By all means, start a DIY thread. That would be hugely helpful to everyone (me )


Not easy by any measure. But when you're done...

 

Oh yeah, did the break-in this morning, sounds heavenly, but I don't want to revv it out because gasket lol.

 

Did you get the Z1 upgraded gasket kit (smooth metal) or are you using the perforated metal ones that came with the cats?

 

the ones that came with the cats and some liquid gasket. No leaks so far. If I start having issues, I'll swap to the nicer z1 ones.
(But the gasket I was referring to holding me back is the valve cover gasket, not exhaust)

 

I remember when Mazda switched between the perforated ones and smooth ones for turbo gaskets... I went ahead and bought the upgraded ones. No leaks so far in 2 years.

I don't recall seeing any weeping around the valve covers, so I've got that going for me LOL. How hard is the valve cover to change?

 

It's pretty simple, intake manifold removed, then coils and just unbolt the valve covers. More an annoyance than anything. I'm going to do my spark plugs and spark tube seals.

 

VC gaskets, tube seals, and plugs are pretty simple just time consuming to get the harnesses out of the way. I was taking my time so I wouldn’t break too many clips but still managed to bust 40-50% of them.

 

Finally had a long weekend and was able to lower my X. Installed KYB GR2's with Swift springs and added Z1 camber and traction arms to the rear. Now to go get it aligned.

Edit: These pics are as soon as I took it off the jacks. After driving around the neighborhood and back the rear has settled another few mm. Also forgot to mention I did extended studs and new closed lugnuts.

 

Frogman, I'm loving the sidewalls of these tires! Can you share your size?

 

Thanks, they are Firehawk Indy 500 255/40R19. Square set up (front and rear wheels are G35 Rays rears) because of the AWD. Went with 255, because I was worried about rubbing once lowered, but after a quick test drive I could probably go to 265 without issue.

 

My girl is topless. Wanted to save some time and got a quote to get the valve cover gaskets done.... No way I'm spending $450 on that. So here we are, another weekend at the cottage.

 

Had to go with the blue painters tape, didn't you?

Count your tools, hexotic. They're all over that engine bay.

 

Ha, blue sticks better than green.
And yeah tools are accounted for. That was just a spur of the moment photo.

 

Way to tackle it yourself. Not hard per se but definitely time consuming. Harness can be....non compliant.

 

Ooo nice gunmetal RAYS! Stance and tire fitment finish off the look so well. Also love the contrast of darker wheels on the silver car.

Finally had a chance to hand wash my car for the first time in quite a while, the cicada swarm (brood x) already did a number on my frontend. Then someone must’ve dropped some goop nearby and gave me a nice new paint job...