RHT Checkup

I have been putting up with my RHT rattling away for a while now. So I finally got frustrated and had time to go down to the dealer. I don't have a warranty on my car, so i thought it would be a hassle. But in Japan the RHT gets special treatment. They just know it's not perfect so they do everything to keep you happy.

I had the Mazda USA Service Bulletin, and the mechanic said he tightened the centre latch 1 turn. It's much harder to close now with the extra force. It doesn't seem to rattle anymore, but I'll have to wait for a colder day or an evening to see for sure. But, for now it's fixed.

Another problem though. My clutch pedal is getting low. Seems the Fidanza light flywheel may be having issues with the standard clutch after a while. It's never been great but I just thought it was how it was. It's pretty difficult to get a non jerky change unless you are going quickly. Pedal travel with bite is very small, I'll take it to corn's next week. I just hope it's not a complete money spender.

Russ.

Graphics Test

Make your own stickers. It's a little time consuming but the result is cheaper than anything you'd buy.

First I printed a design on paper and stuck it to my cutting board with the cutting sheet taped underneath so it doesn't move around.

Then I cut it out with enough pressure to cut the sheet but leave the backing in place.

You need to purchase some application sheet thats bigger than the design you have.

I repeated this for the logos but of course they take much more time.

Lining them up is the hardest part. I think the result is pretty good. This lot probably cost me about $1 but my initial test sample was about $10 I have enough to make a lot so It's definately worth it. 1 sticker from a manufacturer is about $5

I can see a vinyl cutting machine coming my way... hehe. Easy to get addicted to this stuff.

Russ.

Parking

I love these big parking lots.
Mechanical... but cool. Practicality wise, it's a little inconvenient though.

Russ.

Wheels Wheels Wheels.

I thought I'd have a crack at some different things.
OZ superleggra are very expensive in Japan. But quite aggressive.

Takata green TE37 in 18" do not suit the car at all!

Russ.

Tokyo Night View

Tokyo hasa special attraction. It's not open yet, but this full size Gundam Mobile Suit is in Odaiba at the moment.

It's a pretty impressive image. Gundam Project

My car looks ok under the Fuji Television Building's Bubble.

It was a nice night.

Russ

Clean and Shiny

After my trip, I cleaned the car. But this does something to me every time. I hate the colour mismatch of the Galaxy Grey in good lighting conditions.

A thread on miata.net also made me look more closely today. I would never recommend this colour. Especially on the RHT.

I really don't like it. To fix the bump in the fender and then guess a colour... I am holding off.
To correct this properly, I'd have to paint the Bumper, Lip, Fenders, roof, read bumper and RHT Cover. So I may as well paint the whole car. WHITE.

Or Sell it and buy a soft top NR-A. Anyone in Japan want to swap. Not some parts though. I love my ohlins mirrors and some other goodies. Wheels can go though.

Russ.

Japan Tour

What do you do when the weather is bad and you have already booked your holiday.

You go anyway and enjoy the adventure.

The Venus Line is one of Japan's best driving roads. It still was but you can't get the most enjoyment from it in these conditions.

As the fog rolled in.... the speed came down.

And stopped. This is one of the best view spots in Japan. (get the idea)

Changable... Not really... one cloud after the other.

On the way down the 66 tight corner road. this was the view at corner 33. I was stopped from my pace of 20kph with hazzards flashing. Visibility was 20m at best.

As I got below the cloud line into some parts. the sight returned. But only briefly.

Was enough to enjoy some light.

At the bottom it was "just" raining. mostly intermittent making me wish for the RX8 indicator swap for adjustable intermittent wipers.

But eventually I made it to the first destination. Matsumoto Castle.

Awesome stuff inside too. Samurai suits and old firearms. Tough guys.

Then the afternoon was a slow drive to Hakuba. Home of the Nagano winter olympics.

I stayed in the old village. nice place. If yu'r a skiier would be a great destination in winter.

I saw a guy jump this in training. Awesome. must hurt though if you fail... without snow.

After that I headed to the next destination but the way there was awesome. I know know where some video game inspiration came from. "Deep forest..." GT4 anyone.

Yeah baby!

Dig the scenery. From all directions. this is Alpine Japan.

Parked up at the entrance to Kurobe Dam.

Take the electric bus through here for 15 minutes.... T U N N E L

To this!!!! Awesome!!!

Then another Cable car and a Ropeway later to this.... YODEL-E-I-OOOO! Stayed here for a while and took 500 odd pics.

Return journey took some nice images.

I could drive this road 100000 times.

As an afterthought, I looked on the map and went to check out was a mystery location. Kamikochi....

The place is way up in the mountains and actually inaccessible by your own car. So I just went for a drive. Next time I'll make proper tour. but there were about 50 tunnels on the way (not joking!!)

In between scenes like this.

In and among Dams and bridges.

So I'll finish with this amazing image after a day of recovery.

Russ.

Small Projects

Today, I whacked some tape on the car again to see how some ideas might pan out.

First was the black roof and windscreen surround. The way the light was bouncing off the car, it wasn't much different at all. I think there is no benefit. You can hardly even see where I did the RHT cover.

Front was a bit different though. I am thinking about the Garage Vary trim to open up the front of the car to the radiator. Here it looks kind of cool.

You can see the hack job close up. I also tried masking a complementary line around the brake ducts but it was unsuccessful. Didn't look good.

After that I ripped it all off and tried a few settings on my Ohlins. They are quite soft now. YUK!

But I'm off on a long highway drive tomorrow. Softly is good.

Then I really wanted to get rid of those ugly holes up front. I had some carbon look sticker, so on it went. The effect was a little dull.

So I tweeked it with an old RC sticker. Calsonic. It was the only one big enough that I had.

Here is a close up of the carbonish .

Finally I was thinking about filling the holes in the lip spoiler with some LED. What do you think???

Russ.