$1500 to spend on performance

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:35 pm

blehbear wrote:dont bother, save some more and get a turbo kit

Horses for courses. Not everyone is dead set on a turbo. I personally would much prefer to have an NA screamer. Yes I know & agree its cheaper to turbo......but turbo is just not everybody's cup of tea.

slowpoke · Postby **slowpoke** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:26 am

Hello Turboalfa !
As an owner of a 10AE (who has had numerous 'improvements' effected on his '10' in an effort to make the car more 'user friendly'), I recommend hastening slowly with your improvement measures..
First off, swap your existing catalytic converter for a considerably larger high flow stainless steel type. In my case (at 22,000K) it was to a 2.5" "standard body universal metallic catalyst" (CAT,004 M).
An 'after market' CAI is very worthwhile also. In my view, the filter is better if left dry and not oiled. The Simota system (that I have) was oiled, and is generally a bit of a nuisance to remove, clean and refit but it does enable the engine to 'breath' much better than the original set-up, and at 3000RPM sounds splendid ! Improving your car's breathing and exhaling, in this way, will make your '10' infinitely nicer to drive. Cheers from slowpoke

turboalfa · Postby **turboalfa** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 5:45 pm

Slowpoke, thanks for your reply.

Do you have any pictures of the engine bay of your car?

Cheers
Troy

slowpoke · Postby **slowpoke** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:07 pm

Sorry, no can do with pictures. If you decide that you would like a Loc Stewart CAI get in touch with Mr Garry Stewart of Acacia Ridge. He is very approachable and an extremely capable mechanic. Sometimes one hears that the Stewart CAI can't be fitted to MX5s with ABS but this is clearly incorrect. Mr.Stewart supplied and installed mine in 2005 and the total cost at that time, including a spare filter, was a good bit less than $400. You could talk to him about 'extractors' too.. and whether they are REALLY worth the extra money, as apparently Mazda's standard manifold system is usually perfectly fine.
What number is your 10AE Troy ?
Cheers from slowpoke

turboalfa · Postby **turboalfa** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:40 pm

Mine is number 3342.

It is very standard at the moment, but in very good condition and has 80,000klm on it. Plans are to improve the handling and performance slightly to make it even more fun to drive.

Thanks,
Troy

mhj · Postby **mhj** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:44 am

[quote="slowpoke" apparently Mazda's standard manifold system is usually perfectly fine.
Cheers from slowpoke[/quote]
the seat of my bum meter suggests that exforce stainless headers do make a worthwhile difference
enjoy

module22 · Postby **module22** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:54 pm

I read somewhere, think it was here, that adding a adjustable cam gear at 14 degrees gives some sort of torque improvement. Cheap aswell.

im not entirely sure, someone correct me if im wrong.

evil_weevil · Postby **evil_weevil** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:08 pm

module22 wrote:I read somewhere, think it was here, that adding a adjustable cam gear at 14 degrees gives some sort of torque improvement. Cheap aswell.

im not entirely sure, someone correct me if im wrong.

Its the timing, and you advance it to 14 degrees IIRC, and its done via the CAS.

Did it on mine and felt a wee bit of an extra urge

RawSouth · Postby **RawSouth** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:22 am

This may be a silly question, but can you adjust the timing on an NB8B?

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:42 am

RawSouth wrote:This may be a silly question, but can you adjust the timing on an NB8B?

Not as far as I'm aware.

Not unless you change your ECU.
In the NA6/8 you can just unbolt the CAS & change the base timing. It is possible to do it on the NB8A but with some work involved like gringing away a notch to prevent it from moving or something similar. Not as simple as with the NA6/8's