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Geez, what a bastard.
How old/miles was the belt, 200K?
I rigged up a bridge brace over that coil to 'try' and prevent the Alt belt from hacking into that coil wiring plug.
It was close to 34,000 miles, I should have taken a closer look at the belt's ribs for cracking when I replaced the ignition coils. I guess that is one of the things neglected under the hood.
Just got back from an epic trip through the westernmost states. 3578 miles covered in 10 days. What an incredible road trip car! Didn't get as good gas mileage coming back as I did going up. Lots more twisty turny encountered on the way back, but still a solid 24mpg achieved on average. Not a single issue with the car. It now has almost 63,000. Not bad for a 2004
Couple of photos. One in the southern Redwoods (drove through the tree), and the other in Yosemite National Park.
I just got mine back, after some jackass smashed into my driver side door(s) and side skirt causing about $2,500 in damage. 6 days worth of paint and whatever later - she's good as new again.
Nice! Mine are due at the end of the month! How dark did you go?
Very nice! I have been considering tinting mine since I got the car. Loved the tint I had on my Eclipse, 35% front, 20% rear. You have confirmed that it looks good on white, not that I thought it wouldn't! I have to say I don't mind the fish bowl factor with the 8. I like being seen in it Also, one less reason to be pulled over here.
And yes, what VLT rating did you go with? I'm going to guess either a similar combo to my Eclipse, or around 20% all the way around.
Very nice! I have been considering tinting mine since I got the car. Loved the tint I had on my Eclipse, 35% front, 20% rear. You have confirmed that it looks good on white, not that I thought it wouldn't! I have to say I don't mind the fish bowl factor with the 8. I like being seen in it Also, one less reason to be pulled over here.
And yes, what VLT rating did you go with? I'm going to guess either a similar combo to my Eclipse, or around 20% all the way around.
Originally Posted by Legot
Nice! Mine are due at the end of the month! How dark did you go?
I believe he used 28% film. Legal limit in Washington is 24%.
I also changed out my AC and alternator belts today. Boy, those locknuts were tight! I had to break out a 2 foot piece of pipe to get enough leverage to start them.
Durin the long haul from AZ to OR and back through CA, got hit with a road meteorite. Smacked right in the center of the windshield.
Repaired it with a kit called Blue-Star Windshield Repair Kit from Amazon. Worked great! Still see the smack, but it is see through now instead of a mini spider web. I'll probably take a few more hits before going for the full replacement.
Put some LEDs in the car today. Rather than spending close to $50 on bulbs from a quality retailer, I cheaped out and went to eBay. I bought 20 of the 194s, 10 of the Festoons, and 2 of the 7440 for reverse lights, all together for under $21. Very happy with the reverse lights and dome light, very bright and emit that pure white color. Not so happy with the 194s. They are too blue and aren't that bright. Oh well, at least I'm only out like $6. I ordered another few of them from another seller for $4, they claim they are "super bright pure white" but we will see.
pulled some lower control arms off the parts car to sell, now trying to get 10 posts, because it doesnt matter ive been a member for 1.5 yrs lol i still cant post in the marketplace.
pulled some lower control arms off the parts car to sell, now trying to get 10 posts, because it doesnt matter ive been a member for 1.5 yrs lol i still cant post in the marketplace.
Haha that was the boat I was in when I first picked mine up, could only post in the New Members section, although I had been a member for over two years. I joined in 2013 to do initial research, finally picked mine up in April
Should have bought the AEM for another $35. That looks like the same design as the K&N and Weapon R intakes that get heat soaked and actually rob you of power. They do sound good though AEM/Mazdaspeed will actually get you 2-3hp, anything else loses power, aside from the Racing Beat intake.
Yep, they are the rules for ALL Member's with less than 10 posts, no matter what year you joined.
You are still a New Member until you actually participate.
The only intakes that offer [barely] measurable gains over the OEM intake are AEM and Racing Beat. All other intakes rob performance. Cancel your order or send it back. You can accomplish reusability by purchasing a $50 K&N panel filter for the stock intake. Of course, you will give up filtering capacity like you do with all oiled cotton filters...
Ever since I got my engine replaced, I've had an oscillating idle between 750-1250 rpm. the STFT looked like a sine wave with +/- 3%. RPMs dipped to 750 rpm, it would run rough, the ECU would add fuel and rpm would go up to 1250, then rinse and repeat. Had previously cleaned the MAF to no good effect.
Yesterday I repaired the airbox - maf-housing joint where one of the "wood screws" had stripped the plastic threads. I used a threaded press-fit insert and a #6 machine screw. So now my MAF is held on quite securely. While I was at it, I re-cleaned the MAF.
While I was drilling out the hole for the insert, some crud got into the air tube, so I took the entire airbox out to clean it. I then saw that I had access to the ESS, so I took it out and cleaned it as well. (Had some grime on it but not particularly dirty) I was greatly hampered by not having a child with small hands, whom I could hold by the legs and lower into the engine bay.
After putting everything back together, re-attaching the VFAD vacuum lines and resetting the ESS profile and fuel trims, the oscillation is greatly reduced (< 200 rpm). With the AC on it is a little worse. Crossing my fingers that somehow I fixed the idle issue.
Also, one less reason to be pulled over here. 
