Emily's 04 VR SE

luzinit · Postby **luzinit** » Mon May 04, 2015 1:00 am

Very nice and unique rims. What wheels are those Emily?

Ruffian147 · Postby **Ruffian147** » Mon May 04, 2015 7:12 am

Seen them on a Holden Astra the other day.

Does not suit a MX5 imo, more of a Euro feel than JDM.

ManiacLachy · Postby **ManiacLachy** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:07 am

Very nice Emily! You're doing all the mods I want to one day do, but on an accelertaed timeline. Quite jealous actually.

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Mon May 04, 2015 12:40 pm

emily_mx5 wrote: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.

+1 - it's like the remote control for your TV, not really necessary but once you're used to it, you can't live without it.

emily_mx5 wrote: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.

There's a thread about Ultra Racing fender braces somewhere here that they didn't fit a guy's MX5 properly and Ultra Racing dismissed the issue as being a problem with his chassis being twisted. Other guys chimed in with similar issues so I've been wary of Ultra Racing products ever since.
I have Boss Frog Frog Arms and, like you, noticed that turn-in felt much sharper, you can definitely feel the difference (unlike the FM frame rails where I didn't notice any difference while driving, only when jacking up the car).

Looking forward to seeing those wheels on the car, you've got quite a collection now. I'm concerned 235s may rub on the inside at full lock on the SE though - can you include a shot of how close it gets?

kazama · Postby **kazama** » Mon May 04, 2015 1:57 pm

Lokiel wrote:Looking forward to seeing those wheels on the car, you've got quite a collection now. I'm concerned 235s may rub on the inside at full lock on the SE though - can you include a shot of how close it gets?

From memory the SE hits the lock stops before regular NBs. It might work

bootz · Postby **bootz** » Mon May 04, 2015 4:55 pm

Maybe Work wheels from the logo. Possibly 9". Some serious rubber and alloys.

Roadrunner · Postby **Roadrunner** » Fri May 15, 2015 5:07 pm

Got those wheels on the car yet? We need pics!

Saw your car at NitroDanns the other week, very nice. What brand gear knob is that?

Postby **Okibi** » Fri May 15, 2015 7:56 pm

Still waiting for the dyno post :mrgreen:

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Fri May 22, 2015 9:26 pm

ARC TiTan gearknob :JDM:

Roadrunner · Postby **Roadrunner** » Fri May 22, 2015 9:42 pm

emily_mx5 wrote:ARC TiTan gearknob

Thanks

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:43 pm

Little update

JDM Broadway Convex Mirror, clips over the standard one. Opens up field of view considerably. I love it.

Also replaced the gearbox oil with Redline lightweight shockproof, and both upper and lower rubber shiftboots (of course they were split) and the little nylon bush.
As always, feels like a new gearbox and shifts like butter. No more 6spd woes haha, doesn't require a short shifter thankfully.

On my quest to vent everything to atmosphere, I decided to delete the oem catch can set up. Firstly had to get the sump drain welded up.

I bought a “Cusco” catch can for cheap from ebay. Ricey peice of sh*t was empty lol.
Drilled a large hole the in the top, filled it with steel wool, so the oil vapours actually have a surface to condense on, and screwed a barb in for a breather filter.

Secured it with supplied brackets where the oem airbox used to be. Painted it satin black and finally installed my Carbing brace!

For the PCV to manifold vent, I fitted a small fuel filter inline to help catch some oil so the low octane oil vapours aren't fed into the engine at vacuum. Minor mod but I've seen it done on MiataTurbo, and every bit counts.
After being in for about a month there is some liquid oil pooled inside, so it is working!

Massive update coming

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:19 pm

Like the fuel filter idea! Going to copy that!

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:28 pm

Catch can won't work fitted upside down. If it gets any oil in it, the fitting will be under oil.

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:14 pm

^True, but I check it every month and there has been no more than a teaspoon total in ~4 months.
I will be getting a proper one fabricated at some stage though.