[jesseclee]

1. Mazdaspeed heartbreak
I scored this rare RARE! MS steering wheel earlier It must be pretty ancient. It's not even listed in my '92 Mazdaspeed catalog (only the usual smooth and dimpled MS steering wheels there). I was hoping to transfer the center pad to my MS D-Cut.

But nooooo- it's not compatible. Almost... but not quite. I guess the pad only fits the steering wheel w/ the little bit of 'peak' right above the horn button.

So plan A is history... Anyone knows where I can a the steering wheel reupholstered? This wheel is actually 350mm (= sweet spot!), unlike the newer, more commonly found MS round whls, which are 360mm. So it's still worth salvaging :wink: And if anyone knows anything at all about this steering wheel.... pls speak up!

2. Mazdaspeed leather shift knob revisited
In other news.... I just bought a brand new MS leather shift knob to replace the existing MS carbon shift knob. Looks like the leather knob is re-engineered:

old in front, new in back. The old one was made of shiny leather. New one is made of 'matte' and supple feeling leather. New one is also longer, and also at least 2x heavier.

I think I prefer the old one though... the shiny patent leather goes better w/ the NA roadster. The Matte look leather looks a bit too 'Pottery Barn' to me Oh well....

3. FET

It's probably the thinnest quick release out there... that's why I bought it. First thing I notice: it's unnecessarily complicated, w/ lots of plastic bits that can break; It uses rubber to keep tension- so it was extremely tight & difficult to snap on the first time. But rubber being rubber I think it'll lose elasticity with time until it becomes loose and floppy eventually. Mates via 4 flat notch/grooves- I'm afraid it'll develop play later on, unlike the sprung-ball design (cf. Rapfix/ NRG, etc). Looks=*****; function=****, engineering=*

4. Eunos Mobility Pleasure
Genuine Eunos accessory....

yes...frivolous... but how can you argue with "mobility pleasure"? [/img]

 

[Greg G]

Good finds! So what are you doing with the CF shift knob? Been looking for something to match my MS brake handle...

 

[Tsukuba]

Way cool!

Good to see someone else with the factory tape deck in... I've had my '90 six months and I've gone through all my old tapes from high school. Just surprised the damn thing still works. Speakers suck but.... well the stereo is the last of my upgrades.

Ha -- Mobility Pleasure... I miss the Engrish. heh

 

[Bryan]

Loving the Eunos bag

I wish I had something to tell you about the steering wheel (besides the fact that it's really a nice looking wheel, though I'd prefer to have more "dish" to it). It looks pretty old--80's maybe?

Good to see someone else with the factory tape deck in... I've had my '90 six months and I've gone through all my old tapes from high school. Just surprised the damn thing still works. Speakers suck but.... well the stereo is the last of my upgrades.

My 97M still has its original Tape/CD deck. I'm no stereo expert, so I just never saw fit to replace it.

 

[boogie van]

dont you worry, once that new one breaks in it should be shiny too. Im betting the only reason the old one is shiny is from years of use.

 

[JDMC]

Yea.. I also have the newer M/S leather knob, and with in a few months of use and a few applications of Turtle Wax F21 leather cleaner it is now pretty shiny. Also, here is a place where you can send in your steering wheel for a new leather wrap.. never used them, but heard they do good work.

http://www.american-stitches.com/

Nice find by the way, the wheel looks great and I really dig that old skool horn cover. I have a M/S horn cover on my D-cut.. love that factory look!!

 

[jesseclee]

JDMC: your interior is looking great! Good to see another 'all black, all business' interior I love that dimples pad! Actually MS made 2 different pads, a dimpled one and a smooth one. Supposedly the dimpled one is for the dimpled wheel and the smooth one for the smooth wheel. The dimpled pad looks best though!

GG: the cf shift knob will be paperweight. The aluminum base piece got broken off, so it's not useful for anybody now

Oh yeah- the tapedeck I've never used the tapedeck on it, and the radio is getting flaky too. I don't like to listen to music in the Roadster anyways- it's just too noisy. I plan to take the radio out and replace it with a 1.5DIN blanking plate later on.