Emily's 04 VR SE

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 1:14 am

NitroDann wrote:The haltech were always ok, there were a few loom sent out with 2 pinout back to front. The issue was the installers.

Ask me how I know.

Regie · Postby **Regie** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 12:58 pm

haha the world of Internet aye.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Sunbaker is Dupain from about 6 months ago.

Keep up the good work Em, keen to read the next chapter!

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 2:49 pm

emily_mx5 wrote:Thanks for the support guys.
This got really out of hand for no reason :/

Seems to have settled down now so..... Back to the regular programming.

We need more Updates and Pictures! :mrgreen:

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:10 pm

Don't feed the trolls.
Just ignore Sunbaker. By responding he is getting his jolllies.

Mr Sexy · Postby **Mr Sexy** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 2:12 am

Did the mods miss place the ban hammer? :lol:

Seems to be a regular occurrence lately...

Keen to see some more of the se! need inspiration while I wait for the old bank account to top up :lol:

Postby **Okibi** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:24 am

Mr Sexy wrote:Did the mods miss place the ban hammer? ..

Nope.

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.