Project 10AE Miata

[Goodspeed]

Uuuuuupdate!

I spent some quality time with the Miata today, finishing a few odds and ends. On went the sticky rubber and I fixed a little exhaust leak that made itself (fartily) known after the exhaust install. Also, in another one of those little but oh-so worthwhile projects, I replaced the belt-line moldings (under the driver/passenger window glass) with new trim. The crusty, faded eyesore bits are gone and replaced with smooth blackness. Delicious.

When the header and mid-pipe were going on, I noticed my driver-side rear swaybar bushing was torn and coming apart (with only ~2k miles on it). Flyin' Miata, in their unrivaled awesomeness, sent over a new bushing and some grease free of charge. So I pop the new one on, and as I start to tighten down the 2nd of two bracket nuts *POP*, I snapped the lower swaybar mount stud clean in half :x . This is a pretty common occurence on NA/NB's, I guess I'll have to get this bitch drilled out and replaced with a good bolt.



And since I had myself and the camera under there, a shot of the butterfly brace:



Oh yeah, the exhaust. It fit amazingly well and both the RB and FM pieces are super high quality. Thank god for Kroil and universal joints - I got all the stock stuff off without so much as a minor quarrel with anything, including the dreaded converter nuts.



So the real reason I wrote this: reviews. I drove the car this afternoon on a toll road east/66 west loop incorporating some surface streets, stop 'n go, and a twisty backroad.

RB header/FM mid-pipe: Aforementioned gorgeous quality and craftsmanship, everything fit well with no problems. The slip joint in the mid-pipe allowed for lots of adjustability and made the install a breeze. As for tangible benefits, I can feel a bit more pep in the Miata's step. It definitely breathes easier; drivability is improved and it seems willing to reach for redline more hurredly. Plus the header looks tits and the combo sounds pretty good too - nothing ricey, just smooth with some nice noises on decel. I'm sure theres some weight savings in there as well.

FM Butterfly Brace: Holy balls. Its like a new car. Before, it was rattly, squeaky, and buzzy depending on road surface and rpm, but now theres none of that. None. Its quiet and solid as a rock. Seriously, the buzz it seemingly killed that was emanating from the center console somewhere was worth it alone. In my driving experience so far, all the inputs I can feel are measurably better, from cruising along to cornering with gusto. Bravo FM!

Carbotech XP10 (F)/XP8 ® Pads: With Centric rotors and Motul RBF600 Fluid. This was the biggest surprise of all of them. I'm almost hesitant to type this as I feel like I should wake up tomorrow and find my brakes have eaten themselves, but these are downright civilized. They're ceramic carbon kevlar and rated at 250┬░-1650┬░/.mu ~.60 (XP10) and 200┬░-1350┬░/.mu ~.56 (XP8). Break-in procedure was 4 medium stops from 40-5 and 4 hard stops from ~70-5. Previous pads were Porterfield R4S.

Brake feel is awesome - modulation is excellent and they can STOP. Putting around well below their temp range, they actually feel very similar to the R4S's, until you get more into the pedal. That is to say, no scary stops. The old pads had very little in the way of bite, feel or modulation; these are definitely in another league. A few faint squeaks here and there, and the best part - they dusted less than the Porterfield street pads in my street-driving loop. So, street driving is so far very impressive. I'll report back with more thoughts after I get out to an auto-x and some track work.

Until next time :thumbup: