So after a number of Saabs, I bought my Miata in October. Totally new world for me. It's a '96 base model with 105k, completely stock (not for long, of course). Undoubtedly I'll have lots of random (read: dumb) questions and I'm going to contain them here. So let's start!
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Has anyone run the FM V-Maxx coilovers? Everything I've seen about them on M.net and Club Roadster has been "V-Maxx = cheap, junk, etc" or "FM sells them so they're probably good" with the exception of Keith, who gives actual info. Sounds like a decent street setup that's okay on the track, which is what I want. Just looking for some opinions from someone who's had some long term experience with them.
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What about Raceland headers? I already bought one based on decent/good reviews, but the more the merrier right? I want to use it with my stock cat back, fwiw.
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Roll bars. My car has an aftermarket(?) canvas top with a glass window. I don't know the specifics, but here's a pic:
Are there any roll bars with diagonals that are known to clear something like this?
So far the semi definitive plan for spring goes like this in no particular order:
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Timing belt/water pump (don't know when they were done last, so...)
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Aluminum radiator
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Fluids, filters, plugs, wires....
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Wheels and tires (15x8 ET20 Konig Wideopen, Maybe Yokohama S.Drives?
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Raceland header
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Brake pads (recommendations?), braided lines
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Probably dump the A/C while I've got the front of the engine bay torn apart
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FM V-Maxx's? With NB update.
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Racing Beat swaybars
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Roll bar
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Replace bushings with poly as needed.
Other stuff I want includes FM butterfly brace, frog arms, cosmetic stuff, intake?
So what am I an idiot for considering? What am I overlooking? Any advice for the Miata noob?
I had an OBX header that was decent, I had no complaints with it. I hear the Raceland is better so you should be fine with that.
I believe the Harddog rollbars for NBs fit with a glass window.
I guess I won't comment on the FM V-Maxx 
But if you look more closely, you'll find a 35-page thread on Miata.net with lots of feedback on how they work interspersed with the usual "are they in stock?" "how about now?" "how about NOW?" posts. I think the first reports come in around page 10. Basically, anyone who's tried the FM version has liked them a lot. Heck, two sets have done the Targa Newfoundland twice. Their report from the first year is on our site. We fixed their bottoming concerns with a higher ride height for the "heavy" car and we might have also increased their rear spring rate - I forget. We also have a few unsolicited reviews from customers on our website.
About the roll bar: yes, you can get the Hard Dog bars with the "Robbins mod" to the diagonals for clearance for an oversize glass window. It's $20 for double diagonals. A stock NB glass window (which fits inside a standard M2 Hard Dog bar) is 33.75" at the widest point at the bottom and 14" tall in the center. Bigger than that, Robbins diagonals for you!
The RB bars have too much of an understeer balance for me, but the front-heavy setups are popular amongst autocrossers who are usually in low gears.
Tire recommendations will depend on just how you're going to use the car. Same with brake pads, although I think the Porterfield R4S is as close as you can get to a "do anything" pad. It's what I run on my street Miata.
my a/c weighed 28lbs. Condensor, compressor, & plumbing.
fwiw
Personally, if you plan on dumping the a/c, my next suggestion would be de-powering the steering rack, if the car has PS.
i'd love to do that, but after reading the thread on motoiq on the subject i'm not sure if i want to go through the effort to do it right.
Keith wrote:
Tire recommendations will depend on just how you're going to use the car. Same with brake pads, although I think the Porterfield R4S is as close as you can get to a "do anything" pad. It's what I run on my street Miata.
R4Ss kick ass. I strongly second this recommendation.
Thanks for the responses.
EvanB - Noted. The OBX seemed to be the main comparison to the Raceland.
Keith - I must have gotten bored before pg10 Thanks for the link. I'll have to measure my window I guess! I haven't fully decided on the RB sways. May still go with FM, or something else, not sure yet. Kind of concerned about making it too tail happy, no RWD experience and don't want to get in over my head too quickly. As far as use... DD, spirited mountain runs, little bit of track.
belteshazzar - Sold.
Grafmiata - Have been meaning to look into that. A/C and PS are the only things this car has.
Oh yeah! Another thing that interests me:
- Impart thy wisdom on installing factory cruise control into a Miata not equipped with it?
Depends on how much of the wiring is already there. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's a pain. First thing I'd check would be to see if the throttle cable has the cruise hookup - IIRC, there's a second little mechanism on there that works counter to the normal pedal. At least, that's how I remember it. Basically, look to see if there's a place to hook up a second cable on the pedal in the footwell. If it's not there, you probably won't have the wiring either.
Unless you need a radiator because the old one gave up the ghost or is about to and you're planning massive power hikes, I'd postpone the change of the radiator.
If you're going to run on the track, it's good preventative maintenance. Those plastic end tanks crack when things start getting tough, and a 1996 radiator is old enough to get a driver's license. I heard from a customer who did the Silver State Challenge in his 1999 and blew a stock rad partway through. Oops.
Regarding the raceland header..
I got one for christmas (Thanks mom!).
welds look really good
coating seems good, but have heard that it can get surface rusted in normal service.
some of the junctures have overlap on the inside of the tube, not the best case for flow, but not terrible (read, not as bad as the weld-choke points in the stock stuff, not by a longshot)
Keeping in mind that it has what I would guess 90% of the performance advantage of the expensive ones at half the price, I wanted it.
I am gathering parts to do a full system upgrade on mine and wont have it installed for awhile. (need a muffler and high-flow cat in addition to piping) (with 160k on the stock system, its due for replacement, with a leaky resonator)
Will make a note to look around for the CC stuff.
The rad is relatively cheap peace of mind. As pointed out, 1996 was a long time ago. Plus, what better time to replace a rad then when I'm doing the timing belt/water pump?
belteshazzar wrote:
i'd love to do that, but after reading the thread on motoiq on the subject i'm not sure if i want to go through the effort to do it right.
Do you have a link to that? I'd like to read it.
Here's one thing you can read. It's not that much of an effort really.
http://flyinmiata.com/tech/depower.php
http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/1709/project-miatabusa-part-5--de-powering-the-steering-rack.aspx
there's a couple extra steps in the motoiq article i guess
Yeah, some people write to make things sound complicated, others write to make it sound easy The only real difference is welding up the pinion. The difference in disassembly of the rack is related to the year of manufacture, by the way.
So tires. This is the race car/show car/ summer DD/etc. I'm thinking something along the lines of Star Specs or RS-3's. Unfortunately the smallest size for the RS-3 is 225/45/15, whereas I would buy 195 or 205/50/15 Star Specs. Going on a 15x8 ET20.
My thoughts are that a 225 is going to be more tire than a stockish Miata really "needs" and thus is just extra weight. Then there's the whole fender clearance thing (?). BUT the RS-3's would be like $50-$60 less, and I'm cheap.
What other obvious tire choice am I overlooking? What would you do?
The Dunlop is a great tire. It's become a favorite at FM.
If you're going to see cooler weather, add the Toyo R1R to that list. It comes in the fatter size but it's happier over a wider temperature range.
In fact, I happen to have 6 used ones in my garage at home that are taking up space. Lots of life left in 'em, I just don't have enough cars and wheels to mount them all up right now. Four of them were my development tires for the Targa, the other two were used during the race and were pulled off so I could use the wheels for something else. We could probably come to an arrangement if you are interested.
Interested. I imagine shipping to 05448 is going to hurt, but how much are you thinking?
So, um, been driving it for a couple weeks now due to the exceptionally mild winter and spring.
I picked up a used set of 15x8 ET36 6ULs. Then proceeded to wrap them in 205/50 Star Specs (RS3's backordered until April).
The only issue I've had is an intermittent (it's done it twice now) very rough idle on a hot start. It will pretty much idle on 3 cylinders, but clear up above ~2000 RPM. Drive away and it's absolutely fine.
note on the raceland header.. you have to modify the EGR crossover tube as the angle is different. Be ready for several times on and off the car with the crossover EGR tube to get it right. I have a spare engine sitting in the shop that made it easy to modify the tube.. Install in the car to come later.
^Noted, thanks for the tip.
