The Miata experience: his and hers.

I've mentioned before that I'm not really into car shows, but I took the NA to a big local car show for charity on Saturday.  There are a number of local shows, but this is one of the two big ones locally each year.  Some very nice cars showed up, and it was fun.  

I got parked next to a C10 with REALLY nice paint...

Some other cool notables...

Sunday was AutoX day, and we took the NC this month.  If we keep this up, I'm going to end up buying another set of wheels for good rubber.

My wife headed out on course...

It's really hard to get decent pics with a phone, and a real camera is cumbersome when we're both driving. 

A cool vintage racer '67 Mustang showed up to play...

And there's always someone... 

Today was tow rig trade day... why does buying a vehicle have to be such an exhausting experience?? 

Since selling our truck camper and buying a Class A RV, our dually was seeming a little like overkill for its current towing duties (8.5x24 enclosed + the occasional rental utility).  But, it's been ours from new, religiously maintained, modified exactly the way I wanted it, and we were happy with just about everything about it.  And it's paid for.  The only thing that was getting a little old was the ride when empty, and with gearing optimized for fully loaded towing, comfortable cruising hwy speed maxxed out ~70mph.  Obviously, it's a cumbersome beast in urban areas, but that was less of a concern for us.

I looked into moving into a 2500 Crew shortbed, but didn't want to take on any financing, or pay too much out of pocket.  I also knew the only way I would be happy would be basically getting into the exact truck we had (equipment/options), only a 2500.  After looking for a while I had pretty much given up on finding a truck we could trade into, and was looking at suspension options to improve the 3500.  Until this morning.

I looked, by chance, on the local RAM dealer's site, and there was the perfect truck...  A 2016, one year older than our truck, but with even less miles (66,000), one owner truck.  Longhorn instead of Laramie, so one step up the options ladder, but for the most part, identical to our current truck.  Most importantly, a nice color (blue), and brown, not black interior... I'm guessing 9/10 RAMS with leather have black interiors, which I did NOT want.  And it already had a matching cap.  They're opening offer was insulting, but after some grinding we got to an acceptable number and we pulled the trigger...

Old and New parked together...

At home...

It's a little weird, because behind the wheel, it's almost exactly the same as the dually, but I look in the mirror and do a double take 'cause the back is missing!  LOL.

Spent most of yesterday sorting through all the crap that came out of the old truck, throwing half of it away, and putting the rest back in the new truck.  You know, all the stuff you do when swapping vehicles.   Took a look underneath and everything looks excellent.  All of the filters look recently changed.  Spare tire is original, so I'm thinking about replacing it for age, even though it's never been on the ground.  The rest of the tires have 2023 date codes, and are nearly new by the tread depth.  Lucked out there, 'cause the dually was going to need all new tires this year, so that saved me a bundle.  Usually I manage to put brand new tires on a vehicle right before selling it.   

This morning I took the new truck on it's first highway run, taking my wife to the airport at zero dark thirty.  Having made the same basic trip before (to Tucson and back) in the old truck numerous times, it was a good direct comparison.   Suspension...  HUGE improvement in ride unloaded, just as expected.  Unloaded, it rides better than the dually did with 1000lbs in the bed.  Gearing... In the dually, 1900 rpm (what I liked as max cruise rpm on the 6.7 Cummins) was ~68mph.  The speed limit on most interstates out here is 75mph outside the cities, and the cars run 80+.  I generally just set the cruise at 68mph and sat in the slow lane and let the world go by.   In the 2500, 1900rpm is over 80mph, so I was able to set the cruise at 78mph and still get the rpms down into a more efficient range.  I was very surprised that the 2500 averaged nearly 3mpg better than the dually... running 10mph faster on the highway.  The dually would typically return 15-16 average and the 2500 was 19mpg for the 160 mile round trip.

After I got home, I hooked up the trailer for a test drive.  

First up, I was happy to see no visible squat with the trailer hooked up.  I'm often surprised how much squat some newer 2500s have with trailers that aren't all that heavy.  I knew I would be giving up some stability with the shorter wheel base and single rear wheels, but it wasn't at all adverse.  The dually was so stable, the extra weight under acceleration and braking was the only thing noticeable...  otherwise, you'd never know there was a trailer back there.  You can definitely feel there's something back there, mostly on pitch undulations, but it's certainly liveable.  With the different gearing, towing from 55-65 will probably be done in 5th gear with 6th locked out.  I do need to re-calibrate my trailer backing geometry for the shorter wheelbase, but it will be a net improvement in maneuverability.

Definitely pleased with the trade at this point.  Increased our road trip comfort, speed and economy; and the 2500 is more than capable for our current towing needs.  The out of pocket cost to trade was less than I would have spent on tires and re-gearing the dually, and that doesn't even consider what the suspension improvements I was considering would have cost.  Even though I was used to dealing with the dually around town, and it didn't really bother me, the 2500 is definitely better for navigating tight parking lots and traffic.

I was initially somewhat hesitant about trading off a perfect truck that was paid for, but I think I may have ended up with an even perfect-er truck.  And it's still paid for, though it did cost a bit out of pocket.

NC is in the shop for a clutch replacement in anticipation of the FM Turbo kit release.  I went with an FM Happy Meal... have used several of these in my NA/NBs and have never been disappointed.  The NC version is rated for the output of the turbo kit and comes with an 8.5lb flywheel.  I generally like a lighter flywheel, so we'll see how this one compares to the NA/NB version.

First step is removing the exhaust and driveshaft.

Next up is draining the transmission.  My new transmission jack made a good platform for the pan.

Lots of crap on the drain bolt magnet.  Not sure if I should be disturbed by this... haven't had any issues with shifting.

Next up was removing the transmission, but I took the first step of using some leftover splitter plywood to build a cradle for the NC trans.  Stability on a trans jack can be iffy, and I wanted to optimize the fit.

Once I found all the bellhousing bolts (including the ones Mazda hides), the trans came out nice and easily.

I thought I had a bearing puller kit, but I can't find it, so I'm going to have to run and get one so I can pull the pilot bearing before starting re-assembly... more tomorrow.

Love the new truck, and I couldn't tell from the pics, but I'd recommend an equalizer hitch when towing, it really helps get weight back on the front tires of the truck and that improves handling and ride. I actually did the opposite a few years back, going from a 2001 2500 Dodge Cummins to a 2006 3500 Dodge Cummins but with the long bed and single rear tires. I didn't need the width of a dually, but wanted the longbed and newer drivetrain and comforts. Definitely a stiffer ride when empty than I had before, but worth it once I get it fully loaded with a car trailer. 

Loving the thread, hope you're having a blast!

In reply to CaprockFabShop :

Thanks.  

I don't expect to need a WDH for this trailer behind a 2500, but if handling issues come up, I'm not opposed to using one.

In reply to Rodan :

Nice job on the transmission cradle. Did you have a template?

I used CAD (cardboard aided design) to make templates then transferred to the plywood... 

Got the clutch job finished up yesterday.

Clutch in

Buttoned up

After reading a thread here on GRM, I picked up a tube of Dykem CrossCheck for marking bolts.  We'll see how this stuff compares to using a paint pen.

Had Safelite come by and put a new windshield in the NA today.  I had a new windshield installed after I built the cage four years ago, but it had a significant amount of sandblasting from track days.  Mostly from one weekend in particular, at Chuckwalla in the CA desert.  It suffered a staggering amount of pitting from just that one weekend.  In any case, the pitting was starting to make life difficult in early morning sessions, so I decided to replace it.  Having a new windshield is like cleaning your glasses...  if you wait too long, you realize what a big difference it makes when you can see clearly. 

While the Safelite guy was working on the Miata, I changed the transfer case fluid on the 2500.  I had actually bought the fluid to use on the 3500, but didn't get around to the job before trading it off.  Since the trucks were very nearly the same mileage, I figured I'd use the fluid in the 2500.  The fluid that came out was very clean, so it may have been done by the previous owner, but it was definitely ATF.  There is a lot of discussion about what to use in these transfer cases, and many think ATF is sufficient, but the OM calls for a special Mopar fluid for the Borg Warner TCs.  I sourced Ravenol fluid formulated to that same standard.  It was cheaper than the Mopar fluid, but not cheap.

The bottles came with a pull-up spout to make pouring/filling easier.  Great idea, but it didn't really work, making the 'assembly' too long to fit into the area it would need to be to pour downhill into the TC.  What was worse was the outlet tube didn't fit the transfer pump I had, or the syringe style fluid extractor I normally use.   And the cap couldn't be removed!  I ended up having to pour it into another container and then use the extractor to 'suck it up' and squirt it in the TC.   Probably sounded great to the engineer who thought it up... 

And the next project has arrived...

Nope, not a super-duper endurance tank for the NA.  55gal replacement for the silly stock 32gal tank on the 2500.  32gal at towing mpgs doesn't always leave a lot of flexibility where there are still places out here where you can go 100 miles between gas stations that have diesel.  I put one of these tanks in the 3500 and it was super nice... made fuel range and stops a complete non-issue.  You have the luxury of getting fuel when you want and where you want.   

Around here you'd probably have to go to truck stop to buy that much fuel at once. It drives me crazy when I stop someplace and they only let you buy $150 or 25 gallons worth of fuel. There are a couple nearby that I can get the full 32 gallons from though.

In reply to CAinCA :

I generally fill up just under 1/2 tank, so my typical fill up with the previous truck was 28-32 gallons.  Most of the stations here have done away with the $$ limit, or I just haven't hit it because we don't have CA's prices.  On the road I usually fill up at truck stops anyway, because I have a fuel card for the RV that gets me a decent discount on diesel.  Most local stations don't have agreements for that card so I don't use it around town.

I do agree that the purchase limits are annoying.  When that (and prices) was at it's peak, I often had to run two cycles at the pump to fill up.

Stock tank out of the truck...

With the tank out, I was able to siphon the rest of the leftover fuel out and into the useless fuel jugs.

On the good side, these new jugs don't spill all over everything, but they only flow ~1/2 gallon/minute so it takes FOREVER to empty them into a tank.  After about 2 gallons, I gave up.  I ended up using a long, skinny funnel to defeat the 2 trapdoors in the filler, and then a large funnel stuck in the first funnel so I had a big target to pour into.  I needed a big target because I ended up just taking the spout off the jug and pouring without it.  Ugh.

TLDR, I got the new tank in, and enough fuel on-board for startup, leak checks and a trip to the gas station to top it off.  Everything is working as expected, and it's nice to have my continent-crossing range back... LOL.

Today, the truck got a wash, and I took it out to fill it up, run some errands and make an appointment for tint... an AZ necessity.

One stop was at the local dealer where I bought the truck.  I need to get the 4 digit PIN and key code for the truck, and I wanted to drop off a service history that I printed up for the dually, so the new owner would know what was done when.  Annoyingly, they charged me $10 for the PIN and key code... thought that was kind of BS.  I forgave them when the service department printed up the full service history for the truck, which ran to 30 some pages, and did it for free.

I knew it was a one-owner, local truck when I bought it, but I didn't have a chance to look at the service history.  The PO took it to the dealer for everything... right down to tires and wiper blades.  There were a couple of warranty repairs early on that showed that the PO wasn't shy about bringing it in if they thought something was wrong, but no major problems ever.  All regular maintenance was, well very regular.  Their driving pattern looks like they used the truck a lot like we did... there might be long periods where it didn't get driven much, then 5000 miles in a month.  Looks like a lot of the miles are highway, and this jives with the hour meter and idle times which were very similar to our truck.  It's not proof that the truck will be worry-free, but it does support my instinct that we made a good choice.

Very nice that the dealer printed out the service history for you.  On my recently bought Cayenne the dealer refused to do that without a signed note from the owner (who I didn't buy the car from, so no way to get a note) saying that the service history is a legal document and they can't release it to me.  Even though I own the car and I know they can print out the records without any of the owners personal info on them...

In reply to docwyte :

I was very surprised they didn't even redact the prior owner's info on the service records!  

On another note, do you know when PCA opens registration for the HPR event in June?  We're planning to run Saturday there on our way to FM Summer Camp again this year, but it hasn't showed up on MotorsportReg yet...?  It's strange because some of the AMR PCA stuff later in the year is listed...

In reply to Rodan :

Not sure?  I may try and make that one...

Happy Star Wars day from our Rebel Base to yours... May the 4th be With You!

AutoX yesterday...  took the NC and the Capri.  Plan was for my wife to drive the NC, and I would run the Capri.  It would be a kind of shakedown for the Capri as I've never driven it 'in anger'.

Unfortunately, I had overfilled the dry sump tank and it ended up puking oil out of the vent after my first run.  It had been fine in normal driving, and even some acceleration tests, but continued high RPM pushed too much oil back into the tank.   Our local AutoX is on a city owned pad, and fluid leaks are a problem, so I parked it out on the street and co-drove the NC with my wife for my remaining runs.