When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have swapped an S2 cluster and cover into an S1. It's an easy direct swap, so their dimensions and plugs are identical and there is nothing in the cluster requiring programming to the car's systems.
So you experienced no flickering? Did the fuel gauge work?
I had no flickering and the fuel gauge worked OK. Of course, that doesn't mean others won't have problems if, for example, there are overlaps in the various tolerances.
I would be surprised if the fuel gauges didn't work. The S1 and S2 circuits look similar and the operating principles are the same. I was ready for some differences in value but didn't notice them. I normally refuelled when I got just below 1/4 tank, as I do with all my cars, so didn't see how accurate the gauge was at low fuel levels.
Finally got an engine hoist and pulled the R3 engine out, the adjustable engine leveler thing really made everything much easier than when I pulled my S1 engine. Now all that's left is to pull the wiring, drop the subframe and pull the HVAC system incase I need it (as i'm not sure of any difference in the S1 and S2 HVAC systems other than A/C controls)
Last edited by @italia916; 09-24-2016 at 07:14 AM.
Front end on the R3 is now about 98% picked clean:D Now just need to remove the fuel pump and fuel level sensor and she'll be ready to scrap (should have a fuel pump removal tool on tuesday, so the S1 teardown will begin sometime next week after the R3 shell is gone which I would've started already, but the lack of work space kind of sucks as you can probably tell from the last pic lol
Last edited by @italia916; 09-24-2016 at 07:19 AM.
Reason: photo issues
Not really an update on the swap itself, but came across these for literally a steal price. Put a nice dent in my pocket, but my S1 engine part out should cover most of the cost. I always wanted R3 front seats anyway, but I could never find them, so I guess these Spirit R front and rears will have to do (Poor me I know, but i'll live)
New Koyo Radiator and Mishimoto Thermostat came in as well, maybe now my car will be cool lol
Last edited by @italia916; 09-24-2016 at 07:21 AM.
Reason: ...
Now that is a rare interior. Not sure about how I feel about it in a VR RX-8 though.
I'll post pics taken with my phone when they get here. They need some work, but $1,000 shipped I think was more than fair for them considering what they are and all.
*BTW I bought them off ebay and they should be here by the 24th
The R3 is finally done being stripped and parted out, just getting it ready to be picked up and scrapped so it can finally go and do dead car stuff and I can stop bullshitting and get on with the swap
Sorry i've been a bit sluggish with the progress of my build, things are going much slower than anticipated as i've had 3 drills within 30 days and am getting ready to deploy to Germany next month as well and working nights at my civilian job doesn't exactly help at all either lol, but here are a few progress updates and some new stuff i've acquired since my last post:
- Removed the old POS engine I bought because it was running in the car it was pulled from (housings are done, rotor bearings are fucked but not spun at least, intermediate iron needs to be lapped on one side - $1,500 well spent right? lol)
- More genuine mazdaspeed parts acquired: Front bumper, rear diffuser, SS brake lines, SS clutch hose and RAMS-8M-K01 coilovers (coilovers will arrive tomorrow:D - version one shocks w/new FCM bumpstops and new eibach pro springs already sold)
- Replaced all stock R3 brake rotors with my drilled/slotted rotors except for one as I need to replace one busted rear stud
- Figured out that S1 and S2 oil cooler banjo bolts are the same which means I can order modified ones for my oil temp./pressure sensors so I can still use the gauges on my center dash pod much easier:D
- Found another freeloader in one of my brakes
- Finally acquired a BHR bracket for my ignition coils which look far better than the one they came with
- Installed my Spirit R recaros (not yet repaired/restored) as I just didn't want them laying around. The door panels definitely need to be replaced because the two reds just look terrible together, but i'll deal with that later
- Planning to have a friend help me tomorrow to swap out the front subframe for the R3 one and dropping the rear subframe finally so I can take both to have the good bracket from the S1 subframe welded onto the R3 subframe to replace the busted bracket
*Overall not much progress has been made at all, but it's getting there slowly but surely. I think I might do the interior wiring after the drivetrain is in the car and back on the ground and that way i'll be able to push the car out and have more room to do stuff like removing the doors and not ******* them up (there really isn't any room on the driver's side at all for that in my garage - last pic is how the car is sitting now lol)
Last edited by @italia916; 09-24-2016 at 07:29 AM.
Reason: ...
Very cool build! I remember seeing those spirit R seats for sale a while back and am glad they are being put to good use! I was lucky enough to pick up some R3 seats a while back for a steal..... But I've digressed. I have had not one, but two pairs of mazdaspeed shocks break in under a year. Both purchased new from mazda dealers and both broke at the base of the passenger side piston. Im not sure why this happens but the eibach coilovers that mazdaspeed based their set up on suffered from the same problem and eibach has sense upgraded the rear piston width form .500" to .625", so maybe its just a fundamentaly flawed design. I would really consider getting rid of those mazdaspeed coilovers ASAP as they are not a very sound product.
Mannnn.. Where are you finding all of these parts!! Mazdaspeed stuff, Recaros, etc. You're finding all the good stuff. Keep it up man!
My favorite explaination of how I find stuff said by someone was "He literally ******* trips over them" which I can't really argue with because I kind of do lol
Very cool build! I remember seeing those spirit R seats for sale a while back and am glad they are being put to good use! I was lucky enough to pick up some R3 seats a while back for a steal..... But I've digressed. I have had not one, but two pairs of mazdaspeed shocks break in under a year. Both purchased new from mazda dealers and both broke at the base of the passenger side piston. Im not sure why this happens but the eibach coilovers that mazdaspeed based their set up on suffered from the same problem and eibach has sense upgraded the rear piston width form .500" to .625", so maybe its just a fundamentaly flawed design. I would really consider getting rid of those mazdaspeed coilovers ASAP as they are not a very sound product.
Thanks for the input, but these coilovers aren't going anywhere, they're a botch to come by and your comment is literally the only negative thing I've heard about them, everyone else that I know of that has them say they're awesome and well worth the money considering how much the eibach branded versions are new
Thanks for the input, but these coilovers aren't going anywhere, they're a botch to come by and your comment is literally the only negative thing I've heard about them, everyone else that I know of that has them say they're awesome and well worth the money considering how much the eibach branded versions are new
Ive seen a few people bring this up on the forums. Totally respect your choice just be careful On a related note I have one mazdaspeed rear coilover in good shape so if yours goes out I'm happy to let it go for a reasonable price. In terms of performance I would agree, they are pretty awesome and well worth the money. Spring rate is slightly soft but for a street car they are on point. Also make sure to tape up the adjuster on the rear as per the directions. On my original set I skipped that step and I had a hell of a time cleaning up that little wheel.
Last edited by Panda Fetish; 03-31-2016 at 01:07 AM.
So today i'd say was fairly productive. The R3 is finally gone and out of my driveway now off doing dead car stuffz which I had posted on one of the local rotary FB pages that I needed it picked up and that it's free to whoever is willing to pick it up (yes I know it's worth something in scrap metal, but I really didn't care, just wanted it gone) and that's exactly what happened. I did do a final inspection on the R3 to make sure I didn't miss anything and picked the last few bits I could find which all that was left was the fuel tank (Pump, level sensors and internal fuel line were pulled too, so the tank itself was all that I didn't pull). I also finally dropped the front subframe as well which i'll be selling to a friend close by that recently got into an accident and the driver's side of his subframe got fucked bad, so that's going for $100 (maybe worth more, but I don't really care, just more money back in my pocket). I also started stripping down my OEM mazdaspeed front bumper as well (The pic shows a half stripped bumper because I ran out of sand paper pads lol) and I also finally receive my brand new OEM mazdaspeed SS braided clutch line which, from what Japanparts said, shipped directly from mazda HQ in Japan (because they still stock them there which makes sense anyway seeing as the MS8 was actually sold there I guess). The pic shows two because the new one was ordered and then also won the bid for the used one, but they ended up both being about the same price shipped except one got here in 4 days from Osaka, Japan (used) and the other took about a month from Mazda HQ in japan through Japanparts.
Last edited by @italia916; 09-24-2016 at 07:32 AM.
We have had an R3 parts car for a while that has 9000 original miles on it. It was a flood car that ran fine after the flood and then all of the sudden stopped running and never ran again despite a few trips to the dealer (ECU and module replacements and programming) and a thorough going over by a guy with specific training on vehicle electronics. The idea of getting it running was ditched
crazy, this is what i have to do from time to time, right now my victim is an 08 bmw M5.. after replacing 16 rusted moduals.. it will now drive around the block, on half the v10. the other half its working yet..
op'-you know you coulda just rebuild the s1 with s2 housings for that third oil port.. then make the s2 omp work... sees that option is less work...
crazy, this is what i have to do from time to time, right now my victim is an 08 bmw M5.. after replacing 16 rusted moduals.. it will now drive around the block, on half the v10. the other half its working yet..
op'-you know you coulda just rebuild the s1 with s2 housings for that third oil port.. then make the s2 omp work... sees that option is less work...
Yes, but I would still have to rewire the entire car to accommodate the electronics in the car for everything to work properly without any CEL. Plus what would tearing down an essentially new S2 engine accomplish if all i'm doing is using the housings from it? My goal here is to essentially turn the S1 into a fully functional S2 that will be daily driven
So yesterday I stripped the engine bay on the S1 and today after I got home from work I installed the S2 engine bay harness as well as the subframe. I just need to do a few more things and the engine and transmission should be ready to drop in which i'll do after my racingbeat flywheel comes in
*Also was able to feed the wires for my gauges through the driver's side fender as well as the wires for my side mirror turn signals
Last edited by @italia916; 09-24-2016 at 07:34 AM.
01-31-2016, 03:07 AM
Update
On a related note I have one mazdaspeed rear coilover in good shape so if yours goes out I'm happy to let it go for a reasonable price. In terms of performance I would agree, they are pretty awesome and well worth the money. Spring rate is slightly soft but for a street car they are on point. Also make sure to tape up the adjuster on the rear as per the directions. On my original set I skipped that step and I had a hell of a time cleaning up that little wheel. 
Did some more stuff
