MartinBond

I've been on 88.3/88.7 most of the time, but nothings really static free unfortunately. Anyway, I was bored this afternoon so I took apart my console to see what radio I actually have. Pioneer DEH-M6817zh is the answer, and it appears that it just doesn't understand the steering wheel radio remote commands which is a bugger

Thanks for the input Laird, but I've got an FM transmitter now and I'm a bit fed up with constantly trying to find a frequency that's not taken by some small local radio station . Figured actually finding a way to plug in an Aux or USB directly into the radio eliminates that. My radio-CD should be able to handle it...

More on that over at

Last post april 12th, I guess it's time for an update. First off, I figured it was time to treat my lights to a proper polish to try and save them, which I think turned out allright: Problem is, with cleaned up headlights, my non-working headlight washers were a bit of an eyesore to me. So, after driving home, I decided to finally see what's what: Looks quite odd like this. Ugh, someome hadn't been taking baths for the last 18 years. Unfortunately, what I feared turned out to be true, the small motor attached to the reservoir is completely rusted together with no hope of saving it. That didn't stop me from giving everything a proper cleaning though: It was at this point, however, that I could finally see what my air filter system looked like. And not just that, but how to remove it as well... So, after 1,5 years of ownership, despite my best intentions, I did a modification: Out with the old... And in with the new. My only gripe with the car had been that it was a bit too quiet under full throttle, so when my local Honda specialist offered me a good price for the stainless tubing and pod filter, I didn't have to think long. It's safe to say that the CAI helped out with the qiuetness. A lót. The first test drive was almost deafening compared to stock, felt like a proper yobbo hooning around at 4-6000 RPM everywhere ?. The only downside was my fuel consumption went up a lót the first 2 fill-ups. Ah well, small price to pay, right? Joking aside, on a day-to-day basis it's the perfect addition. Motorway cruising it's still just as quiet, but when you put your foot down and reach 2500-3000 RPM the intake noise is sóó addictive! For now, the only thing I really want to do is install an USB/AUX input somewhere. Well, that and getting my front fogs, but they're priced beyond reason so that'll probably stay a "dream" forever... *sigh*

I’ll just pretend not to know what you 2 mean... Anyway @Laird_Scooby As per the official shop manual: disconnected the return hose, put a small container underneath it. Start the car, turn the wheel from lock to lock until it’s empty. Reconnect the return hose. Fill up the reservoir to the top line start the car again, turn the wheel lock to lock a few times to bleed the air out. recheck fluid level and add some if necessary. turn the wheel lock to lock until everything’s level and quiet. Truth be told if the manuals weren’t phone book-size I’d scan them and upload them somewhere, they sure proved worth the money I paid for the set.

I changed my PSF this morning, old stuff was virtually black vs almost colourless new oil. Came back 30 mins later and it’s all black again, so much for cleaning the system... Wondering about my brake fluid now, Is there any way besides wasting tons of fluids to actually clean systems like this?

Sorry to burst your bubble chaps, the Mazda was the only thing from Canada I'm based to the right of you all in the Netherlands, but that could still mean some trim level differences. @PTR200S @Laird_Scooby, The radio is an original Honda unit from a different 2000's car, as far as I've been able to figure out it's a Honda CRV-issued Pioneer head unit that has been a dealer installed option at request of the first owner. It works fine, the only reason I want to open it up is that right now the steering wheel controls don't seem to be connected to the radio itself. Well that, and the the fact that the radio lighting is orange instead of green like everything else so it sticks out at night. Ah well, keeps a man off the streets, right?

Thanks for the heads-up, guess I'll do an oil change this weekend weather permitting. Kinda suprised to hear about the transmission fluid though, something to do with the age of our cars vs newer products? I'm about to go and bury myself in my copies of the workshop manual to see what they say regarding fluids and the specifics...

Guess what I ordered today At first I thought it was the outside being dirty, but I was a bit nervous when I saw it's also the fluids. [edit] To add to that, when do you lot change engine oil? I did mine with filter around 9K km's ago, some say it sould be done as early as 10K?

Gave my engine bay a dry clean-down, gonna go for the next step tomorrow

Thanks for the welcome chaps, I figured it was time to say something here Just a small post with my "new" wood trim and, for inspiration, my engine bay. The day I bought it As of today, 24K km's further down the road. Don't be too harsh;p I've resprayed my heat shield when I bought it, but it doesn't seem to stick very well. I'll give it another try when the weather's improving and I don't need it for a few days. Apart from that, I'm slowly starting to dry-clean my bay, starting with getting rid of loose dust before I'm gonna start taking it apart and eventually respraying my head as the original paint is starting to bubble and let loose :/

Hi everyone, Martin here. Before getting down to business, first a brief introduction. My first car: a Canadian Mazda Miata, 1990 (yes, the pop-up lights one), with the only option of power steering. No ABS, no electric windows, no air conditioning, no airbags, just 116 hp and the bare minimum to go super tight around the bends, or, with some extra throttle, flamboyant in a cloud of smoke. Gotta keep up the youngster stereotype But, after 3.5 years and a new daily commute of 80 kilometers a day, it was time for a successor. The convertible was great, but slipping and sliding down B-roads in winter with 30 mpg because the highways make too much noise and are even less fuel efficient, was a waste of the car and half my income towards petrol. So I washed, polished, waxed it one final time and put it on the internet. Less than a month later I had an envelope of cash in my hand as I waved goodbye to the new owner. But what can you buy after an MX5, if you like an engaging drive, but now want more luxury and comfort, without having to pay a lot of tax/maintenance, and also want to keep the reliability? Enter Honda's. My dad drove Honda for almost 35 years before his current cars. Integra DA, Civic ED Hatch, Civic EG hatch, Civic EJ coupe X2, Accord CH Hatch and a Civic FK have all been on the driveway. But then it became difficult. Because what are you going for? The EJ coupé and Preludes went into battle, but since I like my cars as stock as possible, the Civic almost immediately disqualified itself. After that I spent days looking at Prelude's, where my preference went out to the 3rd generation (Pop-ups eh, it keeps attracting). But unfortunately that wasn't a done deal. Almost every car I could find had rust, badly removed rust or other defects that put a lot of money into it. So then you go, keep searching, widening your criteria... And then this battleship appeared. She's an 2001, facelift, 2.0 5-speed in good nick, with a detailed maintenance history. Because it's an American model it completely flown under my radar, but when I saw it I was immediately sold. a timeless, elegant design, all the luxury I could think of, with Honda's excellent handling and a 2-liter VTEC engine that does its job quietly and smoothly, but when called upon still delivers, combined with that lovely VTEC note. After the test drive I negotiated for a while, and then signed the papers. I wasn't sure about the wheels, but as the tires were still good I decided to just go and look for some others while still running on these. Fast-forward a year, and here I - or we - are. After looking for 5(!) months, I finally managed to get my hands on some extremely rare optional 2.0 wheels which really improved the ride and got me slightly better mileage as well. Apart from that I gave it a nice wash and polish and generally been treating it nice, and he's returned the favour so far. Been on a trip to Belgium, the Nurburgring in Germany (to, not on, I don't have a death wish) and even took it on a continental tour to the UK and back to go and visit the wonderful people at Aston Martin. So far the only "mod" I've done is replacing my plastic fantastic centre console with the wood trim from a scrap car, but as there's only 19 of these around in this country, parts are extremely scarce. Things I'd like to do are replacing the door panels as well, and rewire my rear lights so that the fog and blank space on the right will be brake lights too. Apart from that, I'm here to learn, read up, get a bit inspired and of course banter around with other people who in this era of enviromental craze and downsizing still take pride in driving a big, personal luxury car. If there's anything I forgot or anyone's interrested in any part of this, hit me up or leave something below