I sold my CTS-V2 to build an NB1 and then buy a CTS-V again then build the NB1 again
 

Hey guys!

So to put a long story short, I've been in the miata game quite some time now. I bought my first miata (an NB1) as a daily to just bomb around through traffic with the top down during one of my summer's doing an engineering internship. It wasn't clean, but it was cheap enough that I didn't care. I drove it for that summer and dumped it afterwords for what i paid for it (win). Come to find out after I sold it that I missed the damn thing, so a few months later I ended up buying an NA6. This link should tell you all you need to know about how that build went with the suspension build, wire tuck, turbo build, and everything else I ended up doing. CLICKY. Ended up learning a TON about the platform from the NA6 but being a DD in the midwest didn't bode well for the body on that car and I ended up completely parting it out due to the body basically rotting away.. and here's where we get to where the title of the thread comes in..

So at the time I thought, "enough with these gay little girl car fggts on MT. Now that I'm graduated with a big boy engineering job I can get a big boy toy and look professional and still have a fun car blahh blahh blahh"... So i bought one of my dream cars to own:

2009 Cadillac CTS-V Sedan. TR6060 6 speed manual, 556hp LSA engine, Factory Recaro Seats, 39k miles, pretty rarely optioned car
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Did some autocross events in it.. Did some drag passes in it.. Set one of the fastest times for a stock factory street tire manual V2 in the country this October
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As much as I loved the V and for how many compliments I got on it, there was something missing about the car from a driver feel standpoint. All the electronic gadgets, the magnetic ride control, the traction control, air conditioned recaro seats it was all great for what the car was built to do as being a fast luxury sedan but I finally reached the point after going to enough track days where I realized that wasn't what I wanted. It's fun but it comes at a huge cost that I didn't feel was justified. Consumable costs on the car are nothing short of ridiculous if you want decent competitive products, so I got to looking into more budget friendly summer daily driver and track rat ideas and put the Cadillac up for sale. Ended up selling it a few weeks later (14 months after buying it)


...and this ended up in my driveway on 11/12/16
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First order of business has been cleaning it up... I'm the 3rd owner and its quite clear that neither of the previous 2 owners spent much time maintaining the paint, so that got fixed as best as I could get it. Ive never seen a clear coat so beat up without flaking before
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Cleaned out the typical miata garden in the fenders...
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Henry approved of the interior
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and the final product. Not bad for a 17 year old midwestern NB with 125k on it.
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Looking to build the miata I've always wanted seeing as I now have the budget to tackle it. Going to attack a few cosmetic items on the exterior to make it my own. Currently have a Morimoto MH1 Retrofit headlight kit coming in the mail to take care of lighting issues, and I will need to figure out a tail light setup seeing as the OEM drivers side tail has a crack in it.

The car is already up on jack stands for the year. We've been lucky so far this fall season in Wisconsin seeing as we have no snow on the ground yet, but I'm anxious to get the build started so its going under the knife early.

Hoping to get this done by Gridlife in April to run in the HPDE+ Time Attack Class:
-Hard Dog Double Diagonal Roll Bar with Harness Bar (currently have a Duece I'm planning on getting rid of)
-Fixed Back Seat (undecided on what yet)
-Xidas 800/500
-15x10 6UL wrapped in 245 Maxxis VR1's
-949 Lug Nuts
-FM Adjustable Endlinks
-Complete Control Arm refresh (paint, bushings, ball joints)
-FM V8 Front Sway Bar (hint hint)
-FM Rear Sway Bar


Wish me luck.. will post updates as I complete them

Didn't read past the title and Photoshopped time slip.
Subbed for title.

Needs more V8. I believe the Gridlife in April is at Mid Ohio. Where are you from?

What's this game all the kids mention?

No but for serious, wtf is the "Miata game"?

Collecting them all? That's the only game I've found with Miatas.

Awesome, another somewhat local Miata in Gridlife time attack. Welcome!

The Gayme

This is probably going to end up a crazy build... Nice shell! That before/after shot of the paint is crazy.

You're crazy, that V2 was beautiful.

Excellent observation. Will be using as my own and claiming full credit for coining.

This. Fucking guy sold my dream car for a shitty Miata.

Why the mix and match of FM and 949 parts? I definitely suggest against the rear FM sway bar, at the very least. It is huge and gave me massive oversteer.

Yeah, the FM rear bar is crazy, I really don't understand why they sell it.

--Ian

I feel your pain. I went from a 650whp MKIV supra to a Miata because at the end of the day tracking a Supra is stupid unless you're rich. I've still have yet to find a street production car that makes me happy as a Miata when you factor in dollar/per smile.

I live just outside of Milwaukee Wisconsin

Hope to see you there. I have a lot of work to do before the April event. A friend of mine is in the final stages of finishing up his boosted S2000 for Gridlife right now as well.

The V2 was a beautiful to daily and drive, but if you want to enjoy a V2 the same way you enjoy a miata at ANY competition. Empty your wallet, bend over, and spread your cheeks. Its expensive.

Just a few quick notes on tracking that car.. A set of decent OEM sized mediocre grip tires runs you $1200. My main issue is it runs a staggered setup and eats through front tires pretty damn fast because its so heavy. To run a square wheel/tire setup to be able to rotate wheels your dumping over $2k on that, V2 pads and rotors $1200 for OEM level stuff, more for aftermarket.. I'm not entirely impressed with the Mag Ride control struts durability and replaced 2 of those at $250 a pop. You get 4 MPG give or take at the track while stock powertrain. Not saying you should really care about MPG much, but the tank is only 16 gallons so if you have any mods or E85, you are filling up constantly and fuel cost does add up. My insurance was 65% higher on the V2 than the miata as well. Everything about that car was $$$, it got old.

Probably the worst part of all of this, is I was still getting beat by relatively stock miatas at some of these events. The heavy V2 simply could not out-handle a nimble budget friendly miata on some of these tracks. Its only saving grace is the fact it has power (and a lot of it), but the devils advocate in me says a miata can have that too... so here we are...

See above. It was my dream car too. It took 13 months of ownership to realize it was a friggen stupid dream. Bang for the buck for fun and competitiveness in the miata is dare I say "unbeatable?"

I had the FM rear bar on my turbo NA6.. Not sure if i want it again, but I just tossed it on the list as a potential depending on the car balance. Rear sway bar is honestly the last item I'd plan on changing. I'm hoping its pretty settled by just removing the stock rear bar with the upgraded FM front sway.

I feel like the sealed FM adjustable endlinks may be a better "less prone to noise" design than the heim joint setup from 949. I had Heim joint endlinks on my NA6 that ended up making noise after only 10k street miles. They worked good, but the noise was annoying

Couldn't agree with you more.

Progress this weekend. Retrofit parts came in. Completed a set for a friends Honda Grom, and started mine

Pulled everything apart
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Test fit the Morimoto MH1 Projector with the mini gatling gun shroud.. Will be running an "angry eye" switchback halo setup on it.. stay tuned for those details
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Everything painted semi-gloss black. Polished the lenses to be nice and clear. The concept in my head is coming together really well so far
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Seeing the mention of the FM front bar makes me happy. Fucking do it. Just don't get a crate engine where gm forgets to clean all the aluminum pieces out of it. Cause they don't warranty that shit. Other than that it's totally worth it.

On the other hand, I would have a really tough time selling that beautiful V, but I guess the consumables aspect makes sense. But still, damn.

I read through your build and noticed the failure. FM actually had an identical thing happen to them in one of their builds and it was covered. Devil is in the details there I'm sure, not sure why yours wouldn't be covered, but I'd likely be working with Crate Engine Depot in Grayslake IL. I worked quite a bit with them in the past when I had a Cobalt SS. Tom there is pretty great. I've got some time before worrying about that order though. Still trying to decide if I want to go new or used on the longblock, which model to get is another question in itself..

Thanks for the kind words on the V. As said above, fun car but not worth the cost in my opinion. A little related side story to help tie this together.. I graduated college May 2015 and have been putting a heavy focus on paying off student loan debt ever since. I put myself through college unaided by anyone but FAFSA (and their terribly high interest rates) and can proudly say I will have it gone by early this year to hit my goal of eliminating student loans in less than 2 years from graduating. The V was my only debt besides student loans.. selling it greatly helps achieve my loan goal and I easily bought the NB with some of the cash on top from that sale. Besides the consumable cost and "bang for the buck" fun reasoning, selling it basically set me on the super fast track to a debt free lifestyle while still having a fun car. I don't think anyone here can blame a guy for wanting that. Being 23 years old and owning a V2 was pretty baller for some time though, that I cant deny :ky:

I've got a different toy to keep my need for speed at bay anyways
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That'll do the trick haha

And yeah, devil is most definitely in the details. I'm guessing FM is a licensed installer of crate engines, my buddy allowed me to say that he (chevy tech) did the installation but I don't think they cared about that. I was 3 months past warranty coverage, plus if they had looked into it, the standalone computer voids the warranty. I think the biggest thing they look at is whether it was done at a licensed facility or not though. I read a thread about a guy who literally had his block crack two weeks after he got the engine and they didn't fix it, it blows but I guess that's the way it goes. If I could go back I honestly don't know what I'd do, probably still buy a crate engine but maybe buy it closer to when I started building the car or do the last step at an actual shop, something to make sure I could get the warranty. I guess now I get to run high comp pistons and a fat cam at least :rolleyes:

That's interesting that FM had the same problem though, I didn't actually know about that

Good idea getting rid of the student loans as fast as possible is a much better choice than having a V, student loans are totally fucked. And congrats on the big boy engineering job, I get to start that search this May :eek4: Scary thought.

Projectors all assembled, mounted, and aimed. Will seal up and finalize electrical install tomorrow.
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Light output is so much better than OEM.
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Holy crap!! That's nuts man. Looks fantastic.

Those headlights look amazing. Interested in doing a set for our demo car? Serious question.

I'd be more than willing to make you a set for a very fair price. I've been doing projector retrofits for people for over 4 years now, actually working on a facebook page to organize all of the projects together for people to reference. Might turn into a decent side gig now that I live closer to a big city. You should have a PM shortly.

awesome, PM received, thank you.

Been spending my free time shoveling snow in <10 degree weather, so thats neat (screw this new house with longer driveway). Not much for progress besides sealing the lights back up. They are about as close to factory appearing as you can get from the back. Will do final install when the garage becomes tolerably warm to do some electrical work to get the switchbacks wired in.
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In the meantime, trying to nail down a plan of attack for Gridlife seeing as all my fun money was tied up in holiday gifts this month. Got this list of HPDE+ class legal mods with a few questions a few of you may know...

Suspension:
Xidas 800/500
15x10 +25 6UL's
245/40 Maxxis VR1's
Poly Bushings
From what I've read, those the coils/wheels/tires will work together on a NB with a flat fender roll.. anyone experience anything different?

Safety:
HDHCDD
HD Harness Bar
Anyone have nice budget friendly harness recommendations?
Debating running the ultrashield spec miata seats with padding.. the concern there is I fully intend on dailying the car in the summer so it may not be great to entry/exit, comfort is also up for debate given i know the spring rates I'm running won't be soft.. the benefit is they are light, and cheap.. I could use them for track only, but my stock seats are pretty well shot so I'd like to get something nice I can just leave in the car full time

Exterior:
Singular Motorsports NC Hood Vents to help the stock radiator out at the track. I know they work on an NB, just a matter of figuring out the locating dimension.
Rear bumper cut (still need to verify legality)

Good luck being competitive. Miata really doesn't have a chance with the gridlife rule set unless it has a kseries or turbo. Just not enough power.

Hpde+ 1-3rd was in the 1:42-1:43 at gman.

My former 99 car was fairly well developed and did 1:46-1:47. Na maybe 145-150hp. I think it had 1:45 with some newer nt01 or rc01.

Yeah, exactly. But you'll still have a blast so don't worry about it. The Gridlife rule book is pretty open to provide a low barrier to entry to anyone who wants to get on track and compete. If you're looking for more structure, of course there are other organizations like NASA that are better for that environment.

Woah. That retrofit job is fantastic!

For as much as I'll completely agree with you on the times that the fast HPDE+ guys are running AND that the miata is underpowered compared to some of the competition.. Here's the kicker.. Look at last year's winners
1st place - Volkswagen Jetta
2nd place - 5.0 Mustang
3rd place - Nissan 370Z

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ed1a873265.jpg


Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that if you can finish mid-pack or better AND you make it to all the events that you MAY have a chance of doing well. This is all speculation though. If this coming year follows any of the traits that last year did, many competitors in this class did not go to all the events so there were a lot of points left on the table. There are 5 events this year instead of 3, which can only help me IF i make it to all of them.

Regardless of standings, I'm doing Gridlife for fun while hopefully being somewhat competitive during a build process, which can be really hard to fit into. The HPDE+ class fits my end build goals perfectly for what I can afford this coming year. On the flip side, there arent any SCCA classes that I'll be competitive in at all this year so those will just be for fun with friends. The end goal is having this car in TT2 from what I'm working on figuring out now.

No input on wheel/tire fitment, but I'd suggest doing something more than just poly bushings. Either a delrin kit, or a SADFab bronze bearing kit in the poly bushings. The poly is just so damned sticky. No bueno.

I had 30k on my NA6 control arms with the poly and no sticking or binding issues, but i tossed grease in them every oil change as routine maintenance. I installed the zerks in the control arms to make it easy. Mental note for the SadFab kit though. Delrin is a better material for the application, but the price of $610 for the whole package makes me question how much I need it now.. I know I have a clunk going on in the rear of the car at the moment, but havent been able to find the culprit.

Skip the HDHCDD and harness bar and just grab a Blackbird Fabworx single diagonal or GT3 bar. Top quality, much better fitment in my experience, and a proper welded in integrated harness bar.
Blackbird Fabworx SD and GT3 roll bars for NA and NB - MX-5 Miata Forum
Blackbird Fabworx GT3 Rollbar Install ? revlimiter.net

Also, I've got a set of 2022 dated Schroth harnesses in the classifieds. Very high quality harnesses. Honestly the only real difference in my experience with the various harness budget levels is comfort and ease of use. The Schroths are remarkably easy to adjust. Not trying to sell you on my harnesses, just giving my honest experience with the Schroth belts.

Moti makes nice stuff, but there's nothing wrong with the Hard Dog bars either.

--Ian

I know I'm not the only one who has had hardtop fitment issues with the hard dog bars. I've got a solid scuff that was left on my hardtop from the constant year long rubbing from the hard dog. Lots of additional squeeking noises as well along bumps from the rubbing.

I'll give a +1 to the Blackbird roll bar over the Hard Dog, since we have both. Either one will do the job, and I've had no issues with the Hard Dog, but I really like the quality, fit, and finish of the Blackbird bar. Plus the harness bar design seems superior, and I love the look of the single diagonal. You'll be fine either way but that's what I would order if I were you.

I agree Moti makes some great stuff. Love how the GT3 bar looks and I've yet to hear a complaint about his stuff. that said, Moti's rollbars carry a bit of a premium in cost for the benefit of looking more "fly for a white guy" on a bit less weight (while potentially having maybe a few less squeaks). personally, I havent had an issue with hard dog bars.

but maybe i'm just making excuses for myself on reasons not to have #allofthecoolthings

god awful cell phone photo of lights finally installed.

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There was a recent discussion on one of the miata facebook groups about how Zerek Fabrication's welds were nicer than Moti's. That was a hilarious thread to watch.

Please link or screenshot said thread. Sounds fantastically comedic to read.

Would also like to see the professional internet weld inspector opinions if screenshots are available.

Postponed the seats and harnesses from the build list for now as Gridlife doesn't require it. I misread the rules, so looks like only a rollbar is necessary from a safety standpoint to pass tech beyond the standard requirements. Shipped cost breakdown for similar bars is $735 for the HD SD with bolt on harness bar vs $820 for the BF SD with welded harness bar. I've heard the BF bar is lighter as well, but don't have any actual comparisons to reference to back that up. Likely I will go with the BF bar due to marginally better fitment reviews and having a welded harness bar is worth the premium to me. Just waiting on payday at this point.

Next up is my wheel decisions... I'm between 15x10 and 15x9..

Emailed 949 and they came back saying that to make the 15x10 6UL fit you need a flat roll on the fenders, liners removed, and their "race" alignment. Those specs are as follows:

• 4"~ 4.7" front pinch weld height.
• Zero rake (with driver and fuel)
• 3.2° ~ 4.2° depending on pyrometer readings-Front camber:
• Caster: ~ 4.0° or max available once you reach camber targets
• Front total toe: 0
• Rear camber : -2.8°
• Rear total toe: +1/16 for <200whp. ~1/8" for greater than 200whp

My concern with running something that aggressive on a DD is tire wear. How hard is that alignment on tires? It's hard to nail down how bad tire wear would be though as its so application specific on power levels, driving style, tire/wheel specs... Speaking of tires, its nice to hear that the Rivals are being offered in 245/40 along with the VR1 which everyone already knows about. Rumor is the ZIII and RS4 will be available in that size as well, but I wouldn't expect that until 2018. Nice to know if I do go 10" wide that there will be tire choices and I wont be abandoned if Maxxis were to stop VR1 production. Gridlife rules state I can run up to a 285mm (200tw) tire per the HPDE+ classing, so I'm speculating the fastest setup would be a 245 Rival on a 10" wide wheel.

My argument to using a 9" wheel. They are nearly plug and play in comparison to a 10" wheel on an NB, less aggressive alignment needed, fit within STR SCCA classing yet, and they are lighter and cheaper with a solid 225 width 200tw tire selection to choose from. Will I lose out on some Gridlife lap time compared to a 245 though? I think so. Will I be less cool for not running the new latest and greatest 15x10 street setup? Definitely. hmm decisions decisions..

Re: Tire wear

Last year, Aidan and I ran exactly the same alignment specs.

3.0* front
2.6* rear
and I believe both of us ran the same 1/8" total rear toe.

He dailied his car, I ran mine only on track (maybe 50-100 street miles all year). The track we spent most of our time on, Oregon Raceway Park, is really hard on the outer edges of tires.

His tires wore the inside and outside edges at almost exactly the same pace. My tires wore the outside edges much more than the inside edges. His inside edge wear was as a result of street use. Since my car wasn't driven on the street hardly at all, the inside edges were fine.

The 949 race alignment is even a bit more aggressive, so yes, you will see significant inner edge tire wear using that alignment setting on the street.

For my reference, any estimate on how many miles Aiden accumulated on the street?

I had 2.5*F/2.0*R on my NA6 with 205 ZII's and with over 20k mixed twisty/hwy miles, multiple AutoX's, and a few lapping day events before they finally were shot.

I'm sure he would know, right @aidandj

Quite a few. Don't know if I have exact numbers. I can check later.

Regarding your tire questions:

On a higher horsepower Miata, the 245 on a 10 will of course be faster than a 225 on a 9. However, I think I remember reading something from Emilio that with a stockish engine, the 225/9 combo is the same or faster, due to less drag and rolling resistance. In my opinion, 9s are the better choice for an N/A BP powered car, but I could be wrong. Affordable 10s didn't exist when I had a BP powered Miata. Can anyone else chime in on this? Any data out there?

The wider wheel and tire also makes the car a little harder to keep straight on the street too, if you care about that.

I'm planning ahead on this one. I'm a bone stock BP motor now, but I dont anticipate it to be that way for much longer than a year where then the car will be a minimum of 250whp N/A with planned room to grow from there.. 245 on a 10 vs 225 on a 9 would be some interesting data to see. x2 on if anyone has that data available somewhere. The option thats sort of picking my brain right now is buying 9's and putting a 225 on them for this season while i'm stock BP power level, then once they wear out and I'm at higher power level replace them with 245's. I haven't heard much about 245 on 9's either though. I know people have done it. Devils advocate: I don't want to be stuck with 9's either if I know I can make this 10 setup work within reason. I know 245 on 10 is better but then I'm back to tire wear woes on a daily driver due to alignment specs necessary for wheel fitment. Tire wear may be a compromise I'm just forced to make.

Link to photos of 245 on 10's that I'm considering:
https://www.miataturbo.net/wheels-ti...3/#post1321236

Maybe with a heavier pull on the fenders I can squeak by with a less aggressive alignment with 245/10's. I suppose that's an option too..

after many diggings... i found my answer:

Link to the discussion start:
245 VR1 vs other 225

"I read the GRM article, what I found interesting, is that the 245 gave up 4 mph and 0.7 seconds to the 225 on a 2.39ish time. Sometimes, especially for stockish power levels, smaller is better."

^may be due to drag on a stock BP power level more than anything though

Another with time comparison:
245 on 9 vs 225 Rival on 9

*order to Moti complete*

Lightweight Strap Style Tow Hook
SD Rollbar

My wallet is sad, but I iz very happiness

I think you'll be really happy with that bar. Congrats.

Hoping so!

waiting on paychecks is fun.. gives me far too much time to plan. Based on more recent research and feedback from some of you.. I've got the following revised parts list picked out to get picked up within the next couple months.

Wheels/Tires:
15x9 S1's wrapped in 245 R-S4. I know the 245 would benefit from a 10" wide wheel, but on a DD I refuse to run the aggressive alignment necessary to clear the 10's so a 245 on a 9 will do. S1's are lighter, cheaper, don't have near the fitment issues, and in my opinion better looking than the 6UL so that's a big win in my books.

Coilovers:
Xida Gen2 800/500 with helpers. Are the coaxial tophats something I'm going to regret not spending the money on now? Planning on using NB tophats otherwise to use that money on other things below.

Sway Bars:
RB 1.125" Front Bar. With the 800 front spring rates I don't think the 1.25" bar will be necessary as it will already be quite stiff for what will be a DD.
Front sway bar mount stiffeners to prevent deflection.
Stock Rear Bar. If more is required I'll upgrade to the MSM bar later.
949 Endlinks. If they clunk I'll just deal with it. These seem well reviewed.

Bushings:
Sadfab Delrin Control Arm Bushings
Delrin Diff Bushings

Had a few beers last night... and Moti offered the Black series lexan spoilers up for sale... drunken decisions were made!

previous owner appeared to lack in metal cutting skills from the previous hard dog double hoop rollbar that was installed.. Sharp edges everywhere! water must have gotten back here at once point as well because there is surface rust in a few places. Seeing as the top has been replaced, I'm guessing the OEM top was likely leaking bad at one point causing this.

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decided to fix it and just do it clean. blew the dust off and put the spot weld cutters to use. i also properly trimmed that bent piece of the shelf in the back and washed out all of the dirty mess that was existing back there. I want to paint this area all black once its warm outside

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happy i just kept with the black. Moti FTW

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Car is looking pretty good so far. Really like how these headlights look on the car. I have a few tiny projects on the exterior I want to touch up on once its warm out, but for now this works. I need to get the coils, wheels, and tires pronto.. Havent had any luck trying to sell these wheels even with new tires (surprisingly)

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Care to post a picture of the beam pattern and output now that the headlights are on the car? Maybe I missed it, but what bulbs and ballasts are you using?

Sorry I didn't see this thread earlier, I would have tried to convince you to get different rims/tires. 205/50/15 RE-71R on 8 inch rim is even faster than the 225 rival s on a 9 (anything less than 250whp). On a racetrack, anyways. Autocross the wider tires win. Also, I hate the feeling of a soft sidewall, not properly triangulated or whatever its called. 205 on an 8, 225 on a 9... Turn in response is really important to me.

Cool car.

In other non-miata updates.. been working on a few other projects to keep me occupied while waiting on parts

Retrofit a Chevy Cobalt set of headlights for a friend. Turned out pretty minty. The work is pretty standard as this was probably my 10th cobalt I've done. He wanted the OEM+ look, and thats what he got.
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Then for my crown jewel of headlight projects to date. Decided to tear apart my 2004 CBR600RR headlights as the OEM light output is mehh and decided to tackle my first LED projector project. Found a salvage set of 2015 corolla LED headlight housings with good internals and drivers for cheap on eBay so I decided to dive in head first with them.

Projector donor vehicle:
http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/...lla/230551.jpg

Current status:
http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/x...psd0cbgpv2.jpg
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Theres a lot of tedious work and thought process that goes into this LED projector swap behind the scenes buts its turning out pretty good. Lots of test fitting to still do before I'm done. One of the best parts is that the LED bulb drivers require no additional relay harness like an HID setup would, which makes packaging easy on a bike from a wiring management standpoint, plus its less weight. Physically fitting the projectors in the housings is a completely different story..... Below is a quick light output comparison between OEM honda cbr and the toyota projectors. To say its a huge difference is a "small understatement". Tons of additional forward light and a huge improvement on beam width to see all the little critters in the ditches. Very excited to see how these perform for my first night ride this upcoming season

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I definitely forsee this car eventually being higher than 250whp, which is the sole reason I'm between the 9 and 10. 10's have some alignment necessities that im wary to take on a car I'll be DD'ing 60+ milse a day in during the summer, so with that I think I've decided to give the 245 RS4 on a 9 a shot even though the sidewall stretch isnt "perfect" and its more tire than a stock BP powered miata needs. I think they'll last me well over a year and I plan on having more power during next winters build, so that tire/wheel plan is moreso in preparation for that upcoming aspect of the build

Beam output was posted earlier in the thread, but i'll save you the clicks. I wont have full output shots outside until the salt is off the roads here in Wisconsin. Its Mini H1 7.0 Projectors, Morimoto 35W Ballasts, and Morimoto 5500K Bulbs.

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More progress. More Blackbird Parts. More piktars.

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Just to spite Moti because he said the stock badge cant be used..
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and i was too lazy to clean up all the residue under the badge..
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and the deleting the badge leaves ugly holes
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*insert Dremel wizardry here*
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Slowly starting to look more racecar... need the wheels and coilovers desperately.. cracked tail light is also annoying
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You really showed me with that dremel! :rofl:
Looks great!

rediculously warm temperatures in WI this weekend allowed me to go HAMM on some projects. I had another drunken idea for my tail light crack fix so I decided to give this non-conventional concept a try seeing as custom lighting has grown to be my sort of my thing. i bought these horrendously ugly eBay altezza LED tail lights for about the same price as what I could find a clean set of used NB OEM lights. Pictures dont do them justice on how ugly they are, but here's one
Attachment 181843

Took an hour per tail light to open them up. No idea what sorcery the Chinese used to seal these buggers together, but it was NOT fun
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First step... Get rid of that awful reflector
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Disassemble the LED reflector
Attachment 181847

Fast forward through some paint and I came out with this.
Attachment 181848

Tossed the lense back on.. and whaaa-laaa...
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Seeing as the weather was a balmy 65 degrees, I finally got to hitting the interior with desperately needed paint after the roll bar install
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while waiting for paint to dry on the tails.. decided the bumper needed a bit of trimming to show off my fabulously stock muffler #weightreduction
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And the end product after a long day of messing around. First ever black housing LED NB tails made to my knowledge! LED plate lights and LED tails tie together fairly well. Blacked out all the side markers as well so they dont stand out like a sore thumb. Not 100% sold on the tails as being "as awesome as I planned", but I dont think they look bad either. They are definitely better than cracked OEM ones. Just need to get LED turn signal and reverse bulbs now to finalize things from a cosmetic standpoint, then its full steam ahead with functional modifications as I'm happy with how the exterior looks. Taking it to work for the first time in 2017 tomorrow morning :party:
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Tails look great! I've always wondered why there was no good solution to the taillights.. at least one that I liked.

Agreed. I was thinking about going with a GV style tail lamp, but on the NB version you would lose the reverse light functionality and even replica housings would cost nearly 3x as much as this custom LED job did.