Crapweasel's SE

Crapweasel · Postby **Crapweasel** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:21 pm

Small update, and not really mod related, but hey, I'm excited!

I've ordered some parts from the US - now waiting for them to arrive....
Sitting at the shipping depot is an AEM intake, FMO2 mod and an ebay turbo dump pipe. Can't wait - but will have to! I'm bringing them over by seafreight :roll:

Today, ASE05 paid me back for assisting on his car over the last few months (and I'm going to assist in the next project he has lined up...)

A grand total of 10 hours work, 4 yesterday on clay bar, headlights and tail lights and then today doing 6 passes with cutting compound, another cutting compound, light cutting, polish and wax.

Awesome result - it hasn't looked this glossy since I've had it, so I'm extremely pleased, thought I'd share the results as I'm a very proud MX5 owner! (even if the car shots don't do it justice)

Almost worth the effort in 33 degrees today :shock:

Tail light Before:

Tail light After:

Headlight Before:

Headlight After:

Front Shot:

Rear Shot:

Thanks for checking it out :lol:

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 1:15 pm

Watch out for the factory clamps when upgrading your intake - one accidentally slipped out of my pliers and ricocheted all over the place. I was lucky that it didn't hit me in the eye - when they spring off they have a hell of a lot of momentum (took me a while to find the damn thing too since I lost track of it after the 3rd ricochet).

Also, the bottom rubber hose on the turbo is a pain in the arse to remove, it's very low down and there's not much wriggle room to get at the clamp off. You don't need this hose in the AEM kit so I simply hacked the crap out of it with a Stanley knife until I could get the clamp off.

The previous owner of my car already had the FM downpipe installed (OEM midpipe and muffler) and I expected some performance increase after doing the AEM upgrade, but I was completely blown away with just how much extra power I had with the AEM kit. I drove like a teenage P-Plater for the next few weeks after installing it.

MINX · Postby **MINX** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 2:49 pm

When are you going to plug the holes from the badge delete?

NMX516 · Postby **NMX516** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:57 pm

Lookin good Pete!

I need to get Derek working for me again too :lol:

Crapweasel · Postby **Crapweasel** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:04 pm

MINX wrote:When are you going to plug the holes from the badge delete?

I got a quote to get it fixed - $360 + GST. I'm hoping that price includes removal & refitting of the rear bumper because at that price, I'm going to work on the go first, and then attend to the show later

Crapweasel · Postby **Crapweasel** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:45 am

Davex3 wrote:I've been told that there are some MX5, MAZDA and SE badges that would perfectly fill those holls.

I've searched for weeks, and can't find any holes for the SE badge! :mrgreen:

Crapweasel · Postby **Crapweasel** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:51 am

Took a shot today which I didn't completely like, so I cropped it, switched it to black & white, and liked it much better.

No mod updates yet - the next round of gear is due to arrive in a couple of weeks, then as I found out today after a few spirited runs for a couple of fellow MX5 owners, I'm going to be up for a new clutch sooner than I thought (and lighter flywheel while I'm there :evil:

)

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:51 pm

Great shot, in B&W you don't have to see the reflectors and indicators in hideous orange

I wanted to debadge the rear of my car and replace them with "MazdaSpeed" and "MX-5" badges, swapped around from the US positions of course since we're in the opposite hemisphere and drive on the opposite side of the road. I knew that the OEM "Mazda" badge left 2 holes in the rear of the car so was going to leave it but the "MX-5" badge seems to have them too yet the rear of your car doesn't show them. Can you confirm if this is correct? I assume that there are 2 "MX-5" badge pins that go into the back of the car because I used a hot air gun (actually a hair dryer but don't tell anyone because that'll make it more difficult for me to convince people that it's not a "hairdresser's car") and some fishing line to remove the badge. The fishing line seemed to get stuck at 2 points that look to be where the "MX-5" badge pins would be if they exist.

Once again, can you, or anyone, please confirm if the "MX-5" badge has these two pins like the "Mazda" badge? If they dont exist, I'll try again with "a bit more mongrel".

Thanks

Crapweasel · Postby **Crapweasel** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:08 pm

Lokiel wrote:Great shot, in B&W you don't have to see the reflectors and indicators in hideous orange

I wanted to debadge the rear of my car and replace them with "MazdaSpeed" and "MX-5" badges, swapped around from the US positions of course since we're in the opposite hemisphere and drive on the opposite side of the road. I knew that the OEM "Mazda" badge left 2 holes in the rear of the car so was going to leave it but the "MX-5" badge seems to have them too yet the rear of your car doesn't show them. Can you confirm if this is correct? I assume that there are 2 "MX-5" badge pins that go into the back of the car because I used a hot air gun (actually a hair dryer but don't tell anyone because that'll make it more difficult for me to convince people that it's not a "hairdresser's car") and some fishing line to remove the badge. The fishing line seemed to get stuck at 2 points that look to be where the "MX-5" badge pins would be if they exist.

Once again, can you, or anyone, please confirm if the "MX-5" badge has these two pins like the "Mazda" badge? If they dont exist, I'll try again with "a bit more mongrel".

Thanks

Thanks!

And yes, both the MX5 and Mazda badges have pins. The holes are both definitely there on my car... :cry:

sliq · Postby **sliq** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:53 pm

wow!! what is he using on the headlights and tail lights? that stuff is magic.

Crapweasel · Postby **Crapweasel** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:13 pm

sliq wrote:wow!! what is he using on the headlights and tail lights? that stuff is magic.

It's a combination of cutting compound, lighter cutting, polish, and final finish (all liquid) - all applied repeatedly with an orbital buffer over the course of 3 hours.

The exact products, I'm not sure of, but they come from http://www.waxit.com.au - they've changed the labels so I can't give the exact products. It's expensive stuff, but it's really easy to work with, and as you can see it delivers!

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:41 pm

Loving what you're doing with this car.

Also makes me feel very lazy and lucky that I bought the same year, model and colour as yours from a guy who'd already spent an obscene amount of money on sourcing, fitting and sorting almost exactly all the same mods as I would have done if 'd had the time, money and patience.

Crapweasel · Postby **Crapweasel** » Sun May 02, 2010 9:38 pm

My next round of mods finally arrived from the US last week!

1 x AEM intake
1 x Ebay dump pipe
1 x FM O2 mod.

Fitted the intake today, and it looks much tidier! I wasn't expecting any increase in performance, but was pleasantly surprised. Spool up is quicker it's now surprisingly quickly to hit redline in 3rd, and there's dedinitely a slight increase in HP, as measured by the butt dyno.

Huge thanks to Derek for his assistance!

Before:

After - much tidier!