stock brakes are more than fine on a miata just get yourself some HPS front pads and HP+ rears to balance out the brake bias, add lines if you want... drilled rotors are a waste of money. as for the suspension... there is a proven recipie for miata time and time again. Koni + Ground control = win. this cheap setup yields you excellent customizability for very little money koni only wants about $25 per shock for custom valving, and ground controls can take just about any spring you throw at them. the whole thing may cost you $1500, but if your trying to be competitive, this is what you need to buy.
Also, for GC sleeves you can buy Eibach 2.5" ID springs that bolt right on in 50# increments. They start at 250 and go up to 1200. The springs are only $75 each so you can mix and match until you get that 'perfect' setup.
cool, I will look into this during winter. I really want to put a turbo on it as a first real upgrade. But first all the maintnance, all the fluids, belts, brakes. I found out that miata engine is non interference engine so If I screw up on timing the worst thing that can happen it will just not run untill I fix it. So tomorrow I will replace the coolant and all the belts and will check how bad is the t-belt if not too bad I will leave it till winter. And will replace the pads and have the rotors turned. Will post some pics later
Update I Fail!! Was going to change my aux belts and thermostat. The belts went ok, but the thermostat did not go so well. One of the bolts broke and i tried to drill it out and after breaking 3 bits and I broke the thermostat housing. So i had to take off the valve cover and the T-belt to get to the thermostat housing and take it out. I took off the belt and now it look like it does not want to go back. So if i loosen the tensioner and put it all back like it was will i have any problems? I did mark both of the timing gears and the belt before i took it off. here are a few pics.
no i did not. The bolt was all caked in there. So, if the cam gears moved when i took the belt off, can i still line them up with little marks on block and cam gears will i be fine or am i screwed?
yes the general workings are the same, spark, combustion and stuff, but how to set the timing and **** like that is way different I am sure.
got the part and the timing belt is on the car now. Just need to torque everything down. Hopefully i got the timing right the first time so i dont have to take it all apart again.
you can start it while its still apart, just make sure the belt is on tightly and all the pulleys are tight, but you dont have to have all the covers/accessories on to make sure it runs
It sucks because I have to but pretty much evrrything back together just to see if it runs. The valve cover is a part of the. Cam gear cover so I all have to take that off if I got the timing wrong.
well...all thats gonna happen is oil is gonna start spraying out, it should fire right up, you'll know if the timing is right if it starts and is smooth.
Update! I fail again! I ****ed it up. The pistons started to fly everywhere, the number three almost killed my dog and the number four gave my gf a black eye!
no just ****ing with you. I did it, it runs and the oil pressure it back to normal, I cant believe this!
haha, I had a feeling. Cuz your gf would have more than a black eye if that happened. maybe a missing eye. :0 nice job man.
lol, yeah i bet. More like a hole in a head, literally(sp). But, yeah it runs. I am really surprised to be honest. I could not torque anything because i think my torque wrench will break the bolts cause its ****. So i need to go get a good one at like sears.
the timing belt and your oil pressure share nothing in common....the oil pressure is up to normal because its cold and the oil is thick....
Yeah, but i know nothing about working on engines, it was the first time ever i opened up a valve cover.
OK, got a question. It says in the book that torque for the valve cover bolts is 55lbs and it really feels like too much. I was really afraid of pushing it too hard. I mean those bolts are tiny and i really dont want to break the bolt or worse strip the head.
figured the problem. I was reading it in Foot-lbs and it asks for inch-lbs. Good i did not force anything.
started on the wheels. Looks OK so far, but i think i need to polish a bit more. Here are a few pics of the wheels and something extra. If i polish the lip more will i be able to get rid of the swirl marks?
skip the pu$$y $hit and do this. warning, it'll take you a while to read. But do it!! http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=417646&st=0
it seems like no one really cares about my project here, but i will still post a few pics for entertainment. Here are two wheels, to more to go.
