I bought the Miata a little over a year ago with 82,000 miles on it. She was stock for the most part, with the exception of a matte black hood, NA6 daisies, shift ****, head unit, momo steering wheel, clear tail lights, and a front lip.

 

Not long after buying it, I discovered a set of Koni Yellows where the stock shocks should have been.


Instead of spending nearly $1,000 on Flyin Miata VMAAX coilovers like I'd planned to, I decide to pick up some spring and Bumpstops, and save up for Xidas.


I also ordered a set of sway bars from FM.




Soon after that, I decided it was time to ditch the daisies and all seasons, and picked up a set of 15x7 Advanti Storm S1s, wrapped in Dunlop direzza ZII star specs of the 205/50/15 variety.







After I has both of my front Calipers seize on me in the same week, I decided to take the opportunity to upgrade to a Wilwood 11" front BBK.




Ignore the huge brake fluid leak, I fixed that soon after.

A few months ago I decided to go all in on the Miata and ordered a Hard dog roll bar with door bars, Sparco Sprint, Takata 4-point harness, PCI one piece seat mount, NRG quick release, and hardtop brackets, and I picked up a cheap hardtop off of craigslist that had been rattle canned black over the original red paint.













And here she was after all that and a wash.






Just recently, I placed an order for a set of Xida Clubsports with 700/400 dual springs, and NB tophats.



After installing the Xidas, I realized that I was lacking in the rubber department, so I placed an order for a set of RS3s in 225/45/15, and a set of 15x9 bronze 6uls with black lug nuts and valve stems.

The tires have been waiting in my office, lonely, without any 6uls to keep them company. 6ULs should be arriving from Trackspeed on 7-25 according to UPS, so they won't have to wait much longer.


And that's it, all up to date

My plans for the build:
-11.75" TSE front BBK.
-11" rear FM BBK w/ parking brake.
-949racing X-flow rad/ coolant reroute/ oil cooler.
-The timing belt that I've been putting off replacing for the last 20,000 miles (whoops, haha).
-MSLabs MS3.
-FM happy meal.
-Racepak IQ3s w/ GPS.
-LSD.
-EFR 6258 and associated hardware run at 200WHP/ WTQ until...
-Forged bottom end, likely from TSE, with a VVT head run at 350WHP.
-TSE T5 transmission solution when available.
-Many more things that I can't remember ATM :P, and eventually...
-Exocet race chassis.

I'm in the process of enlisting in the USAF, so my current plan is to get the car sufficiently pre-turbo before I ship out to BMT.

Thanks for reading!

 

So clean

 

Thanks, but I can promise you that she looks far worse in person .

 

Sell me your FM springs when you're done with them? Plz?

 

PM'd

 

The last week has seen a big jump in lateral grip for the car. 225/45/15 RS3s ($108 each!) have been mounted and balanced onto some Bronze 15x9 6ULs, and the Xidas have been cranked up to somewhere around 8 clicks in the front and 5 in the rear, which somehow feels more comfortable than where I had it at 3F/ 2R. I also had an alignment done, and ended up with 0° toe F/R, -2° camber F/R, and 5° of caster. The car feels like it's crawling unless I'm doubling the speed limit, and it's so controlled that it almost feels less fun. While it is fun to not brake for any corner ever, it also means that the car feels even more underpowered than it did before. I need boost in my life. I could tell right off the bat is that the RS3s don't communicate nearly as well as the ZII Star Specs I was running before. Not really a big deal ATM, but it's going to take a bit to find the limit again. It should make my first track day interesting .











Say hello to the Miataru. I know the tread is facing the wrong direction in the last pic, I just threw the one wheel on before I rolled the fender to see how it looked.

I need make a full "current state of affairs post" highlighting some of the car's defects, because I feel like it looks far too pretty in these shitty cellphone pictures. I should also flush out my build plan a little further while I'm at it, so I can be critiqued for my noobishness if necessary.

Next up on the mod-list are some super baller brakes, because my front rotors have been gouged by something, the Wilwood Dynalites up front are getting creaky, and I'm done listening to my rear pads clanking because the anti-rattle clips wouldn't fit over the rotors for some reason. Hopefully this is the 3rd and last time that I buy any brake parts that aren't pads, rotors, or fluid.

 

This makes me very excited. I have 700/400 Xidas with 225 Rivals on a 15x9, and a lot of chassis stiffening (Garagestar Fender Braces, DIYRoadster Door Bars, FM Frame Rails) and I have yet to drive the car. This is coming from VMAXX and 205 ZII's.

Plus, I have boost on the way as soon as I break in the clutch :-)

 

Your car looks great!

However, you need real harnesses. 4 points are NOT good on track.

 

Thanks! After brakes, I'm putting some money towards a 6-point and braced aluminum seat. I won't be tracking the car without a second seat, anyway.

 

The difference in grip is pretty insane. I've been following your build, and I'm going to be super jealous when you hit boost before me, haha.

 

Thought I'd post some pictures of the car as she sits today. She's got some quality parts on her, but that doesn't make her *** any less ugly.

Things about the car that bother me:

• Rust. I bought her from a guy that brought her down from the northeast for an early retirement. I guess that makes her a typical Floridian, haha. I should have guessed that she'd be a rust pile when I learned of her heritage, but alas, I was young and dumb.
• Rattles. My god, the rattles. Then again, it is a Miata, so it's par for the course.
• Rear brake pads rattle constantly because the clips wouldn't fit over the replacement rotors for whatever reason.
• Have never been able to bleed the brakes properly on this car, for whatever reason.
• Front calipers tend to flex under heavy braking.
• Rear end links squeak over uneven pavement (read as: all the time).
• A slew of dings, dents, scratches, and general neglect (partially my fault).
• A dinged up fender that's been repaired via hammer (my fault).
• Loud inside.
• Hardtop has shitty paint.
• Sound system sucks ***.
• Not fast (to be adressed).

She also has some quality hardware onboard, so I guess it's not all bad, eh?

For your consideration...









































Flushed out build plan inbound, ready for critiquing.

 

Wait, so your daily seats are the Sprints with the 4-point? You are going to buy a second seat with some 6-points for track stuff?

The only feedback I have heard about the Sprints is that they are uncomfortable. I happen to have two of them (not installed), so how do you like them for daily driving duties? If it is even a DD, that is.

 

Yep, I daily the sprint with the 4-point, and when I buy a second seat and 6-point, I'll move the sprint and 4-point to the passenger side and drive it daily in the other seat. The sprint is not comfortable. It's main problem is that it doesn't have **** for lumbar support, so back pain is a given on any drive longer than an hour.

 

In lieu of new parts to brag about, I decided to flush out my build plan. Fair warning, I change my mind about every 2 seconds, so this is by no means final. My main goal has been to not buy anything more than once, while still keeping the build scalable and street-able until I can buy another daily.

*Stupid expensive/ stupid cool **** in red.

Suspension:

• Extended lower ball joints: $140.00
• R-package tie rod ends: $150.00
• Spare steering rack: $100
• Welded input shaft: $? from ARTech
• Steering rack bushings: $39.95
• Xida coaxial top mounts: $360.00
• Spring rate change?
• 949Racing sway bar kit: $450.00
• V8 roadsters heim jointed control arms: $2195.00
• Kiesler drop spindles: $1800-2050 (ABS?)
• V8R lightweight front subframe: $795.00
• Longer bodied Xidas with ACE adjustable upgrade: $2-3000?

Brakes

• Motive power bleeder: $80.00
• Master clyinder: $60-100.00?
• Remote bias valve adjuster.
• TSE 11.75" front brake kit: $700.00
• FM rear BBK: $525.00
• Rear 11" rotors: $60.00
• Front/ rear Carbotech XP8 pads: $300.00
• Fluid: $30.00

Wheels/ Tires:

• 15x10 6ULs: $800
• 245/40/15 100TWs: $800
• Spacers (1/2"?)
• 15x11 6ULs: $880
• 275/35/15 Hoosiers: $1200

Interior/ Safety/ Ergo:

• TDR Ultrashield rally sport/ mount x 2: $1150
• I/O seat braces
• Schrotch 6-point x2: $800
• Alcantara Steering wheel: $200
• Miataroadster extended/ angled short shifter: $325
• Hans device/ equivilant: $500
• Helmet: $300?

Drivetrain:

• 4.1 Torsen diff: $500
• diff mounts: $100
• 6-speed trans: $700
• 949Racing twin disc clutch: $1030
• Mazdacomp motor mounts: $100
• TSE T5 trans solution: $1000?
• OS giken diff: $1609
• Ring and pinion: $700
• Diff assembly: $300?

I've also decided to build a Bauer LTD Catfish instead of an Exocet when the time comes. Feel free to critique my choices; tell me where I done goofed. I'll add the last two categories of the build: Engine management and Engine tomorrow.

 

Engine Management:

• MSLabs MS3: $1050ish
• AIT sensor: $25
• EBC solonoid: $53
• Racepak IQ3s: $975
• MS CAN interface module: $375
• Racepak GPS module: $300
• Oil pressure sensor
• Oil temp sensor
• COPs $300

Engine:

• 949racing x-flow/ collant reroute: $741
• TSE Oil cooler: $475
• TSE turbo hardware: $4-5000
• ID 1000s: $533
• Fuel pump: $99
• Borla XR-1 muffler: $137
• Exhaust piping/ fab: $400?
• Build TSE VVT motor: $6,000
• Squaretop: $500

Catfish:
$17,000

 

Alright, **** all that noise. Been trying to convince myself that making enough torque to destroy my drivetrain is a good idea. News flash, it's not. New plan: Learn to be fast while on a 110WHP N/A BP motor. K24 swap. Rotrex. Catfish. 1500lbs or so, 400whp/ 275wtq, intact drivetrain, motorcycle-like torque curve. Glory. I need some more money.

 

New owner bump, car is now in Austin, destined for many laps at Harris Hill Raceway. Shares time with my FM2 95, which is becoming more of a street car now.