Nerd Expo

My Miata was having hesitation problems at low RPMs. The NGs indicate that the stock wires are poor quality. Plus the Miata plugs fire twice per cycle which wear the plugs and wires out twice as fast.

I checked the gap in the new plugs. They were approximately 1mm.
I labled the wire connections near the back of the engine. I believe it's 4,2, 1, 3 on a 1.8 and reverse for a 1.6.
Pull the plugs and saw some wet liquid in the spark plug holes. Not sure if it's oil or gas mixture. I had a 2nd per of eyes to look at it and it wasn't bad.
I took out the plugs one at a time and install new ones. The original Bosche plugs were in pretty good shape, but I changed them anyways. I didn't have a torque wrench with low enough of a setting, so I tighten it by holding the driver at the pivot and then added an 1/8 turn.

I was told that the plugs can be made to fire hotter by spacing the gap out. Changing the torque also changes the timing, but I forget which way. Also, I read somewhere that the direction the plugs face effects the performance. Maybe the last two are related.

When installing new plugs, use electrical grease on the top metal tip(opposite end of the gap) and ceramic, and anti-seize on the threads. The NGK blue wires had good reviews on the NGs and miata.net as a replacement for the stock. Magnecore had good reviews too, but the NGK were cheaper and seem just as good as the Magnecores.

The hesitation problem pretty much went away. I'll do a timing check next and maybe a compression check, too.

Equipment
1. Attic Fan - get the appropriate size of your home. Some fans come with a thermostat. I got mine at OSH with a thermostat and it cost slightly less than a similar size unit from Home Depot that didn't have a thermostat. Test this unit before you install it. Use a blow dry to test the thermostat if the outside temperature is not high enough. You can use a Romex cable and stick the other end into a 3 prong outlet. The small slot should be the hot wire, but some outlets are mis-wired. Test the outlet first.

2. 14 gauge or lower Romex cable - I used a 12 because I got it for free from my neighbor, but a 14 gauge is easier to work with. I didn't use any conduit. A Romex cable holds 3 wires inside, a hot, neutral, and an unshielded ground.

3. Staples - These are specially made for electrical cables. I got some cheap one that was basically a U shaped nail. Use these approximate every 4 feet to hold the cable. If you hire someone, they'll probably just leave the wire on the floor of your attic crawl space. But it's better to staple it somewhere out of the way.

4. 3/8 Junction box connector - Electrically junction boxes have little circle tabs that can be punched out. These connectors go into that circle and have a couple of screws to tighen the wire so it doesn't get pulled out of the box. You'll need one for the fan and another for the junction box you'll connect to.

I'll assume you already have a circuit with enough amps to connect to and there's a junction box in the attic for this circuit. If not, get an electrician to wire one up to the attic from the breaker box. It'll be rated for 15 amps, but the building code will probably only allow you to put 8 to 10 amps on that box. That's probably enough for a couple of ceiling fans and an attic fan.

5. Rubber Washers - these will greatly reduce the vibration of the fan to the rest of the house. I found some that were 3/8" thick and the fan is almost slient with these installed. Buy 8 of these, but you'll probably use less. Depends on how many mount points you use.

6. Electrical tape

7. Caps or twisters to connect the wires

Tools
1. Screw drivers - probably just Philips
2. hammer - if you plan to use staples
3. Wire stripper - check that it has 12 and 14 gauge. Strippers made for communication wires may not go that big.
4. Contractors knife - use this to separate the individual wires in the Romex cable
5. Voltage tester - I had a cheap one that shows if a circuit was live, but ended up borrowing one from a neighbor that shows voltage too. The electrician tester are great, because they're easier to use.

Steps.
1. Find a large vent that's easy to reach.
2. Find a junction box you want to connect to.
3. Measure the distance and make sure you got enough wire.
4. Mount the attic fan with the rubber washers.
5. Hook up the cable to the thermostat.
The unshielded ground should be screw to the metal chassis.
The black wire is generally used for hot and the other wire, probably white, is neutral.
You can use either wire for hot and neutral, but you may confuse the next guy that comes along.
See steps 9 to xx.
6. Ran this wire to the junction box and staple the cable every 4 feet or so.
7. Open the junction box and test the cables to identify which is hot and which is neutral. Again, the convention is black for hot, but test it to make sure. Sick one probe on ground and the other on hot. Run the same test again, but instead of ground, put the probe on netual. It should read 120V. If it's not 120V, get an electrician to look at it.
8. Turn the power off at the breaker. Professionally like to work with hot wires, but I'm not a pro.
9. Knock out one of the circular tabs in the junction box and add a connector.
10. Thread the cable thought the connector.
11. Separate the individual cables with the knife. About 4 to 6 inches will do.
12. Strip about 2 inches of the insulated wires.
13A. If the wire you want to connect to is already connected to one other wire
a. Disconnect it or cut off the connected parts and strip if necessary
b. line all 3 wires up and tape them together about 2 or 3 inches from the ends.
c. Use a cap or twister to connect the cable.
d. Tape up any exposed wiring except for the ground wires.
13B. If more then 2 wires are already connected, I would suggest you cut one of the wires a few inches away from where they are connected and connect your wire here.
14. Turn the power on (at breaker) and see if the fan runs

Trouble shooting.
1. Use the electronic connected to see if the hot is wired properly going to the thermostat
2. Test the voltage between the hot and neutral and it should be 120
3. Test the connection from the thermostat to the fan. If this is off, then it just may be the attic is not hot enough yet. Try lowering the thermostat setting.

The hood has a diagram and shows that the tensioner requires a 3/8 driver. It's a pain to get the 3/8 driver in there. The fan is in the way and I had to turn it a bit. I disconnected the air filter hose to provide a bit more accessibility. Set the driver for counterclockwise rotation and pull back. Wiggle the belt off.

To install the new belt, I ran it through all the wheels except the one farthest toward the driver side. I use small clips to hold the belt in place. Stick the 3/8 driver back in the tensioner and pull all the way. This should give just enough play in the belt to loop around the last wheel.

I got some Gator brand belt. It was the most expensive($35), but Sepentine belts should last 100K so I figure paying a bit more is not biggie. I saved about $70 for an hours worth of work including the time buying the belt on the way home from work. That's like earning $100/hr before taxes.

I got a used I/O Port camera mount from craigslist. I've seen the ads in my racing magazines and seem someone use it at the last autocross I attended. He seems happy with it.

The seller was an instructor in NASA. He mentions that Thunderhill is best for beginners and Sears Point is more technical. Laguna Seca sucks for the Miata because all the straights are uphill. Make me wonder why Mazda owns it and run Spec Miata races there. The price for open day at Thunderhill and Sears Point is $180. Laguna Seca was in the $200s. A coworker rides his bike there with a club and only pays $100, but had to buy a pack for 10 up front.

I install I/O port on my passenger side roll bar and tested with Powershot. I was able to see the panel, wheel, throttle and brake pedals, shifter when it's in 3rd, and most of the windshield.

The I/O Port also comes with an extra strap because SCCA requires 2 secure attachments for the camera. I'm bit worry someone will steal this unit but I don't want to bother removing it each time.

Followup 10/23
I made a 3" bracket to raise the height for the Powershot camera. The camcorder already sits at the optimal height. The camcorder doesn't have steady shot(8+ years old), but the picture is still bearable. I'm guessing the anti-vibration for the I/O port camera mount has something to do with that.

I signed up for a driving class on June 14 at Thunderhill.

I watched a Spec Miata at Thunderhill on youtube and here's the plan of attach.

Start on front straight. Should hit 100+mph here on next lap.

Turn 1:
Brake near 1st brake marker and DS to 3rd
Go full ASAP and US to 4th

Turn 2:
DS to 3rd and it'll feel like a very late apex due to length of sweeper
Need to find midpoint and apex. See Lotus video or ask instructor.

Turn 3:
Stay in 3rd
Get back toward middle/inside by crest
Exit toward inside to prepare for turn 4

Turn 4:
Stay in 3rd
Late apex and look for near straight into 5

Turn 5:
Stay on outside(right) despite right turn coming up.
This gives extra space to run out if car drifts a bit.

Turn 6:
Get back on throttle ASAP and hold it

Turn 7:
Full throttle and US to 4th

Turn 8:
Ease off throttle but try to avoid braking

Turn 9:
DS to 3 and aim for middle of road on top of hill
Get back on throttle ASAP and stay that way until 10

Turn 10:
DS to 3

Turn 11:
DS to 2
Very late apex and exit on inside for turn 12

Turn 12 and 13
Exiting turn 11 on inside, look for near straight through 12 and 13
Get back on throttle ASAP for back straight
Clipping the inside curb of 12 seems OK in video

Turn 14
DS to 3

Turn 15
No braking needed
Should be able to stay near full throttle through the whole turn
Exit to front straight

Why
1. Looks better
2. Helps you to identify leaks; I found that my engine was not leaking oil so it saved me the task of changing the valve gasket and CAM O-ring.
3. Makes it easier to work on your car. I can actually see the timing markers on the crank now.

What you need.
1. Water hose or high pressure water washer
2. Air Compressor & Spray nozzle
3. Engine Cleaner Spray
4. Small Brushes & Tooth brush

Steps.
1. (Optional) Cover the electronic connectors, starter, and alternator with clear plastic wrap
2. Spray Engine Cleaner over Oil Stained surfaces such as the engine and wait 10 minutes
3. With a oil pan under the engine component, wash off the engine with high pressure spray
4. You should catch the run off and store it away to dispose of later.
5. Once the areas you spray with the Engine Cleaner is clean, you don't need the oil pan anymore
6. Spray the rest of the engine component from different angles
7. Use a small brush on some tough areas that are still dirty, especially around the engine where oil may leak or seep.
8. Use the air compressor to dry the engine component. A couple of minutes over the surface should be good enough.
9. Use the air compressor to dry electrical connections, the starter, the alternator, the air filter.
If water gets stuck in electrical connects for too long, it'll cost corrosion. Dirty water in the starter or alternator can cause a short and possibly fry one of these components. It's rare, but I know people that have fried theirs.
10. Let it sit and dry for a while, works best on a hot day.
11. The car should be fine to start.

An alternate method to steps 8+ is to make sure the starter and alternator stay dry by covering them. Then start the engine right away so the engine heat will evaporate the water. I tried this method, but found that this only dries certain areas that get really hot. Electrically connectors do not get hot enough and will remain wet. The car will start and run, but you can run into problems down the road. I covered all electrical connectors, but when I pull the wrapping off, I found some moisture still got into the connectors.


In a Miata, sometimes the spark plug covers are not totally water proof and washing with a high pressure washer will allow some water get into your engine. This will cause some temporary idling and starting problems.

When you use the Engine Cleaner, it's possible that your engine will have streaks or discolored areas. You can use the Engine Cleaner again or get an engine polish. I left mine looking a bit discolored since I'm not looking for show room condition.

This is for a 96 Manual Transmission Miata.

Transmission Oil Change
Do this every 30K with Red Line. The shifting will feel smoother.

1. Jack the car up on all 4s and ensure it's as level as possible. If the floor is not level, then jack up one end higher to get the car level.

2. Unscrew the fill plug. It's a square looking plug on the front left side of the transmission. Be prepare with a oil pan as some oil may or may not come out.

3. Unscrew the drain plug at the bottom of the transmission near the back. Expect about 2 quarts of oil to come out. The plug has a magnet on the inside and a crush washer. Clean the magnet and look out of large pieces of metal that could indication transmission damage. Remove the crush washer(sometimes there's more than one; remove them all).

4. Screw the drain plug back in with a new crush washer. This is the same washer used for oil change and you can get this from the dealer for pennies. I got mine from Flying Miata in a pack of 10 for like $1.50. I hand tighten this and gave it an extra 1/4 turn. You can dry torque it to 20lbs, but it's usually wet so I don't bother. Clean this area around the plug very well so it's easy to check for leaks later.

5. Use a pump to fill the oil through the fill hole. It takes about 2 quarts. Stop when oil starts to come out the fill hole. If oil comes out too early or late, then the car may not be level. I use a hand pump that looks like a bicycle pump. Don't bother with siphon type pumps. This step can be very messy, so have some card board ready to cover work area.

6. Screw the fill plug back in and you're done. I don't remember if this has a crush washer or not. Again hand tightenn + 1/4 turn should do it. Clean and check back for leaks later.

Changing the differential oil
Red Line has oil for this also and it's different than the transmission oil. The manual should have the oil spec. I'm not sure if it's the same for all Miatas since the older N1 had VSD and the later N1 had TSD. I'm not aware of any advantages using the more expensive oil for the differential, but you only do this every 30K so why not get something good in there.

Basically the same steps as the transmission oil change. Both plugs are on the back of the differential, but the drain plug is about 6" lower. It's easy to reach this by just jacking up the back of the car, but don't because you have to keep the car level.


Basic Oil Change
I use dino oil cause it's cheaper and works fine. I plan to change my oil more often depending on track use. Otherwise, Costco is selling Mobil 1 for about $5 a quart. I use the Mazda oil filter which is $6 each. There is a oil filter kit that moves the oil filter to a better location and allows for the use of a bigger filter. I'll look into this next time.

It was a long course for autocross. Top Miata stock class time was about 1 minute. I got halfway thought the course and got lost in the salmon. I got a DNF on my first run. I watch the other cars do their run and memorized the course up to the salmon before and 2nd run. I finished 10 seconds behind the ES leader on my 2nd run, a very slow time. The improvement will be easy. Memorize the course and fix the problem with my car that cause white smoke to come out the back. I didn't dare a 3nd run with the smoke problem. Still, it was quite an experience and very enjoyable.
Next time, I aim for 5 seconds or less of the ES leaders. They got slick tires, so I'm already out 2 seconds. The aggressive alignment, better brakes, shocks, and front anti roll bar is worth almost another second. In the novice class, I do all those modifications minus the slick autocross tires. I have the brake pads, but won't put those in until the current ones are burned out. The front anti-roll bar is about $100 new, so I'll keep an eye for one on craigslist. I'm check during the next meet to see what suspension modifications are allowed for the stock class and where I can go to get the proper alignment. Most shops are not precise enough to get dial in the exact spec. I'll also look for a harness as I was thrown around a bit last time. The rules allow the harness to be used, but I can't cut 2 slots in the seats for the shoulder straps.
I cleaned my engine off this weekend. If I don't see any leaks in the next few days, I'll install the new plugs and wires. I'll need to learn how to adjust the timing, but first I need to get a timing light with induction; $50 or so bucks from Sears.

I brought magnetic sheets over the weekend to put my number and class on for the next session.

I also signed up for some driving classes. One autocross class before the next met and a track class now that my roll bar is installed. I checked out a video on the Thunderhill course, and it looks awesome. I can't wait to get out there and I already have the course memorized from the video and map on their web site. I got the coming weekend to bleed my brakes and I'll be good to go for both sessions.

I did the installation last week. The website has the complete installation instructions, so I'll add some advice and modifications to those instructions along with my steps.

I did the installation over a few days instead of one big sitting.
Day 1: Prepare Car
1. Before removing the carpet on the wall behind the seat, cut along the edge between the back wall and center console from the floor to the top of the console, but not the top of the console. If you're not sure about where to cut, wait until the roll bar is installed, but in hindsight, it's easiest to do right now.
2. Follow the rest of the instructions to prepare the car, but do not jack up the car yet.
3. With the back tin cover removed, use the template in the instructions to cut the tin cover now. I would suggest you put the partial roll bar in to see where to cut. The instructions have you cut this tin cover in half to install after the roll bar is in place, but it's much easier to do so now and you don't have to cut it in half if done at this stage.
4. If you're going to use the Seat Adapter, remove the complete seat belt and cut out the original guide. A vise is your best bet to hold the guide in place as it will get hot. This guide has steel under the hard plastic. Use either a saw or grinder. If you have a helper, you can cut this later after installing it. See Day 4.
5. You'll need to cut the upper left bold for the ECU on the frame. A grinder will work, but it's really messy and can leave burn marks in your car when the little hot metal pieces go flying. I used a small hand saw with a flexible saw to get a clean cut. There's no need to cut the ECU frame as the instruction saids. This piece is flexible enough to bent over the foot of the roll bar and it won't rattle.

Day 2: Bolt in Roll Bar
1. Put the center piece in place over the center console. Mark where the feet meets the floor. Remove this piece and clean out the floor. I used a scraping tool to get rid of the excess rubber chalk.
2. Put the center piece back in. Once it snaps into place, it wont move around much.
3. Install each side of the roll bar. Check if the back feet's front hole is blocked by a rubber cap. If so, remove the cap now. The holes may not line up, so you'll have to enlarge hole in the frame later. The instruction have you put in the lower bolt first, then the top bolt. But if you can't get the top bolt in afterwards, reverse the order. When you reverse the order, head down to the hardware store and get a grade 8 7/16 1" bolt with fine thread. My local Home Depot does not carry 7/16 bolts, but OSH did. The short bolt will be fine since you're going to remove the existing spacers behind the seat belt retractor. You can use the original bolts, but it's going to be really hard to get in once the top bolt is in. I'm not sure if the instructions tell you do this, but put the trim washers on the top bolt. These are the silver washers with a crown, and you think you have 8 of these. If you only have 6, then do use them here. The crown is to attach the black plastic caps.
4. Without tighen anything, put in the 4 bolts that connect the loop bars to the center console bar. Don't forget to use the trim washers.
5. With all the bolts in place, tighen them all. I do the lower bolts first, the top bolts, and final the center console bolts.
6. Make sure you used all 4 of the smaller square bottom brackets and these brackets are mounted under the car.

Day 3: Drill Holes - The roll bar should already be very snug.
1. Jack the car up and remove the rear wheels and wheel cover.
2. Use a 3/8 metal drill and drill the holes at the foot of the loop bars. Install the 3/8 bolts, bottom bracket(other side of frame) and tighten. If the drill is not going throught, then you probably don't have the right drill bits. I don't know how to tell by looking that the drill bit, so you'll just have to try if you're not sure.
3. Use a 3/8 metal drill and drill the holes at the foot of the center console. Install the 3/8 bolts, bottom bracket and tighten.
4. Use a 12" long 3/8 metal drill and drill the back holes. With the top on, I was able to drill the 2 front holes from the top. Install the bolts, bottom bracket and tighten. I received the wrong bottom bracket, but you can drill a hole in the brackets with the same 3/8 drill bit. It'll just take longer due to thickness and require a vice.
5. If you were able to drill the back hole, do so now from the bottom. I didn't get the holes to line up when I did this since the front hole is actually a slot, so I wiggle the drill around to make the hole bigger. If you don't know how to wiggle your drill to enlarge the hole, a rattail file or dremel tool works fine too. Install the 3/8 bolts and tighten.
6. Re-install the wheel cover and lower the jack.
7. Structurally, this bar is ready and you're done once the seat belt is installed.

Day 4: Finishing touches
1. I hope you precut and install the tin back cover already. Otherwise, follow the Boss Frog instructions. You may find that the cover does not fit. I had to cut the slot for the bar to be much larger and bent the cover to get it to fit. This make matching the holes on the cover to the original holes in the frame a bit tougher. If you can get a bolt to fit, just leave it off.
2. Follow the instuctions to cut the plastic trim. I ended up cutting much more plastic than the instructions. I actually cut the two side panels in half to facilate installation. Also, I cut more of the plastic to make sure the seat belt does not rub the panel so much that it hampers the belt from retracting.
3. Use a knife to trim the carpets, but hopefully you did the trim as I suggested for the back wall carpet. I didn't cut off any carpet and just roll the excess back which made for a nice look.
4. If you got the Seatbelt Adapter, cut the old guides off and use the adapter. It works much better, but it won't be as good as before the roll bar. I found the simplest way to cut the guides was to bolt the old guides into place, have someone hold the glides in place by pulling on the seatbelt, and cut the guide with a reprocussion saw. See Day 1 if you have no helpers.

It's done, Enjoy. If you hear rattling noises, then you probably didn't tighen the top bolts enough and the spacers are bouncing around. I used a black primer on some of the exposed bolts to make it look nicer. To unzip the top, you'll have to pop the roof off and lift it a bit, but the plastic window fits nicely between the roll bars.

Warning, the loop style roll bar does not protect as well as the striaght roll bar. The reason is, if the car flips over in soft ground, the loop style roll bars have a tendency to dig in. That said, you did buy a small convertiable sports car, so you're obiviously willing to some risk. Plus, guys have been racing with the Cobra style single loop bar for decades. This roll bar is better than no roll bar, and the convertible operation is not hamper as much as a strigh roll bar like the Harddog Hardcore. It's also possible to wield a straight bar between the two loops.