Miata Mods and Cats
02-16-2016, 09:38 PM
#1
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 179
Total Cats: 29
Miata Mods and Cats
I've been content just lurking here for a while but I've finally admitted to myself that I'm really going to try and turbo my car so I thought I'd go ahead and get the first post out of the way. Here's my life story:
Decided to get a Miata last spring. I really wanted a black and tan NB, and after a couple months of looking I finally found one on craigslist.
It definitely wasn't perfect:
The smart thing to do would've been to pass and wait for a cleaner car but my excitement got the better of me and I brought it home.
I knew it was leaking some oil, but the amount was rather surprising.
At this point I'd never worked on a car before so doing my own repairs was way too intimidating. Brought it to a local Mazda race shop and had a bunch of repairs maintenance done: cam seals, crank seal, timing belt, water pump. It also had no muffler so I got a RacingBeat power pulse.
The original plan was to just buy a beater convertible, get it running reliably and not spend much on it. Didn't turn out that way.
I decided to fix the rear back end so it looked less beat up. Found a black trunk lid on craigslist and a black rear bumper on eBay. I couldn't just leave that cracked tail light in there while I was swapping the bumper so I might as well just get a new one. I liked the NB2 tail lights better, so why not upgrade since I'm already replacing one?
The front bumper was also damaged. Since the NB2 headlights are much better it was the perfect excuse to pick up a pair and swap them in.
It was looking pretty decent at this point. Got a few good road trips in. Unfortunately the car had some overheating problems on a trip to Death Valley in August. It sucked so much I said never again and went overboard upgrading the cooling system.
Picked up a Flyin Miata stage 2 airflow kit, crossflow radiator, m-tuned reroute and all new hoses.
Swapped the radiator in my apartment parking lot. Not ideal but I'd started to like working on the car and saving money on labor meant I could afford better parts.
There were so many awesome threads on here about how to install the reroute that I was able to pull it off. Even with all the guides it's not something I want to do twice.
A stray that lived in the parking lot always kept me company while I worked on the car.
She even started sleeping on the soft top at night
After awhile she was coming in and hanging out
And somewhere along the way she just became my cat. Brought her with me when I moved in with my gf.
Still trying to make her get along with my gf's cat
Bonus kitten: A few weeks ago we found a kitten while parking on the street at night. He ran right up to us and followed us home. They can smell suckers from a mile away.
3 cats is bordering on an unreasonable number of cats so we gave the little guy to a friend.
Anyway back to the Miata.
Now that cooling is sorted, next up is the suspension. I picked up a full set of used control arms and I've been leisurely removing the bushings from them. Once I get them all out I'll put in a set of IL motorsports rubber bushings. I'm planning on picking up a set of Flyin Miata Fox coilovers in the next couple of months, so I'll just swap the arms when I'm installing those. I'll also replace these old all season tires with G-Force Sport Comp-2.
After the suspension is sorted out then I'll start collecting turbo parts. I still know next to nothing and I'm not sure how I want to deal with CA smog so I'm putting it off for now. Looking to make about 180, maybe 200 whp.
If I picked up a Begi kit with a 2560R I could get an exemption sticker since my car is a 1999, but I'd like to use the MegaSquirt PNP Pro for engine management along with larger injectors which wouldn't be covered under exemption order. I don't mind swapping parts for smog but I'm nervous about getting pulled over.
Anyway, that's it. Thanks!
Decided to get a Miata last spring. I really wanted a black and tan NB, and after a couple months of looking I finally found one on craigslist.
It definitely wasn't perfect:
The smart thing to do would've been to pass and wait for a cleaner car but my excitement got the better of me and I brought it home.
I knew it was leaking some oil, but the amount was rather surprising.
At this point I'd never worked on a car before so doing my own repairs was way too intimidating. Brought it to a local Mazda race shop and had a bunch of repairs maintenance done: cam seals, crank seal, timing belt, water pump. It also had no muffler so I got a RacingBeat power pulse.
The original plan was to just buy a beater convertible, get it running reliably and not spend much on it. Didn't turn out that way.
I decided to fix the rear back end so it looked less beat up. Found a black trunk lid on craigslist and a black rear bumper on eBay. I couldn't just leave that cracked tail light in there while I was swapping the bumper so I might as well just get a new one. I liked the NB2 tail lights better, so why not upgrade since I'm already replacing one?
The front bumper was also damaged. Since the NB2 headlights are much better it was the perfect excuse to pick up a pair and swap them in.
It was looking pretty decent at this point. Got a few good road trips in. Unfortunately the car had some overheating problems on a trip to Death Valley in August. It sucked so much I said never again and went overboard upgrading the cooling system.
Picked up a Flyin Miata stage 2 airflow kit, crossflow radiator, m-tuned reroute and all new hoses.
Swapped the radiator in my apartment parking lot. Not ideal but I'd started to like working on the car and saving money on labor meant I could afford better parts.
There were so many awesome threads on here about how to install the reroute that I was able to pull it off. Even with all the guides it's not something I want to do twice.
A stray that lived in the parking lot always kept me company while I worked on the car.
She even started sleeping on the soft top at night
After awhile she was coming in and hanging out
And somewhere along the way she just became my cat. Brought her with me when I moved in with my gf.
Still trying to make her get along with my gf's cat
Bonus kitten: A few weeks ago we found a kitten while parking on the street at night. He ran right up to us and followed us home. They can smell suckers from a mile away.
3 cats is bordering on an unreasonable number of cats so we gave the little guy to a friend.
Anyway back to the Miata.
Now that cooling is sorted, next up is the suspension. I picked up a full set of used control arms and I've been leisurely removing the bushings from them. Once I get them all out I'll put in a set of IL motorsports rubber bushings. I'm planning on picking up a set of Flyin Miata Fox coilovers in the next couple of months, so I'll just swap the arms when I'm installing those. I'll also replace these old all season tires with G-Force Sport Comp-2.
After the suspension is sorted out then I'll start collecting turbo parts. I still know next to nothing and I'm not sure how I want to deal with CA smog so I'm putting it off for now. Looking to make about 180, maybe 200 whp.
If I picked up a Begi kit with a 2560R I could get an exemption sticker since my car is a 1999, but I'd like to use the MegaSquirt PNP Pro for engine management along with larger injectors which wouldn't be covered under exemption order. I don't mind swapping parts for smog but I'm nervous about getting pulled over.
Anyway, that's it. Thanks!
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02-17-2016, 02:23 PM
#9
Elite Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: NorthWest NJ
Posts: 1,821
Total Cats: 141
You don't pick/have a cat, they pick/have you.
If you go with the BEGI kit for the exemption, I don't think anyone who will be checking on the side of the road will be able to see you have swapped the ecu/injectors.
If you go with the BEGI kit for the exemption, I don't think anyone who will be checking on the side of the road will be able to see you have swapped the ecu/injectors.
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02-17-2016, 09:13 PM
#10
Junior Member
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iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 179
Total Cats: 29
Thanks for all the welcome posts, guys. Have a video of our cat:
That's what I'm hoping. The kit will certainly cost more than buying pieces individually but honestly it might be worth it to me just to have something to show to LAPD/CHP on the off chance I have to pop my hood for them. I have a while to think about it.
That's what I'm hoping. The kit will certainly cost more than buying pieces individually but honestly it might be worth it to me just to have something to show to LAPD/CHP on the off chance I have to pop my hood for them. I have a while to think about it.
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