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Fresh Whiteline parts back in the place of the stock rusted pieces. Due to the Bilstein damper, only the more stiff hole could be used on the bar. We were going to go that route no matter what, but something to be aware of. The job was slightly more difficult than the rear due to having to remove the access panels and then figuring out how the heck to get the sway bar out. Once you think through that puzzle, it’s really one of the easier and more fun modications we’ve made to the car.Be sure to note how you removed the original bar, because you’ll need to use the same technique to install the Whiteline roll bar back in place. We used the classic MotoIQ tip of wrapping the bars in Teflon tape in the areas it rotates within the mounting bushings, as we have had years of service without squeaking from previous experience in doing this. Once the bar was back in place, installing the lock collars was a breeze and pretty important in keeping the sway bar from moving side to side. We had noticed there was a decent amount of left to right wear due to the roll bar sliding within its mounts. To be noted, with our Bilstein shock/spring assembly, only the more stiff position on the front sway bar could be used with the adjustable end links. We don’t foresee this being an issue if we switch to coilovers, as this will provide more clearance. Additionally, with how bad roll is currently on the Miata, we were going to go full stiff regardless. In the rear, the problem is similar with the standard end links. They only really work in one position, which makes me think that adjustable end links would be quite important to use.
First impressions when driving on the street were all positive. The car was more eager to turn in and felt more “sporty” when cruising the back roads. No increase in noise, vibration or harshness was noted. For a street mod, I’d highly recommend the kit, but the most important test for us would be our benchmark track, Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, MI. You may recall we went to the opening track day of 2016, complete with snow. Now we would be going to the last track day of the year, a beautiful fall day. Not as many track days as I’d hoped the Miata would be used for, but a great way to spend time with friend and a fellow driver, Ian Girvan.
Unfortunately, the before and after comparison wasn’t as fair as I’d like. A switch was made from our beautiful all-season tires to custom aged, well used Dunlop Star Specs leftover from a daily driver Civic Wagovan. The good news is that 6 year old Dunlops had only slightly more grip than 4 year old all-seasons, but there was a difference, so lap time data isn’t perfectly comparable.
Back to our favorite track, Gingerman Raceway. Home to Gridlife’s Midwest Festival, it is fast becoming one of the most important time attack tracks in North America. Other than the Whiteline sways, we also added some classic Motegi wheels along with equally classic (old) Dunlop Star Spec tires. Keeping with the budget nature of this build, these parts were free in exchange for a car related favor.
The body roll is still there, but it is improved. Considering that the tires did increase cornering grip, we were happy with the result and balance. I’m sure with the old all seasons, the car would have had much less roll.
Through turn 11 you can really see my friend Ian putting some hurting on the tires, yet the body roll is still very managable. The car is really turning into what I hoped it would be. A perfect track training car. It put up with dozens of laps without the coolant temperature rising above the point it normaly sits at, a testament to the Koyo radiator. The brakes performed flawlessly as well, no fade, no excessive wear and no complaints, despite being driven by both Ian and me for hours on end.What did we learn? The Whiteline sways definitely give the car a more balanced feel. While the Miata will never have power on oversteer, it will rotate nicely into a corner if thrown in with enough vigor. With such minimal power on tap, understeer was not an issue because the speed you entered the turn was as fast as you were going to go. If you applied power, the front would just track nicely until you straighten out the wheel. We happened to find out a little secret about the Miata. The car was 2 seconds faster with the top up rather than the top down. This was very repeatable and nice to learn on a brisk fall day. We suspect aerodynamics were coming into play, but due to my terrible memory and last second rushing, our fancy 10hz GPS unit was left behind and only a spotty internal cell phone GPS could be used. The lap times were accurate, but maximum and minimum speeds were sketchy and unreliable.
