[Shredcheddar]

Well I finally bought a car. 1992 Mazda Miata... thanks for all the input and help and dumb questions answered. I'm sure there will be more to come.

[el cabong]

Congrats!

[mattslope]

Pics?

[redbaron]

congratulations, miata's are fun cars. now, pics or perish!

[Relientk101]

Congratulations

[b_hoves]

Is a Mazda Miata one of these?


If so they are called the mx-5 here in Australia. Great little cars, bit of a tight fit for me. Any plans or mods or car rallies?

[Art]

Originally Posted by b_hoves

Is a Mazda Miata one of these?


If so they are called the mx-5 here in Australia. Great little cars, bit of a tight fit for me. Any plans or mods or car rallies?

That's the one. I think they call it an MX-5 here now.

[b_hoves]

Originally Posted by Art

That's the one. I think they call it an MX-5 here now.

The B6ZE 1.6Lt in the early versions are great strong little engines. This engine was made to be pushed hard, they have a lighter flywheel and crankshaft as well as an alloy and finned oil sump to keep the oil cooler. Its also interesting to note that they are directly related to the B6T (turbo) used in the earlier versions of the Mazda Familia GT-X (later mx-5s and familias used the BP engine, which are related to the B6 but not enough to use for direct bolt on mods).

These engines do like to breath a bit easier then they are allowed to from the factory, so a good 2 ¼ exhaust system, extractor/headers and either a modified air intake setup or a pod filter will help.

I say modified air intake, but what I am alluding to is that many air filter enclosures have flanges on the inside of them (for both the air coming in and going out). Not sure exactly why they are there, they disrupt the airflow more then help it. Smoothing these flanges out and adding a good panel style air filter will help greatly.

[mattslope]

Originally Posted by b_hoves

The B6ZE 1.6Lt in the early versions are great strong little engines. This engine was made to be pushed hard, they have a lighter flywheel and crankshaft as well as an alloy and finned oil sump to keep the oil cooler. Its also interesting to note that they are directly related to the B6T (turbo) used in the earlier versions of the Mazda Familia GT-X (later mx-5s and familias used the BP engine, which are related to the B6 but not enough to use for direct bolt on mods).

These engines do like to breath a bit easier then they are allowed to from the factory, so a good 2 ¼ exhaust system, extractor/headers and either a modified air intake setup or a pod filter will help.

I say modified air intake, but what I am alluding to is that many air filter enclosures have flanges on the inside of them (for both the air coming in and going out). Not sure exactly why they are there, they disrupt the airflow more then help it. Smoothing these flanges out and adding a good panel style air filter will help greatly.

Not much horsepower for that engine to be found in the intake and exhaust unless you include a Flying Miata turbo kit.

[Shredcheddar]

Pics to come. I'm in the car on the way to Colorado so it may be a few days (this is being posted via blackberry).

Planned mods: stock/OEM for most parts, just want to keep it in great running shape. I do want to add a roll bar and maybe a hardtop at some point. When I have money I'll go with some new shocks and springs to lower the car a bit and firm it up. Rims and tires are actually brand new so Falken Azenis are not in the near future.

I do have one problem.

When the car sits overnight and cools down to "room temperature," when I start the car it will want to stall if I just let it idle. This is precipitated by an unstable idle (only when cold). After a few minutes around the block the idle stabilizes at around 800 RPM.

I can make the engine idle even lower and start to sputter by putting the clutch in and putting the shift lever in gear. For some reason this makes it idle worse!?

What is the problem here? Keep in mind this car is entirely driveable: all I have to do is give it a tiny bit of gas so it is stable until the engine warms. What gives and how do I fix it?

[mattslope]

I'm guessing that the idle dropping by putting it into gear is a clutch that isn't fully disengaging. I don't know the warm idle problem, though.

[Shredcheddar]

About the clutch, that seems to be the only logical explanation. If indeed that's what's happening, the car isn't budging so if it's catching then it's only off by a tiny tiny amount. Would the clutch material eventually wear down and fix itself, or is there an easy solution that is worth doing in the meantime (read: don't have to take the transmission and clutch out)?

As for the idle... I know there's an idle control valve, and that it does, well... something related to the idle. Could this be the root of the problem? Hopefully it's an issue related to either the air filter, throttle body, idle speed screw, or the ICV and some related hoses and not (gulp) a compression or vaccum seal problem.

Would it be possible that the valves could be worn so that they're not properly sealing when cold and at low RPMs and are eventually expanding and working better? Someone please tell me no.

I'm by nature both paranoid and cynical, so maybe I'm overblowing this. How should I move forward with this as I don't have a ton of money for repairs or replacements? If the issue becomes pressing I'd be able to put about $500 down on the spot for a fix... but not much beyond that. Is this a big enough deal to get it checked out by a shop?

[Shredcheddar]

For what it's worth, someone on the TexAgs.com automotive forum suggested that his truck sometimes has the same problem and to try fuel system cleaner. At $3, I guess there's no real point in not trying it. Can't hurt.

[redbaron]

to test the clutch hypothoses, go somewhere where there is room for the car to move forward if necessary, put the clutch in, put it in first, and slowly rev the car up towards redline and see if it moves. If it does, you have a disengagement problem and it's dragging. If it doesn't, that's not your problem.

[Shredcheddar]

Yay pictures.