Simple power adder for the ND?

Yesterday, I drove my first MX-5 ND RF.  It was everything I hoped it would be and much more.  I hope to own one soon.

I loved the balance, and the fit and finish.  It's a really smooth and nimble car.  There may be a few cars that can out handle it, but I am not a good enough driver to need more.

My only complaint was it needed just a little bit more torque in the bottom of the gear ranges.  Not much- just a little kick in the pants when you step on it. 

I have no interest in something radical like an engine swap or a turbo.  Are there any minor mods for the ND that help it get off the line just a little bit quicker?

Maybe an engine swap or a turbo...

How about gear ratio?

(Facepalm)

No engine swap or turbo.

supercharger 

I think, based on everything I've heard, mazda didn't leave much on the table for easy and cheap gains. 

So, in my mind, gearing or forced induction is really about it for low end torque. 

Flyin Miata's exhaust upgrades appear to give a nice little bump.  Not sure what your budget for that extra bump may be.

FM exhaust options with dyno graphs.

Super Charge all the things

Did you drive the 2019 w/ 181hp or the earlier car w/ 155hp?

That's a lot of coin for 4hp/torques. 

Sounds like a  final drive change is in order.

What year was the ND you drove. I've heard nothing but praise about the ND2 engine.

In reply to SVreX :

Try E85, yes you'll need to add the sensor  to read what percentage of alcohol you actually get but my flex fuel pickup feels like it got a lot more power. Flooring it on the on ramp both back tires started spinning which it won't do  with regular pump fuel. 

Yes your fuel mileage will go down slightly, on my pickup it goes from 22.6mpg to 20.4  if I can keep my foot out of it. 
 

You can still use whatever fuel you've been using whenever you want. It reads what you're actually using that moment.  So if you go in with a near empty tank and the station has actual 85% ethanol  you'll pick up another 10+ horsepower.  If the tank is 1/2 full  and you only get 51% ( the minimum to be called E85 ) you'll only pick up a horsepower or 2 

GRM actually tested E85 on a Miata when they tested Racing gas etc. that's what my numbers are based on. 

I drove a 2019

Yes, they didn’t leave much on the table.  The 13:1 compression pushing 181 ho out of the 2.0 is really impressive. 

In reply to SVreX :

13-1 compression will really respond to the Alcohol. Your computer should let you have a lot more timing.  ( Ethanol is 114 octane ). 

https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=697757&highlight=openflash+nd2

^ would a tune and header be enough for you? There appear to be some decent lower end gains. People report better throttle response too.

Another cheap performance option is the soft top. The GT softtop is noticably quieter at speed.

In reply to Snrub :

Nope. No soft top. I want the RF. 

In reply to frenchyd :

Keep in mind the ND Miata is a DI engine. It might not be that easy to integrate a Flex Fuel sensor and re-map the stock ECU for flex fuel. And that's before we get to the big question if the fuel pump and injectors are capable of supporting the additional fuel required. IIRC that's the limit on the existing supercharger and turbo kits at least for the ND1.

Tire height gearing adjustment? 

Google says that the stock ND uses a 2.86 rear end.  Fiata's use a 3.54.  ND cup cars use the 3.54.

An additional 20+% torque multiplication sound like what you want?

Check the speed in gears to make sure it's not too low for your intended driving.

People have been asking for "just a little more low end for easy and cheap" for the Miata for 30 years :) And the answers have never been enough. The ND is already tuned to be pretty torquey and has a fairly flat curve, all you can do is minor stuff like midpipe and header.

Note that there aren't really any tunes for the ND2 and that a header requires you to remove a cat, which is illegal on a federal level.

At the "expensive but effective" end of the scale on the ND, if you want torque you want a turbo and not a super..

sevenracer said:

Google says that the stock ND uses a 2.86 rear end.  Fiata's use a 3.54.  ND cup cars use the 3.54.

An additional 20+% torque multiplication sound like what you want?

Check the speed in gears to make sure it's not too low for your intended driving.

Is this true?  2.86? That's 1982 Camaro three speed trans ratios.  Is that diff ratio, or diff plus overdrive?  I find it hard to imagine a two liter engine dragging anything around in fifth or sixth gear with a 2.86 final drive.

That's because you don't know (yet) that 6th gear is a 1:1. Gives the best efficiency on the highway. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

And cuts down on driveshaft issues too.

1st is around 5:1 isn't it?

Hm...  does the ND's new engine share the bellhousing pattern of the old MZR engines?

rico750sxi_2 said:

That's a lot of coin for 4hp/torques. 

I don't know what unit of measure a "torque" is but it looks like there's about a 17 ft-lb gain at 2600ish.  That's pretty impressive, over ten percent.  From a touch over 130 ft-lb to a little under 150.

I was today years old when I learned ND Miata diffs are nearly perfect for Bike Engine cars.

I think gearing is your joy here.  Assuming you can handle the increased highway RPM.