Project 'Me BooSTa'

[Ken]

Isn't it the same as subaru, where they can tell that you might have disconnected your battery? Don't be pussy.

This. They can only tell that it's been re-flashed i believe (maybe not even that much), but since they can't prove with what or how it does not void the warranty. I personally have never heard of someone returning completely to stock (read: not the "stock" tune) and having their warranty voided. DO IT.

[.RJ]

Don't be pussy.

Dammit, why isnt your turbo bacon wagon making 400hp?

[JPolen01]

Don't be pussy.

Dammit, why isnt your turbo bacon wagon making 400hp?

Because he is a pussy

[FlaakCM]

My understanding is, at least with the WRX, the tech can only see a checksum tally. That is the only way they can assume the ECU has been reflashed.

[Jake]

Mileage: 4,900

A little post-VIR update. Saturday had (relatively) great weather... about 55 and sunny. Jon hopped in the car and we took it out for some laps in HPDE 2. I told him that we would stay out as long as the brakes would allow, but I wouldn't chance it in the least. Better safe than sorry with your DD.

I think we got a solid 5 or 6 green laps in before the brakes packed up and left the party. I was scared to push it last month, since it was too cold for the tires to really have much grip. I put the car in track mode this time (disables everything except ABS and the "E-Diff") and got reasonably aggressive. The chassis is wonderful for being FWD. Doesn't want to plow hardly at all, and instead prefers to break the tail free juuuust a touch. Very predictable though.

On the final lap that we were out, I came down the little chute toward Oak Tree (turn 10, I guess) and felt the middle pedal getting a bit soft. Naturally, after telling Jon that we were heading in, I decided to really go for it out of Oak Tree. We touched ~130 on the back straight with a pretty good exit, the brakes hauled us down one final time, and I entered pit road incredibly pleased with the performance for being 95% stock-from-Ford. Took a pretty long time for the sponge cake to be removed from the brake pedal.

Oh, and the seats continue to be amazing. They're breaking in more and more. I spent a lot of time in the car yesterday, between pace laps and the nearly-six-hour drive home, and I was comfortable the entire time.

<3

[ScottyB]

hey Jake, you're e-famous:

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[FlaakCM]

Haha. That's cool

[Jake]

Drive to Moe's for a burrito, become e-famous for ten minutes. Oookay then.

[Jake]

Mileage: 7,100

Damn, I'm driving a lot.

It's still A Cool, Quick, Yellow Car. Everything still works. That is all.

Oh, the yellow cloth inserts on the seats are starting to take on the tinge of blue jeans. I need to find some product that will clean it up, and then Scotchgard the seats. Dan & I spoke a while back about this and I promptly forgot the names of the products I needed to order. Dan, any halp?

[Jake]

Mileage: 7,400

Discovered an interesting 'quirk' related, I think, to MyFord Touch. If I'm playing Spotify over the Bluetooth connection, it will play the first 10ish seconds of every song in the playlist, automatically skipping tracks after that time. The iPod app works fine via Bluetooth, and Spotify works great if I plug in with USB.

I wonder how I can Control-Alt-Delete my dashboard.

<insert VW electronics joke here?>

[Jake]

Mileage: 9,426

Oil changed with Castrol Synthetic 5W-30 and Motorcraft filter. Was actually cheaper to stop at the dealership for an oil filter (that many claim to be preferred) than to buy one at AutoZone. And the dealership is even on my way!

Also picked up a little bottle of Tangerine Scream touch-up paint. I backed the car into the spare Miata motor a few months ago (oops) and took a teeny tiny chip out of the paint. You wouldn't notice unless I pointed it out, but I might as well fix it so I know it's been done.

Still doing ~25 mpg commuting. Still no real plans to tune/exhaust/intake it unless I have a few drinks and end up on Steeda's website late one night.

[JPolen01]

I'm winning now in the new car high mileage race! I'm around 9990. Woohoo, not.

[Jeff]

I have always gone out of my way to use Mopar oil filters. Obviously it is easy for me but I have always figured Ma Mopar knows best. Deep down inside I am sure they are the cheapest most rot-gut Chrysler could buy at that given time that met the requirements but I still feel better than any aftermarket. Motorcraft is probably the same way but the warm fuzzy is worth it.

[JustinG]

This thread needs more COBB!

[Jeff]

This thread needs more COBB!

How about Cod?

[ScottyB]

oem filters are usually a really good bet for quality. often there are specific filter bypass settings or other reliability specs that the oem's can get nailed down just right by virtue of their leverage, whereas your average autozone brand might have a more one-size-fits all mentality and not as much qc. i think a lot of filters are also produced by the same factory and just get slightly different components put in them and a different paint job anyway.

[Jake]

Deep down inside I am sure they are the cheapest most rot-gut Chrysler could buy at that given time that met the requirements but I still feel better than any aftermarket. Motorcraft is probably the same way but the warm fuzzy is worth it.

Rumors say the Motorcraft filters are made by "Racor" who also makes them branded as Fram filters. I don't really care what's what, so long as it doesn't disintegrate and blow filter through the engine. However, I think it looks better if I have to go in for a warranty claim, to have a Motorcraft filter on there. And like Jeff said, I think Ma Motorcraft knows best in this case.

I think the filter was initially designed for mid-80s Chryslers, actually. Ford didn't start using it til the mid-00s, but it's been on several of their cars since.

[Jeff]

Lol, I didn't know they were still using them. Its the 409/090 series of filters, that design goes way back, I have an 090 on the Challenger. I call them that because the Mopar numbers end in 409 for the smaller and 090 for the larger. Ford 5.0's take the 090, you must be using the 409 which as you said was a smaller version of the 090 developed for 2.2/2.5 4 cylinder engines. I ran the larger on my 2.2/2.5 engines even though they called for 409. They have the same thread pitch and mounting pattern. If the bigger will physically fit on your application you should run it, larger filter medium and what-not.

[Evan]

so when do you go?

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[Jake]

so when do you go?

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Well, that looks like fun. Lemme see if I have some spare cash to pay for airfare and hotel when the time comes...

In other news, I crossed the 10k mark of ownership yesterday. In celebration, I left the car in the driveway and took the Miata to dinner :roll: Didn't even manage to get a photo of the odometer, this is the best I could do:



Ownership-wise, it's been good to me. I scuffed the passenger side skirt a few months ago, backing out of my friend's driveway that has an extremely steep curb - but you can't see it unless you look underneath. The driver's foglight lens is cracked (thank you, VIR) and a new assembly is $60 from Ford. Going to fix that soon.

It's a pretty neat car. I like it a lot. I don't think I love it. It does everything it's supposed to do, pretty well. I just don't really connect with it much. It's fun to drive, but I don't see myself keeping it past a year or two.