MX5 mk1 tuning

[Gad-Westy]

Brake M/C brace is cheap and worth doing

Decent pads and fluid change

Decent tyres (though I actaully thoroughly enjoyed mine on the ditchfinders it arrived with)

Upper strut brace seems to help though could be placebo

Induction and exhaust stuff won't make it go faster but worth thinking about to add a snarly less wheezy soundtrack (choose carefully)

Wouldn't personally go too mad on the suspension. The compliance of the standard set up seems perfect for UK roads IMO

Though I'd have loved to have gone a bit mad on the engine in mine but keeping it NA, the rational choice for more power is a supercharger

[NDNDNDND]

HorneyMX5 said:

Prof Prolapse said:

I had a mk1 without and I had a mk2 with PAS and I didn't think it was an issue.

Were the PAS issues specific to the MK1?

Probably just tired MK1 systems.

I've driven and raced MK1s with PAS, OE manual racks and de-powered racks and there's no real difference once rolling apart from the fact the OE manual rack is slightly longer lock to lock.

I believe the Mk2 power steering system is subtly different and addressed some of the issues of the Mk1 system. I think it incorporated some sort of return valve… not sure. I've not driven a Mk2 enough to comment on it's steering feel.

I did read a comment on a Miata forum, where a guy was asking if there were differences between the Mk1 systems, as he'd had a couple of early examples with good steering feel and a later example with poor steering feel - so it might be that it simply varies from car to car and some are blessed with good steering feel and some are numb, for whatever reason. I even remember an EVO article on a McLaren F1, where that particular model being tested had been lauded by several as having the 'best steering feel' of any McLaren F1…

I've driven an OEM manual, PAS and depowered rack back-to-back on track, and I would contest that they're the same. They felt a long way from being the same. As ever with something subjective like 'feel' preferences vary hugely from person to person. For me, on road and track, the PAS system never told me a damn thing about what the car was doing - you'd have to turn the wheel and wait to see what the car did next. With a depowered rack installed, the limit of grip was communicated beautifully, and it made the car a more rewarding drive on both road and track. I can do things with the car now, that I could never do with PAS.

Like I said before, if you like your PAS, great. However, if you feel it's numb, don't persist with it despite everyone telling you it's brilliant. It's not. If you don't like it, rip it out.

Oh, and you can get a braided stainless steel clutch line that joins the master cylinder directly to the slave. Makes bleeding easier and improves clutch feel.

[HorneyMX5]

I wonder if alignment makes the difference. The only difference I could discern between them apart the variance in lock to lock was the non PAS cars felt a slightly heftier through slow corners/chicanes. The MX5 PAS is insanley light at low speeds.

The one problem I do have with the PAS is that in autsolos when you are quickly going from lock to lock the fluid cavitates and you get intermittent loss of the assistance.

[WJNB]

I purchased a 1990 MK 1 1600cc within months of the UK owners club being formed. Via the club I obtained from the USA Miata club a print-out of their suggestions for a mild performance increase at minimum cost.
The mods were:
1. Change the air filter to a finer mesh one.
2. Advance the ignition to between 14 & 16 degrees.
3. Replace the restrictive back box with a Borla one.
4. Replace the spark plugs with better ones ( sorry forgotten the specification details)
5. Up-grade the HT leads.

I did all these things ( was lucky to meet an airline captain who had brought back from the States a Borla system for his MX-5).
The difference was AMAZING. It was as though the car had had the handbrake on prior. Even better was when I tried the then new 1800cc version it STILL was hugely slower than mu modified 1600cc. As for the Borla sound - a deep burble on tickover & a throaty roar under hard acceleration. Pottering about it was as quiet as the OE system.
Even more amazing was when I swopped it for a new Honda S2000 the performance variation was not that marked, given the Honda's extra weight & poor gear ratios.

Apart from fitting a very very heavy highly polished gear knob which given its extra mass made the already perfect gearchange even better I never even countenanced any other mods. which were beginning to be available in the UK. Most were tasteless or just loud.

[Evanivitch]

Having just bought a NA with several modifications I would consider the following. ..

- Make sure everything works.
- Make sure there really is no rust
- Advance the timing
- Refresh the suspension and lower slightly slightly if on non-Bilstein OEM suspension
- Get as much chassis bracing as you can, these things have seen a lot of flex over the years.

[NDNDNDND]

HorneyMX5 said:

I wonder if alignment makes the difference. The only difference I could discern between them apart the variance in lock to lock was the non PAS cars felt a slightly heftier through slow corners/chicanes. The MX5 PAS is insanley light at low speeds.

The one problem I do have with the PAS is that in autsolos when you are quickly going from lock to lock the fluid cavitates and you get intermittent loss of the assistance.

Alignment was my first port of call when trying to improve the steering with PAS. Bumping it up to 5 degrees castor did slightly increase the steering weight, but didn't make it any easier to feel the limit of grip.

There is less difference between the PAS and OEM manual rack, than there is to the depowered rack. The only time I've driven an OEM manual was on track, and I didn't realise it didn't have PAS until I came back to the pits and asked someone. It did weight up nicely in corners, and I did drive around thinking 'I'm sure my car didn't tell me this much…' Driving the de-powered rack in a Ma5da car was a revelation and spurred me on to depowering the rack in my own car - the limit of grip was extremely easy to discern and you could push the car with huge confidence. After those two, PAS felt quite spooky on track…

Yeah, I did couple of carlimits days and opened the bonnet to a PAS fluid explosion.

[k-ink]

The Crack Fox said:

"Super badger"! I now want one of those

I know, sounds so much better than a supercharger



Excellent replies chaps. I wouldn't have an issue spending say £10k on an MX5, including the car and all mods. This should make a fairly decent mk1, no? The other car options I'm looking at are at least 50% more with nothing left for mods at all. I like things like the BMW Z4 and GT86 etc, but each have issues and would soak up a ton of tuning (or maybe repairs with the German) on top. So the MX5 route would save a wedge and no doubt be way more reliable.

I've only ever driven the mk2, but stories of rust put me off those. I thought the mk3 was not so great as a drivers car? Interesting to hear you rate them. Another option! Especially with a BBR turbo

[vrsmxtb]

If you're going for coilovers, don't skimp on them. If you buy cheap ones then as someone has said the ride will be pretty terrible for everyday driving. However a good set is worth every penny. My current ones are more compliant than stock, yet have much less body roll and are fully damping and height adjustable, so can get it to track damping in minutes.

I can't see any reason not to modify these for more power - they're more than capable of taking a turbo or supercharger, and let's face it they're pretty wheezily slow standard, especially in today's traffic. I reckon any modern 100bhp-ish hatchback would either out-drag or keep pace with one on a straight. I'm very tempted to FI mine, just need to see what the dreaded R word is like this year come MOT time.

[Sway]

The perfect mk1 for me would be a flowed and throttle bodied engine with top end exhaust from manifold to tip. Ohlins or Quantum dampers, upgraded discs and pads. Everything else fully refreshed, IL motorsport bushings, POR15 on any metal surface. Aluminium rad and coolant reroute. Oil cooler. 3.6:1 torsen diff.

Think that'd do it, and Bl!nk motorsport or Skuzzle would be the guys depending on your location. That'd be one hell of a sweet car for road driving.

Or there's a lovely BBR supercharged mk3 in the classifieds, that would be pretty nice, albeit in a much more grown up manner.

[k-ink]

Sway said:

The perfect mk1 for me would be a flowed and throttle bodied engine with top end exhaust from manifold to tip. Ohlins or Quantum dampers, upgraded discs and pads. Everything else fully refreshed, IL motorsport bushings, POR15 on any metal surface. Aluminium rad and coolant reroute. Oil cooler. 3.6:1 torsen diff.

Think that'd do it, and Bl!nk motorsport or Skuzzle would be the guys depending on your location. That'd be one hell of a sweet car for road driving.

Or there's a lovely BBR supercharged mk3 in the classifieds, that would be pretty nice, albeit in a much more grown up manner.

Seems like that would be a good car. So are Bl!nk motorsport and Skuzzle the "go to" guys for building modified MX5? Any other companies to consider? It would be ideal to find a rust free donor, drop it off and let someone build it for me (due to lack of time and my garage is full of stuff!)

[Sway]

Blink (near Manchester) are very well regarded for their 'power packages' - everything from mild flowed head through to fully optimised jenvey throttle body with matched head and oversize valves.

Skuzzle (winchester) have built a range of cars, again very well regarded, who do everything from drive in, drive out turbo kits and just about everything else.

Both have good dynos (DD at Skuzzle I think and hub dyno at blink) and are rated for mapping the two most common ecus - me221 and megasquirt.

They'd certainly be able to do the sort of thing you're looking for.

[k-ink]

What are peoples views of:

Mk1 with throttle bodies and old school NA tuning v supercharging.

Then comparing the above with a modern turbo mk3?

[Vyse]

I remember there being an MX-5 on here with 10 pot calipers. Maybe that is something to think about.

Yeah, here it is

Edited by Vyse on Saturday 9th April 13:16

[Drums]

k-ink said:

What are peoples views of:

Mk1 with throttle bodies and old school NA tuning v supercharging.

Then comparing the above with a modern turbo mk3?

Personally, I much prefer NA vs FI for a car which was originally NA. Though I'll admit, the bang for your buck is far greater if you turbo or supercharge. In terms of comparing with a modified Mk3, I've driven Mk1's, 2's and 3's; NA ones, supercharged ones and I still think the Mk1 comes out on top.

I've currently got a Mk1 Eunos S-special set up for fast road/track. It's the second Mk1 I've had and it's got the following.

RS*R JDM manifold
MX5 Parts silenced decat
Custom 2.25 centre section
MX5 Parts back box
TR Lane GPD roll bar with harness bar (really helps stiffen things up as well as the safety aspect)
Standard air box with ITG filter - most aftermarket induction kit's restrict performance on these.
Bilsteins with tein springs (soon to be going for Meister R's)

I would recommend starting with similar mods and seeing how it feels. Mine still retains all the characteristics of a standard Mk1, just turned up a notch.

[HughS47]

1) a good service of all fluids including power steering and brake/clutch, gearbox and diff. Advance the timing to 14 degrees.
2) Ebc yellow stuff pads and turbo grooved discs
3) decent tyres (federal 595rsr or similar)
4) full geometry (or upgrade to eibach springs and geo or Meister R coils and geo if feeling flush)
5) turbo.

[Kozy]

Vyse said:

I remember there being an MX-5 on here with 10 pot calipers. Maybe that is something to think about.

Yeah, here it is

All I see there is ten times the potential for seized pistons. Pointless.

k-ink said:

What are peoples views of:

Mk1 with throttle bodies and old school NA tuning v supercharging.

Then comparing the above with a modern turbo mk3?

I desperately want to get mine tuned up to with the Blink NA package. While a supercharger does undoubtedly suit the car very well (a turbo doesn't, IMO) I personally think it makes it a bit too easy to drive fast in. The appeal to me is being able to absolutely thrash the bks off the thing everywhere, the fact it struggles to keep up with modern diesel estate cars is an endearing feature not a drawback.

Simply adding some top end zing with an awesome noise is just perfect IMO.

For dampers, speak to Blink about their new Protech derived dampers, due for release in the next few months. They've put a lot of work into developing the damping for UK roads and I'm expecting good things at prices significantly under the current offering from MeisterR.

For brakes, assuming you're not running sticky tyres unbolt the prop valve (next to the master cylinder), crack open the 22mm nut on the end and empty the contents out. Then refit the casing and bleed the brakes. This sends full pressure to the rear brakes, which are hugely underworked as stock. The results are incredible, I measured an increase in braking from 0.75G to 0.9G! Have been running this for two years now in all conditions, on the road, on autotests and on track and it's never given me any issues, just better braking all the time.

You can check out loads of different brake setups and their effects on balance, stopping distances and even operating temperatures using this handy web app.

Edited by Kozy on Saturday 9th April 15:18

[SlimJim16v]

Vyse said:

I remember there being an MX-5 on here with 10 pot calipers. Maybe that is something to think about.

Yeah, here it is

Hopefully they've fixed the issue where the brake pedal would sometimes hit the floor

[WJNB]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

WJNB said:

I purchased a 1990 MK 1 1600cc within months of the UK owners club being formed. Via the club I obtained from the USA Miata club a print-out of their suggestions for a mild performance increase at minimum cost.
The mods were:
1. Change the air filter to a finer mesh one.
2. Advance the ignition to between 14 & 16 degrees.
3. Replace the restrictive back box with a Borla one.
4. Replace the spark plugs with better ones ( sorry forgotten the specification details)
5. Up-grade the HT leads.

I did all these things ( was lucky to meet an airline captain who had brought back from the States a Borla system for his MX-5).
The difference was AMAZING. It was as though the car had had the handbrake on prior. Even better was when I tried the then new 1800cc version it STILL was hugely slower than mu modified 1600cc. As for the Borla sound - a deep burble on tickover & a throaty roar under hard acceleration. Pottering about it was as quiet as the OE system.
Even more amazing was when I swopped it for a new Honda S2000 the performance variation was not that marked, given the Honda's extra weight & poor gear ratios.

Apart from fitting a very very heavy highly polished gear knob which given its extra mass made the already perfect gearchange even better I never even countenanced any other mods. which were beginning to be available in the UK. Most were tasteless or just loud.

This ^^^^^^ I forgot about the old stool tuning. :-)

Ah how times have changed. And how we sneered at the Cheapos Eunos imports with their slightly Chavy looks, square number plates, weird colours & non-existent rust protection. No street cred at all.

[V8RX7]

WJNB said:

Ah how times have changed. And how we sneered at the Cheapos Eunos imports with their slightly Chavy looks, square number plates, weird colours & non-existent rust protection. No street cred at all.

Strange because I bought my import pretty early on, around 1994 and I was in the MX5 OC when IIRC Mazda UK offered funding if we banned Roadsters from the club - we didn't.

The colours were mostly the same - the spec was slightly better and better still, most were modified.

Rust protection was exactly the same.

I'm not sure MX5's ever had much street cred - however lowered, modified and body kitted cars tended to have more than standard ones.

[CABC]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

Think we'll end up with an equivalent of Singer but for MX5's in 20 years to come ? ? ?

good thought.
A daily electric car and an indulgent sunny days hobby car. Along with a government black box to confirm it's only driven a limit distance and in permitted areas, or pay by mile. Country pubs will be full or restored MX5s, Beetles and Capris.