mk1_salami
M
mk1_salami
I thought I'd make a wee thread covering the journey so far on my ND2 (2019) MX-5 30th Anniversary car. Some of you might remember from years back I always had NA MX5's which usually ended up being turbocharged. I still have one (built engine, BMW gearbox etc with around 400hp), but I really fancied a newer one, so I scratched that itch in July 2022 and picked up this low mile ND2 with only 4,000 miles on the clock.
It benefited from having full PPF, so the paintwork was excellent and essentially looked - and drove - like a new car.
Here it is the day I drove the car home:
free image hosting
The first thing on my list of things to do was to 'fix' the seating position. I'm only 5'8" and found myself sitting higher in the car than I'd like, so I fitted a Paco Motorsports seat lowering kit to driver and passenger seats. You lose the fore/aft sliding functionality but I'm the only driver of the car, so no great loss there and it lowered the seat enough to make me happy.
Next was a Verus engineering throttle pedal spacer kit, to allow for easier heel and toe downshifts. I'm not sure why, but I found the pedal alignment a bit 'off' as standard. This modification immediately improved the situation and feels perfect to my feet!
Next, was to sort the stance and handling of the car. I read a lot, and was between Ohlins Road and Track coilovers or the offering from Supermiata (Xida). I found overwhelmingly positive reviews of the Xida coilovers, so went for those, and Eibach anti roll bars. Pics of said items installed:
These were a really nice mod and put a stop to the roll-boat handling as standard. I've had the car on track a few times and the handling is spot on, with curbs and unsettling roads just brushed off. Always a sign of a quality suspension unit. I also added spacers for aesthetic reasons, then a Goodwin Racing large brake disc conversion kit. This allows you to run much larger discs to help with heat dissipation on track. I did HEL orange braided lines and fluid at the same time. The caliper is now very close to the barrel of the wheel, which disturbs any wheel weights put there. I'm still not entirely convinced of the brakes on the car. The car does stop when asked to, but feels a bit "wobbly" after multiple high-speed stops on track. It's one of the only future changes I'm looking to make on the car.
Next on the list was a new steering wheel. I found the OEM one a bit thin and large, so replaced it with a unit from Guardian Designs. It's a slightly smaller diameter than OEM, while also being thicker (but not too thick - yes, you BMW!). I was really happy with this. I went with a 1 piece leather design and the quality is excellent. Crucially, it allows you to retain the OEM controls in the centre of the wheel.
Old:
New:
upload pic
The next mod was to upgrade the power. This was taken care of with a BBR220 kit, which includes Manifold, Air intake system, remap, camshafts and remap. This was a fantastic mod, and really woke the car up. It now revved freely to nearly 8000rpm and the power level was just about perfect for B road bashing. It even held its own on track against much more serious machinery.
Some on track pics:
A video on track here:
After these mods, the car was pretty much perfect, but I was closely following the forums for information on unleashing a bit more power from the engine. I decided to go for it and pulled the trigger on an HKS GT2 Supercharger system in July this year, bought from Fab9 Tuning in the States. That, together with an uprated clutch, lightweight battery, fuel injectors and new radiator eventually arrived in around November.
During installation:
The installation itself isn't too difficult, and something a competent home mechanic can carry out over a long weekend for sure. The hardest part was removing a bolt at the bottom of the intake manifold. Necessary to remove the IM to install the new fuel injectors.
After the installation:
Honestly, I'm not sure it was worth the expense of supercharging the car. It does not feel drastically different to the BBR220 spec. Infact, you lose that sparkly top end with a reduction of the rev limiter, necessary right now because there is no fueling solution suitable to unleash the full potential of the SC. I'll get it on a dyno soon, but it doesn't feel much more than 250-260hp to me. Dragy results show a quarter-mile time of 13.5 @ 105mph, so it's certainly not FAST, but not slow either.
Anyway, sorry to blather on, but thought someone might appreciate some information on the car. I'll leave the post with some pics of how the car looks now, as well as beside my beloved NA!
It benefited from having full PPF, so the paintwork was excellent and essentially looked - and drove - like a new car.
Here it is the day I drove the car home:
free image hosting
The first thing on my list of things to do was to 'fix' the seating position. I'm only 5'8" and found myself sitting higher in the car than I'd like, so I fitted a Paco Motorsports seat lowering kit to driver and passenger seats. You lose the fore/aft sliding functionality but I'm the only driver of the car, so no great loss there and it lowered the seat enough to make me happy.
Next was a Verus engineering throttle pedal spacer kit, to allow for easier heel and toe downshifts. I'm not sure why, but I found the pedal alignment a bit 'off' as standard. This modification immediately improved the situation and feels perfect to my feet!
Next, was to sort the stance and handling of the car. I read a lot, and was between Ohlins Road and Track coilovers or the offering from Supermiata (Xida). I found overwhelmingly positive reviews of the Xida coilovers, so went for those, and Eibach anti roll bars. Pics of said items installed:
These were a really nice mod and put a stop to the roll-boat handling as standard. I've had the car on track a few times and the handling is spot on, with curbs and unsettling roads just brushed off. Always a sign of a quality suspension unit. I also added spacers for aesthetic reasons, then a Goodwin Racing large brake disc conversion kit. This allows you to run much larger discs to help with heat dissipation on track. I did HEL orange braided lines and fluid at the same time. The caliper is now very close to the barrel of the wheel, which disturbs any wheel weights put there. I'm still not entirely convinced of the brakes on the car. The car does stop when asked to, but feels a bit "wobbly" after multiple high-speed stops on track. It's one of the only future changes I'm looking to make on the car.
Next on the list was a new steering wheel. I found the OEM one a bit thin and large, so replaced it with a unit from Guardian Designs. It's a slightly smaller diameter than OEM, while also being thicker (but not too thick - yes, you BMW!). I was really happy with this. I went with a 1 piece leather design and the quality is excellent. Crucially, it allows you to retain the OEM controls in the centre of the wheel.
Old:
New:
upload pic
The next mod was to upgrade the power. This was taken care of with a BBR220 kit, which includes Manifold, Air intake system, remap, camshafts and remap. This was a fantastic mod, and really woke the car up. It now revved freely to nearly 8000rpm and the power level was just about perfect for B road bashing. It even held its own on track against much more serious machinery.
Some on track pics:
A video on track here:
After these mods, the car was pretty much perfect, but I was closely following the forums for information on unleashing a bit more power from the engine. I decided to go for it and pulled the trigger on an HKS GT2 Supercharger system in July this year, bought from Fab9 Tuning in the States. That, together with an uprated clutch, lightweight battery, fuel injectors and new radiator eventually arrived in around November.
During installation:
The installation itself isn't too difficult, and something a competent home mechanic can carry out over a long weekend for sure. The hardest part was removing a bolt at the bottom of the intake manifold. Necessary to remove the IM to install the new fuel injectors.
After the installation:
Honestly, I'm not sure it was worth the expense of supercharging the car. It does not feel drastically different to the BBR220 spec. Infact, you lose that sparkly top end with a reduction of the rev limiter, necessary right now because there is no fueling solution suitable to unleash the full potential of the SC. I'll get it on a dyno soon, but it doesn't feel much more than 250-260hp to me. Dragy results show a quarter-mile time of 13.5 @ 105mph, so it's certainly not FAST, but not slow either.
Anyway, sorry to blather on, but thought someone might appreciate some information on the car. I'll leave the post with some pics of how the car looks now, as well as beside my beloved NA!
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