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

  1. #241
    Super Moderator Bryan's Avatar
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    Wow!
    Quote Originally Posted by DazedAndConfused
    I dont know a word you just said, but that **** sounded COOL.

  2. #242
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    09-23-20: So after waiting over a week for my "new" used gauge cluster to travel 120 miles or so(Advice: When shipping USPS, drop off at the post office and not a third party like the UPS Store so it doesn't sit there for days because it was misplaced), I received it only to find out it was a NB1 cluster!

    I did ask for pictures of the rear of the cluster to "ensure" the rear circuitry was the same but the pics I received wasn't high enough quality to zoom in very far so I missed the ONE difference between the NB1 cluster and the NB2 cluster, the high beam indicator but didn't bother to ask for pics of the front of the cluster. (Simple way to distinguish NB1 and NB2 clusters: The gauges are the easiest way to distinguish between the two as NB1 gauges will be dark blue(Blue if from 99AE) or black while NB2 gauges will be white, obviously this is a general rule of thumb)

    Great...at this point Misfire had been down for about two weeks so I needed to make this work. It was my understanding that the NB's will do odd things if driven w/o the cluster so I didn't want to chance it.

    I started Googling NB1/NB2 cluster differences to ensure the only difference was the high beam indicator and if so how to resolve the issue. It was the only difference as far as the rear circuit board goes.(I also found the internal circuit board in the cluster behind the tachometer was different between the NB1 cluster and Misfire's NB2 cluster BUT the circuit board in the first cluster(NB2) I received had the same circuit board as the NB1 cluster so after talking to two people much smarter than me in electrical things(one a engineer and the other a IT/computer nerd) I decided to keep the "hardware" intact to its original cluster with no issues thus far nor did I find others that swapped a NB2 cluster in NB1 cars having issues)

    The fix for putting a NB2 cluster in the NB1 chassis was simply a jumper wire so I figured putting a NB1 cluster in a NB2 would be similar, still more electrical "voodoo" than I cared to dabble in so I asked my IT friend who is proficient in such things to lend me a hand.

    After looking at the two, using a volt meter to check a few things, he figured out a fix. Only after implementing said change it occurred to me that due to the custom Revlimiter gauges and zero orientation change that the high beam indicator had to be moved to where the factory cruise control light was at(far left of the front cluster or far right of the rear of it)....my bad.

    This actually made it easier to fix the high beam indicator issue. IIRC, the NB2 uses a switched ground to turn the high beam indicator lamp on/off while the NB1 uses a switched ignition/positive(or this was the conclusion he made based on the differences he observed but needed a wiring diagram of a NB1 cluster to confirm) so my friend used the included socket pigtail to jump the positive to the new location and spliced/tapped into the ground source of the harness and a bullet connector to make removing the cluster possible due to the connection to the ground on the cluster harness.

    My best advice is make sure to get the CORRECT cluster for the chassis to avoid such things but if you find yourself in the same situation it is fixable, just confirm the fix is correct before cutting/etc. and PLEASE don't base it on the above description since I didn't actually do it but pretty sure I have it right...just better to confirm yourself than base on "second hand" information.

    After that was sorted I just had to modify this cluster according to Revlimiter's instructions, install the gauges and set the needles according to Revlimiter's instructions, found at the bottom of the NB gauge install instructions.

    I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome, the custom Revlimiter F1 Stage 2 gauges, Garage5 gauge rings w/ Revlimiter lenses, cf overlay and modified needles w/ RSpeed metal needle covers looks fantastic, IMO. Well you be the judge.

    Version 2.0 w/ Revlimiter Fighter gauges, Garage5 gauge rings(no lenses), custom carbon fiber overlay, custom carbon fiber trip reset



    Version 3.0 w/ custom Revlimiter F1 Stage 2 gauges, Garage5 gauge rings w/ Revlimiter lenses, modified needles w/ RSpeed metal needle covers, custom cf overlay and custom cf trip reset







    You may be wondering about the "ghosted" Misfire emblem I spoke of and showed previously, well that is one of my favorite things about the gauges.

    Day


    Night



    If you look closely at the tachometer, at the 5 o'clock position or the 500 RPM mark you can see how the NB odometer blocks light which is much more noticeable in person or if i knew how to properly use a DSLR camera and why the odometer box was modified)



    I end up opting not to use any bulb for the odometer back lighting as the light from the Superbright 5 LED white bulbs offered sufficient light to back light it as using any of the LED bulbs(tried green, red, amber, white) made the odometer distracting.

    You may have noticed the needles. I removed all the paint from the bottom and used a red scotch brite pad to give them a frosted look and in hopes to give them a nice translucent effect.

    I also used a orange(it actually glows in the dark, lol) that turned out to be exactly what I was after despite the wet form looking more peach colored than orange but fairly close to a safety orange once it dries. I decided to paint the full underside of the needle for the tachometer to add to the contrast of it from the other gauges, while the other needles was only painted on the tip, top and bottom.

    For those wondering what the new zero orientation does for visibility when driving with the 310mm double cut Sparco, here it is with the previous...
    IL Motorsports(OEM 7 o'clock zero positions)


    Revlimiter Fighter gauges(4 o'clock(?) zero on tach)

    Clearly the 5 o'clock zero makes a big difference.

    custom Revlimiter F1 Stage 2 gauges(5 o'clock zero on tachometer and speedometer)


    I have learned FAR MORE about NB clusters than I ever cared to know (hopefully my experience can help others not make the same mistakes or get thru them) and while this 10+hr ordeal was very frustrating, I am thrilled with the results and have no doubt I will enjoy them every time I am behind the wheel!

    P.S.-On a unrelated note I used Techron fuel additive for the first time back in May and picked up a average of 2-3mpg's! I had previously averaged 19.xxMPG since I acquired Misfire 3 yrs ago and since using the Techron(just once), Misfire has average 21-22MPG(I record every fuel up in aCar). I just put in another bottle this last fill up, will report back in the months to come.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  4. #243
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! dnaha's Avatar
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    Love the new gauges!
    Follow My Build Thread!
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    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....1997-M-Edition
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  6. #244
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    @dnaha: Thanks Daron!
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

  7. #245
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    12-26-20: Back in September I found a crack in Misfire's Blackbird Fabworx Black Edition lexan spoiler, at the mounting point for the center strut. I believe it was caused by some idiot pressing down on the spoiler but it COULD have been caused from the flex. Although I haven't seen others have such a issue.

    Well on the way to work on 12-23-20, I was just getting off the highway when I saw the BBFW spoiler was cracked more and was now resting on the hardware for the center struts pivot hardware.

    I knew this day would happen sooner that later, since the day I discovered the original crack, said crack:


    It is funny how it broke just enough to come off the center strut but was stopped and held in place by the hardware for the pivot point. It actually moved less at speed like this.

    I originally wanted Jacey aka darealricerocket to make me a carbon fiber replacement spoiler, unfortunately his schedule, this failure and my bank account just didn't see "eye to eye".

    So my next idea was a piece of alumicore(?)(the stuff they use for signs that is aluminum on each side with a plastic honey comb core) or aluminum. I hadn't had a chance to source either of these but I happen to secure a damaged road sign(37" edges) that was going to be scraped.

    I had taken measurements and it seemed that it would work if I cut the template diagonally, like so:


    Next I used a angle grinder with a 40grit cut off wheel to cut it out and the appropriate size drill bits to drill out the holes and to recess the lower bolt holes for the pan head bolts.

    The worst part was removing the sign side material, as it was multiple layers and was like a thick vinyl/rubber/plastic....essentially it was almost being "burned" off be the 120 grit flapper wheel. That part took almost a hour and a half.

    I followed up with 80 and 220 grit sand paper on a 5" orbital sander. It turned out like a "mirror" replica of the original.


    Thankfully, just removing/replacing the main spoiler isn't very time consuming...just a matter of removing 9 bolts/nuts.








    I plan on painting/powder coating/wrapping or possibly getting some cf sheets, cutting them to size and sandwiching the aluminum in the center and using rubber edging around the edges.

    Either way I am very happy with how it turned out and I'm confident that even being 0.5mm thinner(2.5mm vs 3mm) than the lexan that it won't flex(waving at other motorists) since the aluminum is obviously more rigid. The only downside will be decreased visibility in the rear view mirror, which I haven't driven yet to establish.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  9. #246
    Super Moderator Bryan's Avatar
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    Curious: did you weigh it? I'd imagine it'd be heavier even if it's thinner.
    Quote Originally Posted by DazedAndConfused
    I dont know a word you just said, but that **** sounded COOL.

  10. #247
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Aluminum is more than 2x denser than lexan (2700kh/m3 vs 1200kg/m3). The reduction in thickness is approx. 16%, so for the same area, aluminum would be 1.9 times heavier. Would be much stiffer though (if it was the same thickness, it would be 23(!) times stiffer).

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  12. #248
    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    Did you consider ABS. Thickness would determine rigidity. It's simple to fabricate,
    I built Formula Ford bodies long ago from FRP, molds and body parts. Nicely done. Aloha

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  14. #249
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bryan View Post
    Curious: did you weigh it? I'd imagine it'd be heavier even if it's thinner.
    No sir, I honestly didn't think to do so but even if I had, I don't have a scale to weigh something that lightweight accurately. I can tell you from handling them both that the aluminum one is heavier as Harry so eloquently pointed with some well laid out science and math.


    Quote Originally Posted by HarryB View Post
    Aluminum is more than 2x denser than lexan (2700kh/m3 vs 1200kg/m3). The reduction in thickness is approx. 16%, so for the same area, aluminum would be 1.9 times heavier. Would be much stiffer though (if it was the same thickness, it would be 23(!) times stiffer).



    Quote Originally Posted by Quicksilver View Post
    Did you consider ABS. Thickness would determine rigidity. It's simple to fabricate,
    I built Formula Ford bodies long ago from FRP, molds and body parts. Nicely done. Aloha
    I actually did not...I wonder if it would be more rigid than the lexan? Thanks for the idea and compliments.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

  15. #250
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    It would not; for the same thickness it would be pretty much as stiff as the Lexan it would replace. Quicksilver is right though, stiffness can significantly benefit from thickness. You could go up to 5mm in ABS that would be both (marginally) lighter than aluminum and stiffer. That being said, I would just stick with what you already have, I am sure it will work well, it looks nice and it is already there ;)

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  17. #251
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    01-22-21: Finally was able to get the 205/50/15 Hankook Ventus V2 Concept 2 tires mounted....


    ....that I picked up to replace the 6.5yr old bricks, Yokohama YK580 195/55/15, that have tired to kill me far more times than all three sets of different 200TW tires combined that I have previously had on three different Miata's.

    Decided to check the width of the old Yokohama's(mounted) which was approx. 7".


    Unmounted the new Hankook's measured out at approx. 8" wide and mounted, approx. the same.


    Which is consistent with Tire Rack's mounted width of 8.3" on a 6.5" wide wheel. A comparison of the old 195 Yokohama's and new 205 Hankook's.




    A little more width can be seen. It's crazy how much of a difference I could FEEL right away, even just going down the road, switching lanes, etc. I had held out on getting some all seasons because I had hoped to get the 15x10's w/ 245s on sooner than later, unfortunately the lack coilovers made that impossible. I had picked up a set of used AFCO coilovers but life didn't cooperate and had to sell them so the 15x10's continue to sit in the garage.

    A few fellow Miata enthusiast said that the Hankook Ventus V2 Concept 2 tires didn't do very well in the rain which I have yet to drive them in but they HAVE to be much better than the 6.5yr old bricks that came off Misfire.

    Of course my expectations for tires in the rain may be very different considering I have mostly ran 200TW tires on all three of my Miata's. Will follow up as I get miles on them but at around $50/each on Amazon, I'm confident I will be satisfied with them.

    In regards to the aluminum spoiler replacement, I have decided I like it better than the lexan version...mostly due to the fact it doesn't flex like the lexan piece(even at Mexico speeds) which would start flexing at around 40mph. I did lose 50% of the rear view mirror but that is only really noticeable when a car is with in a car length, so I am not worried about it.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  19. #252
    Super Moderator Bryan's Avatar
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    Small constructive criticism: I love that center exit, but because of the bumper cutout, I'm finding the black muffler distracting. You have a natural metal final pipe on the right side of the car and the black muffler poking out from the left.

    See what I mean?

    No offense meant, of course!
    Quote Originally Posted by DazedAndConfused
    I dont know a word you just said, but that **** sounded COOL.

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  21. #253
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    @Bryan: No offense taken. Originally I was going to paint it all black, minus the tips but then decided I liked the silver/metal look better so its funny you should bring it up because that will be addressed soon.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  23. #254
    Individual-1 ☚ ☻ ☛ Agent☣Orange's Avatar
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    That. Antenna. Has. To. Go. I like LED license plate lights but recently it occurred to me: why would I want my plate lit up with search lights? So I changed to very dim, red LEDs. It's still legally illuminated but my plate is hard to make out unless stopped right behind me.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

  24. #255
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent☣Orange View Post
    That. Antenna. Has. To. Go. I like LED license plate lights but recently it occurred to me: why would I want my plate lit up with search lights? So I changed to very dim, red LEDs. It's still legally illuminated but my plate is hard to make out unless stopped right behind me.
    Ya the antenna has been on the list to get rid of since day one...just not a priority. I hear you on the license plate light but in my personal experience the license plate light is the biggest bogus reason law enforcement uses to pull you over for no reason plus these double as trunk lights when the trunk is open.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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