all good things come to an end...

Well, our beloved Mini Zoom-Zoom went away on 5/27 - fortunately my wife was unhurt and the car protected her very well...

finally got the reimbursement from the insurance company... we'll miss this little car!

Ordered some delrin door bushings...

Lots of chatter lately on how these simple bushings can really solidify the MX-5 and reduce vibration and noise.  Can't wait to get these installed with the Flyin Miata Stage 2 suspension setup!

Just ordered the Flyin Miata Koni Stage 2 Suspension Kit

In the never-ending effort to enjoy the open road in our little MX-5 the suspension on our NC (2006-2014) is a bit wallowey as compared to our older 2000 (NB) with lowered suspension and sways...

So - it's time to get the Flyin Miata Koni Stage 2 Suspension Kit - this is an all-around replacement of the shocks, springs, and swaybars to enhance the handling aspects of our little 2-seater :)

https://www.flyinmiata.com/nc-stage-2-koni-suspension-kit.html

Sway Bars:

Sway bars are used to make your car corner flatter and react faster by keeping the body (and all the weight) under control. Flyin Miata sways are set up for neutral handling and are adjustable so you can tailor the handling of your Miata to your own driving style. 

Shocks:

The *NEW* FM Koni Sport shocks have custom valving developed and tested specifically for FM springs. They're adjustable for rebound so you can crank them up when you're feeling frisky on the autocross course. They come with a lifetime warranty.

Springs:

FM springs are well known for providing a good balance of street ability and track performance. Their combination of ride height - giving the suspension room to work - and spring rate means your Miata will ride and handle better than you would expect from a set of performance springs.

There's more going on than you think, though. See that section with the tighter coils? Those are designed to act as a secondary spring, keeping the spring from going loose under full droop. While these rates might sound high compared to some other springs on the market, they are stiff enough to keep your car off the bumpstops. Softer springs will often give a worse ride because they allow you to blow through your suspension travel and end up on the stops. A special powdercoat with a high zinc content for extra corrosion resistance, too.

Specifications for the NC MX-5

Front springs: 300 lb/in

Rear springs: 196 lb/in

Front ride height: 13.5"

Rear ride height: 13"

Overall - I expect the ride to be about 1.5" lower than stock - and the handling should be GREATLY improved given all the reviews!

Suspension upgrades... oh the choices!

Thinking of modifying the suspension on our '11 MX-5 SE

There are a couple of avenues here, traditional shocks/springs/sways like the Flyin Miata Stage 2 Suspension kit (with Koni's) for a nice-stiff daily driver setup..

or Coil-overs like the Tein Flex-Z which gives LOTS of variability in ride height, etc... plus it's about $400 cheaper!

What's your take on suspension mods?  Coil-overs too rigid? or just right?

SmartTop MX-5 - automate top down!

Mods4Cars - smartTOP - Mazda MX-5 Convertible

One of the coolest modifications for your Mazda MX-5 PRHT - this little (pricey) gadget lets you one-touch the operation of your power hard top.  One button push and the 13 second process is automated - no more waiting, no more 'sitting in neutral', no more stopped and getting rained on.

You can program the firmware with your computer for multiple settings:

The install was super slick - the hardest part is un-clipping the original plug

http://www.mods4cars.com/sms/db/smarttop/ext/support/manuals/mazda/STHFMA1/install/en.php

Overall - this mod makes your inexpensive MX-5 operate more like a Bentley or Mercedes convertible.  It looks pretty cool to be driving along slowly and your top is going up/down automatically.  

TWO THUMBS UP!

Time for a tune!

The Ultimate Atmo EcuTek based tuning deal, with a twist!

Ecutek based tuning including all RaceRom features set the way you want them( no off the shelf set ups!)
The option to add an AEM intake for your car at a killer price.
This offer is open to the first 25 folks.

Since this is a VERY SPECIAL price, we are going to do this a bit differently; you can view the page on our webstore, we have created a special page just for this deal; when you place your order, it will be for the nominal sum of 1.00$. This is a deposit only and secures your place in line. (And yes the buck will go towards your purchase). 
Once the GB hits the required number of folks(25) we will send out a link for you to complete the purchase.

Now here is the twist; for each customer OVER the first 25, we will increase the discount for EVERYONE. So tell your friends, and save yourself a few bucks!

Click here to get in on the deal!

http://dynotronicstuning.3dcartstores.com/-ULTIMATE-ATMO-DEAL-ECUTEK-GB-Deposit_p_93.html 

The price is $640 (initially) - which is a HUGE savings from the original price of $850!!!.
So far there are 14+ so jump in and get in on it!

Overview

The ProECU Programming Kit can be used by car enthusiasts and owner clubs to both diagnose and program a wide variety of vehicles.

At its simplest, the programming kit can be used for diagnostics and data logging.

 The ProECU Programming Kit comes bundled with data logging for vehicles that you program with the aid of the EcuTek Master Tuner. 

When connected to a car, ProECU  can offer real time data and map tracing.

The following example data shows 22 out of approximately 60 live data parameters is available from the "Live Data" tab of the ROM file being accessed. This data is accessed directly from the ECU in real time.

and a few videos showing the features!

can't beat a 20% increase in power!  W00T!

Installed the RoadsterSport Super-Q Exhaust Tonight!

So we FINALLY got around to installing the RoadsterSport Super-Q tuneable exhaust on the MX-5.

The install took about an hour altogether.  The hardest part was removing the two 14mm bolts on the stock exhaust.  They were on there pretty good after 30k miles :)

Removing the stock muffler from the hangars was the next challenge.  The OEM hangars have a knob on the end which is great for keeping parts on the hangar, but it's great at keeping the part ON the hangar!  LOL  So after about 20 minutes, we finally eased it down.

Installation was a breeze, 4 non-knob hangars lubed up with Dawn soap was 3 minutes, two bolts torqued to 27ft-lbs and it was done!

Seriously nice fit and finish on this exhaust.  It adds a deeper tone than the stock exhaust and there is ZERO drone which is awesome!  I'm sure over time the setup will tune a bit more as most exhaust systems do.

I uploaded a fun video, the first part is without the stock muffler at all - it's pretty fun. The second part of the video is the exhaust with the resonators installed...

I ended up removing the resonators to induce a bit more sound, but it's still very civilized and sporty sounding.  Highly recommended!