1997 M-Edition

[— Agent☣Orange —]

Shots fired!

[dnaha]

Nice things have happened so far - but doesnt it bug you out that you still havent mounted the Watanabes? Something to look forward to in the new year, i guess

It has definitely been bothering me and definitely going to happen in the New Year!

Considering they're 14's and I'm still on stock suspension, I've been putting off mounting them until I got a set of coilovers. In addition to this, the inner lip hasn't been shaved for the NA8C brakes, so without extended studs they won't fit. I've been putting off buying those final two items until I can get all of them at once. Rest assured once I have them I will finally be mounting them. Its been eating at me, I haven't forgotten!

Shots fired!

Rightfully so Need to get on with it already, but in due time it will all come together

[HMT]

Glad to hear that, looking forward to this update

[dnaha]

Been a while since there's been an update.

Sadly haven't had much time or anything to work on the Miata but have been able to snap a few pictures over the past few months with my film camera.

Thought I'd share them in the meantime!

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And some non-film pictures:

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Hope to be back working on and modifying the Miata soon

[dnaha]

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Oh yeah, it's all coming together...

[dnaha]

Completed:
Engine/Drivetrain
-Mazdaspeed Front Strut Bar
-BeatRush Rear Strut Bar
-Mazdaspeed Oil Filler Cap (Gold)
-DDM Works Cruise Control Relocation Kit
-Mazdaspeed Airbox Powdercoated High Heat Flat Black
-Retro Modern Spark Plug Cover
-NGK Spark Plug Change
-Koyorad 36mm Hyper V-Core Aluminum
-Upgraded Maruha Radiator Hoses
-DaveFab LHD Washer Bottle Relocation Kit
-OEM 1.8L Valve Cover Powdercoated Flat Black
Exterior
-Moss Miata Turn Signal Intakes
-Front and Rear Tie-down "Baby Teeth" Removal
-OEM Eunos Yellow Lens Fog Lights
-OEM-style R-Package Front Lip
-OEM-style R-Package Rear Lip
-Retro-style Luggage Rack
-Robbins Factory-Style Top w/ Defroster Glass (Zipperless & NA Tan)
Interior
-Hard Dog M2 Sport Black Powdercoat w/ Double Diagonal
-OEM Dual Defroster/Fog Light Switch
-Revlimiter Sharka's Vent Rings Polished Aluminum
-Revlimiter F1 Stage 2 Gauges
-Revlimiter Center Indicator Panel
-Revlimiter Retro Window Switches (Black)
Suspension
-Feal Suspension 441 Monotube Coilovers
-RS Watanabe Type B wheels 14x6.5 +15 w/ 5mm Spacers
-Watanabe Center Caps Type 1
-ARP Extended Wheel Studs
Misc
-Rear Bumper Cover Refinished
-New Rear Wheel Hubs
-New Rear Wheel Bearings
-Time Buzzer Relay

------ Big Update Time ------
New year, new wheels and suspension for the Miata! After literally a year and a half at this point, I was finally able to get the Watanabes onto the Miata. The main hold up was me not wanting to have 14s on stock suspension but that required me to get coilovers, spacers, extended wheel studs, and finally lug nuts.

I had originally planned to go big and get Ohlins as the coilovers for the Miata since I've heard nothing but rave reviews on their products. Between stocking issues and the fact that on top of the Ohlins, I'd likely need to get the extended top hats for the rear, the price of everything was not only out of my budget, but also didn't seem to make too much sense at the end of the day. I landed on the Feal suspension 441s mainly because they seemed like a decent middle ground between cheap $600 coilovers and the $2000+ that were Ohlins. The fact that the Feals were produced in SoCal and came with the extended top hats was also a plus to me.

The hardest part of this entire process handsdown, was finding the front extended wheel studs. I had originally gotten a set from Fab9Tuning and thought nothing of it when they arrived, but only once the Miata was in the shop did my mechanic inform me that the ones they sent me were not correct and I needed to source new ones. I went on a wild goose chase calling shops all over the country (and Fab9 themselves) inquiring about where I could get some, but everyone was sold out. In a last ditch effort, I miraculously found two sets on eBay from a seller in Texas and got those to my shop immediately so the work could continue.

All in all, I'm super pleased with how the Miata looks and while I haven't driven it much, I can already feel (feal?) a difference in the way the car responds to bumps and turns. One thing I have immediately noticed is an increase in the 65 mph cowl shake, so fender braces have moved into top spot for next major upgrade.

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But for now, time to drive and enjoy the Miata...and wash it when I get the chance.

[Greasemonkey2000]

Looks fantastic , Daron! Shameless plug but I have a set of new Cybul fender braces that I'm selling. Hit me up if you're interested, otherwise will put up for sale. Fender braces are in the top 3 braces for a NA/NB, imo. The wheels/tires may need balancing and road force balancing as close to 10lbs as possible is supposed to help.

[dnaha]

Looks fantastic , Daron! Shameless plug but I have a set of new Cybul fender braces that I'm selling. Hit me up if you're interested, otherwise will put up for sale. Fender braces are in the top 3 braces for a NA/NB, imo. The wheels/tires may need balancing and road force balancing as close to 10lbs as possible is supposed to help.

Thanks for the offer and reply! I'm sadly going to have to pass on this for now but I definitely agree though that fender braces are a must. I'm also going to be taking the Miata back to my shop after about 1000 miles to get the alignment completed as per their recommendation. Hopefully I can get them sooner rather than later though. They've been on my list for a while now

[turboedpickup]

Also add door bushings to your list. ~$40. They were surprisingly amazing at removing much of the creaks and noises. I'd say 60% as effective as a hardtop but at 97% lower cost

[— oldgrayleather —]

Looks fantastic.. congrats on all the new upgrades and feels!!! I'd echo the point on roadforce balancing. That and framerails seem to have finally address my 65mpg shimmy.

[dnaha]

Also add door bushings to your list. ~$40. They were surprisingly amazing at removing much of the creaks and noises. I'd say 60% as effective as a hardtop but at 97% lower cost

This is actually one of the first things I had done to this Miata when I got it! Just realized that I hadn't added it to my list of completed stuff. Need to remember to do that for the next update coming soon...

Looks fantastic.. congrats on all the new upgrades and feels!!! I'd echo the point on roadforce balancing. That and framerails seem to have finally address my 65mpg shimmy.

Thank you! Yes definitely, frame rails and fender braces are on the list of things I need to buy next. The 65mph shimmy is amusing but annoying nevertheless.

Which fender brace and frame rails do you have? I had the Garagestar frame rails on my previous Miata but they seem to have gone out of business or something so I've been looking at the V8 roadster for both fender brace and framerails or maybe the Paco Strong Arms

[— oldgrayleather —]

Need to remember to do that for the next update coming soon...

Which fender brace and frame rails do you have? I had the Garagestar frame rails on my previous Miata but they seem to have gone out of business or something so I've been looking at the V8 roadster for both fender brace and framerails or maybe the Paco Strong Arms

Garagestar for the rails but yeah, unclear how they come out of this transition. If I were needing them now I’d also look at FM because of the cross bracing (as long as it doesn’t lower the scraping point ;). V8 make lovely products. I wanted to use their control arms but poly bushings was the only option.

And fender braces, I don’t have any… . Yet?

[dnaha]

Completed:
Engine/Drivetrain
-Mazdaspeed Front Strut Bar
-BeatRush Rear Strut Bar
-Mazdaspeed Oil Filler Cap (Gold)
-DDM Works Cruise Control Relocation Kit
-Mazdaspeed Airbox Powdercoated High Heat Flat Black
-Retro Modern Spark Plug Cover
-NGK Spark Plug Change
-Koyorad 36mm Hyper V-Core Aluminum
-Upgraded Maruha Radiator Hoses
-DaveFab LHD Washer Bottle Relocation Kit
-OEM 1.8L Valve Cover Powdercoated Flat Black
Exterior
-Moss Miata Turn Signal Intakes
-Front and Rear Tie-down "Baby Teeth" Removal
-OEM Eunos Yellow Lens Fog Lights
-OEM-style R-Package Front Lip
-OEM-style R-Package Rear Lip
-Retro-style Luggage Rack
-Robbins Factory-Style Top w/ Defroster Glass (Zipperless & NA Tan)
Interior
-Hard Dog M2 Sport Black Powdercoat w/ Double Diagonal
-OEM Dual Defroster/Fog Light Switch
-Revlimiter Sharka's Vent Rings Polished Aluminum
-Revlimiter F1 Stage 2 Gauges
-Revlimiter Center Indicator Panel
-Revlimiter Retro Window Switches (Black)
-3rd Millennium M800 Door Speakers
Suspension
-Feal Suspension 441 Monotube Coilovers
-RS Watanabe Type B wheels 14x6.5 +15 w/ 5mm Spacers
-Watanabe Center Caps Type 1
-ARP Extended Wheel Studs
-Garagestar Delrin Door Bushings
Misc
-Rear Bumper Cover Refinished
-New Rear Wheel Hubs
-New Rear Wheel Bearings
-Time Buzzer Relay

------
While performance upgrades are nice, having a livable cabin is important as well. One aspect of this is having a good audio setup in your car and for me, as a hobby music producer (shameless plug), this is even more important. That being said, simply put, the Miata is NOT a car that has a good audio system from the factory, even with the special editions and whatnot. The speakers never produced any bass, didn't have the best sound signature, and never really got loud enough to compensate for the wind and road noise in my opinion. I always wanted more from the factory system without resorting to aftermarket head-units or ridiculous wiring escapades.

That's where 3rd Millennium came in.

I'm not sure how I found them, but being the makers of bespoke door and headrest speakers for the Miata, and more importantly compatible with factory wiring, I was intrigued by what they offered. Cheaper than the Clearwater system while still being just as good? Sign me up. After recently getting fed up with the factory speakers, I pulled the triggered and order the M800 door speakers they offer.

Right out the gate, these look and feel like quality units and was pleased with the build. No fancy wires or anything either, a huge plus for me. The actual driver itself seems a bit smaller to me compared to the Pioneer but there's more to a speaker than big drivers. Here it is compared to the OEM Pioneer unit that my M-Edition came with:

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Installation went without any issues as well. Door card off...
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Out with the old...
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And in with the new!
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And the best part, looks OEM with everything put back together.
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And in the words of Daniel Ricciardo, holy mac n cheese balls, these sound AMAZING. Everything sounds so crisp and clear while finally being able to hear the bass in songs. I tried out various genres from lo-fi hip-hop, to EDM, to 80's JPOP, to modern rap; everything sounds infinitely better. I can't say enough good things about these speakers and they have already blown my expectations. Only con would be that the headrest speakers sound like complete crap now compared to the door speakers and so I have the fader set to only the door speakers. Now if only 3rd Millennium could restock their special edition headrest speakers... Regardless, definitely worth the time and money spent on these. Can't wait to hear what they'll sound like once I get the Boom Mat in from Flyin' Miata (doors only for now).

[dnaha]

Completed:
Engine/Drivetrain
-Mazdaspeed Front Strut Bar
-BeatRush Rear Strut Bar
-Mazdaspeed Oil Filler Cap (Gold)
-DDM Works Cruise Control Relocation Kit
-Mazdaspeed Airbox Powdercoated High Heat Flat Black
-Retro Modern Spark Plug Cover
-NGK Spark Plug Change
-Koyorad 36mm Hyper V-Core Aluminum
-Upgraded Maruha Radiator Hoses
-DaveFab LHD Washer Bottle Relocation Kit
-OEM 1.8L Valve Cover Powdercoated Flat Black
-RS Factory Stage N-Zero2 Exhaust
Exterior
-Front and Rear Tie-down "Baby Teeth" Removal
-OEM Eunos Yellow Lens Fog Lights
-OEM-style R-Package Front Lip
-OEM-style R-Package Rear Lip
-Retro-style Luggage Rack
-Robbins Factory-Style Top w/ Defroster Glass (Zipperless & NA Tan)
-3M 35% Front Tint 20% Rear Tint
Interior
-Hard Dog M2 Sport Black Powdercoat w/ Double Diagonal
-OEM Dual Defroster/Fog Light Switch
-Revlimiter Sharka's Vent Rings Polished Aluminum
-Revlimiter F1 Stage 2 Gauges
-Revlimiter Center Indicator Panel
-Revlimiter Retro Window Switches (Black)
-3rd Millennium M800 Door Speakers
-3rd Millennium Millennium-5 Headrest Speakers
-Nardi Evolution Leather Shift Knob
-DEI NA/NB Insulation kit
-DEI NA/NB Chassis Sound Damping Kit
-DEI Door Sound Damping
Suspension
-Feal Suspension 441 Monotube Coilovers
-RS Watanabe Type B wheels 14x6.5 +15 w/ 5mm Spacers
-Watanabe Center Caps Type 1
-ARP Extended Wheel Studs
-Garagestar Delrin Door Bushings
-V8 Roadsters Frame Rails
Misc
-Rear Bumper Refinished
-Front Bumper Refinished
-New Rear Wheel Hubs
-New Rear Wheel Bearings
-Time Buzzer Relay

------------------
Long time no update! Many things have changed with the Miata in recent days so I'll do my best in summarizing.

INTERIOR:

Most of the actual interior changes have actually been under the hood changes so to speak. I ripped out all entire interior bits to install the Flyin' Miata and DEI sound damping kit as well as the new insulation kit. Install was very smooth with little to no issues and while I didn't get any sound readings before or after in any objective way, I do believe the interior is a bit quieter than before. Is it dead silent? No, but that was never my expectation to begin with considering this is an open top roadster from the 90s. Still, any improvement is welcome so I'm happy with the purchase.

I also installed the accompanying door sound dampening kit and this one did make observable difference, especially when tapping the door and closing it. The door no longer sounds as tinny and now has a more sizeable 'thud' when you close it. Again, nothing super crazy, but every little thing helps.

Besides that, I swapped out the original Nardi Evolution Wood shift knob that I had taken from my original 96 M-Edition and swapped it with the leather wrapped one. The old knob was coming apart and generally just looked incredibly old so it was time to change. While I like the knob and I think it feels very good in the hand, unlike the original knob, this one isn't a screw on type knob and instead uses three tiny Allen key screws to old the knob onto the shifter. Boy do I hate this type of shift knob. The screws constantly back themselves out after a shifts and makes the shift knob wobble under you which is incredibly annoying. I've read I can use some electrical tape to try to mitigate that so there's that but man, I will never buy another shift knob like this again.

That wraps up the interior changes so here are some pictures to go along with it:
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Sound dampening and insulation install...


New shift knob...


New headrest speakers...

------------------
EXTERIOR:

No major changes on the exterior other than the window tint. Was super easy to get done and really happy with how it turned out. I've noticed a pretty sizeable difference in heat reduction in the cabin on days where the sun was out and made the car much more liveable in the intense summer heat in the Central Valley here in California. While I've moved back to the much cooler Bay Area, the added privacy benefit is also a huge plus in my book. Lastly, I didn't go too dark on the front tints and from the inside, there is basically no difference from when there was no tint.

Lastly, while parked in a parking structure, somebody had hit my Miata in the front and left a sizeable amount of damage to the paint. Thankfully they were honest and their insurance covered everything. All's well that ends well I guess.

That wraps up the exterior and now some pictures...


Window tints installed...


Off to get repaired...

------------------
Engine/Drivetrain:

Finally, the engine/drivetrain portion. The biggest change here has been installing my new exhaust. I got the RS Factory Stage N-Zero2 Exhaust since it was a combination of affordability, sound, and looks. While I ordered the piece back in June, between production delays, needing to get an O2 bung installed, and a personal trip to Germany for 8 days, I only just got it installed. My friend and I were able to install it with a lot of ease, honestly probably being the easiest thing we've done to the Miata together. Only issue I ran into was the placement of the O2 bung, since I went against my gut feeling and went off the product page image of the exhaust on Rev9's website which had me end up with the bung on the wrong side. Other than that, smooth install.

Sound-wise, the Miata has a much deeper tone throughout the rev range and the overall the car sound much more alive. The tone isn't too obnoxious so at highway cruising speeds, the cabin is still liveable. There is a little drone at around 3000-3750 RPM but it's nothing I can't live with. Ultimately, feels like a different car with how it sounds and I love driving it even more now. A little ironic though that I spent a fair bit of time on sound deadening earlier only the get a louder exhaust but oh well haha. To wrap it up, here are some pictures!


Old exhaust...


New exhaust installed...


------------------
FINAL THOUGHTS:

Overall super happy with how the Miata has been progressing thus far. Some todo items are to get rid of some suspension noise under braking, fix the shift knob problem, get new shift boot as well as the Miataroadster short shifter, some headers, and other little miscellaneous stuff.

Lastly, for more frequent updates and other musings, follow my Instagram @97NA8M, where I am more active as well as where I have sound clips and other miscellaneous things posted!

That wraps up this update and thanks for reading!