snoopsride

Hello everyone great site. I just bought a 1997 mx5 and Im looking for anyone with info on good setup for daily driving and autocross. Also looking for anyone in the pittsburgh area. Im new to the miata so any help on upgrades. Thanks alot

Tony

sixshooter

The best bang for the buck for increasing general performance and driving enjoyment will be found in the suspension, tires, and brakes. Without forced induction our cars will never be as fast as a v6 Camry, so don't waste money there until you are ready to start prepping for a turbo.

What's your improvement budget look like? Used parts, budget new parts, or higher capability new parts?

RedTurboMiata

welcome to mfz, post up some pics of your car and enjoy your stay.

snoopsride

Well I got picture in my album on my profile I will add more soon. For performance parts right now Im looking into chassie stiffners, like the hard dog roll bar, rail and x frame and other braces to strenghin the chassie. Only thing I'm having problem are brakes and suspension to get, Ill get bigger rims for best brakes. As for money well Im in process of stripping all aftermarket stuff my mercury cougar and sell parts and car. All the money from sell my stuff is going into the mx5 and I might sell my kawaski ninja 636 to but thats up in the air.

sixshooter

Let's break these plans down individually, shall we?
The Hard Dog M1 or M2 Hardcore or Sport with single or double diagonals will always be worth good money if you purchase one. They meet the qualifications to be legal for track days on big race courses across the nation and that makes them desirable. The lesser models do not retain their value because they are not useful in the same way.

Actually, for the same or less money you will see a far greater reduction in chassis flex with the addition of Hard Dog's door bars to your roll bar. They are mounted to the base of the roll bar at the rear and run low alongside the seat as they come forward. They really triangulate the most flexible part of the car, the tub between the front and rear subframes, in a way that a flat x-brace or butterfly brace could never do. Plus there is a cool factor associated with them that says you are serious.







You don't need larger than a 15inch wheel on a Miata because they are very touchy when it comes to weight. A heavy wheel with stock power will be miserably slow and will not handle well in cornering or braking either. You want the lightest wheel and tire combination that will do the job. Miatas lose that light, energetic, nimble feel very quickly when the wheels are too heavy or the wheel offset is too low (sticks out too much versus how much width is increased toward the inside). If the wheel gets wider, you want to add the same percentage of width to the inside of the wheel mounting pad as you do to the outside or the handling will suffer.

And with regard to brakes, the Spec Miata race cars turn in very fast lap times with stock rotors and calipers but they use more aggressive brake pads that do not fade after multiple 100+mph stops. If your car will be for street and autocross and you wish to have grippier pads that are more resistant to fade due to heat, may I suggest the Hawk HP Plus. They will dust a little bit more than some stock pads but will not fade at naturally aspirated Miata power levels, even if you go to the big tracks.

As for suspension, you will need to give me a budget number for me to narrow down the best way to advise you. You could spend $400 to $2000 depending on how good you want it to be. And there are good and bad choices at every price point in between. You don't want to choose incorrectly and be unhappy.

Good luck.

snoopsride

Well I'm going to get the hard dog m2 roll bar with double brace and harness bar and ill take your advice and get the door bar but should I get the frame rails to. For brakes what do you think of the mossmiata high performance brake kit and will it work on 14 inch rims.
For suspension not sure on money if I sell motorcycle or not and after hard rain I know i need new door seals and new roof from the leaks I seen today so any sugestion on roof replacements.

RedTurboMiata

In my opinion I would get the roll bar, door bars, and frame braces ( becuse mine are all bent and structurally weekend).
As for brakes I agree with steve, I would also say for a street car the ebc red stuff pads have been fairly good on my car. My recommendation flush the system and replace the fluid, new pads and rotors, SS braided lines, profit.

snoopsride

so what do you think about cross drill rotor or sloted and are the 14" rims good for doing autocross or should i get lite weight 15" rims, for the brake will they be good enough if I go with a turbo. All I plan on power is either 200hp or 250hp max.

dieselmiata

Cross drilled rotors are a waste of money. If the NAPA blanks are good enough for Spec M, they're more than enough for autocross. Hawk HP pads are well regarded, but create a lot of dust, so it might not be the best choice for a car that sees more street than track.

14's are as good as 15's but there is a much wider selection of tires in the 15 inch range. I would spring for the 6UL in a 15 x8 or something like that. Just make sure it's light weight. These cars are sensitive to unsprung weight.

I'm probably forgetting a lot of stuff here, but spirits will do that to you.

snoopsride

ok quick help Ill post in help section to found out the water getting in my car is from the ac unit the tray if filling up with water and pouring on the floor when i go up steep hill, Where do i find and get access to the tray to unclog the drain tube Ill be working on the miata later today thanks for any information.