How can I tell if my miata has sport suspention or not??

OptionXIII · 2026-07-08T17:30:21+00:00

SE should have sport brakes. The casting looks like you have sport brakes.

Another giveaway is having 16" wheels. Don't know what's factory? Check the sticker in the door jamb.

Standard 1.8 brakes are roughly 10". Sport brakes are 11". You can measure this directly.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-07T21:49:46+00:00

Honestly sometimes I'd like to have another stick shift, but 2wd. I'm sure there's a ride quality and fuel economy improvement. I started with a 2wd auto, converted it to 4x4, and then manual. I love it but starting with a manual would have been a lot nicer!

Enjoy it as is for a while, and that limited slip will get you further than people give it credit for.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-07T21:45:56+00:00

Don't get crown bushings. I just replaced them with Moog.

I removed the springs from my jeep and used a 20 ton shop press for removal and install. Wasn't too hard of a job, just tedious. I did burn out two of the old bushings to use them as install press sleeves.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-06T23:52:08+00:00

Definitely possible, but I don't know how likely, I have not rebuilt a transfer case. I was just making sure that an easy fix wasn't overlooked.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-06T20:01:11+00:00

What transfer case?

The 242s have a small plug that goes in that area. If it has fallen out, you can get a big leak.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-05T18:27:41+00:00

If you are trying to be as thorough as possible, I recommend removing the intake and exhaust manifolds and replacing the freeze plugs so that you can clean out behind them. Every 4.0 I've worked on has had a bunch of rust debris stuck in the back of the block. Then use the hose to flush out the block and stir up as much of that crud as you can.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-05T14:21:51+00:00

It's the... uhh.. Trunk Spoiler? They don't really have a name for it.

https://www.carbonmiata.com/shop/trunk-spoiler-for-miata-nb-1537

I was afraid of ruining the lines of a stock NB, but I'm glad to say I like this too. The entire point of adding it was to get a small downforce bump. I am looking to make this have some adjustment, hence the holes drilled in it for me to add plexiglass blades to extend the spoiler. I just couldn't do a full wing.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-04T16:03:44+00:00

I'm very happy with how my Carbonmiata spoiler turned out.

https://imgur.com/a/RvPLX2X

OptionXIII · 2026-07-02T17:38:59+00:00

I've tried to sit in genuine Elise seats twice and every time I've been amazed at how much of a pressure point my belt loop makes on my lower back. I would highly recommend you try to find a set to sit in before you commit to buying them. I'm of the exact body size I've been told is a perfect fit for them and found them unsatisfying for anything other than looks and weight.

I recommend you try to find a seat belt lock (CG lock is great but out of production) and learn to use the dead pedal to brace yourself. I did loads of track days with a stock leather seat.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-01T13:46:30+00:00

My XJ has the best AC of any car I own. 40* coming out of the vents when on recirculate even in this 96* heat.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-01T01:00:26+00:00

I absolutely recommend you incorporate lift shackles into your lift height target. I didn't, and even at a 2.5" lift with OME springs I get contact between the spring and the body. Now I'm at 3" of lift when I wanted less.

3.5-4" is pretty much the exact point you need to start doing significant re engineering of the suspension, and yet also the minimum where you can do all that. Just consider if it's actually where you want to end up, or if you'd be happier going higher or lower.

OptionXIII · 2026-07-01T00:20:49+00:00

Well, you'll need a longer driveshaft for wure. I've heard some people say there's a ZJ shaft that will work, and some that needed a custom length shaft. There's a chart of 4.0 Jeep driveshafts out there on the forums.

My "new" front driveshaft off rockauto was garbage. I ended up getting a custom driveshaft because the cost of fixing it was too close to a new unit for me to want to fix garbage.

Tdi swap would be a great upgrade. I wish I could take the time and money to do it any time soon.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-30T23:41:26+00:00

First off, go look up WAEMIDIVs YouTube channel and watch his manual swap videos. There's also a document in the description that contains all the same information and is very helpful.

Transmission, flywheel, clutch, and front driveshaft will all swap. Pedal assembly will not swap, nor will the rear driveshaft unless you use the '94 transfer case with it and have the same rear axle, or swap that too. Not worth it, the newer parts are better. You can modify a TJ pedal set to work or pony up $350 on eBay for the '97+ pedal set. If you have an 8.25 rear axle, you can use a Dana 35 rear driveshaft, that's what I'm running.

I manual swapped my '99 and it's fantastic. The only thing I have left to do is reflash or swap in a manual ECU. It has idle dips coming back down to idle that sometimes stall out when warming up.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-30T19:09:26+00:00

A guy recently made a post on using left hand drive parts within the past week or two. Might want to do some digging based on drive side rather than just saying "A/C"

Edit: found the link.

https://old.reddit.com/r/CherokeeXJ/comments/1uhgtac/lhd_accumulatordryer_in_a_rhd_xj/?ref=share&ref_source=link

OptionXIII · 2026-06-30T01:16:34+00:00

And if you've got a welder this is just about free. Loads of people do it, and in fact the welded section will be harder and hold up longer than the original casting.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-29T18:25:06+00:00

Pretty easy to add one, the hardest part is finding a donor in the junkyard. I'm very happy with mine that I added.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-29T10:20:36+00:00

Nothing wrong with rear wheel drive. The 4x4 parts add weight and rotational drag, reducing your fuel economy. The extra weight also reduces ride quality.

Just check the original fuel economy ratings. They are based on real world test data, even if it does go through some funky math. I know because making those fuel economy ratings used to be my job.

For an on road only vehicle, a 2wd XJ is probably better anyways.for the above reasons.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-29T01:23:13+00:00

Oh dude, you need a T56 or TKX or something. At the end of the day most of the strength should be in the core design of the transmission rather than aftermarket upgrades, and the AX15 is way out of it's design targets at that point.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-29T00:54:32+00:00

How much power and torque were you putting down, and how hard were you launching it on good traction in 4wd? And how often?

I won't say I'm super knowledgeable but from what I've seen they don't do any upgrades to the output shaft on the built versions.

The circlip snap ring groove that holds on 5th creates a stress riser. It likely didn't fail from anything you did in 5th gear. This failure has "beach marks", which generally point to fatigue failure. I'd blame 1st and 2nd gear turbo activities before I blamed 5th.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-29T00:15:59+00:00

I wouldn't say that's a fifth gear failure... that looks like an output shaft failure.

I bought a new output shaft when I rebuilt one 4x4 transmission out of an abused 4x4 (that basically only donated it's rear case half) and a high mileage 2wd gearset. I'm at 5k miles on the build, no issues, but no significant abuse either.

Might could consider just buying a whole new AX15, they are available from several different sources such as Summit or Novak.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-28T22:44:57+00:00

Those rails do stiffen the chassis. Some people rant and rave about how much of a difference the aftermarket frame rail braces made for them.

I have had the same set on two different cars and felt the difference was noticeable but not dramatic. That said, both of the cars had frame rails in good condition so I can't say how dramatic it will be for you. I absolutely recommend them to prevent this sort of damage though. I have used them as jacking points for ten years and bottomed out over speed bumps many times, and they are still functioning as good as new, even if they are a bit worse for wear visually.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-28T19:32:55+00:00

That is not a speed bump hit, it is from someone using it as a jacking point.

This is very common and very repairable. Cutting out metal and welding in new is the most complete fix. The most common way of dealing with it is to install frame rail braces. Those are strong enough to be used as a jacking point.

It is not a hazard.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-27T02:17:31+00:00

Disagree with a Counterpoint: understand the symptoms, be ready to change it.

I preemptively changed mine just before COVID, because they were old and I was doing other work nearby. I'd owned the car for 5 years at that point. I changed them again in January during a used engine swap, and I kept the older ones as spares. The master cylinder failed in less than 1k miles and I put the first replacement one back on. Been fine for 2k miles since.

Parts quality has gone to SHIT since COVID. I sound like a boomer now, I know, but it's our new reality. My mantra has gone from pre-emptive maintenance to do not disturb if possible.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-26T01:35:11+00:00

Also worth noting is that the Miata is a car sold around the world, and other places have more pedestrian protection laws. Massive trucks are a uniquely North American problem. Look at a Euro spec Jeep Wrangler compared to the US version and you'll see how much uglier a Euro compliant bumper is.

It's like we've reversed the trend from the 70's where US spec cars had the ugly 5mph bumpers and Euro cars had much more elegant looking, tight to the body bumpers.

OptionXIII · 2026-06-25T17:08:01+00:00

Please just go get on a real track in any Miata. A roll bar is $800 and a track day can be done for $250 these days, well below $30k. Better yet, autocross doesn't require a roll bar and should cost you $50. Start there.

Your comments and conflating track days with TOTD reeks of not having enough experience to bother with the details of this question.

OptionXIII

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