Ron's Monster Miata Build

[coloskydiver]

I don't think you were even considering it, but whatever you do, don't put 18s on it. This is the most hideous-looking monster (truck) miata I have ever seen. He claims 19s in the auction but you can clearly see 215/35R18 on the tires. There's a lot more wrong with that car than the wheels, but just wanted to show an example of going too large.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-MX-5-Miata-LOADED-SUPER-SPORT-CUSTOM-ORANGE-MIATA-WITH-NEW-19-WHEELS_W0QQitemZ170426028553QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item27ae2ed209#ht_14672wt_939

I have no desire to go any bigger than 17" and that guy did have 19"s, a big difference. I plan on doing some test fitting before I buy anything. Again that is still aways out but need to at least start thinking about it.

[94mx5]

The Miata came standard with 15's starting in 1999. They were a good mix of wheel/rubber in my mind. But that is on a showroom stock car. Clearly your car is going to be 100% custom, so the wheels should likely reflect that. Can't wait to see what you pick!

[coloskydiver]

[erod550]

6.6lb/hp compared to 8.1lb/hp for the GTR. The GTR will still win from a dig though thanks to AWD. But the Miata will walk away on the highway, and costs $50-60k less, depending on how much you put into appearance stuff on the Miata.

[coloskydiver]

Well I think I decided on my rims. I looked all over the web at Miatas with different rim sizes and did decide on going with 17" Konig Runaway rim.

Here is a picture on the Runaways on third gen Miata.



These are 17X8 rim and looks good on a Miata. I plan on going with the silver rim, like the one in one of my previous post.

One of the main thing with going with a 17" rims is that it open up more options for big break kits.

[erod550]

What color are you painting your car? Here's an NB with the 17" runaways in black. I like them a lot in the darker colors. Small pic but not many pics of them on Miatas out there.



As I side note I love the NAs and NBs but really don't like the NC Miatas. :\ Something with the hood being super long or something, I don't know.

[RX-7 Chris]

I forgot to tell you the rest about the adjusting on the valves on the motor. For each valve you will need to turn the motor over till the valve is completely closed and push rod is in its lowest position. Then you can insert the feeler guage and adjust the rocker. The feeler guage should feel a little tight but not come right out or be stuck. It will be a little harder with roller rockers because the roller may make it a little easier to slide the guage in or out.

[coloskydiver]

Don't you hate when plan 2 hours for a task and it ends up taking 5. With this project it seems to happening more often than not.

I have a shell of a Miata sitting on moving dollies with no suspension and since it is all off I figuered I would swap out the old bushing with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. I swaped bushing in the front and rear upper/lower control arms and what a pain. The old bushing are 20 years old and don't want to come out, even with a press. They recomend that Heat is key. You need to heat it up to the point of melting the bushing and them hammer it out. The new bushings went in fairly well but did require a special tool to press in the metal insert, but what a difference over the old. This process took 5 hours to tourch out the old bushings and press in the new. Glad it is over with.

[erod550]

Don't you hate when plan 2 hours for a task and it ends up taking 5.

Ha, yes, I do. The Miata engine swap is a perfect example. It's why I've been putting off replacing the shocks and why I've been putting off doing the downpipe on the MS3. Because I know both those jobs are going to take longer than I'm planning on.

Glad you made some progress on your project though. It all needs to be done before it's done so even a little thing like bushings is still progress.

[coloskydiver]

Just an update. Sent the K member and rear hubs back to Monster Miata to be modified and should be able to buy the entire kit later this month. When the kit comes in, I will need to reassemble the suspension so I can work on the car but needed shocks and springs. I had been looking around for quite some time trying to figure out exactly what was my best bang for the buck. I decided to go with a set of Koni Sport 5 way adjustable shocks and a set of Racing Beat springs. This will give me the performance and drop I was looking for with out breaking the bank (compared to coil overs and some of the other options out there). Later down the road I will upgrade to the Ground Control setup on the Koni shocks.

Projects like this are funny. 6 months ago, I had a ton of time and no money for parts and now I have the majority of the parts but no time.

[94mx5]

Can't wait to see the X-member mods! Let me know when it is in. I have been itching to see a modded x-member in person. Have seen multiple V8 projects, but most were in pieces and hadn't gotten to the X-member yet!

[coloskydiver]

Does anyone have any experience with the Koni Sports for the Miata? I got them in today and they have an adjustable spring perch and was wondering what setting to set them at. There are three setting and of course the instructions are just pictures. Th picture shows that the highest setting is what I would assume as stock, the second is the recommended Koni setting and the third I assume lowers the rid height the most. What setting should I go with. I guess this question is more posed to those who have experiece with Koni shocks.

[erod550]

Since they're adjustable you could always just stick them at the factory setting to start with and change them up later if you don't like them at that setting.

I'm sure miata.net would have plenty of people that have experience with just about every type of suspension you can put on a Miata.

[94mx5]

Ditto. When it comes to suspension and such, Miata.net will have an answer. With the # of folks on there, someone has surely run that setup before.

[94mx5]

Any progress? Did the K-frame come back?