Mike also chose lightweight SSR Competition wheels, 17x7 inches in front and 17x7.5 inches in back. These forged alloy wheels, which are sold only through the Tire Rack, weigh less than 13 pounds each, and have already handled numerous track days and the lunar surface that is the New Jersey Turnpike. For street driving, he rides on Dunlop SP9000 tires, measuring 205/45-17 in front and 215/45-17 out back. The Mazdapeed's stock anti-roll bars were retained.
"I'm running the staggered wheel setup because the engine mods have added so much power, I need more tire back there for traction," Mike says, while an EVO screams on SPI's chassis dyno in the background. "I figured it would increase understeer in the corners, but the car still feels nicely balanced."
When we photographed the car, the 1.8-liter four-cylinder still wore its stock turbo, but SPI had installed a larger A'PEXi GTR intercooler with custom plumbing, a custom intake with a K&N filter and a custom downpipe and full exhaust system.
For the brains, Mike went with an A'PEXi AVC-R and AFC. The AVC-R is a closed-loop boost controller with extreme flexibility, allowing Mike to manage every aspect of boost delivery. The AFC gives him the same ability to fine-tune the engine's fuel mapping. This combination, according to Mike, was good for 220 wheel-hp SPI's chassis dyno, quite a bit more than the 178-bhp factory rating.
Since our photo shoot, however, Mike has taken things up a notch, fitting the Miata with a larger Turbonetics ball-bearing T3/T4 compressor set at 12 psi (stock is 7.3 psi). Mike hasn't dyno'd the new setup yet because he's still working on the fuel mapping, but he has been driving the car daily and says the stock clutch is holding up so far.
For brakes, Mike chose only to replace the fronts, utilizing a Brembo Gran Turismo kit, which includes 13-inch vented rotors and four-piston calipers. The rotors are two-piece cross-drilled units with billet-aluminum hats and a floating disc design, which Brembo says reduces heat-related stress and improves performance and pedal feel.
Body mods are limited to a custom splitter by SPI, which is subtle, and simply adds a little purpose to the roadster. Mike even had it painted to match the car's stock gray coat. "I went a little crazier with my cars in the past," Mike says. "Loading them up with body kits and graphics. With this one, I wanted the car to look clean and simple, more upscale."
Mike took the same approach to the interior. Although it has received a fair amount of attention, it looks stock at first glance. First, all the electronics were artfully squeezed into the glovebox, along with a Dfi fuel pressure gauge and a Dfi oil pressure gauge. Then Mike had his neighbors at Autotech Interiors (ATI) fab a cool steering column boost gauge pod, and he artfully fitted two more Dfi dials, one for water temp and one for exhaust temp, into the air conditioning vents above the radio.
Now that the boosted Miata is proving to be a fine daily driver and an even better weekend road racer, Mike is thinking about a new project. But this time he wants to build an all-out street terror-a car that can spank all, both on the backstreets of Keyport or the top of the Turnpike, where top end is king.
But it isn't a Miata. Anybody out there have a low-mileage 1987 IROC they want to get rid of?