At the 2019 Super Lap Battle, the NC HAMR was still rocking the stock 60mm throttle body with plastic intake manifold. Lots of OEM looking hoses going to it… The fuel rail is stock feeding Injector Dynamics 2000cc injectors.
This is a clean way to route the power cable through the bulkhead.
There’s a ton of awesomeness going on here. A stiff chassis is good for going fast, so there’s a beefy chassis brace spanning the transmission tunnel. Some PTP lava wrap is used on the exhaust to prevent toasting anything around it. But onto that big shiny thing in the middle, the HGT sequential transmission.
To get the HGT transmission to mount up to the engine, a bell housing from the NC automatic transmission was used with a custom adapter plate. Hidden underneath all that is an ACT extreme pressure plate and 6-puck disc. In the name of quick and easy maintenance, that red fitting looks to be a Staubli dry break fitting. Just disconnect and no worries about losing any fluid which also means no worries about topping off and bleeding fluid when putting the transmission back in. Peeking down at the downpipe, you can just see where the flow from the Tial wastegate is recirculated back into the exhaust.
A custom transmission mount holds everything up. When the car is on track, there’s custom flat bodywork attached, but it was removed when these photos were taken.
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Fun minor point that is easy to overlook – ABS module visible in some of the underhood shots is another parts bin raid. There’s a type of RX-8 ABS module that works without ECU interface and doesn’t have ice mode – it was also done in Pirelli World Challenge NC MX-5s too.
Really do like this build; I feel like people underestimate the NC
With NA & NB’s price being where they are and where they’re headed, and NC just being an objectively faster car, I think people won’t be sleeping on them for much longer.
Thanks for posting this! I saw this car also and had been hoping someone would do an article!!! great build.
slight correction, Goodwin doesn’t make hardtop, he prolly just bought it from Goodwin, but its most likely a DG Motorsports hardtop
I love it, even if I don’t like the look of the NC, this is such a no-nonsense build, lots of easy to source factory parts, lots of ease of maintenance thought put into it.
I have no clue about the MZR swap though, unless he had one laying around or was intimately familiar with that engine. I know it’s related to the duratec/ecoboost so it’s probably a good platform.
A full cage linked up to the front strut towers and a diffuser are probably the only things I would add. Maybe move the radiator to the back if it helps the corner weighting.
MZR/Duratec (same family) is the same family that came in the NC, so it’s relatively trivial to swap – akin to putting a K24 in place of a K20. If I recall correctly, this build evolved from using the OEM transmission. IMO they’re pretty under-rated – they don’t have the evolution of the K series Hondas but they have a lot more potential than people think.
Ah, if it bolts in without much fab it makes sense. Still, when you are putting down 700hp “how hard is it to find X part when it breaks” becomes important.
I’m still shopping scrapyard BPs for my NA mostly because they drop in and the aftermarket is great not because they are better engines.
Aftermarket isn’t as big, but the 2.3 and 2.5L variants were used in everything – there’s millions in junkyards, the production numbers were huge and relatively recent. And the aftermarket does have the necessary stuff covered – cams, rods, pistons and stuff.
700hp means a built engine, but you can do a 400hp stock 2.5 and thats an easy and cheap replacement that can be had for under $500 with low miles.
Great build! Isn’t that mazdaspeed crank one of those without a keyway? Did they machine keyways for all components?
you can use the crank out of the 2.3 ecoboost which is keyway’d.
No OEM Duratec/MZR offers a keyed crank. Many companies offer relatively inexpensive keying services and can also remove the balance shaft drive gear if equipped.
The 2.3L ecoboost crank is great bang for the buck as it’s forged and allows more revs than a 2.5L crank- 94mm strove vs 100mm. They go for $375 new from Ford.
HGT Precision now have a proper bellhouse for the MZR/Duratec engines for their Sequential Gearboxes doing away with the need for adaptor plates.
These cars are underrated. I built a 2012 NC with Ohlins coilovers and a GT3071R turbo for the street. Very lively! With maybe 300 WHP it ran 60-100 MPH in 5.5 seconds.