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Wackbards' 2019 Mazda MX-5 ND Club build

wackbards · 2019 Mazda MX-5 (ND, Club trim)

Mazda MX-5 (Miata)

Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM

Read the full write-up at Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM ↗

Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM

A 2019 Mazda MX-5 ND Club kept mostly OEM, trimmed for weight

After years of wrenching on a well-used NA, the owner bought a new ND Club intending to just drive it unmodified. That resolve slipped gradually, with a series of small weight-saving and feel-improving swaps to wheels, brakes, suspension, exhaust and trim rather than any major rebuild. The thread tracks these incremental changes and the owner's running tally of weight saved.

Specs

As stated in the original write-up.

Trim
Club
Wheels
Advanti Storm S1, 16x7.5, about 13 lb each
Tyres
205/45/16 Continental ExtremeContact Sport (switched from planned 195/50/16 due to stock shortage)
Suspension
Progress Technology lowering springs, GWR sway bars
Brakes
Wilwood 2-piece 11 inch front rotors, Flyin' Miata LBBK front calipers, G-Loc GS-1 front pads; rear brakes left stock
Exhaust
GWR Super Street single-tip muffler with glass pack insert
Intake
OEM sport-trim intake parts (sound tube delete)
Interior
Paco seat lowering kit, GT door sill scuff plates
Exterior trim
NC club badge covering shark fin hole, stubby antenna

Parts used

Parts named as used in the original write-up, grouped the way the Parts page groups them. Where one of the shops we index lists the same thing for this car, it is shown underneath with a link to the shop.

Fuel & Ignition 1

Suspension & Steering 2

Brakes 3

Wheels & Tyres 2

  • Advanti Storm S1 wheels, 16x7.5Advanti

    Lighter seasonal wheel set, about 13 lb each

  • Continental ExtremeContact Sport 205/45/16 tyresContinental

    Fitted to the Advanti wheels after the planned 195/50/16 size was out of stock

Body & Trim 2

Interior 2

Electrical 1

  • Stubby antenna

    Replaced factory antenna

Photos

21 pictures collected from the write-up, in the order they were posted, shown from Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM. A picture opens larger here, with the way through to the page it is on.

Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM - Miata Turbo Forum - Boost cars, acquire cats. 9this post at Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM ↗

Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Early photo of the ND ClubPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Leave a poscatPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Leave a negcatPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Car shown soon after purchasePhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
View of the Miata during early modificationsPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Car pictured during wheel or trim workPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Progress photo from June 2019Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Tweet this threadPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM

Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM - Miata Turbo Forum - Boost cars, acquire cats. 11this post at Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM ↗

Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Update photo from late June 2019Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Photo from late June showing the carPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
New wheels and tyres fittedPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Brake installation progress photoPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Car shown in July 2019Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Rear view of the finished setupPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Front view of the finished setupPhoto: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM
Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM

Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM - Miata Turbo Forum - Boost cars, acquire cats. 1this post at Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM ↗

Photo: Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM

How it was done

Starting point

The owner had just sold off a heavily modified, five-engine NA Miata project after years of unreliability, and bought a new 2019 ND in Club trim, hoping to simply enjoy it stock.

Early niggles addressed

Within months several small complaints were fixed: GWR sway bars for body control, a GWR single-tip muffler with glass pack for more exhaust note, a sound tube delete using OEM sport-trim intake parts, a club badge covering the shark fin hole, a stubby antenna, and GT door sill scuff plates to protect worn plastic.

Wheels and tyres

A lighter 16x7.5 Advanti Storm S1 wheel set was fitted for a seasonal tyre setup, saving weight. Planned 195/50/16 Continental ECS tyres were unavailable, so wider but shorter 205/45/16 tyres were used instead, prompting a change in gearing feel.

Suspension adjustment

To offset the shorter tyre diameter and restore ride height look, Progress Technology lowering springs were installed, adding some weight but improving stance; alignment needed further fine-tuning afterward.

Brake upgrade

The owner fitted Wilwood two-piece front rotors and Flyin' Miata big brake kit calipers with G-Loc pads to cut unsprung and rotating weight, leaving the rear brakes stock. Initial mushy pedal feel was resolved after a second power-bleed of all four corners.

Interior tweak

A Paco seat lowering kit was installed, improving legroom and clearance from the blank accessory panel, described as fiddly but not difficult.

Progress so far

By the final posts the owner reports a net weight reduction across sprung, unsprung and rotating mass while keeping the car fully streetable, noting the only weight gain was from the sway bars.

A summary in our own words. The full account, with all its detail, is in the original write-up: read it at Look but don't touch: Wackbards tries in vain to keep a ND OEM ↗

Worth knowing

  • Confirm tyre stock availability before ordering matching wheels and planning around a specific size
  • A second power-bleed of the brakes was needed to fully resolve a mushy pedal after installing new calipers and rotors

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