What was your first upgrade?

[datoneguy]

What was your first upgrade and which of the following would you do first?

New Miata owner. 03 LS 5 speed black on black leather.

Just wanted to hear the opinions of some of you veterans...


1. Exedy Organic Clutch kit w/ Lightweight Flywheel

2. Wheels (15x8 or 16x9) stock height w/ some FAT tires. (not sure what offset yet)

LIKE THESE!! Unfortunately, they only come in 17 so i cant do FAT tires



3. Suspension (also whatever i need to tighten suspension back up)

Setup a.) Re-valved NA Bilstein HDs to NB specs, FCM tophats, 54mm progressive bump stops with FM rails, front and rear lower control arm braces.

Setup b.) KYB GR-2's w/ stock springs, FCM Mounts

Setup c.) Koni Str.t shocks w/ stock springs, Factory Mounts, KYB SB108 bump stops/boots (these are the foam style)

4. Boss Frog Double Max Roll Bar

And thats that! Thanks in advance for your input!

[—atank—]

Welcome to the MazdaRoadster!!! Usually when I buy a new Roadster, I get all the typical maintenance out of the way.

[WASABI]

Welcome, welcome!!! A lot has to do with how you intend to use your car. Show car, daily driver, racing, auto x? What ever you do, I have to agree with Anthony (atank) here. Bring your car up to a basic maintenance minimum, where you know what's been done, and that future upgrades will be safe (no sense upgrading your suspension if you have sub par brakes). Do your fluids, plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, brakes, and a top to bottom cleaning (remove seats, clay bar, polish, wax). By doing this, you will get to know your car. It will also give you more time for research. Like how does unsprung weight affect the handling characteristics of my Miata.

Oh, and DRIVE IT! Find out what you might need (suspension OK?). How do your current tires grip? Maybe you don't need upgrades right now. Oh, and have fun!

-Cheers,

Jim

[Stey]

My first (non-cosmetic) upgrade was a new fuel-pump... ended up stalling on the hard shoulder on the german autobahn as it broke down. Next up was new clutch-cylinder and pump. The rest is all cosmetic (wash, clay, wax, interior parts removed/installed, other rims, new tires)

[— vote4pedro —]

forget what I posted, I got an NA and cannot read thread titles!

[— Dandy —]

I'd recommend these first:

Amazon links:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi....com%2Fbuy.php

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...condition=used

If pressed, I'd go with 3a but those really aren't equal choices.

[Flyin 92]

My miata's first upgrade was a new set of tires to replace the corded ones the PO had on it.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Clutch/flywheel has always been my favorite driveability mod for the Miata.

However, I would stick to my guns and reset all the maintenance. Better to have an ordinary looking cars that is well-maintained than a pretty one dead on the side of the road.

[Andy]

First upgrade for me is a three way tie.
We purchased new wheels and tires as our oem steelies were heavy as hell to turn without power steering.
We also installed turn signal induction lights from ravenwingperformance.
We also installed a radio in the car as it did not have a radio to begin with (Base Model).

[Left0verCurry]

1. Flushed all fluids + timing belt job + sparks and coil packs
2. Megan Coilovers (would consider this my first mod)

[mini_fd]

Used block. Rebuilt starter.

[speedypenguin]

Maintenance. Then suspension.

[BoBo]

For me, I would hit the tune up & maintenance first. And anything after would be: safety, braking, suspension,tires, cooling,drive-train, power, and finally the looks & Audio.

I still have a long way to go on my car.

[The Driver]

Transferring everythng that I liked from the Merlot I was going to sell, to the Montego I had just bought.

1. BBS wheels
2. Tokico Illuminas (didn't care for them, but were better than the blown shocks on the Montego)
3. Shock bar (OBX, not that good)
4. Mosterflow Intake (not needed unless one has a stand alone)
5. Enthuza Exhaust.

[miata2fast]

When I got my car, I wanted to have the best driving experience I could get for the money.

I started off with a full exhaust system, and lighter flywheel and clutch combo. I then changed the timing from 10* to 16*. I then started looking for ways to tastefully lighten the car by simply removing unnecessary brackets, spare tire, jack etc. among other things. It takes time to reduce some weight and maintain creature comforts. All those mods really made a big difference in how crisp the car responded to the throttle.

This was back when the car was new in 1995, so there were no affordable aftermarket ECUs at the time. If I were doing it today, I would be doing a Megasquirt as soon as possible.

As far as wheels and tires, you have to ask yourself if driving experience or aesthetics are more important to you. On the street, adding big wheels and tires will slow the forward acceleration considerably unless you start adding significant power. It is so easy to ruin the driving experience if you choose the wrong mods.