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leica posted:Mad props to meatpimp for defending the Miata's honor in helldump. Yeah, "Miatas are gay" reeks of  Kinda like the attention I've given to my Miata this year. It's seen about 10 miles, other than the 100 it spent on a trailer when I brought it to our new house. Now it's sitting under a cover, waiting for next spring.
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Oct 12, 2007 00:58
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EVERYWHERE 
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amadeo posted:Differential questions. There are a couple parts to the diff swap. Easiest way to do it is to swap the differential carrier, along with the axles and driveshaft. It took me a few hours when I did it to my '92, with the biggest problem being an axle that had nearly seized in the hub. Make sure you get the axles from the same year (preferably the same car) as the donor of the differential. I'd say 300-500 in labor would be reasonable at a shop. The diff with axles I've seen anywhere from $400-1000. So, if you do the work yourself, you could do it for $400 or so, up to $1500 to have a shop do the work. I'm sure a number of shops would charge MUCH more than that, but it's really not a lot of work. Know that on the front end.
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Oct 12, 2007 02:36
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amadeo posted:Okay, so do keep in mind I don't have any idea of what I'm talking about. There's a difference because there can be a huge gap in the cost of the parts. Re-read my post, I didn't say 400, 400 was the low part of the range. It depends on what parts you find and when. quote:
Pretty safe buying used, the Torsen LSDs have proven just about indestructable up to about 280-300whp. quote:And finally, because of the bulk price of this upgrade, I would like to put it off for a little while, but I'd still like to upgrade my car soon. Is putting a turbo in my car without changing the differential going to kill it? Thanks for the answer on the exhaust systems. And thanks for the differential swap info so far. Won't hurt at all. The stock 1.6l open differentials have taken turbo abuse for years and are ok... they can and do break, but even if they do, you were planning on replacing the diff, anyway. 
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Oct 12, 2007 03:11
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. Are the axles going to be more? I assume that I'm not going to get them with the differential. Is this a job that someone as inexperienced as I am could do within a day, or over a weekend's time? (I live with my wife, and my friend. We each have a car. We each have jobs - It's not an easy thing to not have a car for even a few days.)
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iscariot posted:I just did my top 2 months ago or so. Robbins, vinyl, zip out window, rain rail attached. Top notes: I put a Robbins cloth top on (Robbins makes vinyl tops, too -- to be clear the cloth tops are MUCH better looking than the vinyl ones, regardless of manufacturer). It was a project I poked around with during hte winter. Nothing difficult, just took some time. For cheap, though, I've heard good things about the eBay vinyl tops. On the transmission -- the 1.6 should work, but why? There was a running change that beefed up the synchros for second gear, so it's worth it to look for a later one just for that fact. I've completely torn out second gear in an early transmission -- it's not pretty.
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Oct 12, 2007 11:13
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Ize posted:Probably this: http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=5652&parentid=0&stocknumber=20-28020 Yep, the HArd Dog rollbars are pretty much the standard. Bethania Garage is very accommodating to 1-off versions, too. On my '92 I had them make a Hard Core Hardtop without the diagonals. Fit perfectly with the hardtop, great visibility. Now that I have a car that has dual diagonals, though, I have grown to like the look. Keep in mind, though, (other than this one) few roll bars are going to allow you to have a glass rear window... one of the trade-offs for keeping your head intact.
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Oct 12, 2007 18:31
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Break. posted:I have a 2001 NB and I installed a BEGi (Bell Engineering) Turbo kit with a T2860RS. That kit took my little C-Stock MX-5 and made it into a little monster. Nice! Lose the MAF and get the Hydra standalone computer with MAP sensor... removes a restriction and you'd probably see another 30whp+ with a tune!
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Oct 18, 2007 00:47
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Pimpsolo posted:
Last time I put a transmission in, it took me less than 45 minutes. You can pick those transmissions up for under $200. It's an afternoon job and the only "extra" tools you need are a set of socket extensions that will get you about 20" of extension and a wobble. Even if you weren't to do it yourself, you should be able to find someone to swap the transmission for about $200, getting you a new transmission, installed, for about $400. quote:
Until I sold the hardtop, I had a black hardtop on my red car. Gave it a very cool look and, if I would have kept the top, I was going to paint the windshield header black to give it a cohesive look. I think a black top would work with most colors. There are some color combinations that would really look terrible, though.
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Oct 18, 2007 20:53
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about transmission
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Psylocibe posted:
Miatas are dead-slow dogs stock. There's simply no getting around that. Soccer moms in minivans will toast stock Miatas from a light. However, if you turbocharge them, they become totally different beasts. The chassis is fully capable of the increase in power and you're very quickly into sports car / supercar territory. Seriously. 250whp in a 2200lb car is easily reachable for under $5000 or so.
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Oct 22, 2007 11:34
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masteez posted:Is this serious? Miata specialist for an oil change? They have specialists for $7,000 cars? It's a loving oil change.. on a cheap car. I really doubt a "miata specialist" is all that nescessary for an oil change. Troll much? And it's spelled "necessary." Anyway... as mentioned above, the filter is the only part that's of any difficulty. On the 1/6 cars there's a brace that goes from the block to the manifold that makes it even more tight, but that brace can be removed and left off with no ill effects. I've never gone through the wheelwell, always just shoved my arm down between the manifold and frame rail and I've never had any issue, apart from a couple scrapes.
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Oct 22, 2007 19:14
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Phone posted:Anybody have the "Lanny Alignment" on their Miata? -1.2 up from and -1.7 in the rear for camber. Right now I'm running .3 in the front and -.7 in the back and the car understeers like a pig. I had that alignment done to my '92 way back in '99. I had it done by a pro on a hunter laser machine they had just spent big $$$ on. That car was perfectly neutral everywhere, and the bonus was that I wore out two sets of tires and the wear was poker-straight over the surface of all the tires.
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Nov 1, 2007 12:26
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Ize posted:Edit 2: what kind of whp *typically* nets high 13's in the quarter? A bit over 200? I know Miatas aren't drag cars but I will be able to hit the strip more often than the local autocrosses and VIR. Back in '99 I was running a 1.6l with the FMII kit of the time (no temperature compensation, no balanced fuel rail, etc.) At 15psi I was running high 13s at 103-104mph with a slow 2.2 60ft. Over the years, I upgraded and the car got faster and I actually ran LESS boost... more simply wasn't necessary. Educated butt dyno would say 215-225whp from that car back then. That car looks kinda cute now. A built 1.6 with big turbo and 19+psi is a totally different beast.
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Nov 10, 2007 02:54
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destructo posted:Thinking of getting the mudflaps for my NA, painted, unpainted, or none at all? Smaller, painted. Makes a big difference in rain splash and such.
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Nov 17, 2007 20:35
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Well, due to an expanding family and other needs, the Miata is going to have to go in the Spring. For those that don't know, I bought the Miata that inspired Miata.net, Gary Fischman's "Max" from another AI guy after it had been stolen and partially stripped. The story is in the SA archives and the car's history was told when it was Miata of the Month last year: http://miata.net/motm/2007/max.html This car is one of the few Miatas out there that has a history significant enough to add to its value. Along with being Gary's car, it is also the only Miata that has been MOTM twice. The good -- it's FAST. It's got a fully built 1.6l motor that I'm running at about 18PSI and it is balls fast. I didn't get it to the track, but it laughs at my dad's LS2 GTO. Put your foot down in second gear at 40mph and it will break the tires loose with no clutch play, just simple power overload. The engine, drivetrain and suspension are built with all the "right stuff." The not-so-good -- it's got a nice cloth top, but it's seen some wear and there are a couple near-holes. It generally needs finished. I got it to 90%+ and just started driving it, so there are a number of random trim and tuning issues. The only operational problem is a "dead spot" at about 5000rpm under full throttle. I'm sure this is just a tuning issue, but I haven't even looked at the keypad to see what's up. See, when I got the car I had much more free time to myself and not so much in the family-obligation arena. As time went on, this car was the first thing that saw no attention. Since the MOTM writeup the car hasn't seen more than 250 miles.  The bad -- the driver's rear fender. It is pushed in and the paint is scraped off. You can see it in the MOTM cover picture. I was going to just get some fender flares and that would cover the majority of the problem. Other than that, there are two tiny rust bubble areas on the bottom lip of the trunklid, but other than that, the car is completely solid. Also, the frame rails underneath are pretty dented up. I was intending on doing an FM Butterfly Brace, which would help tremendously, but ran out of time and inclination. As it is, I don't really care if I sell it now or in the Spring. I'm not posting it anywhere but AI right now, but if you're interested in making an offer, shoot me an email to meatpimp at gmail.
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Nov 12, 2008 13:49
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-1 from the Miata Army. For the first time since 1997 I'll be without at least one Miata... I was getting "Max" ready for sale this morning and found the source of the gas smell that had been in the garage for a few weeks -- apparently the previous owner patched a gash in the gas tank with putty... the gas found its way out. I had no inclination of fixing it, so I got it all ready and did a full-disclosure auction on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1990-Mazda-Miata-Max-Turbo-Project-Car_W0QQitemZ160315240065 and it was gone in less than 6 hours. I'm a little surprised, but it is a unique car...
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Feb 11, 2009 04:18
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Hypnolobster posted:Holy poo poo you sold it. I was going to more widely advertise it, but the gas leak took it to a different place for me. Until yesterday I didn't know there was a putty repair to the gas tank.  With that, I really had to do it as an "as is" sale so I just wrote it all up and put it on eBay... I had no idea of its value, but drat it sold quickly.
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Feb 11, 2009 11:29
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Well, the guy came and picked up my car today. So I'm officially Miata-less for the first time in over 10 years... c'est la vie... I've got a number of parts that I'll dig through and see if anything's worth selling, but one thing I figured I'd put here before eBaying -- I've got a brand new BEGI divorced wastegate stainless downpipe for a 1.6l car. Same as here: http://www.bellengineering.net/product_info.php?cPath=5_16&products_id=235 $300 shipped if anyone wants it.
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Feb 15, 2009 01:11
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Grayham posted:How much of an issue is traction in a Miata with that much power and those tires? They hook up surprisingly well. My old car with a built 1.6 with a decent-sized turbo running 18-20psi (275+whp), and regular performance tires, could keep traction with a minimum of throttle modulation. If you wanted wheelspin, though, it was available at any legal speed with the right gear/throttle application. That's in the dry, of course. In the wet, any boost = wheelspin. Blaise -- you'll get used to it and want to turn it up higher.
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Nov 8, 2011 21:04
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Blaise posted:Ha. Thanks. I also got used to my 92whp and was happy til now Power corrupts, even in car form. I think there are a lot of variables with the powertrain crapping out. The early differentials will die with a turbo. My '92 blew its up several months after turbo install. My '90 had a Torsen rear in place when I got it. My '92 chewed up second gear and I put a '99 transmission in and never had any more problems. I have no idea what was in my '90, the second owner had a couple spares and I don't know what happened with the two owners between me and him. I didn't have a problem with the transmission, though, even with frequent use of 18+psi. I try to show some mechanical empathy to cars, though... no speed shifts or clutch drops.
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Nov 8, 2011 21:39
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jodys posted:My 2000 has a Jackson M45 supercharger (installed several owners ago and about 70,000 miles ago). I tied down the bypass--effectively cutting the supercharger out of the loop and my chincy phone app dynometer shows a loss of about 20hp compared to the supercharger running (same stretch of road, accelerating to 65 or so). Admittedly I'm up in the stratosphere in Colorado, but I feel like I should get more from the M45. As far as I can tell everything else is stock in the Miata (no fuel modifications.) What would the cheapest next step be to get a bit more power from the M45? Or is +20hp at 5000ft from a 10 year old supercharger about what I should expect? I put a JR supercharger on a 2003. It had JR electronics, including BTC, and an overdrive pulley. It took the car from "dog slow" to "just a bit quicker than dog slow." I can't speak to elevation change effects or validity of a "phone dyno", but your best bet would be to put an overdrive pulley on and see if that helps.
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Jan 1, 2012 17:33
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TrueChaos posted:Nappa in the next town over has one, woo! Only far too much money but it's cheaper than paying for a boost every morning until one comes in... Just be nice to the staff at Napa and your price can change dramatically. I went there to get a battery for the Volvo a couple months ago, their price was $149. I asked them to "put it on a good account" and they rang it up on the account of the city maintenance department. Totalled just over $100 after tax.
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Jan 16, 2012 18:20
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I need to get some random 1.6 Miata parts gone -- a NOS OEM head gasket, '92 ECU and a set of Magnecor plug wires. I'll stick a picture in the for sale thread. $80 for everything.
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Jan 20, 2012 15:31
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aventari posted:It's not a cheap ebay intake anyway, it looks like a Monsterflow intake which are CARB legal and pretty pricey The repaint is enough. The eBay accessories are the crowning glory.
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Feb 4, 2012 00:10
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Phone posted:Looks like 195/60R14s to me. You can tell the size from a 300x225 side-shot craigslist picture? 
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Mar 5, 2012 00:52
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Grayham posted:It sounds like its the entire diff and housing. Then that's a crazy good deal.
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Mar 6, 2012 11:58
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DreamOn13 posted:Rocker rust? Crushed me when I found that on mine.
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Mar 7, 2012 02:40
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Konrad posted:If your rockers are color matched, doesn't that mean the car has been painted? I thought the the lower 3-4 inches were all black from the factory. That was only the first few years (and the texture in the paint is definitely factory). And leica, that's some good rot there. Good news is that your rockers are self-draining now. When I found the rot on mine I talked to some of the big Miata names and one of the guys at FM characterized its effect as "making it handle like a wet noodle." It's a difficult repair, too. The good news is that you can stiffen it back up with the FM butterfly brace and repair (or cover) as you wish. meatpimp fucked around with this message at 12:15 on Mar 7, 2012 |
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Mar 7, 2012 12:13
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leica posted:I'm scared to start tearing into mine, I'm just praying it's not too bad behind the sheet metal. Your passenger side isn't bad. The driver's side may have some goodies underneath. I was thinking full butterfly brace when I had my car. That TSB linked above was from '94. How in the gently caress did I miss that? I ran the damned Garage section of miata.net and was into Miata stuff hard core from '97-07. HOW did I miss that? If I had seen that TSB I may have saved mine from the rot. Then again, I never worried about it, since it spent its entire life in a heated garage... such a bummer.
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Mar 8, 2012 14:55
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On the motor swap -- really don't. There's not enough power difference to nearly justify the time/expense. On the top -- I put a Robbins top with a tinted rear window in my car. Easy install and the cloth is so much nicer than the crap vinyl that it's a no-brainer if you're going to go through the effort to change the top out. You can also just change the rear window section out if you want to keep the rest of the top and not deal with complete replacement.
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Mar 20, 2012 22:08
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leica posted:I dunno, for me the 1.8 BP is a better motor than the 1.6, it just feels better and pulls harder. Put a light flywheel on it and it will rev just like the 1.6 if that's what you like about it. I'm kinda biased about the BP though, it's one of my favorite motors. He's already got a turbo car, everything else feels slow. The "difference" between the two motors is like 3 psi on a turbo car... you notice it, but not much.
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Mar 20, 2012 22:45
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First Time Caller posted:I destroyed my pristine 6ul finish today with some white engine enamel paint. I should probably not be allowed around cars. Don't worry, that paint isn't destroyed, it only looks that way from the hipster photo effect.
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May 6, 2012 22:48
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Viper915 posted:It's here! But due to something that sprung up at work, I won't be able to install it until mid August Nice set. The FM rear spring perches made such a difference that that it should be considered a necessary part for anyone that lowers an early Miata.
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Jun 20, 2012 15:05
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leica posted:Your head will crack like a melon if it bounces off it? Haha, is this conjecture, or has this happened? It was always a worry of mine when I had cars with that bar, especially the hardtop-capable version.
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Jun 22, 2012 16:23
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Beach Bum posted:So I have rod knock now. I just finished the cooling system refresh and a new timing belt. Oil pressure never moved (and is still good), oil level is fine, but it is definitely knocking. Joy. This is a reman engine too, only three years old. That doesn't sound very good.
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Mar 31, 2014 11:40
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Spray it red to cover it for now and, like leica said, troll eBay and the forums and find someone that has a take-off part. They're around and red is super-common and the chances of a straight match are pretty good.
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May 6, 2014 11:45
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Pull up the left headlamp lid.
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May 7, 2014 01:20
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Yeah, Torsens are an easy and worthwhile upgrade. Most everyone knows that they're desirable, so it's tough to find one cheap, but still... worth it. Easy swap that can be done with the rear of the car on jackstands.
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May 14, 2014 13:11
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Beach Bum posted:Is there a quick and dirty way to tell if there is a Torsen in the car? I have a 95 with leather and I hear that's pretty much a sure thing. Easiest way is to call Mazda and give them the VIN, they'll tell you if it was originally equipped with a Torsen or not (or crappy viscous LSD if it's a pre-94ish car). Nocheez posted:Can you just jack up the rear end and spin one wheel by hand? If the other turns in the same direction, you have an LSD. I don't remember enough to say conclusively, but I don't think that works with the TORque SENsing LSDs, I think there is some type of torque differential required to get it to engage. Again, I may be wrong. That trick worked for the LSD in the MR2 I just sold, though, both wheels turned same direction, LSD confirmed.
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May 14, 2014 14:53
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Rhyno posted:Water on the floor seems to be clogged drains 99% of the time so let's hope this will do it. Be ready to cut the carpet if you're still planning on replacing it. Even in NAs the carpet was put down first, before the console and before the dash -- both of which would need to be removed if you want to remove/replace the carpet in one piece.
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May 15, 2014 23:07
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blk posted:10 days and not only do I want a LSD in the NA, but also more power. That didn't last long. Normally aspirated Miatas are dogs. Well-boosted Miatas are sublime.
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May 16, 2014 16:12
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Is that center outlet?
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May 17, 2014 18:20
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