Mini Mazda Modding (2011 Mazda 2)

[apc]

Tzfardaya, sorry I missed your post. Sorry I don't have the templates still. You could do it on the vehicle. I just pulled the bumper off so I could do all the work on a bench. But there was nothing that actually required it.

I was finally able to put the wheel covers back on. My latest effort was to cut out the inner cell of the weather stripping.




And it's working great so far. They still have some rubber to seat against and the remaining lip holds them in place.

I'm getting the parts on order to do the start and kill buttons.

One non-eco mod I did last weekend - added bluetooth. I just picked up a bluetooth stereo receiver from Best Buy and removed the battery so it disconnects when the car turns off. It's tucked away in the center console, wired directly into power and the aux port. My rewiring to make it automatically connect on power-up ultimately made its processor complain so it'll have a button, too.

[apc]

well... there's still a tiny shimmy and wander above 60mph. the majority of my driving is in the city so I'm going to leave them on until winter when they'll have to come off anyway. need to find a different lighter weight material. maybe aluminum pans or a plastic. or just get steelies next year with moon caps and eco tires and save the alloys for winter.

[kafer65]

Originally Posted by apc

well... there's still a tiny shimmy and wander above 60mph.

Hmmm. That's unfortunate. The wandering has me thinking that the toe might be out. Could it be yaw from cross winds? I'm slightly more effected by that. I like the ambition you have for this project

I was reading through donkey's thread again and I'm desperately trying to find ways to get a WAI going before it gets really cold.

[Tzfardaya]

@apc
No worries, I was just trying to Jumpstart my own grill block. Hopefully I get the chance to crawl under my car soon to see how to build/attach the belly pan. Heading up to help the parents this weekend get ready for their semiannual move. (snowbirds). Hopefully I can crawl under it then to map it out.

[Micmac1911]

Great thread. You're fab work is very good. I have a green 2011 2, and have to say they are a brilliant city car. Would love a 6th forward cog, and another gallon or two in the tank. Some future mods you might consider for your 2:

1) Corksport intake. The stock air intake is very restrictive. With their intake I shift into 5th gear around town at 25 mph. No lugging down to 20 mph if you accelerate slowly. Brought my average to ~42 mpg my first year with the car.

2) Wolverine #9 oil pan heater. Gained 5% mpg when heating my oil both at home and at work ( from 48.5 to 51). My commute to work is 26 miles, with 6 miles being stop and go city traffic.

3) OBD II Bluetooth adapter and tablet. Seeing real time throttle position, manifold vacuum, fuel flow rates and mpg took me from 42 to 48 mpg. Learn to love the dfc.

[apc]

Thanks. I've been absent for the winter, but getting back into it. The pizza pans were a failure. I was unable to keep them balanced so at high speed where they were actually beneficial they would vibrate. So right now my only mod is the partial grille block that has held up great.

Today after airing my tires back up to 44psi for the summer, I've been holding at 42-44mpg per the in-dash display. It's probably high but it's still a good status indicator.

I was looking at the Corksport yesterday actually. That's probably where I'll be going next.

[Micmac1911]

I have a used oil analysis after 20k miles on the air filter from CS. It looks pristine in all areas. Their filter media doesn't appear to be a liability to engine longevity.

[apc]

Cool, that's actually been a concern I've had with K&N drop-ins. I just replaced the paper filter last week and contemplated going that route, but I recalled some third party tests where the gains were negligible, so didn't find it worth the cost.

Do you have the scoop duct, too? I went the dryer duct route a long time ago in a Honda. But this time I think I'll keep it legit.

[Micmac1911]

Yes, the whole 9 yards. It's a cool set up. You can feel the difference. And if you have an app like fill up you can see the difference. It will screw up your in car mpg indicator if you have the touring trim, but that isn't a big deal. On mine I just figure in a 5% fudge factor.

[apc]

Yup mine is touring. Why does it impact the indicator?