Ginger: The Pioneer deck is in and working, but the install isn’t perfect yet. Once I have it the way I want, I have a new center console as well as black carbon surrounds for the radio and the shifter to install. The 8″ -> 6.5″ adaptors worked well enough, but the Sony speakers are a still shrill. Can’t complain when they were free.

I’ve also installed the Flyin’ Miata anti-roll bars (last week). That was an adventure. condor888000 and I were half way through it when I realized I had no idea where I had put the mounting hardware kit. I eventually found it, but not before getting a scary shipping quote from FM. Glad I didn’t have to go that route.

There was an apparent trasnmission fluid leak. Elite Mazda checked it and thought it was the missing gaskets on the fill and drain plugs. I’ll check it this week when I have the car jacked up to change the front wheel bearing/hub assemblies. That was unforseen, but what can you do.

AutoX: I find myself, after putting my hand up to be kitchen help, as the Head of Timing and Registration. It’s a touch overwhelming since I’m learning from a base of zero, but the old hands are proving very supportive and helpful. In particular, Luker from MCO has been a real rock. The new guys are also stepping up and pitching in. It’s a good thing, too, as we’re having major problems with the timing system. Hopefully some testing over the next couple of weeks can help pin-point the issues.

The downside is that I’m not getting the time I need to walk the course, watch, and learn — not a good way to get faster with a new, relatively unfamiliar car.

Glad that my bro is coming out. I hope he joins condor888000 and I when we trek to Shannonville  for a St. Lac event this coming Sunday. I even offered to let him run Ginger with me.

Work: It’s work. I think that’s enough about that.

The Best News Ever: We’re getting FM’s Big Enchilada and their AFCO Suspension for Ginger. Me very happy!

The new tires (Dunlop Direzza Z1 Sport Star Specs in 215/40R17) rid the chassis of virtually off the vibrations is suffered at highway speeds, have provided a more supple ride, and boosted traction, particularly wet traction, far beyond what the OE Toyos provided. The new brakes (no-name rotors and Carbotech AX6 pads) are mind-blowing. The bite is unbelievable as is the readiness with which the pads release from the rotors. The removal of the deposit-lined rotors pretty much eliminated the remaining wheel-balance related vibrations, making the car much more pleasant for cruising.

I won’t miss the muffled, fake sound from the Bose stereo, but right now we’re doing without any tunes as we await some 8″ to 6.5″ speaker mount adaptors to come in the mail. In the meantime, there is work to be done: I’ve already modified the wiring harnesses to work with the new Pioneer F700-BT in-dash navigation unit, but I still need to trim and solder some connections. I also want to complete the lighting modifications before I finalize the install.

Lastly, the bumper damage I caused has been repaired, but the paint match isn’t quite right, so I’ll be speaking to Bemac autobody this week about getting it repainted, probably when the alignment is being done by Phil or George at Canadian Tire Carling.

I was quoted $84.95 + 1 Hour labour by Ralph, the Service Manager, to do the alignment and to install my camber links.

The tech, Phil (friendly, tall, thin guy with short blonde hair) started with a test drive and then put the car on the hoist at 12:30PM. It took about 2.5 hours to do the camber links. I was invited to watch and noticed that the rubber collar on my passenger side-rear spring was twisting off. I wasn’t going to mention it, but then I thought fixing it could affect the alignment. When I did mention it and indicated a willingness to pay for the service, Phil and Ralph willingly agreed. The car finally rolled onto the alignment machine at about 3:30PM. I suspect anyone else coming into get camber links installed on their Mazda 3 will get quoted much more than 1 hour of labour.

Adjusting the rear camber was a nightmare! Every adjustment required removing the wheel and the outer camber link bolt, reattaching everything and taking a new measurement. Phil was awesome and did all he could to get the camber on the rear wheels dead even, but the it became clear that there level of adjustment offered by the camber links wasn’t fine enough to tweak it to that point. However, as he zero’ed the toe (much easier to do) on the rear wheels, the negative camber became equal — both rear wheels are now -0.88 degrees.

Toe on the front wheels (similarly simple) was also set to 0 degrees precisely. Front camber isn’t adjustable and is at -1.22 degrees on the left and -0.94 degrees on the right — a difference of 0.28 degrees. Thrust angle is 0.03 degrees with spec being 0.80 degrees.

Steering Angle Inclination is out of spec, but I think that’s a given on a lowered car. My print-out:

The car was done at 5:30 and Ralph was 100% true to his word. I was charged $84.95 + 1 hour labour ($89) + 30 mins labour for the spring issue for a total of $218.45 before tax. More than fair.

I can do nothing other than heap praise on these guys and recommend that you get your wheel alignments done at Canadian Tire on Carling.

Oh yeah, Zhaan’s tail is now as lively as it was pre-drop. Course corrections through jabs of throttle are once again at my disposal.