Fiona : NB Build

[pacman 99]

Engine bay updates.

Finally decided to install my Mazdaspeed plug wires over the weekend. What usually is a 5 minute job turned out to be a 2 hr job because of all the aftermarket crap I had blocking access to the plug wires.

Had to remove in order......
1. Cowl cover
2. Engine damper
3. 3pt strut bar
4. JetStream Sparkplug Cover



Couldn't fully take out the strut bar thanks to the longer studs on the Tein Basis coilovers.



Too bad these will be covered ...they look so good.



A few weeks back I bought these stealth black C clamps from Sure Motorsports for my AutoExe intake. Sometimes I think I spend to much money on dress up items.



Installed.



And....a month ago I decided to reroute the Map/Boost vacuum lines on the passenger side of the engine bay. I moved all of these solenoids and sensors to the back of the fuse box were they are kinda hidden.



Bracket that got removed.



The next day after doing this vacuum reroute I drove the car to the airport to drop off my roommate and the car lost all power as I was leaving the terminal..... no acceleration whatsoever. I was coming down a ramp so with the momentum i managed to roll the car down and pullover. I didn't turn off the car and the idle seemed fine...I popped the hood and went straight to my rerouted vacuum lines....I figured a line must of kinked or collapsed since I did a very sloppy job and kinda just jammed all of those lines in that corner of the engine bay. I jiggled and moved them around ....and went back inside the car and turned it off. I turned the car back on and rev'd the engine and I had power again. Ever since this incident the car has been running like crap thou.

Car idles perfect with no CEL but I have no top end power under hard acceleration. Exhaust sounds louder than usual. Most power seems to be lost at 3,500 rpm's and higher. I can't really get it to rev above 4,000 rpm's unless the car is in park or neutral..even then it only goes up to 5k ish.

I figured I might have a clogged cat so I purchased a IR gun to check the temperatures of the inlet and outlet spots of the cat but the inlet was cooler than the outlet. 315 F inlet 375 F outlet. So I kinda ruled that out...Unless those temperatures are too hot?

I also did other maintenance stuff to see it would help...clean air filer, replace old pvc valve, change plug wires, test camshaft sensor with a new one....none of it helped. One thing I did noticed a bit strange was that the vacuum cap that is located on top of the intake manifold near the throttle body was almost 3/4 of the way out. It must of moved when the car lost power.

What else could it be? Fuel pump? Clogged fuel filter? Timing belt skipped a tooth? Did my MAP/boost sensor mess up? or the vacuum solenoids connected to it?


Any help/suggestions would be great.

[Ciotti]

You get those black hose clamps from these guys?

http://shop.davadmotorsports.com/ind...ort=20a&page=2


Don't know how to help with your poss of power problem, I did the same thing removing that bracket and putting everything back behind the fuse box last year and have had no problems. Maybe reverse the vacuum hoses one at a time to make sure they didn't get screwed up during the move/tuck?

[pacman 99]

You get those black hose clamps from these guys?

http://shop.davadmotorsports.com/ind...ort=20a&page=2

Don't know how to help with your poss of power problem, I did the same thing removing that bracket and putting everything back behind the fuse box last year and have had no problems. Maybe reverse the vacuum hoses one at a time to make sure they didn't get screwed up during the move/tuck?

No I got them from Street Unit.

http://www.streetunit.com/Universal_...nts_s/1752.htm



Yeah, that's another possibility ... I'll have to see a stock setup to compare. I did my best to keep track of all the vacuum lines but there's always a chance I might of screwed up.

[Kevin]

I gotta tell ya man.. I love your car, it's too good

[pacman 99]

I gotta tell ya man.. I love your car, it's too good

Thanks. The front end will get a major makeover in the next few weeks.

[pacman 99]

Package 1 arrived. These fenders have been on a 9 month journey to get here....

The quality is awesome and are extremely light. They are already drilled and set to go. Even the fender lip is gone and requires no cutting.







Package 2 containing the AutoExe front bumper is MIA. Kinda pissed off....wasn't expecting more drama. Hopefully it was placed in a different truck and will arrive eventually.

[treeafodo]

That intake is sexy! Those fenders will be sweet too.

[tanakapz]

love em, if i may ask, can you pm me the price you paid on the autoexe bumper and the jetstream fenders? i'm interested in the exact same ones.

[Weeblewobble]

Those fenders are sex.... In for pics on the car!

[pacman 99]

Yay. The missing piece.

[snake520]

Wow, what is that

[pacman 99]

NB1 AutoExe front bumper.

[—RotorNutFD3S—]

NB1 AutoExe front bumper.

I've always said that if something were to happen to my GV nose, I'd move on to an AutoExe bumper. Good choice man!

[pacman 99]

Another update of my never ending door panel project.

I had to add in a piece since I noticed I had left a pretty big gap near the footwell area of the door.



Then I bought some custom MDF rings for the door panels.




They are angled/tapered from 3/4" to 1/2"



Then they are glued to the speaker hole. They are meant to space out the door panel evenly along the door sill but I can also see it improve audio and reduce road noise from coming inside the car.



Perfect fitment and looks good.



Flush against door sill.....no gaps.



Unfortunately the spacing created by the mdf rings meant the speaker grill wont longer fit as it will hit the dash when the door is closed. I will need to find a slimmer speaker grill setup or replace the grill base with a new custom one out of metal.




On the back I reused a clip to mount the panel to the door frame. One was just enough. I cut a piece of the yellow plastic on the back of the clip to make it smaller in height and glued it to the panel using all purpose glue. It worked perfectly.



I bought a roll of weather seal to pad some areas to avoid any vibrations. The small rectangular piece at the bottom is another spacer.



I received my alcantara diamond quilted fabric just in time for the next step. Made by JPM Coachworks.



Gluing has begun.

[Ihatecars]

Very nice.
Lot's of high quality work and materials going into these door cards.