Kaiser's '04 MSM Build Thread

[KaiserM715]

A couple of weeks ago, I negotiated an upgrade of my beater '01 NB when I sold my wife's G8 to get her a minivan.  After some looking around, I found one with 60kish on the clock with timing belt, water pump and seals recently done, along with a new cloth soft top.  The car is in great condition inside and out with only a few small chips in the paint.  A deal was made to trade my '01 in for this one and I drove it home.

Here she is after I got her all cleaned up:




Planned use for the car:
-Split daily driver duties with my truck
-Autocross
-Some track days, but nothing too serious
-Occasional road trips

Planned mods:
-Upgraded cooling
--I live in Houston and refuse to go without AC, I don't want heat to be an issue when I am having fun.
-MR shifter
-Wheels / tires for track use
--I have some ideas, but will likely be next year
-Suspension
--I have some ideas, but will likely be next year
-FM LE or equivalent
-BEGi Reflash

[KaiserM715]

Cooling mods:
Flying Miata crossflow radiator and Stage II fans are on their way.  I have also been in contact with joeereid to get a pair of OEM connectors.  Here is the thread I am using for reference:
http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php/topic,27337.75.html

[SilverMiataRacer]

You need to add a rollbar to that list of mods to do track days.

[m3fan4ever]

Car looks to be in great condition. Congrats! It looks like the MX-5 and Mazdaspeed badges are on opposite sides from stock. The MX-5 is on the driver's side and mazdaspeed on the passenger side usually. 99.9% of people will never notice, I just thought it was interesting.

Also, wheels/tires make for a better ride for DD duty if you go with smaller/lighter wheels with larger profile tires. I would consider something that can be used for DD and track use (2 sets are best if you have the $$ of course).

[KaiserM715]

You need to add a rollbar to that list of mods to do track days.

True, I forgot to mention that.

[KaiserM715]

Car looks to be in great condition. Congrats! It looks like the MX-5 and Mazdaspeed badges are on opposite sides from stock. The MX-5 is on the driver's side and mazdaspeed on the passenger side usually. 99.9% of people will never notice, I just thought it was interesting.

I think there is other evidence that points to a repaint (at least front and rear), this further contributes to that.

Also, wheels/tires make for a better ride for DD duty if you go with smaller/lighter wheels with larger profile tires. I would consider something that can be used for DD and track use (2 sets are best if you have the $$ of course).

That was my thinking, too.

[JCALD]

A couple of weeks ago, I negotiated an upgrade of my beater '01 NB when I sold my wife's G8 to get her a minivan.  After some looking around, I found one with 60kish on the clock with timing belt, water pump and seals recently done, along with a new cloth soft top.  The car is in great condition inside and out with only a few small chips in the paint.  A deal was made to trade my '01 in for this one and I drove it home.

Here she is after I got her all cleaned up:




Planned use for the car:
-Split daily driver duties with my truck
-Autocross
-Some track days, but nothing too serious
-Occasional road trips

Planned mods:
-Upgraded cooling
--I live in Houston and refuse to go without AC, I don't want heat to be an issue when I am having fun.
-MR shifter
-Wheels / tires for track use
--I have some ideas, but will likely be next year
-Suspension
--I have some ideas, but will likely be next year
-FM LE or equivalent
-BEGi Reflash

Nice.  Looks just like mine before adding the roll bar and a few other items.

[KaiserM715]

First big job / upgrade on the car is complete: Flyin' Miata cross-flow radiator and Stage II fan kit.  The condenser fan was out when I purchased the car, and I know I will be keeping A/C (I live in Houston), plus I will be adding power mods / intercooler, so I decided to do this as my first big mod.

Threads used for reference:
FM Crossflow Radiator and Spal Fan Install - millsj
http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php?topic=25105.0

FM Stage 2 fans - joeereid
http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php/topic,27337.0.html

Additional tools:
-Hose clamp pliers (these made my life much easier...)
http://www.astrotools.com/index.php/hose-clamp-pliers.html

Items upgraded / replaced:
-Radiator
-Fans
-Upper / lower radiator hoses
-Heater hoses
-Thermostat

Since the bulk of the install is covered in the two threads referenced above, I will only offer my comments on the install and where I differed.

I got in touch with Joey and discussed the connector situation as I wasn't a big fan of cutting up the stock wiring harness.  As someone who doesn't want 1000 of them, they are essentially unobtanium.  Thankfully Joey had a pair of connectors and associated parts he was willing to sell to me.  I made the comment to FM when they gave me a follow up call that they should include them in future kits.  They are weather-proof and the Spal connectors are not.  One additional thing I added was a second pigtail to allow for the wiring swap for Hydra controlled fans in the future.  I used WeatherPacks to make the connection in between the fan and OEM connector.  One connector for OEM ECU control and another for Hydra control.



I relocated the condenser in front of the brackets (missed that step in the instructions, eventually figured it out, blue circles).  For the PS line relocate, I had to cut the line (green circle) as the rubber had hardened and stiffened to the point that there was no alternative.  I drilled the hole in the radiator support bracket while it was off of the car and squirted a little spray paint for corrosion control (yellow circle).



The most difficult part of the install was removing the lower radiator hose from the block.  I removed the airbox, several brackets and the PS line from the reservoir (already drained) to the pump.  I eventually cut it as close as I could and then used needle nose vise grips to work the clamp free.  I installed a FM silicone hose and used Jegs t-bolt clamps.  I am not happy about the routing on the silicone hose and had to sleeve it in several locations where it makes contact with other things.  The next time I drain the cooling system, I am going to put a stock hose back on.

[millsj]

Since you live in Houston, you made a good first choice in upgrades.  You will also now get the extra 5 hp of thrust from the fans.     Those fans really do move a lot of air!

[joeereid]

Clean looking pigtails! Make sure you keep the stock under tray for maximum cooling efficiency.

[KaiserM715]

The fans do indeed move a lot of air.  They didn't hardly stay on and dropped the temp 15+ deg.

Clean looking pigtails! Make sure you keep the stock under tray for maximum cooling efficiency.

Thanks.  Yes, it is back on.

[KaiserM715]

The most difficult part of the install was removing the lower radiator hose from the block.  I removed the airbox, several brackets and the PS line from the reservoir (already drained) to the pump.  I eventually cut it as close as I could and then used needle nose vise grips to work the clamp free.  I installed a FM silicone hose and used Jegs t-bolt clamps.  I am not happy about the routing on the silicone hose and had to sleeve it in several locations where it makes contact with other things.  The next time I drain the cooling system, I am going to put a stock hose back on.

As an addendum, I found this thread helpful for getting the hose off:
http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php?topic=31302.0

[barmato]

What is the point of the pigtails?  Is there sometime different about the spal fans from the stock fans that requires this?  The Hydra controls the stock fans fine through the standard wiring.  What am I missing?

Oh and I agree on your assessment of the FM lower radiator hose.  The fitment of that is crap, very disappointing.

[KaiserM715]

What is the point of the pigtails?  Is there sometime different about the spal fans from the stock fans that requires this?  The Hydra controls the stock fans fine through the standard wiring.  What am I missing?

It is my understanding that the Hydra uses the other pair of wires to control the fan vs the pair that the OEM ECM uses.  This allows me to switch between the two configs easily without repinning connectors.  As I have to get emissions testing once a year, I will have to swap back to the OEM ECM once a year after I go to Hydra (whenever that might be).

[SilverMiataRacer]

The stock fans are multi speed and have 3 wires each.  The Spal fans are single speed and only use 2 wires.