Chronicles of a New Mazda Owner- 2015 Deep Crystal Blue Mica GT FWD

S

Skorpio

Member
:
2015 Deep Crystal Blue Mica GT FWD
Hey y'all, this is my first post after a month of trolling. I picked up "Evil M" in mid April and she currently has about 1600 miles. I've made plenty of excuses to drive her, and my mods have heightened the experience further above the already top rated CX-5 experience. I've never left any vehicle I owned factory stock, and this one is no exception. For the interior(sorry no pics)-

direct wired my Valentine One (left over from traded Honda Civic)) and mounted next to the mirror

Weathertech front and rear driver/passenger floor areas, OEM rear cargo tray, OEM rear cargo cover

Tapped an LOC before the Bose amp, wired in a JL Audio 500/1 mono amp to an Infinity 12" sub in a small
sealed box (left over). This is Mazda's missing audio link as the Bose now sounds truly amazing with gain only half way up. (MUCH improved from OEM)

custom DIY dock for Apple iPhone 5s left of radio (improved from OEM)

For the exterior
washed, clayed, and waxed. Can't do much about Mazda's orange peel though (improved from OEM)-

http://[URL=http://s23.photobucket.com/user/mystikmax6969/media/imagejpg3-1.jpg.html][/URL]

Sprayed some subtle Plastidip. Hard wired V1 can be seen next to mirror/SCBS sensors
http://[URL=http://s23.photobucket.com/user/mystikmax6969/media/imagejpg2-1.jpg.html][/URL]

In the pic below is the bug guard screen I put in BEHIND upper and lower grills. It is held in mostly by "200 mile an hour" duct tape. No problems after 800 highway miles at 80 mph peak, no separation, but plenty of caught bugs. You'd be surprised how much radiator fin damage I had with only 400 miles before I did this mod. Yes, the front bumper has already been off at 400 miles. No, the duct tape or screen can't be seen from the casual eye (Improved from OEM)

http://[URL=http://s23.photobucket.com/user/mystikmax6969/media/2015%20CX-5/imagejpg3.jpg.html][/URL]



Painted the front calipers gold. The rears are next but I ran out of paint
http://[URL=http://s23.photobucket.com/user/mystikmax6969/media/imagejpg12.jpg.html][/URL]

When I removed the caliper and hardware pins (at 600 miles), the pins barely had ANY synthetic brake lube on them! I can predict frozen stuck caliper problems on these cars soon. I recommend you have this checked out before it's too late. I lubed them thoroughly with my favorite brake lube, Sylglide.
Also, I had one or two air bubble in each caliper's rubber lines that I gravity bled out. The resul? The brake pedal is higher, harder, with no squish or inconsistent pedal prior to the work. (improved from OEM)
http://[URL=http://s23.photobucket.com/user/mystikmax6969/media/2015%20CX-5/imagejpg1-4.jpg.html][/URL]

DCBM with Sand Interior, respectively, is the best color combo option for 2015. Soul Red and Reflex Blue Mica were my next choices but with their black interiors, to me, the color combo aren't as striking. Plus I hate sitting on black leather in 100 heat. 25% front tints are around the corner.
http://[URL=http://s23.photobucket.com/user/mystikmax6969/media/2015%20CX-5/imagejpg1.jpg.html][/URL]

All photos were taken with an iPhone 5s 8MP camera, which I find impressive for what it is. Anyways, thanks to those that have helped guide me with the information to accomplish this, as I do almost all my work myself. I hope to be able to give back to this community soon if I haven't already helped someone out.
 
Very interesting but sad about the brake caliper pins.

Have you checked your front strut boots?
 
Tapped an LOC before the Bose amp, wired in a JL Audio 500/1 mono amp to an Infinity 12" sub in a small
sealed box (left over). This is Mazda's missing audio link as the Bose now sounds truly amazing with gain only half way up. (MUCH improved from OEM)
Click to expand...

Do you have pics/guide?
 
Great looking color combo! And thanks for the advice on the caliper pins. I'll be looking at mine this weekend.
Just curious, do you have the tech package with SCBS? I ask because the laser it uses to sense objects in front makes my Valentine go off constantly. I tried turning off the system but with the SCBS off the laser is still live. I'm looking for a solution or a way to disable the laser and SCBS without causing the ECM to show errors.

-Rusty
 
gova said:
Very interesting but sad about the brake caliper pins.

Have you checked your front strut boots?
Click to expand...

Yes, after lurking on this forum, I read that these boots split prematurely, but with only 1600 miles I don't have that problem....yet. I'll be keeping an eye out for it though, thanks!
 
rustyrocket said:
Great looking color combo! And thanks for the advice on the caliper pins. I'll be looking at mine this weekend.
Just curious, do you have the tech package with SCBS? I ask because the laser it uses to sense objects in front makes my Valentine go off constantly. I tried turning off the system but with the SCBS off the laser is still live. I'm looking for a solution or a way to disable the laser and SCBS without causing the ECM to show errors.

-Rusty
Click to expand...
Thanks for the compliment Rusty, I hope you get your brakes in tip top shape. You may want to crack open each brake line (10mm wrench) momentarily to expel any air bubbles in the lines (gravity bleed), then refill your master cylinder of lost fluid. I have worked on hundreds of brake systems in the past, but I was surprised to see a brand new car with these two brake issues already. It's easily solved if one knows about their existence, however.
Yes, I have the tech pack, and yes, my V1 kept detecting the SCBS's laser. The only way I could remedy this was to give up the laser on my V1 by modifying the settings and turning the laser off. You can find the instructions on how to do this on the V1 website. I personally, have only seen a laser once or twice in the 8+ years of owning the V1, and honestly, if the V1 detects it, I'm still caught anyways (unless I'm tailing a faster driver and he gets caught first).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply, Skorpio. I'll very likely just disable the laser detection on the Valentine. There are a couple spots that I drive thru on occasion that it could be an issue but I know where they are and will be on the lookout. :)
One other question, what did you hard wire into for power? On my 2011 Accord I just wired into the homelink mirror power and was thinking the same way on the cx-5.
 
rustyrocket said:
Thanks for the reply, Skorpio. I'll very likely just disable the laser detection on the Valentine. There are a couple spots that I drive thru on occasion that it could be an issue but I know where they are and will be on the lookout. :)
One other question, what did you hard wire into for power? On my 2011 Accord I just wired into the homelink mirror power and was thinking the same way on the cx-5.
Click to expand...

I found the hard wire instructions here on the forum. I tapped a fuse in the driver's kick panel (can't remember which #, I used a power probe to find accessory power). I connected the hard wire adapter to power, ground wire to a bolt on the chassis.Then I ran the RJ11 (telephone cable) from the kick panel area up into the A pillar cover, into and behind the head liner and out in front of mirror. By taking the door rubber seal off the pillar cover I didn't have to take the cover off, and I routed the RJ11 behind the airbag so it wouldn't interfere if deployed. In my previous car, a Honda Civic, I tried tapping power from the map light/ sunroof area without success (it didn't have homelink mirror) and ended up doing it the current way. But if power can be successfully tapped from the mirror area on the CX-5, then that way will be shorter and possibly less complex. But it only took about 20 min. the way I did it.
 
I pulled my pins out at 23,500 miles and they looked just like yours. There is a seal on them that when you pull them out pulls a lot of the grease off so the perception is they don't have enough grease in them.
 
V8toilet said:
I pulled my pins out at 23,500 miles and they looked just like yours. There is a seal on them that when you pull them out pulls a lot of the grease off so the perception is they don't have enough grease in them.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. However, I looked inside the holes they fit into with my cree flshlight, and there was too ittle grease for me to be comfortable with. And if you look at the long (top) slide pin, it does not have a reserve seal. Just about all the grease in the hole was what was on the pin. Grease not only lubricates the pins, but transfer heat from the brakes. So in this former mechanic's eye, the more the merrier. just sharing some observations many owners don't get to see often.
 
SayNoToPistons said:
Looks like you painted the brake pads as well...
Click to expand...

I did paint the front pad, to me it looks more integrated, more "mono block" like. I did the same thing to my C5 corvette also, and it held up great after 35,000 miles before I sold her.
 
Chris_Top_Her said:
Yes. The other braces are nice too. Improve turn performance and reduce stress on the front suspension tower.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, I may put chassis braces on my list of to-do-mods. I also saw your post on the hood struts and I'm interested in installing these. After some time with them, do you still like your version, or if given the chance to do it all over again, would you recommend another design?
 
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