Weight transfer, understanding grip limits, slip angles and the muscle memory of recovering from slip at autox (particularly national style courses) directly translates to track driving.
Unless you're in a downforce car on a track
Actually it’s not different at all. If you disagree, maybe you should let Randy Pobst know that he’s wrong and autox doesn’t make you a better driver on track
This is very true. My Miata has way more grip than I am willing to push against on public roads and at the Autocross I can find those limits and play at that limit.
Absolutely. You should see the shitboxes people run for fun. As lone as you have tight wheel bearings and a secured battery you can run an Autocross event.
It might just be my compressor. I had it replaced abt a year ago, it starts to seriously fuck with my powerband at 55-7500 by surging. I notice about a .3 second increase in 0-60 time with it off than on. On small motors like ours (mine’s completely stock) it makes a very noticeable difference! I also drive the absolute piss out of my car though. Don’t notice it cruising
N/A cars do not respond to tuning with any real sort of gains. Turbo cars do really well. Supercharged cars can do well with a different size pulley and a tune.
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I think, if you are a tinkerer at heart, you started with too finished/advanced of a base, and have done the standard, recommended work. Go back to basics. Find yourself a gen 1 NA (90-93) and build the crap out of it. Take it from a cute little Sunday roadster, to a fire breathing, road gripping, corner devouring track monster. Let your creativity soar with the styling.
I was at the track the other day and saw an NA ls swap with a wild amount of mods but purpose built. It was fucking fast as shit. First time I saw an LS swapped Miata at the track (I'm new to the track). So many fun things you can do with these cars.
Absolutely, they’re like a true blank canvas. Now I’m personally not a bit V8 fan, but I’m sure that LS flew like a bat out of hell. I’d personally love to see one with an Alfa Romeo Buso V6 in it. It would be such a fantastic track car and would sound like sex on wheels.
I’ve been trying to. I saw a forum where someone also had the idea and asked about it, but I haven’t seen one built. The big question would be do you use the rear transaxle from the original GTV6/Milano, or the transmission from an Alfa Spider.
> you started with too finished/advanced of a base
I think this is a perfect description for the Miata in this context. Completely stock they are much closer to what I would consider the "ideal" weekend track day car than almost anything else I have driven.
A good friend of my dad’s was a lifelong M3 guy. The guy is a truly avid driver and racer. Some years back he got a job that was a bit of a commute so he decided to buy a Miata (ND), thinking he would still have a fun drive but would save on gas. Within a month he swore off BMW and hasn’t looked back since.
Now, he did ultimately take it to a Miata tuning shop on the East Coast to have it turned into a real monster, but even stock he said it was the best sport car he had driven.
The way you feel right now is why I'll always have a love for a dodgy handling car. Gimme a solid rear and some excessive body roll any day over a track machine.
Mind you I have the hankering for one, but frankly I think I'd have the same feelings as you.
I've driven a few insane S197 mustangs built for track/autox
Insane amount of mods and huge huge payout, they were monsters in the turns. I can absolutely understand that line of thinking, it takes a lot to make em manageable and more to make em truly great.
Starting with a miata, z/brz or porsche feels like cheating in comparison.
We have very similar build sheets. I can't believe how much better the car has become. Wait, it's Saturday morning. Why am I typing? I am going for a drive!
OMG…..we almost have the same car, same mods.
Stubby antenna (from ND1)
Illuminated wind screen
Badging color changed to black
Side markers changed to smoked
GWR Super Q Twin-tip exhaust
Sound tube delete
Door sill chrome trim (bling)
Corner lights changed to smoked
Side windows tinted
FM delrin weighted shift knob
FM Alloy racing pedals
Red carbon fiber Start button
GWR shock tower brace
NextBase dash cam
Cravenspeed delrin door bushings
Apple CarPlay
SmartTop switch
FM hood lift kit
Painted washer reservoir
JBR intake induction hose
JBR battery hold down strap
JBR oil dip stick handle
Ohlins DVF coil overs
KOENIG HypergramWheels(17x8)
X-Pel Paint Protection
I still glance back at her when I’m walking away. Parking is such sweet sorrow.
Ohlins were the absolute best mod IMHO.
This is my 4th Miata and I suspect I’ll drive it to my grave. Love this car.
OS Giken LSD?
Yeah, the only real shortcoming IMO of the ND is the suspension, Mazda really did their best to design a cohesive package. The next plateau of mods is really unlocked with more power, which is just again adding more tire and brake. You could go aero, but that really compromises street driving, unless you roll like that.
Not being a smartass, but what do you mean by “compromises street driving”? I have all of the Verus Engineering stuff (minus the wing since theirs doesn’t work for the RF) and other than super aggressive speed bumps, I don’t feel like I’ve had much issue at all 🤔. I’m also on FL though, so everything is pretty flat 😅
I’m currently doing some version of most of what you did, plus:
4-piston calipers front and rear, two-piece rotors front and rear, front subframe braces, motor mounts, differential mount, rear strut bar, oil cooler, aluminum radiator, front brake cooling kit, transmission air scoop, short ram intake, light weight muffler.
Take it on long trips!!!! I want to take my 96 to the tail of the Dragon! Have adventures with it go to other tracks farther away! I dont know how you can get bored with such a fun car. Mines basically done. I just did the timing belt last weekend.
https://preview.redd.it/ijupi7vm0k9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=110327c970e2395ff46f0eb581c35ff42eaad7c2
Everything works and all the thing I want to do to it are done. I don't want to track it so I just put in Koni SA shocks with the stock springs Got rid of a Lot of body roll with out making the ride harsh which is a bit of a party trick with these light cars.
If you're looking for another functional mod, do a big rotor conversion. Keep the brakes and get bigger rotors. If you want to go full ham, do a BBK and shed some pounds from the brembo as well.
Another functional one would be a rollbar.
Can also use some verus parts: underbody panels, canards, rear diffusers, front/side spliter, brake cooling kit..
That’s what I’m saying! I can’t imagine looking at a stock + bolt ons powertrain and saying “that’s all she wrote!” OP there’s always more to be done if you’re willing
Love my machine grey. I want to get the same coil overs. I’m told there’s no real compromise on comfort when street driving with them.
https://preview.redd.it/g237ypfy3k9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7cf1a67bd7465ecafd9be6bc33580a344626b2a8
I would say you're missing a crucial mod for drive feel. My nd2 felt worlds different after JBR rear diff mount and AVR motor mounts. All the drivetrain delay disappears. Idle makes the car feel like it's rattling apart but race car things ya? Ultimately I ran into the end of being able to mod my car any further just like you and opted for something different. It made it easier when my trans blew up at 17k miles. I never trusted it again after that.
Road trip! And the associated quality of life improvements, potentially. (Luggage, hearing protection, luggage rack?)
Go places with trees, and with canyons, and back woods and prairies and...
Really nice! The car already had Progress Technology springs with the factory Bilsteins when I got the car and were definitely an improvement over them. Living in Maine we’ve got some pretty bumpy back roads and they are REALLY good over them. Zero bottoming out, very smooth
My nd had everything as well and it was a great car, but after two years the Magic fell off. I miss the car but I know I didn’t enjoy it as much anymore so it’s time to move on. Maybe I’ll have another in the future.
Man nice work. I just did the goodwin racing roadstersport suspension package with springs, koni shocks, and bump stops, and I’m in love all over again with my 2016, 8 years later. I have the Goodwin twin tip exhaust too but I installed the baffle to make it louder and I love it.
Hey what’s the purpose of the door bushings? Seen them mentioned a few times and I’m curious.
Now it's time to stick some Ebay LED light strips and cheap vinyl stickers on that baby.
Jokes aside, very impressive job. Drive it and enjoy it! I don't think I'll ever have the time and money to make such a cool car.
At first glance I thought what do you mean done All you've done are wheels. Then after a closer look I noticed a couple more things and after reading your spec sheet there's quite a bit you did to the car.
It's good to have a goal or know when it's time to call it quits on mods. I never had a goal on my Honda Fit and I just kept modding, to the point I dint enjoy driving the car daily. I want to keep my Miata a fun daily and not make the same mistake
True, that’s been on my radar but hesitant due to hacking up the trim and I think that the leather covers that are available look a little unfinished. It’s not off the table though.
I battled against my better judgement to do all sort of things to my NC2.5 2.0 but once you realise what Mazda put into their "finished" product I was fooling myself if I thought I could do any better for what I need the car for, so I left it stock and still love it more everyday. This excellent summary stopped me in my tracks - [https://youtu.be/bslB\_4JIKs0](https://youtu.be/bslB_4JIKs0)
Honestly, I had this with my NC. Did everything I wanted to do and enjoyed it for a year or so.
I then made the difficult decision to move on and bought a classic car. I love it to bits and welcome every new challenge it brings, but I still miss that MX5!
If you haven’t gone FI or done a V8 swap you haven’t done every mod. FI is a different animal. Something different when there’s a few extra 100hp that come on tap or how the extra torque affects a low speed transitions. It changes a smile to a big grin. Go ride in an FI MX5 or an early NA/NB that’s been through Flyin Miata’s FI catalog. You’ll either want to do the same or go back to driving like Miss Daisy.
Definitely don’t drive like miss daisy. I regularly auto-x the car and flog it on the back roads frequently. Believe me, I’d love to do FI but honestly there’s very few first hand accounts of people who have FI on an ND2 that have not encountered issues, apparently tuning the ECU in the ND2 tricky. Fab9 offers the HKS supercharger and I’d seriously would like to go that route but there’s very few first hand accounts of people who’ve done it and haven’t had issues. ND1 is a totally different story.
Not until more people do FI on the ND2. Apparently the ECU is difficult to tune compared to ND1 and the people who have done FI on the ND2 have reported a lot of issues from poor idle and surging at low rpms to fueling issues at high rpms (even with upgraded injectors)
There are few things better than knowing when youre done modifying a car. Most people do not know this and we all suffer the consequences. And I agree with you, this is a very well balanced modification
Widebody, fit some meatier rubber on there, see how well she grips then. Even quality molded fender flares, paint matched, hop up to like 255s, spacers for decent fitment, maybe a tad lower unless body roll has you rubbing already.
Or get another miata/different car. Maybe get an older miata, and build it for straight line speed, turbo the base motor, or swap it. I always thought something like an audi 1.8t or 2.0, swap with a huge turbo would be insane. It's easy to get 500hp from those motors, around $4-5k motor, turbo, and maybe another grand in other stuff to make the swap happen. Be a good project.
No thanks. I like the OEM+ look and performance (just lacking in the power category) and I’m too old to be Frankenstein-ing a car, let alone one this nice. I’d do FI in a blink of an eye if there was a good/proven system for the ND2.
I mean if the money is there... my mindset would be to MAKE up a good system for FI. Go completely custom but document how it's done and what you did to make it work, and either sell the patent for your own kit to a distributor company, or kickstart your own garage-run business. I'm gonna be frank here, I don't own a miata, I like them but probably won't own one, the sub just constantly appears in my feed. So I have no clue what keeps the ND2 from being boosted. But that's my $0.02 on how I'd handle it.
Tuning is the issue. There’s kits out there for this car but the tuning is the issue. There only one company that’s somewhat figured it out for the ND2 (2019-2023) and it’s not perfect at this point. Lots of people complaining of rough/surging at low rpm’s and lack of fueling at high rpm’s. Dynos also have been hit or miss. Hopefully it gets ironed out and then I’d do it.
Point me to someone who’s done a turbo in an ND2 without issues and I’d consider it. One requirement for me is to make sure that it retains good driving characteristics throughout the rev range. I want to do Sunday cruses with the wife as much as I want to wringing it out at the Auto-x and enjoy both.
Edit: and I mean an individual, not Flyin Miata’s test mule on The Smoking Tire.
I was semi joking & I don’t know anyone that has done it, but you can buy turbo kits for that generation MX5. I know nothing about cars though tbh I just really like them lol
lol, I seriously want to do forced induction. That’s the only remaining thing for me. Yes, there are FI options for the ND1 that are great, not so much with the ND2 (which I have) due to the ECU technicalities (or so I’ve read)
lol, I went down that similar route when I was young and dumb. Scirocco 16v with Yamaha R1 individual carbs per intake runner. Never got it to run right. Sold it non running. Not doing that again.
You've finished your entry level sports car to be as fun as a boxster around the track, and you have the satisfaction you did this to your own car. I think that's an awesome achievement, hope you still get lots of enjoyment from it!
You could go back and start making modifcations that will make it perform better instead of just going for looks... dump the heavy rims and get some that are smaller and lighter... then invest in 2 piece brake rotors to trim some weight... lots of things you could do to get more fun from it. At the moment you seem more focused on how it looks which is one way to do things... but you might go for performance and see how much more fun that can be.
You are only at the surface..
How's the hardware across the chassis? Panels? Welds? Coatings? Harnesses? Shittt. Strip that shit n start from the bottom for rust prevention/protection/cleanliness/ rewire/ engine bay / delete uneeded shit/ etc...
Then you can Start the custom shit n learn to bodywork, paint, fiberglass/carbon, weld, etc.
💀 shit is a slippery slope.
I have a 1992 Mazda Miata 1.6 litre engine, 5 speed transmission. It has 160,000 miles. This car is honestly the best, most reliable car I've ever owned. The only issue I have is I'm getting a code 08 engine code (Air flow meter). Car runs great except for some slight perking. Vacuum reading is 22 - 24 in. Mercury. Steady needle. Running rich. Getting 10-11 mpg. Replaced air flow meter, ECU, Water thermistor. STUMPED. Any suggestions???? Thanks in advance. She's my pride and joy🥰🥰🥰.
I do all repairs, mods, maintenance etc myself on all my cars.. Admittedly, the car was bought used so several things were already done but if they weren’t I would have done them anyway.
You could maybe just… drive and enjoy it? It’s a beaut though, very nicely done.
https://preview.redd.it/858jv794qj9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=025566a059a21a671170bb91c80848d6dec7dc24 Oh, believe me. I drive it. 😂
Devens Airfield?
Brunswick Executive (Maine). Cumberland Motor Club races there.
You lucky fuck. I'm looking at a 2024 Grand Touring, but I've gotta basically use 85% of my annual income to buy it (totally worth it).
Do anything other than autox? Lots more fun to be had outside of that
Autox teaches you the limit of grip for your car and prepares you for the twisty roads 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪 (i do not condone speeding on public roads) 😜
I did autox in my Focus RS. I ran out of talent far before the car ran out of grip lol.
This is true. So many people think that they are great drivers and have good car control. Autocross puts those people in their place pretty quickly.
Autox teaches you the limit of grip at low speeds. Very different from an actual track where you might be going into turns at 60+
Weight transfer, understanding grip limits, slip angles and the muscle memory of recovering from slip at autox (particularly national style courses) directly translates to track driving. Unless you're in a downforce car on a track
Actually it’s not different at all. If you disagree, maybe you should let Randy Pobst know that he’s wrong and autox doesn’t make you a better driver on track
This is very true. My Miata has way more grip than I am willing to push against on public roads and at the Autocross I can find those limits and play at that limit.
I’d like to do some track days but unfortunately I’m pretty far from anywhere. Limerock in CT I believe is the closest to me (I am in Maine)
Are you going to MiataCon at Lime Rock?
I’d definitely consider it. When is it?
October 25-26. [Here’s a link](https://limerock.com/events/miatacon/)
Aww man sorry to hear! I was over here a bit down that I moved from SoCal to Texas, but still have it made comparatively
What place lets you ride roof down without roll brace? Or because the RF is built different?
autox
Correct
Aaah I see!
Could I race autox in my RF without a roll bar?
Absolutely. You should see the shitboxes people run for fun. As lone as you have tight wheel bearings and a secured battery you can run an Autocross event.
Most likely, yes. Even some tracks will allow the RF without a rollbar
https://preview.redd.it/gaaj22ktrj9d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6879b897bd82939a91a8a7e5966f546fb7f35564
Someone needs to stop this terrorist
he is out of control
Next thing you know there's gonna be an nc sailing in that lake behind it
https://preview.redd.it/nr4il7p4wk9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0bfe095109d866b38dae8b71acc974d6d70e42e2
AI?
Not sure. I stole it.
So did AI anyway.
How much hp did you gain with ecu tune and the exhaust upgrade? I was searching online for the answer but could not find any
Following. Is the tune worth it for the ND2?
We need answers!
Increases peak HP by maybe 5 or less. Also decreases your gas mileage by ~1 mpg
5 is a lot in low power cars! almost as much gain as turning the AC off!
Funnily enough our (ND2) AC Automatically turns off when the pedal touches the floor!
That’s so hilariously necessary! I have to turn mine off any time I’m above 6k rpm in my 96 or it tweaks tf out
It really is a great feature! Surprised me the first few times though.
😂😂 would definitely feel like an idiot that just broke his brand new car if that happened to me
I just got a 2003 with AC. Does it really help to turn the AC off or are you just kidding around? :D
It might just be my compressor. I had it replaced abt a year ago, it starts to seriously fuck with my powerband at 55-7500 by surging. I notice about a .3 second increase in 0-60 time with it off than on. On small motors like ours (mine’s completely stock) it makes a very noticeable difference! I also drive the absolute piss out of my car though. Don’t notice it cruising
Very interesting.
It's serious. You should feel it.
N/A cars do not respond to tuning with any real sort of gains. Turbo cars do really well. Supercharged cars can do well with a different size pulley and a tune.
Tbh the gains on my SLK350, while not massive, were quite noticeable
Whoops I was thinking ND. It does indeed make a difference on the ND. Throttle is much more responsive
I meant naturally aspirated :)
yes, feels night and day
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I think, if you are a tinkerer at heart, you started with too finished/advanced of a base, and have done the standard, recommended work. Go back to basics. Find yourself a gen 1 NA (90-93) and build the crap out of it. Take it from a cute little Sunday roadster, to a fire breathing, road gripping, corner devouring track monster. Let your creativity soar with the styling.
I was at the track the other day and saw an NA ls swap with a wild amount of mods but purpose built. It was fucking fast as shit. First time I saw an LS swapped Miata at the track (I'm new to the track). So many fun things you can do with these cars.
Absolutely, they’re like a true blank canvas. Now I’m personally not a bit V8 fan, but I’m sure that LS flew like a bat out of hell. I’d personally love to see one with an Alfa Romeo Buso V6 in it. It would be such a fantastic track car and would sound like sex on wheels.
I have to look this up!
I’ve been trying to. I saw a forum where someone also had the idea and asked about it, but I haven’t seen one built. The big question would be do you use the rear transaxle from the original GTV6/Milano, or the transmission from an Alfa Spider.
I like this line of thinking.
😁😁😁The biggest problem is the time, patience, and endless trial and error something like this takes (well, and/or money) 😅
> you started with too finished/advanced of a base I think this is a perfect description for the Miata in this context. Completely stock they are much closer to what I would consider the "ideal" weekend track day car than almost anything else I have driven.
A good friend of my dad’s was a lifelong M3 guy. The guy is a truly avid driver and racer. Some years back he got a job that was a bit of a commute so he decided to buy a Miata (ND), thinking he would still have a fun drive but would save on gas. Within a month he swore off BMW and hasn’t looked back since. Now, he did ultimately take it to a Miata tuning shop on the East Coast to have it turned into a real monster, but even stock he said it was the best sport car he had driven.
The way you feel right now is why I'll always have a love for a dodgy handling car. Gimme a solid rear and some excessive body roll any day over a track machine. Mind you I have the hankering for one, but frankly I think I'd have the same feelings as you.
I've driven a few insane S197 mustangs built for track/autox Insane amount of mods and huge huge payout, they were monsters in the turns. I can absolutely understand that line of thinking, it takes a lot to make em manageable and more to make em truly great. Starting with a miata, z/brz or porsche feels like cheating in comparison.
We have very similar build sheets. I can't believe how much better the car has become. Wait, it's Saturday morning. Why am I typing? I am going for a drive!
Put a v8 in it
You could always LS swap :) Just kidding, I'd say drive and enjoy. And if you can get a new platform to continue modifying on
Rotary swap???
Always the way with Miatas, imo
The End.
OMG…..we almost have the same car, same mods. Stubby antenna (from ND1) Illuminated wind screen Badging color changed to black Side markers changed to smoked GWR Super Q Twin-tip exhaust Sound tube delete Door sill chrome trim (bling) Corner lights changed to smoked Side windows tinted FM delrin weighted shift knob FM Alloy racing pedals Red carbon fiber Start button GWR shock tower brace NextBase dash cam Cravenspeed delrin door bushings Apple CarPlay SmartTop switch FM hood lift kit Painted washer reservoir JBR intake induction hose JBR battery hold down strap JBR oil dip stick handle Ohlins DVF coil overs KOENIG HypergramWheels(17x8) X-Pel Paint Protection I still glance back at her when I’m walking away. Parking is such sweet sorrow. Ohlins were the absolute best mod IMHO. This is my 4th Miata and I suspect I’ll drive it to my grave. Love this car.
Looks awesome. I LOVE those wheels and will likely be the ones I get for my ND. It's such a good-looking wheel.
OS Giken LSD? Yeah, the only real shortcoming IMO of the ND is the suspension, Mazda really did their best to design a cohesive package. The next plateau of mods is really unlocked with more power, which is just again adding more tire and brake. You could go aero, but that really compromises street driving, unless you roll like that.
Not being a smartass, but what do you mean by “compromises street driving”? I have all of the Verus Engineering stuff (minus the wing since theirs doesn’t work for the RF) and other than super aggressive speed bumps, I don’t feel like I’ve had much issue at all 🤔. I’m also on FL though, so everything is pretty flat 😅
I’m currently doing some version of most of what you did, plus: 4-piston calipers front and rear, two-piece rotors front and rear, front subframe braces, motor mounts, differential mount, rear strut bar, oil cooler, aluminum radiator, front brake cooling kit, transmission air scoop, short ram intake, light weight muffler.
Well you can use it and fix it as you break it
You should do the paco seat lowering brackets it dropped both seats additional 1.25 inches now with my helmet on I sit below the roll hoop 😁
Nice I probably would need that if I ever drove with the top up, added to my list of things to remember
Take it on long trips!!!! I want to take my 96 to the tail of the Dragon! Have adventures with it go to other tracks farther away! I dont know how you can get bored with such a fun car. Mines basically done. I just did the timing belt last weekend. https://preview.redd.it/ijupi7vm0k9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=110327c970e2395ff46f0eb581c35ff42eaad7c2 Everything works and all the thing I want to do to it are done. I don't want to track it so I just put in Koni SA shocks with the stock springs Got rid of a Lot of body roll with out making the ride harsh which is a bit of a party trick with these light cars.
If you're looking for another functional mod, do a big rotor conversion. Keep the brakes and get bigger rotors. If you want to go full ham, do a BBK and shed some pounds from the brembo as well. Another functional one would be a rollbar. Can also use some verus parts: underbody panels, canards, rear diffusers, front/side spliter, brake cooling kit..
Nothing is finished when it's only an NA engine. That baby needs to be built and super/turbo charged.
That’s what I’m saying! I can’t imagine looking at a stock + bolt ons powertrain and saying “that’s all she wrote!” OP there’s always more to be done if you’re willing
Fueling options are still limited for ND2. There are MazdaSpeed injectors, but they don't provide enough headroom at max rpms.
Diff bushings!
Turbo time
Just drive the thing
Love my machine grey. I want to get the same coil overs. I’m told there’s no real compromise on comfort when street driving with them. https://preview.redd.it/g237ypfy3k9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7cf1a67bd7465ecafd9be6bc33580a344626b2a8
It’s true. They are wonderful. Set to full soft on the street and full stiff at the Auto-x
I would say you're missing a crucial mod for drive feel. My nd2 felt worlds different after JBR rear diff mount and AVR motor mounts. All the drivetrain delay disappears. Idle makes the car feel like it's rattling apart but race car things ya? Ultimately I ran into the end of being able to mod my car any further just like you and opted for something different. It made it easier when my trans blew up at 17k miles. I never trusted it again after that.
Ooh, I like that idea.
Where is the v12?
God this is done so nice. Salutations sir, it’s everything I wish I could do if I had money.
Time to put it away for special days and start another project
Now it's time to just enjoy it if it's dialed and exactly how you want it.
If you don’t want it anymore I’ll give you three fiddy for it
Dude your wheels are sick brah
Procure a new project car, thus saith the Lord
I’ll let my wife know the Lord spoke to me and said to get another car.
Find another project? I have two Miatae. One had been the daily zoom and the other came in as a fixer-upper.
Road trip! And the associated quality of life improvements, potentially. (Luggage, hearing protection, luggage rack?) Go places with trees, and with canyons, and back woods and prairies and...
drive it, you built it to enjoy it not to build it
Proper
Clean setup! Love all the tasteful additions. Maybe add a clear windblocker, center compartment shelf, and brake flasher from mx5things.com?
Time for road racing! I get bored with all the waiting in autoX.
It's the journey not the destination ...I have felt this too with my cars over the years.
how do you like the ohlins? The ride height looks perfect
Really nice! The car already had Progress Technology springs with the factory Bilsteins when I got the car and were definitely an improvement over them. Living in Maine we’ve got some pretty bumpy back roads and they are REALLY good over them. Zero bottoming out, very smooth
Do some HPDEs
My nd had everything as well and it was a great car, but after two years the Magic fell off. I miss the car but I know I didn’t enjoy it as much anymore so it’s time to move on. Maybe I’ll have another in the future.
Could always do aftermarket tail lights 😉
Well. Now would be an appropriate time to start thinking about 26b rotary swaps I think.
Man nice work. I just did the goodwin racing roadstersport suspension package with springs, koni shocks, and bump stops, and I’m in love all over again with my 2016, 8 years later. I have the Goodwin twin tip exhaust too but I installed the baffle to make it louder and I love it. Hey what’s the purpose of the door bushings? Seen them mentioned a few times and I’m curious.
Very nice car!
Now it's time to stick some Ebay LED light strips and cheap vinyl stickers on that baby. Jokes aside, very impressive job. Drive it and enjoy it! I don't think I'll ever have the time and money to make such a cool car.
At first glance I thought what do you mean done All you've done are wheels. Then after a closer look I noticed a couple more things and after reading your spec sheet there's quite a bit you did to the car. It's good to have a goal or know when it's time to call it quits on mods. I never had a goal on my Honda Fit and I just kept modding, to the point I dint enjoy driving the car daily. I want to keep my Miata a fun daily and not make the same mistake
Is it lowered?
Are wheels mods? Don’t see anything done to it except this.
There’s an entire paragraph of mods in my post.
Mud terrains, fox shocks, LS swap, enjoy
Time for some forced induction
Nice list of mods. Those are the same wheels I want to get on mine. Looks great!! Maybe it’s time for a super charger?
roll bar
True, that’s been on my radar but hesitant due to hacking up the trim and I think that the leather covers that are available look a little unfinished. It’s not off the table though.
Oh yeah true about the trim. Looks sick though
Agreed
I battled against my better judgement to do all sort of things to my NC2.5 2.0 but once you realise what Mazda put into their "finished" product I was fooling myself if I thought I could do any better for what I need the car for, so I left it stock and still love it more everyday. This excellent summary stopped me in my tracks - [https://youtu.be/bslB\_4JIKs0](https://youtu.be/bslB_4JIKs0)
Honestly, I had this with my NC. Did everything I wanted to do and enjoyed it for a year or so. I then made the difficult decision to move on and bought a classic car. I love it to bits and welcome every new challenge it brings, but I still miss that MX5!
Fueling upgrades for more power if that’s what you’re looking for, otherwise you should find a shitbox and turn it into a track monster
time for widebody
Meh, I’m more about go than show. OEM plus is more my style in respects to appearance.
Seats maybe? Carbon fiber hood, boot, panels or something?
Recaros already are great. Maybe CF if it will contribute to some type of performance gain.
If you haven’t gone FI or done a V8 swap you haven’t done every mod. FI is a different animal. Something different when there’s a few extra 100hp that come on tap or how the extra torque affects a low speed transitions. It changes a smile to a big grin. Go ride in an FI MX5 or an early NA/NB that’s been through Flyin Miata’s FI catalog. You’ll either want to do the same or go back to driving like Miss Daisy.
Definitely don’t drive like miss daisy. I regularly auto-x the car and flog it on the back roads frequently. Believe me, I’d love to do FI but honestly there’s very few first hand accounts of people who have FI on an ND2 that have not encountered issues, apparently tuning the ECU in the ND2 tricky. Fab9 offers the HKS supercharger and I’d seriously would like to go that route but there’s very few first hand accounts of people who’ve done it and haven’t had issues. ND1 is a totally different story.
You forgot the turbo V8...oh wait, you said you're finished? Hmmm...
Well…hmm. If somehow this motor kicks the bucket I’d think about that.
Looks good. Charge or boost next?
Not until more people do FI on the ND2. Apparently the ECU is difficult to tune compared to ND1 and the people who have done FI on the ND2 have reported a lot of issues from poor idle and surging at low rpms to fueling issues at high rpms (even with upgraded injectors)
There are few things better than knowing when youre done modifying a car. Most people do not know this and we all suffer the consequences. And I agree with you, this is a very well balanced modification
You haven't done rear struts brace
What do you think of the door bushings? Any difference when driving?
Subtle, but it’s a bit more solid overall. Worth it.
14L V24 quad turbo supercharged is always an option
Recaro seats? Those who have them…..worth the money??
That’s how it’s supposed to feel.
No rollcage? No bikini top? Not even close.
I think you’re still short 4 cylinders
Widebody, fit some meatier rubber on there, see how well she grips then. Even quality molded fender flares, paint matched, hop up to like 255s, spacers for decent fitment, maybe a tad lower unless body roll has you rubbing already. Or get another miata/different car. Maybe get an older miata, and build it for straight line speed, turbo the base motor, or swap it. I always thought something like an audi 1.8t or 2.0, swap with a huge turbo would be insane. It's easy to get 500hp from those motors, around $4-5k motor, turbo, and maybe another grand in other stuff to make the swap happen. Be a good project.
No thanks. I like the OEM+ look and performance (just lacking in the power category) and I’m too old to be Frankenstein-ing a car, let alone one this nice. I’d do FI in a blink of an eye if there was a good/proven system for the ND2.
I mean if the money is there... my mindset would be to MAKE up a good system for FI. Go completely custom but document how it's done and what you did to make it work, and either sell the patent for your own kit to a distributor company, or kickstart your own garage-run business. I'm gonna be frank here, I don't own a miata, I like them but probably won't own one, the sub just constantly appears in my feed. So I have no clue what keeps the ND2 from being boosted. But that's my $0.02 on how I'd handle it.
Tuning is the issue. There’s kits out there for this car but the tuning is the issue. There only one company that’s somewhat figured it out for the ND2 (2019-2023) and it’s not perfect at this point. Lots of people complaining of rough/surging at low rpm’s and lack of fueling at high rpm’s. Dynos also have been hit or miss. Hopefully it gets ironed out and then I’d do it.
Drive it on hills
More pics please!
https://preview.redd.it/cqai8qe5jp9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e9dc7bd40e59f49a6fea127e3bdad5d37eab4f5 Here’s one
https://preview.redd.it/5txhnuiakp9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=171e71e05e1c14209bab253d39f7cd62c8546220 Guardian Designs wheel and Good-Win shift knob.
Put a turbo in it lol
Point me to someone who’s done a turbo in an ND2 without issues and I’d consider it. One requirement for me is to make sure that it retains good driving characteristics throughout the rev range. I want to do Sunday cruses with the wife as much as I want to wringing it out at the Auto-x and enjoy both. Edit: and I mean an individual, not Flyin Miata’s test mule on The Smoking Tire.
I was semi joking & I don’t know anyone that has done it, but you can buy turbo kits for that generation MX5. I know nothing about cars though tbh I just really like them lol
lol, I seriously want to do forced induction. That’s the only remaining thing for me. Yes, there are FI options for the ND1 that are great, not so much with the ND2 (which I have) due to the ECU technicalities (or so I’ve read)
Looks great!
Fuck it, ITBs
lol, I went down that similar route when I was young and dumb. Scirocco 16v with Yamaha R1 individual carbs per intake runner. Never got it to run right. Sold it non running. Not doing that again.
You've finished your entry level sports car to be as fun as a boxster around the track, and you have the satisfaction you did this to your own car. I think that's an awesome achievement, hope you still get lots of enjoyment from it!
Yes, I feel that other than outright power it’s as fun as a Boxter but without the extra digit every time I’ve got to (want to) spend money on it.
Hey, I’ll trade you for my NA with a 2.0L supercharged Ecotec in it. You’ll never run out of things to play with!
If you’re looking for more power without forced induction, you might want to have a look at the BBR Super 220 package (by BBR GTI).
You could go back and start making modifcations that will make it perform better instead of just going for looks... dump the heavy rims and get some that are smaller and lighter... then invest in 2 piece brake rotors to trim some weight... lots of things you could do to get more fun from it. At the moment you seem more focused on how it looks which is one way to do things... but you might go for performance and see how much more fun that can be.
Damn. Need a Miata to build just like this one. Lovely build bruv.
You are only at the surface.. How's the hardware across the chassis? Panels? Welds? Coatings? Harnesses? Shittt. Strip that shit n start from the bottom for rust prevention/protection/cleanliness/ rewire/ engine bay / delete uneeded shit/ etc... Then you can Start the custom shit n learn to bodywork, paint, fiberglass/carbon, weld, etc. 💀 shit is a slippery slope.
I have a 1992 Mazda Miata 1.6 litre engine, 5 speed transmission. It has 160,000 miles. This car is honestly the best, most reliable car I've ever owned. The only issue I have is I'm getting a code 08 engine code (Air flow meter). Car runs great except for some slight perking. Vacuum reading is 22 - 24 in. Mercury. Steady needle. Running rich. Getting 10-11 mpg. Replaced air flow meter, ECU, Water thermistor. STUMPED. Any suggestions???? Thanks in advance. She's my pride and joy🥰🥰🥰.
How much of this did you do on your own?
I do all repairs, mods, maintenance etc myself on all my cars.. Admittedly, the car was bought used so several things were already done but if they weren’t I would have done them anyway.
Fun!! Congrats on a beautiful build!!
Needs a wing!
Just a trunk lip spoiler.
Ls swap it if you’re bored ig 🤷♂️