You guys were starting to make me think I'd missed something 
My 1987 Subaru wagon had about 1/4" of toe out in the rear. It was actually a lot of fun in the snow because of it. Good thing, because with approximately 30 hp on at 10,000' elevation and 200,000 miles, there wasn't much other hoonage on tap. Murder on tires, though.
Keith wrote: For shocks, I'd go with Tokicos or Konis instead of KYBs. If you're thinking of putting on good springs in the future, I prefer the Tokico for that. If you're allowed, put some good bumpstops on the car. It'll make the car handle and ride better.
Hey Keith, what do you think of the Koni STR T shocks for a street driven stock Miata? They certainly are cheap right now, what with Tirerack and others having them on sale. No experience with them, curious about your opinion of them.
The only thing I'd add is swapping a VLSD in place of your open diff. It's no Torsen, but I have noticed a nice improvement on how well it puts the power down - and the Miata has so little power you need to put all you can get to the ground. :)
Never tried the STR T. I've heard - and I haven't confirmed - that they're basically the Sport on full soft. If that's the case, they'd be a nice street shock to go with stock springs. I have my father's Miata set up that way.
The E39 M5 guys aren't too impressed with them, they prefer the full Sport. But it's tough to judge one application by another.
Wow! Lot's of good suggestions here, some not so much. This is not a Nationals-level build! It's a daily driven street car first (that must be shared with a female) and an autocross car second with occasional HPDE's. That means no aluminum seats, short loud exhausts, and certainly no $2500+ shocks/coilovers on a $2500 car!!! I'm basically "maintainifying" here.
As for tires, I really liked the RT615's for autocrossing up here (cold, beat-up sites) and I've become a Falken fan with my FK452's on the P71. I'm willing to go to something else if it's going to be significantly better, but I got 200+ runs out of my 14" set on the RX-7 and I'm not good enough to notice a tenth difference. And no RS2/3's. The RS2's John had on the GTO were completely dead in under 600 miles, absolutely unacceptable for a car that's driven to the races.
On the suspension, I think I've got the right idea on the swaybar, but I'm lost on shocks and springs. Maybe Tokico Blue's and FM springs? I don't want to spend an arm and a leg here and the super-stiff coilover rates that must be run will be veto'd by the co-owner.
No on the tune, that sucks. What should the timing bump be? Any power to be had in degreeing the cams? I ordered a timing belt kit so I'll already be in there if it's worth not setting them "straight up". Any power to be had in a lower temp thermostat? I have a 160* in the P71 that makes a difference.
Keep em coming!
P71 wrote: And no RS2/3's. The RS2's John had on the GTO were completely dead in under 600 miles, absolutely unacceptable for a car that's driven to the races. Keep em coming!
You MAY find a Miata slightly easier on tires than a 400 hp, 1000 lb heavier, undertired GTO.
I'm just saying. ;)
They should still go more than 600 miles before cording all the way across with a factory-spec alignment 
P71 wrote: They should still go more than 600 miles before cording all the way across with a factory-spec alignment
That doesn't sound like a factory spec alignment at all. Something is afoot there.
I run a very agressive alignment, and i still get at least 15k miles out of mine, they last better than the RT615s i've run in the past.
Regardless, RS2s don't do as well with heavy vehicles. You don't have a heavy vehicle, i wouldn't just throw out the possibility of using them or RS3s.
But yes, i agree with you, they SHOULD last longer than 600miles before cording all the way across. But there's no way the tires are at fault for that scenario.
That all said, i don't foresee a large performance difference either way, and you like your RT615s, so run them. 
I'm running Koni Sport adjustables and stock springs on my $500 Miata. Used to belong to a good friend of mine. Great combo for street driving and the Konis have adjustable spring perches if you do want a little bit of lowering with the stock springs.
Also running sway bars.
Its a nice comfy ride for a very basic but good all around setup.
njansenv wrote:P71 wrote: And no RS2/3's. The RS2's John had on the GTO were completely dead in under 600 miles, absolutely unacceptable for a car that's driven to the races. Keep em coming!You MAY find a Miata slightly easier on tires than a 400 hp, 1000 lb heavier, undertired GTO. I'm just saying. ;)
Isnt a GTO more like 1600-1700lbs heavier than an NA.
Sounds like a faulty tire or something.
Sometimes things just fail....
I was trying to be politely conservative. 
P71 wrote: On the suspension, I think I've got the right idea on the swaybar, but I'm lost on shocks and springs. Maybe Tokico Blue's and FM springs? I don't want to spend an arm and a leg here and the super-stiff coilover rates that must be run will be veto'd by the co-owner.
Run, do not walk, from the Tokico Blues. They are universally regarded as sucking.
If I were you, I'd get the FM Stage 2/2.5 setup and be done with it. It supposedly rides as well as stock and will be at least mildly competitive in ST2 unless you've got a couple of real hotshoes in your region.
Full Disclosure: If I ever get around to doing anything with my extra Miata, I'll probably do a FM Stage 2 setup for a casual trackday/street/autocross car.
I'm with Billy - forget about Tokico Blues, and get the FM stuff Those Tokico HPs do not perform well, but they make up for it by not lasting very long.
Considering his KDW2's in the same size lasted 15K on the same alignment setting and all 4 tires corded I'm going with it was a crap tire. It's got Falken FK452's on it now and they aren't bald, again on the same alignment.
Yeah, I like the looks of the FM setup but $1000 is hard to swallow. I have to sneak some of this by her as well...
I'm thinking cheap adjustables (AGX's?), RB or FM springs, NB hats, FM bumpstops, and the hollow RB front sway with stock rear.
For the engine, there's still no tuner and all the CAI's seem really bizarre. Even the K&N stuff is off the wall. I made a pretty good homebuilt one for my last VAM equipped car (88 TC) so I may go that route. My car is also an ABS (woooooot!) and cruise-equipped one that will be retaining the A/C so it looks like I have less room under there.
Is the RB header worth it? Anybody have the dual-outlet Borla?
Where do I buy touch up (spray) paint? RoTa center caps?
Oh and the battery is acting up, are the mini ones going to handle actual DD duty with A/C, defrosters, CD/MP3, headrest speakers, and what not? Is there an Optima option?
Keith, are you at work tomorrow? 
There's no "tuner" for the ECU because it's not a reflashable ECU. Any changes involve a soldering iron.
The Illumina isn't a whole lot more expensive than the AGX and it's a better shock. We stopped selling the KYB when we realized that none of our techs would actually recommend them, despite the lower price. Also, it's not unusual for people to remove RB springs to put on FM ones, but I can't think of anyone who's gone the other way 
If you want Illuminas, FM springs and FM bumpstops that's an FM Stage 1 kit for $729.
I personally have concerns about ride height and handling with the NB upper mounts on a set of aftermarket NA springs like the FMs, but there seem to be a lot of happy people with that setup and it's what the cool kids are doing these days. There are no cars at FM with that setup though.
The RB header is an excellent piece, but NA Miatas don't respond as well to headers as some other cars do so the bang for the buck isn't as good. You have to decide if it's worth it. The older Borlas used to be pretty loud, but I don't know about the current generation. I haven't heard one in a decade, I'll bet. At least, not while knowing what I'm listening to.
There is an Optima option, the D51R.
And yes, I'm working tomorrow
P71 wrote: Oh and the battery is acting up, are the mini ones going to handle actual DD duty with A/C, defrosters, CD/MP3, headrest speakers, and what not? Is there an Optima option?
Unless you are planning to turn all that stuff on and run it for a while before you start the car, the capacity of the battery won't make much difference. When my OEM battery died, rather than spending $100 on a miata-specific replacement, I paid $18 for a walmart tractor battery that fit the tray and had a similar CCA rating, plus $5 for flag->post adapters. No problems at all. Your money is immensely better spent on suspension upgrades than a fancy battery .
I'm with Keith on the header. There's not much to be gained from a Miata header unless you're spending a lot of time at 6k rpm or above. If the budget's tight (which it always is) skip the header and spend the money on suspension and/or tires.
I'd also be worried about the AGX controlling anything much more than the stock spring rates. The Illuminas aren't much more expensive and are a better shock for higher spring rates. I don't think you can piece together shocks, springs, and a sway bar for less than you can get a comparable/better FM kit. Skip the .5 (the rear shock mounts) if you're trying to save a buck.
Besides, I've never heard anyone complain about an FM kit, but I've heard a lot of complaints about mis-matched suspension components.
My research (although not first-hand experience) also suggests that going with the M2-type shock mounts and a lowering spring is asking for trouble unless you get some sort of riser. I know FatCat sells such things. I don't know about other vendors of M2-type mounts.
If you haven't checked out Fat Cat Motorsports do so. They have some good info on their website. I have talked with Shake a couple of times at LMSCC autocross events, he is good people.
Don't get too hung up on the cost of a specific upgrade vs cost of car. Worry about your total budget, and how much bang for a buck that particular mod will get you. Focusing on suspension and tires will go a long ways.
We had a guy at the LMSCC club who got himself a $500 sunburst yellow miata turned around and dropped $2500 into wheels, tires, suspension, and a little maintenance. And he ended up kicking some serious butt in his class.
Edit:
Here is a link http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/index.htm
I ordered a ton of stuff in the last few days, mostly catch-ups on maintenance and maintainifying:
I still need to get a battery, make an intake (or buy one), choose tires (waiting for latest GRM test on ST ones...), and do some bodywork (I already got a rear bumper and filler panel in the correct white plus a taillight to replace all the broken ones).
How about tires? RE11s , R1Rs, something else? Opinions? Facts? Everything except wheels and tires are already purchased and on my car.... including AGX shocks, which are fine, since I already have them (FM springs). Mildly setting up my 2000 Miata basically for Solo STR class .... but street driven on weekends..
I'm leaning towards RE11's, but right now there's Kuhmo Ecsta AST's on mine. Autocross season is about to start but we're having crazy weather so I'm not too worried about it yet. Really hoping for another tire test or for Falken's to show back up in stock (cause I'm cheap).
If you haven't done so, join MAZDASPEED. Since you plan on auto-xing the car, you can get discounts on parts.
Did that 2 years ago with the RX-7. Haven't bought anything yet though...
Keith wrote: You can't reflash the ECU. Bump the timing, make sure you have good plugs and wires, that's about it. The Spec guys goof around with the air flow meter, not sure how much that will get you on a stock engine instead of one with "spec" cams.
Keith wrote: There's no "tuner" for the ECU because it's not a reflashable ECU. Any changes involve a soldering iron.
Very carefully edging out onto very very thin ice here as Keith forgets more about Miata's per second than I've ever known. But I'm not convinced that's totally true anymore. I was trolling through Miata.Net looking at ST and STR info and there's a company called DPTune who (at least claim they) CAN reflash the 1.6L N/A ECU. A cut and past from one of the owners in an NC STR debate, but specifically about the 1.6 ECU.
What Jay has said is correct, with one small cavet; we can do the 1.6 three different ways. 1 the mcu/rom can be maped, it is very hard and for wht you guys are doing, it's not worth the effort. 2. we can add a daughter board that gives you a plug in chip for the rom. This is a la Grid, and I'm sure you guys have all seen the threads on here regarding it 3. we have done several cars for various racers and auto xers, as well as a few street cars where we install what amounts to a mini piggy back INSIDE the pcm box itself. This allows you or your tuner to play with timing(retard AND ADVANCE),fuel curves, ect,ect. Its a nice set up and works rather nicely. I'm not quite sure what the solo rules are regarding extra plugs for tuning the box, but we do have a wireless solution it that is an issue. The only issue with this set up is it will not raise the limiter, however we have a way around that issue. Ok, now the price for this is not as cheap as the reflash we offer for the NB or the NC, and I really am sorry for that, but the amount of work involved is quite a bit more than the later models. And frankly, other than you guys that squish cones for fun, there is not that big a market for them. But we enjoy doing what folks say cant be done.
Now the reflash (option 1) is obviously for those who wish to cheat in Spec Miata racing and isn't needed for an ST Miata where all you have to do is make sure any changes are inside the original ECU box to be legal he offers other choices. His user name is Dynotronics1 on Miata.net. I have no idea if it's legal/ethical/real, the whole thing could be smoke and mirrors for all I know, but I did find it an interesting thread.
I've seen that claim, but I've not seen it done yet. It pops up once in a while and I don't think anyone has actually managed to back it up.
Later ECUs certainly can be reflashed - our NC is getting new programs daily. But the chips on the stock boards aren't rewritable from what I understand. You can probably solder in a new identical ROM with different programming, that would probably be pretty difficult to detect for Spec Miata. And it involves a soldering iron :)
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