Hi everyone, apologies if this is the wrong forum for this!
I’ve recently purchased a 2007 2.0 Sport as my first project car. I have a very loose plan on what I want to do with the car but I wanted to ask for suggestions on good mods to carry out as I’m very much a beginner! EDIT: the car is thankfully not a rust-bucket, that was the first thing I had checked out!
Phase 1: Handling - Suggestions please!
Upgraded anti roll bar
Replace bushes all round
Coilovers (I was going to just stick with shortened springs but I thought I’d just pay the extra for adjustability.)
New wheels and tyres (thinking of Michelin P4S all round but I’m very open to alternatives)
A thorough alignment after all that!!
Phase 2: Cosmetic
Body kit - I’ve seen a few tasteful ones that I like, just not a big fan of the front of the pre-facelift NC at all.
Lip spoiler (I know that’s a dirty word but I’m rather fond of them!)
I would like to change the colour, so will probably price up a respray vs a wrap. It’s currently in a very boring and quite scratched shade of silver.
Phase 3: Power (we may never get here!)
BBR 225 kit or forced induction of some kind. My preference would be supercharged out of the two.
Upgrade brakes
I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on what’s good to do to get the most out of these cars. I’m fully aware that this is going to cost far more than the car will be worth but that’s not really why I’m doing it.
I would say get the body work checked out for rust and get it undersealed if you’re going to keep it, then spend the money on mods.
I have a 57 plate with 50,000 miles and it had some arch rust that I will have to sort before anything else, seems pretty common for NC but a lot of it is avoidable if you find a good body shop who will put it on a ramp and give you the low down.
For me the BBR HP kits seem very “expensive” as in not great value for money, £2k gets you some more torque and 20hp over standard and then £4k gets you 65hp, it probably transforms the car but for that kind of cash you could be looking at a nice turbo conversion, at least the £4k option.
MeisterR Zeta CRD
Colbalt backbox (if it ever gets imported again) or custom exhaust.
CarbonMiata Quilted Floor Mats
I would like a black roof as my car is Copper Red with the power folding hardtop.
Maybe some LED headlights because the standard bulbs are a bit poor.
Speaker upgrade (6x8)
Passanger footwell light
Dash is black so wouldn’t mind something a bit brighter, interior is a bit dull and dark.
I would check it out for rusty bits first. Sadly an 07 plate is getting into the territory of going rotten unless prior treatment has been given to the chassis/sill/arch areas.
Swapping out all the suspension etc bushes is a really good idea, although sadly not cheap even if you can do them yourself. But if you do go down that route I would thoroughly recommend SuperPro.
Sorry I should have added - I have had the car assessed for rust issues at a shop near to me who have repaired quite a few NCs. Remarkably it’s actually in very good condition. Some very minor surface rust at the bottom of the rear arches but that’s about it. I was also very worried about the oil usage issue with these engines but it seems to be holding up during my time driving it so far.
Thanks for these suggestions, I will check them out. Someone else has mentioned MeisterRs to me also.
The BBR kits are expensive, I would be keen to avoid the torque spike you get with a turbo car, therefore if I do look to increase power I think a supercharger is my most likely option. I’m going to get used to the car as it is for a while, do a few track days first, and then look to increase power. I think anything north of 250hp will feel pretty wild in a car like this - I’m sure you can all attest to that!
Rusty bits sorted the I would definitely start with, coilovers (I have MeisterR’s) , wheel/tyre combo of your choice (Kumho for me) then a full alignment at an expert recommended MX-5 garage.
Other stuff follows in the order you wish.
It seems to be fairly standard for these cars to have a clutch biting point somewhere in the carpet underlay.
Adjusting the clutch pedal pushrod makes them much nicer to drive for zero outlay
What exhaust and induction are you running?
Did you have to send the ECU for remap? I don’t believe they are mappable at the road side via laptop, some sort of hack is needed?
I did look at the Skuzzle, seems to be well rated but wouldn’t go down that route until I could find a decent mapper.
Also silver works so nicely that era of Japanese cars, plus it’s very easy to maintain and clean.
Skuzzle induction. Racing Beat Manifold, Roddison centre section and GoPerform back box (the racing beat one resonated after the centre section was fitted) Mapped by Clive at Autotronix Developments
