chris wrote:No "real" updates.
I have picked up some bilsteins, that will be getting sent to Autolign and sorted out with a 5/7kg spring

7kg in front I hope?

Or... do as a friend did and hunt around for a good price on an NB frame and top. He got a reasonable condition OEM top for about $850 (non-zippered glass window, 2 piece). Compared to fitting a new top, it was an easy ~ 2 hour swap and a perfect fit. The OEM top is much better quality than cheaper ...

Does the heater make hot air at all? Does it take a long time for the car to warm up? Does the coolant temp gauge sit right in the middle or to the colder side? Does it drop when driving in cold weather? Those could be a sign of a stuck open thermostat. If your car has AC, that should be the most ef...

Making CFRP body panels sounds like a lot of work...

WideOpenThrottle: out of interest, what kind of top do you have? (the slashed one)

Fits: 1999-2005 Miata

I'm pretty sure quite a few parts for the NA/NB have a part number starting with NC

They are fairly cheap from memory... You should be able to find them online.

It used to be that they had to have particular certifications; but the rules were changed because it was hard for WOF inspectors to check that.

I believe you are only allowed braided hoses replacing the flexible hose, not the entire metal lines... the latter requires an authority card I believe.

My top is an EZ-on, and I have a number of complaints with how it fits and has held up... I would not buy from them. They only sell to distributors and don't support tops that aren't professionally installed. It's no wonder mine was installed incorrectly, as they provide no installation guide with t...

A complete NB soft top frame is fairly expensive... a friend was looking to buy one a month or two ago but the one he found was actually an NA roof. The NB roof frame should have springs that pull the 4th bow forward as you lower the roof. Glass windows are shit. FTFY :P One-piece glass tops are hor...

Modern compact fluorescent lamps (energy savers) use an electronic ballast which has a much higher frequency than the magnetic ballasts used in old fluorescent tubes, which substantially reduces the stroboscopic effects.

Less is more with sway bars... they are good for fine tuning your handling balance, but too much can make the car handle like balls. A lot of people run standard swaybars with stiffer springs (e.g on adjustable coilovers), some autocrossers in the US prefer to disconnect the rear swaybar altogether ...

Yes. Yes they will. [Edit: I'm only talking about the front calipers; I haven't compared rear calipers :)] The caliper is essentially the same design, it just has a larger diameter rotor and caliper mounting brackets... the back-spacing requirements are the same. The only real difference between the...

What did the shifter rebuild kit cost and what does it include? Both boots as well as bush kit?

Under the seat was surprisingly dry, as was the passenger side (yay, no wet ECU) so I'm thinking it was either the window weather seals (they fill up with water when it rains) or an issue with corrosion damage around windscreen/seam above door hinge (which has gotten worse faster than I've gotten mo...

Today I pulled the seat out and pulled the carpet back to discover just how bad my car leaked over the last couple of days.


.. shit, worse than expected

If it's running fine without misfiring, especially under load the coils are probably fine, I'd look at other options.

Like a fire cracker ...?

Spark, fuel, compression. You need all 3.

I'd look at doing a compression test before throwing more parts at it (be sure to unplug CAS to disable fuel and spark to avoid damaging your ignition coils)

How does the engine run when it starts? Smooth? Rough and lumpy? Down on power? Any odd behaviours?

What causes springs to droop/uneven ride height? I have mazda speed springs on Bilstein shocks. At the back, the ride height is uneven - I can fit about three fingers between the top of the tyre and the guard on the left side, whereas I can fit two fingers on the right side (when I'm not in the car...

According to tein.co.jp, you should have 6kg/mm springs on the front, 5kg/mm or rear; both 200mm length and 70mm ID. (front part # SB060-01200) If you put the 6kg spring on the back, it will compress ~8mm less than the 5kg spring (assuming 250kg corner weight), leaving the car sitting higher and clo...

The regulation is $400NZD including freight, anything over and above that, customs have the RIGHT to charge GST and duty To be nitpicky, I think the situation is that if GST + duty is $60 or more, then Customs can require it to be paid. If there is no duty, this gives the $400 threshold, but it wou...

I dont believe the inspector would be able to give you the manufacturers minimum lining thickness as stated in number 23, but, they are airing on the side of your safety so you should be happy they have noticed the low pads. They could have said there was ~ X mm of brake pad remaining and they need...

From the sources I can find manufacturers minimum is 1mm of friction material.

Also, when I'm not on the gas but I'm say, rolling down a hill in gear, is fuel still going into the motor? :? That one's always puzzled me. It's going to depend on the car. Many will do a fuel cut on overrun because it improves economy. This could be conclusively tested on the MX5 by back-probing ...

Junkwhale: you must be narrower than me

I started doing an aggressive foamectomy but found past a certain point I was just sitting on top of the bolsters and the seat back hinge/adjuster was going to get annoying if I cut it any lower