1996 BRG NA8C Build Thread

[BRG.NA8]

02/05/2016

RS Products Classic Retro Cluster
Installed the RS Products Classic Meter Panel (Type-1 Version). I'm told that RS Products no longer make their version of this retro cluster and I was lucky enough to obtain one of their last production models. KG Works still makes the clusters from my understanding and to be honest, I can't really tell them apart but it looks awesome and that's all that counts.

Install was pretty easy as I knew what to do to remove the cluster and such since I did it before when I was installing my Nardi steering wheel.

RS Products Classic Retro Cluster ready to install. It's actually pretty heavy compared to OEM due to the glass.



Stock cluster. The car just ticked over 160,000kms last night.



Had to remove the centre indicator so that the bulbs light up on the cluster.



Installed.





My car is currently sitting on 160,011kms. I have a NA8 JDM 180km/h cluster showing 166,385kms. Once the kms match, I'll be swapping it over to this one. I've also swapped the oil pressure "idiot gauge" out from the JDM NA8 cluster to a working NA6 oil pressure gauge. To make it work, I will be changing the oil pressure sender from the NA8 to the NA6. This should then give me a working oil pressure gauge.



I'm also going to get some retro gauge faces to match the cluster. Currently eyeing the RS Products Type-RS gauge faces to replace the stock gauge faces on the JDM cluster. It goes with the retro theme I'm trying to keep with the car. I may also check out some RevLimiter gauges from Adam just so that I can see what options I have available.

RS Products Type-RS Gauge Face.

[BRG.NA8]

06/05/2016

RS-Watanabe Type-A + Pirelli Cinturato P1
Finally got to fit the refurbed RS-Watanabe's today! Feels like it's been an eternity but actually, it's been exactly three months since I took delivery of the wheels (06/02/2016). Since picking them up, they've been stripped back, gutter rash welded, repolished and the centres painted gold. They are now sporting a set of Pirelli Cinturato P1 tyres (185/60/R14). These tyres are virtually brand new and were on a friends NA6. He is going to sell the NA6 so I asked if he could swap tyres with what I currently had on my OEMs, which were the Bridgestone Ecopias (pretty average tyre). He agreed so we met up today to do the swap.

The RS-Watanabe's needed a spacer to clear the NA8 brake calipers. I had a set of four 5mm spacers that I brought with me. The rears didn't need them but I thought meh, what the hey. Final offset for front and back is now +9.5 offset. I forgot to bring the RS-Watanabe lug nuts to the shop and the stock lug nuts don't quite fit. I told them not to rattle gun it down but just tighten it the best they could without scratching the paint. However, once I got home I immediately replaced them with the proper lug nuts and torqued them down to 85 ft-lbs. Finally, the pièce de résistance with the RS-Watanabe valve stem and centre caps.

Only thing that's missing now to complete the look is a drop from coilovers. It is currently 4WD spec at the moment!

At the tyre shop with the RS-Watanabe's fitted!



Back at home with the RS-Watanabe lug nuts, centre caps and valve stem caps fitted.



My two cars. MK6 Golf R daily on the left, BRG MX-5 Miata weekender on the right.



Next to be installed :
- Ohlins DFV Coilovers
- JDM Eunos Fog Lights
- BeatRush Rear Strut Bar
- RacingBeat Sway Bar End Links
- GarageStar Lightweight Alternator + Water Pump Pulleys

[BRG.NA8]

10/05/2016

ARRIVE Intake Pipe
Decided to get the ARRIVE Intake Pipe to replace the ARC Intake Chamber I had. As much as I would have liked to have kept the chamber, it was simply too big and although I loved the look of it in the engine bay, I think the ARRIVE Intake Pipe makes it look a bit cleaner. I kept the green silicone hoses from the ARC chamber because I like the green and gold theme I have going on at the moment.

Before :



After :



The plan is also have the rocker cover and intake manifold polished.


Ohlins DFV Coilovers
My friend who had these Ohlins DFV Coilovers since last year December rarely drove his NA after installing them so the mileage on them were less than 500kms. Since he was selling his NA6 (recently purchased an AP1 S2000), I asked him if he wanted to sell his Ohlins to me. He agreed but wanted my OEM shocks and springs with cash on top since the car never came with OEM suspension when he purchased it (had some no-name aftermarket coilovers when he purchased the NA6). It was a no brainer and agreed to swap!

NA6 and NA8 in the workshop ready for the suspension swap.



Ohlins goodness.





Ohlins + Eibach Springs.



Before :



After :



Driving Impressions :
Saying that the car now feels amazing is an understatement! It's completely transformed the driving experience for me. I have yet to really drive this thing properly through some twisties but it corners flat and the ride is still very compliant. It still absorbs bumps very nicely and to be honest, it feels more comfortable than the stock suspension. I'm not even sure if sway bars would be necessary but I have the option to put them in if I ever felt like it. I need to receive my RacingBeat Sway Bar End Links soon so I can adjust the sway bar preload. Will be taking it on a Sunday Morning Drive this coming Sunday so will report back after that.

Might lower it a touch more, perhaps 10mm or so. I'm still very happy with how its sitting as well. It should settle in over the next few days.

Next to be installed :
- JDM Eunos Fog Lights
- BeatRush Rear Strut Bar
- RacingBeat Sway Bar End Links
- GarageStar Lightweight Alternator + Water Pump Pulleys

[BRG.NA8]

Managed to get the wheels balanced and aligned today. Popped in to see Fulvio at Spinning Wheels and Tyres. These guys and another (Heasmans Steering and Suspension) are the only two shops I go to for my suspension and wheel alignment needs. These guys do all sorts of work and usually a lot of high end exotics and race cars come here. If it's good for them, then it's good for my little MX5. They're normally super busy especially on the weekends but managed to catch them on a quiet day so was pretty happy.

JAX Spinning Wheels & Tyres.



Wheels getting aligned.





Final alignment specs were :

FRONT
Caster : +5.0 Degrees
Camber : -1.25 Degrees
Toe In : +0.5mm Each Side

REAR
Camber : -1.65 Degrees
Toe In : +0.5mm Each Side

Result :

[BRG.NA8]

Received this from GarageStar today.

NA8 Water Pump and Alternator Pulley. Version 3.



Car is due for its 10,000km service in the next 4,000kms so will be installing it then along with :

- JDM Eunos Fog Lights
- Mazdaspeed Engine Mount
- Mazdaspeed Suspension Bushes
- RacingBeat Sway Bar End Links
- Exedy Clutch
- Toda Lightened Flywheel
- Torsen 4.1 Diff

[BRG.NA8]

17/05/2016

Beatrush Rear Strut Brace
Had the strut bar sitting in my room staring at me, begging to be installed. So I decided to do just that. The reason why I put it off was because I had heard it can be a real PITA to install but honestly, it wasn't too bad. Getting the strut to fit without removing the fuel lines was a challenge but managed to do so in the end.

I was too busy trying to tetris the bar in that I forgot to take before photos. But here are some photos after it was installed.



Beatrush goodness.



Floor carpet installed and spare wheel holder extension.



Complete.



The only thing is that the metal shroud that covered the fuel lines now fouls against the rear strut bar which means in its current form I can't install it. I plan to make it fit again along with the carpet by cutting away at the bit which fouls against the bar and maybe give it a lick of satin black paint while I'm at it. Also, it'll be a little hard to adjust damper settings now that the bar is in, but it's not impossible.

Overall, pretty happy. Can't wait to get the frame rails in next!

[BRG.NA8]

*continuing on from the above post*

So as mentioned before, the metal shroud covering the fuel lines fouled on the BeatRush strut bar so I decided to cut away at a section to make it fit. It also had a few bits of surface rust here and there too so I figured I'd sand and dremel it off and give the whole shroud a black paintjob.

Marked up and ready to be cut.



Cut section. Had to trial an error and cut bits away until eventually it cleared without fouling.



Scrap.



Sanded bits of the surface rust.



Same can of satin black I used on my wiper blades.



6 light coats with 2 thicker coats of black.



Result.



Installed.



Didn't bother with the carpet as I think it looks good as is. Might put it back in later but for now, pretty happy with how everything turned out

[BRG.NA8]

In other news, recently sold my MK6 Golf R. It was extensively modified, stock internals, maxing out the stock K04 turbo and pushing 300hp atw. Had it for 5.5 years and purchased brand new with the optional Recaro sport seats. Sad, but it's going to a good home and the money I get from it will be used to invest plus buy more bits and pieces for the MX5

It will be missed!

[BRG.NA8]

21/05/2016

Photoshoot with Joseph Hui
Met up with Joe who took photos of my car when I first picked it up last year in December 2015 and when it was still bone stock. Fast forward five months and he said he's surprised that it's evolved so much since he had last seen it. Decided to take a few quick shots during the day. I think they turned out great.

Just needs a front and rear lip, baby teeth removed, JDM Eunos fog lights and maybe just a touch lower, then exterior wise it'll be complete.

[BRG.NA8]

Changed out the generic 5mm spacers for 5mm spacers which fit the Miata's 54.1 center bore.



Also finally got around to removing the baby teeth. Will be installing the JDM Eunos fog lights soon.



Finally, bought some reflect-a-gold sheets in 12x24 measurement for the underside of the bonnet to keep heat down. Will be measuring and cutting down and will be installing it over the next few days.

[BRG.NA8]

Made a few purchases over the last few weeks or so. Will be DIY'ing what I can and will also be making a booking with my mechanic real soon for a minor service plus to get a few things done.

- Beatrush Aluminium Undertray
- Exedy SportsTuff Clutch + Alignment Tool
- FM Frame Rails
- GarageStar 1.8 Alternator + Water Pump Pulley (Version 3)
- Maxim Works Exhaust Manifold
- Mazdaspeed Suspension Bushings (22 Pieces)
- OEM NA6 Oil Pressure Sender
- Racing Beat Sway Bar End Links (F+R)
- REV9 M2-1002 Pedal Set
- RevLimiter NA Retro Window Switch (Black)
- RS Products Needle Caps
- RS Products Type Smith Gauge Faces (180 km/h)
- Toda Lightened Flywheel (4.5 kgs / 10 lbs)
- Torsen 4.1 Diff

Currently tossing up between Fujitsubo RM01A catback exhaust or the Car Make Corn's catback exhaust. Once this is done, that should just about do it so that I can then focus on the interior.

[BRG.NA8]

20/06/2016

RevLimiter NA Retro Window Switch
Received the retro switches from Adam (thanks again mate!). The part is again, very nicely put together. Promptly installed them. Installation didn't take more than 10 minutes or so. Very simple, very easy, very nice. Retro interior coming along one mod at a time.

Ordered the black version of the retro switches.



Installed.



Interior coming along, slowly but surely.



Also received this in the mail today, all the way from Osaka Japan. Toda Sports Clutch and Toda Lightened Flywheel (4.5kg / 10lbs).



This also came in today. RacingBeat NA Sway Bar End Links. Two sets for both front and rear sways to relieve preload.

[BRG.NA8]

24/06/2016

Zeromotive M2-1002 Style Pedals
Received some more interior dress up bits. M2-1002 style pedals by Zeromotive. The install was pretty straight forward. In fact, Adam from RevLimiter did a pretty good write up and DIY but even if you did not have his guide, it's not that hard to figure out. I think it compliments the interior quite nicely. Should look even better once I get the Nakamae interior bits.

M2-1002 Pedals with mounting bolts.



Installed.



Another delivery received today, this time from Dixcel Japan. These are my front and rear slotted rotors which will be installed when I get the clutch/flywheel done and the minor service.



I have a set of front and rear OEM Brembo pads but I'm looking for some Carbotech pads, however I'm just concerned whether they will squeal at low speed braking. Don't need a crazy compound as the car isn't going to be tracked any time soon and squealing brakes on a non-track car is one of my pet peeves.

Anyone have any experience with Carbotechs on their cars?

[BRG.NA8]

The last Sunday morning drive I went to was back in April and back then, the car was still on stock suspension and stock wheels. Now that the wheels have been swapped over to the RS Watanabe's, the suspension sitting on Ohlin DFV's, the car receiving a full alignment and camber/caster/toe being dialled to spec, it was a great opportunity to go for a drive and stretch its legs.

Yesterdays drive was through the Royal National Park which is a popular destination for car and bike enthusiasts alike. Some great winding roads and scenery to match. I'm very happy to report that the car simply ate up the corners and felt solid and planted every step of the way. I'm really enjoying the car and happy with how it handles right now. I wonder how much of an improvement installing the frame rails and butterfly brace will be?

Here are some rolling shots.

[BRG.NA8]

My friend Daniel decided to vlog and record our Sunday Morning Drive through the Royal National Park. Some great footage was captured with the use of multiple GoPros, DSLRs and even a drone! I also did a car swap with him let him drive the MX-5 for a bit while I got to drive his cool little Renault Clio RS.

Check out his YouTube videos on his channel for more awesome creative content!

http://www.youtube.com/MD1TH0BkBuw