Ahh, good point. Yeah take my comment with a grain of salt. I was running 205 NT05s on my car when I got rid of the PS. Definitely not the stickiest tires you could run, even on an N/A build.

I had problems at one point, with an overflow of PS fluid. IIRC it was a slight(?) overfill, took out some fluid to drop the level and increase the airspace in the reservoir, problem fixed. Note, I was running a PS cooler, so overheating the (slightly) reduced fluid was not an issue.

So I took the bbk out of the box and went through the parts and I thought man, that orange is ORANGE.. I put the rotor on the car and was hoping the wheel would hide more of it.. So my next natural question is has anyone painted their Supermiata rotor hats? Anodizing is a good protective coating but I'm wondering if paint will hold up being on the rotor and obviously being exposed to a whole lot of heat. I was thinking of black high temp spray paint, likely doing a coat of primer first. If I spray paint it the last thing I want to do is have it flaking off and looking like crap in just a few months. Anodizing supposedly does take paint well but figured I'm not the first person to not love the bright orange. Any suggestions are appreciated.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a98366aac6.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b6fe8fa0fe.jpg


It looks quite easy to remove the anodizing with easy off oven cleaner, but the coating is probably a good thing for the Al.

So progress has been steady. Working on the car here and there. I painted the SM rotor hats. Hopefully it sticks. The interwebs says painting over anodizing should stick but I'm worried about the heat. I did a coat of primer and then black high temp paint. On a green car the orange sticks out particularly badly and I couldn't stand it. Hopefully the paint doesn't flake horribly but if it does I'll tackle it later. At least it looks better for now.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7838761aa6.jpg

Next on this list is all the suspension bushings, hubs, and other suspension bits. I figured I'd start in the rear of the car. The driver's read hub was initially a PITA to remove. I thought I would just pop a slide hammer on and off it'd come. Fortunately it wasn't too bad. I realized the axle was stuck in the hub so I switched over to an air hammer. After going at it for a while it popped free. Then I went back to the slide hammer and the hub popped off. You definitely gotta really put in some work if it's stuck on there. I did the same thing on the passenger side except started with the air hammer and it all came off in 5 mins (it was less seized in the hub for sure). If you don't have an air hammer and it's stuck it could be a big pita. I did also try putting the axle nut on and smacking it with a hammer to free the axle but that didn't work for me.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1d24b18e30.jpg

For hubs I am running the Brofab front and rear hubs. Thus far, my only complaint is that the studs are different colors (black in the front and gold in the rear) but that's a pretty minor complaint. :D Instructions are very straightforward for installation. I opted to leave the rear dustshields off in the rear mainly because I couldn't be bothered to put them on. I'm not sure they make a big difference with or without anyway since the car is not a daily driver.

I borrowed a friend's baby press and while it worked for some things, it simply wasn't big enough for most of the bushings and installing the new hub. I brought it over to a friend's shop and I used his big boy press to press in the bearings and a few bushings. For the other bushings I used the threaded rod technique mentioned here. I will say the nice thing about the Miata bushings is the lack of an outter steel sleeve makes them so easy to remove/install. Hondas have an outter sleeve that is a sumabitch. Before installing the new bushings I did clean up the inner race on some control arms that had some rust. Fortunately the rust was pretty minor. I used a wirewheel and then applied some rust preventer to make sure it neutralized any rust. To install bushings I just apply some handsoap on the rubber bushings and inner race of the control arm and either pressed them in or used the threaded rod.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2541254b81.jpg
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Most of the arms went back in the car fine. On a couple the bushings were about a 1/16" off so I just used a simple C clamp to shift the bushing over so it fit between the chassis points. Here's the suspension mostly back together in the rear. I just used IL Motorsport bushings.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b86db11e2d.jpg

I got new reman rear calipers and stainless brake lines I'll install and install the new swaybar and the rear should be back together. I have fresh new alignment bolts as well. These are wear items on track cars. I'm using SM rear caliper brackets to use the larger rear sport rotors in the rear. I am also touching up a couple rust spots on the chassis I come across. I hit them with a sanding disc, then rust preventer, then primer and paint. The only annoying thing about using a rust remover is they say to wait 3 days before painting. Not too big a deal, but you can't do everything in one day. I did install some mazda comp motor mounts but there are no pictures to show.

The one decision I have been on the fence on is removing power steering. I've been thinking about keeping it as it'd make street driving and maneuvering easier but I'm leaning towards just depowering the rack at this point. I did some googling and the power steering system does have some issues on track and a depowered rack seems like a good way to just avoid these headaches. I'm a little surprised no one makes an underdrive pulley for the miata power steering pump but I guess that's just because people remove it. That might not be a bad partial solution. It seems like a bigger PS cooler is pretty much required if you want to keep PS as the pump just heats up the fluid too much. It seems like the "proper" depower is to remove the pinion and have it welded so that there's no slop in the mechanism. Anyone done a before and after? It looks like I can ship just the pinion to miatasource and they weld it and ship it back. I'm definitely leaning that way at this point as it'd be a big pita to do down the road. Also removing the PS would declutter a bunch of junk from the engine bay. I'm sure the 245's will add some good resistance and provide a nice workout while at slow speeds.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...76f627a874.jpg

Car’s looking good man! Just stay off the brakes and surely you won’t have to worry about the rotor hat paint lol. In for the results, I haven’t tried high heat paint on any brake components before.

My :2cents: on the depowered rack is that you likely won’t notice the difference between welded and non-welded pinion unless you try them back to back. I ran a non-welded pinion with a looped line, and then properly depowered rack and never felt like the steering was sloppy during that time. I then ended up getting a newer rack for cheap and depowered/welded that one. IMO, the welded pinion feels better/more precise, but it wouldn’t be a dealbreaker if I had to drive a car without it. It’s easy enough to get done while the rack is already apart that I’d do it again, though.

I ran my rack depowered with 205s, then 225s, and now 245s. To me, the resistance went up only marginally with tire size. It’s a bit of a pain to parallel park with, but once you’re moving over 5mph it’s easy enough to drive. And I don’t have a ton of upper body strength by any means lol.

Haha thx. Ya I'm not too hopeful to be completely honest but I think the orange just looks like shite on a green car and at least I don't have to look at the orange for now. I used high temp bbq type paint. I had a couple cans so just used that. I think the temp said 1200F? There are higher temp Rustoleum paints (2000F) but they have very specific instructions and require baking at higher temps (I want to say it said 400F or so?). The wife wouldn't be too happy about me putting some rotors in the oven and the fumes. lol We'll see how it does..

Thanks I really appreciate the input. :likecat: I removed power steering on my old hondas many yrs ago but I'm older and a puss now. I'm not a small guy and it's not my daily so it sounds like it should be fine on the street.. I'll probably be pulling the rack in the next week so I'll have to send out the pinion to get welded. Like you said, I might as well if I've got everything apart.

Haha, my dad used to do similar stuff like that. I'd come home and there'd be some sort of part baking in the oven and its counterpart sitting in the freezer to chill. Mom loved it :hsugh:
Yeah, I'd imagine those paint fumes aren't something you'd want wafting through your home lol.

Let us know how the depower and install goes but I think you'll be happy with the end result! Also before and after pics of your forearms!

Jk, it won't be that bad haha.

I'm probably too late with this, but if you haven't already replaced your alignment bolts, have a look at these: SPM HD alignment bolt thread

WRT de-powered steering, we've run ours that way for ~6 years on track, and it's not terrible but it can get tiring in a long session, depending on the track. My wife in particular wasn't overly happy about it, and I elected to go back to power steering (electric) with the K swap. We're both in our 50s, so YMMV depending on age and how many shoulder surgeries you've had... ;)

Damn of course they come out with new stronger bolts after I order a set..

Now you'll have backups after you buy the stronger bolts! :idea:

For those of you that track regularly does everyone pretty much run brake ducts? Question for you guys on wider rubber like 245's is there any rubbing with 3" ducts? Can you not go full lock? Since I have a 99 I don't have a nice foglight mounting spot for brake ducts but getting around to the front suspension and brakes I'm debating adding them before installing the brakes.

Anyone used just brake air guides from honed? https://honeddevelopments.com/produc...air-guide-kit/ I think these work but I don't see many pictures on their website and haven't seen any reviews. They are more popular on hondas but based on the pictures it looks like they are mounted a bit lower and into the airflow on hondas. On the miata it's not clear.

Regarding the rear brakes. I got some remanned calipers and of course one has some issues. The allen adjuster screw for the piston somehow is stripped (as in the allen part) and stuck in the hole.. *smh* I can't rotate it nor get it out. My understanding is I can't retract the piston fully without loosening this adjuster correct? I'm not sure if I should try and remover the caliper piston, drill it out and use an extractor and try to remove it that way, or some other method. I thought about just running it as is but I don't want to be stuck down the road if I swap pads and can't retract the piston. Any thoughts are appreciated. Normally they are just loose and fall out but this one is stuck in there..

Edit: I went back in the garage and messed with it for a bit and no luck, it seems to be semi-seized in the hole which is bizarre. Aren't they all just free floating? I applied some pb blaster, hammered on a torx bit that was snug but it just strips it more..
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7bbb8529d5.jpg

The driver's side rear I got back together mostly.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...06cdbe7a2a.jpg

I’m running 245 RT660s on 15x9’s on my car and don’t get rub at full lock. Routing is gonna be the biggest factor there, but it’s not hard to get them clear of the tires even with the intercooler tubing and everything else in the general vicinity.

Not sure what the general rule is for braking mods vs horsepower but I ran my Supermiata 11.75x1.1” BBK with no ducts at 210WHP, then added ducts once I bumped my power to ~250. Still haven’t run run into any squishy pedal issues so the systems seem to be doing their jobs. I think It’d be best to go BBK (especially because you can get ducts like Supermiata’s that are integrated and flow air right to where you want it) before adding brake ducts to stock brakes. Maybe others will chime in and say otherwise, though.

I’ve never tried retracting one of those rear caliper pistons without using an Allen, but don’t believe it’s possible. That’s a bummer about the caliper.

Good to hear the ducting doesn't rub even at full lock. I am definitely installing the BBK now. I got the Afco F88 kit from SM. The only debate was whether to add ducting now. I'll cross that bridge later. Just curious did you keep the stock dustshields when going to the BBK or remove them?

With a turbo car, I would definitely go with brake ducts.

I don't have any issues with the ducting rubbing, but I'm running 225s... I zip tied the duct hose to the sway bar to route them as far inboard as possible, but I also don't have any intercooler tubing to get in the way. I use clear vinyl tubing over the zip ties to keep them from abrading the tubing.


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Sorry to hear about your brake issues. I don't really have an answer for the retractor, it's been a long time since I messed with those. I considered 'Sport' calipers when upgrading my brakes (1.6 NA), but the diminishing availability and cost of the sport calipers led me to make the jump to FM's Powerlite rear brake kit. It was a little more money up front, but in the long run I've been very happy with them. The parking brake is kind of a joke, but the ease of pad swaps is fantastic.

Stock dust shields get removed when going to the BBK - nice because it saves you a step when you add ducts haha. Jealous you got the Afco kit. They dropped it right after I bought my SM F88 Wilwood kit haha.

Well it became pretty obvious that the caliper I got was a dud and it had to be replaced. Maybe I should have just kept the calipers I had? They seemed ok (although I'm pretty sure the driver's side ebrake mechanism didn't work properly). Don't fix what ain't broke as they say. I bought these remmaned calipers that appeared to be unused from someone who got them off Rockauto. Brand was Cardone and they were junk. :td:That's what I get for trying to save a few bucks. I tested the ebrake mechanism on the driver's side and realized it wasn't working either.. great.

So, I just bought a couple remanned calipers from Advance auto parts. Nice thing is they're local and if they're shite I can just bring them back. Well, good news is I got a good passenger side. The ebrake mechanism works perfectly as well as the 4mm allen adjusting mechanism. You snug the 4mm till the piston locks the rotor, then back it off a bit. Easy enough. Unfortunately the driver's side e brake mechanism doesn't seem to work. The 4mm allen seems finicky and sort of works, but the ebrake lever doesn't. Great.. At this point I'm about ready to run it as is since I'm tired of these stupid rear brakes. Mazda clearly chose a very crappy design and mechanism that is problematic. The rotating piston with the ebrake mechanism used on many other cars seems to be much more robust. I bet most companies that reman calipers don't even check the ebrake mechanism except for maybe that it's not seized. I asked a friend and he said spec miata guys just remove the ebrake.. I guess that's one solution. I'm not sure if I'll just leave it w/ one working ebrake or hunt for another fully functional caliper. I'm a bit annoyed and that's a good time to not think about it for a couple days. I guess the "best" solution would probably be to just rebuild the caliper myself.


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I will get back to working on the front suspension. I yanked all the PS components so I will remove the rack and mail out the pinion to be welded.

So in the hopes of fixing the caliper the first thing is understanding how it works. It's obviously not that complicated but I found a couple good pictures.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f7ea8c9af8.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7aa6629be3.jpg

So looking at the picture it's pretty simple. The ebrake lever actuates a pin which pushes a threaded bolt that is in the piston. So, if the ebrake lever is not providing enough clamping force it's either not tight enough against the pin or most likely a worn groove/lever. I think the seals leak over time and some water enters the assembly which adds to further corrosion/wear. Looking at the caliper rebuild kits they don't look to replace the ebrake lever and 4mm allen so any corrosion over time could lead to unreliable operation of the ebrake..

So after some thought I went back out to the car to check the 4mm allen adjuster on the driver's side rear caliper. By operating the ebrake lever I could see the ebrake was engaging but only slightly. I removed the 4mm allen and inspected it. It had some metal shards so I cleaned it and applied fresh grease and put it back in the caliper. At a certain angle I could get the teeth to engage pretty well and I adjust the piston a little deeper. Now the ebrake lever works much better! I'm a little concerned about the allen tooth engagement being bad down the road but I'll cross that bridge later. It seems good enough for now and it's only the ebrake. :x: It's definitely a finicky mechanism.

So quick question for you guys on the rear brakes. How in God's name do you get the spring clips to keep the pads pressing out..? I'm assuming no one runs them because they seemed like much too big a pita and wouldn't stay in place.. I left them out.

Anyway.. I'm getting a bit sick of wrenching on this damn car. I wanna drive it already. Soon enough I hope. I got all the bushings replaced and installed in the front and all the ball joints replaced as well. I bought everything from SM and went with the offset lower ball joints to get a little more camber in front. Got the front suspension mostly back together, just waiting on the stronger SM alignment bolts before I torque everything down. I got the BroFab hubs on and started on the front brakes. I've been working off the garage floor to replace a lot of the control arm bushings which isn't nice on my back.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2faa344e44.jpg

My workbench is full of crap but I assembled the rotors on the workbench. We'll see how the paint holds up. The black is much nicer than the orange.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9fb2260901.jpg
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Next things to do are drop the steering rack and send off the pinion to get welded. I got a Wilwood MC to replace the stock one and prop valve as well. That'll go in when I finish the BBK install. So many darn things to do. For the 245 17x9.5 setup, do I need to do anything like relocate the front bumper tab or will a straight fender roll suffice? I'm looking fwd to driving this damn thing.

A bit late to influence any decisions but I'll give some feedback anyways.

I've had my steering depowered for most of my 8 years owning my NB2. The only time I don't like it is when parallel parking. I don't think it's great for autocross, at least for me. With high caster settings and turning the wheel almost 90*, I feel my steering inputs get to be less accurate. On the flip side, on track I've gone for up to an hour without feeling tired. The improvement in feel is absolutely worth it for me. I welded the pinion, but there's now a clicking sound when I turn the wheel stationary, so those welds may have broken. Oh well.

With respect to brake cooling, with that monster setup you won't run into any issues without ducts, at least until the turbo. My NB2 has the larger sport brakes and I ran Stoptech Sport pads almost down to the backing plate without issue with my full fat NB2 LS on 205/50R15 RT660s. Am I setting SM times? No, but I'm not at the back of the pack either. Pretty much any pad available for the Superlite/F88 shape should be more than capable of handling the heat. Cooling will help pad life though, so no need to delay it unnecessarily either. The matching Supermiata duct kit is the bulletproof option that will provide better cooling when the time comes, so why mess with half measures like deflectors? Much like the BBK has lower running costs on track than stock brakes, after a few sets of pads the ducts could pay for themselves if you can get more life out of the pads.

Rebuilt rear calipers are a crapshoot, but they're the same price as a rebuild kit so it can be a hard decision. One of my rebuilt calipers had issues with the parking brake constantly falling out of adjustment. It took me a few years to bite the bullet and get another one. No issues since. If you have any more issues and don't want to rebuild, maybe consider buying new?

Thanks appreciate your 2 cents. Ya I think it'll be fine as well. I don't plan on driving the car anywhere that requires parallel parking. Ya I don't think I'm going to even bother swapping pads for my first track day with the car NA. I will leave the "street" pads on and I bet it'll be fine. They're definitely big, especially for ~100whp. I don't envision doing THAT many trackdays per year so I bet a set of pads will last me a while even with a turbo. The pad thickness is pretty nuts on these.

Thanks that's not too bad for a brand new caliper. Might not be a bad option if the remanned ones act up.

Signed up for a track weekend March 23-24 at Summit Point Shenandoah so gotta get my butt in gear and get the car done. It's the local track I've driven the most so I'll be interested to see how the Miata does. I'm just going to keep working and see what I can get done beforehand. I'm still waiting on my BMM ecu.

Regarding engine codes.. Will the stock ECU make the car run rough/odd if an EGR valve isn't plugged in at all? What about if I just blockoff the port? I remove the EGR exhaust tube in preparation for installing the new squaretop manifold and wanted to leave the EGR valve off completely. I don't want the car running poorly though. Eventually with the new ECU it won't be a problem but at this point I'm inclined to change the ecu/injectors/etc after the first track day.

I got some good work done last few days. Got the front suspension minus the swaybar all done and tightened. I got the BBK installed, dropped the rack and shipped out the pinion to get welded, Wilwood 1" MC installed, and the Wilwood prop valve mostly installed.. It took some fiddling and looking at other people's pictures to see how to route the lines. I'm reusing one factory hard line to connect a T for the front brakes.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5fefff1f82.jpg
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I gotta say the pads are crazy thick with these calipers which means they should last a LOONG time. I'm sorry I didn't snap a pic of just the pads. Also, I test fitted a Konig Freeform 15x9.5 wheel and it clears the BBK no problem.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a98ee1e526.jpg

I hit one hiccup while installing the wilwood prop valve. My dumbass overtorqued the fitting and it bent. I guess I'm fortunate it didn't snap inside. The threads on these npt fittings were a little tight for sure, I could only get a few turns deep, but it is what it is. I emailed SM to get another one. A little annoying but not the end of the world. *sigh*

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5b4e937133.jpg

Sometimes I don't post my thoughts but some may ask why I opted to go with the Wilwood MC straight away.. Well, I have driven a couple Miatas (including this one) and the pedal isn't very firm. I'm hoping the 1" MC makes for a firmer pedal (it should). Plus, I was replacing so many things I figured might as well and not mess around and just put a new Wilwood in. The reviews I've read are favorable and no one seemed to prefer the stock MC after using the 1" Wilwood. I'm excited to get this thing on track next month.

Progress still happening fast! Nothing like a track day deadline to put a fire under your ass. The car's gonna rip once you get everything dialed in.

Having installed my Wilwood 1" MC just a couple days ago, I'm interested to hear about your install experience. I had to adjust my booster pushrod outward quite a bit to get it making good contact with the master cylinder. Didn't see anything about this in the instructions (although maybe I should've expected it due to the adapter bracket spacing the MC out a litle bit) and was very confused as to why my pedal was so low before making the adjustment. That being said, my pedal is VERY firm now. Don't think you'll desire any more firmness following the install haha.

What kind of MC brace are you using? Mine doesn't come even close to clearing the new MC due to the stopper being positioned so much closer to the firewall.

I'll let you know about the MC after I get it finished and put brake fluid in. Like you said it makes sense considering the MC is spaced ~1/2" farther due to the adapter plate for the booster.

The MC brace is a V8R. It's made for the wilwood MC.

Just a few more quick pictures and measurements. I was impressed with how thick the pads were so took out the caliper. The pad material (not including backing plate) is roughly .6" thick for each pad.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3f0e68f3a4.jpg

The rotors are beefy at roughly 1.25" thick.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e37a1f6ce6.jpg

I think I'll have plenty of brake capacity even w/o ducts when I install the turbo. I don't mind brakes a little on the bigger side.

Not sure if I missed it, but what pads are you currently running with the BBK? Rather than change what wasn't broken, I just got a set of Stoptech Sport pads for my F88 setup. With the 1" master you should have insanely good pedal feel. I've considered moving up to it, but my 15/16" MC was recently replaced and would show less of a difference than the 7/8" you started with.

Who are you running with at Summit Point? I'd like to get up there this year, but it's a 5 hour drive for me. It would be cool to chase a similarly modified Miata.

Good question I didn't. I got some stoptech street pads for the rear OEM calipers and some Wilwood BP20 pads for the front calipers. I just bought them thinking I would change them out for the track but will probably run them while N/A. Here's a graph of the friction coefficient and temps. https://www.wilwood.com/brakepads/Br...compound=BP-20

I meant to compare them to a Stoptech street pad. I did a quick search and couldn't find a similar graph of the Stoptech street pads but I think I shouldn't have an issue with fade N/A.

It's an SCCA event. That's a hike. It's only about 1.5hrs for me which makes it convenient. Another friend is also signed up for the event (not a Miata) but the more the merrier as always at the track.

Anyone running a stock intake with the skunk2 TB? The larger diameter means the stock pipe won't fit. I was thinking of installing the squaretop manifold before the track day but really don't want to buy another intake that I will only use very briefly (I might be installing the turbo after the March event). I was thinking of different ways to ghetto rig it. Thing is MAF sensors don't like air leaks so it has to seal.

Another thing that I will install is a water pressure dummy light. I've seen some strange failures (like the pressed water fitting down by the water pump breaking) that caused people to lose engines. Thx to some folks on the FB group for sharing it. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all80250 It's cheap and simple and can just put an inline switch between the sensor and the LED for the street when I don't want it shining. I think I'll try to install the SM coolant reroute before the March event.

Two comments on the Junk2.

You can get silicon reducers to make the merge between the J2 and the intake, that's what I did on my atmo racecar. You will have to make some adjustments to make the fit. I had an aluminium one made up for the turbo inlet.

.You should port your intake manifold to make the transition between the J2 and the manifold gentler than an angular step. I just did this when I installed my latest J2 on my new flattop, did it on the racecar too.

I have a water pressure sensor which I will be plugging into my new electronic instrument panel. Temperature sensors don't work when there is nothing there to sense! I haven't looked, but I am assuming you have done the Rx on the J2?

I've been running that way for almost two years now.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...eb4f086a1d.jpg

I got it to fit by warming up the throttle body, boiling some water, and using that to warm up the crossover pipe before slipping it over the throttle body.

I also recommend you knock down the sharp edge on the barb of the throttle body before you do this.

Keep it up! On the BMM discord too.

Is that the completely stock pipe or did you use another silicone coupler?? It's super tight and I thought the stock pipe wouldn't fit but if I can stretch it on with some effort that would be awesome! @OptionXIII

That is completely stock, no coupler or anything. I made a thread on my install of the TB here. It goes beyond the standard well known fixes required.

As I said in that thread, I am still fighting idle control issues with the stock ECU. I'm currently doing some more work to the car hoping to get them resolved. I think most people using the S2 TB are going to be on a standalone of some sort and have an aftermarket intake of some kind, which is why there isn't much documentation out there on crossover pipe fitting or complaints about idle control.

Thanks man I appreciate that! What's funny is I think I read your thread a long time ago about the J2 TB but forgot about that thread and that you were able to squeeze the stock intake on. :likecat:

I definitely didn't see anything in the instructions about adjusting the booster pushrod. Did you follow the procedure from the shop manual? I've never messed with a brake booster before and didn't know it was adjustable on the actual booster until now. I adjusted the brake pedal but now I'm thinking I did it wrong and need to remove the MC, measure the length of the pushrod and depth of the master cylinder piston, and adjust the pushrod length on the MC side.. It still seems to have a little slop in the brakes (could be some air still after bleeding but the depth on the pushrod probably isn't right) even after adjusting the brake pedal slack so I think I need to adjust it on the booster side. Any tips for how you did it are much appreciated. Did you apply vaccuum to the booster like the shop manual says?

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https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...17d6f1c80c.jpg

Oh shucks, no I didn't do anything on the booster side haha. My bad for the vague explanation. I just adjusted the pedal throw under the dashboard until there was only a tiny dead spot before the pedal engaged the brakes. I actually ended up adding adding a little free play after adjusting to zero play because the pedal felt too high initially. My pedal adjustment rod is just about where yours is, maybe a bit less thread showing on the pedal side. I can post a pic of it here tonight.

Cool thanks, good to know what others are doing. Ultimately, it should do the same thing right? It's moving the rod out basically. I loosened the locknut in that picture and used some needle nose pliers to spin the shaft counter clockwise and extend the rod almost all the way. Is it the "right way?" I don't know. If it works, hell who cares. :)

Another thing I just found while googling.. does the MC need to create a seal against the booster? I saw some other people mention it in another thread but maybe a different booster works differently..? I threw out the old MC so I can't go take a look and see if there's some kind of seal/o-ring for the flange where the MC mounts to the booster. I don't remember there being one..

On another note big thanks to Ed at 949 for shipping the replacement fitting out quick for the Wilwood prop valve. I don't love how tight the npt fittings are so I got a 1/8" npt tap and ran it in the threads of the wilwood prop valve so the 1/8" npt fitting would get an extra turn.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e83dedc732.jpg

Here's the brake system all installed and it's been bled. I'll probably have to rebleed it down the road (as there might still be some air in the lines) but the pedal is semi stiff. I had an old unopened bottle of ATE super blue that I used after dropping a bottle of brake fluid and making a mess while trying to bench bleed the wilwood MC. Make sure you bench bleed the MC first guys. I installed it w/o bench bleeding it like a noob and had to pull it to bench bleed it. Not too big a deal but I should've known better.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...12fafc6943.jpg

Oh yes also, Zak or anyone else.. How many turns do you have on the Wilwood prop valve..?

That's what I'm assuming as far as adjustment goes. Mine worked fine and I didn't die this weekend so there's some... anecdotal data lol.
In all seriousness, I really am interested in what scenario the booster rod would need to be adjusted from the booster side. I removed my MC after adjusting the pedal stroke just to make damn sure the rod wasn't preloading the MC or anything (it wasn't). I can't imagine needing to use the entire adjustment range of the brake pedal throw rod with a stock MC. With where mine is at currently, the stock MC would almost certainly have the brakes locked haha.

I believe the NB2 boosters are of a different design and need the MC to seal against the booster itself.

That's a great idea tapping the prop valve threads. I remember when I installed mine last year, I was initially baffled by how few threads engage before reaching max torque on the fittings. I'm still not dead, but should probably do the same thing!

Cool well I appreciate your input because I'll just run it as is and not pull off the MC and mess with the brake booster. I'm pretty sure at the current brake pedal adjustment it isn't preloading the MC so I should be fine as well. I can always tinker with it a bit later down the road if I want to tweak it.

Ah that makes sense then with the NB2 booster. Thx ya I got a die to check the 1/8" npt threads for the fitting and they seem fine. It seems like the female threads on the wilwood prop valve are what are a little on the tight side. They likely machine the piece and run a tap down the bore and the tap bottoms out before it can cut some deeper threads which would allow the npt fitting to thread in deeper. To really get the threads cut a little deeper you could cut the end of the tap off about 1/4" so the wider part of the tap reached deeper into the bore of the prop valve but I couldn't be bothered to put in that much work.

Something new I bought and tried that I thought would help would be a manual handheld vacuum bleeder. Maybe I wasn't using it properly but it seems like a pita. The manual handheld pump bleeder seems to pull air through the threads of the bleeder valves so I just went with the old tried and true 2 person bleed method and some gravity bleeding. I know there are some fancy power bleeders that pressure the MC with an air compressor and a fitted cap but sometimes the specialty tools aren't worth the headache unless you do that specific job a lot.

I need to get the car back on the ground, set the ride height, roll the fenders, and then take it for an alignment. I would like to run a leakdown on the motor just as a baseline to see where it's at but the old owner of the car contacted me and told me it's been well cared for so that's some good news. I will put off changing the timing belt/water pump as it was likely changed only a few years ago. I might install the new IM/S2 TB/coolant reroute before the upcoming track weekend. Also I will install a simple coolant pressure dummy light. I've read a few stories on here how the press fit water lines broke and people lost a motor. Here's a link to it on amazon. So it doesn't bother me on the street, I'll put a switch inline with the sensor so it can be off most of the time. Regarding my other seat.. it looks like the package might be lost which sucks. Hopefully that'll get figured out soon. I also might try and get the harness installed for the driver's side before the event.

Well.. after a bunch of work, I've decided I'm taking a new direction with the car and foregoing building a track car. It will be a show car and I'm joining #stancelife. That's some serious tuckage.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ce60367ab9.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9120c78cd8.jpg

Ok enough jokes.. it does look pretty badass though. :D So I got the rear fenders rolled. For the pictures above I removed the coilover to check the clearance of the wheel to the fender. I didn't measure the pinch weld height but that had to be ~3.5" I'd guess. There's about a good pinky gap right now between the tire and rear fender which should be good. Yes, I haven't gotten the car aligned yet but camber should be pretty close and I still should have enough clearance. Rolling the rear fenders wasn't too bad, just took my time with my heat gun and fender roller. It took about an hour to do each side. No damaged paint which is nice. I still need to roll the fronts.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bf5f0e08ec.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0dad08f48d.jpg


I got the car back together and here is about 4.75" high all around. I set it a little higher to give it a little more ground clearance. Curious what do other folks run? A friend said he runs 4" pinch welds on his spec miata but I'd still like to drive it on the street. Welded pinion I should get back from miatasource tomorrow so I'll look to get the front fenders rolled, steering rack back in the car, and the car aligned and back on the road next week sometime. Brake pedal feels nice and stiff after bleeding the brakes. Looking forward to driving this car!

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9b16971590.jpg

Car looks much better with 4.75" heights than it does in the first pic :rofl:

I'm currently running 4.75" pinch weld heights all around on my car. Used to run 4.25" all around with 225s but I started getting really bad inner fender well rub when I upped to the 245s. I might be able to lower the car a bit now that it's on stiffer springs, but haven't had time to experiment with that yet.

I think I'm running around 105-110 mm (~4.25") on my car. Basically the heights recommended in the 949 Dual Duty alignment. I'm not too precise, and my pinch welds are largely destroyed so that doesn't help.

Quick question for you guys. I'm rolling the front fenders and was just wondering what you guys do with the front fender liners? Just tuck the fender liner behind the rolled attachment points or cut the fender liner in spots?
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6b5b0505a8.jpg

Also, I got the rack back in and the front swaybar on (I will backtrack and make a post about it), and noticed the instructions in the Racingbeat swaybar recommended reinforced end link mounts on the lower control arm for NBs. Is this necessary? I'm running the 1.125" thick with 188wall not the 1.25" thick racingbeat swaybar. I am running reinforcement plates for the actual swaybar chassis mount though.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d4533e23c0.jpg

I've not heard of anyone having an issue with the NB control arm mounts, assuming you have the end link mounted on properly. Racing Beat sells a bracket to convert the NB style L bracket to an NA style double shear mount, and that's what they're trying to get you to buy. The only failures I have seen were due to putting the end link on backwards, with the ball joint on the outside of the "L". It can be tempting do mount them backwards in the rear if you're using an adjustable sway bar at the stiffer adjustment settings. That did break my mounts, and I've seen it happen to one other person for the same reason.

That said, I'm a fan of overkill so I reinforced my control arm mounts. Here is how I did it.

Awesome thanks! I wasn't sure and didn't see it mentioned elsewhere as a failure point but wasn't sure if it was just something I overlooked. I just saw how you reinforced your sway bar end link mount and it's definitely overkill. Very nice. :D

Appreciate your skunk2 TB thread as well. Found it very helpful! :likecat:

So to circle back a bit..

I opted to send the steering pinion to miatasource to weld. For $75 it made sense to just have someone do it that's familiar w/ it. I figured if I was going to depower the rack may as well do it "right" and remove any slop. I also got the allen plug set for the rack just to make it easy. Depowering the rack was pretty straightforward. There are a bunch of videos and flyinmiata has a guide so it makes it easy for a DIYer. I cut out the middle seal on the rack that separates the two sections. Here's the pinion after being welded. It's welded about 3/4 of the way around which should be plenty.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1396cb7706.jpg

Here I got the rack all cleaned up and ready for assembly. My workbench is always a perpetual mess. I thought I could reuse my old steering boots (they weren't torn).
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9ec2a68905.jpg

Unfortunately after assembling the rack I didn't like how the boots kept crumpling a lot and deformed so I opted to order some new ones. Unfortunately no one had them in stock locally that I could find so I just had to wait. Maybe they would've been fine but no sense rushing and regretting it later.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e8ef63c100.jpg

I really wanted to get the car back together and sitting around waiting for parts sucks. So, I said what the hell and started doing some other work that I thought I'd leave till after the first track event. I started porting the squaretop manifold for the skunk2 TB so why not get it installed. Big thanks to @OptionXIII 's install thread on the skunk2 TB. It's just nice to see what are "common" problems and hopefully I can save myself some time and headaches. The skunk2 TB has a small inset screw that attaches a spacer flange for the IACV. The screw is too long that bottoms out before getting tight and doesn't come with any washers. Fortunately I just used a small washer to make up the gap and it worked well.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ee3c70a9aa.jpg

I removed the throttle rotor and drilled a hole in about the same spot as OptionXIII.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...73d649911f.jpg

Planning ahead, I also opted to add a couple vacuum ports on the IM for the turbo setup later. It's pretty easy and straightforward to tap some 1/8" npt threads in an Al intake manifold. I opted for 2. One on the top and one on the "back" by the firewall.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e4aa6ef51e.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4f0d402ab7.jpg

Finally, I attached the skunk2 TB. I just used some washers to keep the OEM studs. I used blue loctite on all fasteners. The skunk2 TB didn't come with any washers strangely so I added washers to all bolts. I also got a couple blockoff plates for the EGR ports. I just used RTV as gaskets.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...961fe8a45b.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...416b8c247a.jpg

The steering rack boots came in (Delphi TBR4132) so I could move forward and finish the rack. I'm not thrilled how these boots seem to crumple a bit also but is what it is. The OEM metal straps broke so I just used the zip ties. Centering the rack wasn't too bad. Just count the turns, mark where the rack stops, do some math, and I marked the Center of the rack so I could tell if it moved. It wasn't a problem but nice for peace of mind. I did opt to go with the flyin miata delrin rack mounts, supermiata inner tie rods, and extended lower ball joints as well from SM. In retrospect I'm not sure if I needed the ELBJ, and SM says it increases steering effort a bit, but it is what it is. I thought I'd need a little more camber for the ride height. Is anyone else running ELBJs?
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...233c1c9c9e.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0ff86014a4.jpg

With the rack back in the car I could finish rolling the front fenders. I tried rolling the front fenders w/o the steering rack connected and it's a big pita as the hub shifts too easily. Do it with the rack connected. The ELBJ clearance to the rotors is close but should be ok.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4232a418a6.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d7162e1155.jpg

I'm now waiting for an intake manifold gasket (the old one was peeling, not worth taking the chance and reusing imo), I'm going to install the supermiata coolant reroute, pull the valve cover and tap the ports for -10an fittings for a catch can, replace all the coolant lines, and I got an ampefi Maxxspark ignition setup I'll install as well. Hopefully can get it all back together and running and get it aligned by next weekend. I replaced the brake booster soft hoses as the original ones were quite old and crusty/hard. I was able to cut out the check valve in the oem soft line by the brake booster and install it in the new brake booster line. Definitely a bit of a pain and didn't break it. Just lube it up and shove it in..
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...abd40ea9dd.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3de3a42419.jpg

Question for anyone.. Can I run with the EGR unplugged and the car will run fine on the stock ecu? I know it'll have a check engine light but want to make sure the car won't run in "limp mode" or some other state.

Glad something I wrote down was of use to others!

I'm interested in seeing how the S2 TB works out for you. Like I wrote in the thread, I've had a issues with idle droop stalling during warm up in colder weather. I'm the only one I've seen with this complaint, but there aren't many people out there running the S2 TB with a stock ECU and driving in colder weather. My theory is that the stock ECU can't compensate for the greater restriction with the S2 unit. With a standalone ECU it shouldn't be an issue since you have direct control over the PID feedback loop for the IACV.

Once again, you're doing it RIGHT! Great progress, man. Option's S2 TB writeup was a lifesaver, thanks again for that. I put blue loctite on all the S2 fasteners but forgot to do so for the IACV adapter plate bolts. Two months in, they backed out causing a difficult to find vacuum leak lol.

Dunno if it's of any use to you, but at 4" front/4.25" rear ride height on my NA, I was only able to squeeze ~2.8* of camber out of the front suspension on the stock ball joints, and needed to install ELBJs to get myself up to the ~3.5* I run now. I suspect YMMV.

Are the SuperMiata tie rod ends the "R Package" style ones? I opted to go the other route and get steering rack spacers instead of the dropped tie rod ends in order to eliminate bump steer. Couldn't notice the difference with or without the spacers. Maybe (probably) I just suck haha.

Thanks Zak appreciate your input and build thread as always! I'm running 4.75" F/R right now so I bet I'll probably need the ELBJ's to get ~3* of negative camber up front. So to my understanding the SM tie rod ends are the same geometry as stock. In my last post I think I was mixing up the ELBJ's and tie rod ends in my head. To my understanding the NB miata suspension geometry changed such that it's less susceptible to bump steer when you lower the car. So, the NB doesn't need rack spacers..? I looked around and a bunch of folks said they weren't necessary so I didn't get any. I'm sure the lowered suspension on the NB has some effect on bumpsteer but I'm guessing it's just not as severe as the NA..? Not sure I'd notice it either but shouldn't hurt.

I don’t know how it compares to an NA, but when I lowered my NB without “R” tie rod ends the bump steer was bad. I also couldn’t get more than -2.1 front camber without extended lower ball joints. Now with XIDAs, ”R” tie rods and ELBJs, there is no bump steer and I can get all the camber. I hadn’t heard about rack spacers before, don’t think you’ll need those in an NB.

Thanks man I'll keep that in mind. For the time being I will just drive it. If the bumpsteer is bad I'll cross that bridge down the road but hopefully it won't be too bad. I thought I read that NBs fixed (or greatly reduced) the bumpsteer curve by changing the suspension geometry over the NA. For the NA, I thought I read there were two ways to fix the bumpsteer issue, different outer tie rods or steering rack spacers (to raise up the rack).

I didn't take many pictures but I finished rolling the front fenders. There are enough OEM attachment points for the fender liner that it's pretty secure. So the next thing on the list was the valve cover. The valve cover appears to have a small leak so I figured I might as well replace the valve cover gasket as well. Fortunately there are youtube videos on this which made it pretty straightforward and you know what to expect. The passenger side port I used a 1/2"-10an 90 degree fitting and the driver's side I used a 3/8"-10an fitting. I also removed the baffle cover plates on the underside of the valve cover to clean out the shavings and drill out the one port to 3/8" on the driver's side passage.I will say the driver's side 3/8" port made me a little nervous tapping it as the drilled opening gets a little thin and I didn't want to crack it when tapping the threads but it wasn't a problem. I'd def use a little loctite when reinstalling the philips screws for the baffle plates.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...be364b5a65.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f7f4b8f00d.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e407c266d8.jpg
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Next step was installing the coolant reroute. I was quasi dreading this just because I expected it to be a pita and it was. The space is obviously very tight and you can't directly see the back of the head. You absolutely should remove the brake booster hardline if you do this on the car. I assembled the water neck and sensors first. I purchased an allstar coolant pressure kit that has a dummy light. I installed the pressure sensor in the extra 1/8" npt port on the water neck. To make the led light less annoying on the street i will be sure to put a switch inline with the sensor (which acts as the ground).

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0a9f917e2c.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...900d8979c7.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...81605f0845.jpg

Now the hard part.. After remove the OEM water neck I wasn't sure how I was going to access and see the surface. Fortunately I realized a simple mirror would do the trick. I found a simple makeup mirror and it fit perfectly. Unfortunately I was not lucky and the gasket was basically fully intact on the back of the head. I tried a few different things (like soaking it in some brake cleaner) but ultimately the only thing that worked well was a razor blade, and finally cleaning it up with some 100grit sandpaper and finished it up with some 150 and 200. This was a huge pita as you have to lean over the car, hold the mirror with one hand, and work with the other,
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d8d8b5527b.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...84e35a6425.jpg

After over an hour of removing the gasket, maybe closer to 2 (I didn't wanna gouge the head and have a coolant leak) I got it done. This gasket was a big bitch.. stuck on and wouldn't come off in chunks or large pieces. I had to remove the stud to clean off the gasket materially properly.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...592d2fdc54.jpg

Finally installing the water neck. Anytime I apply liquid gasket I like to get the surfaces as clean as possible. I clean the surface well and use a rag sprayed with brake cleaner to get it super clean and free of any contaminants. This usually provides a good bonding surface for liquid gaskets. As the instructions say. I'd practice and find the sockets you'll need to tighten down the water neck ahead of time. It's not easy maneuvering it in place, holding it carefully, and slowly tightening it down without messing up the liquid gasket. Anyway.. just take your time. Here it is in place.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...11820b255b.jpg

Here's the last photo of the day. I retorqued the oil filter sandwich plate bolt/nut and replaced all the coolant hoses for the oil cooler and heater core. I put some fresh spark plugs in. I also installed an AmpEFI maxxspark kit. I purchased this one because they had a sale during BF and I wasn't aware of the R8 kit. I probably would've purchased the R8 kit over this one to save a few bucks but this one is nice and is an easy install, no complaints. Got a handful or so more things on the list to do but getting there..
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c196280db7.jpg

Well, got the car back together. *Knock on wood* so far so good. Slipping the stock intake hose over the S2 TB wasn't as bad as I thought. It's super snug but I didn't even have to heat up the pipe. It would be nice if you didn't have to install everything piecemeal (lower intake manifold -> upper manifold -> TB) but is what it is.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d9631e1d70.jpg
Eyeballed the toe so it drives straight and adjusted the tie rods a bit but it needs an alignment. So far so good, seems to run/idle well just like stock to be honest. Can definitely feel the Mazda comp mounts NVH over stock. I haven't touched the idle screw on the TB although weather has been very mild (70 degrees). The SM clutch seems to chatter a bit which is a little surprising being a sprung full face disc but it's not too bad. Brakes felt weak until I remembered to adjust the prop valve. Started on 6 turns but I think 7 might be good. These street pads definitely don't have a lot of bite compared to track pads so I will swap the pads for a good set of track pads. Otherwise brakes feel pretty good and stiff. Still got a handful of little things to do but I have a week to get it done. Trying to decide on pads. Supermiata recommend gloc 16/12 for the turbo setup. Are gloc pads really that finicky with having a proper transfer layer? I've used Hawk/PFC and they didn't seem to care swapping pads for the street/track. A few good hard stops and they were properly bedded imo.

Gave her a quick wash after washing the salt/crap off my daily. Oh ya I forgot to comment on the depowered rack. It feels good, not too stiff. Definitely not easy to fling the wheel around but will definitely encourage smoother driving. The swaybars are currently disconnected and who knows what the alignment is at right now so I'll comment on steering feel after it gets aligned but so far so good. My passenger seat is still MIA. I'm starting to think it got lost in customs but all I can do is sit and wait.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4369fdbb69.jpg

Looking good man! That's a ton of work out of the way. You're gonna be stoked when you get it on track soon.

Mirror idea for the coolant reroute install is brilliant. Wish I had thought of that when I did mine. Sucks how the gaskets basically turn into sticky dust/powder and don't want to come off in one or a few clean pieces.

Did you speak to Supermiata specifically on brake pad compounds? I remember Emilio telling me R12/R10 was the way to go on a thread I made last year. Also, I might've misunderstood your transfer layer question earlier. No problems on my end swapping back and forth from GS-1 to R12/R10 for street and track.

I did. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna run PFC 11/97 f/r pads at this point. I'm local to OG racing and they have them in stock. I don't like how the Carbotech/G-locs seem to be fussy about having a nice transfer layer and the PFC's I have for the Honda work well. That way I can swap pads as needed and don't have to worry about the transfer layer.

Been running these pads for years, 12/10 on the racecar, 10/8 on the dual duty cars. No problems with transfer layers. Withe the upgrades to the RGM, I may have to look at going back to 12s on the front, but ...

The12s require close attention to cleaning of wheels, I have ruined a pair using 12s and letting the dust set.

Man, this makes me really glad I installed that reroute when the engine was out of the car. That gasket was enough of a pain to clean up with the engine on a stand.

Looking good! I recently got a S2 throttle body that I'll be tinkering with soon, so I'm glad you pointed to Option's thread. I'll be reading through that for sure.

Any issues with the reroute hose pushing against the fuel lines and bracketry? I tried routing mine that way and the hose didn't seem to fit very well under/beside the manifold.

Ya it rests against some of the fuel lines and brackets as well as a bracket off the intake manifold or TB, I can't remember exactly. I used the extra bit of radiator hose from the reroute, slit it lengthwise, and wrapped it around the radiator hose and fixed it with zip ties. That got most of it. I still need to do another small section but I'd say save your old radiator hose and use it as a protective wrap for the new radiator hose.

That's hilarious. I did the exact same thing to pad my reroute hose. Cut up the old upper rad hose and zip tied it on in a few places where it could rub.

I'll probably try changing my routing next time the coolant is drained.