☆☆☆ '97M- Warbird ☆☆☆

[Greasemonkey2000]

04-23-16: Got the driver side Marrad LX1 seat installed, didn't take very long but I had to run to get a nut for the seat belt to attach it to the seat. Other than that it was pretty simple because I only adjust the front from the second from the top hole to the third from the top hole(4 holes) but I left the rear on the lowest mounting hole(also 4 holes). The rear mounting holes were a little difficult to get to compared to the Elise seat but still not too difficult.

Here are some comparative pictures of the oem driver side '97M seat vs the Marrad LX1 seat:








And a picture showing how much of a dropped bottom the Marrad seat has which is comparable to the oem seat, so you couldn't get any lower even if you didn't use sliders.



Finally a few pics of the Marrad seat installed:






All I know is this is MUCH better than the Elise seat in every way, in my humble opinion. It is wider so can accommodate even my 42" waist and my legs measure 16" and the inner measurement before padding and covering is 16.25" so it is still tight at my legs BUT it doesn't dig into my leg/buttock muscle like the Elise seat.

I am confident that even someone much smaller than me, say a 28-30" waist, would still find the Marrad to hold them in place because while I "fit" in it I would not be able to remove the cushions to sit even lower....I'm too wide. The seat has a front leg cushion that you can remove then the butt cushion is actually two pieces so you can have more height adjustment(held together with Velcro).

Also I found the "flaws" and they were some minor scratches on the rear lower portion of the back of the seat....definitely nothing I am concerned with and I think it was a bargain getting $100 off the normal price. I'm sure Mark choice to do $100 off due to some seats have more significant flaws or more of them but either way, a good deal as far as I am concerned.

The ONLY complaint I have is it is cloth....I know most "race" seats are cloth but I can't stand the stuff because it just sucks up dirt, odor, etc. I ALMOST opted for the leather option but that would have been $500 option and I am pretty sure I could get it redone in leather cheaper than that.

As soon as I test fitted it I could tell that I sat lower than stock and the Elise seat. Again it has four holes front and back for height/recline adjustment so actual height will vary depending on where you set it and I may need to tweak it once I get a roll bar, depending on which one I get.

I don't have any actual seat time yet but I'm confident it is going to be exactly what I was looking for! If it works out I am hoping I can get my wife "on board" so I can get one for the passenger side. The only down side there is when my granddaughter is old enough for a booster seat it won't fit so I may end up just getting a NB2 seat. Long term plan would be to recover the seats in leather or pleather, we will see.

[mx54life]

Amazing how wide the OEM seats really are. I hope this Marrad will work for you Chad.

[Greasemonkey2000]

@mx54life: Thanks Ed! So far so good...




05-04-16, Mileage- 110,336: First an update on how the Marrad LX1 seat is working....it's fantastic! It holds you in place REALLY well and is comfortable even for my large frame. The side/leg bolsters are still a problem area but nothing I can't deal with.

I think it would benefit from higher density foam which I plan to do, will probably do the seat cushions first and when I recover the seat replace all of it with higher density foam. I definitely recommend the Marrard LX1 seat for a pnp option that is does everything an aftermarket fixed back seat is supposed to do, retains sliders, lower than stock with height/recline adjustability and still be comfortable!

Even my wife likes it, thankfully, and even asked if I am going to get one for the passenger side which I'd like to but not sure a booster seat could fit in it and would like to be able to take Onyx (my granddaughter) when I can. Although first I have to take care of the passenger side air bag, which I was trying to wait since I want to do a na6 dash swap.


I finally "got around to" changing the oil. I was going to do it when I did the clutch, etc but time got away from me. I picked up a Purolator Pure One filter for the 2.5 KL Mazda motor(just a larger capacity filter) as I had used before and some Shell Rotella T6 5w30 synthetic oil(from WalMart as it was the cheapest, $19.16/gal I found and usually is).

I thought it had been over 10k miles but looking back in my build thread I changed it in December 2014 and mileage was right at 102,000 miles, so 8300 miles isn't bad but I should have changed it sooner.


Next I wanted to install the LRB Speed aluminum aero panel that I bought in March, here is a pic of it:

As you can see it comes with the main bottom piece, two side pieces, a radiator diverter, hardware and two diagrams that specifies where the supplied hardware goes, etc.

Here is the OEM plastic under panel that is still in pretty good shape:

Sorry about it not being all that in focus....

Of course you first install the radiator diverter panel to the main bottom piece with the 4 hex head bolts and flanged nuts. Then I just checked the fitment of the main piece and everything lined up good with all the oem holes, etc.

Next I installed the side pieces using two bolts/washers per side and the clearance is TIGHT with the Racing Beat 1.125" tubular sway bar but looks like it will work.

Then I installed the bottom piece by first making sure the front edge was between the bumper cover tabs and grill. The hard part was getting the side pieces in the slots but I'm personally glad it is tight and everything fits properly. Here is a pic of it installed:

An it has the hole to access the radiator drain plug, just like oem. Fitment really is great.

Here is a pic showing the radiator diverter:

This is a really great addition, imo, that I have no doubt is effective. It is hard to tell in the pic but it meets perfectly to even my aftermarket CSF 42mm aluminum radiator right below where the fins start.

I went ahead and started Warbird while still on jacks as I was confident that the LRB Speed aluminum aero panel would rattle against something due to the AWR 70d motor mounts. Sure enough it did in between the rear two bottom mounting holes against the sub frame, so piece of 1/8''x2" insulation foam with adhesive back took care of that.

I also turned the wheel back and forth several times to check for rubbing of the Racing Beat sway bar and the side pieces of the under panel which I'm not sure how effective that methodology was since the bar wasn't "loaded" but it didn't seem to rub, we will see in time though.

I was also going to go ahead and "finish" the DIY Roadster door bars so I could take them to get a clear powder coat but ran out of time so will probably do that later this week...hopefully.

[NCGreasemonkey]

You mention rattle prevention.

We discussed this briefly before and you were nailing yours down after the engine mount installs. And I had enough to let the break-in period happen and see what fell off Noir.

Well, today during my Feal install I found and solved three of the worst. One I knew might be the problem and two discovered.

The first was the right rear strut. As I thought. The second was the two rear OEM tow hooks in the jack storage area. And third was the filler neck guard had one bolt started. Not tightened.

Great build up for under aero my friend!

Feals are on 'Palooza here we come!!!

[Greasemonkey2000]

Thanks Rick!




05-07-16: I had to take the LRB Speed aluminum aero(under) panel off to add some 1/8" thick insulation foam w/ adhesive back(my go to solution) to help with rattling due to the AWR 70d motor mounts.

I didn't take any pics but I just added it anywhere it made contact with the chassis or anything else. It seems to have helped.


I also needed to address the rear mounting solution for the Warhorse diffuser which originally I had used some aluminum straps (that is used for a/c ducting) that was supposed to be temporary and had picked up some 1/8" thick by 3/4" wide aluminum bar stock a week or so ago but hadn't got around to it.

It didn't take long and unfortunately still not as nice as many could do but I am no fabricator, not that this is real fabrication, but still MUCH better and more importantly much more rigid.

You can also see that I added multiple holes for some adjustability aka AOA adjustment.


I added some 1/8" thick insulation foam to the sides that would meet the diffuser and tow hook mounts to help reduce/eliminate rattling/vibrations.

Bending them by hand with nothing more than my "laser eye" and the aid of a crescent wrench they are pretty consistent and after drilling the first holes I laid it over the other and marked with a sharpie to help keep the holes consistent as well.

The end result is the Warhorse diffuser can no longer be move by hand, so MUCH more rigid than before. I also trimmed the outer upper edges so that it would fit tighter to the body. Here are the results of said effort:




Some may also notice the inner sections edges have been slightly rounded to help "soften" the angular look and to help reduce scrapping. I still think I will probably pick up another bumper and trim just enough to clear which I think will help the diffuser flow better, aesthetically speaking, and still haven't made up my mind on powder coating it black....I really like it raw but it would definitely help it blend by being black.


I also went to Buda, Tx to Cabela's for a car meet that happens each Saturday that Jay aka mx5_2nr had contacted various other central Texas Miata owners to go. Unfortunately not everyone showed but Evan aka ShadowMX5 with his IRTB'd 10AE was there as well as his girlfriend with her white NA and another guy Jay invited...can't recall his name but he had a silver NB1. I took my Nikon D3300 but still feeling that my ability isn't up to par I didn't take any pics....shame on me.

Unfortunately there was a Miata meet up in Justin, Tx at the Propwash airfield that I would have like to attended and wanted to attend the past two years but it fell on a weekend I had to work. If I had been bold I could have gone up there first and then gone to Buda but....well I guess I'm just not that adventurous. That and I still had to deal with the above issues and wash Warbird.

It is always great to meet fellow Miata owners and check out their cars and hopefully will get to do more often!

[Greasemonkey2000]

05-21-16: First an update on the LRB Speed aluminum aero(under) panel. My one and only complaint is actually due to the AWR 70D urethane motor mounts that cause the LRB Speed aluminum under panel to vibrate while warming up and at certain RPM's when driving, so obviously not an actual issue with the product itself.

I thought the 1/8" thick insulation foam at all the contacts points would alleviate this and although it has greatly reduced it, it is still obvious and annoying. If I can't all but eliminate the noise then I may go back to stock.


The other night I was playing with my Nikon D3300 and took some interior pics of Warbird's gauges and just the difference in color accuracy is amazing in comparison to the point and shoot Canon I used previously and this is still in auto, so once I can learn how to use it then some great pics are definitely going to be a regular. Here are a couple I kept:



I am currently using superbrightleds.com 5 led red bulbs and they are nice and bright with the dimmer all the way up.

For comparison sake here is the same setup but the pic was taken with my previously used point and shoot Canon(is300 I think):




I also got a reminder from fellow enthusiast miatapasta about my intake manifold I have been working on for nearly two years so I pulled it back out the other day to work on it using a vice at work before work. My friend Isaac was king enough to loan me his sawzall that I needed to remove the lower brace mount and the rest of the egr valve. Unfortunately the thick brace mount killed the battery so that is all I could do but will try to get his charger so that I can finish removing the egr valve. Here is said lower brace mount:


And the lower brace cut off:



Then tonight I started working on smoothing it with 80 grit on a 5" DeWalt orbital sander since previously all the cut off wheels and grinding wheels I was using was 36 grit, iirc. Spent about two hours on it but still have MANY hours to go beyond the approx. 10-15hrs I already have into it.
Before(only using 36 grit grinding wheels):





After(using 80 grit on 5" orbital sander):




I still have PLENTY more to do on the intake manifold as you can see but most of it will probably be done with a dremel tool which I didn't previously have and why the project was put on hold. I plan on doing a similar finish as my valve cover, so a sort of satin/machined/brushed finish.

[NCGreasemonkey]

The smell of aluminum in the air. Just watch out Chad. That particulate cloud will get into everything. Even things you don't think it will.

Looks nice.

[mx54life]

You are gonna polish the intake Chad? That will be awesome. I have no patience

[Greasemonkey2000]

The smell of aluminum in the air. Just watch out Chad. That particulate cloud will get into everything. Even things you don't think it will.

Looks nice.

It does go EVERYWHERE! I laid plastic over my engine bay when I cut the hood for the Singular Motorsports hood louvers and it still got everywhere! Thanks!

You are gonna polish the intake Chad? That will be awesome. I have no patience

No just a satin/brushed/machined sort of finish. Hopefully it will be. I enjoy it actually.



Here are a few more pics that miatapasta requested so maybe it will help others that may have similar questions about what all I removed(the braces specifically).

[mx54life]

Vintage!!!

[Greasemonkey2000]

05-31-16: So last week the streets in my neighborhood was graded down to repave them and while I am aware this makes navigating them trickier in a lower vehicle I seemed to not pay as close attention as I should have when backing into my drive way one morning after coming home from work.

My attention was quickly peaked when I heard a nasty metal on concrete sound ....well I pulled back up and backed in slower and at more of an angle and was pleased by the lack of "destructive orchestra" that my senses was heightened by.

Before backing Warbird into its "hangar" I got out and looked at the Warhorse diffuser and was pleased to see no damage was done....or so it seemed. The next few times I drove Warbird I heard a "crashing" sound when I hit a hard bump and at first I thought the Feal coilovers was bottoming out but that didn't make sense. Well after checking things out I found that the drive way incident did indeed damage the Warhorse diffuser. The driver side outer piece was bent causing it to be a inch or so lower than it was prior to the damage.

This caused me to REALLY think about my goals for the aero I had planned. The Warhorse diffuser already scraped at certain inclines and now this incident just made me think that maybe the aero I had planned for wasn't very practical for Warbird with limited ground clearance as it was(ride hiehgt is around 4"-4.25" pinch weld).

So I put Warbird on jack stands this morning with every intention of removing the Warhorse diffuser, selling it and moving on.....but the more I thought about how much the diffuser had "grown on me" the more I thought totally giving up would be a mistake. Here is the damaged side:

Not the best angle to see the damage but you can see the bend towards the back, closer to the Beatruch PPF brace.

And here is the compromise I came up with:


I removed the outer portions and shortened each divider by approximately 0.66". I also raised the mounting brackets to the lowest holes bringing the Warhorse diffuser as close to the bumper as possible. Overall I gained almost 1.4" of ground clearances with the changes and I think it is more subtle than before but more than likely less effective as well.

Here is another before pic:


And after modifying it:

For some reason the passenger side exhaust tip looks more angled down then before but I checked and it is just the angle of the pic.

Some more pics once Warbird was back on the ground to show the contrast from before and ground clearance:



My low profile(a little under 4") jack will actually now fit under the diffuser as where before it did not.




I am rather pleased with the results and even considered doing this before BUT I didn't want to just cut it up but given the damage it was justification to try it out. I am still on the fence on doing a front splitter or side diffusers after dealing with the increased ground clearance issues I had with the Warhorse diffuser but time will tell.

[MLambert19]

Honestly: I think it looks considerably better in this new configuration! Hopefully you gained the clearance you need to prevent further mishaps!

I'd also be curious what it would look like in matte black... just a bit more subdued. But I'm a subtle/subdued kinda guy.

[Greasemonkey2000]

@MLambert19: Thank you very much and can see where your coming from! Originally i wanted a Lotus DiffFlow diffuser but it is around $600 and takes a lot of work to fit so the Warhorse was the most logical and practical(?) option. I REALLY like it in its raw finish but powder coating it black would definitely make it more subtle...maybe too subtle.






06-01-16:Well my wife is very pleased with the modifications to the Warhorse diffuser and she drove it already and said it doesn't scrap like before, so it looks like it is a win-win situation.

Yesterday i found this write up on the LRB Speed aluminum aero panel from fellow enthusiast James, http://did-it-myself.com/miata-lrb-s...r-tray-review/ , and James had a similar issue of noise from vibration which i had contributed totally to Warbird's AWR 70d urethane motor mounts. Although James didn't say, that i saw, what kind of motor mounts he has i suspect his are oem.(As it turns out he has Mazda competition motor mounts that are a few years so old)

James solution was to use aluminum angle to stiffen things up by adding a mount on each side to the side pieces and bolting it to the bottom piece. While James solution was effective i knew that my previously used solution to reduce vibration using the 1/8" foam with adhesive back SHOULD do the trick.

So this morning i decided to give it a try and put strips of the 1/8" foam over the slots where the bottom attaches to the sides and cut slits. Got Warbird back on the ground and started Warbird up and i was pleased to find the solution worked! Took all of 30 minutes to do and probably less than $0.50 in material(the whole roll of 1/8"×2"x30' adhesive back foam from Home Depot was around $12).

I really didn't think the issue was here because there was almost no play once so ever but maybe it wasn't so much vertical movement as it was lateral movement. Either way i am very pleased to have resolved this issue as it was bothersome enough that i was about ready to remove the LRB Speed aluminum aero panel and am so happy to have found the issue, so big thanks to James!

[NCGreasemonkey]

@MLambert19: Thank you very much and can see where your coming from! Originally i wanted a Lotus DiffFlow diffuser but it is around $600 and takes a lot of work to fit so the Warhorse was the most logical and practical(?) option. I REALLY like it in its raw finish but powder coating it black would definitely make it more subtle...maybe too subtle.

Don't go black!!! The one I want after the next build buying spree is black!

http://miataroadster.com/jet-stream/...s/g-70442.aspx

Also. Weren't you running Xidas before the Feals? I think I am remembering correctly. Just a lot softer spring and valving. You might want to check and chime in with your 2 cents. on this newer posing. Even though we all know that CO and Seats have to be experienced first-hand.

http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....-Xidas-Q-amp-A

[mx54life]

Wife's approval is a must.

I just realized you did not trim your rear bumper to bring the diffuser up in an angle. Well it looks a better now that it is tucked higher.