I searched everywhere hoping that my car was some sort of OEM color, but once I got there I knew it wasn't... The engine bay, trunk, and door jambs were all Wine red.
    My brakes were pretty awful, but I figured I'd just change em. They had told me it had a newer engine with only 111k Miles, so I took what they said at face value... Oh well, there was no going back now...
    I ordered a set of Pads and Rotors from 88rotors.com, I had gone through them when I did the brake job on my last car, and they left me fairly happy.

    My old pads were pretty hideous looking, one set was off the bracket and was engraving itself onto the hub. (too bad I didn't snap a picture)
    Here's a cool picture of me being awesome with my vehicle ;)


    One morning I caught the temperature gauge going into the hot zone on my way to school, i babied it till my destination and put the heater on full blast, at the time I had a little internship/ volunteering at a local shop. A pressure test on the radiator showed a leaking water pump... I promptly ordered the parts and saved a shitload of money by doing the labor myself with the guide of a mechanic.

    I had changed the Water pump, Timing belt, Cam shaft/ Crank shaft seals, and Valve cover gasket. Obviously I neglected to get pictures of doing the work, but it went fairly smooth.
    A week later I got fed up with the stupid lifter tick and changed to Royal purple 5w/30 and was happy with that.

    I bought a K&N intake from a member on here, I ended up just installing the filter and selling the pipe to someone else.
    Somewhere along the first week of owning it the gauge cluster and other back-lighting died. so i drove around like that for like a month... I paid a guy to diagnose it and it turned out to be a relay...

    I also saved up some coin from my new job, and found a sexy steering wheel on the classifieds.
    Nardi Gara Type 3 (wood grain)

    Got it for a pretty decent price from some dude up in Canada. I also picked up a bunch of little things that my car needed like a new Gauge cluster hood, and some NB floor mats to freshen up my interior.

    Here's another cool little picture I snapped back then.


    At the time I was just enjoying the drive, going top down whenever I could. I would be on the old forum, craigslist or ebay looking for deals on cool parts I wanted.

    I remember finding an ARC Power chamber on Ebay for really cheap, I sent the seller an offer and he accepted it, so I got my Intake with a hole in it... I asked my Brother in law to get it welded up for me..



    We then threw it on:


    I sensed an improvement in throttle response, and some midrange gains. But it's all just what I felt through my BUTT- Dyno.
    People talk shit about ARC intakes and JDM products. But I'm fairly happy with my power chamber, and I didn't really spend too much money on it so it's staying on for a while. The sound definitely changed when I threw it on, sounded a lot more throaty and raspy on induction.

    A little while later, I had my eyes on getting my valve cover refinished by a forum sponsor. I wasn't too happy to have to pay for a core charge and all that garbage. At the time, Comic Artist posted a black valve cover for sale for a cheap price and I hopped on it.


    The rainy season was quickly coming and I kept on pushing off buying a new soft top...
    Mine looked like this:


    I then went ahead and did some research. R-speed.net had the best prices, along with having a website that wasn't a pain in the ass to maneuver. I pmed him and he hooked me up with a much needed discount on a Robbins Three window black canvas top.

    I went through some local guys to get the top installed... They turned it out in a couple of hours for a hell of a price.



    The ricer in me decided to order a EUNOS nose badge as well.

  3. #3
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power Andy's Avatar
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    Nice story

  4. #4
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by beatles4 View Post
    Nice story
    Thank you
    I'm trying to keep the general time line, but not outright copying everything from my other thread word for word.

    Lowering my car has been a priority for me since I got her. I've been pretty cool with the slamburglar guys out in SB and really admired how they could drive their cars daily at that ride height. But doing it at that level just isn't for me...
    I always generally drive faster than the speed limit, and don't wanna be hassled with breaking shit on my car all the time.

    I searched around for deals on forums for coilovers but everything was usually out of my price range. SLVMX5 ended up posting a set of Tokico Blues with Ebay Coilovers for sale at a decent price... I messaged him to find out more about the ride quality, and to see if he'd lower the price abit... He did and so we set up a time to swap money for his old set-up...

    I needed top hats for them, and so I ordered a set from partgroup.com at a good price. I ended up holding these in my house for the longest time without installing them.



    Ever since I could remember, I've loved the styling of RPF1's... Seeing them on Miatas made me want them even more.
    Then I saw Adams car with 14's and knew I had to have them.... Someday, haha.

    I then figured that if I wasn't going to be getting 14" RPF1's, that I'd at least get a set of 14's for cheap. I knew that E30's came in 4x100 so I quickly set out to search how'd they fit on a roadster...

    This guy was doing it right. (farmernate)


    Just a short while later I was browsing craigslist and someone had posted a set of their E30 basketweaves for sale at a crazy low price.
    I still owed my dad money for my new convertible top, so I decided that If I sold my 95M BBS wheels that I'd have some coin left over to give him... I sorta regret my decision to this day...

    The Basket weaves came white and with basically dry rotted tires. I needed the money so I settled on selling them to xbeatlesxxx for very cheap. I threw the 14's on that very day..




    I was happy for the time being not realizing the mistake I made putting these wheels on when it was raining basically everyday.

    Two days later I drove my brother to work and this happened:

    Quote Originally Posted by etikoner View Post
    No bueno
    I did the silly thing of driving my car in the wet while rushing to get my brother to work.
    Rear tires were really not in the best condition to be driving with.

    • S curve on the beach, slick roads.
    • Starts curving left, driving at about 45MPH
    • Car slides out to the left with the road starting to curve to the right side.
    • Countsteer to try and correct/ ride it out.
    • Rear end swaps with the front, my car is practically hydroplaning and i just get on the brakes.
    • Hit the median and I face the way i was driving and smack a pole coming to an abrupt stop.


    Pretty much I feel dumb for having too much confidence with my new wheels with shitty tread.
    It sucks to have hurt my car, it was a huge shock to me that I let this happen. I was able to limp the car back home, not sure yet of the extent of the damage done because I haven't taken the car to a body shop. I can't open the hood cause my bumper bent up over it...

    I'm really bummed out cause I love this car a lot. It's not nearly as well sorted as many cars on here, but it's been a nice journey to get it up to where it is.





    Still trying to figure out what I'm gonna do. I wanna fix her back up, but I know it's not gonna be the same if the chassis has been tweaked.. Fixing it the right way might cost a lot, but to be honest I'm sure cause I don't know the extent of the damage. I know if I sell her as is there's no way I'm getting the money I've put into her. Parting out may be one option but I don't have the resources or tools/space to do so.

    Very stressful situation..

  5. #5
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    I sat around depressed waiting to see what I would do. Even though I only owned the car for about 4 months, I felt that I had created a bond with it. I really didn't wanna get into another Miata that I wouldn't be totally happy with. I was going to end up selling her to a friend for cheap and get to keep lots of things so I could buy a very very clean 94M that I had found on CL. By the time I was ready to go see the car, though, I found out she was sold...

    But it's okay cause this guy (SFL_MIATA) ended up buying it and doing good things to it.


    I then had to rethink what I would do with my car... A lot of people were supportive of me, I guess I thought the damage looked worse than it was... My boss had a body shop dude that he trusted whom I had spoken to. He started off wanting around 3grand to repair and paint her. We settled for him doing it for less. Then came the choices; What color? What bumper? Blah blah. In the end I just left it up to him to get me replacement parts and to paint her in the original Color code A1Q Merlot Mica.

    I should've been on his ass more than I was and asked him to roll my fenders, but this stuff escaped me...

    He really took a lot longer than what he told me he'd take. But I was fine as long as I got her back looking pretty and working well.









    During the down time, I settled on ordering a set of 195/60-14 Falken Ziex 512's.
    I also ordered 949 racing valve stems, and asked the guy to paint the centers of my wheel gold.

    I finally got her back around two months after I brought her in!
    I fell in love again.



    I gave my brother in law my New Garage Star shift extender so that he could fab me up a custom shift knob as well.


    Damage I had done to the wheel on impact.

    and the painted replacement wheel.

  6. #6
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift I<3flippyheadlights's Avatar
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    Wow goes to show that things happen for a reason. Now you will have the car for a long time and remember it for even longer. Nice story, nice car
    1990 Miata, she was red but now she is Spirit Green!

    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....d-a-love-story <--- build thread!

    Also check out the facebook page http://www.facebook.com/IHeartFlippyHeadlights !!! Its a facebook page dedicated to the awesomeness which is flippyheadlights! Not me, but the actual headlights! High time someone noticed how awesome these things are; check it out!

  7. #7
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power Andy's Avatar
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    I feel so terrible every time I see the crashed car. I somehow feel like I had something to do with it. I am so happy that you were able to get the car fixed and look awesome. Now bring it to our miami meets.

  8. #8
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! WASABI's Avatar
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    Way to go etikoner! It's an amazing story. It's good to see that she's a Merlot again.

    -Jim

  9. #9
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by I<3flippyheadlights View Post
    Wow goes to show that things happen for a reason. Now you will have the car for a long time and remember it for even longer. Nice story, nice car
    Basically that's exactly how I feel now. I really was just pissed off at myself for having crashed like that, but I guess it was just a blessing in disguise.

    Quote Originally Posted by beatles4 View Post
    I feel so terrible every time I see the crashed car. I somehow feel like I had something to do with it. I am so happy that you were able to get the car fixed and look awesome. Now bring it to our miami meets.
    Read above, haha. It's all good man, you didn't force me to sell em to you. Work's been kicking my ass, but if you guys do this sunday morning I may be able to make it, lol.
    Quote Originally Posted by WASABI View Post
    Way to go etikoner! It's an amazing story. It's good to see that she's a Merlot again.

    -Jim
    Thanks a lot! Means a lot coming from you, haha. Your car is an inspiration.

    I LOVE Merlot Mica. Such a classy color, lol.

  10. #10
    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    Nice recap and summary of this car. I have to see this thing in person, but I'm glad you stuck with the car after the accident and painted it the original color.
    Although I suspect you haven't spoke about a few additions to the car

  11. #11
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! yosh95m's Avatar
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    nice color.... and nice car looks good
    - 95 M Edition

    - 04 Ti MSM

    "Life's simple make choices and don't look back"

    S & S Upholstery... like us on facebook.. www.facebook.com/sandsupholstery

  12. #12
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    Getting my car back from the body shop only meant that I was half way done with her.

    My Horn still didn't work from my Nardi wheel install. My gauge cluster/ tail light relay had gone out on the drive home. My car would smell funny and shut off on me, and my tires were still shitty dry-rotted tires.

    I changed my relay the same day, as well as poured some coolant into the new replacement radiator and let it run with the cap off to let the bubble come out.

    I also researched tire prices. I've wanted a set of Azenis for the longest but I just couldn't justify paying the premium for them if I wasn't gonna put them to good use. Also - It rains a lot in Miami so I wouldn't wanna risk hydroplaning with a set of them in the future due to wear.
    I had found a local guy selling a new set of Toyo RA1's for 300 dollars (killer price) but they were 225/50/14 and were just wayy to wide for my wheels. I like the fatter sidewall of 14's but I don't want balloon tires either.

    I settled on a new set of Ziex's. I had bought a set of 912's for the Maxima and liked them, but whenever it would rain I'd spin the wheels like crazy with a minor stab of the throttle. 512's were cheaper but almost no-one had them in stock.

    I found em very cheap on some random website- around 58 each without shipping. And I sent a link to discounttiredirect.com for a price match.
    The guy sent me an email and asked for me to call in to see what he could do for me. They ended up having some new 512's in stock and offered me the tires for -$54 each shipped. I bought em right then...

    They arrived the next week and I changed them the same day. I had ordered some silver aluminum valve stems from 949racing for around -$18 and had them install them as well.

    Oh, and I threw on the Eunos badges as well. Cool picture my brother edited :


    The very next day I headed to my good buddies shop space to throw on my new suspension set-up so we could lower my car.
    I suck at taking pics when doing work on my car. SO I didn't take any




    This was basically as low as the threads would let us go. I was still on the stock NB top hats in the rear.

    I always drive fast so on the way home I bottomed out nasty on the highway and blew my radio fuse, hah.

    It still handled relatively nicely when the roads were smooth, but the rear was pretty much unbearable with the bottoming out.



    I also bought the set of Mazdaspeed plug wires from Mild7

    Last edited by etikoner; 01-13-2012 at 04:18 PM.

  13. #13
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Calebbel's Avatar
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    Its lookin' good

  14. #14
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power Andy's Avatar
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    Nice. If you ever need help let me know.

  15. #15
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    An important thing for me was finding the right exhaust. I always wanted an Artech exhaust with a turn down tip... IIRC he quoted me around 375 for a 2.25 straight through cat back exhaust with a resonator and turn down style tip. The price wasn't bad but I never bit the bullet. Some more rare model exhaust popped up for sale from japan, but 600 bucks was out of my price range as well. I also toyed with the idea of an ARC titanium exhaust, but a few PMs to and from the guy with a silver rotary NA8 (AJ?) kindly let me know that I should expect to pay a premium to find one and make a purchase.

    All the while I always had the Fujitsubo RM-01A in the back of my mind. I had read the threads that 949racing had created about the exhaust. It weighed in at about 17 lbs and was really good quality. I was prepared to save up 700 bucks and buy one because I felt it was the best alternative for me.

    A week later I walked into a muffler shop and asked to see what they could do for me.... I ended up walking out wanting to punch the guy for trying to sell me a $400 subpar system with what could be shitty welds. lol, well maybe I didn't wanna punch him but he had me face-palming myself.

    I digress. I found a killllerrrr deal on a brand new Fujitsubo RM-01A from Evasive motorsports. I even called in to make sure it was not a typo... Long story short:




    I was stoked! This piece of piping made me promise myself that I'd only buy their brand exhaust on any other car I own. (unless of course I happen to ever get my hands on an ARC made exhaust.)

    Oh, and I also got a good deal on some ISC Racing top hats from Arun (imput1234) on cr.

    Here's a cute picture of my car.

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