Well, in my ongoing mission to thwart the ECU, I think I finally pulled one over on the little bugger. The engine always felt a little lazy to me, and even in the worst conditions, I never heard any spark knock. After reading the timing put in by the ECU, I determined the engine could benefit from more timing. There are two ways to do this.
1. Flash programming the ECU to alter the timing map (not an available option yet.)
2. Alter the position of the crank sensor.
I chose option 2, as it's the only way at this point. I went to examine the sensor, with the idea of modifying or making a new bracket for it to allow some adjustability, when lo and behold, Mazda had already done it for me with a nicely slotted sensor at it's mounting point.
After removing the belly pan and the passenger side splash shield, I turned the tire out to the right to allow a little working room.
The sensor was held in place by two 8mm bolts, one being partially obstructed by the A/C belt.
I then marked the sensor's original position, (wich was 3/4 of the slot down) with a permanent marker, and loosened the bolts. Looking at the sensor thru the wheel well, I slid it counter clockwise all the way (down toward the ground) and snugged the bolts back up. BE CAREFUL with these bolts! They only need to be snug and are very easy to strip.
I then reassembled the splash shields and started it up. The engine started smoothly, no CEL, and settled into it's usual idle. After a short trip around the block, I heard a slight spark rattle when I approached 7,000, confirming the timing had indeed been advanced. After a few more times to the redline, the rattle subsided, indicating the ECM was beginning to finaly utilize the knock sensor and pull a little timing. The engine feels a little crisper, and hopefully I'll see a few more MPG.
1. Flash programming the ECU to alter the timing map (not an available option yet.)
2. Alter the position of the crank sensor.
I chose option 2, as it's the only way at this point. I went to examine the sensor, with the idea of modifying or making a new bracket for it to allow some adjustability, when lo and behold, Mazda had already done it for me with a nicely slotted sensor at it's mounting point.
After removing the belly pan and the passenger side splash shield, I turned the tire out to the right to allow a little working room.
The sensor was held in place by two 8mm bolts, one being partially obstructed by the A/C belt.
I then marked the sensor's original position, (wich was 3/4 of the slot down) with a permanent marker, and loosened the bolts. Looking at the sensor thru the wheel well, I slid it counter clockwise all the way (down toward the ground) and snugged the bolts back up. BE CAREFUL with these bolts! They only need to be snug and are very easy to strip.
I then reassembled the splash shields and started it up. The engine started smoothly, no CEL, and settled into it's usual idle. After a short trip around the block, I heard a slight spark rattle when I approached 7,000, confirming the timing had indeed been advanced. After a few more times to the redline, the rattle subsided, indicating the ECM was beginning to finaly utilize the knock sensor and pull a little timing. The engine feels a little crisper, and hopefully I'll see a few more MPG.