Jet Stream introduced this item a few years back, showcasing it on a handful of their customer cars. Although it never made it to their catalog as a new release, they’ve been more than happy to craft it upon request.
The Dilemma
Unfortunately, the gurney flap does block the OEM windshield spray nozzle. So, if you’re keen on keeping this feature, you might want to consider opting for a nozzle relocation kit, which is entirely optional.
Installation Process – Nozzle
To install the nozzle, it’s necessary to remove the wiper cowl. A separate blog post detailing the steps involved in removing the cowl cover can be found here.
Once the cowl is off, mark the drilling location for the 10mm hole needed for the new nozzle. Using the center screw location of the cowl as a reference, measure 2 inches to the right and then half an inch towards the bottom. However, I chose to position it more centrally, opting for a distance of 1 1/4 inch instead of 2 inches.
A step drill bit comes in handy for this task.
The nozzle simply slips through the hole and is secured in place with a threaded plastic collar.
After mocking the cowl back onto the vehicle to ensure there are no clearance issues, proceed to add the rubber hose for the washer fluid. Depending on your setup, like my NB with the NOPRO relocation tank, you might need to adjust the length of the rubber hose accordingly. Just be cautious not to make it too short, risking kinking.
Remember to route the rubber hose behind the wiper arm link. Secure the cowl with the screws.
Installation Process – Gurney Flap
Now, onto the gurney flap. Prep the hood area by wiping it with alcohol to ensure a clean surface.
The item comes with a roll of double-sided adhesive, which you’ll apply to the bottom of the flap, ensuring it’s evenly spaced from the edge and firmly pressed. I opted for a single strip, but there’s enough tape provided if you prefer to add a second.
Once aligned perfectly, use masking tape to prevent any shifting during the final glue down. Peel off the tape backing strip while pressing down, working your way down to the other side of the vehicle. And that concludes the installation!
Conclusion
Since fitting this, I’ve taken the vehicle on a highway run and can confirm the wiper arms remain steady even at speeds over 85mph. Visibility isn’t compromised, and it’s easy to forget it’s there. Plus, I really admire the aesthetic it brings to the car, neatly concealing the majority of the wiper arms from a frontal view.
The nozzle spray performs just as well as those from the hood. In fact, the relocation actually tidies up the engine bay once you remove the OEM hoses for the hood spray nozzles.
One of the most exciting advancements in automotive accessories over the past year has been the introduction of cabin filters for our beloved Roadsters. Thanks to the wonders of 3D printing, finding a solution for this long-awaited upgrade has become a breeze.
Enter the Garage HRS Filter: a beautifully designed 3D-printed product that not only looks the part straight out of the box but also feels impressively good.
Installation Process
Now, let’s dive into the installation process. Prepare your toolbox with essentials like a Phillips screwdriver, masking tape, and a 12mm socket and ratchet. Additionally, having a pry tool on hand will prove invaluable.
Pro tip: Use a piece of masking tape to mark the glass where the wiper blades rest to ensure they’re aligned upon reinstallation.
Removing the wiper arms involves removing the rubber cap and loosening the 12mm nut before gently pulling the arm upwards. Be prepared to apply some force, especially if it’s the first time the arm has been removed.
Next, the wiper cowl, held in place by six screws hidden beneath plastic cap covers. Carefully pry these covers off using a scalpel or small flat-head screwdriver, exercising caution to avoid damaging the plastic.
Finally, the rain/water diverter panel, secured with five screws and three plastic clips.
Pay special attention to the clips on the firewall, ensuring you pry the inner piece first before rotating it off like a regular screw.
A clip/pry tool will come in handy for the third clip.
With those hurdles cleared, it’s time to address the AC air intake. For NB Roadsters like mine, the existing metal mesh offers limited protection against debris entering the AC blower, making a cabin filter a welcomed addition.
Take advantage of this opportunity to give the area a thorough clean, promoting fresher air circulation within the cabin.
While the Garage HRS Filter boasts impressive design, one flaw surfaced during installation: a less-than-secure fit within the rectangular intake. My simple yet effective solution involved adding a 1/16th-inch weather seal tape to the filter housing’s inner edge.
This minor adjustment significantly enhanced the housing’s stability and sealing, resulting in a snugger fit and improved performance. Curious to replicate this solution? Here’s a link to the weather seal tape. https://a.co/d/iOWnzlu
So far, my experience with the filter has been nothing short of delightful. Not a hint of strong odors from the outside world has infiltrated my sanctuary on wheels.
In conclusion, installing a cabin filter in our Roadsters not only enhances air quality but also adds a touch of innovation to our driving experience. Here’s to many more miles of fresh, exhilarating adventures ahead!
Today, I’ll be reviewing the Autoexe Evolution Wipers and showing you how to make them work on a left hand drive Miata !
These wipers are designed for RHD vehicles but with some minor modifications they can be adjusted.
The trick is to pop out the J hook anchor and reinstall it in the opposite direction. When flipped, you’ll notice interference with a small bolt that secures the aero fin.
A small section in the plastic needs to be cut to clear the small bolt. Cut enough to clear the head of the bolt as shown below.
Once the cut has been made, install in the opposite direction and check its not binding. It should rotate freely. Below you can see the small bolt that we needed clearance for.
Here you can see the changes. The modified LHD version is up top and the original RHD at the bottom.
Lastly, install to your wiper arm like any ordinary wiper.
Performance wise, they excelled in clearing water without any streaks. I’ve had them for a few months and they still perform flawlessly. The aero fin does a good job of reducing vibrations of the wiper at high speeds.
They haven’t been tested on snow or ice but I’m positive they will perform just as great.
There is an ancient proverb that says: “Loud Pipes Save Lives”. This is particularly true when your car looks invisible to most truck drivers. I’ve always had Miatas with aftermarket exhausts and never liked them to be ultra loud. In my NA, I was rocking the RS*R Invidia Exhaust (which had a slightly louder tone than stock, but with a much sportier sound). In my NB, I had the RS Factory Stage N-Zero2 Exhaust which was pretty silent until you hit full throttle. Those were some nice “feeling” mods as you could hear the engine as you pushed it.
When I first got my ND, I sometimes had difficulty hearing the engine because it was so quiet. Mazda did an awesome job at making the car SUPER silent. By good job, I mean, you can literally run the car without its muffler and it does not sound *that* bad (try it when you change your exhaust, you’ll see). The stock catalytic converters and mufflers coming from the mid-pipe make the exhaust noise almost impossible to hear (this is also why they include a sound enhancer, otherwise you really can’t hear the engine).
I had the choice of a variety of awesome exhaust setups, but I decided to go with the least expensive and probably most “extreme” exhaust we sell. I went for the Fujimura Gentle Sound Muffler. Ironically, it does not sound gentle at all. It sounds mean and awesome. Don’t worry, there are video clips later in this post.
So, here’s my complete review:
Installation:
Installation couldn’t be easier. The stock exhaust is held by 2 bolts and 4 exhaust hangers.
Just remove the 2 bolts and then play with the hangers to get the exhaust out. Do this when the exhaust is cold… otherwise you might hurt yourself. I suggest doing this with someone else, as, otherwise the exhaust may fall on your face or on the ground while you’re trying to remove it.
After that, just take 1 of the OEM exhaust hangers and put them on the Fujimura exhaust. The exhaust is so light (3.3KG) that it only needs to have one mounting point.
Voilà, your exhaust is installed!
If it takes you more than half an hour to do this, you probably should not work on cars. It’s that easy to install.
Looks:
The Fujimura Gentle Sound Exhaust is pretty subtle. It’s a single-tip exhaust that has a slightly angled shape to make it as direct as possible. When the exhaust is not installed, you can basically see right through. The muffler and tip is polished for a neat look.
As with any shiny part that’s just a few inches from the ground, it gets dirty. At some point, if you are as careless as me, the finish becomes more silver than polished. It can be brought back to its original glory, but I didn’t get round to it yet.
Still, could we say that after a while it’s less of a “cop-magnet”?…. Maybe.
There is also a fancier version of this exhaust: the Fujimura Limited Edition Exhaust with a beautiful titanium tip. I didn’t want to go too fancy for once and took the regular one.
Noise:
This is the important part, isn’t it? The Fujimura Gentle Sound Exhaust is made to give the car a deep and sporty sound. The president of Fujimura Auto tests various muffler setups until he finds the perfect tone. In addition, he created (possibly) the lightest exhaust setup available for the ND Miata.
When you start your car (going from stock exhaust), the first thing that enters everyone’s head is, “Oh my…”. It *sounds* really loud at first. The reason is simple: the stock exhaust is VERY silent. When driving, you’re like, “this is going to be annoying”. But after a while, you really enjoy it. I have to say, you really get used to the super quiet OEM exhaust. When I had both my NB and ND, if I went from my ND to my NB it felt like it was ULTRA loud. However, compared to other sports cars, it was just normal. When I went to Miatas At The Gap and saw tons of NAs, NBs and NCs, I understood that my ND was not even close to loud compared to other muffler setups. Still, everyone (and I mean everyone) loved the sound of the ND with the Fujimura muffler. It does not sound like a cheap racing exhaust; there’s absolutely no raspiness, which I love.
I took quite a long ride with it. I did over 5000 miles of driving through the USA and the exhaust never annoyed me. At full throttle, it has a sporty tone. When going slow, it has a deep drone. When driving on the highway with cruise control, it’s silent. I’m not kidding — you can’t hear it at all, it’s pretty amazing. From cruise control, when you decelerate or accelerate, then you can hear it. And that’s pretty nice, because as I said, “Loud Pipes Save Lives”. On many occasions during my road trip, I needed to let other cars on the road know I existed, otherwise they would have bumped me. That exhaust gets you noticed when you need it.
I’ve heard other ND muffler setups, but they didn’t impress me much. I like to hear my car when I drive, so I can actually “feel” it. The stock ND really lacks that feature. Now, it just feels like I’m connected to the vehicle.
Alright, enough talk, let’s hear it!
Start + Drive
Coming Back + Down Shifting
Passing Through (Windy… sorry!)
Acceleration
Revving + Slow Launch
Launch
Acceleration
A lot of videos, but I still don’t think they show the real awesomeness of the noise. I used my Nikon Camera and it was quite windy. Sometimes I was too close, which altered the sound a bit.
Here are 2 more videos to show you the noise:
During Dyno :
Inside Video (Deal’s Gap) :
Overall, I’m super satisfied with the Fujimura Gentle Sound Muffler. It’s an awesome sounding piece that helped me avoid a few highway incidents. Some people might think it’s too loud, and I have to say that it’s not for everybody. However, everyone who followed me (as well as me following my very own car) enjoyed the beautiful tone of this muffler.
You’ve lowered your ND Roadster and now you’re wondering why the headlights are pointing towards the ground? That’s because they need to be adjusted. To do so, you need to buy a Headlight Levelizer Adjustment Rod (available either from Cusco or RS*R). If you want to know how it works, read this blog post. Don’t worry, installation is SUPER easy!
First, you need to remove your rear left wheel to find the OEM headlight leveling sensor:
Second, you need to remove both 10mm nuts that are holding the levelized in place:
Tip : If the nuts don’t want to loosen, use a wrench and hold the area behind the nut steady as shown in these pictures:
Lastly, replace the OEM levelizer with your Cusco or RS*R one and you’re done!
Installation time : around 30 minutes by a Mazda dealer or ~1 hour by a regular person Installation difficulty : easy Special tools needed : steering wheel puller tool (recommended)
The fourth generation Roadster comes with a steering wheel that many don’t like due to a very easy to scratch leather and not-so-thick grip. Many Japanese companies such as Autoexe, KenStyle and DAMD have released some awesome aftermarket options that will suit the needs of any enthusiast.
We came up with these step-by-step installation instructions that are specific to changing the steering wheel of a ND MX-5 Miata (2016+) for an aftermarket one (these instructions show the beautiful KenStyle Steering Wheel).
First of all, disconnect the battery NEGATIVE lead and then press the brake until no light comes from the rear lights (means there is no power in the vehicle anymore).
Before starting steering wheel removal, remove the SRS Airbag and Horn fuse:
Check in the three service holes in order to locate and remove the airbag lock. The lock should be approx.1 to 2 cm inside the hole:
After undoing the airbag lock, be careful as the airbag will jettison slightly off the wheel:
After pulling the airbag back, undo the switch and then remove the connectors for the horn and airbag:
Remove the steering wheel, it is held in place with a 21mm nut. It’s hard to remove without the use of a steering wheel removal tool (puller):
Transplant the audio controls, cruise control (not shown in this picture), plastic pieces and airbag brackets and harnesses as necessary from the OEM to the aftermarket wheel:
(KenStyle Steering Wheel shown on the right)
Complete by following steps 6 through 2 in reverse:
Installation time : around 2 hours plus any necessary adjustment Installation difficulty : intermediate Special tools needed : power tools (highly recommended), 10mm/14mm/17mm wrenches Notes : Please note that you will need to have an alignment done after the suspension install to make sure your tires use evenly. It is not required to do it RIGHT after, but recommended as soon as you can.
The 2016 MX-5 has quite a bit of wheel gap due to safety regulations and low profile tires. Many people will run it as-is, but a lot of us will want a different look. Changing tires & wheels will definitely improve your car’s look, but without a lowered suspension, it will look goofy (see my coilover review). I wanted to have a more comfortable ride as well as 100% adjustable height, that is why I choose the Cusco Street Zero Coilover System. We also offer PLENTY of other coilover systems as well as springs for the 2016+ ND Miata!
I did not take pictures of the first steps as they are not necessary, but I’ll still explain them. We did not have access to a lift, so we used regular jack to do the whole job.
NEVER forget to set your handbrake when you are doing the suspension work, you wouldn’t want the car to roll down.
We first started by removing the whole trunk interior. It’s super easy, you just need to remove the plastic clips (we used our nails to do it). Spot them and remove the trunk liner. No need to remove the plastic part with the trunk light completely, just remove the plastic clips from it. Then, you’ll see a polished aluminum plate on the driver’s side (left hand drive vehicles), unbolt all the bolts (10mm) holding it remove the polished plate as it’s hiding the suspension top hat.
Then, you need to remove the top hat bolts 17mm (2 per suspension), the driver side is a bit more tricky, but overall it’s quite easy to remove. Keep the nuts as you’ll reuse them when installing your coilovers.
Passenger side (17mm x 2)
Driver side (17mm x 2)
Then, you will need to raise your car with a jack. We used our jack with a point in the middle of the car (near the differential) so we could raise both wheels at the same time. You don’t need to raise the car real high, as long as the wheels don’t touch the floor anymore. Next step; remove your rear wheels!
Once the wheels are removed, you’ll see your suspension assembly and the brakes. You need to remove the bolt at the bottom of the suspension (14mm). We suggest using power tools for this one as it’s pretty hard to remove.
Once this bolt is removed, just pull down the suspension arms, the suspension will move from its top mounting point and you just need to move it from the way, so that it won’t be attached to the car anymore. Do the inverse using your coilover system and bolt back everything firmly (please note that torque specs are usually included in your suspension instructions).
You can put back your rear wheels and check the ride height!
I am not going to go into adjusting your suspension ride height, but best is to install all 4 coilovers, measure your height from factory settings when all 4 wheels are installed and then you re-adjust to your preference.
So, no need to play with suspension adjustment now yet, let’s do the front suspension!
You can now lower the car to the ground. First, let’s open the hood and remove the bolts from the top hats. There are 3 of them per suspension and they are 17mm.
-If you have Mazda OEM Front Strut Bar, it’s a little more difficult to work on, but it is NOT necessary to remove the front strut bar! It’s made so you have access to all bolts using a wrench.
-If you have the intake sound enhancer, we recommend removing it as it’s in the way for the driver side suspension bolts.
Please note that the 3rd bolt is hidden in this picture, it’s right under the strut bar.
So, once your nuts are removed, let’s do the hard part. Since you can’t really jack both wheels at the same time, the front takes a little more time as you need to jack each side.
Jack one side of the car, remove the wheel and remove the same bottom bolt as you did for the suspension.
As there is less room to play with the front suspension, you need to remove 2 extra bolts so that you have enough room to move the arms and move the suspension out of the way. If it’s not enough, you might need to disconnect the front sway bar (1 bolt, not pictured, sorry!).
Then, it’s reverse engineering time, you just need to put back your coilover suspension system and bolt everything tightly.
Put back the wheels and check out your ride height. Measure how lower or higher you want to go and adjust your suspension accordingly! I suggest to drive a few miles and test the suspension (sharp turns) before modifying the factory settings as the suspension might “settle” a bit and make the car a bit lower than after the fresh install.
Another quick post about some small details that makes my 2016 ND Demo Car (The Project REV9 Clubman) a more unique build. I’ve wanted to change my “MX-5” emblem for a “Roadster” emblem, but also add a nice classy touch to my exterior, so I’ve got myself the REV9 Black Chrome Emblems.
Here are some before shots:
The OEM emblems all have pins that leave holes in the bumper if you remove them. You gotta take your time with a heatgun when removing OEM emblems. You end up with some holes in your bumper and lot of glue to remove. Total installation time was less than 1 hour.
Also, when removing the emblems, we broke most of the OEM pins. They are very fragile. That’s why the Black Chrome Emblemsare nice to have since they are brand new and re-use OEM pins (REV9 on the left, OEM with broken pins on the right).
As you can see, the finish of the black chrome is very subtle (left), but has a nice deep and elegant tone:
Once cleaned, I recommend fixing scratches that the emblems might have caused during removal using a touch-up paint.
Then, you just need to remove the self-adhesive behind the REV9 Black Chrome Emblems and install them using the existing holes left on your bumper. They all match up, so it’s super easy to install. Here is the final result:
Pretty glad I did the change, it’s very subtle but real nice touch to the look of the car.
You can follow our build on this blog using this link.
It’s not the most interesting post about my 2016 ND Demo Car Build (The Project REV9 Clubman), but I thought some would like to see what the TUCKIN99 Short Antenna looks like and how it’s installed on the 4th generation MX-5.
First of all, I’m not even going to make an installation instruction post about this one as it literally takes less than 30 seconds to install. You just unscrew your long “toy car” antenna and then screw in the short antenna by TUCKIN99.
The new MX-5 comes with some pretty light and cool fabric seats, but I’ve always been a fan of leather. I was not a fan of the price Mazda charged for the top of the line model, though. When Autowear came with these awesome Seat Covers, I knew I wanted to run these in my shop car.
First, you have these OEM seats to start with:
Then, you have the Autowear Seat Covers:
(My seats are more wrinkled than usual. They stayed in my trunk for a long whole and I DO NOT RECOMMEND keeping them folded for a while as wrinkle may show).
I myself started with the bottom, but you can start with the top, it does not really matter:
You just need to take the top portion of that cover and bring it in between the reclining part of the seat. There is a Velcro and you just need to stick it as far as possible underneath your seat.
Then, you press the seat cover under the plastic parts of your seat so it integrates very nicely in your car. Autowear suggests to use a spatula to make it fit under the plastic.
Now, you just need to remove the seatbelt guide (2 bolts) from the top part of the seat:
Then, you will just need to slip the cover over the existing seat. It’s not so easy as it’s very tight. Take your time and “massage” the seat to make it fit tight and nice.
Finally, all you need to do is to take the bottom part of the top cover and slip it in the middle of the reclining part of the seat and connect the front and back Velcro as tightly as possible:
Massage, massage and massage the seat. Sit on it, look at it and just enjoy!
