The Trillium Partner Program Report – October 2009 Update

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Written by Gary Svoboda Tuesday, 20 October 2009 00:55

The Trillium Partner Program Report – October 2009 Update

By Gary Svoboda, Vice President & Marketing Director

 

In the last report, I mentioned that we are working on confirming a number of Trillium Partners in different Miata-related categories. This month I am pleased to report that we have added two new Trillium Partners.

Car Detailing Partner – L.A. Detail

David Lee is President of L.A. Detail, an exclusive car detailing company located in Markham. L.A. Detail is the official detailing company for Mazda Canada, and through that connection and others is also regularly involved with various auto shows around North America. The company doesn’t really do a lot of individual consumer detailing – concentrating mainly on corporate clients, says David, but since he is an owner of an MX-5 himself (a 2006 Limited Edition – incredibly he owns #0001 of 3500!), he would like to share his passion for the world’s best sports car experience with local enthusiasts that share his love for the Miata by becoming involved with the Trillium Club.

In exchange for becoming the exclusive Trillium Partner in the car detailing category, L.A. Detail is happy to offer Trillium members a special club member discount on L.A. Detail products and services, and will be offering his facility for occasional Sunday morning club meetings.

In addition to the above, Dave has generously donated a wonderful door prize for the upcoming Blahs Bash – a Free Miata Detailing (equivalent value of approximately $200)

For further information, contact David Lee through the company’s website at www.ladetail.com .

Dent Removal Partner – The Dent Doctor

 

Richard Fenton is the Owner of the Dent Doctor, located at 134 Doncaster Avenue, Unit 6, in Thornhill. Richard actually has a longstanding relationship with the Trillium Miata Club, being a past Trillium Club member, a former owner of a Miata, and a past and current advertiser in Miata Miles.

The Dent Doctor offers paintless car repairs for minor dents, door dings, hail damage and lease return repairs. The service is same day and low cost (I have used it myself!).

Richard is pleased to be selected as the exclusive Trillium partner in the paintless dent removal category. Richard will be offering club members special club discounts for Dent Doctor products and services and will be also offering his facility as a venue for occasional future club meetings as well.

For further information, contact Richard Fenton at 416-518-DENT (3368), or visit www.dentdoctor.ca .

This brings us up to four Trillium Partners, with more to be announced in the coming months.

Miata Repairs

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Written by Dave Biagioni Wednesday, 16 September 2009 00:11

Hello fellow Miata enthusiasts.

It's been awhile since my last article and the recent addition of our first little baby, York, is partly the reason why.

He's now just over 4 months old and Angie and myself couldn't be happier.

Some of the members got to see him at the September meeting where he tried to put the disruptive members in place. 

At the recent Sept. meeting a few members had questions regarding upgrades to their Miata's and the subsequent installations.

Since I'm now out of the automotive sales game and back to working on cars I was more than happy to answer these questions.

The most often performed upgrades seem to be Timing Belt replacements, Power enhancers, Suspension upgrades, soft top replacements, clutch upgrades and roll bar installations.

The most common Power enhancers are performance Intakes and Exhausts which can result in 10-15 additional horsepower at the rear wheels, which can be felt and heard. In such a small car as the Miata even 10 hp can be felt immediately.

For those who would like more of a return on their investment the best bang for the buck is a Supercharger.

These return 45-50% additional horsepower and a large infusion of torque to get the little Miata moving.

The biggest complaint of the stock Miata is that the suspension can handle so much yet the car really needs a bit more power to fully appreciate it.

A supercharger provides very reliable power and once installed properly can provide decades of smiles per miles.

Once you drive a Miata with the increased power delivery you will smile from ear to ear. It's a priceless feeling.

Regarding Soft top replacements I always recommend Robbins tops as they are the best to date.

Amazing quality with perfect fit and upgraded materials from stock every time.

These tops truly make the car look like new again and the difference from a worn top is dramatic, especially one with a foggy rear plastic window.

Hard Dog roll bars are by far the best in the industry for the Miata.

They fit perfectly and are made specifically for the model from a company that has been doing this since the inception of the Miata itself.

I've installed a lot of the competitors roll bars and I have to say Hard Dog is the one to buy.

Roll bars range depending on your own personal style and their intended usage, road or track.

Timing Belts should be replaced at 96,000 kms or every 5 years, whichever comes first.

This is cheap insurance to prevent against being left at the side of the road with a car that's not running whatsoever.

The Water Pump is located directly behind the Timing Belt so I recommend replacing the pump at the same time for reduced labour in the future.

Suspension upgrades also range depending on what the car will primarily be used for.

Upgrades can range from stock replacement parts to full track competition packages.

Stock shocks wear out by 90,000 kms and if yours have not been updated yet you won't believe the difference in the ride when they are changed out.

I've had lots of great feedback from clients who couldn't believe how nice their Miata rode after the upgrade.

If you intend to head for the corners with more vigor you may want to upgrade to some performance springs & shocks or even obtain a set of coilovers that allow full adjustability for ride height as well as control over the shock stiffness.

Clutch upgrades have been a staple of my work since I upgraded my own back in 1999.

Some people will attempt small upgrades themselves but very few will tackle a clutch job and so they often prefer to leave the heavy & dirty work to me, and luckily, I'm happy to do it :D I often recommend the ACT HD clutch as it provides much better feel, a much nicer "bite" to the clutch engagement point, and will hold over 300 hp for future upgrades, just in case.

Of course stock replacements can also be installed but my clients have reported the biggest satisfaction from the ACT unit. It's worth the additional $'s.

As with all of the upgrades available for your Miata I recommend contacting me first to find out what you would like your Miata to do better, and we can proceed from there.

In the past I have installed nearly every part available for the Miata on one of my past 13 Miata's so there's a very good chance that we can pick out what parts will match with your intended view of what your Miata should be.

Feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 905-582-2674.

Also if you know of anyone with a Miata who would like to have some upgrades done feel free to pass on my info and I'll be happy to return the favour.

Thanks and happy motoring.

Dave Biagioni

Miata Specialist Since 1996

Leather and Plastic Restoration

Last Updated (Tuesday, 07 July 2009 13:22) Written by Liz Burns Tuesday, 07 July 2009 13:19

If anyone is looking for repairs / restorations to leather or plastics, Fibrenew comes highly recommended.  They have locations throughout Ontario.  Check out their website at http://www.fibrenew.com

 

Liz

Partner Program

Last Updated (Monday, 27 July 2009 11:30) Written by Gary Svoboda Monday, 06 July 2009 01:22

The Trillium Partner Program Report

 

By Gary Svoboda, Vice President & Marketing Director

 

Mazda Dealer Partner – Scarborough Mazda

Last week, after much homework over the spring, consisting of visiting most of the local GTA Mazda Dealerships (which was actually quite a fun job), I am very pleased to announce that we have selected Scarborough Mazda (www.scarboromazda.ca) as our Trillium Miata Club Mazda Dealer Partner.

As our Trillium Partner, Scarborough Mazda will be the exclusive preferred Mazda dealership for special Trillium membership discounts on Miata parts and service. Also, Scarborough Mazda will communicate and recommend to its MX-5 customer base - both new car sales and existing Miata owners - that they consider joining our club.

In exchange, Scarborough Mazda will have a listing on the Partners page of our website, as well as a listing on the Partners page of this newsletter (to become a staple of Miata Miles as soon as I can coordinate it). We will also encourage Scarborough Mazda to supply us with brochures, flyers, promotional giveaways and announcements of upcoming events. Finally, we will provide Scarborough Mazda will special advertising rates in Miata Miles when they wish to do so.

Speaking of future events, Scarborough Mazda General Manager Allan Balinski mentioned to me this week that he is in the early stages of coordinating a special event that will take place at Scarborough Mazda on 10 AM Sunday, August 23^rd, that he is tentatively calling “Mazdaspeed North”. It will feature a full range of cool Mazda cars, Mazdaspeed and other aftermarket Mazda vendors, as well as excellent representation from various Mazda clubs in the GTA (ours, Rx-7, Protégé etc.), all for a nominal admission fee (funds raised going Sick Kids Hospital). Al also assures me that he will make ample space on his lot for all the Mazda enthusiasts that want to come for the day. Mark it in your calendars – I plan to be there. Stay tuned for further information the closer we get to the event.

We certainly did our homework before finally selecting Scarborough Mazda as our Trillium Partner, and I am confident that we have made an excellent choice. In Scarboro Mazda, we have a fine local and accessible dealership, run by an active Mazda enthusiast (did I mention that Al races Rx-7’s in his spare time?).

Tire Company Partner – Continental/General Tire

Thanks to the excellent work done by Liz Burns over the past year, we already have a Trillium Partner in the tire category – Continental Tire, of Mississauga.

Thanks to the Trillium Partners program, Trillium members (with proof of membership) are entitled to a 10% discount off of the purchase price of sets of 4 Continental Tires, and 5% off the purchase price of sets of 4 General Tires. See Liz Burns for a mail-in rebate form.

Announcements of Future Partners Coming Soon

In terms of future Trillium Partners, the Club Executive is looking to announce partnerships in the following categories over the next few months: audio/CB, gasoline, auto glass, car/dent repair, car detailing, recreation/kartways and aftermarket catalogue vendors.

Although we are already working on contacting companies in these categories, I am interested in what club members have to say about companies that they might recommend in each of these categories, and also what other categories that they might suggest. Just remember, categories should be MX-5 Miata-applicable, and candidate partners should be strong and/or locally accessible to Trillium members. And, to make the Trillium Partners program work for all parties, we are limiting Partners to one per category.

If you have any ideas for Trillium partners, I would love to hear them – please call me at 519-824-7456 or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .