13 compression on a modern engine aint the same 13 compression that we're used to working with on a prehistoric BP.
while I don't think mazda "beefed" up the trans for more power, I do think they're well aware that most of these cars will be driven hard through twisties and track, so I don't think it's a "glass box".
the fuel system question is a good one

It's 13:1 in static compression, but I bet the dynamic compression is quite a bit different with the VVT backed off and that intake valve closing well after BDC

If Mazda went as far with weight reduction on the gearbox as they did on the weight reductions on the rest of the chassis I could see it being a glass box. For the most part stronger trans=bigger internals=heavier box.

Who knows though. Time will tell.

correct
not a problem when you can bleed it off

Most of the N/A power in tuning the SAG is by simply retarding the exhaust cam and watching knock. There are other tricks but the exhaust cam is the low hanging fruit. I call it de-atkinsoning.

And from all accounts the fiat uses the NC tranny, so thats sounds like a pretty easy swap for someone doing a turbo setup.

How exactly is an NC box in the Fiat, a completely different engine with no similarity to the 2.0 skyactive, of any help to someone with an ND?

Also, the bellhousing is not the same as the NC, so Fiat guys won't be able to source NC transmissions as replacements, even if it is the same internally.

Well, I am up to 1500 miles now and this car is just fantastic. However, the suspension is hilariously soft and I had to take it easy on the back roads of the hill country between Austin and San Antonio the past few days. You can feel the weight transfer from when you do absolutely anything. Accelerate and the things squats hard, hit a bump in mid corner and the whole car heaves sideways. I can't wait to get some real suspension on it. I also really need to get an LSD, because wheel spin from moderate cornering is quite annoying.

The dealer continues to be unresponsive about my top issue.

Did you know that salmon have a more keen sense of smell than that of a dog or a bear?

:hahano:

It means that the normal NC box from an actual NC will have the shifter in the right spot when you bolt it to the back of the skyactive.

that assumes the Skyactive and the MultiAir share identical mounting locations in the bay and are the same length.

We we already know that they have different bell housing patterns, so you'll need an adapter to put an NC trans on an ND motor.

Making more assumptions than I have time to count...

Discovered something interesting and quite counter intuitive on the dyno yesterday. When doing OEM baselines we always run an OEM like tire. In the case of the ND we assumed the huge RE71R would be costing it 2-3whp. Not so. Both sets inflated to 30psi, same coolant and IAT temps at start of pull then SAE corrected. Did multiple runs in each config and the results were the same. Picked to representative pulls to display. I'm sure there is a significant aero drag components and then tire scrub when cornering but straight line rolling resistance appears to be a wash. Weird.

BTW, you can use 140whp as Dynojet SAE corrected power for the ND, heat soaked. We could cheat the number a bit on a cold engine but 140whp is real world. Goodwins dyno shows 137~138 for the baseline I think so all their numbers are conservative by that amount. Got the Goodwin header on last night. SOTP feels like at least 10whp on the stock map. Will post dyno's in a day or so.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e323c324f7.jpg

Additional rolling resistance of the wider, softer compound tire being offset by stiffer sidewalls and higher relative pressure?

Edit- that came out wrong. I should have said that at equal pressures both tires actually make the same area of contact, might even be smaller for the 245 with the stiffer sidewalls.

Fire Truck Red ND RZ over Jet Black
 

Finally got around to edit and upload the gallery for the beautiful Jet Black Club that we installed our ND RZ in.
The Fire Truck Red powder coat is pretty much a dead match to the Brembo calipers, so for those who are looking to pick up a bit of color, consider this a great looking $80 option on Brembo equipped cars :thumbs:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...33866f4a23.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a5047e059c.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b6c42c463f.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...48ab3a61be.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...af6693af5b.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d2a263fd08.jpg

Took this pic for those who asked about the way the side cubbies behind the seats look like post installation -

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c4e4b2cfdd.jpg

I'll upload pics of the covers in a separate post.
Enjoy!

no worky!

Cosmetic covers for ND RZ installation are now available!
 

The covers for the ND RZ installation are now available and you can order them directly from us, just shoot me an email or call us at (818)339-3884.
They are priced at $95 plus shipping, with no charge on shipping if they are ordered with the bar.

The covers are supplied with the sticky back Velcro, ready to install in a matter of minutes -

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...06cd351790.jpg

The production covers were further optimized from the ones shown previously by cleaning up the design even further to create a more seamless look.
Installation is nearly identical other than changing the location of one small piece of Velcro on each side (moved from the top to the back of the panel).

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b53067d47c.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a221f00520.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...013dfa4b5c.jpg

We've been working hard to finish off the looks of the ND RZ installation to make it as factory-looking as possible.
Next on our to-do list is a ND RZ specific clear wind deflector which will double up as a great way to make the cheese grater looking OEM deflector go away ;)
Stay tuned!

Yes, sorry... I forgot for a moment that MT.net insists on uploading images that already have a URL once AGAIN instead of just reading [IMG] like any normal forum :facepalm:

Damn I love these bars. Can't wait for you to take my money whenever you have the time lol.

Haha, I'll send you an invoice shortly..
Been out of town for a few days and had office work piling up, working as fast as humanly possible to get back to everyone's emails and messages.

On a separate note, this was posted on another forum, but I don't think Andrew would mind if I quoted this here -
Thanks man, this means a lot coming from you :party:

Emilio, just noticed the spring rates supplied with ND XIDAs. Wondering why they are so much less than NA/NB? Is it just a matter of where the spring is relative the fulcrum in the ND suspension (i.e., rate at the wheel ends up similar)? Or is there something else fundamental going on?

Entirely different suspension but yes the motion ratios are different.

Not a huge fan of the red powder coat, but it is striking for sure.

Great setup, such a clean installation. Beautiful work.

17x9 6UL Beryllium

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bf7a3ec33f.jpg

I think my ND has the worst wind noise out of all my miatas so far. I really liked my hardtop-only NC, so I might be tempted to go with Moti's GT3 bar and that new Goodwin top...

The OVTune guy is promising flex fuel by the end of the weekend on a thread on mnet.

I know it is only 4 psi and on a stock exhaust but... apparently just opening up the exhaust with the GWR long-tube on these engines makes the same power as a turbo :giggle:

okay? so open up the exhaust on the turbo setup and guess what happens...

Transmission goes boom.

I fully realize that is the absolute worst the system will ever perform. I am saying it is impressive that the Skyactiv can basically match a choked-off turbo kit for power with just an exhaust. As in, the miata finally has a well-engineered engine.

I can just see the m.net discussions about this now

In the last few days I've taken a number of orders for roll bars powder coated in our Pearl Gunmetal Gray, all for the same exact reason, ^ this color finish on the new 6ULs :)
I've only seen it in photos, but it looks like a VERY close match to the third bar -

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0ead2cecee.jpg

I finally got to sit in a 124 today.
I don't know if the seats are different than the NDs, but I was almost at eye level of the top of windshield frame.
Overall, I really like it, but it could do with some less Chryslery wheels.
No two-tone goofyness on this one either, which was nice.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bc3f6e2687.jpg

Why on earth would a manufacturer paint such a beautiful car in such an awful color?


Fuck it. God is dead. Nuke everything.

Uh, Joe, pretty sure that's black.

Yeah, it's black.
I'm down with nuking everything though.

black isnt even a color!

thats racist.

The 124 is hideous in comparison to the ND. Those overhangs are a mile long and the wheels look like bargain bid crap.

Tell us how you really feel.

Your mom's overhangs are a mile long...










Boom roasted

Any "black" which is indistinguishable from whiskey-shit-brow, even on a potatocam, is worse than brown.

You forget who owns the Fiat brand...

I mean it's basically a sebring convertible. Just wait for the 2+2 model to come out.

I mean look!


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f0fbb9e129.jpg

even the sebring has less awkward proportions.

..actually, it looks better than the fiatch

I didn't forget. Hence the reference.
Actually, I'm pretty sure it's the other way around.
I do wish the nose was about 6 inches shorter.
I am a failure for forgetting to take a picture of the engine bay.
I forgot that even the base models have a turbo.

P.S. if you think the Sebring looks better than the 124, you are even gayer than I'd hoped.


You read that right.

It's 2016 breh, most base model cars come turbo.

Most premium models are n/a. With double the cylinders :likecat:

I'm dying to see one of these turds in person. Perhaps I will change my mind. So far, ND looks way better to me.

look at the picture above.

tell me that overhang isn't the gayest thing you've seen in person, including your pink dildos?

You're right. The overhang is gayer than my pink dildos, but not the double enders.
It's my biggest gripe about the car, and I'm hoping either the next few years will have an updated nose or a decent aftermarket solution is made.
I still want one.

from this angle its actually ok


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ba2c244e3b.jpg

but clearly they suck at life if they didn't check to see how bad it looks otherwise

but we're talking about fiat here, and not the cool old fiat, the new chrystleriat............

The 124 is rather generic in attributes and proportion. They went back to the original 124 for character and styling cues and the original wasn't particularly good looking. The MX5 OTOH is a modern, aggressive clean sheet design. The MX5 design might not be your cup of tea but it is original and bold. The 124 is not, even if that appeals to you. To those that think the Fiata is better looking than the MX5, I feel sorry for you.

w0rd

The designers at Fiat took a car that looks purposeful and light on its toes with short overhangs and excellent proportions and somehow managed to make it look both nose and tail heavy, along with tasteless retro styling cues (the giant badge on the trunk looks like shit).
I tried to like it when I saw it the first time at the LA autoshow, stood in front of it for like 15 minutes, studying the lines... just couldn't do it.

There's nothing clean-sheet or original about the current-gen MX5. The styling looks like what would happen if a 3 went to the plastic surgeon and got some Joan Rivers-level facelift action. Same bone structure, just squintier and with all the surface features drawn too tightly.

The NA, by comparison, resembled nothing which had come before. It was all roundness and soft curves, in an era dominated by boxy angles.

who cares. it's sexy (except the rear end at some specific angles), and doesn't look like an 05 ford thunderbird


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...80c84c4717.jpg

does the shape of the front edge of the doors of the miata and the fiata match? You could re-nose one if you were so inclined for self-torture.

Personal taste is all for the ND, if I was drawing a car I wanted it would be far more ND than 124... but it's entertaining to see how some love one and hate the other. Can't we all just get along?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e442e6cfba.jpg

I'm not really fond of either (my tastes run much more to the NB and FD), but I would pick the ND over the Fiata. :)

--Ian

ND has many new shpaes not seen on any car that I know of. The prominent v shape crease of the front fenders is only mimicked by the C2 Corvette. The broad shoulders of the front fenders, maybe S2000 but the ND's are signficantly wider and more integrated. The rear qtrs sorta Z3 M but the BMW's looks grafted on while the ND, is once again integrated into the entire body line front to rear. The nose looks like no other car I can recall. The only car that shares it's rear character is the Jaguar which was released about a year before the ND, pure coincidence and not a borrowed feature.

The tightly drawn features, as you describe are what attract people to the ND. The design creates an fascinating balance between muscular tension like a E type Jag or Ferrari 458 and a flow that has a grace and overall coherence form every angle. If you are old and want a slab side wanna be retro convertible with no visual tension then yes, the Fiata is the bees knees.

The 124 is a sad attempt to recreate some of the pain, er magic of the original 124.