Mazda Talk Forums

Sorry, I do not recall putting rad upgrade in that car. Without a plan to track it or boost it, not sure why we would have added a rad unless it was testing fitment....but I really do not recall. Thus, your best record of it at this point is the thread, if we said we did, likely we did. Head mechanic Rocky would likely have record or recollection, ask him next time you visit....and he can take a peak in there if he does not recall.

Going to miss the Tech Day at Rocky's tomorrow, but would have been good to bring it in, and check for a new Rad. Will give him a call next week and see what mods he has recorded in his system if installed a Koyo Radiator.
Have a good weekend!!

PLANNED: 5 days
EXECUTED: 2,200 miles
PRICELESS: Hours without seeing another car on the twisties of some of
Utah’s most Bountiful National Parks!

MX5 was perfect! Not a single hiccup, temp was rock solid even on two 19 hour continuous drives traveling in & out of the State. The added stiffness to the suspense kept the car ‘planted’ on the road through the most demanding curves. This is what the Miata was created to do, run through the most beautiful countryside while zooming through twistez with the top down!

Great Trip...love the pics!

Adventure through San Francisco, Oregon, and down through Utah! 2,751 totals miles of pure driving joy in 6 days! Finally had to replace the rear tires, as I was losing the back-end on every corner. I think I’m close to doubling the amount of miles I have put on this 2012 beauty in the last few months. Love that it only had 16,000 miles when purchased this year, and am getting ready to do my 3rd oil change since I picked it up in July. So far not a single issue with any of the mod’s and am in the process of installing a hard lined USB cable for the Dash cam for constant recording. Will post information once I complete wiring and test unit to make sure I didn’t cross any wires.

Wow, great update!

Happy to know this project's adventures continue!

Brian, great thread with lots of good info. Just picked up an ’09 GT, and I’m considering an exhaust swap, mainly for sound, but a few extra ponies would be nice as well. I’m considering this combo: GWR catted street header + Helmholtz mid pipe + Super Q. Here are my questions:

1. What happens to AFR (relative to stock exhaust) when running this setup with stock tune?
2. You mention that the biggest impact of a tune is removal the 2nd gear torque limitation programmed in by Mazda. How big is that limitation, and why did Mazda put it there in the first place?
3. How much louder than stock is the above combo under hard acceleration? Same question for steady cruising?

Apologies in advance if I missed the answers to any of these questions already included in the thread.

Felix

Car's ECU AFR targets do not change and it just adjusts to keep hitting the same targets as before.
The removal of 2nd gear limits very noticeable, I do not know precisely why Mazda did it but my guess is they worried that some drivers might be alarmed if they would get the car loose with torque not limited on the shift to second. The Helmholtz midpipe does an amazing job, result is the full three piece setup just mildly louder than stock system under all conditions, still far less sound than many sports cars are in stock condition.

Thanks for the quick reply. I have a couple street/track cars with aftermarket exhaust systems, so I'm accustomed to louder-than-normal exhaust noise. The stock NC system seems extremely quiet to me, to the point of diminishing some of the fun. Even so, I plan to use the NC for long weekend cruising, so I don't want anything so loud as to become tiresome for a long stretch. So the choice is between the catted and catless header, and it's a bit tough not having heard either in person. If you know of any customers in my local area (south Louisiana or Gulf Coast - MS, AL or FL) that have either system and would be willing to let me hear it, perhaps you could shoot me an email.

I will add the setup with cat was designed on this project, which was my WIFE's car and prime directive from the Wife was to NOT make her car TOO LOUD. Thus, I would say the setup with cat and helmholtz is so mild that many will think it is stock if you do not tell them. And, the Helmholtz midpipe is so effective that even with the catless headers it is still just a bit more, still all mild all the time. We sold our Project Blue yesterday and customer buying the car expressed his surprise at how quiet that car's exhaust is, despite having our new oversized and catless 1.8 inch primary header matched to the Helmholtz midpipe.