Miata Mini-Makeover

[kev]

Removed the following
-Soft top removed ~40 lbs
-Roll bar removed ~43 lbs
-Stock wheel replaced ~2 lbs
-one stock seat ~10 lbs

New stuff:
-Black hardtop
-NRG wheel
-Kirkey race seat
-15x7 Rota GT3

Almost 100 lbs lighter and easier on the eyes.
http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata1.jpg
http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata2.jpg
http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata3.jpg
http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata4.jpg

[kev]

http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata5.jpg
http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata6.jpg
http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata7.jpg
http://members.cox.net/kgleaton/miata/miata8.jpg

[kev]

It's only a matter of time before I ditch the tan interior. All auto interiors should be gray, silver, charcoal, or black'ish.

[wgnths]

looks 100% better! hardtop ftw! love the wheels too. and of course that nrg wheel :)

[phoenixZ33]

It's only a matter of time before I ditch the tan interior. All auto interiors should be removed, then promptly thrown in the garbage... or on ebay.

fixed for you!

[Eunos]

Looking good Kev....but where's the shot of the new alternator? :P

[Philthy]

What's your plan for your old soft top?

[kev]

What's your plan for your old soft top?

It's already gone to a good home.

[J0oftheworld]

A++ Kev.

[kev]

Thanks J.

I need to get the hardtop rear window tinted. Then i'm going to work on getting rid of all the tan on the interior.

[allisonbergie]

the rims fits well on the car. nice one.
________
ultimate fighters (http://ultimatefighters.org)

[kev]

I hate Tan interiors, and my miata's interior was pretty foul.

So PHASE I of my interior makeover is complete:
1) Tan Carpet has been replaced with Beatiful BLACK goodness
2) I Traded some unused crap and a few bucks for all black interior pieces
3) New black burn your hand Voodoo shift knob
4) bought some dark cloth 97 miata seats to go in. The kirkey was just too much of a pain in the ass to get in and out of, and wasn't worth the 10 lbs of weight I saved.

PHASE II:
-Buy dark clips/fasteners to replace the tan ones I had to reuse.
-Dye or paint the lower dash. ALL of the TAN must go.

Holla!

[wgnths]

much better!!

[moxie]

Looks pretty hot...

I am almost ashamed to say that driving an old Miata around the block made me sorta want one...

[wgnths]

Looks pretty hot...

I am almost ashamed to say that driving an old Miata around the block made me sorta want one...

man purse comes next.

[moxie]

i can only fear...

[DangerViking]

Hey Kev, if you have any miata parts you want to get rid of (that is, anything that's not tan ;) ) lemme know.

[Max Power]

I'll never understand a tan interior. Great work kev... it's already much better but when it's all done it will look great. And smell better too ;)

[wgnths]

tan interiors are notoriously stinky! it's a fact.

[kev]

tan interiors are notoriously stinky! it's a fact.

Yeah, the original owner (i'm the third owner) must've been a smoker. I found a few cigarette butts UNDER the damn carpet. WTF?

[kev]

Hey Kev, if you have any miata parts you want to get rid of (that is, anything that's not tan ;) ) lemme know.

Well I have 2 of 3 tan carpet pieces. Tan interior pieces.

Actually, I have my old front and rear sway bar somewhere. Check out miata.net and see if that is worthy trying out.

I do have 2 nasty tan seats and a very well used gray driver's side seat that I'm going to work on clearing out of my garage.

[kev]

My miata has been on a diet. I modified the rear hitch and now I can remove or install it in 2-3 minutes. I've towed 3 times with the new setup and other than being slightly more noisy it works flawlessly. This setup is good for a 10 lb weight reduction off the ass of the car.

Here's a couple pics of the hitch and the pins to secure it.

[kev]

I don't drive the miata on the street much, because I'm affraid of anymore downtime due to 80yr old ladies who can't see over the steering wheel. Since I'm on a quest to lighten up the car, I took out the stereo two weeks ago.

My miata is the luxury leather equipped model with the BOSE factory sound system. The CD player, cassette deck power antenna, mid range speakers and tweeters weighed a whopping 13.5 lbs.

The BOSE amplifier is buried somewhere deep inside the dash. That has to be another pound or two of weight I can legally (within my SCCA class) remove...someday.

I made a radio cover out of some old shoebox and then I spray painted it black. It looks awesome. Check it.

[kev]

Cardboard is so 2006. I got the hook up on a piece of carbon fiber. After a bit of dremelling and inhaling a shitload of resin :( It came out pretty damn nice.

Unfortunately, CF doesn't take great pics in low lighting with a camera flash. It looks good.

[kev]

Finally, I weighed the car and it's down to 2175 lbs on race wheels and rubber.

Edmunds lists a stock 99 miata at 2299, which i think is kind of high, but it's lost a decent amount of weight. I'm on the hunt for a used set of panasports (4lbs less per corner!).

After that, I think the next "easy" weight loss will come from my ass :(

[J0oftheworld]

haha.. and good show kev!

[wgnths]

cardboard is way cooler than cf! looks good though! i took out the deck and speakers in my wagon recently...stock subaru speakers weigh less than the the paper i write on.

[kev]

275/35/15 on a 15x10 compared to a 205/50/15 on a 15x7

No comparison!

[speedblind]

Ooooooooooh. Very nice. Need some action pics.

Also, where'd you get the steelies? Always thought those looked tough sporting big wide slicks.

[wgnths]

such an awesome tire size.

[J0oftheworld]

Sheesh. :D

[chopsmcgraw]

Odd that it isn't posted on the solo board yet...

[wgnths]

we have exclusive rights to this information :)

and i sent kev a bean burrito.

[kev]

Ooooooooooh. Very nice. Need some action pics.

Also, where'd you get the steelies? Always thought those looked tough sporting big wide slicks.

The wheels are from Diamond Racing. Cheap, strong, and good enough for now. The future definitely holds lighter wheels ;)

[kev]

The flaring started yesterday. All the fenders have been hammered out. After some sanding, it will be ready for some body filler and primer. I'm leaning towards doing some vinyl instead of paint.

[J0oftheworld]

Meat!

[kev]

Flares are done. They look pretty awesome, and these pictures don't do them justice.
http://picasaweb.google.com/kevgleaton/FlaresCompleted


Now I have to decide on whether to paint or do some vinyl work. Right now I'm leaning towards vinyl (less downtime for the car).

Does anybody have:
-experience installing large amounts of vinyl on cars
-recommendations of where to buy vinyl or shops that install vinyl
-vinyl designs

[J0oftheworld]

Looks good Kev!!
I vote for painting the fenders.. :)
Although since you're a ninja you could pull off some pretty sweet stickers.

[J0oftheworld]

ps, time to change your daily wheels out!

[wgnths]

came out really good! i'd probably paint them, as the rest of the car is still very nice. there's a guy in tempe, danny(did all the vinyl on my spec v). he does all of ksports vinyl on their race cars and he's very good. maybe he'd do it? i forget the name of his shop right now.

[kev]

ps, time to change your daily wheels out!

Yeah, these 15x7 rotas with 205/50/15 azenis look so lame. The problem is I don't think a 15x8" wheel is going to help much.

[Eunos]

Car looks awesome kev, can't wait to see it in person. I hope it's not too fast now.

Regarding your street wheel issue, order a set of black diamonds and stretch some 225's on there. :P

[J0oftheworld]

I was thinking 15x8 et0 sportmax ftw... hahaaa

[wgnths]

yeah just find something with a super low offset, would help. or go dorifto/vw like brian mentioned.

[wgnths]

k kev, lets see pics of the newly aquired tow rig! and trailer!

[kev]

Pics of the Ridgeline:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevgleaton/Ridgline

Haven't picked up my trailer. I should try to do that tomorrow night or Sat!

[wgnths]

you traded the xb, right?

[kev]

Yeah, I traded the xb.

The ridgeline is actually used, 07 w/ 15,000 miles. It's pretty ugly but it's perfect for my needs.

[wgnths]

actually make a nice tow/daily, especially towing a lightweight car. i always liked all the storage areas it has.

[kev]

I added some new pics to my google Ridgeline album. 3 pics of the miata on the new trailer and two pics showing ALL my autox gear fitting in the super awesome lockable trunk.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevgleaton/Ridgline

[wgnths]

my trailer would have been perfect for the miata. look at you, all pro now!

[J0oftheworld]

I like the ridgeline! :)
Car looks mean as hell Kev.. can't wait to try it out! :D

[kev]

Thanks for the good words.

The chrome wheel covers were so fugly. Tonight I took them off. The steel wheels look a helluva lot better AND I can torque my wheels without having to remove lame hubcaps.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevgleaton/RLSteelVSChromeCovers

Thoughts?

[J0oftheworld]

mobetta

[kev]

Took the AC out this week to add another 30 lbs of lightness ;)

I also managed to rip my radiator into 2 pieces with my bare hands, so I have a brand new oem radiator. Yay.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevgleaton/FAIL/photo#5173790359726363746

[J0oftheworld]

haha... heman!

[wgnths]

wow, what a poopy radiator. have you been going to the gym?

[kev]

This weekend I finished getting rid of the last of the interior's tan. Krylon Fusion plastic paint is your friend.

See post #12 in this thread for older pics.

[kev]

Since my miata spends most of it's time sitting in the garage, I've been disconnecting the battery to keep it from draining. I've found the most badass battery "switch" for just $4.99 plus shiping.

http://www.utopiatools.com/Detail.bok?no=41

[J0oftheworld]

Kev,
nice, and nice!
,jay

[kev]

The Green and Tan beast is dead.

Black is Beautiful.


http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs037.snc1/2667_1085648391159_1524872738_235729_7873902_n.jpg


The wheels are blingy 15x8 sportmax's with a 0 offset wrapped in some 225/45/15 hankooks.

Brand new exhaust system. 2.5" midpipe with new high flow cat, and a ridiculously light axle back muffler. It's LOUD, light, and flows great :)

[J0oftheworld]

I'll teabag your cellphone pictures!!
So now the inside is all black and outside?
I've seen those sportmax's powder coated black on CR.net and looked gooood..

[wgnths]

looks awesome kev! i'm excited for you! i think the blingy wheels look really good like that.

[Wagoman]

Put some blackness on them tires!

[speedblind]

What happened to the green car? Or did you paint it?

Either way black is much cooler.

[wgnths]

What happened to the green car? Or did you paint it?

Either way black is much cooler.

it was painted!

[kev]

If all goes well, brown santa will be delivering an MP62 supercharger to my house soon.

Time to start looking around for a bigger aluminum radiator and figure out what combination of track pads I should order. I'll probably end up painting my race wheels, because they look like ass. Any suggestions?

[J0oftheworld]

You bish.. I just sold my blower for $1800. (2 a kid w. a '99)
I just did my STO wheels gunmetal and they look pretty good.
Apply stripper... eat lunch.. pressure wash off paint... paint!
ZERO elbow grease required. :)

[wgnths]

ooh gettin some power! paint the wheels caca brown with bits of corn.

[kev]

Sending out the money on Thursday, and hope to see the kit next week.
I'm buying the kit from Ari, who has run at Arroyo Seco.

I just ran out of excuses to not boost.

[J0oftheworld]

You have all that tire.. might as well.
Going mega squirt pnp?

[kev]

You have all that tire.. might as well.
Going mega squirt pnp?

Nope, I'm done with standalone ecu's on odb2 cars.

[moxie]

I just ran out of excuses to not boost.

About damn time!

[J0oftheworld]

If you go MS I've got a touch screen and carputer you can run it all with.. IN-car! ;)

[kev]

SC kit might show up on Friday.

My new koyo radiator will definitely be here on Friday :)
I just need to order a few more odds and ends.

The last thing I can think of will be some 15x10 bogarts. I might go to vegas and or hawaii instead of ordering wheels though.

[kev]

F it. Ordering Bogarts tomorrow and I'm going to vegas/cali AND hawaii. I believe in having my cake and eating it ASAP.

[kev]

The install is still in progress. Brian has helped my weak ass out with most of the install. Stuff seems to take a lot longer when I drop bolts into hard to find/reach places and when you clean up 10 years of engine crud :)

Still have to install the pulley, tensioner, alternator, 5th injector, and the ECU.

Before cleaning and the wire tuck:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/SiavBIP460I/AAAAAAAABxY/N2xvsWN0tvo/s512/CIMG0912.JPG

After shot:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/SiYmu7xxsAI/AAAAAAAABwk/FnsaDkKg6JU/s512/CIMG0944.JPG

[J0oftheworld]

burrrr... coldside!! :D

[wgnths]

nice to see it coming along! boost is coming!

[J0oftheworld]

Flush your brake fluid weaksauce! :D

[kev]

The brake fluid is dandy. Super blue ATE

[speedblind]

Looks good!

[moxie]

Lookin nice kev!

I bet you'll finally be able to get a Miata into the low 15s!

J/K!

I want to drive it.

[kev]

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/Si4m9Mb4MBI/AAAAAAAAB0o/0hrx8jlACcw/s512/SC-Jun8th.JPG

Aside from the shop vac hose for an intake, it looks pretty bitchin. Still need to finish the 5 injector, ECU stuff and wiring. Soon

[moxie]

Keep that hose.

Thats worth 10 hillbilly horsepower!

I want a ride when its done.

[student]

:retard: retard

[wgnths]

:retard: retard

And you are?



I want a ride too, kev. Maybe i'll have to keep my miata and do a cosworth s/c...

[kev]

that would be sick erin!

[wgnths]

yes it would! 260whp would be a blast...i won't be keeping it though. its a fun car, but i'll turn it in next summer to rid of a payment.

[kev]

zoom zoom. it's done and it feels pretty damn quick. Time for a dyno to check the A/F and for some gauges.

[phoenixZ33]

im going to the dyno saturday morning. you should join me

[wgnths]

sweet! im excited for you kev! just in time for the heat lol.

[kev]

im going to the dyno saturday morning. you should join me

which dyno?

[phoenixZ33]

Arizona Dyno Chip in Chandler.. which is only like 87 miles from you.

After that, around 11ish, me and Nick (owner of KSport) are taking our cars up to Canyon Lake for a romantic drive, stack of speeding tickets and lunch at Tortilla Flat. You should join us.. with your S2000 (since your miata probably isn't tuned yet, i'm assuming).

Let's go!

[speedblind]

You still have the S2000? How's it running?

[kev]

You still have the S2000? How's it running?

The S2000 is tip top. Aside from fluids and tires, all I've had to take care of has been front brake pads. :)

[kev]

Arizona Dyno Chip in Chandler.. which is only like 87 miles from you.

After that, around 11ish, me and Nick (owner of KSport) are taking our cars up to Canyon Lake for a romantic drive, stack of speeding tickets and lunch at Tortilla Flat. You should join us.. with your S2000 (since your miata probably isn't tuned yet, i'm assuming).

Let's go!

I'll be going there on Tuesday for a dyno and possibly some tuning.

Anybody want to take some HP guesses? I'm going to guess 190

[Eunos]

Anybody want to take some HP guesses? I'm going to guess 190
180! /hides

[J0oftheworld]

isn't it 190 or your money back!? :D

[wgnths]

182.4

[kev]

188.88 on AZDynochips dyno. It's pretty close to the 190 I was hoping for :)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/SkE-xs4Ts0I/AAAAAAAACCo/kJdOlliPiSw/s512/scan0001.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

dude.. that's excellent. graph looks awesome--totally smooth, tuned.. planted!

[wgnths]

power curve looks killer! i want a ride dammit! welcome to power!

[kev]

I <3 boost

[moxie]

That TQ curve looks pretty...

I want a ride!

[J0oftheworld]

photochop!!

[speedblind]

Very nice! Gotta love that tq - it's going to be very drivable with that power band.

[kev]

I picked up my 15"x10" bogarts tonight.
14 lbs each, which is 8 lbs lighter per wheel AND has 1000 times more shiney.

A fresh set of 275/35/15 hoosiers will be delivered tomorrow, and I'll have it all mounted Friday :)

Still waiting for my gauges and wideband.

[skilit]

that looks awesome!

[kev]

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/SkaxRCmbKOI/AAAAAAAACJE/l-zl79UA5_I/s512/CIMG1037.JPG

bling bling mofos!

[J0oftheworld]

Been nice knowing ya..
You'll be w. the LP/Rippy/Rohn F-body crowd in no time w. that much meat!

You should post on M.Net and say, "green/tan/nardi ed./99sport/MINT/Lightly modded"
Pure sacrilege! :D

[kev]

When LP first saw my wheels and tires, he about shat a brick.

[moxie]

I think they sent you a size too big?

;)

[Philthy]

I am having two questions. Why did you kill the dyno run at 7k? Tq was still holding flat and HP was climbing. There is more there. Also, did you just hammer out the sheet metal for flares or did you do something else. A friend of mine wants to get going on the body work and paint for mine and we talked about fender flares a bit. I like the old school M3 boxy-but-good style flares but I don't know how that would work out on a Miata.

Then I begin selling off all my old crap and start hunting down an LS1.

[kev]

Troy, Redline is ~7k. I'm running the stock ECU with a piggy back fuel controller when the car is in boost, a 5th injector and controller that functions as an intercooler, and a timing card to pull a little timing at higher rpms.

As for the flares, they were hammered out. First you beat the lip flat. Then you wail on that flattened lip until you get enough clearance for your wheel/tire setup. The main downside to hammering is that you'll jack your paint.

Buying bolt-on flares will keep you from needing a paint job, but I'm pleased with how my car ended up :)

PLEASE start a thread and share all your LS1 activities. I can't imagine that much awesomeness in a car.

[kev]

I guess I should do another mini-update. Around Sept-Oct all my gauges made it into the car with some help from Brian. AEM UEGO Wideband, Autometer Z series boost, oil temp, oil pressure and water temp gauges.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/StV4g-QUBZI/AAAAAAAACn4/Od1dX4edrr0/s640/CIMG1775.JPG

Gauges = a serious pain in the ass due to all the freaking wires.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/StV4Q7USKyI/AAAAAAAACnw/EHwy0iB9uco/s640/CIMG1770.JPG

Wilwood Brake Proportioning valve. Probably one of the best bang for the buck mods. This $80 kit has cured a serious weakspot, braking. We ended up installing this twice. The directions said not to use any thread sealant. After I called flyinmiata and told them I was getting fluid leakage, they told me to use a high-temp thread sealant...WTF?
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/St6Zw9wTUNI/AAAAAAAACqo/s0INHLP8qFo/s640/CIMG1830.JPG

[kev]

I went from my "40% stiffer than stock" mazda competition motor mounts to a solid delrin motor mount. I haven't missed a shift to 3rd gear since :) Solid motor mounts are no joke. My passenger side headlight vibrated so badly that I had to wedge a racquetball in there to keep it from shaking itself to death.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/St6Zj_zCvqI/AAAAAAAACqc/UFDX4mQUDOQ/s640/CIMG1833.JPG

I had my second battery related failure in September. The plastic factory battery tray busted and the positive post got wedged against the chasis. It only ruined my battery. The first failure, happened when the cables came off the posts and f'ed up my super expensive stand alone ecu :( Being sick of my weaksauce battery issues, I ponied up and bought the very nice and blingy braille battery mount and a decka (same as a braille) battery. I wish I would've bought this from the start.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_DNR5IPtRnZI/StV4nx1Py4I/AAAAAAAACoA/nBT9O9dJptY/s640/CIMG1776.JPG

I weighed the car at the last Nasa-X event on FIR East. I was surprised to see the car weigh in at only 2165. That's what my car used to weigh before the supercharger, gauges and bigger radiator. I love the 32 lb weight loss from my Bogarts.

The only plans for the car now involve driving it and keeping up with whatever maintenance is needed :)