Flyin Miata Habu ND Mazda MX-5 V8 Review Road Test 

+Garrett Wood thanks for reaching out, Garrett! You're right, the cool thing is that you've got a brand new car. I kept my hands off of yours as much as I could! Would love to see yours when it's done. It'll be mega. Congrats!

Garrett Wood Hi Garrett was looking into one of these and was wondering if after getting your car that the power managible or too much....thanks! Charles

Charles, when I drove the prototype car with the 525 motor, it was more than enough with the size of tire on the car. The chassis tuning is so good that managing that power is really progressive and fun. I chose the professionally built motor hoping that the attention to detail would be greater than something coming off a factory assembly line. Flyin Miata has several V8 packages with much less horse power. But the sound of a big cam V8 at idle has always been sweet music to my ears. Garrett

How can I get the car through the insurance companies? Can only get reliability? Not full coverage?

Thank you for the reply. did you have to buy a separate ecu or did lingenfelter program one that was shipped with the engine? Thanks

Thanks! Wonderful car!

It’s the best.

+mugdays thanks! We get that every week!

It sure is!

+TheTerminator1187 thanks!

Except the sound is unmistakable.

+Soon2Be Fulfilled this one works pretty well

They have a sense of humour at Flyin’ Miata.

brilliant

Peaches.

+Alex Johnson it's not a thing. Don't need those systems, been racing cars for a long time. Other drivers, on the other hand, will have to learn.

If you have a good chassis setup, good tires, a good differential and a nice linear throttle you don't need traction control. It's a driver's car. Yes, you can do stupid things in it and it won't save you, but not being stupid is the driver's job :)

I like a little stupidity.

+john k no idea. Why?

Thanks!

You'll definitely need to talk to Flyin' Miata. They know their stuff.

I miss this car.

Really all it needs is a turbo. Save the bigger engine a halo car.

+john k as a matter of course, we really don't measure anything except in race cars. Too many variables when measuring road cars to consider those numbers absolute.

I'm sure someone's done it. Maybe not FM, but someone has.

Doesn't somebody do that already?

It was fifty grand when I shot this. You can't do it yourself to the same level of integration. Watch the video again or call Flyin' Miata. They're great people.

+Basih nah...

+CVSoprano DO IT!

You don't have to do the v8 swap to add tons of fun to the miata. FM makes a turbo kit for 3 grand that'll put a huge smile on your face

update?

Thanks. Agree on the understatement, I'd get it without the stripe.

+Scott Campbell Nice. Flyin Miata has been doing it since the 90s.

Bullet did it a bit differently, they actually built a new spaceframe. Basically, it's a different car wearing a Miata as a hat. They used rotaries, Rover 4.6 engines and Lexus/Toyota 4.0s. They stopped about 7 years ago.

Yes, from the firewall forward on the one I had. But I seem to recall that was one of the first ones made and was used in the magazine reviews. 1UZFE with a Supra box. Lottsa fun ! Shame to hear they've gone, but not that surprised.

It wasn't just the first ones, they kept that design all along. I'd love to drive one of them. They're not gone, they're just not doing the V8 Miatas. We're actually shipping them some NC superchargers right now.

+Randolph Baez oh yeah, he totally sucks. He should have had a whole production crew to make the video better.

I can't imagine. I love my stock RF nd2 ,.... more fun than any car I've ever owned. This would just be heaven.

@@agunther08 It'd be heavenly until you got complacent with it and the little devil showed itself . You'd definitely have to have a new level of respect for this little ride. 👍👍✌✌

Yeah, and in this case, modern refinement and safety. This is much more interesting to me than a Cobra.

The Mazda systems can’t be retained, obviously, so Flyin’ Miata would have to develop their own. TBH, the car is so communicative that they’re not necessary.

+James Wickersham depends on what you're in to

Worth every penny of the purchase price and the fuel necessary to run it!

Yes.

It’s been a couple of years since I did this, but didn’t I cover that in the video?

+Princess Peach it doesn't fit. Plus, it's a gimmick.

It's so good, Chuck. So good.

it's what Carol Shelby would do with a Miata. Does it still have good traction contols for us hacks? I noticed you were stepping out a bit. @@BrianMakse

Precisely. Nope, ABS only. No traction, no stability. There's plenty of mechanical grip, decent breakaway characteristics, plus with excellent chassis feedback, it's nearly fool proof. It's nothing a couple of days at a good driving school can't cure, but I'm quite happy without those systems.

No way!

Funny thing is that they were in Grand Junction for that recent Jag episode.

I thought that canyon looked familiar

Indeed. Plus, if you want more people to know about Flyin' Miata, this is the sort of thing that you need to share with everyone you know. This car is brilliant. It's been months and I'm still dreaming about it.

Which shirt was I wearing? This was years ago.

@@BrianMakse hi Brian, not %100 sure but there was a 69 logo on the shoulder . the font was the same as the late Nicky Hayden used in his number 69.

BTW, loved the miata review. The car reminded me of my old series 1 rx7 with a 5L v8 and manual etc etc , although not at the same level as the miata obviously.

69 days it all! That was my Motorsports In Action shirt! Good group of people, they run McLarens in IMSA GT4 now. I’m actually not much of a bike fan, still much respect for what they do, but the MIA guys have a thing for the 69 on their race cars...

Can't remember. Sub 4 for sure.

This episode is five years old, Captain Obvious.

@@BrianMakse so, there weren't used Miatas 5 years ago oh great and wise one?

NDs were a year old when we shot this episode, genius.

No.

Is this a joke?

LOL

🤪

I’ll wait for your review first.

@@BrianMakse Nah, it would over stimulate you.

Doing it right is different lol. Having the engine management, A/C, pedal box, infotainment all work together with the drivetrain and lights and miscellaneous electronics is a HUGE deal.

I think you’ve missed the point.

Brian Makse A lot of people do...

No.

That’s the million Canadian penny question!

Like and share to alter the algorithm.

+john rowan what are you driving these days?

Brian Makse a Mustang cobra and my daily is a scat pack charger b5 blue

No, they didn't. I'm not American and everybody needs more power.

@@BrianMakse Ja, maybe you´re right. I shall drive one before judging. Gotcha.

I so agree. I was thinking if I had to buy a Miata, the first place it's going from the dealership is to Flying Miata.

but you're really missing out, and missing the point.

This is one of the purest cars you can drive. It teaches you how to drive. If you want don't want to build any driving skill, then don't buy a stock miata. Otherwise go buy an NA off of craigslist for under 3k and realize how much fucking fun they are. You drive at 9-10 tenths everywhere.

Did you bother to watch the video or did you come here just to shitpost?

+Mason Lantz cooler is subjective.

I have owned corvettes...miatas wayyy more fun to drive.

No. You can't. It's like you didn't even watch the video...

@@BrianMakse ya i did. And yes you can. 15k in a miata you could easily be making 7-800hp with a LS

Not if you want it to drive like an actual car.

Brian Makse Once again, people missing the point ...

+Bevin Chu Dude. Seriously. Do you even know what a Cobra is?

Do you really think I don't know what a Shelby Cobra is? Were you really unable to infer from my references to Shelby Cobras and Sunbeam Tigers the drift of my argument? About the concept of dropping big American V8s in small two seater British roadsters? I have no objection to such cars. I like them. What's not to like? I'm merely saying that that's not what the Miata was about. The Miata was not about making a "faster, more powerful" car. The Miata designers knew they weren't making a car with neck snapping acceleration, that could humiliate other drivers in a stoplight drag race, and they were okay with that, just as the designers of the 60s era classic British sports cars were. They had an entirely different goal. Many people who might be car experts in certain respects, don't seem able to get where they were coming from.

Actually, the 1960's MG was the MGB. Which was available with a V8 :) And of course, the AC Ace wasn't intended to be a Cobra, nor was the Alpine supposed to be a Tiger. But curiously, it's those variants that have become iconic despite the fact that they miss a theoretical point. The Miata is whatever you want it to be. To some people, it's a cute little roadster that's easy on gas. For others, it's one of the most popular race cars in the world. And for some, it's an excellent chassis that's a good base to build other things on. Any one of these definitions are legitimate - but that doesn't make the others wrong. Your idea of the raison d'etre is not definitive. Perhaps that's where the tone-deafness lies, the inability to hear other viewpoints. I'm one of the guys involved in building this critter, and I've been involved in Miatas for 24 years now. I've hung out with their designers and chassis engineers. I've raced them in autocross, tarmac rally and on the track. I've built lightweight versions, powerful versions, used their components in kit cars. I've written three books and innumerable magazine articles about them. I've spent a couple of decades helping other Miata owners build what they want to build. I think I understand what they are, and what they're intended to be, pretty well. They're sports cars. And part of being a sports car is getting modified in a huge variety of ways.

AC Ace + Ford V8 = Cobra MX-5 + Chevy V8 = this Flyin Miata Whatever the MX-5 is "not about", so was the AC Ace. I'm failing to follow your logic.

You're right on the mark Bevin. People forget that Mazda is a company that must make a profit to survive as such as small entity and stave off hostile takeovers. They have to make a car that will sell broadly and an affordable price point. The customers of Flyin' Miata are a totally different breed. At the same time I do not doubt that if Mazdaspeed had to make a killer Miata, they could easily engineer a twin turbo 20B rotary, destroy the LS3 in the process while claiming true Mazda blood lineage.

You are missing the point.

Built not bought. That's the point.

Because then you’d have to drive a lame ass corvette