Dud1f3r

I've read through a bunch of the forums, build threads, guides, and goofy nonsense all around this site, finally said hello, and now I think it's time to start a build thread.
This first post is really just going to lay out my plans, my goals, and the things I want/need to get for my car.

Starting with a 1994 NA Miata, with the Torsen LSD, 5MT, and I bought it with: Cobalt coolant reroute kit, Koyorad radiator, and a (stage 2? very heavy) FM clutch kit.

I've put on:
FM Stainless steel brake lines
FM Stainless steel clutch line
Some random weighted shift **** I thought was comfortable
Aluminum handbrake handle
FM hood strut kit (Which, almost a year later is starting to rust on the body, sad)
FM alignment specs (Made my shitty tires feel, well, less shitty)

Goals:
I want to eventually make 350whp, but don't want to immediately step up to 350. I want the car to grow with me as a driver (I do try to take it to track days and autoX. At least, as much as I can). But any modifications I'd need to do for 350 that I can do while slowly stepping up is a bonus.
Want a fun street-able car. This means (to me) no super peaky powerband. I want the power to come on pretty linearly, and I am more than happy to sacrifice peak power to get a smoother (and flatter hopefully) powerband.
Still want to keep AC/PS, cruise control, power mirrors, and heater core. I'm a goblin and like all my cars to be comfortable, and that includes keeping all the creature comforts that was already on my car. the extra difficulty in trying to keep them on my car will be well worth it, since I'll be happier when I drive my car.

Things on the "To-Do" list (in no particular order):
My leather seats are torn. I'm not sure if I want to replace them with racing bucket seats, or get them re-upholstered, but I want to keep the seats that cork-y color regardless which route I go.
My soft top is also torn. I'd like to replace that eventually.
Change the shift **** again. I like the shape of the ball compared to the stock NA8 shifter, but the chrome on top burns my hand.
Install a rollbar. I have an OEM hardtop, but I also like to take it off on hot days and drive around. Weather in NC is temperamental, so keeping the soft-top as a "Just In Case" is a must. Preferably I'd like one that's also SCCA and NASA approved, since I track/autocross my car.
Harness, maybe. If I go racing seats, I'll certainly want one. Which one I'm not sure yet, but I do know it'll help keep me safer.
Replace the brakes. With the power I'm wanting, I'm certainly gonna need something that can handle track day abuse much better than the stock 10" brakes. The SuperMiata 11.75" BBK is looking enticing, but I think I'll need to drive one to see how it feels on the street too.
Replace the wheels/tires. Right now I have the stock 10lbs wheels (14x6) and some no name tires (Westlake Radial RP18) that don't have any grip. Looking at something like Konig Dekagrams in Bronze (15x9) and some good 200tw tires in 245/40R15 or 225/45R15.
I need some suspension. Having a hard time in my head between the Bilstein DIY coil-overs, or just jumping for XIDAs. I'm not entirely convinced that the XIDAs are worth the price bump over the Billi's (since I'm not chasing 0.1's on the track, I'm just there to have fun), but if I decide differently down the road it'll be even more money to dump after dropping who-knows-how-much trying to get the Billi's to work right for me.
Install a standalone. Seems like the go-to is MS3, so that's most likely what I'll get. (Comes with the MKTurbo kit so that's nice)
Install a full turbo kit. I'm too lazy (and have done enough reading on the forums) to try and piece together a kit for my Miata from scratch, so some other company doing the hard work for me makes my life easier and I'll know I won't have to do too much welding. The MKTurbo complete kit with everything is on my eyes here, since getting a lot of the stuff in one kit and not having to order from like, 2-3 other vendors to get everything I need is really slick. It also seems to get me in the right direction in terms of my long term power goals, getting the IC, a manifold and downpipe, and the oil lines, all that I might need when I step up later.

The car isn't my daily (my cammed Golf is), but I enjoy driving it on the street to meet up at local Miata meets near me, and just to have fun every once in a while. I also usually drive it to track days and autox instead of trailering it (I did just buy an old truck, so maybe that will change). It does kinda feel like I'm asking for a lot out of my car, and some oxymorons (Wanting it to be modified, but feel like it's not kinda thing) but I think with enough patience (and lots of money) I can achieve my goals.
This is gonna be a very slow moving thread. I gotta save up a lot to actually afford the things I want, so bear with me and my Miata.

Z_WAAAAAZ

Stoked to follow along and see your progress! Looks like you’re off to a good start and on the right track with your research.

For what it’s worth, I’m running the Supermiata 11.75” BBK on my car with a master cylinder brace, adjustable prop valve and larger “sport” calipers in the rear. The combo is perfectly streetable, although myself and most others will swap pads for street vs track. I’m on G-Loc GS-1 pads for the street and G-Loc R12/R10 pads for the track. With the street pads, the pedal feel/grab is pretty similar to stock.

Dud1f3r

Are you running the stock master cylinder, and is ABS still working fine? If you were close to NC, I'd ask for a ride-along.

Z_WAAAAAZ

Yeah, stock master cylinder still. Thought about going to the bigger Wilwood unit at first but the changes in pedal throw and firmness were intangible to me so that mod basically dropped off my priority list. My car doesn't have ABS so no issue there lol.

If you find yourself in SoCal for any reason, hit me up. Would be happy to give a ride along haha.

Dud1f3r

Oooooooh I just realized I've been following along with your thread for a while now haha. I think 949 says ABS works fine with the SM BBK, so lets hope it can.
Did you see any performance gain (IE, brakes don't fade so quickly) over stock brakes with track pads?

Z_WAAAAAZ

Nice, hopefully it’s helped out a bit haha.

Yeah, unsurprisingly there’s a notable performance increase with the BBK. Pedal throw stays more consistent towards the end of long track sessions is what I noticed mainly. The bigger calipers don’t mow through brake pads nearly as fast either.

Dud1f3r

A fairly quick update, I've found someone selling what I think are revalved Billi's for $100. They don't know much about them, but they've got the lil Schrader valves in the bottom of them, and for $100 for a set I can't really pass that up. Worse case scenario, I get them and they're all blown, not the worst thing in the world.
Suspension was my biggest complaint when I was daily driving my Miata (before I bought my Golf/truck). It was so harsh and painful to go over roads that weren't completely smooth. If I go with these, Imma see about going 550/375 or 550/350 for the spring rates like Concealer404 recommends in most posts he talks about them in. Maybe later down the line I'll bump them up to decrease the roll, but for now comfy and handling better sounds like a bonus. Only problem is the seller is pretty unresponsive at times, so it's hard to get a hold of him. :(

Dud1f3r

Very late update, haven't actually done anything to my car besides add a dash cam since people don't seem to notice me when I'm driving.

My alternator fell off, funnily enough. Got that bolted back on (with orange loctite, I pray it doesn't fall off) and it fixed my squealing like hell on startup/turning my AC on issue since the alternator belt has any sort of tension unlike before.
Going to a meet later today, hopefully gonna see other people's turbo builds and get an idea of which kit I want to get. I've settled on wheels, I just need to save up for them + tires right now, and I'm on my way to my first mod after starting this thread!
Suspension wise, I think I've settled on Technas. They offer that middle ground between full on race coilovers and comfy street coilovers that I was looking for, and from the same people who make XIDAs which is good!.

Should see another update in a couple weeks or so, hopefully about wheels and tires.