After a test drive
- handling
- braking
- interior needs a touch up
- tune up (oil spark plugs etc)
Any recommendation for my list!

 

Change coolant as well - 50/50 mix of water and green Prestone. Post up some engine bay pictures and we can see if anything looks funny or needs to be addressed.

Check the age of the tires - if they are old, replace them. Old tires are SERIOUSLY dangerous.

Let the car tell you what it needs - hold off on the "fun" stuff until you make sure the car is running right, driving right, and is safe. I would also look at getting the car aligned as well.

Have fun!
Dale

 

Make it look more like this:

 

do not follow that advice lol...

the kit on the car now is excellent. the rear bumper is busy but it fits the styling.

post some pictures of the engine bay and we can give better suggestions

 

Congrats on the FD! Was sus'd out not sure if you were a real dude since you were new, but will respond to your DM now!

 

As time and budget allow change ALL the fluids, including brake, transmission and differential gear oil. Consider a fuel filter and a dose of good fuel system/injector cleaner. With those and what’s already been mentioned you’ll have a great baseline for maintenance.
The only other thing I can think of if those are real MSO1 wheels is to sell them to me cheap.

 

They're not ms01... they look like sterns

 

 

Good thing is it's pretty stock and hasn't been touched much.

Few things -

- The stock intercooler duct needs to have that big square hole covered. You are losing a lot of air pressure to feed the intercooler that way. You can get some thin aluminum sheet, cut with tin snips, and use rivets or self-tapping screws to attach it. Also there's another hole that originally fed the stock battery box, either get a stock battery box or cap that off - probably better served capping it off.

- The battery doesn't have a hold down bracket. This is VERY important on a car that can pull serious G's braking and in corners - that battery can flop around, break things, or short out and start a fire. The bracket and J-bolts are available from Mazda and they aren't too much. Get OEM parts, don't get some cheapo parts store junk. Remember, this is a high performance sports car, not grandma's Buick - use good parts.

- The intake is the old HKS intake. The filters aren't that good and it's a pretty goofy intake. Long term I would sort that out some other way.

- The rubber cover for the main wire on the alternator has been rubbed through. Worth getting a new boot, Garage Alpha sells them. That's a live wire, it's possible for a tool to short against that and ground when working on the car.

- Just cosmetic, but Bubble Tech sells new stickers for the underwood fuse boxes.

Dale

 

* Aluminum AST and quality aluminum radiator if it’s still rocking the OEM version with plastic end tanks. Koyo and Fluidyne are popular and proven choices.
* Some (preferably black) upholster foam works well to plug the battery vent hole. Cut it oversize and a daub or two of silicone helps holds it in place. Look thru the nose of the bumper and use any leftover foam to plug gaps around the radiator and duct.
* Battery post connections look a little sketchy from age. A used OEM battery cover could probably be sourced with a ‘Want To Buy’ ad in the parts section.
*Check the level of your brake/clutch reservoir.

 

I got the Banzai Racing AST delete kit, any pros to actually keeping the AST and converting to aluminum?

 

No, not in my experience. I deleted the AST myself (ultimately also w/the Banzai kit) but it was motivated by my choice of SMIC more than just getting rid of the AST. Cost of the Banzai kit vs. a good aluminum AST is almost a wash. No issues since deletion though. It’s whatever the OP prefers IMO.

 

thanks dale I will make sure to make correction

 

You might want to inspect the belts for cracking and wear on the inside faces. Like tires, they wear out, dry out and age out after a while.

 

will do thanks!