I got the full GWR exhaust coming in the mail (header, mid, super Q HV). I'm looking to go with the VersaTune/fab9 E85 tune here shortly. Early results look like at least 190whp. It's looking like the ND2 injectors are a little too small for corn at the top end, so it's not clear if they will go to either a corn blend or bigger injectors for their final solution. I would prefer corn blend, since I'll need to do a monthly pilgrimage to get corn anyway. Maybe custom tunes for E~60 & 92 octane are the right ticket for me.

I put on a Cobalt muffler. The Cobalt brand (Moss house-brand) never gets talked up around here, but this particular muffler was high-quality and one heck of a value (about half the price of other muffler-only options). The sound is perfect for a DD. Adds spark to the car, but really pleasant to drive. Never drones. I'm really happy with it.

I also got a set of Progress sway bars with Paco front sway bar mount reinforcements. Haven't put those on yet.

I think I might be selling my 2019 Sport and the pile of parts I have for it. I was going to have the 2019 as a track car and keep my 2018 124 Abarth as a street car, but I have too many car payments right now and I want to buy a house, so I need to downsize. I have so many parts for the 2019 already, but I can use some on the Abarth. I have a spare set of Recaros, full Verus aero kit, XIDA ACE’s, etc. Rick, let me know if you are interested in some cheap XIDA ACE’s for your ND!

That's a bummer. Pretty pricey too since it's DI.

I think there are several oem P&P DI injector options under evaluation. I don't think it's going to be very expensive.

Good to know. It's going to be a tough choice between a BRZ and an ND2 this fall.

I'm getting an ethanol blend tune, but I'll have to wait a couple weeks due to business travel. I got the full GWR exhaust on yesterday. They did a good job eliminating header rasp. Still a bit boomy decelerating around 4k. We'll see how it sounds after it cokes up.

Due they not offer a flex fuel tune, that will automatically change the tune for the % of E in the fuel? I'd probably want to wait and do the injectors and that kind of setup so I wouldn't have to be careful about mixing ratios or different levels of E coming out of the pump.

There is no flex tune. There is no ethanol sensing hardware, and no way for the ECU to interpret a sensor if there was one. I don't know if there is the capability to accommodate flex in the mapping. But corn definitely wakes up these motors.

Blending works for me, since I'll have to transport it to my property anyway.

Gotcha. Flex Fuel tunes are common in the BRZ world to accommodate it. They plug in a cheap GM sensor into the fuel rail and an secondary O2 harness so it can automatically adjust the tune from E0 to E100.

Here's an example: https://www.delicioustuning.com/flexfuel

We have the Delicious FF kit in our FRS. Makes life much easier. I'm guessing some vendor has a PnP kit for the ND.

I'm pretty interested to see how the new 86 responds to bolt ons & a tune.

This is fab9's preliminary header & E85 tune (~192whp). You can see it run out of injector up at the top.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f31a3088c.jpeg

I suspect pretty similarly to current one. The compression is going up by .5 to 13:1 vs 12.5:1 for the current engines. And it makes more torque at a far lower RPM than the FA20 while still revving out.

The current gen cars typically pick up 25-30whp with a header and E85 tune.

So if the next gen cars respond the same, they should end up around 225-230whp with a much fatter torque curve than the FA20. And they only picked up like 15 lbs over the existing model as well.

October before last, on my way back from the final Miata Reunion at Laguna Seca, I stopped off at Flyin' Miata for a few goodies. I had their 2.5" midpipe installed, along with the Verus underbody aero panels and rear diffuser.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ce7ab6cf82.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...27da8fb263.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4c98362ad8.jpg

They work exactly as advertised. Due to my, ahem, overactive right foot, I was typically tanking a gallon or so more than other ND2 drivers in our convoy. On the final leg of the return trip (north of 1,000 miles), I was now tanking about a gallon less than those same cars.

This winter, Verus had a sale and I decided to get the last set of panels - the rear suspension covers. Installation was a bit of a bear, as there is minimal room where the rear diffuser and suspension covers meet. I finally got it all together and it looks pretty decent. I hope that Mazda technicians never need emergency access to that area, as it's not gonna be easy to get it all apart again.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b48f8f5356.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...901cced114.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e484e049b1.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...22246efcd8.jpg

The other thing I had done was some undercarriage rust protection. Mazdas are typically pretty weak in that respect (just look at any old 3 or 6 that lived in the rust belt). I don't drive my car in the winter but the shoulder seasons can be problematic as well, with early snowfalls or residual salt/sand from winter applications. With my now-departed '93 L.E., I used to have it Rust Checked, which is an oil application. It works well enough but has three main drawbacks: 1) Annual re-application required; 2) It's really messy (attracting road grime to form a really gross slurry and 3) It played havoc with any rubber seals (mine fell apart and eventually required replacement). There's a local shop here called Sublime Surfacing, which offers a fantastic alternative. It's called HoneySeal, which is their tradename for what is essentially Cosmoline, the same treatment that Porsche, MB and Volvo use on their undercarriage. They first remove all undertrays, clean all grime and surface rust off using dry ice media blasting, then liberally coat all exposed surfaces. Steel/iron surfaces end up black and aluminum parts appear a golden honey-brown (hence the name). It's designed to last at least 15 years, so it's pretty much once and done. I'm very pleased with the result and it will be nice peace of mind when I take the car out on a nice spring day, but before the rain has washed all the crap away.


Accumulation from 3 days driving on snow-free (but not salt-free) roads:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...19f5cf56e9.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c0453df4da.jpg


After dry-ice media blasting:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8e1c16e315.jpg


Note the removal of the oilpan/filter cover:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...73fbe75b28.jpg


After HoneySeal application:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b79bf66ebe.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...681542b479.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5d31802aba.jpg


He even removed the fender liners and applied in these critical areas:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...343aebaa84.jpg

What do you guys recommend for tow hooks when running track days?

I run the Flyinmiata ones, but that is just because I got them for free.

i haven't been on here in a while, but this gave me deja vu.

Got a full GWR exhaust installed. Does a good job of controlling rasp & drone. Got the 91 octane VT map loaded, & now I wait for my corn tune.

Did they come up with a solution for the injectors, or did I miss it?

Nope. I'm a half hour away from the only corn station near me, but I'm on a farm. I'm going for a blended tune since I'll have to buy corn monthly & store it. Mixing down suits my situation better than swapping injectors.

Well, I sold my 2019 Sport to a family member. I already miss it. My 2018 Abarth is great for the looks, sound, and power potential. The miata was great for throttle response, agility, and mpg. I want a quicker car, so I kept the Abarth. It also helps that the Abarth is loaded and the Sport is obviously a base model. I have tons of parts for it left. I might keep them all and pick up another one down the road lol

Sell the parts and stop waffling man! You've been thinking about this for years and finally made the decision. You'll be able to pick up the parts new/used down the line when you're ready. Move on for now.

Congrats on the sale. Atleast you'll be able to see the car around! Not sure that'll make it any easier though.

I installed my JBR short-shift kit yesterday evening. The OEM shift quality in the ND is excellent but it's not quite the rifle-bolt experience I get in my track-mostly MSM with MiataRoadster long, angled short-shifter. The JBR kit, by all accounts, avoids the vibration issues found in some of the competition.

The second-worst part of the install was removing the trim piece around the shifter. By all accounts, you should be able to pull it out a corner at a time but I just wasn't able to. I resorted to using plastic trim removal tools but was paranoid that I would scratch the surrounding parts. As it turns out, no scratches but I did manage to snap a few locating pins in the process. Oh well, worse was yet to come but at least it was expected. By all account, removal of the shift turret (held on by silicon) is a bear and they weren't wrong. I used a pry bar, BFH and copious amounts of profanity and it still caused me an ulcer. When it finally let go, there was much reliefs.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3d763e76ec.jpg

Then it was general clean-up of the old silicone (trying not to contaminate the now-open transmission. The duct tape was to protect the edge of the transmission tunnel when I was applying the BFH to the pry bar.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...75c8452c57.jpg

The rest was pretty easy:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8557127fd1.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5a156b7279.jpg

Just about ready to put the center console back:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4313035d38.jpg

I took the car for test drive before installing the boots and insulation (to, you know, make sure I had six forward gears and one reverse). You wouldn't believe just how much DI clatter comes through the open console - it sounded like an old diesel Mercedes. Mazda did a great job in attenuating noise in this area.

So, with a thorough test drive this morning, I pronounce myself extremely satisfied. Throws are shorter, as expected, but the action is now bolt-action-like (as I'd hoped). Not only that, it's precise and completely intuitive, with no "what gear am I in?" issues whatsover. Also, no vibration at high revs. One of the best mods I've made to the car thus far and highly recommended.

^^^ Nice review, I might have to add it to my 'parts to buy' list. ^^^

Goodwin sells a mounting bracket for Lifepo4 batteries, but I just don't trust lifepo4 for street use. However, it also accommodates an odessy pc625 agm battery, which I ran in my street turbo NA for years. I did have to buy 2 new bolts (m8x60x1.25 & m6x60x1). 12.75 lb weight savings.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e2def1968a.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6017633517.jpg


Battery in car. Also did a transmission fluid flust at ~11k. Much needed.

Put on the Progress sways and got it back out to the track. It's fun now! Takes a set without too much waffling and slides around like crazy on the skinny OEM tires. Body roll is light-years better. I think these stiffer sways should have been part of the Club package from Mazda.

Here's something interesting I noticed. When I was by myself, the car was neutral to slightly pushy (I used Progress's recommended initial settings for the sways). When I took a student out, the push got a lot worse. It seems that with how far rearward the seats are, adding passenger weight really affects CG. I never noticed this in other Miata generations, but they are styled differently. Planning to adjust the rear sway to the stiffer position as I like a looser car.

Done modding for now. Car is meeting my needs (wants actually) of a great DD that I can occasionally take to the track.

Carbon Miata Spyder Grille
On my personal car. Really nice piece. OEM like fitment. We brushed on some flat black enamel for the bumper support behind the grill. Lip spoiler is a Legsport.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...be43f355e5.jpg

Emilio, what happened to the mascara around your headlights?

It's still there :)

I see it now. The angle the photo was taken at allowed it to blend in perfectly.

Yah, mascara still there.

This ceramic coat is due for a refresh. Way overdue actually.

Updated the valving on ND Xida. We learned some stuff while developing NC Xidas that would allow us to increase the damping adjustment range on the ND. Took a few iterations to get exactly what we wanted. Same damping on the stiffer end of the adjustment range for track and auto-x but much better street ride on the soft end of the damping adjustment range now. We had stopped shipping ND Xidas while were working on the update so we had a flood of orders when we announced the new spec last week. Next batch should be here late July, which we're taking pre-orders for. Also switched from 2.25" springs to 2.5" to improve NVH.

https://supermiata.com/ND-xida-coilover-miata.aspx

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5313b5f8e0.jpg

Ok, so does that also apply to the ACE's? I currently have 400/200 and I never liked the street ride. Will this valving adjustment allow me to go up to 600/300, but still ride better on soft than my current ones?

Email us about spring rates but yes, this will make ACEs ride better too.

Have any of you added a strut tower brace? I deleted mine, and I'm looking for an extra set of the 3 oem mounting brackets that I can shave down. This is both the shock top brackets that the various ECU brackets attach to, and also the center firewall plate that doesn't have the integrated strut tower mounting brackets. Hit me up if you want to sell them.

If anyone wants to try out a header without much cash outlay the Hooker 4-2-1 is on clearance right now for $217 shipped.

https://www.holley.com/products/exha.../parts/BH10303

Close enough. '23 4v bw. New kid hauler!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...54ddbe0ec0.jpg

I approve.

I scored a cheap tunnel X brace from a RF, that I'm gonna try out on my ST for giggles. It's lighter, and maybe squishier. Has anyone played with the various under body braces? I ended up removing the OEM tower brace, and I don't notice any difference. Anyway. $40 experiment.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3486325881.jpg