The FIRST Mod To Do To Your Miata! (FM Live) 

My first mod I did was I got a smaller girlfriend. Yep ! She weighs less and she eats less, which saves me a lot of money ! Now, my car handles better, gets better mpg. I highly recommend this mod.

I totally agree on "fix what's broken." Every time some kid picks up their first NA or NB I tell them "catch up on the maintenance first."

FM turbo kit and a clutch. Congrats, you just solved your car's main problem.

Thanks v much, you’re right, that wasn’t what I was thinking. But it is now.

Thanks, Keith!

I’ve heard the ND is kinda unstable in how much it rolls. Nice to hear there’s an easy fix.

The first, and only, modification I did on my early 2016 ND1 Sport was the Wilwood brakes. That was prompted by the stock rear calipers not playing well with New Hampshire winter salty roads. The Wilwoods have held up well for several seasons, I did all four wheels.

The challenge I have is that I changed the wheels/tires, shocks, and sway bars all at once. Therefore, I have no reference point of how the swaybars (or anti-sway bars), impacted the car (94M). Not that I would do it differently (needed the new shocks to compliment the new wheels, "while I was at it...", etc.), but it would be nice to do each mod one at a time to see the difference. But, Keith, I take your word for it. 🙂

First thing I did was indeed the sway bars. Then some lowering. Cheap mods and it's a very nice road car now.

Keith, totally agree on the sway bars! And, depending on where you plan on adding future modifications for your intended use of the car, maybe do the end links at the same time.

An even cheaper first mod is the door bushings.

You are absolutely correct!

My first mod was stubby antenna. 2nd was carplay for my ND1

Swaybars, for the nb/na a brake proportion valve and pads. Getting the miata to rotate underbraking is magical.

Thanks!

Love the captain hat on the yacht, btw.

A great channel. Thanks!

Thanks team and Keith, is there a video on the NC1 & 2 dampers?

I LOVE the captain's hat on the NC.

I know this vid is designed for all Miatas, but I'd suggest the very first thing to do with a 1.6 NA (assuming good mechanical condition, etc.) is bump the timing to 14 deg. BTDC. Gives a bit more lower end torque and other than a timing light, is completely free and needs no new parts! Perhaps you could do a series of first three things to do by each generation? Cheers

NC should also get a new coolant overflow tank although that may fall under “fix whats broken”

+1 on FM's advice! I asked them directly last year when I was looking to modify my 21 GT RF. The sway bars literally transformed the car!

i didn’t notice too much of a difference with my new sways until i got rid of the stock endlinks and got adjustable ones while properly preloading the bar! now the car stays planted while shifting weight quicker! some people also swear by the 5x shifter rebuild kit with the bronze bushing for their first mod! i haven’t done it yet but i’m looking forward to it!

When I first got my first "new to me" Miata and had this question, the consensus answer on the Miata forums was "driver upgrade," but in the context of car parts ARB is probably the best answer. Also, thanks for dispelling the common claim that more roll results in more grip. Whenever I hear this from people in my local Miata group, I just send them links to your videos. Keep up the good work!

Hey Keith , I did the axle back active exhaust ( aka Hush O Matic ) on my 2016 Club & really happy with that mod. Was it the 1st though ? No ! LED interior & trunk lights was 1st much cheaper than the exhaust or sway bar & you'll notice it immediately at night.

Question on adjustability - when setting up - if you started of using the middle hole, what would you expect to feel change if you move it the front or rear hole?

Best first mod? Restore the car to it's former glory, because as we all know - previous owner likely wouldn't sell it if he knew it was any good. Keep it stock/reversible/obvious improvement mods if you want to get any of this money back. Advise for someone who wants to track it - monitor engine temps/health with accurate tools. I did and it saved my engine and my brown rad on my second track day when it got hot when I had to keep 50/50 hot/cooldown lap ratio to keep it in reasonable temps. Also get good alignment and tires that would not go almost completely bust after 2 track days like my all seasons did. Almost all of my outer side tread gone while center got barely touched.

Great videos!!! Question: If you just got a ND2 and plan to use it for SCCA Solo Street Category where the Rules state, "Substitution, addition, or removal of a single anti-roll bar and supporting hardware (brackets, endlinks, bushings, etc.) is permitted. The use of any bushing material is permitted. A bushing may be implemented as a bearing.", which sway bar would you change? Front or Rear, and what items do you recommend to replace the stock equipment for this use, while keeping it mostly a daily driver? Again, great videos!!!

My first mod on my ND2 was replacing antenna. But, last week I finally had my FM sway bars installed. 😂

thank u sir

Door bushings first thing I did--cravenspeed.

Great!

i can second the shock / coilover upgrade on NC's, when i replaced the stock shocks on my brand new NC with a set of good coilovers the difference was incredible. before i changed them it wallowed like a pig

I added a set of Vmaxx coilovers to my NB one weekend, then added FM anti-roll bars the following weekend. The ARB's were a much bigger change! I'm not sure I've done anything so effective since. Another great early mod is to add a roll bar with REAL padding. Safety third!

Does your advice about the NC 1&2 needing shocks first also apply to the NC2 with suspension package?

Nope, it's the better tyres. NS2R in my case, great mod for a stock street car that has occasional trackdays. Great start for dual duty as well.

This may be getting into advanced topics here, but what is the relationship between sway bar stiffness and suspension dampers/springs? I see a lot of folks in various places recommending stock sway bars if you're going to run Ohlins (am I correct in assuming FOX for NA/NB is similar?) and could you explain why this is?

Is the impact of adding ARBs similar for the Fiat 124 Spider? I'm impressed of the adjustable Whitelines in my NC3. Just asking for my dad's 124 Spider, already have adjustable coilovers installed and lighter OZ wheels.

Hi there. What do you think of installing only rear ARB on a ND 1.5 with Koni Sport (adjustable damping and height) / Eibach springs and 16'' wheels + bracing? I heard that on bumpy, slippery roads (as usual in Greece) having a thicker than stock front ARB there is a degree of understeer induced. Thanks in advance.

For an ND2, if I am having a shop (an authorized Miata Parts dealer about an hour from me that my local Miata Club seems to say good things about) install your front and rear sway bars, should I also have them address the coil overs. No other mods except your door bushings and a stubby antena. I am working towards keeping the car playful at slow speeds, but make it less rolly/scary (for me) in high-speed on road switchbacks and as refined as possible (for my wife). I am leaning towards the Fox suspension because of what Keith Tanner said about them being the ‘Ultimate in comfort’ in a previous suspension video (love having the wife with me, and she already complains a bit about the ride height) as well as performance.

If you start on driver parts, I need a shoulder. But seriously, I’d suggest a roll bar as the very first mod. Okay, second, after fix-what’s-broke.

Heres the thing, if its an ND, should i buy and pay for sway bar replacements or do i buy the Karcepts kit and fit it myself? Both options will probably cost the same, so whats the better choice?

Would stiffer sway bars affect how much dynamic negative camber you get in a same speed/turn corner? Since the suspension wont roll as much? Keith Tanner Fan

Also in my 93 Miata with the 1.5 stage suspension... Would I need adjustable end links for the Flyin Miata sway bars?

my first mod? fixing the failing roof latches, and putting the FM banner on the windscreen.

Keith...I have a 2009 PRHT GS...it appears to have Bilestein dampers...judging by the yellow.. does it have a heavier front sway bar. I can't find a specs listing on this model here in PEI>

With early nd2 or nd, the first mod I did was to add carplay. If it doesn’t come with it, it is a big improvement. Wasn’t too difficult or expensive.

Off subject but did you add extra lights into the bumper of the silver NB behind you. If yes what are they

Haven’t driven my Miata for 6 years , time to change fluids and dust off for some fun.

Men, I was shock that the video was ending at 2:12. Dont you ever do this to me again 😂

I was really expecting the answer to be a real, strong roll bar.

What's the difference in benefit the FM sway bars bring to a MSM compared to a regular NB?

#1 Off the showroom floor alignment to the FM specifications. #2 Swaybars

What makes this modification more difficult on the ND? Where on your list would changing to LSD be?

What is the minimum new shocks I would need for my nc2 to add new sway bars?

I'm interested in getting some these but I just would like street ones can you send me a link where I can purchase please

I will see a differance if i install a aftermarket sway bar on stock suspension?

Up on the Angeles Crest Highway yesterday I was watching an ND Miata take a long sweeping turn at speed. The car had very considerable body roll. This seems to have been a design decision at Mazda. In stock condition all of our cars do this. This car is simply easier to control if some of this body roll is canceled. Roll is especially problematic in a set of slalom turns. On this there is pretty general agreement in the Miata community. However, this is where the consensus stops. There are various ways to make a Miata take a corner with less body roll. Some of these methods work well on 'real roads' with pot holes and frost heaves, and others do not. Installing a stout front bar on a car with stock springs does, as you say 'transform' the car. This said, changing the bar, and only the bar, can make the car quirky on rough pavement. The combination of stiff bar, and soft, stock springs, while it cancels roll, also cancels the independent motion of the wheels on that axle. Up on the Angeles Crest, in the warmer months, we have a car over the side about once a week. A lot of these are owner modified cars with race rubber, coil-overs, and owner specified suspension treatments. Recently Mountain Rescue went down a ravine to extract one car, and found another, previously unknown to them with the driver still in the car, still alive. He had been there for two days. The combination of stiff front bar, and soft stock springs, can, in a sweeping turn taken at speed, badly unsettle the car when the inside wheel drops into a pot hole and the sway bar pressure on the outside wheel is suddenly released. A major change in only one suspension component, without corresponding changes in the others, can make the car unpredictable, and difficult to manage on any but the flattest of roads. The Angeles Crest Highway, and the other 'Miata' roads here in Southern California, like Stunt Road in Malibu (yes, that's its real name), and the portion of Mulholland Highway known as the "Snake' are wonderful. They are not, however, flat. They are real roads with real potholes. With real roads you need true independence of motion on all four wheels. By controlling chassis lean with springs, dampers, tire side wall stiffness, and tire pressures, rather than with sway bars, you preserve that independence. A local suspension designer at 949 Racing who is certainly known to you is Emilio Cervantes. He is the founder of 949, and has engineered many of the SuperMiata series of cars. Cervantes writes about 949's series of coil overs: "We recommend using stock sway bars with Xida XL, GS, and Ace." That master of 20th century suspension design, Colin Chapman, from whom the Miata's Power Plant Frame derives, used soft sway bars too. Chapman wrote, in period: "On current racing cars anti-roll bars are needed to obtain the required handling characteristics, but are not necessarily an essential feature of suspension design." Ref: lotuselan.net/wiki/Colin_Chapman:_One_Man_Band_of_the_Racing_Circus Before you replace the front sway bar, an important question to ask yourself is whether or not you are using the stock sway bars at full capacity. The factory end links are soft. By changing to rigid sway bar end links (Heim jointed end links at both ends) the 'wind up' in the links is eliminated, and the bar engages much faster. Completely rigid end links cause the effect of the stock bar to be felt instantly on entering the corner. A much sharper 'turn in' is achieved using the stock bar. This effect is transformative of the car. If the car has too much chassis roll for your taste, the first parts to change are the end links. That can be done in a matter of minutes, costs little, and is a meaningful improvement, both to chassis roll but also to the stability of the car in a long sweeping turn. The speed at which the suspension reacts to the alternating lateral forces in a slalom or chicane is meaningfully increased. Regrettably the Flyin Miata end link for the NA Miata retains a rubber bushing, on the lower end, from the factory design. Other vendors supply an end link for the NA that has tool-steel, spherical joints at both ends. To eliminate wind up in the end links, real spherical joints (Heim joints) are necessary. Bushings do not get you there. The sway bar bushings that secure the sway bar to the chassis need be changed as well, either to urethane or a stiffer rubber compound.

I have the Koni stage 1.5 installed on my NA (which was my priority because the shocks were blown). I did not install sway bars because my tires (hankook ventus v2) are not great, and I was under the impression that decreasing body roll would put more strain on the tires. Is that incorrect?

I agree with him because that's what I bought first, haha....and coilovers.

Would sway bars help on an NC1 with brand new Koni STR.t? Stock springs so far.

You hinted that changing the anti-sway bars on an ND is not as easy as on earlier generations. I've heard that before and don't have a lot of tools so would like to have it professionally done. Is that something any suspension mechanic could handle or do I need a Miata or mod specialist? How do I find such a specialist?

I went with "coil overs" on my NC2 first. Would sway bars make a big difference?

my first mod is always adding a functional roll bar

How do stiffer anti roll bars affect how KPC works on the new NDs? Great content by the way!

On the ND2 I’d say the lowering the seats with the Paco motorsport mounts made the most notable improvement for me

I have two questions: On a car like this, why the heck would Mazda choose to put in such wimpy sway bars? At what point (on an ND) is it necessary to add a reinforcement kit to where the ends of the SB meet the frame? Is it determined by the thickness/stiffness of the bar, or the intended use (street, track etc)?

Anyone else strip the threads on the front sway bar brackets even at the listed torque settings? just me? Cheap mod to do at least.

Hey everyone. I have an MX5 2021. Want to get black rims for it but BBS is way too expensive can you guys help me out what’s a good option .

To summarize : stiffer sway bars will reduce body roll, but also reduce the playfulness of the car (the ability to easily "drift" in the turns) at low and average speeds ? Is that correct ? Thank you.

Since sway bars don't typically advertise their "spring rate" (capability for lack of better word) how do we know which ones to buy. Do the ebay $60 dollar ones do the same of the $200+ dollar FM or Boss etc? 🤷🏽‍♂️ we don't know. You get what you pay for is always a sales tactic. Genuine question here.

For a DD would it be necessary to upgrade the end links? 2001 SE with 46K miles.

Even better, just get the front bar :)

Is there actually an advantage to not using the rear swaybar for uses like autocross?

My dad passed me his 1990 Miata so he could buy his 2015 Miata. It's basically stock so I may consider adding a sway bar. I only drive around town though, so is doing this a bit of overkill?

My 2008 NC only had 21000 miles on it, so the first thing I did was replace the original tires. Then supercharged, header back exhaust, big brakes, suspension, etc. Thanks, FM, for fueling my carcaine addiction 😂

What if your NC has the Bilsteins???

Adding a front sway bar to an ND is difficult. Adding it to an ND with a Supercharger will make you swear, but still doable.

I feel like sway bars are first (no matter the generation) and maybe some adjustable end links and other suspension stuff. Also probably change the tires at the same time or before you change the sway bars. Then whatever is broken and maybe some mods that increase the longevity (like an oil catch can) once it's all maintained and good you can start beefing the engine and stuff if you want to and/or do cosmetic mods.

*Cries in ND front sway bar labor rates*

Change your broken oil dipstick lol

Can we change sway bars without changing suspension?

Question, how does it play with new Mx-5 KPC? -

What if you have a NC 13....

My first mod is an LS swap

Second mod to do to your Miata: tighten the nut behind the wheel.

Actually adjusting the swaybars does a lot more than adjusting shocks!

What are the 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th Mods to do to your Miata?? 😛

My first mod on my '''23 miata was the removal of the horrid Bridgestone tires (this reduced the noise inside cabin tremendously). Also michellin S5 are the best.

0:10 Is it tires? I bet it's tires.

“AI bots”. Hahaha!!

What if you are dumb and did everything at once. Lol I just installed my stage 2 vmaxx extreme sports, new a arms upfront, r package tie rod ends, and engine mounts. Oh and new wheels and tires. 😂

If in The U.K, weld the little bugger up!!

A couple of hundred dollars….seriously? On a ND?

No, you really want to just buy a $400 EBAY turbo kit and install that first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

calling yt viewers bots when its clearly the better streaming platform, yall are just boomers /j

With the NC2 suspension package does the “shocks suck” sentiment still apply?

Regarding th NC, does advice still hold even on cars equipped with the yellow billsteins, or are those alright?