pizzle

Goals:
- More juice to hold off/pass those ******** Mustangs/Corvettes who ignore blue flags
- Least-ish effort to pass California smog
- Weekend/track toy
- MUST pass <93dB at Laguna Seca
- Turbo in the future when I get faster and when the world's supply-chain un-***** itself (I don't plan on ever getting rid of this car)

Car:
- 1997 NA8 <10k on rebuild, 203k on chassis
- Xidas + big grip kit
- eBay aluminum radiator
- Hardcore bar + door bars
- Stock 14s + RT660 (6ULs stolen last month, waiting for the new ones!)
- Stock everything else

The Plan:
- Basic bolt-ons (RB header, RB CARB exhaust, DIY intake, MS PNP2 + professional tuning)
- Q-max reroute (will order soon)
- Supermiata LSD (?)
- High-flow CARB cat?
- Oil cooler?

Questions:
Seems like most people do the BP4W head-swap, but I'm fairly sure I don't have the skills/patience to do it myself and I'm assuming it would be a total pain in the *** to swap back biennially to pass smog -- would leaving this out defeat the purpose?

How much of a pain in the *** would swapping the header for smog? I installed the Xidas + kit myself, so I can wrench a bit -- intake and MSP seem easy enough to reverse for smog and the RB exhaust is legal, so I think I'm good there. If there's a CARB-approved header that's worth it, I'm all ears, but seems like RB is the way to go.

High-flow CARB cat? I'm probably due for a new one anyways, so do bend over and spend the ~$1k on a Magnaflow? Or do I just go full retard, nix the cat and just swap the entire exhaust system for smog when needed? Worried about the sound booth here....

'While I'm in there' should I just bite the bullet and do the oil cooler?

LSD? I know I'm likely not fast enough to really need it yet (can squeak a sub 2-minute on a great day at Laguna in my car as currently configured -- I could also be mis-remembering my best times...), and I do love spending money at Supermiata, so should I just place the order and be done with it? My other worry is that it seems like as cars get older, aftermarket kinda moves on, so if I don't get it now, I won't be able to down the road. And folks here in NorCal are asking $1k for LSDs, so I figured $1500 isn't horrible for new and shiny (and supporting the Miata community).
EDIT: wrong section for this question I'm a jackass.

Thanks in advance for all advice.

EDIT: suggestions on other **** to score also welcome. Best time to sell stock is in a down market.

cabowabo

None of the listed mods are going to help with holding off more powerful cars except turbo. I also have 97 and ran it N/A for most of the time I've owned it. The difference between BP05 bolt-ons and BP4W bolt-ons was 11whp (125 vs 136), which helped for NASA TTE/TT6, but does nothing against cars near your pace that are just faster/higher hp. I also never registered that car in California in the 2 years I lived there. In Texas I would do the ECU, intake, o2 sensor, etc swap, go clear codes, then pass smog then swap back, but it was just OBD2 test with no ***** given how it got there. I was going to finish massaging the EGR pipe to fit BP4W with NA8 header, but never got around to it and figured it'd be a waste of time anyways with how strict CARB is, but have no first hand experience.

If you want to do the N/A bolt ons for fun and just a little extra oomph go for it I certainly enjoyed/still enjoy my MS3, RB header, 4.78s, etc, but don't expect to fare much better against more modern / more powerful cars. The Miata is still slow and that's ok. I'm now turbo, albeit low boost, and that's turning the tide a bit. At COTA a couple weekends ago my top speed was up to 126-128mph from 113mph last time I was there in full TTE trim (e86 partial flat tune at 136whp, made that for ~1.5k rpm) and that's at only 3-4psi and poorly tuned to go that much faster mph. Not sure how you solve the turbo problem in Cali outside of making it a trailered car or hoping for the best running maxed out DC injectors with FM kit (scary), but can definitely say it's the only mod that's added some real thrust to the car lol

I was also much more on pace 2-3 years ago and am finding I've gotten pretty garbage at corner entry / trail braking since I was N/A and am starting to put for emphasis on driver mod (data, coaching), driver mod can't be overlooked. Bolt ons are fun and all, fully support them, but just don't expect much difference when drag racing people from corner to corner

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

CA emissions and track reliability is a narrow window. NA8 stock makes about 105whp stock. No combination of BP4W or BP6D head would be technically legal. NA8 still old enough to to require sniffer (rollers) ,visual and code scan. Maybe 115whp legally.
Quasi legal (might pass but definitely not legal) BP4W maybe 125whp. Other option that you see owners do in most states is just toss legality out the window and just swap the needed parts back in when inspection time rolls around. Then you can make 170whp or so with bolt ons, E85, ECU
and wee bit of head work.

That still gets you smoked by the S550 Mustang GT's though. You might cut a similar lap time but it will all be with corner speed. They'll still park you in every braking zone. CARB legal F/I kits aren't track reliable with heavy use by an advanced group driver.
My opinions, decide whether you want full time CARB legal or to hang with 10lb/hp cars on the straights. Pick one.

Not trying to rain on your parade. I make a living outfitting cars like yours Just hoping to add some intel based on experience.

pizzle

Just to be totally clear, I'm not looking to keep up with the big boy V8s -- just a bit more oomph to hold off/pass the clowns who just show up at Laguna to drag race on the big straight. I'm okay being passed by anyone with a bigger motor and some skills. But it's true, I won't have the power (or be allowed to) pass them on the outside in corners, anyways.... Oh well, time to just burn money and have fun doing it.

I've made my order and Project Semi-Retard is a go!
Ordered:
- RB header
- RB cat delete
- RB sport muffler + sport connecting pipe (figured I should try go quiet here to compensate for the cat delete)
- Q-max (Emilio et al for the quick service!)
- MS ECU
... I kinda now regret not throwing in injectors to my Supermiata order... and still can be convinced to toss the OS Giken into my cart....

The lead-time on RB gear is mid-April, so I've got a month or so to clear space for the CAI and further research the catch-can stuff.

Even though this won't be a fire-breathing monster, I'm still stoked about getting a ~20% increase in power. And I figured, when I go turbo, I'll just be building on top of all this, anyways.

Thanks guys for the input.