New to Miatas, new to cars.
11-11-2015, 08:14 PM
#21
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Cutting springs is the best way to get lower. And you really don't loose any ride comfort at all. Just make sure to do it correctly.
Don't use a torch. Heat is a springs worst enemy. FrankenMiata - Handling with a Hacksaw > MotoIQ - Automotive Tech, Project Cars, Performance & Motorsports
Don't use a torch. Heat is a springs worst enemy. FrankenMiata - Handling with a Hacksaw > MotoIQ - Automotive Tech, Project Cars, Performance & Motorsports
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11-11-2015, 08:15 PM
#22
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Miatas can seem a tad counterintuitive in this regard, but all else being equal, installing stiffer springs and dampers will actually improve ride quality, especially on an NA.
The reason is that Miatas don't have a lot of free suspension travel. On the stock suspension, you wind up spending a lot of time on the bump-stops, and stock 20 year old bumpstops are about as compliant as a liberal in a police investigation. As you lower the car even slightly, you wind up hitting the bump stops even harder and more frequently.
Stiffening the springs softens the ride. It does this by actually allowing the springs to do their job, and keep you off of the bump stops in the first place. As an added benefit, aftermarket coilover packages (the good ones, anyway) typically use shock bodies which are slightly shorter than stock (more free travel), bumpstops which are considerably shorter and more progressive than stock (more free travel and less-harsh engagement when you do hot the stop), and on the really good ones, upper mounts which provide even more free travel yet.
The worst thing you can do for ride quality is to lower the car without stiffening the springs and dampers to match. A well-built coilover package is capable of providing a lower static ride height, more suspension travel, better handling, AND a more comfortable ride on the street.
The reason is that Miatas don't have a lot of free suspension travel. On the stock suspension, you wind up spending a lot of time on the bump-stops, and stock 20 year old bumpstops are about as compliant as a liberal in a police investigation. As you lower the car even slightly, you wind up hitting the bump stops even harder and more frequently.
Stiffening the springs softens the ride. It does this by actually allowing the springs to do their job, and keep you off of the bump stops in the first place. As an added benefit, aftermarket coilover packages (the good ones, anyway) typically use shock bodies which are slightly shorter than stock (more free travel), bumpstops which are considerably shorter and more progressive than stock (more free travel and less-harsh engagement when you do hot the stop), and on the really good ones, upper mounts which provide even more free travel yet.
The worst thing you can do for ride quality is to lower the car without stiffening the springs and dampers to match. A well-built coilover package is capable of providing a lower static ride height, more suspension travel, better handling, AND a more comfortable ride on the street.
OK, well that is some great info. I was originally looking at Tein products, after a friend recommended them for great value for their quality, something like:
Last edited by dickamusmaxamus; 11-11-2015 at 08:27 PM.
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11-11-2015, 08:23 PM
#23
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Couple more shitty cellphone pics for those that are interested.
The interior is in very good condition overall. The leather shows signs of wear, but it's very slight for what I would expect out of a vehicle that has 80k miles. As mentioned before, no signs of wear in the dash, and everything works!
I did replace the stereo (it was already aftermarket) for one that was newer, and was black to match the rest of what was going on there. I'm planning on sticking a Nexus 7 in place of the head unit, and hiding the head unit somewhere else.
The damage may be hard to see given the quality of my **** *** phone, but there are places on the trunk where it appears that paint was slapped on with little care, slopping over the trim etc. On the hood, there are the typical rock dings, about 20 of them, but each one was filled with paint to prevent rust. The gas cap is dented, it appears that something was left on the cap before the cap was closed....
wohoooo stock engine shot.
The interior is in very good condition overall. The leather shows signs of wear, but it's very slight for what I would expect out of a vehicle that has 80k miles. As mentioned before, no signs of wear in the dash, and everything works!
I did replace the stereo (it was already aftermarket) for one that was newer, and was black to match the rest of what was going on there. I'm planning on sticking a Nexus 7 in place of the head unit, and hiding the head unit somewhere else.
The damage may be hard to see given the quality of my **** *** phone, but there are places on the trunk where it appears that paint was slapped on with little care, slopping over the trim etc. On the hood, there are the typical rock dings, about 20 of them, but each one was filled with paint to prevent rust. The gas cap is dented, it appears that something was left on the cap before the cap was closed....
wohoooo stock engine shot.
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11-11-2015, 08:24 PM
#24
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Couple more shitty cellphone pics for those that are interested.
The interior is in very good condition overall. The leather shows signs of wear, but it's very slight for what I would expect out of a vehicle that has 80k miles. As mentioned before, no signs of wear in the dash, and everything works!
I did replace the stereo (it was already aftermarket) for one that was newer, and was black to match the rest of what was going on there. I'm planning on sticking a Nexus 7 in place of the head unit, and hiding the head unit somewhere else.
The damage may be hard to see given the quality of my **** *** phone, but there are places on the trunk where it appears that paint was slapped on with little care, slopping over the trim etc. On the hood, there are the typical rock dings, about 20 of them, but each one was filled with paint to prevent rust. The gas cap is dented, it appears that something was left on the cap before the cap was closed....
wohoooo stock engine shot.
The interior is in very good condition overall. The leather shows signs of wear, but it's very slight for what I would expect out of a vehicle that has 80k miles. As mentioned before, no signs of wear in the dash, and everything works!
I did replace the stereo (it was already aftermarket) for one that was newer, and was black to match the rest of what was going on there. I'm planning on sticking a Nexus 7 in place of the head unit, and hiding the head unit somewhere else.
The damage may be hard to see given the quality of my **** *** phone, but there are places on the trunk where it appears that paint was slapped on with little care, slopping over the trim etc. On the hood, there are the typical rock dings, about 20 of them, but each one was filled with paint to prevent rust. The gas cap is dented, it appears that something was left on the cap before the cap was closed....
wohoooo stock engine shot.
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06-01-2016, 04:32 PM
#26
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Update on the car.
Got into a wreck in early January, young girl who just got her licence took a super late left turn and I smoked her. Wasn't my fault, but insurance ultimately totaled the vehicle. Fortunately everyone was OK, but the car wasn't going to make it.
I purchased the vehicle back from insurance, and sold it to a great local guy here in Sioux Falls. Fortunately the drivetrain was prefect, so he was able to make the best out of a bad situation by bringing a sick little BRG back to life with my old cars engine.
Got into a wreck in early January, young girl who just got her licence took a super late left turn and I smoked her. Wasn't my fault, but insurance ultimately totaled the vehicle. Fortunately everyone was OK, but the car wasn't going to make it.
I purchased the vehicle back from insurance, and sold it to a great local guy here in Sioux Falls. Fortunately the drivetrain was prefect, so he was able to make the best out of a bad situation by bringing a sick little BRG back to life with my old cars engine.
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06-01-2016, 04:40 PM
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But the story isn't over yet!
The gentleman I sold my car to helped me find a new car! He was(is) very in touch with the local Miata community, and hooked me up with a guy who was looking to offload a '92 that has a pretty nifty turbo setup. It's running a T-3 60 Trim Garret (don't know too much about it) and a LINK ECU on the 1.6 with stock internals. When last dyno'd it put 190 to the wheels at 12lbs of boost, but it seems to go up to 14 pounds. It's got various extra bracing, some sweet Fast and the Furious pillar pods, and an AFR sensor.... that displays bars instead of numbers....
I'm in the process of being nice to it this summer while I save up the cash to rebuild everything over this winter.
New wheels....
Went with 15x7 Storms.
Plan for this car, is doing the 1.8 swap with forged rods (and potentially pistons), MS3 ECU, and potentially a newer, less laggy turbo setup. Hoping to hit roughly 250 to the wheel when it's all said and done. Being nice to it for the summer, then tearing it all apart this winter.
The gentleman I sold my car to helped me find a new car! He was(is) very in touch with the local Miata community, and hooked me up with a guy who was looking to offload a '92 that has a pretty nifty turbo setup. It's running a T-3 60 Trim Garret (don't know too much about it) and a LINK ECU on the 1.6 with stock internals. When last dyno'd it put 190 to the wheels at 12lbs of boost, but it seems to go up to 14 pounds. It's got various extra bracing, some sweet Fast and the Furious pillar pods, and an AFR sensor.... that displays bars instead of numbers....
I'm in the process of being nice to it this summer while I save up the cash to rebuild everything over this winter.New wheels....
Went with 15x7 Storms.
Plan for this car, is doing the 1.8 swap with forged rods (and potentially pistons), MS3 ECU, and potentially a newer, less laggy turbo setup. Hoping to hit roughly 250 to the wheel when it's all said and done. Being nice to it for the summer, then tearing it all apart this winter.
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06-01-2016, 04:43 PM
#29
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To be honest it was probably for the best... I did really well with the insurance company, and I was awarded enough cash to pay for my new car, AND most of my race bike for this season. 
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06-01-2016, 04:46 PM
#31
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These are some of the specs, I can't find the image I had that had the full list.
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06-01-2016, 04:53 PM
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So that's pretty much where I'm at. I've sourced a local engine, just need to pick it up, pull it apart, get it refreshed and rebuilt with the forged internals, then wait for the snow so I can pull it all apart and get the engine swapped.
I'm still trying to figure out what turbo kit I'd like to go with. Since I'm just looking for 250 to the wheel, I get some options, but I'll get there when I get there I suppose. I just really don't like waiting till 4ish grand for the boost to actually kick in. Feels very Fast and the Furious.
I'm still trying to figure out what turbo kit I'd like to go with. Since I'm just looking for 250 to the wheel, I get some options, but I'll get there when I get there I suppose. I just really don't like waiting till 4ish grand for the boost to actually kick in. Feels very Fast and the Furious.
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07-29-2016, 01:50 PM
#36
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Updates.
Intercooler bolt fell out on the interstate at 80, which got the intercooler dragging on the highway.
After changing my pants, and cleaning the brown out of the driver seat, I realized I had flipped the belt on the AC, so instead of fixing the belt (which was cut in half due to the intercooler piping being so ****) I just cut the AC belt entirely.
Local guy picked up a nasty blue Miata from the Colorado area, and was willing to part with the hardtop at a very modest price.
There's damage to the hardtop, but it's nothing that isn't fixable. Fortunately I have access to a nice little paint/machine shop, so next weekend myself and my sisters husband will be getting everything fixed up, and painted black.
Intercooler bolt fell out on the interstate at 80, which got the intercooler dragging on the highway.
After changing my pants, and cleaning the brown out of the driver seat, I realized I had flipped the belt on the AC, so instead of fixing the belt (which was cut in half due to the intercooler piping being so ****) I just cut the AC belt entirely.
Local guy picked up a nasty blue Miata from the Colorado area, and was willing to part with the hardtop at a very modest price.
There's damage to the hardtop, but it's nothing that isn't fixable. Fortunately I have access to a nice little paint/machine shop, so next weekend myself and my sisters husband will be getting everything fixed up, and painted black.
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