tinmanrich

Hello all, my name is Rich and I live in Boise Idaho. I'm a 30 something professional who loves to go fast. Every year in order to get through the suck that is winter I take on some new project. Last year I fabricated and built up a drift trike. It was a lot of fun and I learned a ton during the process.

This year I was looking for a good project car to work on and learn the basics of automotive tech. I came across a 1994 Miata NA8 on craigslist for $1900. It had a high mileage motor which I thought was fine since I wanted to learn how to work on it. The interior was in amazing shape and it had a brand new soft top on it with a glass rear window.

Long story short I bought it and started looking into ways to enhance the amazing handling characteristics of the car. Needless to say I am now knee deep in Miata. My goal is to turbo it and perhaps try some autocross this summer.

So far I have upgraded the suspension with the RB kit and installed the Koni sport shocks. I have the RB cat back power pulse exhaust on order. I have the megasquirtII PNP installed and the innovate wide band sensor in place. I have a set of new Konig 15x7 wheels that are just waiting for some rubber.

I am looking forward to learning more from all of you. These threads have been a tremendous asset already.






How she looked on purchase day.





Side by side of the ew Racing beat suspension kit and Koni dampers.





Suspension installed








Innovate A/F fitting check.





Painted the back side of the lexan which left the front looking glossy and very clean.





Fully installed tombstone. It should have enough room for the boost and water temperature gauges.

psyber_0ptix

iTrader: (4)

Welcome to the forum. Maybe consider an oil temp gauge in lieu of water temp. Clean looking red hot.

tinmanrich

Thanks, I am very new to all of this. What are the advantages of monitoring the oil vs the water temp? I was under the impression the coolant temp would give a good idea of when the motor is being pushed to hard and needs a cool down. In all reality I will probably add both... because who doesn't like more gauges.

Monk

iTrader: (3)

Burn those hubcaps.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

ohhh those are so fresh

tinmanrich

What!?! Dude those things are freaking tight!!!

JK, Already gone!






Konig 15x7 wheels. 10.9lbs a piece!

psyber_0ptix

iTrader: (4)

If you're doing a coolant reroute, then your cooling system should be fine. The car has facility to turn fans on and off to help regulate temperatures along with a lower temp thermostat. Your car will warm coolant faster than the oil, just because coolant is at operating temperature doesn't mean you should flog it.

Also, if you really do intend on pushing the vehicle, your oil temps will soar higher than the coolant. An example, on the highway I cruise at about 4000 RPM, my coolant is just fine at a balmy 195°F. My oil on the other hand can get as high as 235°F as measured from the oil pan and that's not really loading. That's just because steady state driving at a sustained RPM. I am trying to figure out where I can put an oil cooler

psyber_0ptix

iTrader: (4)

You still have a MAF with MS2?

tinmanrich

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the info.

I am installing the IAT sensor this week hopefully. I haven't ran the car on MS yet. Its all wired and everything is ready for it. Just need to physically install the box and plug it in. I am following the suggestions that I should learn how to tune and use MS while the car is still NA.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Solid start, you will do well here.

PS: you should rock the hub caps.

Itty

Welcome. I'm from originally from Nampa. The winters there are definitely pretty shitty. Glad to see you tossed those hideous wheels.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

tinmanrich, congrats on signing up at the best site on the web!