The 'I told you, you'd be back' build of Misfire, my NB2 w/ F1 inspiration

[Greasemonkey2000]

04-28-21: After doing the frankenstein LED side markers with OEM lenses, the VW Golf/Jetta smoked LED side marker lights just wasn't "working". In all honesty, I pretty much realized right away that I didn't care for how much they stuck out(from the fender), nor the pill shape and obviously the smoked lens.

I knew I wanted a round side marker but was limited by size due to the oblong shape of the hole, which by my measurements I needed at least a 2" and anything bigger than 2.5" was too big. So after spending WAY TOO MUCH time looking for replacements I decided on these....


....United Pacific 2" amber GLO light led side markers, which is technically a manufacturer for semi truck parts. I actually came across these when trying to find LED lights for my custom tail light project which I have everything for except for the housings which are coming from Greece. I am VERY excited about that project but that is all the details for now.

Installing these was pretty straight forward. I laid out blue masking tape and used the grommet as a template, which the grommets were necessary to fully cover the front/rear(left/right) edges of the original opening, traced with a permanent marker and used a dremel rotary tool with cut off wheel to make the initial cuts. I then used a sanding stone on the dremel to round out the hole and obtain the right size, test fitting the grommet along the way. The grommet JUST barely covered the left/right edges of the original hole!

I think they turned out pretty good in terms of placement, how much they stick out...which is about the same as OEM side winkers/markers and they look MUCH better than the smoked VW side markers.




They have a real nice even light distribution due to the light diffuser ring but then one single LED in the middle, which I could have done without but is the only one I could find in that size in amber. It is hard to capture with it hooked up with the turn signal and definitely not the most accurate representation but this is typical when trying to capture lights on film...especially for a amateur such as myself.


I probably should have just hooked up to a steady 12v to show how they light up, which I may still do. I am much happier with these and that basically comes down to shape and color.


*Ford Motorcraft transmission fluid update*: Misfire has around 100 miles since the fluid change and while the 5th gear scratch is greatly reduced and depending on speed/rpm may not even do it but it is still there under certain circumstances. It SEEMS it has smoothed other gears changes but with the very mechanical GRacing shifter, it is kind of difficult to tell.

Odd thing has happened since the fluid change and that is the clutch would slip in 4th/5th(has happened a handful of times), so engine RPM's keep going up but not accelerating accordingly. It is very odd timing but can't see how it would be related to the fluid.

The times the clutch has slipped before is when accelerating rapidly and going to redline. Obviously the SuperMiata organic clutch that is sitting in the garage needs to go on in the next few months.

[Greasemonkey2000]

05-26-21: Received some parts from Harry at DCBE in Greece a few days ago...


....consisting of door bushings that have a rigid core w/ rubber skin, dual cup holder and cam tool. The cup holder is pretty trick as it is modular so can be removed and when installed has a locking mechanism.


The cup holder mounts on the passenger side seat rail between the rail and seat, so the seat has to come out and unfortunately one of the passenger side bolts feels like it is cross threaded and two others are really tight. I didn't want to risk breaking the bolts at this time since the reason for the cup holder was because I plan on doing a console delete....until then the cup holder will have to wait.

The door bushings took all of 5-10 minutes to swap out. Misfire already had delrin door bushings which made a significant difference in NVH BUT required more effort to close the doors and 30-40% of the time the door bounced off the bushing which the rubber skin of the DCBE bushing should alleviate.

DCBE door bushing(left) vs delrin door bushing(right)


DCBE door bushing installed


I made a video closing the driver side with both bushings but the difference(effort to close) isn't really discernible in the video.

The driver side actually takes about the same effort to close but doesn't have the issue of bouncing off the bushing like the delrin version, unless you simply don't close it with enough effort.

Closing the driver side about two dozen times, it bounced off the bushing when I tried to see how little effort I could use to close before it wouldn't close. The passenger side takes less effort to close than the delrin, maybe the same as stock rubber bushings but I think I threw away the stock ones, so I couldn't compare. I think the driver side door might need some alignment adjustment to close like the passenger side.

I decided that I missed having amber running light in the headlights, so I picked up a set of iBrightstar amber LED bulbs(1157)...

...to replace the Antline switchback LEDs(right below).


iBrightstar amber LED bulb on right side and Antline switchback LED on the left




Antline switchback LEDs


iBrightstar amber LEDs


I think both have their advantages. The switchback LEDs are brighter and probably are more noticeable since they go from white for the running light to amber for the turn signal. I just think the amber ones look better. I may end up customizing a set of headlights and will either do switchback halos and keep these bulbs or may do amber halos and go back to the switchback running light.

In other news I just received tracking information for my taillight housings coming from Greece! So will probably have them in 4-6 weeks, received my package from DCBE in Greece in about 4 weeks so hopefully the same with the taillight housings.

Unfortunately(fortunately?) I had to buy new tires to daily as the Hankook Ventus V2 Concept 2 tires are pretty bad in wet conditions, like worse than any of the extreme summer(200tw) tires I have had(Hankook RS3, Toyo R1R and Falken RT615K+).

I originally ordered 195/55/15 BFG G Force Comp 2 tires thru Jegs but after placing the order they showed to be on back order but would ship out in a few days. Well that day came and the date got pushed out further, I saw where this was going so I called Jegs and they contacted BFG who said they were on national backorder. Needless to say I cancelled the order and decided to get 205/50/15 Continental Extreme Contact Sport(340tw) tires thru Amazon and I received them two days later(yesterday).

After ordering the BFG's I started thinking about getting wheels for them. I figured I could sell the stock 15x6 wheels or hold onto them if I ever sold Misfire, not that I am planning it.

After looking at several options I placed a order for some 15x7 +20 wheels in royal bronze which are supposed to be about 14lbs(the seller had a picture of one on a scale) but another forum member weighed theirs on a calibrated scale and got just under 13lbs. Sorry that's all I am saying for now but I should receive them tomorrow and should be able to get them mounted next week.

These will be the daily wheels/tires for now but the backup/bad weather/long trip wheels later. I actually decided to sell the 15x10 6UL's and get another set of 14's with 200tw tires(probably 225 Toyo R888).

I originally was just going to get another set of 14x7 Enkei RPF1's but now I am thinking I would like to get 14's that are x8 or x9 wide which the choices are limited and many are not cheap. That will probably be 6 months or so out as the next big purchase WILL BE coilovers.

I have looked over just about every option out there and given I have already experienced quality coilovers-Fat Cat Motorsports 2040(375/325) and FEAL 441 Road Race(642/448)- I know that I should get equivalent or better so as long as the over time keeps coming, it will be Xida Race coilovers. So lots of cool things to come, stay tuned!

*Ford Motorcraft synthetic transmission fluid update*: The 5th gear scratch completely went away after about 200 miles with the "unicorn tears"!

[zco]

Handy tip for the new XIDA's. Email 949/SM and provide them a list of your mods, what your intentions are for the car, and ask for their recommendations on spring rates.
After reading a bunch of posts on forums, facebook groups, and even their tech info page, I thought 700/400 springs was what I needed. Ed ended up recommending 800/500 and I went with that.

[—Bryan—]

I honestly should've gone with XIDAs. If I had it to do over again, I would have.

[Greasemonkey2000]

Handy tip for the new XIDA's. Email 949/SM and provide them a list of your mods, what your intentions are for the car, and ask for their recommendations on spring rates.
After reading a bunch of posts on forums, facebook groups, and even their tech info page, I thought 700/400 springs was what I needed. Ed ended up recommending 800/500 and I went with that.

Definitely a good tip. I have actually talked to Emilio and Ed a few times(via email and phone) and 800/500 or higher will be the plan given wheels/tires(was going to be 15x10s with 245s but now probably 14x7/8/9 with 225 200tw), sway bar(tubular RB), ride height(4.5/4.75) and aero(BBFW spoiler and hopefully front splitter, rear diffuser and flat bottom by the end of the year).

I honestly should've gone with XIDAs. If I had it to do over again, I would have.

Hindsight, brother, I'm right there with you. A few more stimulus checks and we will all have Xida's.

[lucmor444]

I honestly should've gone with XIDAs. If I had it to do over again, I would have.

Ditto.

[Greasemonkey2000]

07-03-21, Mileage- 127,552: Last Tuesday, 06-29-21, I went out to the garage to fire up Misfire and head to work...only to find that Misfire wouldn't start. It sounded like the engine wasn't turning over, it cranked so I didn't figure it was a battery issue but I also noticed the CEL(check engine light) was not lighting up when the key was in the on position.

After securing a ride to work, I got to work trouble shooting...which to be honest I don't think I am great at. I started Googling and quickly come across multiple threads on no start issues due to the "main relay"(EGI Main) going bad. Already had the hood popped so I went and pulled it from the under hood fuse box...

(relay is in the top right location)

....and found some rather definitive evidence of a problem....


...one contact that looked "burnt" and the plastic around it looked like it got very hot. I had actually checked this relay a long time ago and the contact was slightly discolored and meant to order a new one but never did. I also checked with Pat aka Patsmx5 and he confirmed this relay causes the issues I described.

So I ordered a new relay from Priority Mazda and did expedited shipping which ironically was cheaper than standard and received it two days later on Thursday the 31st. Unfortunately I ordered the wrong one which was a fuel pump relay, part #B5B4-18-821.

I called Priority Mazda and talked to David. I emailed him a picture of the old relay and its location while I did some googling of my own trying to find the correct one. I found one thru Flying Miata that was listed as a upgraded relay rated at 80A but it was $76 and supposedly the correct OEM one was around $20.

David quickly got back to me and said the correct part was B5B4-18-811 and was $20.64 and was in stock. I went ahead and ordered two and did expedited shipping again.

Called Priority Mazda back and spoke to David to see if it would be possible to get them shipped out that day(was around 2-2:30PM CST) and he said they were just finishing up their shipments for the day and would make sure they got shipped. I inquired about returning the fuel pump relay and David said that I could return it and they would even waive the standard 20% restocking fee which was really nice on their part.

When I order new OEM Mazda parts, I almost always use Priority Mazda as they typically have the order shipped the same day or by the next day and anytime I have had dealings with them email or phone they are helpful and professional, highly recommend them.

I received a tracking number in about 15 minutes of placing the order and it shipped out that day and i received them on 07-03-21.


I checked to see if I could get one locally at a auto parts store but I couldn't find one. For what it is worth, Pat aka Patsmx5 said he bought one from a local auto parts store one time and got about a year out of it where as the other two he had bought from Mazda lasted 5-6 years so I would definitely go with the OEM one. The one from Flying Miata looks promising and I might look into it, so far I haven' found the amperage rating of the stock one but again the FM relay is 80A.

Well I installed the new EGI Main relay and sure enough the CEL came on when I turned the key on and Misfire fired right up! Unfortunately the next day I noticed a....misfire/hesitation/etc. when heading home from work in 3rd or 4th gear between 3-4k RPM's. If i kept the RPM's up in a lower gear, it wasn't apparent. Still looking into this.

[Greasemonkey2000]

07-05-21: The Hankook Ventus 2 Concept 2 tires I bought earlier this year has been extremely disappointing, as they are absolutely terrible in the rain...like worse than any of the Extreme Summer 200TW tires I have had and the Hankooks are 500TW all season tires.

Back in May, after looking at several other options I decided to get BFG g-Force Sport Comp-2 thru Jegs, only to find out they were on national back order so I cancelled that order and ordered Continental Extreme Contact DW in 205/50/15 off Amazon.

After some deliberation, I decided to "splurge" and order some wheels as well....I had been working alot of over time so why not. After looking at alot of different options I decided to get these...




...Rota Grid(concave) 15x7 +20mm in royal bronze. I know there are many that will balk at this choice...mostly due to them being "knock off" wheels but Rota is a major wheel manufacturer and has been around since 1976. Here is a good article about Rota: https://www.autoindustriya.com/featu...-are-made.html

Either way these wheels are affordable at around $150/each and despite what many uninformed individuals say, are decently lightweight...don't take my word, the scale don't lie.


For what it is worth, I occasionally check the scales accuracy by using free weights which I did(checked with a 10lb and then 25lb weight) before weighing the wheels(I weighed all of them). So that makes these Rota 15x7 wheels(12.4lbs) approx. 0.7lbs lighter than factory Enkei 15x6 5 spoke wheels that are 13.1lbs.

I also picked up some 949 Racing aluminum valve stems.


I was going to get some new black aluminum lug nuts from 949 Racing or Goodwin Racing but they were all out so I bought some from Flyin Miata. Sadly I didn't like how they looked as they are approx. 3/8" longer than the 949 Racing open ended lug nuts and due to the wheel design they stick out too much, in my opinion...well you will see.

I asked the Porsche shop that I use to work for if they would mount and balance the tires/wheels as everyone else(that i contacted) now charges $1 per inch of diameter and width, meaning $22 per wheel/tire plus taxes or about $150 and I knew the Porsche shop would charge me less, ironic huh.

I told them I wasn't in a rush as they have been swamped and was down a few employees. Unfortunately translated into a 3 week wait BUT they charged me next to nothing so I was more than happy to wait.


Ready to be installed!

[Greasemonkey2000]

07-05-21, Mileage-127,567, cont'd: So today after pulling the plugs on Misfire to see if the previously mentioned issue was something that simple, I went ahead and put on the new wheels/tires.

As I pulled out of the garage(normally I roll out in neutral by pushing off with my left foot/leg out the door but these tires are sticky enough to make that extremely difficult) I heard a metal on metal sound coming from the front wheels : so I stopped and checked them out. I quickly noticed metal shavings on the wheel barrels...


....but not obvious point of contact. I checked both sides in the front...and the same. Got back in and rolled down the drive way in neutral...same grinding noise that sounded like brakes that were grabbing.

Checked once more and found this...


...the front brake caliper brackets were contacting the back of the wheels. Well that is no bueno. I jacked up the fron driver side and removed the wheel and found the contact area on the back of the wheel....


...and on the brake caliper bracket.
]

Well that sucks but nothing a angle grinder couldn't fix! Here is the front passenger side after about 15 minutes or so of angle grinder action.


It's kind of hard to tell the difference from that angle but here is the bracket from above, before/after:




I tried to measure the bracket for a before/after measurement but my cheap Harbor Freight digital caliper finally started to malfunction after having it for 3-4+ years. Here is the wheel mounted once again...


...and it may be hard to tell but there is now a few millimeters of clearance. I will be the first to admit that this may have not been the "best" solution and as much as I am not a fan of wheel spacers, I think that a 2-3MM wheel spacer would have done the trick.

Unfortunately the mounted pics didn't happen as I went for a drive to trouble shoot the misfire/hesitation and stopped by my cousins for a few minutes and it started to rain as I left but I will get pics later this week after I give Misfire a good bath.

[HarryB]

Priority Mazda sounds like an awesome dealer, would be amazing to have someone like that here. All my experiences with dealerships in Greece have been poor at best. Also congrats on the wheels, Rota is a decent brand and I really like the design and colour you chose. I would also go for spacers (I did actually as I had some issues with my wheels as well), 2-3mm are fine and do not have any noticeable effect on anything. That being said, I expect you would be fine with grinding the bracket in the location you did.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Check your spindles to make certain they are not bent. They can bend upwards leading to issues like this where wheels start to contact that bracket.

[—Bryan—]

Priority Mazda sounds like an awesome dealer, would be amazing to have someone like that here.

It is. Tommy is the only guy I go to when I need new OEM parts.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Check your spindles to make certain they are not bent. They can bend upwards leading to issues like this where wheels start to contact that bracket.

You can also look at the taper on the brake pads.

[Greasemonkey2000]

Priority Mazda sounds like an awesome dealer, would be amazing to have someone like that here. All my experiences with dealerships in Greece have been poor at best. Also congrats on the wheels, Rota is a decent brand and I really like the design and colour you chose. I would also go for spacers (I did actually as I had some issues with my wheels as well), 2-3mm are fine and do not have any noticeable effect on anything. That being said, I expect you would be fine with grinding the bracket in the location you did.

Priority Nissan Mazda Tysons Corner(the full name now) isn't technically a dealership from my understanding, it was originally associated with one but then it became its own entity or this is my understanding but that could be incorrect. Either way they are great to deal with and definitely grateful to have that resource. Appreciate it, wheels are very subjective and even I myself like certain wheels but wouldn't want to run them. I probably would have got spacers if I had known about the issue but again I've never seen this before.

Check your spindles to make certain they are not bent. They can bend upwards leading to issues like this where wheels start to contact that bracket.

You can also look at the taper on the brake pads.

Will do on both but I highly doubt there is anything wrong with the suspension as I have had three different wheels on Misfire and neither of the other two had any issues, I think it's the spoke design personally. Thank for the tips, will check just to be safe.

Tommy is the only guy I go to when I need new OEM parts.

It's my understanding that Tommy retired and I'm sure that's correct as himself said this on another forum but he gave his approval/blessing for the new management who may have been a employee already, iirc.

[—Bryan—]

It's my understanding that Tommy retired and I'm sure that's correct as himself said this on another forum but he gave his approval/blessing for the new management who may have been a employee already, iirc.

Good for him. I'd been calling him ever since the Finishline days. Was glad to see he started up a similar service when Rosenthal folded up.