Mazda Talk Forums

Indeed it appears to be removable hardtop...and might fit ND Miata, we had to make different rear deck mounts so same top we offer from DG would fit ND and Fiat.

Interesting to see nose off the Fiat. With turbo/supercharger added to our ND Miata projects we have chased cooling issues, makes us VERY curious to see how Fiat works with the same space. Unlike 1 grille for ND, the Fiat has 2 grilles and both are functional, lower grille feeds cool air on direct path to intercooler, upper grille with big baffled funnel feeds cool air for radiator. Stock Fiat radiator twice as thick as stock ND radiator too!

Official Weight Check...Replacement Bits are about 23 pounds.

Hi Brian, thanks for the great photo,.. a picture is worth a thousand words.

Do you have a weight for the stock intercooler bits?

And will you be carrying the OFT for the spider when it's released?

Got a chance today to weigh up the stock bits removed from car.

Yes, will be offering OFT tune when available.

More EC Intercooler Pics.

Very nice kit, big end tanks, big connections, big silicon tubes.

Stock tubes are a total mess of tight bends by comparison....well done EC.

Now that competitors are releasing downpipes, folks asking why we have not done it. We had our first highflow cat prototype over a year ago in testing on our Fiat 124, made several more, and was just not happy with results of any 3 or 4 inch diameter core. Below is one hand made 4 inch core example from last year with heat shield attached, spec is much like competitors are releasing as a 'finished' item except we were adding a heat shield we feel is really necessary in the tight space. We could sell same as the other guys are selling...except I want our product to exceed expectations, not just sell something that works 'okay.' A year of testing has taught us a lot with the downpipe....including that we really want to stuff a 5 inch diameter core in the space if we can for best flow, longevity, less chance of codes, reasonable sound control....much like we have done with our new ND Miata MaxMidpipe 5 inch 200 CPI converter....which took over a year to get right and now is acknowledged as best engineered midpipe available for ND.
We have also learned that a real heat shield is required....ceramic coating is just not enough in the tight space. Those other guys selling a ceramic coated 3 or 4 inch converter will have unhappy customers when lifespan for nearby water lines is cut short....eventually they will bake hard and crack, leak, etc. I give the coating 2 years max effective life in that space, we killed one of the better known brand of coatings in that tight space in a single track weekend...just baked it too much.

Challenges to getting a 5 inch diameter downpipe core to fit include that you cannot fit ANY off-the-self 5 inch converter in the space. So ...we went direct to a converter core maker, put our Fiat 124 on their lift, laser scanned the space, and designed in CAD software a CUSTOM fabricated 5 inch diameter 200 CPI core from scratch to fit the space. Nobody else will bother to put in this much effort.... but it is the right way to get it done for MAX flow, the right fit, and max longevity.

Perhaps we call it MaxDownPipe? Our custom designed and fabricated 5 inch diameter downpipe will easily outflow any 3 or 4 inch diameter core the other guys are releasing and yet have much higher chance of not tossing codes, and will last much longer, particularly in motorsports use....and be THE CHOICE for anyone going with stuffed turbo or bigger turbo upgrades.

Ultimately....I might do like the Abarth Rally 124 and move the converter further down the system. Having the turbo blowing direct into the converter is good for emissions of a mildly driven street car but terrible for every other performance metric. The further down the system we push the converter the more life it will have, and the less back pressure (faster spool). Watch the night starts of the Fiat 124 rally and notice the tailpipe glows the moment they rev the motor to start the stage...because the 'green' rules of the series now require a converter be retained so they literally run it as the muffler at the back of the car where it will run cooler and have the least impact on turbo spool. That's not practical for street cars but what could be easily accomplished is putting the converter under the car in the midpipe location where the ND Miata normally has a converter and the Fiat version of same chassis still has the big space that is lined with thermal reflecting material for placement of the cat in the Miata version of this car. We would need to make an extension cord for the second O2 sensor...but that's easily done. The only thing holding me back from doing that now is many customers are SCCA racing, we want to use this car for SCCA events, and the SCCA rules require the converter move no more than a few inches from stock location.

Streets of Willow Springs Raceway Today.

Dropped another second...1.4 liters of Fiat Fury now into 1.25s here. Credit EC Intercooler Upgrade...and our OFT Tablet Reflash for more consistent power.

During the 'Family Feud' shootout with Grassroots MotorSports Magazine the Fiat was fast yet frustrating, because first lap was needed to warm the tires...and then you had laps 2 and 3 to hit your marks or the power fell off so seriously with heat soak that the opportunity was gone. Today our best was only 1 second faster...yet that doesn't tell the whole story, the car was MUCH more consistent. Last session of my day today the ambient was 80F and best lap...was lap 7 because, though there was still some drop off in power, the car was consistent enough to allow the driver to get back to working with lines and throttle tip in points.

At this point, this Fiat needs two things: BIGGER TURBO....and AERO. Too much time lost to corner speeds without aero to help stick the car, and too much time lost on the straights with the little turbo not able to really deliver the torque the rest of the car is ready to handle.

Post event check of the car finds that I destroyed the front brake rotors. Had our big 12.88 brakes on this car for the Grassroots MotorSports shootout but pulled those from the Fiat so we could do some testing of 16x9 Storms. Didn't get that done but still had stock diameter brakes on the Fiat for this event and they are just not near enough, I found myself braking early, with much less confidence in the brakes, and still toasted them. Will be back with our 12.88 big brakes on the car again....and plan to see the Fiat 124 turn a 1:24 lap...soon!

Good news on the OFT REFLASH....no codes, just good steady power for entire event.

Thanks for such great pics Brian. It's nice to see the guts of the car, and also appreciate that Fiat engineers spent time getting the airflow right. I especially appreciate the big radiator. When my Miata radiator died some years ago I got a the smaller Koyo instead of the typical replacement, so I appreciate a hefty cooling system.
best regards
Pete

First testing today with 5 inch body 200 CPI converter...and I am in love. A year of testing various converter choices and finally confirmed the direction we want to go. Does not raise the sound level as much as 4 inch diameter choice, which might disappoint some of you, but flows FAR BETTER, will last far longer, and serve us MUCH better when it comes time for turbo upgrade, etc. Our reflash is working perfect with it, slight AFR adjustment within what we hoped to see. It is a VERY tight fit...yet the really trick part is we found a way to do it in a manner that recycles the factory converter heat shield. The factory heat shield is a VERY effective hydroformed heat shield, far more effective than micro thin ceramic coating....and looking under your hood we see a totally factory appearance. Nonetheless, sorry to report this item will start NON-CARB and that means not for sale or shipment to any California address. Down the road my hope is super trick next generation octagonal cell cores will let us make a CARB version....all the flow and CA legal too!