For brake pads, check out Carbotech. They make brake pads for both Spec Miata and street Miatas. Some of the best in the Biz. Hawk is pretty good too. If you get Carbotech pads, it wouldnt hurt for the rotors to be replaced either. The material on the Carbotech pads doesnt really like to be "mixed" with other pad materials on the rotors. Just giving out options.
Porsche money? What?
I'm doing nearly the same thing to my Miata and I figure ill have about $6k in it when done. Nowhere close to Porsche money or the more expensive upkeep.
And that includes the price of the car.
Heh, i think the cheapest Porsche i have any interest in would run a cool $50k. That would be one HELL of a Miata.
Well, of course I could build a turbo Miata for about $8k, given how much I paid for the car and how much the parts would cost - if I did it myself. There's a distinct lack of time at my end and if I had to pay someone to do it then we're back into old aircooled 911 territory.
My comment was more along the lines of "if I need more power, I'll just buy a car with more power instead". Plus at some point I want another 911 anyway.
It's difficult to keep a turbo Miata down to only a 30% power increase 
We have a car at FM that cost a total of about $11,000. Suspension, power (more than doubled over stock), chassis stiffening, safety gear and the purchase price of the car. All parts that can be bolted on at home. And it's a very, very fast little track toy that can (and has) be driven halfway across the country.
As for chassis stiffness, the only people I've come across who don't think it's important are autocrossers. In that arena of low speeds, high rates of acceleration and smooth surfaces, the extra weight can be a problem. Of course, if you increase the stiffness by seam welding or clever use of materials, then you end up with more precise handling.
A flexible chassis can act like a spring, and it's a big unnamed spring. There is no benefit to that. Using big springs and indifferent shocks on such a chassis leads to a very imprecise, rough riding car that can't deal with rough pavement or curb hopping, even if it's being driven by an amateur. That's the "any suspension will work if you don't let it" school of chassis tuning, and the only real advantage to it is that it's cheap and easy. I've seen improved chassis stiffness lead to improved lap times due to the better car control and greater traction that comes from having the tires in contact with the ground. Obviously, you don't want to go completely bonkers with weight gain due to chassis stiffness, but a reasonable gain for a significant improvement in stiffness is worthwhile.
Amateur drivers can have good tools as well.
BoxheadTim wrote: It's also a helmet clearance issue - on the stock seat I barely clear the hardtop with a helmet on my bonce.
You could always perform a "foamectomy" on your stock seat(s) - basically, cut some of the foam out of the bottom, and/or remove a piece of foam from the back, so that you sit a little bit lower in the stock seat. I've driven many miles in seats modified this way, and if anything I find it more comfortable than stock. You still have enough padding, but by sitting deeper into the seat it cradles you a bit more and gives your body better support during hard cornering.
Best of all, it costs nothing, except maybe a cheap electric carving knife to trim the foam out of the seat bottom. 
There's a good detailed write-up of this on Miata.net.
Beyond that - what Keith said.
I'll have to look into the foamectomy at some point, I guess...
Anyway, I have a couple more questions. I swapped out the clutch slave today as the one on the car had gone from slight drips to definitely leaky and the gear change seemed to have suffered as a result.
First problem was getting the thing to bleed properly - my one man bleeder wouldn't hook onto the bleed nipple correctly so we ended up turning into family entertainment with the wife pumping the pedal and me swearing under the car. I'm not sure that we got all the air out, but the pedal feels more positive.
The problems I'm still having, even though they are a little less pronounced now, are:
Neither of the three 1.6s I've owned in the past have had these sorts of issues with the gearbox. Any guesses if they're more likely to be clutch related or do I get to buy the Miata an overhauled gearbox in the not too distant future? With 125k I'm guessing the OEM clutch is on its last legs and it doesn't look like it's ever been changed.
And another couple of newbie questions as both are jobs I haven't done before on a Miata:
I think your high engagement point is directly related to a stock clutch with 125k.
Stick that MTL in the 'box and get back to us.
The other end of the clutch hose is on the firewall behind the intake manifold. Right by the AC lines.
To fill the gearbox, I use one of those giant syringes. Only a small dribble gets left behind.
OK, the suction gun I have is basically one of those "giant syringes". BTW, the end of the clutch hose I found is the one you label as "the other end". I'm looking for the other other end .
Well, that's the end of the hose AWAY from the slave cylinder. The other is attached to a bracket mounted on the bellhousing. It's about 10" inboard and 6" down from the one you've found.
BoxheadTim wrote: The plan was to fit the frame rails and possibly the butterfly brace first, then maybe add the Boss Frog arms at a later stage. I assume that a proper rollbar (most likely a Hard Dog) will also stiffen up the rear of the chassis?
If you get the HD roll bar I suggest you get the HD door bars too. My '95 was a scary wet noodle on the track with SM suspension and no extra chassis bracing. I installed the butterfly brace and door bars together, and they made a significant difference in steering accuracy. My guess is the door bars offer a little more bang than the butterfly based on their outboard location, but it's only a guess. Any center section chassis bracing you can get in there will help.
I just de-installed all my HD stuff in favor of a cage, too bad you're so far away.
Shipping via Greyhound might not be that expensive, but driving over to pick them up is probably out of the question .
BoxheadTim wrote: - Any tips/tricks for filling the gearbox? I have a suction gun but obviously that's going to sit lower than the fill plug on the 'box so some oil is going to remain in the gun. I have enough MTL to make up for that but any tips on how to do this job are welcome.
Gearbox & rear end - cheap garden sprayer and cut the spray tip off. Dump a gallon or 2 in there and you're good for a couple of changes. I just leave them 1/2 filled and labeled 'til next time. Those mightyvac type jobbies (suction gun?) are more for hand exercise than anything else.
Brake & clutch bleed - a vacuum bleeder makes it a one man job.
Suction gun.
MTL is now successfully syringed into the transmission. The fluid that came out of it was nasty (it had a distinct "military green" tinge and you could see there was a large amount of crap floating in it. The diff wasn't in much better shape, the fluid that came out was nice and black...
I can now change in an out of second gear with a cold transmission . Changing both up and down into third still seems to be a two-step affair when the trans is cold but the gear goes in much better. There is no "busted syncro" noise, just the feeling that you're almost hitting two stops on the way in. Gets much better once the transmission gets properly hot, though.
I only replaced the trans fluid in the turret and the shifter boots so I think it might be time for a rebuild of the shifter itself. I've got the two teflon washers on order with the local Mazda emporium, but they couldn't find the Mazdaspeed shifter bushing Woody recommended earlier in this thread so I guess I'll need another source for that.
I believe the Mazdaspeed bushing is really just this:
http://5xracing.com/i-8112553-5x-racing-mazda-miata-aluminum-shifter-bushing.html
You can also pay 4x the price for a Bronzoil Beatrush unit.
I don't know how much the Mazdaspeed variant costs.
According to Woody's post on the previous page, it's around ten bucks and thus much cheaper than the Beatrush one. Although I am wondering if Bronzoil would make a noticeable difference over aluminium (aside from the bigger hole in the wallet, that is).
In theory... the Bronzoil would make a difference. In practice, i'm not sold.
That said, i do have Corksport Bronzoil shifter bushings for the Escort. But that's just because the aluminum ones i found were NLA.
BoxheadTim wrote: I only replaced the trans fluid in the turret and the shifter boots so I think it might be time for a rebuild of the shifter itself. I've got the two teflon washers on order with the local Mazda emporium, but they couldn't find the Mazdaspeed shifter bushing Woody recommended earlier in this thread so I guess I'll need another source for that.
Don't sweat the metal bushing - it makes tougher to get into reverse and rumor has it they sometimes stick there once you're in. I've run it for several seasons (never stuck in reverse) and can say that it slightly sharpens an already very accurate shift throw.
Another thing to check while you're in there - the "bushing bucket" bolt that attaches to the shift rod. Can't remember if the '95 has the same setup, but my '01 came with an awfully sloppy side to side throw. I bought and installed new bushings/boots only to find that bolt was loose when I popped the top. Original bushings were fine, bolt was 100% of the problem.
Dashpot wrote: the metal bushing - it slightly sharpens an already very accurate shift throw.
This.
Do it if you're in there, because it's only ten bucks. The bronze one may be better, but we're splitting hairs at this point.
And: Mine (2) were difficult to get into reverse for about the first ten shifts and then the issue was forgotten.
I rebuilt my shifter assembly a while back, both boots and bushings...whole 9 yards. It's definitely worth it IMHO. The only benifit of the metal bushing over the Delrin plastic one is that it will last a lot longer. I plan on getting one myself in the very near future from 5X Racing (team discounts are always sweet) to replace the Delrin one I put in a while back.
Dashpot wrote:BoxheadTim wrote: I only replaced the trans fluid in the turret and the shifter boots so I think it might be time for a rebuild of the shifter itself. I've got the two teflon washers on order with the local Mazda emporium, but they couldn't find the Mazdaspeed shifter bushing Woody recommended earlier in this thread so I guess I'll need another source for that.Don't sweat the metal bushing - it makes tougher to get into reverse and rumor has it they sometimes stick there once you're in. I've run it for several seasons (never stuck in reverse) and can say that it slightly sharpens an already very accurate shift throw. Another thing to check while you're in there - the "bushing bucket" bolt that attaches to the shift rod. Can't remember if the '95 has the same setup, but my '01 came with an awfully sloppy side to side throw. I bought and installed new bushings/boots only to find that bolt was loose when I popped the top. Original bushings were fine, bolt was 100% of the problem.
Loc-tite could solve that problem
Right, I iz back with more questions. Given the number of Miatas I have owned in the past I feel I'm really asking some dumb questions but anyway...
There seems to be some very slight surging during acceleration up to about 3k rpm when the engine is lukewarm that never goes away completely but becomes barely noticeable. Poking around the Interwebs this is suggested to be either an issue with the coolant sensor at the back of the head or the O2 sensor, correct?
More concerning is that there is a lot of judder through the drivetrain in fourth gear (and only fourth gear) at around 50-ish mph. It gets worse under load, too, so going up the pass to work has me shaken, not stirred. For some reason the judder isn't that bad in either 3rd or 5th gear, although I can't really put it in fifth gear uphill under load for any sensible amount of time. It feels like a tire that's out of balance, but I'm pretty sure it isn't.
I had a quick look underneath, the PPF bolts are tight and the engine mounts look OK (but they also look like they're the originals so they might well be past it - the car has 125k on it). Any suggestions what to look at? Clutch is believed to be the original but I was thinking that if I'm putting too much torque through it and it's slipping, I should noticed that in both 3rd and 5th gear, too?
OK, quick update. Cleaning the throttle body - admittedly not 100% thoroughly, and I didn't clean the idle control valve - seems to have reduced the 4th gear judder I mentioned above.
However it's now developed a new fault - after I take the foot of the gas (say, at a light) the "idle" revs stick at about 1200-1400 for a good 10+ seconds before they drop down to the normal idle (around 750/800, and yes, I know I need to look into this). Any idea where to look for the "sticky" idle? Clean the TB again? Air leak?
You'll need to log in to post.
