Hey guys -

First one is a neat discovery. Mazda had an accessory for the later Miatas that's a replacement button for the E-brake - either silver or chrome. I bought the cheap one (silver) to try out, and it fits PERFECTLY - takes 30 seconds to swap out. I do recommend the chrome button, though - a little more, but should look better and hold up longer. Chrome part number is NC35-44-033, and Ray at Malloy (888-533-3400) has 'em for $9.69 each. The silver one is $3 if you really wanna get cheap . Writeup with pics -

http://www.clubrx.org/default.asp?id...ntent=56&mnu=3

Also, some time back I bought a '96+ primary turbo inlet duct off Ebay for CHEAP - I was the only bidder, too. Turns out there IS a difference, and I believe the later part performs better, but I still need to get some hard data. Anyhow, it's a cool part that not many know about -

http://www.clubrx.org/default.asp?id...ntent=55&mnu=3

Not sure on how to get more, but at least it has a part number if someone wants to get creative .

Enjoy,
Dale

 

Dale,


Thanks for write-ups. I think I'll order the e-brake button in chrome.

 

Ray said he was getting a bunch of the chrome buttons ordered in for stock, BTW. Kinda cool to actually have a cheap, quality mod with a new part - there's so much that's CRAZY high priced on our cars!

Dale

 

good info! Thanks Dale!

 

another discovery by dale
the silver looks nice....but doesnt it look kinda weird with a little silver out of nowhere on the shifter console?

 

Nice. I was actually planning on cleaning up the e-brake button and painting it black, but for $10 a chrome one would bling things up a bit.

 

Works for me - heck, a lot of new cars have chrome E-brake buttons with all black interiors. I'll probably replace the silver with the chrome button at some point, but since I was guinea pigging the idea I bought the cheap one so I wasn't out a lot of cash if it totally didn't work .

I'm surprised no one has commented on the inlet duct - I thought that was a pretty cool discovery.

Dale

 

Whoops, NM, wrong thread .

Dale

 

that chrome e-brake button will match my rx-8 shift **** rather well.

thats a great find on the TID. . . now people will have "efini y-pipe AND jdm TID" side-by-side in their mod list.

did it ACTUALLY make a difference in performance?

 

Hard to say, I need to do back-to-back comparisons. I put it on when I put my intake on, which made a HUGE difference.

Dale

 

ah, hahaha. . . i doubt theres too much of a reason to say anymore then. if i still had a stocker id test it, but. . . im way far away from all that. shoulda stayed there.

 

Shouldn't take more than 20min to swap out. Maybe next time it's on a dyno, you can have them take a coffee break between pulls

Dave

 

Dale...i'ts cuz the inlet duct isn't BLING

Awesome find man. I said it once, and I'll say it again...the 3rd gen guys are very lucky to have you

~Ramy

 

good find, I will be ordering one today too..

 

I've got a Gtech Pro Competition that I can use to measure horsepower - next time I get the gumption for some Gtech pulls I'll do it.

Definitely worth figuring out if it makes power - no sense killing yourself to get the part and it makes no difference .

Dale

 

As usual, great finds and write-ups, Dale!

I'm kind of skeptical regarding the primary turbo inlet pipe's ability to produce a noticeable power gain (plus, if it does, there's going to be a mad rush by numerous FD owners to find a part that's very difficult to obtain at best), but you never know, it's worth a try.

 

I think it may have been part of the tweaks in '96 - small, subtle stuff, like the better Y-pipe. Might also be to help boost response or something.

Ya never know .

Funny thing is this part used is likely a dime a dozen in Japan, just like stock primary turbo inlet ducts are a dime a dozen in the US. I got it so cheap I believe because people thought it was just like the US part and didn't bother bidding!

Dale