James's 99 Miata

[EclipseTurbno93]

Hadn't thought about that, the only wrapping experience I have was doing THE Scott Stones roof on the camaro, and we gave up on that lol

[Jake]

Heh, I like the plate!

You will definitely like the hardtop for winter. Keeps things insulted a bit better than a few sheets of vinyl ever could.

[EclipseTurbno93]

Thanks! Ryan's idea for the plate, I love it.

Yeah that will be nice, plus gets rid of the huge blind spot and don't have to worry about snow overloading the soft top

I got to test your 40+ mph statement this morning and you're right I stayed almost completely dry with the windows up

[ScottyB]

solid work! a carbon wrap on that with your black paint would be choice....

[JPolen01]

solid work! a carbon wrap on that with your black paint would be choice....

The hard top has nice big curves so it welding be terribly hard to wrap. Get a heat gun and some squeegees and just take your time stretching it. Buy enough that you can do the entire top in one piece - cut out the rear window. This will give it a seamless look so you can't tell the vinyl is there.

And while scotty is our resident artist I'm gonna disagree on the carbon. Nothing screams cheap fake shit more than a carbon wrap. Just use black vinyl. 3m 1080 line.

[ScottyB]

i've got some pink tape that can make it look more like something you'd enjoy

[EclipseTurbno93]

Lol glad that memories thread is up now so I understand some of these jokes

[Senor_Taylor]

I kind of like the color difference. I think we need to drive each other's when we get back to school so I can drive a nice Miata for once and you can drive a... uh... not so nice one.

[EclipseTurbno93]

I'm not sure how I feel about it, I might just plastidip it a little bit of a brighter red color for this winter

For sure, and let's just say so we can drive different Miatas lol

[Senor_Taylor]

Plus I think my intake cam is off (home made VTEC yo), so if I drive yours and it feels different, I'll know Can't wait.

[Jake]

Plus I think my intake cam is off (home made VTEC yo), so if I drive yours and it feels different, I'll know Can't wait.

Well he's got a (relative) fuckload more power and torque than you do, homeboy. The 99's made 140 hp and 119 lb-ft, you're down at 116/100. :mrgreen:

They both drive well, and I'm curious to see how y'all like the NA6 vs. NB comparo. For sharing so many parts and the same design underneath (seriously, James's dash would bolt in to Taylor's car) they are pretty different.

[EclipseTurbno93]

So I'm running into my first issue with the car in that I can't go over 65 mph on the highway without the heat shooting up to 3/4 when I have the AC on. It cools straight back down once the AC is turned off and has no issues while idling or in city traffic. I have also noticed some bubbling noises coming from the overflow tank after longer drives and evidence of coolant coming out the top of the tank as well. Any ideas as to what is causing it / how to fix?

I'm planning on replacing the water pump and timing belt soon, and I've been thinking I might as well do the radiator as well to try and alleviate the issues but am unsure if I just go stock or spend the extra money (that I don't really have right now) to get a dual core.

And also, what are all the parts I should replace when doing the timing belt?

[Senor_Taylor]

Before Le Hardcore Racer bros come in and tell you aluminum or bust, unless you plan to track it, you can just replace it was an OEM radiator and be okay. When you replace the timing belt, do the cam seals, tensioner pulleys, CAS O-ring (since you'll have the valve cover off) and I believe the front crankshaft seal (?) may be suggested.

Before all of this, make sure BOTH of your fans are kicking in. The one on the right is the regular cooling fan and the one of the left is the a/c fan (if yours is the same as mine). If one or both isn't kicking in, you'll get the temp spikes.

[ViPER1313]

On the highway the fans shouldn't matter.... Check to make sure that there are no obstructions in front of the radiator, that the fins are not clogged and that all plastic ducting pieces are in place. Also, is your car missing the foam that surrounds the radiator?

[EclipseTurbno93]

All plastic is there and the foam is also there, the only thing in front of the radiator is a mesh grill, I guess that could be blocking some airflow but I can't imagine it's that much

[*insertusernamehere*]

Oh my god change your water pump like now. I don't like reading that your overflow tank was bubbling. *cringe*

[Senor_Taylor]

If you don't get to the water pump until Frog Week, I'll lend a hand.

[ViPER1313]

All plastic is there and the foam is also there, the only thing in front of the radiator is a mesh grill, I guess that could be blocking some airflow but I can't imagine it's that much

Problem found Remove that ish! By the looks of it that is probably blocking over 50% of your airflow to the radiator!

[ViPER1313]

Oh my god change your water pump like now. I don't like reading that your overflow tank was bubbling. *cringe*

Water pump probably isn't at fault here. Bubbling is caused by overly high temperatures (which are already indicated) or a problem with the system that allows the pressure to drop when the car is cut off (normally a bad radiator cap or a leak in the system, maybe in the overflow tank itself) When the car is shut off, coolant that was moving around sits in one spot and begins to boil if the pressure is too low - this will not occur so long as the coolant system pressure is sufficiently high to raise the boiling point of the coolant. Water pumps are usually an all or nothing thing, they work until they leak or explode into small plastic fragments because they were manufactured by BMW :thumbup:

[Senor_Taylor]

I can't imagine a Miata being that temperamental about radiator flow. I hope it's that simple, though.