Just put a transmission in it that can handle more power and make it standard for all power levels, please.

Because I don't make enough to justify one of those!

This. But have they not already made improvements in this regard? Was the tranny issue design related or metallurgy process control related or ??

All of the gears have new part numbers, but that is about as much information that has been figured out. Mazda hasn't said a thing about it. There is a guy on M.net called MX-555 (I think) that has done massive amounts of digging and figured that out, at least. Cars with a build date September 2016 and forward will have all the new gears. On a different note, the Cup cars are getting a slightly different 3rd and 4th gear, altogether. EMCO is the company doing that work.

I am thinking about selling my '16 Sport (since I should've bought the Club or higher trim anyways) and keep my 01 Miata and 10 Jetta TDI until Mazda does a mid-cycle update and all the transmission issues have been fixed. By then (probably the '19 year model) I could save up to buy one with cash.

I absolutely love the car, though. The torque curve is amazing for the street and I routinely do more than 40 mpg on my way to work. I should either trade in the '16 for a '17 with the fixed transmission and go back to one car, or wait it out like I said above. I don't know what to do!

Thanks for the response. I also noticed the other day that your 11-inch 2-piece rotors are way cheaper than everyone elses, so if I decide to keep the ND, I will definitely get a pair. I plan to pair them with the FM Powerlite caliper kit. So that combo would drop over 25 pounds out of the car, all unsprung, for only $1500.

I went to our friend's holiday party last night and one of their relatives own an ND. It has some bolt ons and a Vishnu flash. I convinced him to take me for a quick run. I was all excited to be able to add something to this thread.

Well, I can say it backs down a driveway better than any previous model year Miata. That is when the test ride ended abruptly. The owner cut the steering wheel prior to the driveway ending and the street beginning.

Immediately we started bouncing over the large rocks that line the street drainage at the base of the driveway. In a panic, he hit the throttle and we proceeded to Ivan Stewart (off road racer) over the rest of the rocks and came to a rest in the drainage ditch.

This occurred at 1am and so far, the coldest night of the season. Like in the 20's cold....great. He tried to move but it was obvious we had high centered on one or more rocks. But it gets worse. Not only had we high centered but the drivers side front was roughly 2 to 2.5 feet off the ground and over the deepest part of the ditch.

In a bit, we had the crew from Engineering Marvels designing and implementing a rock structure under the dangling wheel. About an hour later we got it free.

The short of it is the ND does very well over sharp rocks etc. At least until running out of ground clearance. Chassis rigidity is excellent and I could discern no noticeable torsional twisting with one front tire hanging and the opposite rear tire with no traction (open diff). I suggest Mazda look into possible hill climb/descent assist.

:rofl:

loved it

From the SDBMWCCA autocross at Qualcomm stadium yesterday. Fun!

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6b67d9675f.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d638ded7af.jpg

^ That is a wicked shot of the 949 ND on three wheels!

Had a great time yesterday with the 949 Racing crew at the SDBMWCCA autocross.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/730/32...ed906087_b.jpg

Haven't driven the ND in a while, I forgot how good it was! Might have to list the NA for sale...

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/568/31...204336d6_b.jpg

The course design was on point, although I wish we had a few more RPM to stretch second gear out.

I finally got my 01 running again after replacing a whole bunch of parts and I really forgot how fun it is to drive. It has crappy coilovers, sway bars, and some ollld RE11's, but it is still much more fun than the stock stuff on my ND. The ND REALLY needs suspension to bring out its true character. The powertrain is absolutely fantastic and the brakes are really strong, but the suspension is so damn floppy. I think I am going to get rid of the ND and my super-high payment and wait it out until the mid-cycle refresh.

Oh yeah, we just received our AVO turbo kit for it.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...013fe69262.jpg

From the AVO website. Should be fun.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f911f695f6.jpg

Wow. Nice torque curve.

I worry about the SkyActive though. Seems like that one would have less margin than the traditional Mazda tractor motors. But, maybe not?

We'll find out. We plan to have two tunes. One more conservative for CA91 and the standard AVO map with a gallon or two of race gas added to each full tank when we do HPDE or autocross. The supplied tune was done on CA91 but we're being cautious.

But yeah, dat torque.

The spinny whooshy thing

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bdf001c4e8.jpg

is that a cheater bend on the dp, and is that............silicone on the connections?

A TSE kit it ain't. Just the same, AVO does their homework. I don't expect to have any problem with it.

I've see one of these kits installed here with Ross from AVO, everything about it is rock solid for what it is and installation was hiccup free.

Yup. Previous experience with AVO stuff has always been favorable. I would not have pulled the trigger on it if I had any doubts.

Is that RGM between the flanges?

looks like copper rtv. That shit's toast on the first dyno session.