MX-5 Miata

Chronicles of Miata Ownership #4:

For safety and for meeting the requirements of some events I needed to add a rollbar. I went with a Hard Dog rollbar from Berthania Garage. Shipping and import into Canada was costly but I like the design and the well documented instructions of this model.

Comes in a nice big box:

Gotta strip out the interior to get access to the tunnels to the sides of the fuel tank:

Then I had to cut some clearance from the rear deck for the bar's rear struts. I only had some aviation snips and a file but it all gets hidden anyway so I try not to dwell on it:

With the space created the rollbar can be set in the car. I recommend having help for this part as wrangling it on my own was a pain:

The next step is drilling through the underbody of the car through the rollbar mounting plate holes. Then backing plates are installed and bolts sandwich the whole thing together. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of this part ;-(

But I did take a closeup of the trim pieces I cut and and fit around the bar to create a clean interior:

While I had the interior out of the car and before the bar went in I sent away my old seatbelts to be rewebbed. I opted for red which I think turned out great:

With all that done I had to get it out to some more autocross!

Chronicles of Miata Ownership #3:

I've been wanting a better wheel fitment. The stock Miata wheels sit quite tucked into the wheel wells.

Cheapest way to do that at this stage is with some wheel spacers. In classic fashion didn't take any good shots of this but this is after installing 25mm wheel spacers:

It's pretty subtle in these shots but in person I think it gives it a much more aggressive stance; and we'll see, it might help with roll center.

Anyway after that I took it to an autocross at the big track:

Chronicles of Miata Ownership #2:

Time to do some maintenance!

Didn't take many great pictures during the process but I change all of the drive line fluids: Engine Oil (Rotella T6) Trans (Motorcraft Unicorn Tears) Diff (Redline Gear Oil)

Also changed the Air filter, and Fuel Filter.

With that out of the way I hit the track again and ended up with some great shots:

I had a Miata for about a month back in 1996 and have ached for one ever since. My buddy got tired of hearing me say I was going to get one (he’s been hearing it for about the last 10 years) and suggested yesterday that we go down and just check them out… I came home with a 2025 GT and haven’t stopped smiling!

Chronicles of Miata Ownership:

I picked up this Miata with aims of creating a good autocross car. It's my first "project car" and my first time working on cars. I changed all of its fluids, and checked everything. Then "personalized" it slightly by modifying the front license plate mount to sit off center. I did that by bending one of it's arms and screwing it to one of the baby teeth.

Holds better than you'd think. Then it took it to autocross! What a blast, this thing is smiles every time I chuck it into a corner.

Konig Countergrams in 15x7.5 et35, 205/50 tire.

Flyin Miata V-Maxx sport kit.

Might bring the front down a tiny bit.

Went on the Blue Ridge Parkway this week, and had a blast! The Parkway feels amazing with the top down, and all of the curves make for some interesting driving.

It was a nice day.

I'm very excited.

97, 5-speed, Torsen, 96k miles.

Something insightful.

It's time to winterize my Miata. Makes me so sad when she goes into hibernation. I drive her daily if the weather isn't too bad and I don't need extra room.

Is anyone else winterizing?

This is the unlikely success story of the Mazda MX-5 Miata: the world's bestselling 2-seat roadster and the only remaining true lightweight sports car.

It almost never happened in the first place. Had its makers listened to the experts, it never would have happened. And if Mazda listened to its own customers, it would have never succeeded.

2003 model

https://pixelfed.social/p/Cornfed/613741994334708298 2010 Jeep Commander air vents, I cannot recommend these strongly enough. Increases airflow.

https://pixelfed.social/p/Cornfed/613742053919257183 Dayton Audio RSS265HO-44 10" Reference HO DVC in 0.3cuft. Amp is a midrange JL 500w mounted in the fender tunnel. I like Aphex Twin (which hits like 23hz) and this thing performs better than you'd expect for a single 10" in a tiny box!

https://pixelfed.social/p/Cornfed/613741777701806548 From when I rebuilt the rear end last spring - control arm bushings, differential bushings, differential seals, end links. I'm not a mechanic, I just watch videos and search forums and have a factory service manual, so I was proud of myself!

It was really nice driving home, though, so I'm pretty stoked that the Sierra top I ordered is zippered glass. Always nice to install an upgrade instead of just boring maintenance. Of course I pulled the trigger on a new Rega P3 50th Anniversary turntable right before finding this... when it rains it pours!