Category Archives: ND Miata & Roadsters

Carbing ND MX-5 Demo Car at TAS2016

Carbing has been developing products for the Miata since it was released in Japan. They pride themselves as selling some of the most rigid chassis stiffening products on the market that are used by many very competitive Japanese tuners.

As you can see, even though the new Roadster is super light, they reduced the weight even more by making holes in the hood.

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One thing that really caught my eye when they showed me the car was the new ND Titanium 3 Point Strut Tower Bar. This actually was a request that we (REV9) did when we saw that they had a ND Demo Car. They say it’s still in development/prototype stage, but we may see it on the market soon! We also saw that they installed their ND Oil Catch Tank.

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It’s hard to see well on pictures, but the car was running the new concave Rays Gram Lights 57Transcend and they also showed their ND 6 Point Roll Cage. They say it’s safe for racing and rollovers and pride themselves that the bar will actually save you because it’s also behind the windshield (which is a weak area of the car).

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Lately, they showed us their new ND Underchassis Bracing which is really promising! Even though they try to keep everything at the lowest possible weight, these pieces are all made of steel because they can take more abuse from a lowered car!

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Hope you enjoyed this little showcase of the Carbing ND Shop Car at Tokyo Auto Salon! If you are interested in any of the parts shown, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@rev9autosport.com !

Cabana BRG ND Miata Shop Car at TAS2016

Cabana is a very new brand in the tuning scene. They have not been left unnoticed with their British Racing Green ND MX-5. They actually are a company that makes boxers. That makes them very good at sewing products and that is why they have released many leather interior parts for the ND Roadster.

Their demo car was mostly noticed because of their BRG exterior color and tan interior that reminded everyone the 1991 NA V-Special special edition!

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The car was running on BBS Wheels and had some chrome accents to remind of old school British sports cars!

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They really wanted us to pay attention to their interior, though! They made some ND Seat Covers in a beautiful Tan (Real) Leather! All the black plastic parts were also covered with a matching tan leather (100% custom work).

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They had a very nice ND Wood & Carbon Steering Wheel that really makes the bridge between new and old school! The silver accents of the steering wheel were chromed for an even more old school look. You can also see their ND Wood Ventilation Covers on the picture!

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To go with the theme of the 1991 V-Special, they also made a ND Wood & Carbon Shift Knob (that has a very similar shape to the Nardi Evolution Wood Shift Knob), but with a more modern look. They also had a nice ND Wood & Carbon Handbrake as well as a ND Wood Shifter Panel!

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To be sure the interior was 100% matching, they finalized it with a ND Wood Door/Window Switch Panel!

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While walking around their booth, I also had a sneak peak of their ND Punched Leather & Carbon Fiber Steering Wheel that sure adds a sporty & luxury look to the 4th generation MX-5 interior! I also saw some ND Seat Covers in black leather as unfinished prototype.

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Hope you enjoyed this little showcase of the Cabana ND Shop Car at Tokyo Auto Salon! If you are interested in any of the parts shown, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@rev9autosport.com !

KUHL Racing ND MX-5 Shop Car at TAS2016

KUHL Racing may sound new to many Roadster enthusiasts, but the company has been around for a while. They won Tokyo Auto Salon 2014’s best car of the show with their awesome hand-painted/engraved Nissan R35 GT-R. Now, they came back with a pretty aggressive Miata body kit! I have to apologise for the dark pictures, but the car was under a big neon spot, there was a huge crowd and taking good pictures was next to impossible.

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The car has a nice ND Front Bumper that is made out of Carbon Fiber and FRP (integrated Front Diffuser). It sure is a huge change to the OEM Front Bumper we usually see!

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They also released some ND Side Skirts, that are a mix of FRP and Carbon Fiber. It also follows the lines from the Front Diffuser and looks pretty aggressive.

 

 

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The rear of the vehicle was also modified! They released a Miata version of their Swan Neck GT Wing as well as a ND Rear Diffuser and ND Dual-Tip Middle Exhaust System that is made out of titanium and sound awesome!

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The interior changes were very subtle but also very nice. They put Bride (Edirb ; Luxury division) Leather Seats as well as their original ND Checkered Floor Mats. They told us that they would be willing to make a Left Hand Drive version of these floor mats!

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One thing that not many noticed, but that I did see instantly was the ND Custom Headlights. They were SO nice looking and unique, it was art. Unfortunately, they are 100% custom and cost around USD$2000 + OEM Headlights to do… not everyone will be willing to do it.

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Hope you enjoyed this little showcase of the KUHL Racing ND Shop Car at Tokyo Auto Salon! If you are interested in any of the parts shown, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@rev9autosport.com !

DAMD ND MX-5 Shop Car At TAS2016

DAMD has been always active in the Mazda and Miata scene, but they had been somewhat low profile in the last years. Only connoisseurs know about this brand who has released quite a lot of very nice and top quality aftermarket parts for decades. Now, they are back with a super nice ND MX-5 Shop Car!

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The car has a nice ND Front Lip that is made out of Carbon Fiber with a beautiful red pin stripe on it. It adds an aggressive look to the front end of the car for sure!

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They also released some ND Side Skirts, also in Carbon Fiber with a neat red pin stripe to follow their color scheme. It is a very simple design that improves the silhouette of the vehicle for sure.

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The rear of the vehicle was not left untouched! They released a subtle and elegant ND Rear Spoiler as well as a ND Rear Diffuser and prototype ND Quad-Tip Exhaust System! They all are very beautiful parts that will look great on any 2016+ Roadster!

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The exhaust system is still not sure to be released. They might go with regular 2 tip, it is to be confirmed in the future.

As per DAMD’s tuning menu, the interior was also modified. They did a really CLEAN job matching Mazdaspeed OEM Alcantara pieces with their ND Quilted Seat Covers. It is the first time we saw a seat cover that would keep the “hole” inside the headrest.

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As per our demands, they also released a ND Steering Wheel that will please most people. It has a mix of perforated leather, plain leather and a beautiful red stripe to know the position of the steering wheel while racing.

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They also showed us a prototype ND OBD2 Steering Wheel which replicates what we can see in highly priced BMW M Vehicles. We tested it and it has SO many features, it was just incredible:

-Speed

-RPM (with LED lights from green to red)

-Oil/Water Temp

-Etc.

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Price was about the double of a regular steering wheel.

Hope you enjoyed this little showcase of the DAMD ND Shop Car at Tokyo Auto Salon! If you are interested in any of the parts shown, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@rev9autosport.com !

Garage Vary ND Miata Demo Car at TAS2016

Garage Vary did a comeback at Tokyo Auto Salon for 2016 and really hasn’t got unnoticed. Many said it was the best ND MX-5 shown in the whole show.

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They introduced us to their new ND Glide Front Lip with integrated Canards (shown in Carbon Fiber & FRP here):

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They told us that there was a big difference in term of downforce when running this specific front lip!

They also released their new ND Aero Hood with a nice middle heat extracting ventilation. Not only it saves weight, but it’s functional and looks AWESOME!

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Another product they added to their lineup is the ND Front Wide Fender. Unfortunately, they couldn’t tell us exactly how many millimetres it adds in term of clearance, we can all agree that it looks superb by itself.

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It also has a really wide vent for increased aerodynamics on the vehicle. It follows the lines of the vehicle very nicely and keep the side turn signal at its OEM place.
The rear of the car has not been left stock either. They added a very wide (and wild) ND Rear Diffuser that allows running a dual exhaust setup (or OEM exhaust) and also improves down force. It is combined to their new original ND Rear Bumper.

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They also brought their prototype ND Low Spoiler which is still undecided to be released. They told us that they just made it for the show and that its benefits are still to be proven during racing!

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Hope you enjoyed this little showcase of the Garage Vary ND Shop Car at Tokyo Auto Salon! If you are interested in any of the parts shown, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@rev9autosport.com !

First 2016+ MX-5 ND Hardtop Released in Japan!

It’s a pleasure to announce that one of our cooperating shops (Murakami Motors) recently released the first ever Miata ND Hard Top. It’s made out of dry carbon fiber (prototype version) and we don’t have details yet if it’s going to be available in FRP (fiberglass). It uses a soft top glass window as the back window.

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So far, we know that the shape of it helps with having enough clearance for a racing helmet.

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Here are some pictures of the hardtop on other companies’ shop cars:

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(Cusco Japan)

UPDATE (03/24/2016) : The hardtop is supposed to be production-ready around April-May 2016. Price is supposed to be around ~$4500 + shipping (need to confirm material and if hardware is included).

UPDATE (03/31/2016) : Here are some additional details:
-The hardtop going for production is made of DRY Carbon Fiber (honeycomb structure) and weights 3.8kg!
-It is an item intended for circuit racing
-Soft top can be kept when hardtop is installed, but additional weight saved when removed
-A less expensive FRP (Fiberglass) version is being planned for the future

You can contact us at info@rev9autosport.com if you’d like to preorder it.

TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny Kit for 2016+ ND MX-5

Seems like we’ve just received a leaked image of the Rocket Bunny 6666 Kit for the 2016+ ND Miata, made by the legendary TRA Kyoto. We can see that the design shifted a bit from their previous kits and they have some pretty awesome vented fenders and reuses the OEM Front Bumper which is pretty awesome by itself.

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Wheels shown on the car are beautiful Rays TE37v (probably in 18″) that are 9.5″ wide with (minus) -15 offset! Now that totally makes an already aggressive car looks much more mean.

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If you’re interested in ordering this full kit, just check out this page : TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny ND Aero Kit.

Garage Vary ND Emblem Intake Shows Power Gains!

It’s not just for looks!

The cutout in the 2016 MX-5 bumper right behind the emblem with an air funnel will feed air to the air intake and provide more power to the ND Roadster!

“When you look at the exterior, it’s a very natural, hard to notice part” says Garage Vary CEO.

After development, Integral Kobe checked gains from the duct design.

By using ventilation simulating the Miata traveling at about 40 to 50 km/h, they noticed gains of about 2.5 PS (~2.45 HP) and a small .4kg/m (~0.26ft/lb) torque increase. That’s on a vehicle equipped with Jet’s N-Zero Muffler for ND.

There is an effect on the power of the car. At higher speed, there also could be higher gains. It’s a functional part that does not require any engine modification. The small difference could be big on a circuit race with limited modifications allowed.

Price is going to be around $299. You can contact us at info@rev9autosport.com for more details about this part.

Garage Vary also says that there is something for the NC in the pipeline, should be similar in concept to this.

Black Chrome Emblems for the 2016+ ND Miata

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:

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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.

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Also, when removing the emblems, we broke most of the OEM pins. They are very fragile. That’s why the Black Chrome Emblems are nice to have since they are brand new and re-use OEM pins (REV9 on the left, OEM with broken pins on the right).

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As you can see, the finish of the black chrome is very subtle (left), but has a nice deep and elegant tone:

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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:

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Pretty glad I did the change, it’s very subtle but real nice touch to the look of the car.

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You can follow our build on this blog using this link.