scsi's 99 Sport STR Build

[scsi]

Introduction

Building my car for SCCA Solo Street Touring Roadster (STR). Have been racing Solo for a few years now and this is my first real build for class so it has been a fun and exciting learning experience.

[scsi]

History

had an 04 RX8 for a while, this is the car i had prior to my NB. was my daily and SCCA Solo II autox car (mostly STU, then went to SM for a couple events). eventually i got an 05 xB to daily so this car sat out in front of the house except for weekends and race days. as a college student, i decided that perhaps a miata would be a wiser choice as a race car so i sold it.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/rx8_01.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/rx8_02.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/rx8_03.jpeg

[scsi]

bought my 1999 Mazda Miata Sport in June 09. Silver, 5-spd, Sport package, Appearance package, manual steering, windows, mirrors, locks.

came with tein flex coilovers, racing beat intake, fart can muffler welded to stock midpipe, short shifter, black hard top, black/polished lip sportmax 002

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata_01.jpg

borrowed some rims to race on because the 002 were not fit properly and would have scrubbed everything. i was happy to sell those rims

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata_03.jpg

the day i sold my black hard top, in a driveway made it look lower and i wish it always looked that low. those are mini cooper 16s

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata_04.jpg

[scsi]

built it up for autox, ran in CSP though it was far from any remotely serious CSP build

upgraded the stock flex spring rates from 7k/6k to 10k/7k, enkei rpf1 14x7 +28 with 225/50/14 kumho v710, hard dog hard core hard top single diagonal roll bar with padding vinyl cover and bolt in harness bar, pink bubbly shift knob, sonicmotor vs3 (bride replica) racing seat

also, the fart can exhaust fell off at an Evo school so i picked up an un-chopped oe midpipe and an MSM axleback

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4377535897_af75edbaac_b.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata_02.jpeg

i really should have been running 255 hoosiers, but being my first manual steering car, i wanted to ease into the transition with narrower tires

documented my experience picking up the new-at-the-time enkei rpf1 in 14x7 +28


http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3473.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3476.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3479.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3484.jpg

ill try to get some pics of them mounted on the car this weekend, this is all i have for now
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3488.jpg

ok guys heres some pics of 1 wheel test fitted on the car. for completeness, here's some specs

1999 Mazda Miata Sport
Enkei RPF1 14x7 +28
Kumho Ecsta V710 225/50/14

notes:
99-00 sport brakes are not bigger, same size as the normal 1.8 brakes
i should have measured, but if i had to guess there was about 3mm of space between the caliper and spokes
please forgive the rusty rotors
i want more low
+19 would not fit too well w/ 225s
i know my camber specs are kinda funky right now. plan to get some offset UCA bushings soon
also want to pull fenders a little

enjoy!

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3496.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3498.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3501.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3504.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3507.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3510.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3512.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_3513.jpg

[scsi]

some time early 2010 i shipped my car from Oahu to the Big Island for an Evolution School which got half cancelled due to a tsunami from south america

anyway, to get it on the boat, i needed 5" of ground clearance from the lowest point under the car. here's my friend who co-drove the car with me as we are picking the car up at the dock on the Big Island. XXR 501 15x8 +15 with 205/50/15 Bridgestone Potenza RE-11. the car was lowered back down for the actual event, then we had to raise it up again to ship it back (yay coilovers). sadly, no action shots from during the event :(

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/evoschool-01.jpg

while we were there, my friend was driving and i noticed something odd... the muffler was swaying back and forth wtf o_O well, when he got back we found that the muffler uncapped itself so we just took it off the hangers...

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/evoschool-02.jpg

i don't even know why i shipped the muffler back with the car

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/evoschool-03.jpg

had a set of V2 Competition 13x8 +20 for a while and finally happened upon a used set of 255/40/13 Hoosier A6 some time in 2011

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/v2miata/Untitled-1.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/v2miata/Untitled-2.jpg

[scsi]

on street duty it used to look like this

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/IMG_5097.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/IMG_5113.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/IMG_5117.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/IMG_5122.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/IMG_5127.jpg

also tried putting it all the way down, didn't drive it like this

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/IMG_5089.jpg

just being silly, spare rims to slide on, red hard top from a red NA project that i gave up on. sold that red hard top too

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata_05.jpg

TRM C3 15x9 +36, i liked the C1 better but somehow my friend talked me into selling them to him so i tried these out

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata_06.jpg

[scsi]

decided to sell the car and try something different, wanted to go with a mid engine so had my sights set on an MR2 Spyder. drove my friend's 1st gen MR2 with a silvertop swap in SSM for half a season. loved the car but he decided he needed to sell it. the guy who was supposed to buy my car had to bail and i decided i'll keep the car until i can afford an exige

all of the above was been between getting the car in 09 until maybe mid 2011? car was pretty stale since then

the car was parted out (coilovers, roll bar, 13s, rpf1s, gone).

car looked like this for a little while. all it had left was the rb intake, short shifter and bubbly knob, msm axleback, and 15x7 F8F watanabes

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7175603734_71f5439782_b_d.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata_07.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata-20120521-01.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata-20120521-02.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/miata-20120521-03-ps.jpg

[scsi]

The Build

and so it began, summer 2012, the solo season where im at starts in july so i began ordering parts. Xida-S 700/450, RB 1.125" tubular front sway with blocks, supermiata endlinks, and 15x9 6UL in matte black all from emilio at 949. my friend and codriver for the season got some 225/45/15 hankook ventus r-s3 for us from tirerack

weighed the car in "stock" form in my garage on a borrowed set of scales. the real way to do this i hear is to actually level the scales first, but that's too much work and i'm still on stock suspension so I just wanted to get a ball park figure. what I ended up doing was taking some weights with the front in first, then the same weights again with the rear of the car in first, then averaging the 2. if my thinking here is flawed please let me know, but again it wasn't very important to be accurate, just looking for ball park baseline figures. in fact, i've never weighed a car before so if anything is wrong here definitely let me know lol! the total weights seem to still be relevant anyway

so with that in mind as well as other variables not accounted for and forces from the wind and the alignment of the moon blah blah blah, here are the results!

the car was about 2285lbs, a little less than a half tank of gas, the spare tire kit (the spare, the jack, and the board with the tools clipped to it) is about 24-25lbs (i put the main carpet back in to cover up the spare tire well), and i weighed myself on one of the scales at 140lbs

and the averaged corner weights with me in the car, top down, no spare and kit
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/corner_weights.png

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/scales.jpg

[scsi]

weighed in at 8lbs for the bar alone. the sway bar was a huge bitch to install, particularly the reinforcement blocks. i just hope that we did it right. i later found out that i think i got sent the wrong blocks (PS version and I don't have PS), so i hope that doesn't matter. the end links were a bit confusing at first, but i think i got those sorted out ok as well.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/swaybar-00.jpg

and the coilovers, way smoother than my 10/7k tein flex.

they came with eibachs in front and hypercos in the rear.
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/xida-01.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/xida-02.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/xida-03.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/xida-04.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/xida-05.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120609-01.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120609-02.jpg

also removed the stock strut bar

[scsi]

tried on a friend's rims, varrstoen v1 15x9 +15 with 195/50/15 dunlop direzza z101

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/varrstoen_test-01.jpg

also got my race seat (sonicmotor vs3) back and reinstalled it, removed the cockpit brace (installed by prev owner), and a friend cleaned my engine bay.

[scsi]

temporary and with borrowed hardtop

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120629-00.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120629-01.jpg

the new street wheels, Konig Flatout 15x8 +25 Magnesium Blue, swapped tires off of the watanabes. left is in the shade, right is in the sun

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120629-konigflatout-00.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120630-00.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120630-01.jpg

and the race setup, 15x9 +36, Black, Gen. III 6UL (http://949racing.com/15x9-6ul-black.aspx) and 225/45/15 Hankook Ventus R-S3

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/6UL-RS3-01.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20120701-00.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_0011.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/IMG_0015.jpg

[scsi]

first event in the car, the car felt awesome, but still has a long way to go. shock was contacting the upper arms up front and the rear passenger shock is contacting the axle so i raised the whole car a little

http://www.sccahawaii.org/pics2012/solo-072912-jon2/dsc_0016.jpg

later in the season. hot brakes?

http://www.sccahawaii.org/pics2012/solo-110412-jon1/xdsc_0379.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Hs6b0D0pYS.jpg

http://www.sccahawaii.org/pics2012/solo-110412-jon1/xdsc_0380.jpg.pagespeed.ic.URbp9b8jZ6.jpg

yet a different event, a friend slapped his cam on my car for a run. i was surprised to see the tender spring actually working, and even more surprised to see how much the tire deflects

bpZ7FNPR2PE?hd=1

[scsi]

picked up some teflon window guides a while back from Miata_B_racing over at mnet. here's a link to his latest kit which is the same as what i got but now he's also including some shin etsu grease, some cable clips, and what appears to be updated instructions which look to be much better than before:
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=481662

i actually only installed them on the passenger side of my car so far just because i'm lazy. it's a pretty simple install though. i found this guide to be helpful:
http://www.miata.net/garage/window_guide_replacement_NB.pdf

as well as a couple posts from Scrat's build (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/89-roadster-projects/37163-scrat.html) by black roadster:
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/1116809-post857.html
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/1118546-post865.html

need to open up my door one more time to try and realign some things since i now have a small gap between the window and the door

here's a shot of the original guide next to the new teflon one. when i opened my door up, the guide wasn't even attached to the window anymore, it was just kind of hanging out in the guide rail..

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/window_guides.jpg

[jux]

Fun to see the progression of your car!
Reminds me that I need to swap out my window guides. lol

[scsi]

glad you like it!

to be honest, i didnt get around to doing the driver side window yet bc i'm lazy :(

[scsi]

order from mazda motorsports

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/mazdamotorsports-order-20121119.jpg

after a race early on in the season i noticed some light blue plastic bits on my carpet. on the way home i noticed that the clutch pedal was making a clicking noise when released all the way and it would come up a little higher. after some searching i found a thread at mnet (http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=284379)

turns out this clutch stopper is a common failure (part no. B001-43-029, "RUBBER STOPPER"). the new part is black. a white "button" pushes up against this when the clutch is released. i believe i read that it deactivates cruise control, which i don't even have, but the sound and feel of the clutch pedal just didn't feel right without it. really easy install, it just pops right in

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/clutch-stopper.jpg

wtf is that?
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/main-fuse-00.jpg

oh, it's just the main fuse. wait.. wut?
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/main-fuse-01.jpg

that definitely doesn't look right...
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/main-fuse-02.jpg

2 nuts holding the box to the chassis on the fender side, 1 bolt on each side of the fuse, one accessible from inside the box and the other on the opposite side of the box there's a plastic flap you need to get behind

turret fluid was low so i sucked as much of it as i could out with a syringe (it was a very dark grey/green color) and put in some Amsoil Manual Transmission & Transaxle Gear Lube 75W-90 (http://www.amsoil.com/catalog.aspx?code=MTGQT-EA) same as what i later put into the trans itself.

changed out the nylon shifter bushing for the aluminum Mazdaspeed part (part no. 0000-02-9402, "BUSHING, SHIFTER (1/2")")

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/shifter-bushing.jpg

and changed the small shift boot as well since mine was torn off basically. learned that there are 2 small boots, the newer one is part no. M513-17-480(A) and the older one is part no. M514-17-480(A). For some reason, it looks like my car came with the older version o_O however, i triple checked the part no. on mazda motorsports since the part i got looked different from what i had, and after a little more digging i found that the newer version can be used on the older NA6 cars all the way up, but you can't use the older part on the newer cars (94+) wonder why mine had the older part...

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/small-boot.jpg

you can also see some of the short shifter that my car came with. don't know what kind it is, after looking around a bit i think it is cobalt but no confirmation

my large boot was torn apart as well but i opted not to change it. as i understand it, the large boot is just to basically keep noise and fumes out of the car


some good reading to get the jobs done:
Miata Maintenance - http://www.miata.net/garage/trans/everything.html
Replacing Miata Shift Boots - http://www.camsmx5.com/Resources/techshift/techshift.html
Short Shifter Installation - http://www.miata.net/garage/shortshifter/index.html
Changing Gearlever Seals - http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/forums/t/201.aspx

did the trans fluid and diff fluid as well. use a 16mm 12-point socket for the transmission fill plug. didn't change any of the crush washers this time around. Amsoil MTGQT Manual Transmission & Transaxle Gear Lube 75W-90 (http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/transmission-fluid/manual/manual-transmission-and-transaxle-gear-lube-75w-90/?code=MTGQT-EA) in the trans and Amsoil SVGQT Severe Gear 75W-90 (http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/gear-lube/severe-gear-75w-90/?code=SVGQT-EA) in the diff

[scsi]

On November 10th, Flyin' Miata held a surprise birthday sale celebrating their 29th year in business (http://flyinmiata.com/us/history.php) by offering up to $25 off shipping, so i finally pulled the trigger on their "Little Big Brake Kit (http://flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=4539&parentid=0&stocknumber=14-16150%20%2010%20INCH)"

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/lbbk-00.jpg

started on the Flyin' Miata LBBK, just bolting things together. did it a little differently from the included instructions.

unbolted the stock caliper and bracket and set it to the side, stock line still connected to the car. nice anodized purple caliper bracket bolted to the car. had to bend the heat shield back for it (and subsequently the caliper) to fit.
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/lbbk-01.jpg

new caliper and stainless line ready to go in. a little concerned about how much thread is left showing going into the caliper, but FM warns that it is NTP and not to over tighten and strip it. just tighten till it's snug.
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/lbbk-02.jpg

rotors and calipers on, pads in place, looks great. it blows my mind how easy it is to change pads
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/lbbk-03.jpg

test fit of a very dirty 15x9 6UL, gets within about 3-5mm right at the mounting pad, but at the face of the caliper i can fit my finger between it and the spokes.
http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/lbbk-04.jpg

tried connecting the new ss lines to the hard lines, but it kept leaking. i plugged the stock stuff back in to address later.

well after a lot of frustration and learning, finished the brake install. the new lines were scored which is where the leak came from and Keith at FM had new lines to me right away despite the holiday season. Thanks Keith!!

thank goodness i called them because they said absolutely do not use teflon tape at any of the junctions. now i know a little bit about flare and NPT fittings.

flushed out the entire system with superblue, broke in the new rotors with 50 miles of easy driving and braking per FM's instructions (never heard of doing this before), and bedded in the pads was pretty much my first activity on New Year's morning before i even went to sleep for the night :P the rotors turned a really nice blue/bronze color, unfortunately it was a bit difficult to capture in pics.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/lbbk-05.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20130102-00.jpg

[scsi]

some header research...

Header Comparison Test
http://www.racingbeat.com/mazda/performance/headers/header-comparison-test.html

4:1 Header Development (4 into 1)
http://www.racingbeat.com/mazda/performance/headers/4-1-header-development.html

ended up with a maxim works unit based on review by Quinn over at CR

http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/342788-post63.html
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/343805-post75.html
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/343807-post76.html
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/889354-post278.html

11lbs on my scale. many many thanks to Rod at tetsuyagarage! the issue i face is keeping EGR for class and this header has no provision for it.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/mw-header-00.jpg

stock manifold, heat shields, and front pipe weigh in at 26.5lbs on my scale. pretty excited for over 15lbs off the front end and some added power.

so the header and new EGR were "installed" to make sure there would be no fitment issues and to give myself a preview of the EGR addition. i was able to slip the header in easily by myself and it doesn't appear to come close to contacting anything.

the bracket that holds the stock front pipe to the bell housing needs to be removed. the bracket welded on to the maxim header does not reach the same mounting location like i thought it would. i don't think there will be any issues caused by not being able to bolt it down here. for my own future reference, i found the torque specs of the bell housing bolts to be 48-65 ft-lbs. if you need, more torque specs can be found here (http://www.miata.net/garage/torque.html)

the O2 sensor is a little further down stream between the collector and the flex pipe compared to the OE sensor location, but there is plenty of slack in the wiring harness and plenty of room for the O2 sensor to fit where it ends up right next to the transmission fill hole

The new EGR pipe doesn't end up perpendicular to the header like the 99-00 pipe did. it is angled toward the center of the car and also perhaps even slightly downward. i'm going to want at least a 2" fitting so that i can cut and angle it properly. i'd really prefer if the welder (whoever i find to do it) could see it all in person

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/mw-header-01.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/mw-header-02.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/mw-header-03.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/egr-01.jpg

was not able to find a bung in time and get that sorted so the stock manifold and front pipe are back in the car. this saga is to be continued...

[scsi]

picked up an AEM intake to replace my racingbeat. main reason for the change is there is a plastic baffle which is potentially not removable per ST* rules (inconclusive) so i'd rather err on the safe side. RB intake doesn't allow use of this piece. the AEM also has less bends and is a bit lighter

RB Tube, Filter, bracket, OEM connecting tube, and hose clamps: 5.5lbs
AEM tubes, filter, couplers, and hose clamps: 2.5lbs

i wanted the polished version, but found this one used locally for a good deal so i got it anyway. looks pretty nice.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/intake-aem-00.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/intake-aem-01.jpg

the tube closest to the filter is supposed to bolt to the power steering bracket, but i don't have power steering...

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/intake-aem-02.jpg

need to fab up my own mounting point so the RB went back into the car for now

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/intake-rb-00.jpg

[scsi]

i think the eyeball vents look pretty cool and unique

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20130106-00.jpg

but they do tend to droop over time and it is a bit troubling that they'll blow air at the passenger area even if you don't have a passenger. it never bothered me enough to do something about it, but then i happened upon an interesting thread here

Eyeball vent alternatives? (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/21-interior-sponsored-rev9-autosport/49155-eyeball-vent-alternatives.html)

which eventually led me to this excellent writeup about using 3rd gen mitsubishi eclipse (00-05) louver style air vents by member MJohnny (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/5064-mjohnny.html)

NB Eyeball Vent Alternative - Louver Type (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/86-diy-how-writeups/49265-eyeball-vent-alternative-louver-type.html)

additional thanks to 01BRGSE (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/13812-01brgse.html) for his post HERE (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/968535-post79.html)

and RotorNutFD3S (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/1393-rotornutfd3s.html) for his post as well HERE (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/970679-post84.html)

the install was really easy. honestly, the hardest part was removing the eyeball vents. to add some of my own notes:
- the 2 holes in the eclipse vent are different sizes from each other
- i used the larger of the 2 holes as a reference for where to cut, and cut them out completely to avoid having an additional edge to potentially get caught on something
- i used painters tape to mark off where i wanted to cut
- placed on top of a block of wood so that i could keep the vent flat and have the trim ring hang over the edge

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/eclipse_vent-00.jpg

vent installed, closed

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/eclipse_vent-01.jpg

open and still able to rotate

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/eclipse_vent-02.jpg

all 4 vents are installed now. the right most vent shown above works great. the other 3 don't rotate as easily and may pop out if i attempt to rotate them. i may fiddle with them a little more later, but i have them set where i want them and can still open and close them just fine.

[scsi]

Removing Eyeball Vents from an NB

As I mentioned above in the louver vent post, the hardest part was actually figuring out how to get the eyeball vents out without breaking anything.

Many people found success simply using brute force to pull them out, some using string/rope or ziptie(s) threaded into the vent to provide better grip, or using pliers or vice grip to grab the vent (but risk marring them up). I didn't want to take any chance of breaking the tabs holding the vents in so the idea of simply pulling them was out.

Some have been able to pry them out using a very small screwdriver. I found this ineffective and also left a small indentation in my dash. Great.

I've also read about using credit cards or other thinner cards and sliding them between the dash and the vent. I made several attempts with different cards I had around the house and was also unsuccessful.

Below is what I believe is the best/safest way to remove the vents.


Introduction

Tools:
Flat head screwdriver ~6"
Some sort of hook.. thing.. (you'll see in the pics below)

Beginning with the end in mind, here is what you hope to see when you successfully remove your vents. All 4 in the NB look the same in there with 2 tabs, one on either side of the vent. Hopefully a previous owner hasn't already broken those tabs. I hear NAs have different sizes for the side vents and the 2 in the tombstone.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-00.jpg

Here is what the vent looks like. You can see the notch where the plastic tabs on the dash clip in to. There is also one on each side of the vent.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-01.jpg


Side Vent Removal

Begin by removing the vent on top of the dashboard right above the eyeball vents, simply pry up with your hands, it's pretty easy.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-02.jpg

Here is what that vent looks like once removed.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-03.jpg

Use the flathead screwdriver to gently pry the tab away from the vent. I chose the 6" screwdriver because there's limited space due to the windshield.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-04.jpg

Here is another view of what you're aiming to accomplish above.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-05.jpg

That takes care of the tab on the out-board side of the car. The vent still won't come out at this point, but it is now free of that tab. For the in-board tab, this is where I used the hook. I went into the eyeball vent from the outermost opening and hooked it around the backside of the vent body itself. Pull gently toward you and toward the center of the vent and it was enough to unclip the tab.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-06.jpg

The vent slid right out. Here you can see how the vent was hooked.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-07.jpg


Center Console Vents

I removed the radio and din pocket to allow easy access to the bottom side of the vents. Use the flathead to pry the tabs one at a time on each vent and pull the vents out. Here is another reason I selected the 6" screwdriver, it easily fits inside of where the radio and din pocket go. In the pic you can see what you're working with.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/remove_eyeball-08.jpg

Hope that helps someone some day!

[scsi]

now we are all caught up. this weekend is 3 full days of evo schooling. next week i will be visiting a fabricator to talk about options for adding EGR to the header. also want to get that AEM intake bolted down properly. still lots more to do!

[scsi]

a couple pics from the dec 2012 event

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20121216-00.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20121216-01.jpg

[jux]

That's pretty comprehensive! Dang.

Thanks for the bit about that pedal stopper thingy. Had blue chunks fall on my feet like five years ago and never knew. This is a huge help, even for such a small part. :)

For the intake, my monsterflow has an "arm" that runs across to a cam cover bolt. It still shakes plenty, but I have no fear of it falling off. Maybe that might be a good mounting point for the AEM unit. Can get a pic tomorrow if ya like.

[scsi]

glad i could help!

and i would certainly like to see how your monsterflow is mounted. i believe the K&N typhoon system also mounts up there somewhere. pretty much anywhere that I can find some free bolts. hopefully it won't be too difficult

thanks!

[Johnnie]

Nice!

[scsi]

thanks!

[jux]

Oop... I'll get a pic for ya during lunch tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

[scsi]

no problem at all!

[jux]

63776378
Hope those help. :)

[scsi]

thanks for the pics! definitely giving me some ideas

[scsi]

engine mounts are in. passenger side looked ok but was starting to separate, driver side was completely separated. i found these 2 links helpful:
http://forum.miata.net/vb/printthread.php?t=204971
http://bellsouthpwp.net/P/o/PopVII/Greddy%20Part%20II.htm

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/enginemount-00.jpg

thanks to corytomo for quickly making me a bracket for my AEM intake since i don't have power steering, as well as an EGR block off plate

and the header is finally in! it was a breeze since it was the second time installing it :P not a huge difference in sound but i am getting a kind of annoying rattle/rasp around 3k rpm. other than that i love how the car sounds the way it is.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20130130-00.jpg

best mod of all, recently did evo school phase 1, 2, and challenge all in one weekend!

[jdm slick]

amazing build!

[scsi]

thanks!

[scsi]

picked up some Bride LF-Type seat rails (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/28-sale-trade/70454-authentic-bride-vios-iii-w-bride-na-nb-rails.html) from jerryscherry (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/16385-jerryscherry.html)

the bride LF-type seat rails arrived and they've since been installed. the sonicmotor VS3 bolted up to it without issue and there are holes on the brackets to mount the seatbelt receiver and that works well too. the front is mounted at the middle of 3 holes on the brackets. if i put it on the lowest setting, there is no room for the slider handle to move and thus you can't slide the seat. this leaves the front end of the seat just about as high as it was when the VS3 brackets were bolted to the OE rails. the rear can be mounted on the lowest of the 3 holes on the bracket and that drops the top of the seat down about an inch and a half, but since the front is roughly the same spot, i basically got more reclined which I didn't really want. I would have preferred to sit more upright so that i can give my legs more room as they're really cramped and get my body closer to the wheel (more bend at the elbows preferred). the setup is not any lighter than the setup i had before. the only real benefit is that it brings the seat away from the door and no longer mashes the door card.

if i could go back in time, i would not do this over

[scsi]

so recall here's a pic of the header installed. there is a bracket built into the header that doesn't appear to go anywhere...

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/mw-header-02.jpg

so i designed a bracket and a friend of mine helped me cut and drill it

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/header_bracket-00.jpg

after some final filing down by me to get it to fit the bell housing appropriately, plus some hardware from home depot, here it is installed. sorry about the poor photo quality.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/header_bracket-01.jpg

i may add a split washer between the nut and the flat washer if i get un-lazy

[scsi]

have been thinking about a lightweight battery and found this thread on mnet:
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=323624

lots of options there, plus a little more reading elsewhere, i decided on...
Ballistic Performance Evo2 L 12-Cell LiFePO4 Battery (100-012L) (http://www.ballisticparts.com/products/batteries/12cell.php), 410CCA, 2.44lbs!

new battery, stock battery (~20lbs) which i believe is the original battery and running strong, plus some brackets i designed, drilled, a friend help me cut, and my gf helped me bend.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/ballistic-00.jpg

here's all the rest of the hardware to complete the job. some long bolts fully threaded, fender washers, bottom bracket, washer, nylon lock nuts, more washers, split washers, wing nuts. also, big thanks to corytomo for donating the battery posts! i learned when hooking the battery up that the posts are actually different sizes. who knew??

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/ballistic-01.jpg

so here is the foundation all bolted down. drilled new holes for the bolts to go through. it does not wobble at all, even when it was not yet bolted.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/ballistic-02.jpg

view from under the car

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/ballistic-03.jpg

and here it is all done! didn't even need to extend the wires.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/ballistic-04.jpg

[cbaylis77]

Nice build you have here. I think I'll check out those batteries.

[scsi]

thanks!

[scsi]

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20130506-00.jpg

[riefdaddy]

Haha, I haven't seen teddy bear wheels in 10+ years! They were from Ronal, right?

[scsi]

yep ronal. i like em hehe, sadly i can't claim ownership. borrowing from a friend

[MX5RACER]

Your next mod should be a radiator, whether it be an OEM or aftermarket is up to you. That nice green color of your radiator is the black plastic giving up the ghost. I have seen them explode at autocrosses.

[scsi]

thanks for the tip, i will definitely look into this!

[scsi]

finally got the exhaust done, custom 2.25" mandrel bent 14ga aluminized steel piping, magnaflow 99755HM spun cat, and flowmaster dbx muffler.

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20130517-customexhaust-00.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20130517-customexhaust-01.jpg

http://www.discardedmedia.com/scsi/cr/20130517-customexhaust-02.jpg

[Ciotti]

How loud is it without the resonator on the midpipe?

[scsi]

from the inside the car it isn't very loud at all, except for when you're engine braking the drone can get rather loud. i really love the sound. i have a dynomax race bullet which i may or may not install. at this point i'd rather save weight

[scsi]

OEM Midpipe: 19.5lbs
New Midpipe: 12.5lbs

OEM Axleback: 21lbs
New Axleback: 12.5lbs

to save you guys some math...
OEM System: 40.5lbs
New System: 25lbs

15.5lbs lost :)


i didn't put on the dynomax race bullet, but i still have it in case i decide i want it a little quieter. the bullet weighed 5lbs on my scale. according to columbia river mandrel, 1' of 14ga aluminized steel is 1.82lbs and the bullet body is about 1' long, so i'd be looking at adding another 3lbs if i want to quiet it down. not bad i think

[SteelReign]

Man, awesome build...so much I would want to do with my car! Were those TR Motorsport C1 wheels the 15x8? Do you remember what size tire were you using and if you had any rubbing issues?

[scsi]

thanks!

yes, they were TRM C1 15x8 +20 with 205/50/15 Falken Azenis RT-615. rubbing issues really will depend on a lot of things including your ride height, camber settings, fender mods, etc. generally this is a fairly safe setup to run though. some of the pics posted may have included 5 or 15mm spacers. my fenders are rolled flat, front bumper tabs trimmed, and i have the ISC front upper offset control arm bushings. this was all done to the car anyway, so i'm not sure whether or not they're necessary mods for this wheel and tire setup.

[jdm slick]

any exhaust soundclips? Your exhaust system looks awesome!

[MX5RACER]

I am going with a similar exhaust sometime this week as well. I would love to hear how your's sounds. I am going to have mine built without the cat first and then add in a cat later depending on the volume etc.

[scsi]

shoot sorry it's been so long. im extremely happy w/ how the exhaust came out. here's one clip from a dyno day:


http://youtu.be/UKdui_h73AQ