What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

Yeah, I remember coming across that when I was researching fog/driving lights. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of grille mesh or even room between the grille and impact bar to mount these lights stealthily. But I always liked the look of exposed lights (because rally car!). I'm actually contemplating adding a second set to the front to have four lights filling up the section of grill I cut out... kind like this:

Yup, good ’ol Agbullet. The 1st gen three had a really big lower grille.
 
Posted it for sale finally... any takers? MANUAL MZ5, 1st gen. :)

 
Yeah, I remember coming across that when I was researching fog/driving lights. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of grille mesh or even room between the grille and impact bar to mount these lights stealthily. But I always liked the look of exposed lights (because rally car!). I'm actually contemplating adding a second set to the front to have four lights filling up the section of grill I cut out... kind like this:

View attachment 224638

And here’s a pretty cool looking switch I just ran across..... They look like they’d fit the Mazda blanks, and could give you some nice light controls for your external hardware.

View attachment 224657
 
Replaced the 8 year old Wolo compact dual air horn in my sister’s ‘08. It has been having issues for a little while and was intermittently not working. It was a loud horn but still pretty high pitched.
Swapped in hella super tones. I’d have loved a nice front facing grille mount, but the 5 doesn’t offer a lot of space or mounting points in the grille. Even side facing in the stock location they are plenty loud.... certainly louder than a non working horn. I cleaned up the wiring run and taped it off to the
harness before I closed everything up.
29702E8A-301D-41BD-B640-50C9F8C8969E.jpeg


I need to fix the low tone horn in my ‘12 5 at some point.Those are mounted either side of the crash bar, and I’m pretty sure the ground on my low tone is bad.
 
Did a couple of things to my ‘12 the last few days. Pulled off the bumper cover to check the ground on my low tone wolo disc (hella supertone lookalike) horn. Turns out the ground was fine, but the horn was dead. Ended up going with a new set of wolo trumpet horns (Happened to be in stock at the store a 1/2 mile from my house) installed just like the super tones I put in my sister’s car above.

Also drained the ATX fluid (added, drained, added, drained, added, drained). I had gone through about 13.5 qts doing that and the fluid coming out of the cooler line was starting to clear up and go red..... not entirely, just almost. It started out black, burned, and low on the dipstick so clear at all was a big change. Sadly my klutzy brain forgot to remove the drain tubing from the cooler and reconnect the car’s line before I went to pull it off the ramps to get it level for checking the dipstick. My son was right in front of the car and shouted as soon as he saw the fluid start to come out of the line, but I probably lost nearly a liter of fluid due to that mistake. Cleaned everything up and added the 1.5 qts of fresh fluid I had left but it’s just on the tip of the dipstick. I’ll need to run out and get some more tomorrow to top it off to where it should be.

Lastly I installed H&R progressive lowering springs for the CX7 in the rear, and replaced the rear shocks. Was going for a bit more support in the rear end since it tends to drag on things, especially when it’s loaded down with people and stuff. That project took a couple of days because the lower shock bolt seized up. Ended up buying an electric impact wrench which got it free, and now I have an impact wrench so bonus. End result is the rear end is tightened up nicely and corners beautifully. The ride height of the rear seems to have settled around just under an inch above stock ride height. I still need to do the front struts, and I’m trying to decide if I’ll stick the front H&R springs on too. I might install them, drive around and see how it is, then either go get an alignment or swap the stock springs back in. I have the impact now, so it’s only $30 for spring compressors. The uncompressed lowering springs are the same height as the uncompressed stock rears, but they’re designed for a car 500-600 lbs heavier.
E28E8E5A-29BD-434F-84EE-5738217C4388.jpeg
CCEB7F91-E381-47A6-A944-1195A82BBA08.jpeg
 
Last edited:
But is the compressed height the same as stock? If the free height is the same but the springs are higher rate, then you may be super tall in the rear at rest vs stock.
 
But is the compressed height the same as stock? If the free height is the same but the springs are higher rate, then you may be super tall in the rear at rest vs stock.

No, the uncompressed height is same as stock. This is compared to the OE CX7 springs which are ~2” longer and which increase the ride height by about 2”. Compressed and in the car, and now that the shocks have settled (and bearing in mind my driveway is not perfectly level) the ride height seems to be about 0.75-1.25” higher that stock. I edited my post to specify uncompressed.
 
Always thought the rear passengers could use more air (no rear vents on '07 except under the seat), so I got this usb fan with individual controls. Rigged up a mounting "clamp" using electrical tape and an old shovel blade; works like a charm! Doesn't interfere with rear visibility, and you can feel it in the 3rd row. Highly recommend!

Here's the fan: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20200529_174025.jpg
    IMG_20200529_174025.jpg
    265.4 KB · Views: 226
  • IMG_20200529_174139.jpg
    IMG_20200529_174139.jpg
    266 KB · Views: 219
  • IMG_20200529_174409.jpg
    IMG_20200529_174409.jpg
    302 KB · Views: 223
  • IMG_20200529_174156.jpg
    IMG_20200529_174156.jpg
    225.2 KB · Views: 210
Always thought the rear passengers could use more air (no rear vents on '07 except under the seat), so I got this usb fan with individual controls. Rigged up a mounting "clamp" using electrical tape and an old shovel blade; works like a charm! Doesn't interfere with rear visibility, and you can feel it in the 3rd row. Highly recommend!

Here's the fan: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

This is very cool and inexpensive mod. Did you route the USB cable to the fuse box with a step down (12v to 5v) converter?
 
This is very cool and inexpensive mod. Did you route the USB cable to the fuse box with a step down (12v to 5v) converter?
Haha no, not that savvy. Just connected it to a 12v splitter from the front outlet. Wanted to be able to easily remove it if need be.
 
Replaced the 8 year old Wolo compact dual air horn in my sister’s ‘08. It has been having issues for a little while and was intermittently not working. It was a loud horn but still pretty high pitched.
Swapped in hella super tones. I’d have loved a nice front facing grille mount, but the 5 doesn’t offer a lot of space or mounting points in the grille. Even side facing in the stock location they are plenty loud.... certainly louder than a non working horn. I cleaned up the wiring run and taped it off to the
harness before I closed everything up.
View attachment 224740

I need to fix the low tone horn in my ‘12 5 at some point.Those are mounted either side of the crash bar, and I’m pretty sure the ground on my low tone is bad.
I've loved my supertones for a few years now. I did like you said on the '12 and couldn't find anyplace the get them in the grill either. One on each side of the crash bar worked. I ran the wires through the bar to the other side to keep things neat.
 
I've loved my supertones for a few years now. I did like you said on the '12 and couldn't find anyplace the get them in the grill either. One on each side of the crash bar worked. I ran the wires through the bar to the other side to keep things neat.

On either side of the crash bar is where I had them on my ‘12. I actually looked to put the super tones there on her ‘08, but the lower mounts for the radiator are different and obscure the bolts I used to mount on my 2nd gen. The wolo disc horns I had in my ‘12 the ground kept going bad on the passenger side one despite scouring the metal contacts of the bolt and the mount multiple times. Then apparently that one rusted out as well, so perhaps mounted there gets too much water and not enough air flow for it to dry off.

I also had the wiring running through the crash bar.
 
Finally done with the custom roof rack, total cost $13! I got the bars from an old CR-V at a junkyard for $11, and about $2 of fasteners. Originally wanted to go rail & crossbar style but the roof is wider at the front than rear, so the stock sliding bars wouldn't work. For safety I've removed the sunroof fuse.

Is currently in dual-wield mode with the 6ft clamp on crossbars, this is to carry 2 canoes. The feet are made of some random rubber my dad found by the railroad tracks cut to shape.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20200617_210111.jpg
    IMG_20200617_210111.jpg
    149.8 KB · Views: 196
  • IMG_20200617_210137.jpg
    IMG_20200617_210137.jpg
    149.6 KB · Views: 202
  • IMG_20200617_204759.jpg
    IMG_20200617_204759.jpg
    317.1 KB · Views: 195
  • IMG_20200617_204517.jpg
    IMG_20200617_204517.jpg
    299.6 KB · Views: 203
Last edited:
2-wheel front alignment.

Just finished replacing control arms and tie rods. Time for an alignment! Even with measuring and trying to keep the new tie rods the same length as the old ones, the toe-in was still almost an inch on each side. This is not drive-able, so I found a great method on the U-Tubes to get it done myself.

The typical flawed method is to extend the rear wheel alignment to the front with a string and use that as your reference. That method will get you close and make the car drive-able, but it's not a long term solution and can cause tire wear.

This guy knows how to do it right. You can too.
IMG_20200614_162910809_HDR.jpg

To start with, this better method starts with keeping the wheels on the ground and parking the front tires on folded plastic bags so they can pivot while you adjust the tie rods. Genius! It also uses 2 parallel strings on each side of the car, and then the centering of both axles is measured off of the string and not the other axle. This is important!

You'll need a steady handed helper to hold the tape measure between the strings and at least 10 minutes to get the 2 strings parallel with both axles centered between them. There are 6 points of measurement that all effect the others. With lots of progressively small adjustments and measuring, eventually it all lines up!

After the strings were set, I dialed in 1/16 inch of toe out, and it is great over bumps and on the highway too. I'm not sure if I'll ever pay for an alignment again.
 
Finally finished my suspension work this week. Swapped out the front struts with new KYBs. Had a slight delay when I realized I’d ordered two right side struts, but it all worked out. Drives much better now.

Downside, have a steering angle sensor code triggered now, so next week will be troubleshooting that.
 
Replaced the passenger side motor mount today. I’m trying to track down some vibration at idle when in gear (goes away in neutral). Vibration is reduced with the new mount, but not eliminated. It’s fine for now, but I may replace the transmission mount in the future.
 
I refilled the gas today for my 2015 Mazda 5 sport trim at 71k miles and got a 29.73mpg based on my calculation. This is based on 40 City / 60 Highway driving, AC on, Two passengers half of the time and the other half I drove by myself. It is entirely possible to get 30+ mpg with just a little bit attention during the summer.

It turned out that the pressure of all tires were between 65 and 69 psi when I checked it the first time after car purchase this morning. Guess the dealership only cared not to have the tpms light on the dash. Oh well when things look better than they are it usually is. I have adjusted the pressure of all tires to 40psi and see how it goes.
 
Last edited:
Ok - finished all my items for the 120 refresh, plugs, belt, brakes & rotors, shocks (kyb gas adjust) and struts (bilstein), fear sway bar bushings, brake fluid, PS fluid, coolant & transmission. Definitely feel a difference all around. The front struts (kyb) were shot after 60k, a lot of wheel hop under acceleration is now gone. The trans definitely shifts smoother now. I still have some vibration at idle so time to check the motor mounts.
 
2-wheel front alignment.

Just finished replacing control arms and tie rods. Time for an alignment! Even with measuring and trying to keep the new tie rods the same length as the old ones, the toe-in was still almost an inch on each side. This is not drive-able, so I found a great method on the U-Tubes to get it done myself.

The typical flawed method is to extend the rear wheel alignment to the front with a string and use that as your reference. That method will get you close and make the car drive-able, but it's not a long term solution and can cause tire wear.

This guy knows how to do it right. You can too.
View attachment 225301
To start with, this better method starts with keeping the wheels on the ground and parking the front tires on folded plastic bags so they can pivot while you adjust the tie rods. Genius! It also uses 2 parallel strings on each side of the car, and then the centering of both axles is measured off of the string and not the other axle. This is important!

You'll need a steady handed helper to hold the tape measure between the strings and at least 10 minutes to get the 2 strings parallel with both axles centered between them. There are 6 points of measurement that all effect the others. With lots of progressively small adjustments and measuring, eventually it all lines up!

After the strings were set, I dialed in 1/16 inch of toe out, and it is great over bumps and on the highway too. I'm not sure if I'll ever pay for an alignment again.

The string method can be very accurate, depending on your attention to details ;)

Not sure you want "toe out", however. You actually want slight toe in on each corner for stability - somewhere between 1/32-1/16" at each wheel.
 
Back