Hmm, I don't like those. Such a pain to cut out oblong mounting holes and have everything sit correctly and flush. Round is a hell of a lot easier to drill.

I basically purchased an AutoLoc two channel remote unit (no longer produced) and adapted it to control a set of parts store actuators. The AutoLoc box had two momentary outputs. I added a simple circuit with two relays to run the actuators. I added my own wire as at the time I also installed a multiconductor cable into the doors for future use (speakers and such).

That's a good idea...If I had a sunroof. I'm thinking of rigging a set of microswitches at the the top and bottom of the window travel. Connected to the drive relays, they would add an auto up and auto down feature. The autodown on the drivers window is so handy in the Insight.

I've been so happy with mine I can't even begin to communicate it. It's a perfect daily driver. With nearly 250,000 on mine I've had few problems. Did recently have to replace the oil pan due to a crack though.

 

i wanna see updates on the RX-5 you picked up...

 

There won't be any work on the Cosmo for a while.

 

i want to see street video's of this car like just a launch in 1st gear and some highway cruising would be nice

 

hey aaron cake got a ? are u using a n/a rear diff or are u useing a tII

 

A launch in 1st gear simply results in a tire fire. Launching the car properly requires finesse with the open diff and careful control. It's not something that can be done properly, safely or legally on the street. A throttle roll on up to the speed limit is the closest you are you are going to get. Why highway cruising? You want to watch me drive around at the speed limit in 5th gear? Seems a bit boring...But I guess people will watch anything.

I'm almost certain this was covered on the 1st page. NA diff.

 

Aaron, I know this is a little old, But I have a pair Of Sparco Torino 2 seats that I do not feel that spending an extra 200 USD plus Shipping and duties is not worth when you welded the tabs to the bottom of the seat and lowered it's sitting position how close to stock did it end up?

 

I can't predict how your seats would sit, but mine ended up about 1" higher then stock. 1" is actually quite significant and changes the view out of the windshield. There are a set of 1/2" spacers I can remove to lower the seat, which I intend to do as I now think the seat is a bit high.

The OEM seats have their mounts sunken into their frame a bit so they naturally mount low compared to aftermarket seats which generally have their mounts right on the bottom. It is hard to get aftermarket seats to sit as low as OEM.

 

So by welding the tabs to the bottom of the seat and having a 1/2" spacer you ended up with your seats being roughly 1" higher?
So based on your seats you were able using factory mounts and sliders you were able to have an aftermarket seat be only 1/2" higher than stock?

I ask because the aftermarket brackets from Sparco for our cars sit 1/2" higher. I do not want to spend the money If I could do the same thing.

 

The tabs were actually welded to the stock seat bracket, and the 1/2" spacer came with the seats (it keeps the adjustment lever from hitting stuff). The additional 1/2" came from the construction of the seats themselves. I think that if I remove most of the 1/2" spacer (making it into more like a 3/16" spacer) then the seat will probably lower enough to totally change the angle looking out of the windshield. That's what I'd like because at this point I am looking more out of the top half then the middle. Things like that annoy me. I like my seat close to the steering wheel so the extra height is probably not an issue for those who have their seats set further back.

 

Yeah the small stuff like that bothers me also! That is why I am asking lots of questions cause I just found out that it would be 400 dollars for sliders/brackets for the torino 2's and are backordered! So I think some fabbing is in order! I work at a fire truck manufacturer so I can most likely make my own custom base if need be!

 

The FC brackets are fairly easy to modify, it was just time consuming initially to figure out what needed to be done for the passenger side because I was hauling the seat in and out of the car a few hundred times. The driver side though is dead simple. Most aftermarket seats mount the same way which is just going to require redrilling and slotting some holes.

 

AaronCake = Rammstein fan

Awesome....

 

OOOOOH dynamat!

Nice. Granted you have yours for a different reason than i want mine for.

I have two 12's and a 1000 watt rms amp. My doors visibly flex when the bass hits. It sounds terrible.

How much did you pay to do all that? Looks like enough for my entire hatch area, and doors which is what i need.

Also, i like those seats. Ebay special? If so, do you have a link to their store?

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by mazdaverx713b
Aaron, i have a COMPLETE maroon interior from and 88 SE if there's any little parts you need to finish your car let me know. i'll send them to you for the price of shipping.

Thanks for the offer, but I'm good. I just buy all new trim at the dealer. It's actually quite cheap...


I've really been wanting to switch to a black or grey interior from that bubble gum blue interior in my car... How cheap is cheap? You have any basic numbers for the Dash, Carpet, ect.?

If not, where would I look to find a dealer catalog or something?

Please and thank you sir,
Scott.

 

Wow... Aaroncake.... Do you ever regret knowing everything?

Your getting asked questions about other peoples junk in your own build thread o.O


PS... I'm jealous of London. We've driven down twice in the past 2 weeks just to go grab junk from Coreys....

 

Yep.

I think I have about $300 into that much DynaMat. I spent more then I needed to because I didn't buy in bulk. Not knowing how much I would need I had to buy two small boxes before I finally bought the big one.

They are a set of China seats that are marketed under several different names. As far as I can tell, APC, Bride and a bunch of others sell the same seats with their own sticker on them. I don't know of any eBay auctions off hand.

You'll find the 2nd gen parts catalog in the FAQ which will give you the part numbers. Some trim pieces aren't available. I can't find a maroon center console nor can I find speaker covers. Most trim pieces are cheap. For example, the stereo console is about $50. The A-pillar trims are around $75.

 

Aaron, excellent write up. First I think you are overly generous giving the ACC carpet a 2, I would say a 1 at best. Can you give me a little more details on what exactly you had to do on the front passenger carpet install? The overall fitment is just wrong on this section of the car and I want to avoid hacking up the carpet to make it fit. I aplaud your sticking with the pimp red, I personally had to opt out of this and went with black carpet, headliner and sunroof and a charcoal interior.

 

I fitted the carpet by using the rear upturns as a reference. It took considerable trimming at the firewall area before I could slide the carpet in place (I notched the area at the shifter so I did not have to remove the dash...this may have helped a lot). Then I put the rear upturn area against the bulkhead and trimmed the front to fit under the dash. At the same time, I had to leave extra material at the front of both sides in order to allow the carpet to bunch up a bit where the seats mount.

I love the whorehouse red interior. Just wish I could find a center console. Mazda doesn't have any, and all the used ones are junk.

 

Why not make a center console out of fiberglass or CF and paint it? You could use the oem one to make the mold or go custom. Just a thought.

 

Thanks for the help, I have completely stripped my car and dynamatted the works. I actually pulled out the whole red interior, so if you need anything drop me a line. My stereo surround was black and broke as was the console (imagine that).

 

There is a business located in Arizona called "Second Skin Audio" and they sell stuff which is exactly like Dynamat, if not even better and it costs a whole lot less. With Dynamat, you are paying for the name and my perspective is if it does the very same thing then "save money" and go with Second Skin products. I used a few of their products and my car is as quiet as can be. There is no mistake about this observation for it is that clear cut.

 

Is the n/a 4lug suspention good for a turbo car.How good dose it work on a car with an engine like your's...Are you useing the n/a gear's????

 

MY car has na 4 lug setup and the fronts were upgraded to FD calipers and FC 5 lug rotors using Aarons spacers,the rear end was swapped for a turbo2 unit but i kept the 4 lug hubs.The car drives great and stops without any problems.

 

Since I've never done any fibreglass work before, only watched others do it, it would not be my first choice. I don't have any issues with the OEM console (other then the fact they are all broken) and would like something to match the existing OEM trim. I do happen to have a grey OEM console in good shape so I think I will try my hand at painting it to match the maroon. Worst case is that I waste an hour.

Well, since I have not tested "Second Skin Audio" in comparison with Dynamat, and have never heard of them until you mentioned it, I am inclined to "pay for the name" of Dynamat since I know that it works. Whether it works better then "Second Skin" I can't say, but I know that Dynamat works quite well and am very happy with the result in my car.

The fact that the hubs are 4 lug really don't have much to do with how well it would work, and the suspension is as adequate as the driver feels it is. I have of course upgraded my shocks and springs, and now have gone to the larger 4 piston calipers as my single piston units were failing. But they were mostly adequate for the job.

I am currently running an NA transmission but I won't be for much longer. I blew one up this spring on a 3rd gear pull after damaging it at the 1/4 mile last year, and the replacement is now starting to whine as well now that I have turned up to the boost (500 wheel HP is a lot of fun). I have a TII transmission out at a shop right now being built and will swap it this winter.