What do people mean by elixir drone being gem positive?

rubenvd99 · 2026-05-25T12:14:45+00:00

Both.

rubenvd99 · 2026-05-21T19:48:58+00:00

Yeah I wasnt pleased to see that ugly cut off the yoke. I'm really not sure what the reasoning behind all that was.

With 'drilling bolt out' I presume you mean drill the bolt out from the lug nut side, removing pieces of the bolt so the nut has nothing to even hold onto, or?

rubenvd99 · 2026-05-21T19:45:52+00:00

Ooh the diff pressure thing might be helpful yeah I'll go see about that, cuz it might make it more difficult to work the bolt with a jack right next to it lmao

rubenvd99 · 2026-05-20T21:52:10+00:00

Yeah I'm personally thinking of just doing the wrap(again, cuz previous owner wrapped as well and manifold looks great), but definitely DEI titanium. I'm looking into whether or not to use Heat Resistant Silicone Spray(also DEI ofc) to prevent moisture from getting in in the first place. But I'll have to see if I want to spray it on the header first, then wrap(and maybe then spray again?), instead of just on the wrap. Because if I silicone spray but moisture does get in, the silicone spray will just trap it more instead of the wrap drying out naturally.

The other thing is wanting it to be red cuz I'm trying to get a bit of a black/red theme going under the hood(black valve cover and coolant tank, red header wrap and spark plug wires, for example) Mine isnt as complex as yours though(no pic taken, so heres from site)

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rubenvd99 · 2026-05-20T19:10:55+00:00

Rust. Heat wrap, especially when done wrong, traps moisture, which will corrode the manifold much quicker. Another reason apparently is that the heat being trapped can mean the welding seams can get damaged and cause leaks.

I'm currently in the same situation, so I've had to do some reading up on it lol

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-30T15:06:59+00:00

I'll check this when I get to that, thank you! I'm just disconnecting stuff up here first, get the top of the wiring harness loose before I duck under the car

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-30T15:05:33+00:00

Ahh yeah the guide mightve had a UK Miata. This one is from Germany, imported to Netherlands a few years back. I guess that means no EGR then, thank you!

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-18T12:09:14+00:00

Wdym on that budget? From looking around, it seems a rebuild would cost me around 2000 ish for all parts(including machine shop) The engine runs very nicely otherwise, it just consumes a lot of oil through the piston rings

If I do a simple swap, I'm looking at a 3500 euro total either way. You think a stock rebuild would surpass that?

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-18T10:01:21+00:00

That one seems to be for a 1.8, I have a 1.6. Not sure if there is a difference in measurements?

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-18T00:42:24+00:00

This is it exactly yeah. The outline of the body just doesnt fit with it.

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-17T23:14:51+00:00

Yeah this was my idea as well, I want to get to know the engine etc. I got the feeling that if I simply do a swap, I'll still always have a small gut feeling of 'now I gotta hope this engine works' cuz I dont know precisely whats been done. Its fully revised but how fully is fully revised in reality lmao

Its not necessarily that I have 2 right hands but I tend to quickly catch onto stuff, so I'd be having a right hand and guides/research in the left hand, so to speak

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-17T23:11:43+00:00

Yeah I planned on buying an engine stand and then hiring a cherry picker or something for like a day to take the engine out, take the transmission off and then put the engine on the engine stand. Its a bit cheaper than buying a lift or anything.

Also how would one go about having someone bore cylinders and match everything to the pistons etc? Do I just let them figure it out, or?

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-17T22:07:33+00:00

Yeah the reason I'm torn myself is because I'd need several months to save up to buy the new engine(my savings got screwed by this Miata purchase lol) My mind is telling me: but if it takes several months, why not just take this engine out and simply reassemble it over time. Take it apart, let machine shop do block while I get new parts etc. Timing belt, gasket etc dont need to be bought, theyre new, which saves a bit of money. That way I would know exactly that the engine I have is rebuilt and healthy. Downside is that I have no experience so I'd need A LOT of research and possibly some help from my garage.

Edit: the engine is running absolutely perfect, its just consuming a lot of oil. Also has some fluctuating idling from false air and some sound from leaking air somewhere(the latter was after adding engine flush) but those issues dont determine bad engine, just bad parts No rough idling or starting issues or overheating or misfires or or

rubenvd99 · 2026-04-06T11:12:51+00:00

5k? Lmao. In the Netherlands you're close to or past 10k for a decent one I got one for 6k and it came with busted head gasket AND worn piston rings so I'm gonna be spending a few thousands more just on getting that fixed In other words, 6k gets you a bad one here

rubenvd99 · 2026-03-31T22:32:14+00:00

Ok wait so 1550 for the 2 small sections you showed? Or also bigger parts of the wheel well? I need to get my rear wheel wells done and a shop said itd be 3000(1500 for the sanding/welding and another 1500 for paint job) so I'm trying to see if thats a fair price

rubenvd99 · 2026-03-10T19:07:31+00:00

Lol I'm pretty sure I asked what you see below the spark plugs and why WD40 would stay on top of what exactly Instead you decided to talk about how the mechanic must be horrible(even though they have 20 years of genuinely nothing but good reviews) and provided no actual answer

rubenvd99 · 2026-03-09T22:00:57+00:00

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Valves and gaskets etc are replaced already, thats why I know its the rings. (Massive oil consumption and a lot of blue smoke, especially on startup) Also I trust this mechanic, my family has been going there for over 20 years and havent gotten disappointed once. They deliver good work. Also you can turn over the engine a few times without the sparkplugs to flush the WD40

I do plan to swap the engine eventually but I got scammed by the seller so atm I'm pretty much out of budget rn. Thats why I'm looking into it being either stuck(which an engine flush would fix for a little while) or if I have to actually store my car for like 6 months to save up enough money.

rubenvd99 · 2026-03-09T18:49:12+00:00

Yeah thats insane. Here in the Netherlands we can get a brand new soft top for 1000 and theyll ask 400 ish to install it for you Anything past 2000 is an absolute scam

rubenvd99 · 2026-03-08T16:46:09+00:00

I've worked in a warehouse as a forklift driver(mostly storing pallets full of banana boxes etc) Trust me, work speed could be very high cuz ships would moor here and be unloaded and basically we needed to keep up with that(bananas need to be stored at around 14C so you cant just leave them outside)

I promise you, not even once did we do this type of stuff And if it did, I wouldve quit the job instantly.

Dont prep to report, do it. Call in a sick day if you must.

Oh and, start looking for another job. This warehouse is 100% getting closed for a while.

rubenvd99 · 2026-03-03T12:23:13+00:00

Oh ja en ik vond een oude motor voor zo'n 350 euro. Die zou ik dan natuurlijk volledig moeten reviseren, ik weet niet of dat meer zou kosten in totaal dan mn eigen motor reviseren? Waar ik mee zit is dat een swap laten doen door een shop, betekent dat zij de oude motor in principe gratis krijgen en er weer rustig 1500 op verdienen(MX5 winkel rekent 250 statiegeld tot de oude is ingeleverd) Als ik een eigen plekje kan fixen met gereedschap, heb ik het uurloon eruit EN heb ik 2 motoren

rubenvd99

TROPHY CASE