BBR 220 - 2.0 litre ND2

Technical Area Forced Induction & ITB
2

I was wondering if anybody has had the BBR 220 conversion done to their ND2. If so, could they share their experiences relating to:

  1. Insurance premium impact?

  2. Impact on fuel consumption at normal speeds (not when utilising the added performance !)?

Cheers.

3

Hi - yes, I have had it done. I did write a few words about it in Reader’s Rides (Tigger).

It is fantastic - really recommend it.

Impact on insurance was tiny (about £40 IIRC) and my fuel economy, despite me driving more enthusiastically now as it goes and sounds so good - has only dropped by about 0.3mpg.  Bearing in mind that I had only covered 1800 miles before the work, so spent the first 500 miles under 3,000 rpm - I actually think the mpg difference would perhaps be slightly better if I was driving the same.

 

https://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst116692_Tigger.aspx

 

 

4

Hi Ultraviolet.

Thank you for your very informative response. I am extremely tempted!

I really should have also asked how this impacted on the warranty of a car still under the manufacturers warranty. Did you still have to take the BBR warranty as well and is there a clearly defined split between items covered by the two. I am asking this because (from experience) if the situation arose where there was a need for a claim, if it is not clearly defined each warranty provider could claim it is the responsibility of the other warranty provider and a stalemate results.

Armed with enough information I may be able to convince the wife that the BBR 220 conversion is economically justifiable .

Cheers.

5

I didn’t worry about the warranty simply as I knew that there was no way I was waiting until 3yrs had passed before I did it - I wanted to start enjoying my car with the BBR improvements as soon as possible - that way, I get more of my money’s worth 

I really am very happy with it - 222bhp, 190 at the wheels and peak torque coming in lower than with the stock car. Driving ‘normal’ on the daily commute, in traffic - no tiring drone or any negatives - but a little more throttle and it just sounds more purposeful, and then when you do want to press on, it makes you grin like a loon. No-one expects an MX-5 to take off like this does. Great fun 

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6

Hi.

If you did have any issues with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

7

 

There’s a review in this months EVO mag.

8

 

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9

Hi mate that link doesnt work.

Able to give a long term review now time has passed?

10

The link works for me.

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11

Weird, when I click it, it just goes back to the MX5 OC home screen

12

Link works for me as well :+1:

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13

I didn’t see this until now.

I have noticed a difference in the performance and it’s kept up with cars that it shouldn’t during cross country road trips. I’ve also noticed that the car handles better at high speeds, but debatably does sacrifice some of the lower speed fun of the standard car.

Once you install the kit, you’ll wonder why Mazda don’t takes a GR shaped leaf from Toyotas book. The catless soundtrack at almost 8000rpm is addictive and intoxicating and worth the price alone. You’ll find yourself driving around with a big grin on your face, just finding places to rev out through the gears.

The only downsides are that BBR don’t offer an ND upgrade to throttle bodies yet and the steering feel is the weak point of the car, which is a real shame.

14

One thing that could be worth trying is a lower caster value. Combined with a little toe out up front, this has made a big difference to my ND’s steering behaviour.

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15

It was setup with springs, anti roll bars and an alignment, don’t get me, wrong it drives really well, but considering the weight I just expected a little more feel which is probably unrealistic on a modern car.

16

Understood…!

In my experience, what I suggested will give you more steering feel though.

As far as I am aware, the ePAS system has a pressure sensor, which senses how much load is in the steering, and “boosts” it depending on this. It is actively trying to do the work for you, and the more load the driver would normally see, the more the ePAS interferes.

High caster values, as per the stock settings, produce high loads back into the steering rack, so the ePAS gives a lot of assist. Reducing caster means these loads are reduced, so the system is interfering less.

The downside is you need more static camber else the outside edges of the front tyres wear during enthusiastic driving, as there is less dynamic camber correction, which in turn marginally reduces braking capability. Not so much an issue on road tyres with softer sidewalls.

On top of that, I found toe out really helps with self-centreing. Such as when you pull out of a T junction from a stop, and expect the wheel to straighten up, but it doesn’t! That used to catch me out every time, but the car now behaves much more naturally in this situation, plus when “pressing on” I have more feedback.

So my point is… if it really bugs you, there is something else you can try :slightly_smiling_face:

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