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I went to my mechanic this morning for a planned visit, as I had a few things I wanted to address with the car. I've had a DTC in the system for a while, 0470. They replaced the EGR valve at the end of last year, and while that didn't clear the code, in the course of the troubleshooting today they couldn't find anything wrong. The EGR valve was fine, the car's computer was working & communicating properly, and my wiring is good. It was disappointing to hear that they couldn't find anything wrong, but then again that's usually good news. In the process of checking & reconnecting everything, they must have accomplished something since the CEL no longer lights when the car starts. So, basically, they fixed the problem but couldn't really figure out what it was to begin with.  I asked the mechanic to perform a full inspection, as if I was considering buying this car from something else and wanted to know exactly what shape it was in. I figured the suspension would need work since I drive the poo poo out of it and it is 13 years old. It turns out, there's very little wrong with my car. The front driver's side strut might be leaking a little bit. There is a tiny oil leak that I was already aware of. That's...about it. Again, I was expecting there to be more work needed on my car, but drat, this thing amazes me every day. The major disappointment, though, was that the main mechanic who works on my car couldn't find anything that would cause excessive slack in the drivetrain. The engine mounts were in good shape, and I wasn't expecting them to be due to the car's age. I can understand that some slack may be present in any car's drivetrain, but I do feel that the amount of shuddering my car does upon throttle manipulation is excessive. I can't complain that I don't have to spend money to fix something, but then again I'm willing to do so to improve the ride. I don't know exactly what else I'm supposed to do to fix the fact that the car loving bounces back and forth every time I touch the accelerator.  While I was getting ready to leave, the mechanic was also finishing up with another Miata, a red 2008 manual with a convertible hardtop. Our cars were even parked next to each other, but I didn't get the chance to shoot a photo because the other driver left before me. Oh well.The parts guy at the dealer said that the shifter knob I'm looking for (M518-17-520A), which is the OEM one for the '97 STO Edition, is no longer available. That's disappointing because mine's pretty worn out, but then again I expected it to be in the $100-150 range so I guess I'm going with something cheaper. The OEM shifter seems to be a Nardi Prestige, and while I can find examples of it elsewhere online they don't seem to have the shift pattern and they all seem to be taller than the original one. I'm thinking, since my car is in even better shape than I had anticipated, I'd like to start doing some simple upgrades. The first thing would probably be a strut brace; anyone have a recommendation? Beyond that, what are other relatively simple, relatively inexpensive [handling] modifications that I should perform?
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Apr 21, 2010 21:39
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I don't know if the strut brace is really worth it. The first thing that a lot of people do for less body roll and better handling is to take off the rear swaybar and to put in the Racing Beat tubular on the front.
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Apr 22, 2010 01:39
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Phone posted:I don't know if the strut brace is really worth it. The first thing that a lot of people do for less body roll and better handling is to take off the rear swaybar and to put in the Racing Beat tubular on the front. Wouldn't the car understeer quite badly then? And I don't think strut braces are very common with Miatas as they don't have struts.
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Apr 22, 2010 02:00
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The driver's side headlight adjustment gears are hosed, you can spin the adjustment bolt all you want and nothing moves. This is for a Mazdaspeed MX-5, can the gears be replaced or am I out the cost of a new headlight ($400)? Is there a place to find cheap mazdaspeed headlights? If this was a BMW I'd know just where to look but I am stumped about where to find cheap parts for this car.
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Apr 22, 2010 02:08
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Atomizer posted:The major disappointment, though, was that the main mechanic who works on my car couldn't find anything that would cause excessive slack in the drivetrain. The engine mounts were in good shape, and I wasn't expecting them to be due to the car's age. I can understand that some slack may be present in any car's drivetrain, but I do feel that the amount of shuddering my car does upon throttle manipulation is excessive. I can't complain that I don't have to spend money to fix something, but then again I'm willing to do so to improve the ride. I don't know exactly what else I'm supposed to do to fix the fact that the car loving bounces back and forth every time I touch the accelerator. I have the same issue, and while I'm not the greatest man trans driver, I have driven many other manuals and none of them buck like my 2000 Miata. I've inspected my driveshaft u-joints and also checked for slack in the diff and found them to be well within tolerances. I'm beginning to suspect that the movement is crankshaft endplay, and I'm not very excited if that is the case. I found that my cars VIN number is within range of the #4 crank bearing TSB, so I called Mazda corporate to ask if this repair was ever done under warranty on my car. It wasn't. I'm unsure if it was ever done and I have no service records. My car had 52000 miles on it when I bought it, and was 9 years old, every place that I read said that all the Miatas with this issue were either repaired under warranty or the block was toast by now, is it possible that mine is one that neither of these scenarios happened to yet?? BatDan posted:Wouldn't the car understeer quite badly then? Definitely this, removing the rear sway entirely would cause massive understeer. Then on top of that, putting in a thicker front sway? I think you may have that backwards Phone, but even then I don't believe that removing the front sway bar entirely would increase handling at all. Brain Issues fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Apr 22, 2010 |
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Apr 22, 2010 02:27
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I put on RB recommended bigger front and rear sways and it was awesomely balanced for my 99. I went with racing beat and what they recommended here: http://racingbeat.com/pdf/swaybarguide.pdf The rear is adjustable and I use the stiffer rear setting for some slower, tighter tracks (streets of willow) and the street, and the weaker rear setting for faster, bigger tracks(buttonwillow).
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Apr 22, 2010 03:41
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1.8L NA. Any ideas on a clunk from the front end on HARD direction changes? (Think slalom) At first I thought it was the sway bar contacting the upper control arm since one side was resting on the control arm. I replaced the sway bar ends with shorter ones and the noise remains. I'm thinking it's likely the tie rod ends now. I can hear some noise when I turn the wheel back and forth a few degrees when the car is resting, not sure if that is normal play or a worn tie rod end. The suspension otherwise feels tight, doesn't dance around on the highway, no shimmy/shakes/etc. Any ideas before I start replacing the front suspension piece by piece?
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Apr 22, 2010 03:58
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Atomizer posted:I'm thinking, since my car is in even better shape than I had anticipated, I'd like to start doing some simple upgrades. The first thing would probably be a strut brace; anyone have a recommendation? Beyond that, what are other relatively simple, relatively inexpensive [handling] modifications that I should perform? Phone posted:I don't know if the strut brace is really worth it. The first thing that a lot of people do for less body roll and better handling is to take off the rear swaybar and to put in the Racing Beat tubular on the front. What he said... A: the car does not have struts, thus no strut tower. It does, however have shocks, and will take a shock tower brace. However, they don't really do anything. If you must have an underhood brace, get the 3point brace (like the ones in the NC miatas). they bolt the shock towers to the firewall, and seem to actually do what they're designed to do. But honestly, it all depends on how much money you have to spend. I'd start with new shocks, springs, bumpstops and such... then better brakes, better tires and a good alignment (not those silly 15 minute jobs you get at Sears, but a good Balanced alignment.
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Apr 22, 2010 04:35
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Phone posted:I don't know if the strut brace is really worth it. The first thing that a lot of people do for less body roll and better handling is to take off the rear swaybar and to put in the Racing Beat tubular on the front. This is generally appropriate when you couple it with stiffer rear springs to make up for the increased front roll couple. Look at step 17 here: http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FRC_TUTORIAL/FCM_MSDS_TUTORIAL.htm Now change "rear swaybar diameter" to 0, and you'll see the FRC is nearly 80% Look at step 18 right below. To be honest, I can't fully explain all of this except to say that my understanding is that you want to be somehwere in the 60s with your FRC. This spreadsheet is actually quite cool, if you move your mouse over the "comments" column you'll get lots of explanation.
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Apr 22, 2010 04:42
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Ok, I have a problem. I changed my oil today, and when I drained it, I got about a liter and half out, maybe a bit more. That's less than half capacity. First of all, how hosed am I? The car has never seemed to leak, there haven't been any puddles under it, or any leaky gaskets on the engine itself. That seems to indicate that I'm burning oil, so how should I go about fixing this? The engine seemed to run fine after I replaced the oil and drove home, but I'm worried that I did some damage. I checked my level occasionally, and the dipstick is so goddamn hard to read, and I obviously wasn't getting accurate readings. Is this also a problem with anyone else? It's like the oil just doesn't cling to the metal or something...
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Apr 22, 2010 04:55
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Were you having bad lifter tick? I would hope so in this situation. The Miata's engine is pretty stout, so probably nothing broken. However, let this be a lesson for you to check your oil level whenever you fill up gas. I have done the "pull out 2L, put in 4L" trick and it definitely is an oh poo poo moment.
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Apr 22, 2010 07:01
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Phone posted:I don't know if the strut brace is really worth it. The first thing that a lot of people do for less body roll and better handling is to take off the rear swaybar and to put in the Racing Beat tubular on the front. Are the racing beat a better option than the sway bar pair from FM? I'd love to flatten mine out as much as I can in the turns, without risking damage to the mounting points of the sways. Tactical Bonnet fucked around with this message at 07:50 on Apr 22, 2010 |
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Apr 22, 2010 07:47
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The Third Man posted:Ok, I have a problem. I changed my oil today, and when I drained it, I got about a liter and half out, maybe a bit more. That's less than half capacity. First of all, how hosed am I? The car has never seemed to leak, there haven't been any puddles under it, or any leaky gaskets on the engine itself. That seems to indicate that I'm burning oil, so how should I go about fixing this? The engine seemed to run fine after I replaced the oil and drove home, but I'm worried that I did some damage. I checked my level occasionally, and the dipstick is so goddamn hard to read, and I obviously wasn't getting accurate readings. Is this also a problem with anyone else? It's like the oil just doesn't cling to the metal or something... It wasn't good, but you're probably fine. If the motor still runs it means you probably never ran it dry on oil, and as long as you don't run it dry it doesn't really matter.
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Apr 22, 2010 08:08
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Phone posted:Were you having bad lifter tick? I would hope so in this situation. I was getting horrid lifter tick, that was my main reason to change in the first place. EDIT: So how can I find out where all my oil went, and is there a way to get a more accurate reading from the dipstick? When I would check my oil there was always a few deposits of oil on the raised lettering on the dipstick up to the Full marker so I assumed everything was fine... The Third Man fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Apr 22, 2010 |
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Apr 22, 2010 12:11
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Were you removing the dipstick, cleaning it off, putting it back in for a few seconds then reading it? If you don't clean it off after driving you'll get a somewhat random reading. The likely place it went is out the tailpipe. From what I've seen at autocross, almost all Miatas burn oil at high RPMs.
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Apr 22, 2010 15:20
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FatCow posted:Were you removing the dipstick, cleaning it off, putting it back in for a few seconds then reading it? If you don't clean it off after driving you'll get a somewhat random reading. Yeah, I was cleaning the dipstick and everything v  v
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Apr 22, 2010 15:32
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FatCow posted:The likely place it went is out the tailpipe. From what I've seen at autocross, almost all Miatas burn oil at high RPMs. I lose a bit at autocross. But I've never noticed any blue smoke at high RPM from any Miatas. We average about 5-7 Miatas per event.
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Apr 22, 2010 15:34
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Tactical Bonnet posted:Are the racing beat a better option than the sway bar pair from FM? I'd love to flatten mine out as much as I can in the turns, without risking damage to the mounting points of the sways. The racing beat tubular bar is one of the stiffest out there; whether that's what you want or not is up to you. IMHO the bar alone with no other supporting mods will cause too much understeer (as was discussed). Also the Racing Beat bar will damage your mounting points if you install it without the blocks and bolts. You can also add the crossbrace, but that's not legal for certain stock-ish classes.
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Apr 22, 2010 17:21
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I have a problem with pumping gas in my 1999 Miata - the pump constantly cancels. The tank is a notch from empty and I can only put in a fifth of a gallon, maximum, before the pump clicks off. Takes me 20 minutes of constant pump, click, pump, click to fill up the tank. I've tried 2 different gas stations, and multiple pump handle positions (sideways, all the way in, barely in, completely vertical, etc.) but it still happens. What could be the problem?
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Apr 22, 2010 23:13
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Carbocation posted:I have a problem with pumping gas in my 1999 Miata - the pump constantly cancels. The tank is a notch from empty and I can only put in a fifth of a gallon, maximum, before the pump clicks off. Takes me 20 minutes of constant pump, click, pump, click to fill up the tank. It's possible your filler neck vent is blocked. Edit: Looks like it could be the one way valve http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/fuel_fill_recall.html Edit 2: http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/sb007_99.pdf and http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/sb01-011.02.html Suniikaa fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Apr 23, 2010 |
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Apr 22, 2010 23:59
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Ziploc posted:I lose a bit at autocross. But I've never noticed any blue smoke at high RPM from any Miatas. We average about 5-7 Miatas per event. Other than mine. Oh god it burned so much at autox. 
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Apr 23, 2010 02:18
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Carbocation posted:I have a problem with pumping gas in my 1999 Miata - the pump constantly cancels. The tank is a notch from empty and I can only put in a fifth of a gallon, maximum, before the pump clicks off. Takes me 20 minutes of constant pump, click, pump, click to fill up the tank. It's the recall Suniikaa mentioned. My '99 had it happen right after I bought it in '04, got it fixed for free with no problems.
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Apr 23, 2010 02:24
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FatCow posted:The likely place it went is out the tailpipe. From what I've seen at autocross, almost all Miatas burn oil at high RPMs. Yep. I'm burning oil at high RPM. Just need to keep an eye on it and top it up every once in a while. It really is a good habit to check your oil every time you fill up with gas, just to be sure.
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Apr 23, 2010 02:26
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I took my 1990 to get an inspection in the state of Texas, which requires an emissions test, and it failed the test on account of the "RPMs being too high". The shop suggested swapping the plugs and wires, but I wasn't sure if that was really worth it. I have the timing bumped up to 14 degrees which is the only thing that I figure could cause a failed test unless something is really wrong. Any Ideas?
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Apr 23, 2010 02:58
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SeņorMisterioso posted:I took my 1990 to get an inspection in the state of Texas, which requires an emissions test, and it failed the test on account of the "RPMs being too high". The shop suggested swapping the plugs and wires, but I wasn't sure if that was really worth it. I have the timing bumped up to 14 degrees which is the only thing that I figure could cause a failed test unless something is really wrong. Any Ideas? http://www.miata.net/garage/ignition.html#idle Give the idle speed adjuster a few turns. Can you ask them what idle is too high an idle? Mine sits right around 1000rpm but seems happy there, I don't want to need to drop it.
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Apr 23, 2010 03:03
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Weinertron posted:http://www.miata.net/garage/ignition.html#idle I don't think it was the idle RPMs that was the problem. My car idles at 800 with the paperclip and just by the computer. I think it had something to do with the RPMs being too high under load
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Apr 23, 2010 03:04
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What the gently caress? You have to be more descriptive than that about what they failed you for. Did you explain to them that your car puts out 100hp to the wheels on a good day and that the transmission has fairly short ratios?
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Apr 23, 2010 03:15
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I always loved the look of miatas, never gotten to drive one. Is any one generation bigger on the inside than the others? I'm just thinking I might go find one and go for a test drive. I'm also 6'4" and 250 lbs. Don't be hatin, I'm not a fatty fat fat.
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Apr 23, 2010 10:09
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spouse posted:I always loved the look of miatas, never gotten to drive one. Is any one generation bigger on the inside than the others? I'm just thinking I might go find one and go for a test drive. I'm also 6'4" and 250 lbs. Don't be hatin, I'm not a fatty fat fat. It really all depends on your build - I'm 6'2" and 200 and I fit with room to spare in my mk1(NA) (as in every car I've been in, including Elises and the tiny tiny Suzuki Cappuccino), but I see people complaining about not fitting in an MX5 on here all the time. The only way to know for sure is to go sit in one. edit: to actually answer your question, I believe it goes (roomier to smaller) NC, NA, NB. pim01 fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Apr 23, 2010 |
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Apr 23, 2010 10:27
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pim01 posted:It really all depends on your build - I'm 6'2" and 200 and I fit with room to spare in my mk1(NA) with room to spare (as in every car I've been in, including Elises and the tiny tiny Suzuki Cappuccino), but I see people complaining about not fitting in an MX5 on here all the time. The only way to know for sure is to go sit in one, I guess. I've driven an exige before... Ridiculously hard to get in and out of, but once I was in, I felt goooood. Comparable?
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Apr 23, 2010 10:29
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It's less of a contortion to get into, but yeah, I'd say it would be comparable but less so. I still feel a bit like I'm folding myself in and out of the car, though it doesn't have that contortionist oh-poo poo-I-look-like-an-idiot feel that getting into the Elise had .
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Apr 23, 2010 10:36
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spouse posted:I've driven an exige before... Ridiculously hard to get in and out of, but once I was in, I felt goooood. Comparable? If comfort is a concern at all, you'll need to look at NC Miatas (the 2006+ generation). These are much bigger inside, as well as more civilized on the freeway.
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Apr 23, 2010 15:13
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I am 6' even and I cannot sit in the Miata for more than about an hour before everything starts to hurt. I also cannot extend my leg fully when using the clutch. Not even close. Also, can someone let me know about the headlight question? Can you replace the adjustment gears seperately from the entire headlight assembly?
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Apr 23, 2010 15:23
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revmoo posted:I am 6' even and I cannot sit in the Miata for more than about an hour before everything starts to hurt. I also cannot extend my leg fully when using the clutch. Not even close. I'm 6'1" and have spent 4+ hours in my NB at a time, I find the actual driving position pretty good. However, my standards for comfort are likely far lower than yours.
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Apr 23, 2010 15:31
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Weinertron posted:I'm 6'1" and have spent 4+ hours in my NB at a time, I find the actual driving position pretty good. My friend is 6'7", he rode with me in my NB for 3 hours 30 minutes. He was very uncomfortable but it worked! The top was down of course. He has to hunch down if the top is up, as his head is above the windscreen. He fit only slightly better in my 1992 Honda Accord. Brain Issues fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Apr 23, 2010 |
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Apr 23, 2010 15:40
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I'm not particularly tall, but I am leggy, so getting in and out is fun. I've taken to setting my right foot on the floorboard and sliding my rear end down the back of the driver's seat. I wouldn't drag anything down the driver's seat if the left side weren't already knackered from everyone who doesn't know how to get in and out of cars.
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Apr 23, 2010 18:31
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Phone posted:What the gently caress? You have to be more descriptive than that about what they failed you for. Did you explain to them that your car puts out 100hp to the wheels on a good day and that the transmission has fairly short ratios? That is really all they told me, which is why I'm at a loss myself. I guess the people working the emissions place were just loving retarded, but they seriously only told me "the RPMs are too high, it won't pass the test. You need a tune up maybe new plugs and wires". I don't know what exactly they are testing for, so I was hoping someone else might have an idea. Other than that I just didn't have the time to deal with them that day, and they didn't charge me for the failed test so I wasn't going to stick around and argue about it.
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Apr 23, 2010 19:46
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Sounds like they just wanted to make a quick buck off you.
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Apr 23, 2010 20:03
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Bonus points to the inspection station if they fail diesels for too low RPMs. I would recommend not going to that place again.
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Apr 23, 2010 20:46
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spouse posted:I always loved the look of miatas, never gotten to drive one. Is any one generation bigger on the inside than the others? I'm just thinking I might go find one and go for a test drive. I'm also 6'4" and 250 lbs. Don't be hatin, I'm not a fatty fat fat. I'm 6'3" and 200#...the NC has been the first 'Miata' I have been able to get comfortable in. Just enough headroom, just enough legroom. My head put a noticable bulge in my NB and there wasn't nearly enough legroom in my NA.
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Apr 23, 2010 23:45
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