Posted by: @ctt3mx5

Thank you again Walter for agreeing to lead us on this adventure in the foul weather and in three different cars no less.  That has to be a club first.  Despite the overcast morning and misty afternoon, I enjoyed myself and the roads that you strung together.

I also hope that my pace on the back end of the run was good for everyone.  At times I was second guessing myself, "am I going too fast, am I going too slow?".  It was a little nerve wracking and I have a new found respect for anyone who has put together and led a run.

You point out the 3 different cars for Walter. That HAS to be a first. I am glad that I was there for that! I would say that you are a natural Jeff. It is like you have been the Tail and front of a roller coaster!  I would think the next step is creating a Run!

Thanks for adding some great miles to my new engine.  It is best to break it in by driving at lots of different RPM.  Yesterday was a great day for that. With the top down 90% of the time, I got to really hear my engine growling under different loads. What a great day!

@the-stig @livetodrive Thanks for the kind words gentleman and whoa there Mr. Prez....let's not get too crazy about me creating a run.  Baby steps.  😉  I do like your analogy about being the front and tail of the roller coaster though.

Not only was Walter lead in three different cars but three generations as well!

@ctt3mx5 

If you'd like to create a drive in the future, Jeff, HERE'S some good information to help you get started 😛.

@flying-dutchman  I just laughed out loud at my desk reading that Dave.  Thank you!

@ctt3mx5 I didn't even notice the 3 of 4 generations! I don't think there was an NB there yesterday, or he could have done it all!!

@livetodrive He missed hitting for the cycle, but he did get a hat trick 🙂

I had a nice conversation at Young's regarding my clutch today. The cost was very much inline as Scott Mazda. I am dropping my Miata off at Young's tomorrow and they will be dismantling the transmission on Wednesday. 

Of course, they mentioned clutch, throw out bearing, pressure plate, flywheel and a couple of other small items. Tomorrow's findings will tell how many of those parts I need.

Depending what they find, there is still a chance Nancy and I may be able to get to the Gathering of the Green in Kentucky next week.

@rhetlaw 

I really hope you won't have to miss the "Gathering", Walter 😣.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. If it turns out to be just the clutch and throw out bearing there is a good chance we will make it as those parts are located in Pennsylvania. 

However, with having that area opened, I would just as soon have the pressure plate and flywheel replaced as well. Both for my continued driving and then for more driving as it goes into the hands of my daughter.

@rhetlaw 

To which daughter are you referring, Walter?  Will there be a BRG in Calgary some day?

@flying-dutchman 

No, Dave, no BRG in Calgary. My Miata will be going to Susan in the Mechanicsburg area. For some reason she took a liking to it from the start and, actually, she has joined us on an LVMOC ride a year or so ago. She enjoys joining on our Club rides.

And I need to clarify that "no BRG in Calgary" statement. My Canadian grandson is eleven years old. Susan has mentioned that when it is time to pass it on, it will be in Matthew's direction.

Also, I meant to tell you and Janice this when we were together at the Dairy Queen parking lot two weeks ago. Three weeks ago Nancy was having some testing done at St. Lukes Hospital. While I was in the waiting room, a lady my age joined me. I asked if she was a local girl and she responded with, "we are living in Egypt now".

I asked if she knew a Janice and Dave Sell. She said, "know them, my husband Tom worked with Dave at Essroc for years". It was Bernie and Tom Martin.  I hope I have the last name correct. Anyway, small world.

After all the rain in NJ/NY, when I finally got home that afternoon not a single drop had fallen here in South Whitehall. Was bizarre. 

That one twisty road in NY with the concrete walls on the sides looks amazing, would love to drive down it again when it’s dry!

Going to hold off on installing the Brembos until the spring, or at least before the next track event in the spring I think -  because then I’ll get the most out of the original pads and rotors, as no one is going to want those. May as well get as many miles out of them as I can.

I can’t speak for our other ND owners here - but I’ve never once experienced brake fade even with the smaller calipers and OEM pads. No fade at the track, no fade on any of the dozen or so runs I’ve been a part of. I even attempted to induce some fade (safely far away from the rest of you of course) several times by really getting on the brakes last weekend and I couldn’t get it to do so. Can only imagine brand new Brembos with stainless steel lines.  Even the basic braking system in these cars is excellent. Kudos to Mazda for that!

^^ Thats them. Sometimes I just take them out of the box and look at them, I didn’t think it was possible to find a brake caliper beautiful 🙂 yeah I am a little crazy when it comes to cars & guitars. 

Posted by: @livetodrive

@ctt3mx5 I didn't even notice the 3 of 4 generations! I don't think there was an NB there yesterday, or he could have done it all!!

Yep I took a mental note, NBs are the rarest of them all it seems these days. I never see any, anywhere. I see NAs & NC1s the most driving around, then probably ND1s in that order. Don’t know where all the NBs went. There are some theories out there - that after the enormous & unprecedented success of the NAs, the NBs were not treated or maintained as they well because at that time, the NB was viewed how we often view sequels to great movies - inferior and secondary.

Another thing is how they lost the pop up headlights - even if it was due to DOT regulations many feel it was just too different than the NA as the most infamous detail of the NA (besides being a wonderful roadster) is of course the pop up headlights! 🙂

• Posted by: @rhetlaw

Thanks, Dave. If it turns out to be just the clutch and throw out bearing there is a good chance we will make it as those parts are located in Pennsylvania. 

However, with having that area opened, I would just as soon have the pressure plate and flywheel replaced as well. Both for my continued driving and then for more driving as it goes into the hands of my daughter.

Hmm.. pressure plate almost always replaced as they wear out over time, but usually the flywheel is just resurfaced. But if not, since it’s all going to be open I would opt for getting an aftermarket lightweight flywheel before buying a new one from Mazda - as it is probably less $$ and is a great modification. It doesn’t create horsepower, just lets the motor rev quicker and throttle response improves, and it’s even more fun IMO. I’ve done several clutch jobs on my Nissans & Infinitis and every time I got a new Fidanza light weight flywheel since I had everything opened up anyways 🙂 OEM flywheels were 18lbs, the lightweight Fidanza was 8.5lbs, I just looked. Also found a photo of one of them: