This is how the car was looking in July of last year. The car needed an intercooler for the turbo setup. It’s an easier step to make than setting the car up with a completely aftermarket ECU, so I decided I’d start small.

I guess a person could say “You don’t need an intercooler.” They’d be right. A turbo setup can function without it. However, if you want any power with a turbo car you’ll want one.

I had purchased a kit, but it was no good. So many of the parts that came with the kit I just stared at wondering where and how they were supposed to go together to form one cohesive unit. That included all four mounting brackets that came with it. I decided to make my own brackets.

If you haven’t noticed yet, I like to reuse holes already drilled in the car when possible (until this method gets in the way of efficiency or functionality). I think it’s less scary to me when I know I can reverse any change made to the car. Since I had taken out the air conditioning system, it seemed like a good idea to use the mounting places originally for the AC condenser for the intercooler.

This wasn’t very difficult. It was mostly a matter of measuring, drilling, eye-balling, and checking that things fit right. You’ll also notice the power steering lines are in some of the photos. I did install the intercooler after I did the tie rod end upgrade, but before swapping the manual steering.

Alright! After this, the car had a visible intercooler through the front grille for at least eight months before the turbo setup was functional.

So, I have to admit something. I didn’t do anything with the Miata’s alignment after lowering the car considerably. Tire wear didn’t come across my mind often because it’s one of those things that takes time. I lived with the handling being fairly squirrely because it did feel responsive. Maybe just a little too responsive. The toe was out in front. Enough that a person could tell by just looking at where the wheels pointed. It was time to fix things.

The decision was made to change the tie rod ends for something that would help reduce the negative characteristics from lowering the car. Adjustable tie rod ends would help at least with the change in toe occurring when turning and traveling over uneven road.

The original tie rod end is above. That’s what I like about this car. It’s a clearly worn part, not beat to junk, not rusted in half, but obviously in need of service considering the boot is no good. Simple.

I measured things out. I counted the number of threads visible. If nothing else, it would at least be close to right.

Here’s the new tie rod end on the driver’s side. It’s an adjustable part made for an RX-7, but the threads are the same as the MX-5. You can see how much farther down the new ends would bring the inner tie rods. So much better.

After driving around with the new tie rod end improvement, I decided to swap out the power steering rack for the manual version. The power steering would get in the way of the turbo stuff. Also, I can always justify in my mind a change to the car if it saves weight, even if it’s a laughably small difference.

It was a fun project. Not too difficult. I sourced a manual rack through Panic Motorsports. Great company. I called since it wasn’t on the site. They said they thought they just got one in and called back very shortly thereafter to confirm. The price was right and two days later I had a manual rack. I went with SuperPro bushings to mount the rack. They’re marginally stiffer than stock rubber bushings.

I did have to modify these parts for use on the manual rack. They’re from the power steering rack, but I made them work on the manual rack. I did use the dremel around the inside to make the holes large enough to work. In the end, the tabs still bent in as they were meant to. If time didn’t matter, I would have ordered the correct parts. However, I had scheduled an alignment at a race shop outside Chicago called TF Works. I didn’t leave myself any time to spare.

After the tie rod end swap and the alignment, the car was handling much better. It was not as unpredictable. It responded very well to small steering inputs, but less frantically.

With a turbo setup coming together, I figured it was a good idea to upgrade the cooling system. Over the fourth of July last year, I upgraded to a new radiator in the Miata. I didn’t want to do any extra work later, so I upgraded other related things on the way.

The engine bay gets pretty roomy when you take out the radiator and fans. I flushed out the old system using a cleaning product. I should have done it sooner. It needed it.

The old and new. I upgraded my 240Z with a Koyorad radiator and I was pleased with the quality. When I was looking for the Miata, I found that Koyorad was making a new thinner version that performed just as well as their older performance radiator. I went with the new one.

The new radiator could accept the factory shroud and fans, but I decided to upgrade those parts. I figured I’d do it eventually and it would be better to do the work when the radiator was out. The shroud and fans are part of a kit made by Flyin’ Miata.

Nearly finished . I replaced the hoses with silicone pieces and used Breeze clamps to hold them in place.

I’m glad I swapped out the radiator. Eventually, I’ll reroute the coolant to make the most out of the system. It’s been doing great on the street.

I’ve been going to the Offset Kings shows around Chicago for the last 4 or 5 years. The last 2, the show has teamed up with Gridlife at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet. Not long after I registered the Mazda to show at Gridlife Midwest, I registered it for Offset Kings as well.

After a late-ish night, I got up bright and early to wash the car. Waxing I did at the show. My wife, who joined me on this trip, also helped by cleaning the windows. We were there a little earlier than we needed to be, staging in between groups of cars that wanted to park together, but that was ok.

We spent the first hour or so getting the car to a show-worthy condition. Some people stopped by. We talked for a bit with Ivan, the owner of the silver WRX to our right. Theo, owner of a fairly built white Miata and a few more project MX5’s, came over. It’s fun to talk about the details with people who are doing similar things. After this, it was time to walk around, see the sights, watch the racing, and enjoy all the event had to offer.

Below is what we found around the show and the paddock. There were many high quality builds. It was great to see cars with so much attention to detail, so much time put in. I wish I could show all of the photos I took, but I’m sure it would get a little boring.

There’s a gas station/food mart near the track. If you’ve ever seen the Blues Brothers, this needs no introduction.

Thanks in part to our nation’s vehicle importation laws, there were many R32 Skylines in attendance at the event. I liked this SR20-powered sedan.

These guys must have been here very early to occupy the front row. Nice formation.

This is one of the most easily recognized Z’s in Chicago.

I could be wrong, but I think this car did double duty last year. I remember seeing it on the track and in the show.

The drift style is one of my favorite looks.

Hokusai’s woodblock print, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, has become an icon of Japan.

I owned a few Honda’s when I first started driving.

This is one of the coolest Forester’s

If you want different tail lights for a Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, or Toyota 86, you have a world of options.

The BEAMS Yamaha-tuned Toyota engine makes good power. I can’t pretend to know how rare they are, but they do make good power thanks to fancy engine tech.

Here’s a little VIP style.

The S13 looked straight outta Japan.

It was cool to see a Liberty Walk kit on this G37.

This car has been around a while, but it’s now sporting a Rocket Bunny front conversion. It’s definitely Mopar-inspired, looking a lot like a Plymouth ‘Cuda. It does have a supercharged V8, but I think it’s an LS motor.

Again, one of my favorite drift cars.

Two R32 Skyline’s and a Cefiro: imported cars are popular in the drift crowd. I don’t blame them.

Here’s the cockpit of a red Blazer that was out on the track a few times. This looks crazy!

Now, we have the track coverage. There were a lot of familiar cars out there, some new.

Here’s a familiar car.

The Ecotec-powered Datsun. I have to admit, I’d like to know what this car would sound like with a built original motor and performance sidedraft carburetors.

This turbo Corvette put down some fast lap times.

There was a good showing of S2000’s on the track.

Three wheelin’ it.

Sometimes, he stayed on 3 wheels all the way around the first 2 turns.

This Subaru would fishtail a little in the turns.

The radiator fan behind the driver is a cheap way to keep the cabin cool.

One of the coolest Miata’s on the track. This guy let me sit in his aftermarket seat last year to try it out.

Finally, here’s the drift coverage. It’s always a lot of fun to watch, especially the tandem runs and long, smoky slides.

It was getting a little dark toward the end. Rain was passing us to the south, but fortunately for us, it stayed there. The awards ceremony was at the end of the day. I couldn’t have been more excited when I found out I was getting an award!

It was a great day. Lots of fun talking with people, seeing all the built up cars on the track and in the show. Tyler caught up with my wife and I in the middle of the day. Looking forward to next year! (And yes, the date is wrong on the trophy)

There’s a lot I haven’t documented while making upgrades to the Mazda. Let’s go back to midsummer of last year. The car had Tein adjustable coilovers, a Racing Beat front sway bar, a Mazdaspeed rear sway bar, 949 Racing end links, a manual transmission with an Exedy clutch and flywheel, a Hard Dog roll bar, and some other minor upgrades.

One of the minor upgrades I performed was purely cosmetic. I’ve always liked the look of a painted valve cover (or cam cover). A lot of different colors ran through my mind. Eventually, I decided on purple. Yes, purple. I tried a rattle can job, but it looked atrocious. It was embarrassing. After seeing some nice powder coating work at Tuner Galleria earlier in 2015, I went with K&K Coating near the Illinois border. They mixed a base, Illusion Violet, and Chameleon Teal Sparkle. The result was fantastic. The violet can be more blue or more red depending on the light. The teal flakes really make it pop.

I took the time to do a few things while the valve cover work was done. I test-mounted the exhaust side turbo hardware. I replaced the engine and differential mounts with Mazda Motorsports units. Upon reinstalling the cover, I changed out the cam angle sensor o-ring where a small oil leak had developed. I also put in new Magnecor spark plug wires.

On the exterior, I installed a factory hard top, Project-G G-fusers on the sides, and a carbon fiber trunk lid from CarbonMiata. In June, I installed a set of Jass Performance low profile headlights. They make the front end look a little more like the FD chassis RX7.

We’re getting closer to the present day! There’s a radiator upgrade and some suspension changes in the future. Fast forward to now and I’m getting ready for my second car show. My wife will be joining me at Offset Kings outside Chicago at the Autobahn Country Club. We’ll be out there on Sunday!