MX5 NEARLY FINISHED! (pics included.) *UPDATE* 29th/oct

[yakob]

I really dig that twin tip exhaust. Nice and simple, but looking the goods. Once I get around to doing exhaust mods, something like that is going on the tip of mine.

ive noticed that certain exhausts suit certain cars. u got a jap tuner with about 500bhp then yes a 18 inch rocket afterburner exhaust is appropriate. u have a nice little sports roadster something simple is in order. its either the twin 3 or so inch double exhaust, or the dual tip like mine, however try and get it angle cut with an offset as the bumper angles downwards and curves around. goodluck.

[yakob]

It is good to hear that you are doing the work your self.
any questions please feel free to ask
Cheers The Green

well the thing ive learnt is that you yourself are always capable of doing what anyone else does ( to an extent ).

allthough it may be a bit harder, i would rather research and fix a problem because ultimately i LEARN, and that knowledge sticks with you through life.

i learnt that lesson when a mechanic tried to charge me 300 dollars for a window motor that wasnt broken, all it needed was a new switch and a bit of a push. so slowly but surely i researched, pulled things apart and learnt.

ive only taken the door trims and center console off about 2600 times. haha.

well i wouldnt mind restoring the interior to its original shine.. any ideas?

[The Green]

ive only taken the door trims and center console off about 2600 times. haha.

well i wouldnt mind restoring the interior to its original shine.. any ideas?

Mate i know how you feel about the pulling the car apart.
I have had my car with nothing but 4 wheels, a steering rack, a diff and the shell.

I managed the complete pull apart of the interior in about 3 hours. (First time ever)
and i put the NB interior in, in about 4 hrs but without the use of my left arm.
now that i have done it once i recon i could do it in about half the time.

You said you want to return the car back to its original shine.
Is there something wrong with the interior in the car? (Scratches, Not stock dash)???
i used some uv protecting spray shine stuff and it came up great.
There are many brands of spray you can use which i found over time they are pretty much all the same.
However when you choose your spray dont get anything with an acidic base.

Mate there is so much you can do to your car its not funny.
All you need to do is have a starting point (which you have) and a plan, and then the day will come where there is nothing to do to the NB and the urge to buy the next project will start haunting you. LOL

What sort of things do you want to do to your car??? (No matter how insane)

Cheers the green

[yakob]

Hahaha. I know, i think im already thinking of the next project! Which is high powered performance, however ill wait till i can legally drive a turbo in about 4 years

Ok well, with the interior, i seem to get a nice shine with the dash as it is withdrawn from day to day rubbing/touching etc. However things like door trim, steering wheel, especially the center console have become dull. And even if i shine them with shine products, they still seem dull, nothing like the car was when we bought it. Almost as if to say i would respray the whole interior, but i think that is way to much work for me, a little out of my league if you know what i mean. I guess i could do it, but i really dont want to go through the trial and error process on this particular interior. Other than that i think a respray is in order, and apart from the little things i have discussed in this thread i want MORE power. All in time ;)

Cheers, jacob.

[The Green]

Hahaha. I know, i think im already thinking of the next project! Which is high powered performance, however ill wait till i can legally drive a turbo in about 4 years

i want MORE power. All in time ;)

Cheers, jacob.

Yo mate. How old are you? did you just get your ps or did you loose your licence???

AS for the more power factor. you dont need power to win races and to have fun.
I use to race my mates who have commos and magnas etc in my little 1.4L sack of s**t barina and still win. (boy were they allways Pissed). Any way all i am trying to say is if you know your car inside out and know how she needs to be dríven you can keep up to the pack on a track day without the need for forced induction.
That being said, when money permits i will be buying another engine with vvti and will supercharge the bugger as i do believe for a well balanced mx5 a small amount of positive pressure in the intake is needed. (Nothing to big tho)

So to answer your question for power upgrades. WELL where to start.
First get your engine running to the best of its ability in 100% stock form (There is no point modding an engine that is not running well)
Get the motor breathing with some good quality high flow filtration (Cold air intake if you can)
change your timing belt and all your seals (NO power gain but more reliability and good engine TLC)
lighten your fly wheel
Get an LSD diff (no power gain but stability while powering out of the corners)
get some extractors/exhaust

There is not really that much you can do without having to do allot more things.
but if i went turbo/supercharge (intercooled) i would first (in this order)
Upgrade breaks
suspension
Under car full butterfly brace
Roll bar
Upgrade ECU
Upgrade to higher voltage ignition
upgrade fuel lines, pumps and filters
engine rebuild
Build a strong top and bottom end
bigger cam lobes
bigger injectors
Exhaust: Turbo manifold/extractors (Supercharged)
Turbo/Supercharger

you see just by saying the words turbo you have to first start with safety and work your way down the list.
In a quality turbo/supercharged setup the turbo should be the very last item to be fitted to the car!!!

Well thats my thoughts on the issue
there are so many details and specifics which could fill pages and pages but theres the general outline on what to do from my point of view and my point of view only. Many members on the forum have their ideas as well however it seems that safety is not the first thing on their mind.


Mate anything is possible with enough thought and money, how ever a lot of people stop at the stage when it comes to wiring and the electrics, throw their hands in the air and give up.

Any questions about anything even wiring feel free to ask. (one of the pros about being a sparky)

I hope this info was sort of what you were looking for.
If you plan the finished product before you even start the project you will save your self alot of time, money and having to do things twice because the first time turned out to be wrong.

Cheers the green

[yakob]

That actually makes a lot of sense, and puts things into perspective for me, thankyou. Well im on my p's and with the new laws theres a power restriction. And alltough i take advantage of the mx5's quirkyness with performance, i do long for more power (personal thing). However with first thing you said which was get the engine running properly. I agree 100%, and that is the main reason i havent finished most of the things i wanted to do.

Ive had a major service, had the timing done, replaced bearings, faulty electrons, new ignition, new tires etc etc. And now that the car is finally running the way it should be, i can finally start with the asthetics, the things that make me happy.

Well somethings i may want to ask you would be firstly about air induction.

This has been something i have been very interested in as i have thought about it in the past (places to source air etc) but never had the knowledge or resource to do so, a starting point would help.

Also, in terms of air filtration what are my best options. I was scared of adding a pod filter and reducing performance due to hot air induction, bad readings with air sensor etc.

Also i have had a sports muffler installed, what are my other options for exhaust in terms of extractors and cat? Will a new cat increase performance.

if you could spare me an opinion and basis for all this i would appreciate it.

I thank you for your enthusiasm, and general concern.

[The Green]

I thank you for your enthusiasm, and general concern.

Mate i only say all the stuff about safety because i understand that when you have a turbo car you naturally drive it harder and push your limits further. I know this because it is exactly what i would do. LOL

!!!LOOK!!!
http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=croBCxHmQUc&NR=1

I wouldnt want to be in my stock NA8 and land on my roof.
Hence the rollbar and you will need the butterfly brace to stop and chassis twisting and any movement among the center of the car.

As for cold air induction.
Well if you dont mind cutting a hole in your car (only a small one in the fire wall. Nothing bad at all) you can pick up high pressure airflow coming from the bonnet up over the bottom of the windscreen (If i didnt have a Laguna Blue Clubman i would buy this kit). there is a simple kit you can buy from http://www.mx5mania.com.au on the net (If you want to trust them, as they have a habit on not sending out all the parts they said they would)
This has been said by many over the travels on the forum and this is only my thoughts however 33.333% of my dealings with them have been good. (I have only had 3 dealings with them)
Look on their web site and that will give you a general overview on what the parts are and how prices vary depending on what part of the car you are looking to mod..
E-Bay is a great place as well.
I am currently looking at customizing an air box so i may retrieve cold air from outside of the engine bay without cutting any holes or drilling anything. I am going in to have a shoulder reconstruction next thurs and will have a good 2 months of doing pretty much nothing. so as you do why not build something.

Filtration Well.
Depending on if you get that kit i was talking about which comes with the air filter or not, you should allways go with the people how make filters as their main product. like K&N.
If you can manage to get your hands on filtration specs tested & published by the maker you could compare them however true test results and not marketed results are hard to come by. Again you can all ways trust k&N

Sports exhaust.
the exhaust is something that if done wrong can change the true spirit of the mx5's motor. (Well any car for that matter)
the stock manifold will be good enough for now as if you plan to get a turbo you will need to replace the manifold anyway. if you were to go supercharger well i would get my motor engineered and scale drawings printed out so i knew exactley what i was looking at and then i would build the engine up according to the specs i want them to be and make a MX5 motor in to something you would run and hide from. Contacts through work means the engineering of the motor would not be that expensive and full 3d scale cad drawings would be provided. You see with superchargers you can make enormous amounts of power as long as the internals you built up can handle it. superchargers you can but for the mx5 have their limits but when you go to the next level of engineering custom superchargers and other parts will be a must thus costing more in the $$$ department but when the work is complete you will be able to sit back and say HOLY FCUK.

If you want just a cheep power increase just get your self a small turbo kit to bolt straight on from e-bay/Mx5 mania for around $1500

I hope i have helped in you quest to mod your 5
Keep me posted and feel free to ask any questions

Cheers the green

[yakob]

Oh i will, after i get some of the asthetic things done, im going straight to designing a new airflow filter with CAI, ill have my uncle help me as he builds drag cars anyway so he know a thing or to!

Ill keep you posted, thankyou for all your time.

[The Green]

Oh i will, after i get some of the asthetic things done, im going straight to designing a new airflow filter with CAI, ill have my uncle help me as he builds drag cars anyway so he know a thing or to!

Ill keep you posted, thankyou for all your time.

Mate good luck with everyhting and keep in touch.
Cheers The Green