Hi Everyone,
Alex here from Australia doing the De-Noob, I hope this post isn't too long.
I have been reading over this site for about 4 years just learning what I can and decided it was time to join.

I own a 96 NA8 that I was planning to build as a N/A street/track car...... as you can probably tell from being here some plans have changed and track time is not looking possible and I will now be going turbo.

had a few jobs but of interest. I was a mechanic, Australian Army infantry and now manage a business for a local family. I also work as a farm hand on a Dairy farm. I am married with a patient wife that puts up with my car hobby.

I'm mainly interested in Japanese cars but have owned my fair share of V8's but they just don't interest me as much. My real love is Mazda rotaries.
Hobbies are obviously Miata/MX-5's/Roadsters, dirt bikes, camping, four wheel driving, hunting.

Currently in the stable is.
NA8 MX-5.
CX-5 twin turbo diesel GT.
Heavily modified Nissan Patrol (1165NM of torque) I believe these are called the Amada State side with a color matched Ultimate off road camper.
DRZ400E turned into an adventure bike.
Suzuki ag bike.
Honda 450 quad.

A brief back ground on cars I have owned. (ones of interest)
S2 SA22C RX-7 12A extend port with 48IDA Webber.
S3 SA22C RX-7 13B bridge port with 48IDA Webber.
RX-4 4 door 13B peripheral port with twin 48 IDA Webbers.
S5 FC RX-7 13B turbo bridge port 420HP + wet nitrous.
AW11 MR2 supercharged, awesome fun!.
GC8 WRX completely worked EJ25 GT3582R 450HP.
Toyota landcruiser 55 series 454 swapped.
Toyota landcruiser 40 series 351 Cleveland swapped.
plenty of V8 Fords, Holdens (GM), Mazda 3 and a mad 3 cylinder 1000cc Daihatsu Charade which sadly was destroyed..... had a Kangaroo run into it. (you are all welcome to have a giggle) I was about halfway through turbocharging it for a laugh .

I have done some track work in the past but have in recent years done none at all and honestly just don't have the time, I live about 3 hours from the local track but hill climb may be something in the future for fun.

I purchased the NA8 because now with a small farm of my own and a house I can't spend what I have in the past on cars.
The NA8 is cheap to buy, own, modify and maintain as you are all aware........ and really can you call yourself a car enthusiast without having owned a Miata?.
The NA8 has given me far more smile per dollar than any other car.

So some details on my car, sorry if this is all too long.

The NA8 is Chaste white with a black hardtop, 5 speed trans, 4.1 open rear and i'm doing a retro style build, big thanks to Adam (Revlimiter) and Sharka for inspiration.

I'm sure I will forget things but Currently the car has.

Engine/Suspension
- 96-97 NA8 factory 16 bit ECU
- COP.s genuine Toyota coils.
- NB8A red injectors. more modern design.
- Cowl intake.
- X-force exhaust (deep but quiet).
- radiator air diversion plate.
- auto radiator, gaps sealed around radiator and under tray.
- highflow thermostat.
- Samco hoses.
- KYB shocks/ King springs 30mm lower. Coilovers to come.
- whiteline sways adjustable links.
- HEL braided clutch line.
- Brown Davis motorsport roll bar.
- Jass Performance heavy duty frame rails.
- Garage Star door bushes.
- Astina 323 valve cover with MX5 unleashed internal catch can mod.
- 14 degree timing mod.
- Carbon Miata retro oil cap.
- JP dip stick handle.


Interior
AU market NA8 is like JDM and has the same as the U.S NA6 dash.
- black quilted leather doors and sill covers, carbon miata.
- Airstream door pulls, carbon miata.
- full alloy door lock assemblies, carbon miata.
- JDM teardrop speaker covers.
- JDM roaster sill scuff plates.
- black leather shift boot and handbrake boot.
- 480gr weighted shift ****, i believe this is just over a pound in your units.
- Revlimter HVAC panel.
- Revlimiter retro window switches.
- Revlimiter retro hazard sweitches.
- Revlimiter shift plate.
- Revlimiter model 60 key ring.
- Revlimiter Sharka polished vent rings.
- Jass performance (JP) black metal kg works style gauge surround.
- Custom made 911 style individual gauge rings with glass lenses.
- JP needle caps.
- JP black metal gauges.
- JP handbrake cover and button.
- JP ignition barrel cover.
- Flyin Miata pedal set.
- Alpine type S speakers and some pioneer headunit (will be going).
- black vinyl seat covers.
- foamectomy on drivers seat

Exterior
- Black OEM demister hardtop.
- SSW peak wheels 15x7 12.8 pounds each, look like bronze RPF1's.
- 195/50R15 Kuhmo V720s
- JP tow hooks.
- Garage star offset numberplate bracket (not fitted)
- Side stripes with old Mazda writing.
- Zoom engineering fuel flap (not fitted)
- Runabout M2 mirrors (not fitted)
- bumper cut.
- Racing mate logos on fenders.
- sanded and color coded side reflectors, not required for road worthy in Aus (or UK or Japan) and ours are like JDM no lights fitted in them.
- Revlimiter model 60 nose badge (not fitted)

So upcoming things.
Firstly i have some body work i need to take care of, cracked front bumper and car was rear ended by someone without insurance (only minor) but bumper and rear garnish need replacing. nothing major thankfully.

Now keeping in mind i was going to build a N/A street/track car till recently.

I have sitting at home teasing me.

- Gary Stewart BP4W race head, ported, polished, lots of bowl work, un-shrouded valves, shaved 60 thou.
- Supertech standard size high flowed valves.
- Supertech light double valve springs.
- Supertech titanium retainers.
- Supertech Bronze valve guides.
- Supertech Valve seals.
- Mazdaspeed SUB's
- TODA 256/9mm intake cam. more turbo friendly than what i was going to run.
- TODA 256/9mm exhaust cam. more turbo friendly than what i was going to run.
- TODA adjustable cam gears.
- Flat/square top manifold.
- NB8A fuel rail.

I have not purchased yet but will be getting a MS2PNP, i'll run the standard motor on this then drop in the above BP4W set up and tune that.
I will then start looking at turbo gear, very very early stages at the moment (with lots more research needed) but i'm thinking
- GT2560
- NitroDann twistmount manifold and 3 inch exhaust but if not possible a kraken manifold and dump, possibly full Kraken exhaust in 3 inch.

As I said I was a mechanic so i'm well aware I need wideband, injectors, air temp sensor, intercooler, clutch, torsen ect ect will run on our 98 fuel which I believe is like the U.S good 93, E85 isn't an option.
With a 60 thou shave on my head I think compression will be about 10.5:1 on my 9:1 bottom end so that will be a hurdle (I think?) when I start to add boost, possibly a slightly thicker head gasket will be a band-aid fix (messes with squelch) till I can drop 8.6:1 pistons in.
Power goal will be 220-250HP, had massive power cars in the past this will be more a GT style car. If in the future I build the bottom end I will look at increasing power to about 270HP which i think the 2560 will still produce but getting toward the top end of efficiency, I would like to retain the 5 speed if possible but here in Aus 6 speeds and 3.6 rears are easy to get so if needed later it may happen.

I am really looking forward to learning more from people here, there is a large base of very intelligent individuals on here (far more than me), this I have seen from the past 4 years of reading. I hope I can contribute at times.
Sorry for the long post but well you know what there is to know about me if I ask any questions..... after using search.
I'll try post some pics of the car off my phone if i can figure it out.
Cheers.
Alex.

 

Alex,

I can tell you have done plenty of reading but I want to make a couple of suggestions before I forget.

Supertech valve stem seals will leak. There are problems with them not being pliable enough. OEM or other aftermarket are recommended. Also ensure the valve guides are good.

The second suggestion is a MS3 Basic from MS Labs instead of the MS2. There are many improvements including to the idle control, extra outputs, and other developments to the code. Reverent is his screen name and they are listed in the vendor section. He's located in Greece.

It is good to have you here on the forum.

 

 

The top pic above with the painted tire writing is a few years old and has the old (crazy hard) springs in it which are about 1 inch higher.
The interior pic is current except the Flyin Miata pedals aren’t there.
I also thought I would show the gauges, they are a pain to get a good photo of, at night they aren’t as bright as they seem, I’m only using factory halogen bulbs with green condoms removed.
I recently put this Japan logo on and I’m not sure if it’s “rice or nice”, what do you think?.
You can just see the pedals in the shot.

 

I really like the interior and exterior aesthetic. I’ve always liked retro NA design direction. Gauges look awesome, it’s a shame they aren’t brighter. I put LEDs in my NB cluster but they flicker a lot so either I put in bad units or I need to clean up the factory contacts or something. Until I figure out what I’ve done wrong though I can’t reccomend them.

Awesome car history, I have had a few Rx-7s myself although nothing as involved as porting or such done. I look forward to seeing what you can do with this car. If you’ve done this much to the head at this point you might as well go ahead and do a bottom end with forged rods and lower CR pistons before you start pushing the boost. That way you will only have to mate the block with the head the 1 time.

 

Thanks for the kind words mate.
I wanted to try keep the vintage feel with the halogen, they are very readable just not popping at you like the photo, I may go to red needles though for ease of reading and I have some extra gauge ideas I’m playing with that have red needles.

I tried LEDs in gauges before (WRX) and found that after a few tries I got a set that worked well, mine never flickered but a couple sets had dark areas. Hopefully you can sort yours out easy.

I have thought the same in regards to building the bottom end but popping the head is an easy job and I like the thought of it being like the next stepping stone in the megasquirt learning........

in saying that Rods and pistons (84mm) are an easy upgrade while there but I know what I’m like and that will turn into a boundary pump being fitted, clutch, flywheel, ATI dampener, sump baffle plus machining.
It will happen just might be in stages.
I do completely see your logic though 100%.

 

Hi Sixshooter,
Sorry for the delay, I just saw your reply.
I will definitely take your suggestion on the valve stem seals, it seems like many people on here have had problems with the Supertech seals. Thanks for the heads up.

I also keep hearing about “Rev’s” MS3 so I will have a chat with him, seems like a great product and support.

It’s good to be here on the forum.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

Watching as doing research on boosting my naturally aspirated BP motor.

Mine is a non Gary Stewart engine and makes 204 RWHP. (on E85) and yes I am in Australia as well

My build details
11:1 compression
Toda 284 deg in/ex cams with the base circle reduced and ramp angle softened, +11mm lift)
Toda 85 mm pistons
Carrillo Super A-Rod
RB26 valves (1mm oversized) and springs
Head has been flowed and ported
ID725 injectors
Radium Surge tank with regulator and Walbro 450 pump
Jenvey ITB's, custom airbox with 111mm trumpets
Custom brake setup with bias adjustment (no booster)
Haltech PS1000
Racepak IQ3 logging dash
Racepack Smartwire (recent edition and the car was given a complete rewire, no OEM wiring left)

 

That build sounds awesome mate!.
I wish I had E85 available near me but sadly its not an option, my calculations point my compression at 10.5:1 and I think i will have a hard time keeping knock out of it with our 98.
If I go Supertech 8.6:1 pistons I should be sitting around 10.1:1 which is basically NB8B compression and I know they can handle boost, possibly I need to look at a very slightly thicker head gasket but I need to read more on squelch area ect.
What is your plans? Do you think you will be able to keep knock out of it with E85?
I guess you will be needing to dial some overlap out of those cams.

 

When it was tuned on E85 they gave the car heaps of advance (for testing) and no knock!

Yes some of the cam overlap will have to be dialed out, or maybe new cams dropped in. I need to speak to the head builder to see what they think.