GROUP BUY
RICHMOND GEAR 3.308:1
RING AND PINION SET FOR 1994-2005 MIATA

Mazda 3.636:1 ring and pinion gears for illustration (click to enlarge)

OVERVIEW:
* we have made arrangements with Richmond Gear to produce the world's first 3.308:1 (43/13) ring and pinion gear sets for 1994-2005 Miatas
* Richmond is the preferred gear brand of NASCAR
* Richmond products are proudly Made In the USA (so you'll be getting a quality product, not Chinese junk...)
* to get them manufactured, we are being required to place an order for a minimum of 100 sets
* due to the scale of the investment necessary to make this highly sought-after product finally available for the Miata community, we'll need at least 50 pre-paid orders before we can place a production order with Richmond
* we have set a 90-day window of time for people to get their funds together
* if we get 50 orders before that 90 days is up, we're set
* if not, everyone gets their money back (less any PayPal fees that we incur)

PRICING:
* see shopping cart buttons at bottom of this page
* to simplify our administration of the group buy, payments will only be accepted via PayPal (no exceptions; if you don't use/have/like PayPal, sorry, please find a friend to pay for you.)
* as an incentive to early adopters, for the first 25 orders, the group buy price will be $490 + $35 shipping = $525
* for the second 25 orders, the group buy price will be $515 + $35 shipping = $550
* our planned future retail price will be $540 + $35 shipping = $575
* shipping within the USA will be $35 per gear set (i.e. $70 for 2 sets, $105 for 3 sets, etc.)
* shipping beyond the USA will be $70 per gear set (i.e. $140 for 2 sets, $210 for 3 sets, etc.)
* if, for any reason, our shopping cart fails to charge you the correct shipping amount, you're not "off the hook," you are still liable for paying complete shipping charges; we'll email you a PayPal bill to pay and your order will not be considered to be in good standing until you have paid in full

PRICE COMPARISONS:
* Rick's S2K sells their Richmond-made 4.56:1 gear sets for Honda S2000s (essentially the same gear set as ours, except for # of teeth) for $590 + $35 shipping = $625 (our initial group buy price is $100 less than that)
* we always sell Mazda Australian Market factory 3.636:1 ring and pinion sets for $400 + $35 shipping = $435

ADDITIONAL PARTS & UPGRADES (SOLD SEPARATELY):
(SEE DIAGRAM FOR CONTEXT OF THESE PARTS)
* we will add shopping cart buttons to our store for the following options before the gears ship...
* cryogenic treatment: $50
* Mazda pinion distance piece: $14 + shipping
* Mazda lash spacer: $8 + shipping (NOTE: lash spacers are available from Mazda in 15 thicknesses; you won't know what size to get until your setup technician (PLEASE DO NOT attempt at home or you may ruin your new gears) actually assembles your differential; he will most likely have a local source for generic spacers, but we can get them for you also if you provide the thickness that you need)
* Mazda LSD carrier and pinion bearings (4): $115 + shipping
* Mazda differential and pinion seals (3): $18 + shipping
* Black Robotics Yellow Box electronic speedo calibrator (for NB only, see explanation below): $90 + shipping

DON'T FORGET TO BUDGET:
* local professional lash setup labor: $300 (estimated, YMMV)

REFUND POLICY:
* upon emailed request, we will give refunds in full (less any PayPal fees that we incur) at any point before we place the order with Richmond
* once the order is placed with Richmond, there will be no refunds for ANY reason

GROUP BUY ETIQUETTE:
* remember, the spectrum of human nature encompasses those who will want to be first in line and others who wait until the last minute to join in
* if the group buy appears to be going slowly in your eyes and you lose faith that it will succeed, please be patient, respect your fellow participants, and resist requesting a refund before the 90 day window has run its course
* keep in mind that the sooner we get 50 paid orders, the sooner we will place the production order and the sooner everyone will get their parts, so please pay as soon as you can if you are interested in participating

THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF THE GROUP BUY:
* we will hold all payments in escrow in good faith anticipation of placing a production order with Richmond as soon as we meet the 50 order threshold
* if we have not received 50 paid orders by 8/1/08, we will cancel the group buy and issue full refunds (less any PayPal fees that we incur)
* if we receive a 50th paid order before 8/1/08, we will immediately pay Richmond to begin production of the parts

PRODUCTION TIMEFRAME:
* contingent upon their relative work load (which revolves around the NASCAR season), Richmond estimates it should take about 90 days to make the parts and ship them to us
* upon their completion Richmond will ship the completed batch of 100 gear sets to us all at once
* we will ship the parts to the buyers as soon as we receive them

WARRANTY:
* Richmond products are warranted for one year after installation

NOTES:
* NB OWNERS (having electronic speedometer/odometer): we will be selling Black Robotics' Yellow Box for $90 + shipping to calibrate your speedometer and odometer for the new 3.3:1 gear ratio
* NA OWNERS (having mechanical speedometer/odometer): we do not currently have a solution to correct for the instrument error that you'll inevitably have after installing the 3.3:1 gears. That said, MiataRoadster is working with Nordskog Instruments on a plug-and-play complete replacement electronic digital cluster for NAs. The speedometer/odometer included within the cluster will have the capability of being manually calibrated at will for gearing changes, using measured road distances. The cluster would include a transmission-mounted manual-to-electronic speedo cable adaptor and all needed temperature and pressure senders. Retail should be about $500. The digital cluster will have an optional upgrade path to Nordskog's $200 retail GPS conversion kit, which reads public-domain signals from satellites to calculate radar-gun accurate speed signals in any weather condition or location. Buyers of the Nordskog digital cluster who want to upgrade to the GPS kit will receive a $50 core credit for the cluster kit's included speedo cable adaptor, making the GPS kit (when purchased together with the digital cluster) a $150 retail upgrade. FYI, see the similar cluster that Nordskog makes for Mustangs.

REFERENCES:
* Richmond Gear
* Rick's S2K
* Black Robotics (Yellow Box)
* Nordskog Instruments
* CryoScience
* MiataRoadster.net forum thread with updates on the group buy
* Miata.net forum 6/07 thread #1
* Miata.net forum 6/07 thread #2
* Miata.net forum 5/29 thread
* Miata.net forum 5/01 thread
* MiataTurbo.net forum thread
* Mazda-Speed.com forum thread

QUESTIONS:
* Bill Wilner, owner, MiataRoadster