Alex's white NA8 build.

[Alex 2550]

Long overdue update Alex but great progress made.

As an option for a front bumper Spirit Road in the States are now manufacturing the Zoom bumpers on behalf of Zoom Engineering. Not sure the price but perhaps cheaper than stuff from Japan (with their high shipping costs).

Thanks very much mate,
I think stuff from spirit road would be heaps cheaper than japan.
The only thing with the zoom bars is I’m not a fan of the “bumper bar” mould in it I wish they had the option of both.
The quote I got for the barchetta bar was was with Ruperwrecht bringing it in.
This is the bar I like for those that aren’t familiar.
It’s the Barchetta front bar, which is actually a roadster club in japan and RS factory stage manufacture and distribute it as the clubman...... well that’s what I have come up with from google translation.
It is also a 5kg weight saving over the factory set up according to the website.





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[lucmor444]

The Barchetta bar is a good/better choice.

If you keep the Zoom bumper all one colour then it is a significant improvement (IMO) than painting it two tone.

[StanTheMan]

just getting back to the turbo,
the GT 2550 R

Ive found nothing about it.
how is it different to the 2554R ?

[Alex 2550]

The Barchetta bar is a good/better choice.

If you keep the Zoom bumper all one colour then it is a significant improvement (IMO) than painting it two tone.

definately better one colour, i did think about making one from a factory bumper, not overly hard just time consuming and i would worry about cracking in years to come.

[Alex 2550]

just getting back to the turbo,
the GT 2550 R

Ive found nothing about it.
how is it different to the 2554R ?

Do you mean GT2560 Mate?, have a read on Miata turbo but basically with the 1.8 and modest power goals that's the turbo you are after, very similar spool with more top end compared to the 2554 which is better suited to the 1.6.
FYI GT2560 is the go to turbo for Flyin Miata.

[bruce]

SMY did something similar with his front bar. He then sold it to someone else has he returned his car to stock to sell.

[Alex 2550]

SMY did something similar with his front bar. He then sold it to someone else has he returned his car to stock to sell.

yer i think it was an S2 bumper from memory, he offered it to me but i had just spent nearly $20K on pump, turbo, valve springs ect on Patrol and i think the wife would of killed me....... should of remembered forgiveness is easier than permission

[StanTheMan]

just getting back to the turbo,
the GT 2550 R

Ive found nothing about it.
how is it different to the 2554R ?

Do you mean GT2560 Mate?, have a read on Miata turbo but basically with the 1.8 and modest power goals that's the turbo you are after, very similar spool with more top end compared to the 2554 which is better suited to the 1.6.
FYI GT2560 is the go to turbo for Flyin Miata.

I must be bloody Dyslexic ....yea going back you did say 2560 on page 7

[Alex 2550]

I must be bloody Dyslexic ....yea going back you did say 2560 on page 7

seems like the 2560 produces about 9-10psi at 3,000RPM so should be nice and torquey in 5th at 100kph, knock it back a cog and you will be......... overtaking

[Alex 2550]

So went for a quick drive today with the top off and noticed something I forgot to mention.
Just a small little thing but thought I would share, I tried to polish the soft and hard top latches.
My ones had mild corrosion coming through the black paint and I thought I can make that better and sand them back then polish them right up to a mirror.
DO NOT TRY THIS!!
SMY tried this in Gregory years ago and said it was a mongrel job and it is, there is some kind of coating under the powder coat that I suspect is made of unicorn horn or some other exotic hard substance.
Either way it was a huge effort keeping in mind I have 6 in total and in the end after many many hours of sanding I decided to give up on it.
Instead I got them powder coated in what is referred to as “chrome” it’s reflective but not over the top and I got charged $100 to do all 6.
I masked up and painted the rest of the latch before assembly in gloss black.
I put thick adhesive felt behind to replace the factory foam stuff and stop rattles.
I then replaced all the old bolts with stainless button heads and washers after I gave them a polish as well.






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[Alex 2550]

Oh and here is the XForce rear muffler........ looks like a shiney muffler.
The tip is huge roughly 4 inch, it’s deep and quiet.
Not really noticeable with hardtop on over the intake but with the hard top off and top down it’s much louder but not obscene.
I expected to feel no difference and that for the most part is true but I feel I’m using slightly less throttle up steep hills so maybe a very small bump..... or I got a good batch of Vpower from shell.


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[Alex 2550]

Hey everyone,
Got some parts this week fitted up.
They were mostly gifts for my birthday.

Some Jass performance HVAC knobs and sliders.
Before.


After


Runabout M2 mirrors.
Before.


After



Zoom engineering fuel flap
Before


After





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[Alex 2550]

Just if anyone was curious the runabout mirrors
Here is a mini review.
Build quality is sensational as is packaging, typical Japanese quality.
The blue lenses are pretty cool.
With fitting kit each M2 mirror weigh 365g, the factory NA8 power ones are 1,048ea (kitchen scales)
So....
Factory 1048g x 2 =2,096g
Runabout M2 365g x 2 = 730g
Weight saving 2,096g - 730g = 1,366g weight reduction.

I took the car for a quick drive last night and the visibility isn’t too bad on the drivers side, actually after adjusting a little more nearly as good as standard. the passengers is a little harder to see out of and if you aren’t the kind of driver to check blind spots these may not be the best option for you.
The lenses are slightly convex so it improves the field of view but slightly distorts it so the hardest thing with them is actually reversing into the garage as mine is fairly tight but I’m sure i will get used to it quickly.
I would recommend them if you like the look, on a track car I’m sure there is lighter options with better vision.



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[bruce]

When I fitted bullet mirrors to my old Mini, the view back was pretty poor.

[Alex 2550]

When I fitted bullet mirrors to my old Mini, the view back was pretty poor.

This was a concern.
These are better than I expected but not as good as factory.
I always check my blind spots and 99.9% of the time I have the hardtop or no top so better visibility.
Probably would not be the best for city drivers but I think I’ll get used to it pretty quick because they aren’t that bad.


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