What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

woke up this morning to a flat tire :(. I should have looked at it carefully last night, because the TPMS light went off, but the tire looked ok.
took it to get fixed, they call me back and say the tire can't be repaired; 'you drove it low for too long, the sidewall is damaged'. give me a friggin break! there is NOTHING wrong w/ that sidewall, I'm not an idiot I can see when a tire is damaged! (they didn't even remove the metal in the tire, so it's not like they removed the tire to inspect it).
so I said just give me back the tire and I'll decide on monday what to do.
went to auto zone, got a plug kit, it's all good, holding air just fine.
(for anyone who doesn't like tire plugs, well, when you live in the city, you get used to nails and crap giving you flats, and you can't go off and buy a new tire all the time. I've used plugs plenty of times and never had a failure. these tires have almost 17K on them, so I just need them to last me until 20-25K, which by then they will be worn and need to be replaced).
 
I snagged a leather wheel at a pull-a-part from a 3 this week and put it in this morning. Even has the piano black trim around the buttons to match the center stack. This was the EASIEST steering wheel I have ever put in. Didn't even need the puller. The entire swap took five minutes. If anyone is interested it is this simple....

1) Disconnect battery, wait at least one minute.
2) Remove two rubber grommets on back side of steering wheel and remove two 10mm bolts holding airbag.
3) Pull airbag off wheel and disconnect orange and green connector from airbag. Use small flathead screwdriver or scribe to lift black connector lock on center of orange and green connectors.
4) Unplug white connector from clockspring.
5) Remove 18mm nut holding wheel to shaft and remove wheel.
5) Install in reverse order.
IMAG0243.jpg
 
mpvue said:
they call me back and say the tire can't be repaired; 'you drove it low for too long, the sidewall is damaged'. give me a friggin break! there is NOTHING wrong w/ that sidewall, I'm not an idiot I can see when a tire is damaged! (they didn't even remove the metal in the tire, so it's not like they removed the tire to inspect it).
(for anyone who doesn't like tire plugs, well, when you live in the city, you get used to nails and crap giving you flats, and you can't go off and buy a new tire all the time. I've used plugs plenty of times and never had a failure.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you never drove it on the flat so you know its ok, in which case, yes they are trying to get you to buy a new one. I had one time that I had to drive a flat for a short distance and the rim shredded the inside of the sidewall. It looked great but when I blew it up it looked like a lumpy donut because all the inside cords were cut and it wouldn't hold the shape anymore. If you had to drive a flat tire, I would recommend having it dismounted to look at the inside before you determine its ok to drive on.

I use plugs too and they work great on small punctures, especially if you dont plan on driving the car really hard with them. I had one on a motorcycle fail once, I was going crazy fast and the plug just fell out. Its a rare occurrence but worth it to mention that any repair can fail.
 
thanks, the tire did look ok; they never dismounted it to inspect it, didn't even remove the piece of metal! I plugged it, held fine for the past week. I just got 4 new tires yesterday.
 
I wish I has taken a picture of it, you would not have believed what it looked like! It changed my whole perspective on hidden damage.
 
Installed HID...

I had a 4300k HID kit for 9005 (high-beam) bulbs that had been sitting in the garage for probably two years. I stuck them in last night. The low beams are still the standard halogen. Man what a difference. Those things light up the sky when you hit the highs...
 
Installed a K&N drop-in panel air filter. Inspected the cabin air filter - pain in the ass, but I have done worse. Stepped back, and realized I REALLY need to get a coat of wax on her (shame on me).
 
Same as the last 3 cars that I installed them in - little to none so far. I just like the durability, and being able to clean it, rather than toss it. I think it cost me about $45, so over the next 10 years or so, it will pay for itself. I have never really found drop in filters to give a performance advantage, but I do keep track of my milage, so I will post if there is an advantage there.
 
J.P. said:
Same as the last 3 cars that I installed them in - little to none so far.
Click to expand...

Blah.....I got spoiled by that Sienna I rented, what awesome midrange. I usually noticed a difference with the ones I put in but it was usually replacing a dirty filter with a clean one so that could be it. The last one I got was off Ebay used, I just gave it a couple of whacks on a tree to get off the big stuff, gave a quick shot of oil and it was good to go lol.
 
had to take my 5 back to the tire place today, I really wasn't happy w/ the alignment. they just called me and said they re did it, the toe was off, so we'll see how good it is when I pick it up later.
LOVING the conti extremecontact DWS tires! in the rain this morning it really felt like driving on dry pavement, SO much different from the stock toyos!
 
Replaced the license plate lights with LED's...chrome rear turn signals (prb replace them with chrome dipped ones this weekend)...and a new plate frame to replace the dealership one
 
semi busy day today...the front bumper is even easier to remove than on my 3

Installed 6k 35w lows...LED fogs....chrome front signals
 
I moved my 18" Mazdaspeed3 wheels over to the new van and swapped the tri-point rear sway bar over on Saturday. Night and day difference. Like going form a truck to a Corvette in the handling department.
 
I'm dying to do the MS3 swaybar swap, so jealous! I cant believe it makes that big of a difference in handling for such a small mod.
 
I didn't do the MS3 swaybar but it would be an improvement also. I installed the Tri-Point Engineering adjustable swaybar. Made a HUGE difference in the 5 since it carries the weight a little higher.

The stock Mazda 3 sway bar provides around 230 pounds per inch. The stock Mazdaspeed 3 sway bar provides around 470pounds per inch. With our Tri-Point swaybar design and 3-hole adjustment factor for fine tuning; hole #1 is 750 pounds per inch, hole #2 is 825 pounds per inch and hole #3 is 1000 pounds per inch.


http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ri-Point-Endlink-Kit-or-Tri-Point-Endlink-Kit
 
Wow thats a huge difference in stiffness.......I think I would stick with the MS3 unit for the budget factor, it can be had for under $100 and its still twice as stiff. I would also be afraid it would change the ride over our awful roadways. Its about as stiff as I would want already and the wife has little tolerance for modding the family car.
 
....just watch out for that snap oversteer and 3 wheelin'

imo if you are at stock ride height you should upgrade the FSB as well
 
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