What to spend $2K on?!?
 

My wife has some money coming in soon. She said she'd like to take part of it and call it mad money for each of us. She was thinking 2 grand each for some kind of splurge.

Here's what I've got. 94 C package with a hardtop. Tein RA's with a mix of springs 9/6 currently on the car. 15x8 6UL's with 225/45 RS2's with plenty of tread. 15x7 K1's with 225/45 r comps for the track. RB hollow front bar. Factory front lip spoiler. Have a seat to swap in for track days along with 5pt harness. Hard dog HC hard top bar. BEGI S4 with 2860rs. MSPNP. 2 1/2" enthuza. AEM wideband. FM frame rails. Have Energy bushings waiting for me to put in.

Complaint.

Rides lousy. Tein RA's are race shocks. They aren't jarring but strangely the car doesn't feel well damped. Lot's of movement. Feels like I'm riding on springs. Other cars are stable next to me on smooth freeway and I'm going boing boing boing...

Other thoughts to upgrade. 6 spd. Rear end gearing. 99 headswap. Look for a built bottom end. Improve aero. Certainly would love to have that magic 300rwhp figure at my command.


So the question is this. If you had my car how would you spend 2K to make it better? More power? Better ride or handling? Stronger tranny and rear end? (has torsen)

I'm hoping someone says something that sets off a light in my head that says "ding ding ding that's perfect!"

Keep in mind I could spend more than 2k since the parts I replace might be worth something too!

Your business is suffering and you are going to "splurge" $4K?

Are you serious?

lol I thought the same thing, but why not, you only live once.

I say find a way to fit a ls1 swap into 2k. Or convince the wife to fund it with her 2k too.

Used shifter kart.

Shifter cart would be a kick. I really am wanting to improve on my little girly Miata though. It's a tough decision between more power, better ride or a combination of both.

I hear what you say about the Teins but; that just means that the suspension shouldn't be your top priority.

If I were you, I'd combine a WI kit with a 99 head. Btw, you can get a 99 head for around $300 plus shipping and the WI kit would be another 350 or so, you'd still have around $1350 to upgrade your suspension if you wanted to do so. Now, you can then sell your current Teins (say for around $700) and buy yourself one of those fancy ones for around $2,000).

See, I've spent your $2,000 for you :giggle:

Rafa,

That's more like it. The 99 head swap is on my radar. Hadn't thought about WI. Thanks!

I think I found a source for both the 99 and later model heads. If interested; shoot me a pm.

FWIW, I already bought a used AEM WI kit.

Another suggestion: if you don't want to mess with the suspension (btw, I wouldn't if I were in your shoes) you could also think about one of the new Begi intake manifolds.

Having been in a similar situation myself (it was my own windfall, but still), I can agree with your situation and attitude. You have to enjoy some things even when others are not going so well.

In any case, I'm in the process of doing a mildly built bottom end (forged rods and tri-coated pistons), 99 head, 6-speed swap, and 3.6 gear swap. You probably won't get much return for the old parts. In any case, it's not exactly a cheap route, you'd easily spend almost all of your $2k on the engine alone, and that's with smart shopping for people selling parts cheap. IDK if you have machining experience, if you do, you can kill a lot of labor costs.

If I were in your shoes, I'd make it a point to get those bushings in (don't forget your Zerks), resolve your suspension issue since a well planted car can get the power to the ground more efficiently, and do the head and trans/rear end swap. Leave the built motor out of the equation for now and just make sure that you have a damn good tune. Then research the aero part of it, seems that there's a lot of cheaper DIY options popping up now. And as Rafa suggested, toy with the WI idea, it helped a good bit on my car.

Ah, I'd say get as much as you can for the 2k.. a 6 speed, some used tires/rubber (not 6ULS), and the 99 head. My thought process is this:

2k will last you a lot longer if you pick up a bunch of the little things you've wanted, and take the time to enjoy the install. Buying 2k suspension right now probably will yield you about 2 hours of installment fun (depending on rust) :)

Hey, you asked for opinions...right back at you.

Rotor; I think he already has a built engine ;)

If i had 2k set aside for the car it would buy seats, rubber, harnesses, pads/rotors, door bars, other various stuff to get it more track prepared.

Start hitting up every track day that you can.

In Oregon on February?

Coke and whores.

Barring that, fix what you feel is most "broken". If the suspension pisses you off, take care of that.

This made it sound like he didn't... :dunno:

I would figure out what you want to do with the suspension, if you're unhappy with it now you'll always be unhappy with it. Then sell your RAs.
You're already setup for the track but if you want more power the 6 spd is going to give you the reliability you'll need to keep hitting up every track day you can afford.

As for aero you can do alot of that yourself with ABS and whatever that birch crap is savington is working with to make his own splitter.

Good list! That's pretty close to what I was thinking. The WI I'd never thought about. With you and Rafa mentioning it I'll have to look at it again.

lol; you're right! :)

Sounds like your car is pretty bad ass right now, so if it were me, I'd go for a driving school experience like at PIR. And track and autocross days.

~Mitch

Seat I have. Harness I have. Rotors and pads I have. I'm pretty well set for the track. Built motor I don't. Stock internals.

I'd love to

A. add power
B. improve ride/handling
C. a combination of both.

I'm a cheap guy. Always have been. I'm not going nuts I'm just wondering what the most bang might be for that kind of cash. Again, I will sell parts taken off to up the budget.

I don't know if I should replace the RA's or see about a revalving. I should get someone in the car that knows what the hell they are doing. Could be something wrong with preload or something in the set up. I can run it over to Eddy at Adrenaline to help me figure that out.

6 spd and R&P are high on my list if I can up the HP. Paul & Artie give me hope for keeping the stock internals going at 12-14psi. Of course Kaboom is another possibility at that level. Tune tune tune.... Maybe WI helps?

DIY aero I've already started. Got an ABS mushroom looking thing I just havent tweaked to mount up yet. Also working on some kind of canard/deflector for the front tires. Looking for a cheap used wing to mount to a 2nd trunk lid for the track.

Track days are coming thankfully. Yes there are days in Feb. here. Always an unknown whether it will be dry or not though.

The car's great at the track. I'm just looking for more! I want an amp that goes to 11.:eek5: I've got a dozen track days under my belt in the last couple years. Some with instructors, some without. Wheel to wheel racing will be in my retirement or when I get close.

Something about saying 300rwhp just sounds right. Of course breaking isn't fun or something I want to do with my DD car. Maybe that power level isn't in my immediate future. With the money I can spend prepping for future power might be a good move. 99 head and 6 spd could help. Suspension's another good area as it's a DD car.

The easiest way for me to pick up power is lightening but it's a DD car and that's not in the plan. My car's a heavy pig with every possible option intact. If people have great ideas for lightening without sacrificing too much comfort that's a good area to consider too! I'm considering the piaa 3000's in the turn signals to dump the flip ups. Any other ideas for cutting a few pounds other than hitting the treadmill?

Ohlins? haha

the 99-00 head swap ran me about $770 after it was all said and done.

$550 for a 'polished' 2000 head with 31k mi
$60 for a head gasket
$70 for oil/coolant i went thru because of leaks
$20 for random lines/hoses
$70 for the rpm switch

hoping all the work will pay-off once i boost it. only seen minimal gains vs stock but i did a lot of other things in the middle of the swap. either way its a gain.

if your looking for better suspension in a smaller budget, you could always call up fat cat motorsports for a setup your looking for.

don't take out your pitiful existence on me dude...if you can't take the slightest criticism don't post on a public forum asking for advice.

Have an nice life.

You could loan it to Pat so he could get an education. :D

Shut the fuck up, asshole.

Cueball; What do you do, if you don't mind my asking?

I thought with the Economy going south I'd get shut down, but its actually picked up and its owning my ass which sucks nearly as much.


I like Brains list, track prep then go for more power.

Added to Scotts list would be brakes and any suspension you don't have upgraded.

oh an internet tough guy...funny.

Savington!

Did you have your Koni Race's revalved or are they stock with those spring rates? Does it really ride as well as you say?

Don't mind at all! My business is the link in my sig. I sell pool tables, poker tables, bars, foosball tables, etc. Basically anything that is game room related. Been in the business for 25 years. Fun industry and I genuinely enjoy helping customers find the right stuff for them. I'm not one of those "I live to close the sale" guys.

As soon as housing took a dive business tightened up. Just look at all the furniture stores closing. Lot's of retailers, suppliers and manufacturers in my industry closing down right now. I hope to be one of those that survives and comes out stronger on the other end.

you clearly misunderstood his situation.

if I had a business selling gum balls and made zero dollars last year and my wife was bill gates and had money to burn, then suggesting that I need to do something responsible with ms gates money to help my business is just plain silly.

both you and cueball can stop arguing now so a moderator doesn't have to edit a buttload of pissy posts back and forth. ok? ok.

Cueball, make the car more enjoyable to you and you will be happiest.
$2000 is not enough to get you over 300 safely, but it is plenty to dial in your suspension.
I have factory valved koni yellows and 650/450 GC's (well eibach springs) and I am very pleased with ride and performance. I get very little body lean (also have RB hollow bar) yet the car is not bouncy, it dampens very well.
Good luck

Y8's I'll clean up my end myself! How's that? Any opinions on improving the car?!?


Edit: Cleaned up my posts.

Okay now I recall you talking about that in the past and explains again your username. Yeah I can see where selling home game room equipment might not be a top priority in foreclosure.. Damn I really wish I had some spare $$ laying around because I'd LOOOVE to have a nice/intermediate pool table.

If you can keep the lights open long enough I'm positive things will return to normal someday. Good luck, man.

:bowrofl:

+1 on making your car more enjoyable to you. I tried my friend's '94 with Koni Yellows, Ground Control springs/perches and Fatcat bumpstops with the FM rear upper mounts on the track. I was so impressed with how solid it felt, I had to upgrade my factory suspension.

On the safety side of things, how about adding a roll bar?

Hell yeah! Send me 2K, I'll put it to use.

If I were the OP, I'd really think about what you want. As others mentioned, if you enjoy tracking the car, save some of that money to buy track days. I would. That would be the most enjoyable way to spend your money. If you do want to improve the car, make careful decisions. IE-if you have a badass suspension and a stock engine, I personally would spend some money on a motor before upgrading suspension parts again.

Good one. But not just for safety. It will REALLY stiffen up the chassis, especially if you add the door bars. Subjectively speaking, the addition of the roll bar and door bars was nearly as (or as) dramatic an improvement in handling as going form my old, worn stock springs and shocks to the aftermarket ones (Tein Basics). It really stiffened up the chassis, much more than the hard top does. Even though the door bars get in the way a bit (not too bad) and the car is my DD, I still would do it again.

So yeah a hard dog roll bar and door bars (or some other such brand) is a good idea IMO.

Since he has the frame rails I say skip the door bars and he already has the HDHCHT rollbar so he's good there guys.

Another suggestion cueball; I bought FM's butterfly brace along with the frame rails. I couldn't be happier with that combo.

Butterfly brace is an option. I was leaning toward DIYing some additional cross bracing along with some underbody aero.

Sav loves his Koni races with the heavy springs. What's rates are the Koni yellow considered good for? I already have fatcat tophats. I could also go revalved Bilsteins. I have some GC's on a set of KYB AGX's. Again, I'll use them as trade bait or I can see what better shocks they can also be used on.

Oops missed that. Suggestion retracted.

I have koni sports, 525/350 eibachs with GCs, RB 1.125 hollow front and no rear.
I love it and so do others apparently. Cheaper than races but I haven't hit the track like you and Sav either.

RACEs are good for 1000# springs stock. Mine are straight out of the box and onto the car, no revalving. They ride better than a 9/6 Tein Flex setup.

did hookers and blow get mentioned yet?:D

Hawaii.

he makes a good point. (un)pleasasnt hawaiian holidays was offering some ridiculous sub-400 per person plane + hotel deal for 3 days.

if you go, please stay longer than 3 days

Russian Bride...tell your wife she is an exchange student...

Why yes they did! I was really looking for suggestions to enjoy my car more. Unfortunately I don't see hookers being much fun in the Miata! My 69 GS400 maybe, but not the Miata. Blow just doesn't compliment my other "medications".

We travel already! And we are huge bargain shoppers when we do it. My wife is the travel savvy one. She's on all the cheap airfare sites. We go to Belize for a week at the start of March. Mostly diving/snorkeling/ laying around. I used diving as my excuse for buying the $80 gopro motorsport camera on craigslist (yes I finally got hold of that guy) since they are good for 100' depths!

Travel is to keep my relationship sane while we both work 7 days a week. The car is to keep ME sane. I said my business is struggling, not that I'm broke personally! Thank god for my wife.

Y8's, I trimmed my posts to clear out controversy. Can you delete Mrtonyg's. They are just sitting there looking stupid now!

That's good specific info. Thanks! I know you've likely ridden in several different set ups. I haven't had that chance. There's a whole lot more of you CA guys to have those opportunities.

Cjernigan,

Good info on the yellows handling 525/350 stock. Thanks again to you.

I was going to mention hookers and blow and travel. Too late. Do what you will. I'd say get a more comfortable suspension. Mine is bugging the shit out of me.

What don't you like about the flex 9/6 combo. I don't have flex but RA's with those spring rates. Mine just doesn't seem very well damped. Lots of movement. What's the flex like?

I'd get hard lines for my water and oil first. Then a track only set of tires and wheels. Save the rest for track days. I am going to try and make it to the new track up by Grass Valley this year and PIR as well. Belize is great....I think I made a small dent in their economy with all the Pelican beer I drank there.

PS: The economy down here in So. Oregon really sucks......I feel your pain. BTW does your store have those cool Pittsburgh Steeler signs and stuff?

I've got track wheels and tires already. I'm very excited about that new track too. Looks great. I can get the NFL stuff but don't stock much. www.imperialusa.com is the company with those licenses for game room equipment. I can get you anything you see there you like. In Honduras last year I drank a lot of Salva Vida! I think the name translates to life saver or life boat.

I'm not sure about the condition of your car, or color, but I'm throwing this out there.

$2000 would pay for a killer respray if you'd like to see your car look a lot nicer or always wanted to try a different hue.

Mine is brilliant black, which I love, but I'm seriously considering donating plasma to save up for some a decent repaint.

I've got track wheels and tires already. I'm very excited about that new track too. Looks great. I can get the NFL stuff but don't stock much. www.imperialusa.com is the company with those licenses for game room equipment. I can get you anything you see there you like. In Honduras last year I drank a lot of Salva Vida! I think the name translates to life saver or life boat.
__________________

Cool...........Honduras is the home of "Poncho" the monkey in my sig. He lives at a zip line place there. Drank a lot of home made wine in Roatan.......nice place to retire to if you wanted to leave the USA. I'll check out the NFL stuff. See ya at the new track. I'm thinking about putting a 6 speed and some 3:55's in my car as well.

Bling ain't my thing homz!

Mines black and in pretty good shape. I might consider having one of those paintless dent guys take a couple dings out but the paint's OK. I take the buffer to it about once a year with very light compound. Shines up pretty well.

Performance wise I'm turning lap times similar to the leading spec Miata's. I've got a lot more power but also a lot more weight. I kill them in the straights, they corner better, particularly since they are fearless with the full cage. That's quick enough on track days to beat a lot of expensive cars, not enough to hang with the Z06's, GT3's, Turbo porsches, etc when those cars are driven well and using r-comps.

I don't expect to get into that category without spending a ton more money but I'd certainly like to move up a notch in my "Kill" abilities. Right now I'm in the "Cayman S well driven with R-comps in the advanced group" range. I don't know if 2k can get me past that or not but I'd love to try.

Suspension is likely the best way for me to go. With what I have to sell off I can likely add the 6 spd and maybe a taller R&P. If I ever decide to go built motor, I'd be ready for it.

In that case I definitely agree that suspension is going to give you the best bang for the buck.

I think this is almost always the case at any power level, and I almost daily wish I had dropped $2k into suspension before doing so in turbo parts.