Hello,

I am interested in customizing some things in my 1990 miata. I just reached 90k miles on it, and it runs great, but I would like to add some extra things to it to make it more enjoyable. I am not interested in getting more HP, although I might change my flywheel and I have thought about getting some better shocks and maybe swaybars. I am far from being an expert on cars, but I do the usual maintenance (oil change, wheel alignment, tire pressure adjustment, etc). Any tips on customizing both cosmetically and engine wise (but nothing too complicated, such as turbocharging). Thanks!

 

a good set of shocks and springs combined with sway bars is always a good option. check out flyin miatas selection they have kits. they also have coilovers if you want to adjust your ride height, keep in mind to much low will affect the handling in a negative way. also check out Good-win-Racing. a nice set of 15x7's or 15x8's with a good set of tires will improve handling as well. as far as engine is concerned there really are no good power adder options besides forced induction or a motor swap. if you have the time and patience you will see a huge improvement in performance swapping the later 1.8 drivetrain into the car, but i assume since F/I is off the table so is a motor swap.
hope this helps

 

Thanks for the tips, I'll start with the shocks then. And also I heard that early 2000s miata shocks are good for the 1990s miatas, is that necessarily true?

 

The second gen Miatas do have a better strut setup not particularly the shock itself unless we are talking about the bilstein equipped cars. But the nb spring setup tend to raise the car a bit so a different set of springs is a good idea.

 

Good shocks are everything on our cars.

 

When my 90 NA was acquired, i had to replace the shocks and took the opportunity to replace the strut mounts (to the NBs), replaced the front sway bar, end links (which really were not necessary and regretable) and the lower ball joints and ball joint in the front upper control arms as they were severely dry rotted.

My second attempt at repairs was to service the shifter, of which i found the inner boot torn and the lubricant relatively dry.

These two mods alone has kept the car so much more enjoyable since day 1 for me.

 

Yep, shifter bushings can make life no fun if they are worn out. I like a precise shifter.

 

I have koni yellows and tein springs on my miata. Great set up! They are adjustable too. At the top of them, they have an adjustable screw. It comes with little bottle cap looking things that you just set on there and turn so you can have it be firmer or softer.
Here is a pic of them on the car.

 

The Koni Yellows are known to be somewhat jittery over rough surfaces. Do you find that to be the case?

 

Yeah they can be a little rough. I have mine adjusted to more firm though. I'm not sure how they would ride if they were set at a softer setting.