MSV2's Mazda Build Thread
 

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share my build with everyone in the community and because I'm building up multiple cars, I didn't feel right putting it in a specific build area. So here it goes!

*Recent updates will be emphasized in bold*

Vehicles
1995 Mazda RX-7 Base (Chaste White)
- Current Mods: Racing Beat Springs, Racing Beat Cat Back, Racing Beat Front Sway Bars, 99 Spec Tail Lights, Efini Emblems, OEM R1 Dual Oil Coolers, OEM R1 Strut Bar, Mazdaspeed Miata Steering Wheel, Mazdaspeed Leather Shift Knob

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2004 Mazda RX-8 GT (Winning Blue)
- Current Mods: Mazdaspeed Front Bumper/Side Skirts/Diffuser, HKS Hipermaxx RS Coilovers, Mazdaspeed Cat Back, Mazdaspeed CAI, OEM Euro Lip Spoiler, Mazdaspeed Stainless Steal Brake Lines, Mazdaspeed Brake Pads, BHR Ignition Kit, Advan Kruezer Series V wheels (19x9 +42, 19x9 +42), JDM Weather Visor, AFE Short Shifter, Progress Front and Rear Sway Bars w/ Adjustable End Links, JDM B-Pillar Applique (RX8 w/ Rotor), JDM Piano Black Door Handle Covers, JDM Clear Corners
- Mods in Storage: RE-medy Water Pump, Mazdaspeed Flywheel, Mazdaspeed Clutch, RX8 Performance oil pan, Ron Davis Radiator, RX8 Performance Motor Mounts, RX8 Performance upgraded Oil Coolers and Lines, RX8 Performance Trio Canister, New Belts

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2007 Mazdaspeed 6 (Brilliant Black)
- Current Mods: Corksport LED Light Kit, Mazda RX8 R3 Wheels (19x8 +48), H&R Coilovers, Corksport 4pot Big Brake Calipers, Stoptech Slotted Rotors, SPC Adjustable Ball Joint

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There's the summary of the three cars i'm building/wasting my money on. I'll constantly update this post with new mods and such. Maybe later, I'll hop on youtube to do vlogs on this as well as review the parts and such. Hope you all enjoy reading this and feel free to give me feedback on anything! I'll be posting this across a few forums.

So I finally got some pictures uploaded from adding a new mod on to my MS6. I was able to purchase a set of R3 wheels from a rx8club member and installed it! Definitely looks better than the stock 18x7 wheels.

Installed on 9/27/2014

Here is a comparison picture of the two wheels.
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Some pictures of the install
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My comparison picture of the 19's on the rx8 and the new r3 wheels on the MS6
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No jacks on the car.... look at that ride height...
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Good thing I switched out my wheels, one tire was in bad shape, gonna need to check the alignment.
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9/30/2014

Ordered a whole bunch of parts for the MS6.

A sneak peak of whats to come :)
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10/2/2014 Update

So started the install on all the parts I purchased for my Mazdaspeed6. Here is the list of things i got...

- Corksport 4pot Big Brake Caliper
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- Stoptech Slotted Brakes
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- H&R Coilovers
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- SPC Adjustable Ball Joint
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So the first day of work was halted by one main factor... i did purchase the mazdaspeed6 in Oregon and a lot of the fasteners were seized. Mainly the 17mm bolt that holds the front brake bracket , the 17mm bolt that holds the rear brakes and the stupid Philips head fasteners that hold the brake rotor to the hub.

With the help of WD-40 and another penetrating liquid (can't remember the name) and time, i was able to use a mallet with a wrench to brake the 17mm bolts free but those darn Philips heads...

Here's a picture of the front brake bracket while waiting on the penetrating liquid to settle in.
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Some pictures after fully removing the brakes... and also those philip heads...
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I was able to use a step bit with my drill to drill the philips head off finally loosening the rotors! Yay! Trust me, i tried everything.. wish i had an impact driver at this time..

Well, after removing everything, i had to clean the rusty hub and cleaned my rear calipers and prepped them for painting to try to match the front.
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Will be getting to bed now to rest up for the big day tomorrow. With the brakes off and fluid removes, it's time for me to get the suspension off and the H&R's on before the new brakes and the ball joint goes in. And hopefully the rear calipers will come out decently to match the front.

Will update tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

Nice selection of car's and mod's good luck

Thanks! Did a lot of research on what i should get for it.

Update: 10/6/2014

So it's been several since i started work on the MS6 and after several set backs due to seized fasteners, ridiculous fastener placements, girlfriend, dogs, work and two injuries from the install, i'm finally ALMOST done! Yay! Haha.

So, here are some updated pictures of the build.

Front's are done and just need brake fluid and bleeding :)
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Right Rear is just about done, need to torque the bolts on the brakes and confirm torque for all suspension components. I used my impact gun for the fasteners and just want to make sure it's good. Though the B*tch bolt for the shock is cross threading and going in crooked, I'm going to either have the dealership or a shop see what they can do to secure it. I feel so defeated after trying to install it three or four times.........After securing all the fasteners, time to bleed the brakes.

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I know the color doesn't match the front, i'm probably going to primer white over it and then paint it blue to get a bit lighter and more vibrant blue.

It will be time to work on the LH side, i'll only be putting an hour or two while i have work for the rest of the week but after the experience i had with the RH side, i'm sure it will be a breeze. I wouldn't mind spending the money to have the dealership or a shop drop the rear sub slightly to secure the shock bolts though, safety first! I understand coming from a manufacturing point of view why they did that but when working on it to try to just switch the shocks, damn, they couldn't have made it a bit easier... I wonder how many people try to fix up their Tesla's now cause i know they our cars are not easy to work on, haha.

Oh, here's a sneak peek of something for the FD ;) well, it's more of a pleaser than a teaser :P

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I still got to take picture of the other things for the FD, can you guys guess what it is???

Thanks for reading!

So it's been awhile since i've posted an update. Took some pictures of the car at my work's parking lot. Just some teaser pictures. I still need to get my rear fenders rolled and probably lower the car another 1/2" and do an alignment. But here are some pictures with the new rotors and front new calipers as well!

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Will be getting the fenders rolled tomorrow at Motorsports Technique in Hayward. I do recommend going to them if you're in the area, they did my RX-8 very well and helped troubleshoot some issues with rubbing against the inside fender liner, they charge a little more than other shops but i do trust them not to crack the paint and everything. Will also get my alignment done here or at AutoRnD, both are great places.

It's been quite some time since i last posted anything on here. Here are some updates!

RX-8: Nothing new, still sitting in the garage, changed the oil last month.
Mazdaspeed 6: Readjusted the height to sit a little lower, need new upper mounts for the front shocks, getting some noise up there. Will be ordering a Mazdaspeed Cold Air Intake in the near future and the Corksport TMIC.

RX-7: Updates below :)

4/6/2016: Installed Spirit R Gauge Cluster and Spirit R Head unit (Thanks: Ramy). Would of went with an aftermarket system but loving the stock look for the FD.

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Need to upgrade my other Dash Lights now.
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Got two sets of wheels ready for the FD: BBS RG-R (Refinished) and MS-01 (Refinished). RG-R will be going on first.

BBS = 18x8.5 +42 / 18x9.5 +38

MS01 = 18x8 (forgot offset) / 18x9 (forgot offset)

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(Tried something new with the center caps, might put this on the rx8 as well)

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I just purchased tires two days ago, went with 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 RE-11's. Should get them today or tomorrow. Stay tuned! Also, got a bunch of parts in for the rx8, need to get the rebuild going so i can utilize everything. Will take pictures this weekend.

really love your vehicle selection. my fleet looks similar
08 Rx-8
06 Mazdaspeed6

Show some full body shots of the speed6 and R3 wheel setup.

Will get those pictures out hopefully this weekend after a nice detailing if i have time. The car looks great with the R3 wheels, fills in the fender well. I do have a slight demon drop going as the rear is sitting higher than the fronts so i'll be readjusting that a bit later but it is my daily. I will eventually be getting the AutoExe lip kit and grille for the MS6 as well as sway bars, really need some sway bars.

Love your vehicle selection as well. I'll be adding another rotary to the fleet if i can find the right one. Looking at importing a Eunos Cosmo Type E CCS w/ black interior.

Some pictures i took over the weekend and right after work!

MS6 w/ R3 Wheels
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RX7 w/ RX8 (Changed the oil on the rx8 and thought i should take some pictures with big brother)
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Nice cars!
Man those FD's are tiny. Easy to forget how ittybitty they are.

Haha, i know! I almost forgot how easy it is to slide in to the rx8 compared the rx7. Then when you see them next to each other, you easily see how large cars are getting, when i drive the FD, its so tiny compared to all others on the road. Now i wonder how much smaller it feels in an NA or NB miata. Haha.

Quick update on the 7.

I just realized i haven't updated this thread in quite sometime. Here is a list of parts i've been gathering up for the 7 and 8 that have been sitting in my garage.

RX-7
99' spec OEM bumper skin (being shipped)
99' spec rebar (coming soon)
99' spec undertray (coming soon)
99' spec brake ducts (coming soon)
R-Magic oil cooler ducts (coming soon)
99' spec OEM running lights (coming soon)
99' spec OEM side skirt
FEED CF Lip skirt (maybe)
99' spec car show glow running lights
99' spec spoiler
JDM Fenders w/ Corner Lights
OEM Mud Gads
JDM Foglights (pre 99 spec)
JDM Foglights (99 spec)
Spirit R/Type RZ Brakes (still need to purchase dust shields and possibly supporting bracket)
OEM Aluminum Door Sills
SBG HID Retrofit
Theorie/SBG LED Tail Lights
Advox Coilovers (considering selling)
FEED Vented Headlight Cover or Napol Performance Headlight Cover (need opinion)

RX-8
3x Mazdaspeed Front Bumper
2x Mazdaspeed Diffuser
Mazdaspeed Side Skirt
Mazdaspeed Flywheel
Mazdaspeed Clutch
Ron Davis Radiation
RE-medy Water pump
RE-medy Thermostat
RX8 Performance Oil Pan
RX8 Performance Oil Coolers
RX8 Performance Trio Canister (Oil Catch Can, AST, Windshield wiper fluid)
RX8 Performance Motor Mounts
BHR LS Ignition Upgrade
LEG Motorsport Center Emblem Duct (coming soon)
Endless 6-pot Mini Big Brake Kit (if i could find one)

Mazdaspeed 6
No parts yet

Just an update for everyone...

RIP Mazdaspeed6, it is sad to see you go... After a long few weeks at work, i accidentally rear ended someone on the way home two weeks ago. Due to the Mazdaspeed6 being lowered, it sustained about $12k worth of damages and now is being totaled. I'm definitely going to miss the boost on her.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0d84f12b6d.jpg


I've already put down a deposit on my new car while i'm waiting for the insurance check to come in. Can you guess what i'll be getting next?
*cries*

Man, what do you do for a living? I think I'm in the wrong profession.

To be honest, i got lucky landing a job at Tesla when they were a young company. Also, we do a shit loads of overtime here which adds a lot of extra income lying around. It's that and also being very frugal throughout high school and college. Lol. And the last reason for this would be not having kids yet.

Ah alright, so why isn't there a Tesla under your signature then? No employee discount? Lol

Did you try to trade in that rx7 at the fremont carmax a few weeks ago?

First off, i'm a petrol head. LOL. Secondly, no employee discount. And lastly, i would probably wait till the 2nd gen Roadster is released :P

Nope, that wasn't me. It would be a cold day in hell for me to get rid of the FD unless you offer me a significant offer. I know of a few white rx7's around the bay bu i don't think they would go in to Carmax to try to trade it in.

Yeah someone tried to trade a stock one a couple weeks ago and onl got offered 8k for it and he said no. I figured it may have been you but wasn't sure

Price of RX-7's are coming up, carmax low balled hard on that one. Private sellers are picking up low-mid mileage 7's for mid to high $20k and some low mileage original white ones are going for low $30k

Sounds like yours is a nice retirement investment.

Lol, i was hoping to have a collection of rotary cars and always wanted an FD. I'm hoping to import a Cosmo 20b in the near future. But if any financial burden comes a long, i'm glad that FD is there to bail me out if it maintains or increases its value.