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hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I've heard mixed things about aftermarket end links. Some folks swear by the OEM links. *shrug*

I'm gonna toss on a JBR rear sway bar in a few weeks and see how long the OEM end links last. I also might do the front sway bar...wish me luck.

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hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I'm guessing it's the same airbag as the 3/6 (whatever you drive)? That's a pretty large swath of vehicles to be like "Airbags? Yeah nope"

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

MetaJew posted:

I got a screw in my passenger rear tire right near the edge, so it's probably time to replace them.

Any recommendations for tires for the MS3 in 235/45 R17? I'm currently running the Continental Extreme Contact DW. (Not to be confused with the Continental Extreme Contact DWS all-season tires.)

Edit: Discount Tire, where I got my Continentals is now carrying the Michelin Pilot Super Sport for $169 each. I had paid for the warranty on my Continentals so maybe I can get a discount/reimbursement if I buy a new set of tires, and come away with something a little better than what I'm currently running. It is a little disappointing that I "only" have about 18,000 miles and two years on the current tires, though.

I'm rocking Pilot Super Sports in a different size and love them.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

DEUCE SLUICE posted:

Pilot Super Sports are the ultimate tire for anything that isn't seeing a substantial amount of track time. Are you running them on the stock 18's?

Yeah, I have 235/40R18 on the stock wheel. I think when I wear them out I'm going to a 17" wheel.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
2012 MS3 owner here. I thought I would have some fun this weekend and do CDFP internals and an intake. Pulled off the stock TIP to see this:

https://imgur.com/a/C8QMR

Looks nasty :( Car only has 56k miles, so I guess I wasn't expecting so much gunk.

How worried should I be?

Edit: looks like the source is oil entering the intake from the valve cover breather hose

hattersmad fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Feb 25, 2018

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

MourningGlory posted:

My '13 MS3 liked to blow oil. Catch cans are mandatory. I had JBR cans on mine but I was considering switching to the Corksport system which puts the crankcase under vacuum at all times.

Yeah, I'm going to toss an OCC on, wish I had done so sooner. Will that gunk decrease the life of the turbo or anything, or should I just toss on an OCC and drive/be happy?

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Well goons, I'm happy to report that I got my oil catch cans installed.




Along with some other parts...




:getin:

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
You'll need the RMM. As a datapoint, I recently put in an RMM from Damond. After about 1k miles of break in, it's only noticeable when giving the car throttle from 1k to ~1.75k RPMs, and even then is just some low frequency vibration (enough to rattle the mirrors basically). There's no change in NVH at idle.

Maybe it's just cause I've driven some fairly rough driving older cars, but I literally don't even notice it anymore and it's my DD. I think trans and pass mounts is where things get harsh.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:

Alright, so my paranoia may be kicking in here, but I seem to be having significant power loss when trying to accelerate rapidly, at almost any speed. Used to be I could put my foot into it a bit and my 3 would get after it, no problem. Now you put your foot into it and it gets noisy with no expected boost, it will still accelerate and get up to speed, but it’s worrying the hell out of me, especially since it usually happens when trying to pass or merge. I checked the oil and trans fluid about a week ago and both seemed fine. Anyone else run into this? Air filter wasn’t too dirty, so I left it (beat it some and got some dust out, surely that wouldn’t drag this much).

Any check engine light? Does it do this sporatically, or every time?

E: How old are the spark plugs?

hattersmad fucked around with this message at 22:36 on May 7, 2018

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I did a stupid thing today.

I parked the car, and noticed a puddle under it when I got back out of the grocery store. Leaned down, smelled/felt it, yep definitely water *shrugs*

Continue driving, stop at Costco. Go in, come back out, and another puddle. Hmm, weird, I'm not running the AC. Smell/feel again, and yeah it's definitely water. Okaaayyy...

Come home, park the car. Come out later to yet another puddle of water under the car WTF WHY IS MY CAR SPEWING WATER ALL THE TIME *furiously googles esoteric exhaust leaks/cat failures, gets paranoid*

Turns out the AC is on when in defrost mode regardless of what the AC light/indicator shows, and I was running defrost the whole time.

Welp this is my story of me not knowing how my car works :(

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I ran Extreme Contact DWs for a while. Traction was great, and I didn't have any issues in the Texas rain. I switched to Pilot Super Sports after those, which overall I would say are better tires, but for the price the DWs have a great bang/buck ratio. No complaints about the DWs from me.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

Satchmo posted:

The mechanic says my PMM is blown. I had the RMM replaced with the softest JBR mount and it's still more vibration than I'd like. Is my best bet the OEM mount if I want to keep vibration down as much as possible? I realize this means I'll have to replace it again sooner than I would with aftermarket.

Hopefully this will fix the clunking in the front. The rear clunking remains a mystery despite asking different shops to take a look for the past few oil changes.

edit: Also, the high pressure power steering hose has a leak. The reservoir is only slightly low. Is it a bad idea to keep an eye on it and top it off as needed? They're quoting $750 to replace it (the hose alone looks to be over $500.)

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure JBR is the worst when it comes to NVH. I think folks have had good luck using the E-Focus mount for improvement over stock while keeping NVH to a minimum.

No idea on the power steering thing.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:

Can these be torqued down/fixed more than once? I clunk pretty badly at low speeds on bumps now, honestly I know even less about all this than most of the other noob stuff I post about here.

If the end links are just loose, then yeah they can be tightened. If you're running a stiffer sway bar, the end links like to come loose. Depending on how old they are, they might just be going out, though.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Would recommend putting Loctite on the end links while you're at the task of tightening them

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
That looks great!

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Guessing steering wheel angle sensor issue? Honestly don't know though

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I'd be interested to know how you like it. I've been mulling over getting one myself.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Pretty sure VVT is a gen 1 thing only.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I'm a fan of the NAPA gold and platinum. Cheap, and surprisingly well made from what I've read.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

MetaJew posted:

Yeah I've got the Bose audio. Will that line in work for Android? I thought it was something like iPhone only.

It's a 3.5mm jack. Anything with a headphone jack (e.g. a phone) can connect to it with a 3.5mm cable like this. Essentially your car speakers become the "headphones" you would normally plug in to your phone.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Not sure, but it probably will be soon if not. Apparently Ford is shifting almost entirely to trucks and SUVs? Kind of surprising since I see Focus and Fiesta STs all the time so I assumed they were pretty popular. Maybe it just skews that way here in socal.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

MetaJew posted:

So, I'm doing a kitchen remodel right now (and appliances and faucets are loving expensive), so suspension refresh might not happen until sometime in early 2019. But, have any of y'all done LCAs, rear trailing arm bushings, and any other related stuff? Does someone have the rear trailing arm bushing press/removal tool?

80k miles seems a little low to need to replace control arm bushings, but maybe someone more knowledgeable on that can respond. Never replaced them myself, but I'm only at 60k.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I’m using a JBR knob. Personally I like the added weight it has over the stock knob.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
So I broke 70k mi this week and realized it might be time for decarbing the intake valves. How much should I worry about doing this soon?

e: it’s a ‘12 MS3

hattersmad fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Jan 3, 2019

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I’ve never had issues with cars keeping alignment, maybe I’m just lucky. Pretty sure ‘lifetime alignment’ is just a dealer up-sell.

For reference I drove my MS3 around for 5 years through all kinds of conditions. Took it in for an alignment, and everything was still within spec. Dude just adjusted the steering wheel slightly.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Hell of a lot of work there, hats off to you sir

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
No idea on that one. Maybe something crawled into the exhaust?

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
A Cobb AP is half that price and I’m pretty sure you can read and clear codes with it. That being said, I’ve never had to read codes with mine, so maybe that thing is better somehow.

E: Nice wheels/tires BTW :krad:

hattersmad fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Mar 17, 2019

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I went with Stoptech 309 compound last time and have been pretty happy with them performance-wise. Only complaint is lots of brake dust.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
That’s a super interesting chart

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Got new wheels and tires for the MS3

RPF1s in 17x9 +45, Potenza RE-71Rs in 245/45R17


5mm spacers


Custom center caps (w/ rusty rotors)


A bit cheeky but not too HELLAFLUSH


The ride

hattersmad fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Apr 8, 2019

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Thanks, suspension is still stock. I’m waiting until the factory shocks give out and then I’ll figure out what I want to do.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6

Rhyno posted:

Jesus just give us a turbo Miata for fucks sake.

:hmmyes:

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Yeah, FL22 is Mazda’s long life coolant; pretty sure the general consensus is to stick with it. As mentioned, you have to go to a dealer to buy it.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
In my experience, quality of oil and oil filter makes a big difference in oil life. I’ve seen cheap dino oil through a Fram filter look bad after 3k miles, and I’ve seen full synthetic through a good oil filter look fine at 5k miles.

Personally, I always change oil between 5k and 7.5k miles depending on the vehicle. Based on the ‘oil life’ meter in modern cars, this is probably excessive, but I’m stuck in my old ways I guess. I’ve gotten blank stares at the Honda dealer as to why I want the oil changed at 6k miles when the oil life meter says it’s at like 60%. :corsair:

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Nice! Just don’t run Cobb OTS tunes, they suck.

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
Eh, I ran a Cobb OTS tune for a week and it wouldn’t hit boost targets, had weird fuel trims, etc. Then I got a custom tune from Stratified and it’s been great for 40k miles. I’ve heard good things about Freektune, too. I think the platform is mature enough these days that there are a lot of great tuning options.

Are you planning on running an E85 mix? I’ve been running E30 by mixing 91 octane and E85, and it’s a noticeable difference compared to straight 91 octane (40 WHP difference according to vdyno).

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I’m posting from my WebTV

hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
*ssshhhh*

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hattersmad
Feb 21, 2015

In this style, 10/6
I’ve been running all three Damond mounts for a little over a year and have no regrets. Definitely increased NVH, but it’s not overbearing in my opinion (and I DD in LA traffic). I actually prefer them to the stock mounts because I can feel what the engine is doing. Makes it easier to upshift/downshift in traffic IMO.

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