Factory NB engine bay brace and Sport brakes
 

I have a 1990 with 700/400 Xida Club Sports (949 BGK), R-S3's on 9" wheels.
I'm also running later 1.8L (94-97) brakes with Porterfield R4 pads, 949 lines, Motul fluid. The car has a 1.6L NA motor w 4.30 rear (Miata Challenge Street)

I'm parting a 2002, so I have a set of Sport brakes and one of those 'strut tower' engine bay braces around.

Was the Stress bar on the '02 a NVH thing or is it actually useful on a track car? Seems heavy and I don't see a lot of people running these.

Same question with the sport brakes - worth my time to put these on the track car? They seem pretty heavy - I do see people running these, though. Maybe I should I mix-and-match (maybe just the rears, maybe use just the booster with my 94-97 brakes)?

Thanks.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1355694139

Sport rears + TSE BBK = bestest brakes.

FTFY :giggle: Info is from either Emilio or Sav, so I trust it, I just can't find the source right now :)

But yes, the sport goodies are totally worth it. SWAP ALL THE THINGS! Do the fronts, rears, booster and prop from the 02 into your 1990 and it will make a significant difference. The 1.8 brakes are a significant upgrade from the 1.6 brakes, and the Sport/MSM brakes are another upgrade from the standard 1.8 fair. Do SS lines and ATE fluids and win a brakes.

I'm in Miata Challenge Street, and I've used all my points. I can't afford the points to run aluminum calipers like in the TSE kit.

I read that the sport booster will look 'double thick' compared to a standard booster. Mine looks pretty thin. I'll have to grab part numbers.


What about this engine/ strut brace thing?

Are the Sports a points mod? Moving the whole system over is still a significant upgrade, I'd imagine its covered under update/backdate?

From the rules:
_________________________
Brakes

All classes: Any master cylinders and proportioning valves are free. Any Miata OEM or steel caliper, any rotor, soft lines, pads are free.
Street: Must retain functioning OEM parking brake mechanism.
Mod, Super Mod, Unlimited: May delete emergency brake mechanism for non-street legal cars only.

Any aluminum brake caliper: +0.25
_________________________________

So yeah, looks legit.
My concern was the weight penalty with the extra size.

I'd ditch the brace. I doubt it does anything more than add weight for your application. I'd look at the later NA or NB chassis braces if I was going to spend weight on bracing. IIRC your 90 came with next to nothing, lots of additional bracing added from the factory later in production. Again, rules/weight/goals.

I doubt the Sport stuff really weights that much more total than what you are running now. What is the motivation for the brake upgrade? If you have all the parts and its a free mod, why not give it a shot? You can always revert back later or try a mix-and-match, as you've said.

Will the rules allow you to duct the brakes? That'll help the longevity as well.

yeah, for your application, I'd probably save the weight with the shock tower bar. But then again, Crusher runs one, so ...

I run mine, I can't see how tying the top of the suspension together and fully enclosing that into a strong box structure resistant to twisting/racking forces is a bad thing for the 8-10 pounds it costs me. But my car is a fat boat of a miata and I'm not competing in a class for honor, glory, and the fawning attention of booth babes.

Since you apparently have the entire sport brake system, I say run it.

Crusher does not run an STB. None of our race cars do as it's extra points in PT. I run a Cusco on the 95R street car. Doesn't affect handling but reduces the severity of cowl shake a bit. Looks cool too.

I believe the 949 "silver rental" was running a Tien bar for a while, was it not? I snagged one off the local form for dirt cheap after I saw that at MRLS years ago. I've been toying with the idea of welding the crossbar to the uprights, a la Carbing, but I've not got around to it.

Sorry, my mistake.

Yup when Super was the HPDE rental, it had the quite burly Tein STB. Nice piece, discontinued :(