The first couple of weeks of ownership required some tedious tasks to be handled first. Since the car came with an M2 Intake, I had to drive to multiple different smog places. People just wouldn’t let me pass the visual inspection… I have a feeling that if the intake box was made out of black plastic instead of carbon fiber, then I probably would’ve gotten through. Either way, I finally found someone locally who was sensible enough to realize that a little intake box isn’t going to make the car fail smog…

Just as the car was about to get the smog test, the mechanics were looking over somethings while the car was idling. Apparently there a connection with the radiator e-fan was loose, and the car started getting hot. This definitely wasn’t a good feeling and I knew it had to be taken care of. The plus side, however, was after some convincing talk, the seller stepped up and helped out with the repair. I took the car to Hayward Mazda and they flushed the radiator, fixed the e-fan, and changed an oil o-ring. In the process I was able to get those UGLY touring driving lights ripped out. Those 2 little lights in the front bumper ruined the look of the car in my opinion. Eventually I went back and the car passed with flying colors, which definitely made me happy.

After a few more things were taken care of, such as re-registering a car to a new state, etc., and with smog out of the way, it was time to start the modding process…

I picked up a nice Apex’i GT-Spec Stainless Steel Catback from a guy in Pacifica, and stuck it on the next day. Unlike my first car, the Z, the exhaust bolts came out like butter. I remember almost either popping a nerve or sharting my pants, which ever came first, trying to loosen the exhaust bolts on the Z…

The exhaust is definitely a nice step-up from the quiet, oddly bent stock catback. The GT-Spec comes out an angle in order to get very straight piping. The actual piping diameter is 3″ and then turns into 3.75″ with a straight-through design muffler. Good times, but it was far from being “loud” with the stock catyltic converter and pre-cat still in there.