mazdaspeed ppf install
 

just had some spare time so i thought i would swap my ppf with the mazdaspeed one that i had lieing around :cool:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3015/img2234ik1.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8159/img2235pe3.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7115/img2241ew5.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7352/img2242hi2.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6854/img2245ji6.jpg

noticed any differences?

na the car not running just yet. my mate has one and he rekons he can tell the difference. it looks the same and feels the same to me, so hope there is a diff.

i think its just more solid to prevent the bending..

How was the install? time?

Where did you buy this from?

You bought this from SR, didn't you?

In the pics I can see the actual mazdaspeed plate on it. However, in my opinion the Mazdaspeed PPF is just a powdercoated OEM power plant frame but once again, that is just my perosonal opinion. Looks nice though :)

Its looks like that to me too. I'm wondering what the actual difference is. It doesn't seem any beefier.

I haven't had any problems with the stock frame, even after a ton of 1.5x 60's.

People who have bought it haven't noticed any difference in "strength" of the construction. But supposedly it's cryo treated which is supposed to strengthen it. Construction appears to be identical according to those who compare them. Most importantly the common fail points are not improved in any way

I have seen a couple over the years and the welds are the same but I cant comment on the cryo treatment.

130mph traps, you arent making enough power to shatter a stock one:lol: Just kidding, I have always thought you were one of the few able to put down good times without a shit ton of power.

i bought it off a mate who hade it, not sure where he got it from.


took bout 2hours to put in. thats taking off the exhaust, and taking out the old ppf, put the new one in and exhaust back on, by myself.

i will let everyone know what i think when i get the car going, its just ment to be stonger so souldnt really feel alot differnt than the stock one.

allso i would just do what rich did on here, he got his dip in some shit, hopefully he will jump in. made his stock one 200x as strong.

ah you're right. I totally missed that :)

All this time I thought the Mazdaspeed one was supposed to be a lot beefier and different looking.

I found this post from Rich posted a long time ago. I'll have to ask him how his PPF is doing now.

I believe the MS PPF is the same steel thickness and design of the stock item, thus same weight; however, the steel used is of a higher strength alloy steel (i.e Heat Treated not cryo treated). The resulting piece will have the same stiffness as orginal part just will take more load before breaking.

I tried to put a fresh locking nut on this PPF stud where I was missing a nut, and the stud just spins freely. Is something broken or is this actually a nut with a backing that I need to put a wrench on?
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/photo-33.jpg

There is a thin metal plate on top of the diff that loosely holds the studs in place. My guess is that yours has somehow stripped out.

Also, why haven't more people taken the stock one out and welded more support in there?

:O

What do I do?!

I would be down to do this. I found this visual aid. Anymore floating around so I now where else to reinforce?

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=167100

^lol i see a problem with that dif

That's what I did with mine. I just followed all the cracks in the stock one and then reinforced them. I Then added a tranny brace and solid differential mounts. The whole thing is rigid as can be now. No movement or slop just solid power delivery and smooth shifting. Been holding up much better even though I'm putting down a good 200hp more then before. If the ppf ever breaks again, I'll just take it down, re-weld it and strengthen it where it broke that time.

BIG problem! :nod:

Ha by the looks of that pic I'm not sure that brace is a good idea....

I should have mentioned, the loose stud is at the front of the PPF, not the diff. Is that one supposed to spin freely? How do I fix?

the trans part has the same metal plate on top also. Have you tried a non-nylon nut with some locktite?

Not yet. The stud is sooo loose I thought I should address it before trying to get another nut in there. If I try to remove the entire PPF for purposes of reinforcement, am I likely to find more loose studs throughout?

IMO, using Loctite is a very poor "bandaid" fix. Even if you can get the fastener tight, it may work loose again EVEN THOUGH THE NUT IS STILL TIGHT on the stud. And, with a spinning stud, getting it loose the next time will be a bigger problem due to the Loctite.

Agreed. Any idea where to start in order to cure the spinning stud issue..

I am assuming you would rather not pull everything apart to fix it by replacing or welding the stud in place. So:

Looks to me that there may be room for 2 nuts on the stud. So, this is what I would attempt to do:
1. Dremel a shallow screwdriver slot in the end of the stud
2. Put neverseeze on the stud and screw a nut on, tightening the nut while keeping the stud from spinning using the slot
3. Put a 2nd nut on and tighten the 2nd nut to the 1st, while using the slot to keep the stud from turning
4. Using 2 wrenches, tighten the 2 nuts against each other.

If 2 full nuts are too tall, use 1 or 2 jam nuts instead.

Of course, my one tool I cant seem to find (dremel). :(

Well, you could try it even w/o the slot. With the lubrication of the anti-sieze, and the higher friction of the stud against its mounting surface, it might work anyway. Try it. What do you have to lose?

What is stopping the stud from falling right out of the car? I wish I could see up there.

it probably has a head on it. If you can pull on it and it doesn't pull through, it won't fall out once it's tightened.

A stud with a head, eh? Sounds like a bolt.

It might be... but the fix is the same... :/

dudemaaanownsanrx7-Can you show us some pics? I have a spare PPF and would like to reinforce it

I don't have any pics sorry.

You mean like this? ;)
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1261112073
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1261112073
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1261112073

I'm also try to find my old pics from this thread I made 3 yrs ago.

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/check-out-my-reinforced-ppf-527280/

^nice! thanks for sharing need to get around to doing that. What material/gauge did you use.

1/8" steel! It was only installed for about 6 months up untill I blew the engine later that year. Now it's just collecting dust. LOL!

Turns out it is a bolt. Go figure. To secure it while tightening the PPF mounting nut was a PITA. The bolt has a 7/8" head (pretty large) and the space above the trans is very limited. I ended up using a 1/2" drive stubby ratchet with an integrated flex head ($10 Harbor Freight including 1/4" and 3/8" drive ratchets too) and a shallow socket 7/8" and reached up and over the trans from the passenger side to hold the bolt, while hitting the locking nut with an impact deep socket. Not sure if I got the full torque, but I am hoping the locking nut is good enough. Better than it was before, at least.