The Driver
11-08-2016, 07:49 PM
It has been a month since I had the brake set up installed on the car.
Honestly, I originally thought that this was overkill for my purposes, as I basically don't track my car (once a year, at FM's summer camp), and have yet to autocross the Miata.
But I do drive aggressively, and I do drive like a maniac in the canyon and mountain roads, just west of Colorado's front range.
Bit of a background, I got into Miatas in 2001, after having owned both a Porsche 944S (M030,LSD, no ABS, no airbags) and a 968 (LSD, ABS, Airbags, no M030) .
I had been chasing a "modest" way to achieve a similar driving experience. The first Miata, a 95M owned for 9 years I tried but never achieved anything. The 1996 Montego Blue, which I bought 6.5 years ago I finally achieved it
The suspension was done with Fat Cat coilovers 600F/375R, 15X7 Advanti S1's and now BFG Comp 2 tires at 195/50.
The engine was done with a BP4 Head + intake (three angle valve job), BP5 cam and 265cc injectors.
The brakes, the FM Wilwood Dynalite, their nickel plated replacement rotors and their master cylinder brace. Also, installed, the stainless brake lines.
Conclusion: I wish I had installed this brakes LONG AGO. I hated the Miata brakes, it was probably my most disliked feature. Sure, they worked, and yes I could lock up the brakes. But the pedal feel was vague at best and uncommunicative at worst. I could never tell what my brakes were up to, and trying to modulate them was not giving me what I wanted. So at the track I had to brake early and often, not the way to decrease your times.
Now? The brakes tell me when and how to slow down. The brake pedal communicates clearly what the brakes are up to, and I can modulate what I want the brakes to do. So I'm a lot faster and smoother on my mountain treks.
I also noticed that when driving over bad, bumpy roads, the suspension is not as "harsh" as it was, and I attribute that to the unsprung weight loss.
Are they perfect? Nope, on slow speed braking, I sometimes get a faint squeel (more than likely, the adapting bracket for the calipers) that I never had with the factory brakes, but I can live with this, for all the goodness offered by this awesome brakes.
Honestly, I originally thought that this was overkill for my purposes, as I basically don't track my car (once a year, at FM's summer camp), and have yet to autocross the Miata.
But I do drive aggressively, and I do drive like a maniac in the canyon and mountain roads, just west of Colorado's front range.
Bit of a background, I got into Miatas in 2001, after having owned both a Porsche 944S (M030,LSD, no ABS, no airbags) and a 968 (LSD, ABS, Airbags, no M030) .
I had been chasing a "modest" way to achieve a similar driving experience. The first Miata, a 95M owned for 9 years I tried but never achieved anything. The 1996 Montego Blue, which I bought 6.5 years ago I finally achieved it
The suspension was done with Fat Cat coilovers 600F/375R, 15X7 Advanti S1's and now BFG Comp 2 tires at 195/50.
The engine was done with a BP4 Head + intake (three angle valve job), BP5 cam and 265cc injectors.
The brakes, the FM Wilwood Dynalite, their nickel plated replacement rotors and their master cylinder brace. Also, installed, the stainless brake lines.
Conclusion: I wish I had installed this brakes LONG AGO. I hated the Miata brakes, it was probably my most disliked feature. Sure, they worked, and yes I could lock up the brakes. But the pedal feel was vague at best and uncommunicative at worst. I could never tell what my brakes were up to, and trying to modulate them was not giving me what I wanted. So at the track I had to brake early and often, not the way to decrease your times.
Now? The brakes tell me when and how to slow down. The brake pedal communicates clearly what the brakes are up to, and I can modulate what I want the brakes to do. So I'm a lot faster and smoother on my mountain treks.
I also noticed that when driving over bad, bumpy roads, the suspension is not as "harsh" as it was, and I attribute that to the unsprung weight loss.
Are they perfect? Nope, on slow speed braking, I sometimes get a faint squeel (more than likely, the adapting bracket for the calipers) that I never had with the factory brakes, but I can live with this, for all the goodness offered by this awesome brakes.