Gta 5 Basic Mods
Gano Richardson
CarMax willing I'll be looking at a low mileage ND2 in a couple of weeks, in the spec I should've bought instead of the ND LE I bought. Specifically, it's an ND2 club, but with standard wheels and tires and not the Brembo/BBS/Recaro package.
With an NA it would be paint-by-numbers as I've owned quite a few of them, but I've never actually modded an ND in a meaningful way. As it's an ND2, any thoughts of hairdryers bolted to the exhaust go out the window, so what I guess I'll be looking at are just some basic updates. Here's what I think I'd be looking at:
I'm relatively new to GRM, but from what I've read about ND's the transmission is a bit suspect. You should look into Flyin' Miata's transmission fluid cooler. Apparantly the fluid can get to 300f....and stay like that
As for transmissions, the ND2 trans is NOT suspect like the ND1's were. You'll be fine in stock form. Our ND1 blew up the trans at about 10K like many people. Our ND2 is now at 30k, with heavy track use, and still working as delivered.
My ideal approach is to do as little as possible to the Miata while addressing to make it reliable and safe, maybe with a little added fun thrown in. And maybe make use of some of the good parts I already have from other project *cough* Bride Stradia *cough*
Edit: I noticed you installed the Blackbird Fabworks rollbar. I know Moti doesn't want people to publish the installation instructions, so my main question here is how hard you found it to install and how well does it work with the stock seatbelts? I've had his bars in several NA Miatas so it's likely that I'd end up with another one as I really like the build quality.
Technically a roll bar isn't required by SCCA for autocross or track nights. They allow "factory roll protection" for NC and ND Miatas specifically. But after my recent wreck, I would definitely get one, especially if you're replacing the seat too. I can also attest that Blackbird Fabworks/Aurora stuff is top notch. If you are tall whatsoever (I'm 6'0") and decide to keep stock seat, I recommend their seat lowering brackets. Even if you're less than 6', you may find the ergonomics a lot better when sitting lower. The friggin rearview mirror created a forward blind spot for me at stock height.
Also also, regarding the seat, there are airbags built into the bolsters. So if it's primarily a street car, you may be better off leaving it stock. Mine popped on track and probably saved my passenger from further harm.
Trans - I would recommend replacing the fluid very often. My '21 only had 22k miles but it saw pretty heavy track use. I did fluid just before 20k miles and it was nasty opaque solid gray. I think the factory fill might be part of the trans reliability problem.
Brakes - Fluid and pads is all I did for HPDE. Motul 660 and Hawk DTC 60 worked great for me. You don't need the Brembo package, you don't need a big brake kit, unless you're doing much more serious track/racing stuff.
I can't speak to the Blackbird bar, but the Hard Dog doesn't affect seatbelt function. The two bars are similar enough in design that I wouldn't expect Moti's bar to be a problem at all. The stock bars are thin aluminum tubes under those covers, they're definitely not going to help you at all in a roll.
The stock Club suspension is pretty good - Mazda doesn't get Bilstein suspensions right very often, but they did well with this one. Sway bars are definitely popular, but I'd live with the suspension for a little while before throwing any other parts at it.
I have installed Blackbird Fabworks bars in an NC as well as in a buddies ND. The ND install is the easier of the two but both require cutting plastic trim and that can take a good chunk of time if you want it to look good/great. Stock seatbelts functioned normally in both cases without any issue.
Ours is roughly a 100F fluid temperature decrease and backed up by datalogs and 7+ hour test sessions on a turbo car :) So I wouldn't call them alternatives. One addresses the problem, the other is basically a placebo.
I have a 2019 Club with Brembos. I still have some mods to install (Blackbird rollbar, Xida Coilovers), but I have some things on, including the medium thickness Karcepts front bar as well as the rear bar. I do think you will need to at least do stiffer springs to combat the body roll. Here is a pic of me at a recent event going through a corner with a big sway bar. Definitely still has roll. The adjustability of the Karcepts bar is great, and cutting out the old bar makes install way easier. It's expensive though.
I still have to wait for my suspension to settle going through turns though. Even compared to my RS3, which only has a slightly bigger rear bar. Even compared to the stock RS3, the Miata rolls much more.
After that, I think cooling is the main thing to focus on next. My next purchase might be the Verus brake ducting. I'm looking at the FM cooling products too. Not sure what the priority might be there though.
For your uses stock brakes are probably fine with decent pads and fluid. I slightly disagree with some of the other posters re: Brembo/BBS package. It's really nice. I started with stock brakes and switched to an aftermarket setup, and ended up going back to stock. Not all aftermarket setups are the same but the one I tried had significantly less pad volume and had a hard time with track use. After that I found the Brembo calipers and BBS wheels on marketplace, and thought they were both a big step up. The forged BBS wheels really sharpened up the handling compared to base wheels, and the Brembo calipers had great power and modulation and wuite a bit more pad volume and heat tolerance. The only caveat is that BBS and Brembo pretty much go together; a lot of other wheels have a hard time fitting over those calipers.
If you're talking about our Little Big Brake kit or a knockoff of it, they have a little less pad volume than stock. It's a good autox/street option because it knocks off considerable unsprung weight and improves pedal feel over the base brake setup. If you're looking to work the brakes hard on track, something else would be worthwhile. And you would also probably want a wheel wider than 7" for track work as well to support the wider tires you likely also want.
What year is the ND2 you are looking at? IIRC, there are 5 versions of the ND transmission. The early 2019 ND2's shipped with V4, before being changed to V5 a few weeks into production. I can look up the thread on miata.net with the VIN#'s for the 2019's when the changeover happened if you need
Roger that Keith. One of the bigger Wilwood-based kits would have been better suited for track duty, and the LBBK probably would have been better suited for street and autocross. I didn't have experience with the larger FM kit, but mainly wanted to say that the Brembo calipers are really good IMO because I have experience with those. Probably not worth the cost upcharge for the option package from the factory, but definitely worth snagging on the secondary market. And I love the BBS wheels, but I was perfectly happy with 7" width and 205 section tires. With good tires there was plenty of grip on the track, while preserving the playful and balanced nature of the car. I always prefer a little narrower tire on a Miata over trying to dial out tramlining and heavy steering with street driving.
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