Miatapower List Archive

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Mail From: "Brad Franks" <(email redacted)>


A few notes on this. First, and foremost, an apology from myself is also in
order to both Rod and Jay. The intention of forwarding this was not to
provoke any type attack or ill will against Bill, FM or Fidenza. Jay and
Rod, I consider you both personal friends and I can only hope that my
actions didn't provoke any ill will towards me. And if it did then I hope
even more that publicly apologizing in this forum can help make up for it.
If not, please let me know what I *can* do fix what I did wrong.

First mistake: I know that Jay is not a member of the Power List and
forwarded on his behalf not knowing that he had already spoken to Bill about
it. You are right Rod, it's not always my place or civic duty to do such
things.

Second Mistake: I didn't read the email in it's entirety. The only portion
of the email that I *did* read was the top most portion that Jay sent to
SSCOR. I never "scrolled down" to see the rest of the thread, in fact I had
assumed that his message was the original and never even though that there
was more below his top most message. In the future I will do several things
to prevent this: 1. I will always check the entirety of the message and trim
appropriately, 2: Never assume it makes an ass... well we all know the rest.

Third Mistake: I never received permission to "rebroadcast" the message from
the original sender. In the future I will do that unless otherwise stated.

With that out of the way we must also realize that Jay put this in the
public domain far before I did by forwarding the private exchange between
himself and Rod to SSCOR. That *certainly* does not absolve me from the
actions I took but Bill could very well have already been a silent
subscriber to SSCOR and seen the message for himself. He certainly has every
right to subscribe, I sincerely doubt any attempt on his behalf would have
been denied, and there are quite a few users of his products on that list.
His presence not as a "sales person" on the power list but instead as a
support person for products both that he sells and often times that his
competitors sell is more than appreciated, I would only expect the same
actions were he an active member of SSCOR.

Again, my sincerest apologies to both Jay and Rod for forwarding a private
exchange to a public domain, and to the Power List in general for wasting
your time and bandwidth on an issue that has already been privately
addressed by the appropriate people.

Brad

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rod Letcher" <(email redacted)>
To: <(email redacted)>; <(email redacted)>; <(email redacted)>
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2001 4:54 PM
Subject: RE: SSCOR Re: Clutch, Now I need a CAT


I was going to let this just pass, but after thinking about it overnight I
feel an explanation is in order.

The original email and subsequent reply was a personal conversation between
J and myself (reading the text would seem to make that obvious). My comments
regarding the "testing of parts" were intended as a tongue in cheek response
to j's situation and in no way were intended to besmirch "Flyin miata" or
Bill personally. I guess I should have put a smiley face immediately
following that statement. Didn't think it was necessary as J knew my
intentions.
Unfortunately in j's post to the sscor he forgot that the whole string of
our conversation was in the post, then Brad posted it to this list and now I
know how rumors develope.
Frankly I was a little perplexed about the forward to this list. If J'
wanted it here he probably would have posted it. Remember Bill and J had
already discussed the issue and near as I know they had a meeting of the
minds.

In the past I have used many posts as information on the sebringmiata web
site, but when I do I always ask permission of the author before I put them
up.

Again, Bill, If my comments were offensive to you or your company, that was
not my intention and you have my apology. For anyone else reading this,
suffice it to say that I have the utmost respect for Bill, his company and
their policies.

Nuff said

Rod

PS
Yes I know, if their is a problem with a particular product we all want to
know about it. But, I think it is the problem sufferer who should be
relaying the message.
Brad, in the future, if you are going to forward someone elses posts you
might want to consider


>From: Bill Cardell <(email redacted)>
>Reply-To: Bill Cardell <(email redacted)>
>To: "'Brad Franks'" <(email redacted)>, (email redacted)
>Subject: RE: SSCOR Re: Clutch, Now I need a CAT
>Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2001 15:42:12 -0700
>
>
>Hmm, Jay called me about this the other day. It is the first complaint we
>have had since we went to Fidanza as a supplier and we've probably shipped
>well over a hundred of them this year. As I told Jay, I would be pulling a
>couple off the shelf to see if this is a fluke on his unit or a bad batch.
>Rod, you know darn well we do try everything on our cars, I have this
>flywheel on two of my turbo cars. I don't actually install each one and try
>it before I ship it, though....
>The Flyin' Miata is machined by fidanza.
>
>Bill Cardell
>(email redacted)
>Flyin' Miata
>flyinmiata.com
>200mphmiata.net
>1-800-FLY-MX5S (orders only)
>1-970-242-3800 (tech)
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Brad Franks [mailto:(email redacted)]
>Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 3:29 PM
>To: (email redacted)
>Subject: Fw: SSCOR Re: Clutch, Now I need a CAT
>
>
>
>From SSCOR.
>
>Anyone else heard of these problems? I we would have heard of this before
>now...
>
>Brad
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "bochinam" <(email redacted)>
>To: "Brad Franks" <(email redacted)>; "Rod Letcher"
><(email redacted)>
>Cc: <(email redacted)>
>Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 1:10 PM
>Subject: Re: SSCOR Re: Clutch, Now I need a CAT
>
>
>I'm not poo pooing FM. They're one of the best miata stuff dealers and I
>keep giving them my money? They might not have the ability to check the
>flywheels before they ship, but somebody took the time to machine "Flying
>Miata" into the face. In my case, the bearing hole was just too big.
>Since
>it was right at the size threshold a simple change in temperature was the
>difference between fit and slip. At room temp, the bearing needed to be
>tapped in. I did this, then moved it to the garage and proceeded to
>dissemble the car. By the time we got the flywheel in, it was cold and the
>bearing slipped right out!!! This is scary. I could have installed this
>thing in a heated garage and not noticed the problem until I started the
>car
>up one frosty morning. Some FM clutch / flywheel users have complained of
>a
>buzzing sound as the flywheel spins down between shifts....hmmm?
>
>The stainless steel inserts are called Heli (sp?) Coils. They come in
>specific sizes and look like compressed springs. The "kit" comes with a
>tap
>and insert tool. I stripped the soft threads out of the Fidenza just by
>screwing the pressure plate on. I was no where near the specified torque
>rating. To use the coils you drill out holes, tap them, locktight and
>insert the coils, then locktight and screw in your bolts. The coils expand
>and bite into the aluminum better. I can't imagine holing that stiff Act
>pressure plate to the flywheel without these inserts. Pain in the *ss
>stuff
>to me, labor of love I guess for others.
>
>jay
>
>PS: The stomp and go effect is much better then the stomp and rev ;)
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Brad Franks" <(email redacted)>
>To: "bochinam" <(email redacted)>; "Rod Letcher" <(email redacted)>
>Cc: <(email redacted)>
>Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 11:38 AM
>Subject: Re: SSCOR Re: Clutch, Now I need a CAT
>
>
> > Not to sound too defensive of FM but... Their flywheel is an outsourced
> > product, they get them from the manufacturer and ship them to you
>unopened.
> > It's common practice to include the bearing uninstalled, Installing it
>is
>a
> > snap with a large socket and a hammer, a few taps and it should go right
>in,
> > maybe about 5 minutes of work to "press" it in yourself rather than
>having
>a
> > shop do it.
> >
> > I'm kind of curious about the steel inserts you referenced. What steel
> > inserts?
> >
> > Glad to hear your clutch is no longer slipping, that's always a bonus.
>Now
> > you can actually step on the gas *AND* go forward at the same time!
> >
> > Brad
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "bochinam" <(email redacted)>
> > To: "Rod Letcher" <(email redacted)>
> > Cc: <(email redacted)>
> > Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 8:47 AM
> > Subject: SSCOR Re: Clutch, Now I need a CAT
> >
> >
> > After getting the flywheel balanced, bearing pounded, and steel inserts
>put
> > in, it's in great shape. You would think they would check these things
> > before shipping them out. (They took the time to machine their name
>into
> > it...sheesh.) Anyway, we got it done around 10pm last night. Pedal is
> > stiff and close to the floor, but the engagement if very smooth and easy
>to
> > control. Total weight savings (pressure plate, disc, flywheel) is just
> > under 10lbs. It gives the car has a very light and crisp feel off the
>line.
> > The only casualty from the install was the stock cat. The bolts were a
> > little on the mangled side by the time we got the thing off. Any
> > suggestions on a new cat? I need one in a hurry.
> >
> > JR "high flow" Cat: I've heard too many horror stories.
> > FM: Supposedly has a nice deep sound, but I'm not happy about the bung
> > Flywheel they sold me.
> > Random Tech: Costs $$$$$$$$$$ and the part they quoted me #822016 only
>has
> > 2" pipes in and out?!?! I don't see how these could possibly flow
>better
> > then stock?
> > Catco: Don't know too much about them??
> >
> > Anybody know where I can get durable cat with 2 1/4" in and 2 1/2" out?
> > Better flow would be nice if there is such a thing.
> >
> > Jay
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Rod Letcher
> > To: bochinam
> > Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 6:03 PM
> > Subject: Re: Clutch
> >
> >
> > J,
> > No problem.
> > Sounds like you've had one of them whole bottle of tylinol days. So
>much
> > for Fm's trying all they sell. Are you comfortable putting it in like
>that?
> > Think I would have sent it back. After all that you might want to wait a
>bit
> > before attacking the Boig :) What time are the visiting hours at the
>funny
> > farm?
> > Been up to a bit of "playing" myself the last couple of days. My
>wifes
> > BMW had the hood keyed awhile back, so I decided being I spray furniture
>all
> > the time I could repair and paint it. Turned out pretty good, the only
> > problem was the gun. I had a bit too much pressure and got a few pin
>holes
> > in it. Next I think I'll try repainting the Model A, the fenders are a
>bit
> > weather checked. I wonder what extreme paint on a stock Model A would
>look
> > like? Naw, the wife would kill me!
> > I still have the blue puff of smoke occassionally on the Miata, very
> > strange. Its not all the time and sometimes more smoke than other times.
> > Doesn't seem serious though.
> >
> > Later
> > Rod
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: bochinam
> > To: Rod Letcher
> > Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 10:37 AM
> > Subject: Clutch
> >
> >
> > With the warm weather Satya and I put the car up on his lift and
>dove
> > into the clutch replacement up here. Good thing too, it's been one
>problem
> > after another. FM is now supplying Findenza flywheels and the one I got
>was
> > a complete POS. First, the flywheel was no where near balanced. The
> > machine shop had to take out a few chunks. Then, the pilot bearing hole
>was
> > only 2/1000 of an inch larger then the bearing. The machine shop had to
> > pucker the sides to seat it. Then, the PP screws stripped the pathetic
> > aluminum threads out of the flywheel, requiring helicoil inserts.
> > Basically, the machine shop is giving me frequent flyer miles. This
>Fidenza
> > experience is akin to trying to fix up a Triumph with MG parts.
>Personally,
> > I could do without this much British authenticity.
> >
> > j
> >
> >
> >
> > -
> > Send submissions to (email redacted)
> > To unsubscribe, email (email redacted) with
> > "unsubscribe sscor" in the body of the message.
>
>
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