I'm buying* Canada's cheapest, roadworthy**, 50 mpg*** Mazda Miata MX-5

[Stubby79]

I wonder if you could fit a FWD SOHC B6 head on it? Presumably it would have a more econo grind to the camshaft.

Looks like it will!

http://forum.miata.net/vb/archive/index.php/t-8249.html

[bhazard]

The guy that did the G10 swap is "fujioko". He's on here but hasn't been here in a long time. Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Profile: fujioko

He did a B3 swap from a Festiva on another Miata. The B3 is a de-bored version of the B6 in the Miata, SOHC 8 valve too. All the B series engines share a bell housing bolt pattern.

https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=441727

Festiva guys basically give away B3's.

Looks like he also swapped an RX7 5th gear in. Not sure how much difference.

[MetroMPG]

Looks like my buddy may have been right about the car being a decent price.

This Miata just came up for sale in my neck of the woods:



It's the base model (steelies!), has 100k higher kilometers, is cosmetically rough ("could use a paint job") and is also rusting.

Asking price: $2500.

[MetroMPG]

I pulled out the Miata's rad this afternoon. You may recall that it burst on the last day of my 10 day temporary permit last fall. The plastic top tank split in two places and it barfed coolant all over the engine bay.

Photo shows the Miata's radiator on top.

Below is the radiator from a 1.3L, 100 HP Swift GTi, and its fan. Coincidence that they're exactly the same height and width? Half the area, but I'm considering sticking it in the car to see how it goes.

It's an ecomod: weight savings and faster warm-up!

The only wrinkle is the upper & lower coolant hose diameter on the Swift is slightly smaller than the Mazda. Oh, and I'd need an extension for the upper hose.

[oldtamiyaphile]

It seems with modern cars, the radiator is mostly there for emergency use only.

My Fiat and Renault each have Thermostats that open at 88*C.

Typical engine temps are 78-80*C on a hot day. Hottest I've seen SG report is 88*C.

A radiator fan delete is 100% doable with stop/start- engine off when stopped, as is a downsized radiator.

Who's going to be brave enough to do a radiator delete?

[RoadTripRob]

i Have road tripped mine 60,000km in canada summer and winter. I usually get 7L/100km+ a lot of wind noise even with the hard top. Im selling mine to get something more economical.

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

faster warm-up!

That would be an interesting thing to test with a blockage before pulling the trigger. I'm cringing slightly at the idea.

(Come to think of it, have any EcoModders tried a controllable thermostat?)

Good to see some updates on the Miata!

[MetroMPG]

Good to see outside temperatures occasionally above freezing!

Further thoughts on this:

1) Going with a half-size rad could obviously be a bad idea for any Miata owner who drives the car hard, tracks it, or lives in the mountains. None of those apply to me.

2) I'm also going to delete the A/C, which means removing the condenser (aka the second A/C radiator which sits directly in front of the engine radiator) which will improve airflow to the smaller radiator.

3) All planned ecomods will reduce engine load further below stock, reducing cooling needs even more.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by RoadTripRob

i Have road tripped mine 60,000km in canada summer and winter.

That's dedication! Mine will be a toy, basically. A couple of months of use each year.

Im selling mine to get something more economical.

Irony: the previous owner of mine bought the Miata for the same reason -- he wanted something more economical for commuting (than his Volvo SUV). Proving yet again that "good" fuel economy is relative!

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Good to see outside temperatures occasionally above freezing!

Further thoughts on this:

1) This could obviously be a bad idea for any Miata owner who drives the car hard, tracks it, or lives in the mountains. None of those apply to me.

2) I'm also going to delete the A/C, which means removing the condenser (aka the second A/C radiator which sits directly in front of the engine radiator) which will improve airflow to the smaller radiator.

I got a couple posts mixed up while composing my post -- if you're just going to the half-size radiator and not deleting it entirely, I bet you won't have any trouble.

Is the AC radiator also half the size of the main radiator? I was curious why half of it looked cleaner than the other half.

P.S. The warmer weather has me looking at my bikes a lot more.