Emily's 04 VR SE

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:20 pm

So I was driving on a 35* day in February, punched the throttle and did some full boost pulls. I was entering a freeway so was increasing speed from a standstill, and noticed the car felt really slow. A quick glance down showed 3/4 temp gauge. Instant panic ensued, it really is a horrible horrible feeling of impending doom, and i immediately assumed I was going to blow the headgasket and warp the engine and blow up the car haha.
Shifted into 6th and started cruising at 100km/hr, looking for somewhere to pull over. Temp rapidly decreased down to normal.
Hmmm what? I continued home, off boost just in case.
Sitting in traffic with AC on, temp crept back up, no more than 3/4 but still terrifying.
Temp climbed again when doing a full load pull up a very steep hill, and came back down shortly after.
The car has all oem ducting and undertrays, cooling system properly bled.
I believe there were multiple issues at play.
Firstly, overheating when stopped could have been the ebay ASI fans not adequately pulling air through, and the waterpump failing.
Secondly, overheating on pulls could have been the thermostat sticking and the waterpump failing. I had a look at the Goldcoast Mazda Dealership service records, indicating ONLY THE TIMING BELT WAS DONE AT 100km, nothing else. MORONS!

So the car sat very sadly while everything was ordered :cry:

All genuine parts

I also bought a Garage Star cooling panel to help divert air through the rad rather than over the top, although the NB is significantly more sealed than NAs so this piece was also to help clean up the look of the engine bay.

I decided a full set of gauges was necessary to properly monitor the engine, so I figured while the coolant would be drained I should install a coolant temp sensor block. I chose Works Engineering as I have been very happy with all their products previously, and this was no exception. Very well priced, quick delivery and fantastic quality. More on the gauges later :wink:

I opted for a complete Stage 2 cooling set up from FM, including their Crossflow radiator, sealed shroud and twin 2700 cfm 12” SPAL slim fans.

The radiator itself performs outstandingly, my car warms up considerably faster, however runs cooler! The oem gauge sits a notch lower than running temp previously. You have to buy the fans and the shroud also, as the neck of the rad is moved completely to the left so it would foul on the stock fan set up.
However there are many cons.
I had to go to Bunnings and buy my own bolts to mount the fan shroud.
I had to trim the shroud as it wasn't sitting flat. It also hit the coolant overflow line, had to be trimmed.
Also didn't fit my SE at all, even though it was ordered for an MSM.
I had to have the oem intercooler piping very skewed just to get the rad in.
Had to grind out the holes in the actual radiator mounting plates to reach the rad, the whole thing is under considerable tension, and doesn't sit squarely either. For the amount it cost landed, which I will not disclose as it is a hideously large sum of money, I was expecting far far better.

Quick engine bay shot after everything was installed. Even got a brand new coolant overflow bottle :roll:

Pretty pleased with myself at this point haha, car really was driving perfectly. :twisted:

Installed the BuddyClub P1 wheels with RE002s and gave it a proper wash and detail.

Nice end to a very stressful month haha. :mrgreen:

Postby **Okibi** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:21 am

Looks like a great job Em,

Sounds like the same issues I had with my PWR / Flyin Miata twin cooler, haven't even tried to fit that in the SE yet.

Roadrunner · Postby **Roadrunner** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:48 am

That's a bit disappointing about the radiator fitment. Very unlike Flying Miata products.
I wonder if there is something different in the front there between the AUS and US models that makes it difficult to fit in/not fit square?
And they could have at least supplied the bolts to put it all together

BuddyClubs look sweet. Needs more low

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:03 am

I'm surprised at the amount of work required to fit a FM product, normally they fit perfectly which offsets their hideous S&H costs. I suspect it's just a generic NA/NB product that "can" be fitted into the MSM so that's how they market it as an MSM product and they just ship the standard kit.

After your experience, I think I'd choose a TSE or 949racing radiator, at least S&H would be reasonable.

Also, radiator panel needs more red

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:07 am

Previous owner may have told them to change only the timing belt.

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:31 am

Yeah! Another update.

Still you've got a fair bit more catching up to do Emily, I've seen Dann's FB page....... :mrgreen:

joshuam · Postby **joshuam** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:36 am

Wow, I was impressed with the SE, then that CLEAN NB which you seem to have wedged perfectly into a NA shell

Not entirely sold on the new tails, but each to their own. Engine bay is clean. Will read further back through the thread when I get a chance!

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:49 am

Rad did come with bolts/nuts/washers. A large packet in fact, all sealed with no markings to work out what each was for. Heaps of spares left over, they ship they same packet regardless of year/model and the instructions are the same too, with 10 variations for each step depending on year. One of the worst experiences I have had with 'bolt on' parts. Funnily enough last time they got my name and address wrong and I nearly missed out on all the 1.6 > 1.8 conversion stuff. Safe to say I will never buy a product from them again.

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:11 pm

I'd send them an email with all your problems. See how they respond.

SlugRacer · Postby **SlugRacer** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:35 pm

The wheels suit perfectly! I much prefer the original design of the P1s, they remind me of R34 GTR wheels. :JDM:

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:53 pm

Yeah I think they look really good too, very similar to the 34 rims! Not 18s though haha.
Too bad they are coming off next week haha, got something fatter to replace them ;)

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Sun May 03, 2015 9:01 pm

Another little update

I installed a pair of RSpeed hydraulic bonnet struts, extremely simple mod that cleans up the engine bay as I removed the factory prop, hinge and clip.
Great fitment, no drilling required as the bracket slots under the bonnet hinge nut, and the other end replaced a fender bolt. Not my car, but pic for reference.

Verdict? Worth it.

Next up was a set of Ultra Racing fender braces.
Fitment was not great, as expected.
I had to enlarge the bottom 2 holes to get it sitting perfectly, then was pretty straight forward drilling the other 2 holes in the chassis.
It came with nice M8 stainless hardware for the holes you have to drill, but I had to go to Bunnings and buy 8 bolts for the door hinges, as the brace is quite thick and I wasn't happy reusing the stock bolts as there was hardly any thread left once the brace thickness was added in on top of the door hinge.

I have heard good things about their effect, but am always sceptical of any real gain. Pleased to say I noticed a difference straight away!
I have several sharp chicanes near me to test the cars agility, and I perceived a more direct turn in. The car felt a lot more connected to the road, for lack of a better explanation it felt a lot more like an NA

Verdict? Worth it.

Also had the guards rolled by Nelson from Sydney Guard Rolling.
Mobile, great price and perfect job.

Verdict? Worth it, and necessary for these bad boys :mrgreen:

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Sun May 03, 2015 10:08 pm

emily_mx5 wrote:Verdict? Worth it, and necessary for these bad boys

Awwww..... You can't go and post some pictures like these and not tell us what they are!!

A bit hard to see in the photo but are those tyres 235 wide?!!! :shock:

Very nice though.... I've always thought the 'twin spoke' 5-spoke design would be the only alternative to the factory 5 spoke RH rims that I would seriously consider. :wink:

Roadrunner · Postby **Roadrunner** » Sun May 03, 2015 10:52 pm

Nevyn72 wrote:Very nice though.... I've always thought the 'twin spoke' 5-spoke design would be the only alternative to the factory 5 spoke RH rims that I would seriously consider.

I agree, very nice design