MX5/Miata Thread

MX5/Miata Thread


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When I first got my car I always thought it was stolen out of parking lots. But no, I just couldn't see it behind all these enormous Corollas and Civics.

:lol:
 
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Djhives was banned from the Australian MX5 forum last year for spamming and generally being a tool.
 
Turbo Miatas can be a lot of fun and pretty okay reliability too (for an aftermarket turbo, presuming we are not talking about the MSM). But when buying used example, like equiraptor said, I too would check everything very, very well. It's so easy to cut costs and build unreliable setup, which can be pain in the ass to debug later when you don't have any information of the build.

Oh, I swapped my dead T1R Toyos to AD08 Advans yesterday. I did a first proper drive today, and so far so good. They give much more confident feeling, probably thanks to better feedback due much harder sidewalls. I didn't push them too much yet, but they certainly feel pretty grippy. Next trackday should be on 28th, then I should have some knowledge of the on-limit handling :)
 
Technically, I think you'd have to register that as an aircraft :lol:

Anyway, it's an aftermarket Greddy kit. Can't remember if it's the 1.6 or 1.8, but the whole drivetrain has a about 120kms on a '90 shell with 280kms (the body is in great shape ... not just for nearly 300kms, but great shape regardless). It's got an aluminum rad, K&N air filter, and some other good stuff. Seems like it was done properly, not just bolt-on-a-huge-blower-and-wait-for-the-explosion. The only thing weird about it is that the air filter has a couple of wires coming out it (MAF sensor?), otherwise, it looks like a pretty good build. The seller says he's set the AFR a little rich to compensate. I test drove it and there was nothing obviously wrong with it.

I have a cousin who's a mechanic (he has a supercharged Miata and a Eunos ... he kinda likes Miatas ;)). He looked at it and says it seems like a pretty decent build, just needs a wideband O2 sensor.
 
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My standard for quality in a turbo Miata is a bit odd, but I generally dislike any of the kits available.

If you'd not going to track the car, sounds like a good deal.
The Greddy kit afaik if only for the 1.6. It's pretty good for screwing around but problematic of you plan to drive hard as one would for track use.

The manifold are known to crack, the trick is to relieve the manifold between each exhaust port, and throw inconnel studs to avoid stretch issues.

If it hasn't been done, move the turbo drain from the block to the pan. Prevents it from sitting in the turbo, the stick drain back otherwise does a loop around the block at a slow incline.
 
If you'd not going to track the car, sounds like a good deal.
The Greddy kit afaik if only for the 1.6. It's pretty good for screwing around but problematic of you plan to drive hard as one would for track use.
The Greddy kit is only for the 1.6L, but the turbo itself can be put on the 1.8L anyway (and has been by some). It being a Greddy doesn't necessarily tell us which engine it is.

How much boost is it running? What kind of fuel management does it use? It'd probably be worth your time to poke around miataturbo.net. Lots of knowledge and resources there.
 
If you could, what things would you want to see changed from the current MX5 (NC) to the next generation (ND)?

I have a small list, starting with separating the clutch and brake reservoirs into two entirely separate entities. I'm wondering what other owners, especially NC owners, would want changed.
 
I finally decided to get Yokohama Advan AD08s in 205/50 R15 to replace my worn T1Rs. I wasn't sure if I drive enough on a track to make semi slicks reasonable, so AD08s seemed to be a good compromise.

Anyway, after one track day and lots of street driving I'm pretty satisfied. They grip pretty well, but the biggest difference to my previous T1R Toyos (195/50 R15) is the way the AD08s handle on limit. You approach the limit of grip sensing that you're pushing the car, and after you go beyond they don't act as suddenly as the Toyos. They're far more stable to drive quickly too, so you can push the car with much more confidence. They were a bit tricky on a wet track (opposite lock at 120km/h is not something I really like, even if you feel rather manly after if you make it), but driving on the limit on a wet track is always an adventure :rolleyes:

Of course I've only experienced T1Rs and AD08s, so I don't have enough experience to give proper reviews.
 
Last year, me and Lev went to Miata Day at the Larz Andersen museum in Boston (before I high-tailed it out of there to sunnier realms). It was a pretty mild split between autocrossers and crazy old guys, with less Hellaflush people than out here. This year Hooniverse went, a lot of the same usual people showed up, and here are some of the more questionable mods:

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More here

And then there's this car, which is my favorite: :D

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