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Mazda expands scope of vehicles affected by Takata airbag recall to 330k

Earlier this week a Reuters report indicated that Mazda was considering a nationwide expansion of its recall for vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators. The company has now confirmed said expansion, with the vehicle count jumping from 86,770 to 330,000 affected in the US. As before, the affected vehicles are Mazda6 and RX-8 cars from the 2004 to 2008 model years. Mazda reports that Takata has tested a "large number of inflators removed from Mazda vehicles" and not found any to be "non-compliant" as of yet. With that said, the company also reports in its statement that one 2005 Mazda6, located in Florida, has been identified as having had an "abnormal" deployment of the driver's side airbag. For what it's worth, though the company's statement references the Takata inflator issue as a proper recall, it is calling its own program of notification a "Safety Improvement Campaign" for the moment. Find the full, if brief, Mazda press release in the form below. UPDATED MAZDA STATEMENT REGARDING TAKATA AIRBAGS Dec 11, 2014 WASHINGTON, DC (December 11, 2014) – In addition to the actions announced on December 4, 2014, as discussed in a separate document, Mazda today announced the following steps in the Takata recall: Mazda will institute a nationwide Safety Improvement Campaign of 2004-2008 model-year Mazda6 and RX-8 models equipped with certain Takata airbag inflators. The nationwide Safety Improvement Campaign will cover the driver's-side airbag inflator, as Mazda has not made a safety defect determination at this time. This action will support us to gather additional parts for examination and to promote customer satisfaction and safety. There are approximately 330,000 vehicles included in this Safety Improvement Campaign in the United States So far, Takata has tested a large number of inflators removed from Mazda vehicles, and NONE have been found to be non-compliant at this time One vehicle – a 2005 Mazda6 located in Florida – has been identified as having experienced an abnormal driver's-side airbag deployment. Mazda has worked closely with NHTSA on this situation Mazda will participate in the independent, industry-wide joint testing program for Takata airbag inflators For history, on December 4, 2014, Mazda announced: It would expand the area of the high-temperature, high-humidity region recall to include the Gulf Coast states.

Flyin' Miata's 525-hp V8-powered ND finally hits the streets

Flyin' Miata, in its valiant quest to turn Mazda's roadsters into small, Japanese Corvettes, has finally finished its first V8-powered ND Miata. The company has been slowly teasing us with images and videos for months, but it wasn't until this week that the car finally made it to the streets. As soon as the current ND generation Miata was released, Flyin' Miata started the work to shoehorn a GM LS3 under the hood. The company has a history of building brutish, V8-powered Miatas. It sells everything from minor parts to full V8 conversion kits. For those with the cash that prefer to avoid the hassle, Flyin' Miata will sell you a complete, turn-key car. The price hasn't been finalized, but customers should expect to pay about $50,000 plus the cost of the MX-5. The new car has a worked-over LS3 that sends 525 horsepower to the rear wheels through a Tremec T56 transmission. Flyin' Miata says the rear differential comes from a V8 Camaro. Other new bits include exhaust, suspension, brakes, and a roll cage. Flyin' Miata tells us that the V8-swapped ND will weigh 2,592 lbs, a little more than 200 lbs more than the porkiest stock Miata. Despite twice as many cylinders and more than three times the displacement of the stock four banger, the LS3 V8 is a relatively small and lightweight engine. The finished car has a 53:47 front to rear weight distribution. Final touches are being finished, but cars and kits should be available soon. This article has been updated with some info straight from Flyin' Miata. Thanks, Keith! Related Video: News Source: Road & Track, Flyin' Miata Mazda Convertible Performance flyin miata

Mazda files patents for a sequential twin-turbo setup

Mazda has a history of interesting engine technologies, from yesterday's rotary engine to tomorrow's compression ignition engine, and new patents show it still may have some internal combustion tricks up its sleeve. The one on display in these patents isn't especially new in concept, though. A sequential twin-turbocharger setup is something Mazda itself used on the third-generation RX-7. But it's something we haven't seen much of lately. It looks like it could have some possible advantages over older sequential systems, and it has some potential advantages for enthusiasts. First a quick and dirty primer for what makes a sequential twin-turbo system distinct from other twin-turbo systems. In many twin-turbo engines, there are simply two turbos that work together as one bigger turbo. They're the same size, and they spool up at the same time. With a sequential setup, at low rpm, a smaller turbocharger is spooled up first at low-rpm for quicker throttle response, and as the rpm and exhaust pressure increases, a valve opens up that allows a larger turbocharger to also spool up and provide high-rpm boost. That's basically how the Mazda design shown above functions. A big flap blocks off the larger turbocharger exhaust inlet, channeling all the exhaust to the smaller turbo. When more exhaust is available at high rpm, it looks like that flap opens up to spool up the big turbo, too. What's interesting here is that the way the turbochargers are packaged takes up less space than past systems. It looks like both turbos are contained in one unit that shares the same exhaust outlet, meaning the exhaust manifold could be kept simple and compact. In fact, the piping for compressed intake air could also be shared, reducing the amount of piping, which would further decrease the amount of materials and possible failure points. There are a number advantages of making this system smaller. The potential applications of the system are much greater, since it could fit in smaller cars with smaller engine bays. Making the system smaller also means that there won't be as much weight, which is important from both fuel economy and performance standpoints. Finally, the smaller setup likely uses fewer materials, which could make the system cheaper and thus easier to offer on a wider range of vehicles, or at least more profitable for Mazda.