Thoughts On Airblade Engine Mod

[jbob]

Hey Everyone

I was speaking to someone who just modded his 2007 Airblade with a 130cc engine and found out it only costs 3500 baht to do it.

On trips with friends and with someone on the back the acceleration right now is causing me to be left behind and I can use the extra speed.

What I am not sure about is whether the extra HP will cause any unexpected side-effects or if the tuning will cancel out any of the effects or if you need to get it re-tuned.

Also if anyone knows a good place in Chiang Mai to get it done that will be helpful thanks

Appreciate any thoughts

Edited December 26, 2009 by jbob

[neverdie]

Theres alot of people running around these days modifying their autos & increasing the engines bore/up sized piston etc. Depending on how the job is done and by who you may find that you significantly decrease the engines life & if its not done correctly you may have problems with overheating or reliability. Having said that, it can be done also without these problems.

If it were me, I would be doing my homework very carefully about this unless you want to find yourself replacing the bike in the coming months because this one is screwed.

[jackcorbett]

I'd trade bikes and forget about modifying the engine. The Mazda Miata sports car is considered to be the most reliable car in Mazda's entire lineup. It's been offered since 1990 and throughout all those years it's undergone constant improvement and today I'd have to rate it as the finest all around sports car you can buy. I've had two of them, the latest being a Special edition 2002 with 143 horsepower and a six speed overdrive transmission. I think the latest model develops 170 horses. My first Miata was a 1992 model and I wound up putting practically 150,000 miles on it before getting the 2002 model when its transmission failed me. Miata transmissions simply don't fail and hardly anything else does either.

I had souped the car up. After all it only had 116 horsepower and a 1600 c.c. engine (the new ones are 2000 cc's). First improvement was an aftermarket exhaust that reputedly would add 5 extra ponies. Then I put a nifty air intake device on it that was being sold by Jackson Racing. The idea was to bring cool air into the engine and it supposedly gave the Miata an extra 12 to 15 horsepower. That made perfectly good sense to me because I knew from experience that tractors pulled better in the field at night when the air got cooler. But I just had to go a couple of steps better. I had a Sebring supercharger put on it. But in order to handle the extra horsepower I had to have larger wheels and tires put on the car also. The effect on my Miata's performance was incandescent. The little four cylinder engine now behaved like a V-8. Whereas before I could idle around town comfortably at 40 miles an hour in fifty gear I could now do it at 30 miles an hour. Before I could top out at about 118 miles an hour at something like 6000 rpm's. Now the car would do precisely 139 miles an hour and then the rev limiter would kick in which would immediately starve the engine of fuel. It was like hitting a brick wall and who knows how fast that Miata would go if it never had the rev limiter. But it was doing over 7200 rpm's in fifth at that 139 miles an hour.

I blew not one, but three engines because of that supercharger. The first time was at 139 miles an hour. My theory is that Mazda never designed the Miata to do 7200 rpms for extended periods of time. Sure, when you go through the gears you are going to hit 7200 rpm's for a second or two but then you are going to shift to a higher gear thus reducing your rpms. But if you are accelerating say from 100 miles an hour to 139 it's going to take quite a few seconds to do it and that puts a huge strain on the engine. From then on I'd never do more than 120 with the car but I still blew two more engines. I wound up having a nice header put on and had the supercharger taken off. The car became very reliable again taking me clear across the U.S. several times with no mishaps. And then the transmission completely failed me and I got the new Miata.

There is no question that Mazda designed that transmission to handle only 116 horsepower plus a few extra ponies to provide a safety margin. Now I was expecting it to handle 180 to 190 horsepower and not only that, unlike most turbochargers a supercharger provides a lot more torque at lower rpm levels.

An Air Blade is a very nice machine as is. If you needed more horsepower you should never have gotten it in the first place. Same same for my Yamaha Nouvo Elegance. It offers excellent acceleration for me with my girlfriend riding behind me at all speeds I'm willing to go in or around Pattaya. If I wanted more power I wouldn't hesitate and I'd get the Kawasaki ER6n.

[LivinLOS]

The 130 hop up is not extreme.. People are commonly hopping them up with 170cc and I have even seen a 300cc mod for autos, so its only a little extra stress compared to those kind of kits.

The issue of heat is there but IMO not much, more at issue is stressing the CVT bands and auto box.. For a 130 hop up you wouldnt need to really worry about big end crank bearings blowing but you would when your doing much larger hop ups.

My brother put a 14? cc kit onto a wave 125.. It ran solidly and without any additional service issues for the few years he used it and when sold.. All it did was boost power by a noticeable margin, no problems at all..

So I would say a 130 is not a big worry for engine but may push your gearbox servicing up.. With any non standard mod your operating outside of the design remit so it needs to be examined and thought through. You could probably get a similar HP boost with a pipe and jetting (assuming its not the FI model).

Alternatively just get a Spark 135 (X1R) if you need a bit of a boost, cheaper, more solid, better brakes, faster.. Just no storage which annoys me !!

[jbob]

pipe and jetting kits sound interesting, how much to they cost here?

[b19bry]

I'd trade bikes and forget about modifying the engine. The Mazda Miata sports car is considered to be the most reliable car in Mazda's entire lineup. It's been offered since 1990 and throughout all those years it's undergone constant improvement and today I'd have to rate it as the finest all around sports car you can buy. I've had two of them, the latest being a Special edition 2002 with 143 horsepower and a six speed overdrive transmission. I think the latest model develops 170 horses. My first Miata was a 1992 model and I wound up putting practically 150,000 miles on it before getting the 2002 model when its transmission failed me. Miata transmissions simply don't fail and hardly anything else does either.

I had souped the car up. After all it only had 116 horsepower and a 1600 c.c. engine (the new ones are 2000 cc's). First improvement was an aftermarket exhaust that reputedly would add 5 extra ponies. Then I put a nifty air intake device on it that was being sold by Jackson Racing. The idea was to bring cool air into the engine and it supposedly gave the Miata an extra 12 to 15 horsepower. That made perfectly good sense to me because I knew from experience that tractors pulled better in the field at night when the air got cooler. But I just had to go a couple of steps better. I had a Sebring supercharger put on it. But in order to handle the extra horsepower I had to have larger wheels and tires put on the car also. The effect on my Miata's performance was incandescent. The little four cylinder engine now behaved like a V-8. Whereas before I could idle around town comfortably at 40 miles an hour in fifty gear I could now do it at 30 miles an hour. Before I could top out at about 118 miles an hour at something like 6000 rpm's. Now the car would do precisely 139 miles an hour and then the rev limiter would kick in which would immediately starve the engine of fuel. It was like hitting a brick wall and who knows how fast that Miata would go if it never had the rev limiter. But it was doing over 7200 rpm's in fifth at that 139 miles an hour.

I blew not one, but three engines because of that supercharger. The first time was at 139 miles an hour. My theory is that Mazda never designed the Miata to do 7200 rpms for extended periods of time. Sure, when you go through the gears you are going to hit 7200 rpm's for a second or two but then you are going to shift to a higher gear thus reducing your rpms. But if you are accelerating say from 100 miles an hour to 139 it's going to take quite a few seconds to do it and that puts a huge strain on the engine. From then on I'd never do more than 120 with the car but I still blew two more engines. I wound up having a nice header put on and had the supercharger taken off. The car became very reliable again taking me clear across the U.S. several times with no mishaps. And then the transmission completely failed me and I got the new Miata.

There is no question that Mazda designed that transmission to handle only 116 horsepower plus a few extra ponies to provide a safety margin. Now I was expecting it to handle 180 to 190 horsepower and not only that, unlike most turbochargers a supercharger provides a lot more torque at lower rpm levels.

An Air Blade is a very nice machine as is. If you needed more horsepower you should never have gotten it in the first place. Same same for my Yamaha Nouvo Elegance. It offers excellent acceleration for me with my girlfriend riding behind me at all speeds I'm willing to go in or around Pattaya. If I wanted more power I wouldn't hesitate and I'd get the Kawasaki ER6n.

Alternatively you could have got yourself (for the money you spent on the Miata plus mods) a Honda S2000 which produces 240hp in standard trim, is probably the best all round sports car for the money, and blows the socks off any Miata with 100% reliability to boot !

[LivinLOS]

Yeah the idea that the MX5 / Miata is some pinnacle of driver car is a bit of a joke..

In the UK its considered a hairdressers car. Nice for the wife but...

S2000 nice little roadster and still under boxster / 911 money.

[jackcorbett]

Yeah the idea that the MX5 / Miata is some pinnacle of driver car is a bit of a joke..

In the UK its considered a hairdressers car. Nice for the wife but...

S2000 nice little roadster and still under boxster / 911 money.

The hair dresser's car

I think a lot of people over there are not "switched on." My whole point was to show it think it's a mistake to soop up an Air Blade by using my Miata experiences as an example. When I bought my 2002 Special edition I got it in the 6 speed overdrive transmission feeling it would run forever. At cars.com I'm coming up with a suggested retail price for brand new 2010 Mazda Miatas of $22648 and for the Honda S2000 $35705. So for those who want to pay nearly double the price they can talk all they want about hair dressers and women driving Miatas. Truth is the S2000 is not a real man's car. Sure it is going to go fast. It might even do well at the top light but one has to be content with carrying one's purse in the luggage compartment. Here's a little reading for you. Start with Forbes Magazine which likes the "much cheaper Miata but doesn't particularly care for the Honda. Forbes U.S. News ranks the Miata as number one out of 5 "affordable sports cars" U.S. News Here's what Car Connection Car Connectionhas to say about the S2000,

"The 2009 Honda S2000 is one of the least practical mass-production cars on the planet. There's almost no interior or trunk storage, the cockpit's more cramped than the coach seats on a Boeing 757, and it's priced above $30,000. It is a classic roadster sportscar with rear-wheel drive, a ragtop to open on sunny days, a six-speed manual transmission, and a rev-happy four-cylinder engine."

Car and Driver has this to say.

• 
  Lows
  Wind it up or there isn't much power, tiring cabin noise, starting to feel old. Car and Driver.
  

Here's what Edmunds has to say about the Miata: Edmunds "Although not as stylish or powerful as General Motors' roadster twins, the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata is still unequaled when it comes to overall driving enjoyment and refinement."

Lastly----I routinely drove 1000 miles non stop with my Miatas. Example---I'd drive 1100 miles from St. Louis to Connecticut, Philadelphia, New York etc to do photo shoots at East Coast night clubs. My trunk held my full size suitcase plus a large camera bag chock full of heavy cameras, flashes, two tripods with umbrellas and other equipment or I'd travel most of the way to Las Vegas in the other direction to attend conventions, once again with all my gear. Now, the S2000 might be fine for chest thumpers wanting to tool around on a little island such as England playing boy racer and stoplight king where the driving distances are very short but it's not a car for a thinking type of guy who wants a a very competent reliable sports car he can actually go out and drive in a variety of circumstances while enjoying every minute of it. The S2000 is more of a dick substitute than real driver's car.

Edited December 29, 2009 by jackcorbett

[b19bry]

think a lot of people over there are not "switched on." My whole point was to show it think it's a mistake to soop up an Air Blade by using my Miata experiences as an example. When I bought my 2002 Special edition I got it in the 6 speed overdrive transmission feeling it would run forever. At cars.com I'm coming up with a suggested retail price for brand new 2010 Mazda Miatas of $22648 and for the Honda S2000 $35705. So for those who want to pay nearly double the price they can talk all they want about hair dressers and women driving Miatas.

I actually agree with your point and was suggesting you're better off spending that little extra to get what you want initially. Once you've paid for all the mods and replacement parts you'll need the price differential is not that great.

Now, the S2000 might be fine for chest thumpers wanting to tool around on a little island such as England playing boy racer and stoplight king where the driving distances are very short but it's not a car for a thinking type of guy who wants a a very competent reliable sports car he can actually go out and drive in a variety of circumstances while enjoying every minute of it. The S2000 is more of a dick substitute than real driver's car.

555

Mmm.......the S2000 was voted best sportcar for a number of years in Top Gear polls and since when was luggage space a major attribute in a sports car ? Actually it's not a stoplight king as it's main weakness is a lack of torque. but get the engine singing all the way to 9k and it's a sublime drive that any biker would appreciate, the best drivers car I ever owned and I've had some seriously nice cars.

Edited December 29, 2009 by b19bry

[jackcorbett]

think a lot of people over there are not "switched on." My whole point was to show it think it's a mistake to soop up an Air Blade by using my Miata experiences as an example. When I bought my 2002 Special edition I got it in the 6 speed overdrive transmission feeling it would run forever. At cars.com I'm coming up with a suggested retail price for brand new 2010 Mazda Miatas of $22648 and for the Honda S2000 $35705. So for those who want to pay nearly double the price they can talk all they want about hair dressers and women driving Miatas.

I actually agree with your point and was suggesting you're better off spending that little extra to get what you want initially. Once you've paid for all the mods and replacement parts you'll need the price differential is not that great.

Now, the S2000 might be fine for chest thumpers wanting to tool around on a little island such as England playing boy racer and stoplight king where the driving distances are very short but it's not a car for a thinking type of guy who wants a a very competent reliable sports car he can actually go out and drive in a variety of circumstances while enjoying every minute of it. The S2000 is more of a dick substitute than real driver's car.

555

Mmm.......the S2000 was voted best sportcar for a number of years in Top Gear polls and since when was luggage space a major attribute in a sports car ? Actually it's not a stoplight king as it's main weakness is a lack of torque. but get the engine singing all the way to 9k and it's a sublime drive that any biker would appreciate, the best drivers car I ever owned and I've had some seriously nice cars.

Point made. I was referring to those who'd call a Miata a hair dresser's car. I might make the point about Skydiving. Skydiving is not a very practical means of getting to point A or B. But it is an extremely exhilarating sport, guaranteed to get the adrenaline going. No car or motorcycle can begin to thrill like Skydiving but if I had to come as close as possible I might pick a Ferrari. But the price of one is beyond reason for most of us. To expand on the skydiving-Ferrari example if one has the money and wants to spend it on the S2000 because of the sound of the engine, he liked the sound of the engine, he likes its performance on a twisty road, all the power to him. It's a fine sports car for what it is. However, if you check the internet for reviews on the Miata and the @2000 you will find the Miata wins hands down in terms of price, in terms of being a fun car to drive, in terms of reliability, and in terms of being an everyday car you can drive while carrying a significant amount of luggage. And short of a race car nothing handles better than a Miata. There are sports cars that will handle as good, but none better. I can honestly say that if someone were to give me a sports car and I had to be responsible for its upkeep, paying for gas, etc and I could not resell it, I'd take the Miata over the Honda, a Mercedes or a Porsche any day. As much as I like German engineering the German cars are much more problem prone and costly to maintain. (But I think I'd better get back on subject in future posts).

Edited December 29, 2009 by jackcorbett

[b19bry]

Point made. I was referring to those who'd call a Miata a hair dresser's car. I might make the point about Skydiving. Skydiving is not a very practical means of getting to point A or B. But it is an extremely exhilarating sport, guaranteed to get the adrenaline going. No car or motorcycle can begin to thrill like Skydiving but if I had to come as close as possible I might pick a Ferrari. But the price of one is beyond reason for most of us. To expand on the skydiving-Ferrari example if one has the money and wants to spend it on the S2000 because of the sound of the engine, he liked the sound of the engine, he likes its performance on a twisty road, all the power to him. It's a fine sports car for what it is. However, if you check the internet for reviews on the Miata and the @2000 you will find the Miata wins hands down in terms of price, in terms of being a fun car to drive, in terms of reliability, and in terms of being an everyday car you can drive while carrying a significant amount of luggage. And short of a race car nothing handles better than a Miata. There are sports cars that will handle as good, but none better. I can honestly say that if someone were to give me a sports car and I had to be responsible for its upkeep, paying for gas, etc and I could not resell it, I'd take the Miata over the Honda, a Mercedes or a Porsche any day. As much as I like German engineering the German cars are much more problem prone and costly to maintain. (But I think I'd better get back on subject in future posts).

I don't need to check the internet, I have first hand experience of both cars. You obviously loved your Miata's and nothing wrong with that, however I couldn't disagree more when you assert it's the better handling and more of a drivers car.

[jackcorbett]

Point made. I was referring to those who'd call a Miata a hair dresser's car. I might make the point about Skydiving. Skydiving is not a very practical means of getting to point A or B. But it is an extremely exhilarating sport, guaranteed to get the adrenaline going. No car or motorcycle can begin to thrill like Skydiving but if I had to come as close as possible I might pick a Ferrari. But the price of one is beyond reason for most of us. To expand on the skydiving-Ferrari example if one has the money and wants to spend it on the S2000 because of the sound of the engine, he liked the sound of the engine, he likes its performance on a twisty road, all the power to him. It's a fine sports car for what it is. However, if you check the internet for reviews on the Miata and the @2000 you will find the Miata wins hands down in terms of price, in terms of being a fun car to drive, in terms of reliability, and in terms of being an everyday car you can drive while carrying a significant amount of luggage. And short of a race car nothing handles better than a Miata. There are sports cars that will handle as good, but none better. I can honestly say that if someone were to give me a sports car and I had to be responsible for its upkeep, paying for gas, etc and I could not resell it, I'd take the Miata over the Honda, a Mercedes or a Porsche any day. As much as I like German engineering the German cars are much more problem prone and costly to maintain. (But I think I'd better get back on subject in future posts).

I don't need to check the internet, I have first hand experience of both cars. You obviously loved your Miata's and nothing wrong with that, however I couldn't disagree more when you assert it's the better handling and more of a drivers car.

You misread me I said nothing handles better than a Miata and was very clear that some (although very few) sports cars handle as well. I also allowed that the S2000 is an enthusiasts car. But there's no question that the Miata will carry a lot more (luggage) and for this reason alone is more practical. It is also far cheaper. And more fun to drive for most people due to many factors including its ability to get the power it does have at lower rpms.

Edited December 29, 2009 by jackcorbett

[b19bry]

You misread me I said nothing handles better than a Miata

I didn't misread that, I just disagreed. I believe S2000 is overall a better handling, harder edged and more entertaining car to drive for those who enjoy a 'driver's' car. It's also significantly quicker without being that much more expensive once you've factored in the tuning mods and replacement parts for broken engines, gearboxes, hassle etc, which was the original point.

I don't really care which is more practical, (but yes that'd be the Miata) to me that's less important than 'fun factor' in a sports car.

You still reckon it's the Miata that's ahead..........fine we'll have to agree to disagree.

Edited December 29, 2009 by b19bry

[jbeck]

Yeah the idea that the MX5 / Miata is some pinnacle of driver car is a bit of a joke..

In the UK its considered a hairdressers car. Nice for the wife but...

S2000 nice little roadster and still under boxster / 911 money.

The hair dresser's car

I think a lot of people over there are not "switched on." My whole point was to show it think it's a mistake to soop up an Air Blade by using my Miata experiences as an example. When I bought my 2002 Special edition I got it in the 6 speed overdrive transmission feeling it would run forever. At cars.com I'm coming up with a suggested retail price for brand new 2010 Mazda Miatas of $22648 and for the Honda S2000 $35705. So for those who want to pay nearly double the price they can talk all they want about hair dressers and women driving Miatas. Truth is the S2000 is not a real man's car. Sure it is going to go fast. It might even do well at the top light but one has to be content with carrying one's purse in the luggage compartment. Here's a little reading for you. Start with Forbes Magazine which likes the "much cheaper Miata but doesn't particularly care for the Honda. Forbes U.S. News ranks the Miata as number one out of 5 "affordable sports cars" U.S. News Here's what Car Connection Car Connectionhas to say about the S2000,

"The 2009 Honda S2000 is one of the least practical mass-production cars on the planet. There's almost no interior or trunk storage, the cockpit's more cramped than the coach seats on a Boeing 757, and it's priced above $30,000. It is a classic roadster sportscar with rear-wheel drive, a ragtop to open on sunny days, a six-speed manual transmission, and a rev-happy four-cylinder engine."

Car and Driver has this to say.

• 
  Lows
  Wind it up or there isn't much power, tiring cabin noise, starting to feel old. Car and Driver.
  

Here's what Edmunds has to say about the Miata: Edmunds "Although not as stylish or powerful as General Motors' roadster twins, the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata is still unequaled when it comes to overall driving enjoyment and refinement."

Lastly----I routinely drove 1000 miles non stop with my Miatas. Example---I'd drive 1100 miles from St. Louis to Connecticut, Philadelphia, New York etc to do photo shoots at East Coast night clubs. My trunk held my full size suitcase plus a large camera bag chock full of heavy cameras, flashes, two tripods with umbrellas and other equipment or I'd travel most of the way to Las Vegas in the other direction to attend conventions, once again with all my gear. Now, the S2000 might be fine for chest thumpers wanting to tool around on a little island such as England playing boy racer and stoplight king where the driving distances are very short but it's not a car for a thinking type of guy who wants a a very competent reliable sports car he can actually go out and drive in a variety of circumstances while enjoying every minute of it. The S2000 is more of a dick substitute than real driver's car.

My airblade has a different cylinder, piston, valves, CDI, carb, cam, and exhaust.

A matched kit.

IT'S GREAT!

Your comparison is out of context.

Depending on what people like and want, it's not a mistake.

[jbeck]

Point made. I was referring to those who'd call a Miata a hair dresser's car. I might make the point about Skydiving. Skydiving is not a very practical means of getting to point A or B. But it is an extremely exhilarating sport, guaranteed to get the adrenaline going. No car or motorcycle can begin to thrill like Skydiving but if I had to come as close as possible I might pick a Ferrari. But the price of one is beyond reason for most of us. To expand on the skydiving-Ferrari example if one has the money and wants to spend it on the S2000 because of the sound of the engine, he liked the sound of the engine, he likes its performance on a twisty road, all the power to him. It's a fine sports car for what it is. However, if you check the internet for reviews on the Miata and the @2000 you will find the Miata wins hands down in terms of price, in terms of being a fun car to drive, in terms of reliability, and in terms of being an everyday car you can drive while carrying a significant amount of luggage. And short of a race car nothing handles better than a Miata. There are sports cars that will handle as good, but none better. I can honestly say that if someone were to give me a sports car and I had to be responsible for its upkeep, paying for gas, etc and I could not resell it, I'd take the Miata over the Honda, a Mercedes or a Porsche any day. As much as I like German engineering the German cars are much more problem prone and costly to maintain. (But I think I'd better get back on subject in future posts).

I don't need to check the internet, I have first hand experience of both cars. You obviously loved your Miata's and nothing wrong with that, however I couldn't disagree more when you assert it's the better handling and more of a drivers car.

You misread me I said nothing handles better than a Miata and was very clear that some (although very few) sports cars handle as well. I also allowed that the S2000 is an enthusiasts car. But there's no question that the Miata will carry a lot more (luggage) and for this reason alone is more practical. It is also far cheaper. And more fun to drive for most people due to many factors including its ability to get the power it does have at lower rpms.

Hey this is a bike forum....

[jackcorbett]

Yeah the idea that the MX5 / Miata is some pinnacle of driver car is a bit of a joke..

In the UK its considered a hairdressers car. Nice for the wife but...

S2000 nice little roadster and still under boxster / 911 money.

The hair dresser's car

I think a lot of people over there are not "switched on." My whole point was to show it think it's a mistake to soop up an Air Blade by using my Miata experiences as an example. When I bought my 2002 Special edition I got it in the 6 speed overdrive transmission feeling it would run forever. At cars.com I'm coming up with a suggested retail price for brand new 2010 Mazda Miatas of $22648 and for the Honda S2000 $35705. So for those who want to pay nearly double the price they can talk all they want about hair dressers and women driving Miatas. Truth is the S2000 is not a real man's car. Sure it is going to go fast. It might even do well at the top light but one has to be content with carrying one's purse in the luggage compartment. Here's a little reading for you. Start with Forbes Magazine which likes the "much cheaper Miata but doesn't particularly care for the Honda. Forbes U.S. News ranks the Miata as number one out of 5 "affordable sports cars" U.S. News Here's what Car Connection Car Connectionhas to say about the S2000,

"The 2009 Honda S2000 is one of the least practical mass-production cars on the planet. There's almost no interior or trunk storage, the cockpit's more cramped than the coach seats on a Boeing 757, and it's priced above $30,000. It is a classic roadster sportscar with rear-wheel drive, a ragtop to open on sunny days, a six-speed manual transmission, and a rev-happy four-cylinder engine."

Car and Driver has this to say.

• 
  Lows
  Wind it up or there isn't much power, tiring cabin noise, starting to feel old. Car and Driver.
  

Here's what Edmunds has to say about the Miata: Edmunds "Although not as stylish or powerful as General Motors' roadster twins, the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata is still unequaled when it comes to overall driving enjoyment and refinement."

Lastly----I routinely drove 1000 miles non stop with my Miatas. Example---I'd drive 1100 miles from St. Louis to Connecticut, Philadelphia, New York etc to do photo shoots at East Coast night clubs. My trunk held my full size suitcase plus a large camera bag chock full of heavy cameras, flashes, two tripods with umbrellas and other equipment or I'd travel most of the way to Las Vegas in the other direction to attend conventions, once again with all my gear. Now, the S2000 might be fine for chest thumpers wanting to tool around on a little island such as England playing boy racer and stoplight king where the driving distances are very short but it's not a car for a thinking type of guy who wants a a very competent reliable sports car he can actually go out and drive in a variety of circumstances while enjoying every minute of it. The S2000 is more of a dick substitute than real driver's car.

My airblade has a different cylinder, piston, valves, CDI, carb, cam, and exhaust.

A matched kit.

IT'S GREAT!

Your comparison is out of context.

Depending on what people like and want, it's not a mistake.

So what did you do to your Air Blade? I see nothing in this thread that indicates what kind of modifications you have made. "It is great." How so?

[jbeck]

Yeah the idea that the MX5 / Miata is some pinnacle of driver car is a bit of a joke..

In the UK its considered a hairdressers car. Nice for the wife but...

S2000 nice little roadster and still under boxster / 911 money.

The hair dresser's car

I think a lot of people over there are not "switched on." My whole point was to show it think it's a mistake to soop up an Air Blade by using my Miata experiences as an example. When I bought my 2002 Special edition I got it in the 6 speed overdrive transmission feeling it would run forever. At cars.com I'm coming up with a suggested retail price for brand new 2010 Mazda Miatas of $22648 and for the Honda S2000 $35705. So for those who want to pay nearly double the price they can talk all they want about hair dressers and women driving Miatas. Truth is the S2000 is not a real man's car. Sure it is going to go fast. It might even do well at the top light but one has to be content with carrying one's purse in the luggage compartment. Here's a little reading for you. Start with Forbes Magazine which likes the "much cheaper Miata but doesn't particularly care for the Honda. Forbes U.S. News ranks the Miata as number one out of 5 "affordable sports cars" U.S. News Here's what Car Connection Car Connectionhas to say about the S2000,

"The 2009 Honda S2000 is one of the least practical mass-production cars on the planet. There's almost no interior or trunk storage, the cockpit's more cramped than the coach seats on a Boeing 757, and it's priced above $30,000. It is a classic roadster sportscar with rear-wheel drive, a ragtop to open on sunny days, a six-speed manual transmission, and a rev-happy four-cylinder engine."

Car and Driver has this to say.

• 
  Lows
  Wind it up or there isn't much power, tiring cabin noise, starting to feel old. Car and Driver.
  

Here's what Edmunds has to say about the Miata: Edmunds "Although not as stylish or powerful as General Motors' roadster twins, the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata is still unequaled when it comes to overall driving enjoyment and refinement."

Lastly----I routinely drove 1000 miles non stop with my Miatas. Example---I'd drive 1100 miles from St. Louis to Connecticut, Philadelphia, New York etc to do photo shoots at East Coast night clubs. My trunk held my full size suitcase plus a large camera bag chock full of heavy cameras, flashes, two tripods with umbrellas and other equipment or I'd travel most of the way to Las Vegas in the other direction to attend conventions, once again with all my gear. Now, the S2000 might be fine for chest thumpers wanting to tool around on a little island such as England playing boy racer and stoplight king where the driving distances are very short but it's not a car for a thinking type of guy who wants a a very competent reliable sports car he can actually go out and drive in a variety of circumstances while enjoying every minute of it. The S2000 is more of a dick substitute than real driver's car.

My airblade has a different cylinder, piston, valves, CDI, carb, cam, and exhaust.

A matched kit.

IT'S GREAT!

Your comparison is out of context.

Depending on what people like and want, it's not a mistake.

So what did you do to your Air Blade? I see nothing in this thread that indicates what kind of modifications you have made. "It is great." How so?

if you read my post, you'd see the mods listed clearly above! The original post is what matters. He is the one seeking help and advice, so I've PM'd him directly. I've addressed your post only to let him know buying an airblade is not a mistake as you say, and that this is a bike forum. My use of the forum is clearly not the same as yours. That's okay, but who wants to read about "your opinions about" a miata in a bike forum?

[jbeck]

I'd trade bikes and forget about modifying the engine. The Mazda Miata sports car is considered to be the most reliable car in Mazda's entire lineup. It's been offered since 1990 and throughout all those years it's undergone constant improvement and today I'd have to rate it as the finest all around sports car you can buy. I've had two of them, the latest being a Special edition 2002 with 143 horsepower and a six speed overdrive transmission. I think the latest model develops 170 horses. My first Miata was a 1992 model and I wound up putting practically 150,000 miles on it before getting the 2002 model when its transmission failed me. Miata transmissions simply don't fail and hardly anything else does either.

I had souped the car up. After all it only had 116 horsepower and a 1600 c.c. engine (the new ones are 2000 cc's). First improvement was an aftermarket exhaust that reputedly would add 5 extra ponies. Then I put a nifty air intake device on it that was being sold by Jackson Racing. The idea was to bring cool air into the engine and it supposedly gave the Miata an extra 12 to 15 horsepower. That made perfectly good sense to me because I knew from experience that tractors pulled better in the field at night when the air got cooler. But I just had to go a couple of steps better. I had a Sebring supercharger put on it. But in order to handle the extra horsepower I had to have larger wheels and tires put on the car also. The effect on my Miata's performance was incandescent. The little four cylinder engine now behaved like a V-8. Whereas before I could idle around town comfortably at 40 miles an hour in fifty gear I could now do it at 30 miles an hour. Before I could top out at about 118 miles an hour at something like 6000 rpm's. Now the car would do precisely 139 miles an hour and then the rev limiter would kick in which would immediately starve the engine of fuel. It was like hitting a brick wall and who knows how fast that Miata would go if it never had the rev limiter. But it was doing over 7200 rpm's in fifth at that 139 miles an hour.

I blew not one, but three engines because of that supercharger. The first time was at 139 miles an hour. My theory is that Mazda never designed the Miata to do 7200 rpms for extended periods of time. Sure, when you go through the gears you are going to hit 7200 rpm's for a second or two but then you are going to shift to a higher gear thus reducing your rpms. But if you are accelerating say from 100 miles an hour to 139 it's going to take quite a few seconds to do it and that puts a huge strain on the engine. From then on I'd never do more than 120 with the car but I still blew two more engines. I wound up having a nice header put on and had the supercharger taken off. The car became very reliable again taking me clear across the U.S. several times with no mishaps. And then the transmission completely failed me and I got the new Miata.

There is no question that Mazda designed that transmission to handle only 116 horsepower plus a few extra ponies to provide a safety margin. Now I was expecting it to handle 180 to 190 horsepower and not only that, unlike most turbochargers a supercharger provides a lot more torque at lower rpm levels.

An Air Blade is a very nice machine as is. If you needed more horsepower you should never have gotten it in the first place. Same same for my Yamaha Nouvo Elegance. It offers excellent acceleration for me with my girlfriend riding behind me at all speeds I'm willing to go in or around Pattaya. If I wanted more power I wouldn't hesitate and I'd get the Kawasaki ER6n.

Sorry I have to be honest here...You blew up three engines but your telling this guy HE made a mistake? I find this amusing. YOU would get a ER6n, how does that help the guy asking the question? There's no comparison other than they both have 2 wheels. The Kawasaki is not a scooter and costs about ten times the price.

[LivinLOS]

Well that seemed to hit a nerve..

All I said was that in the UK thats how they are considered.. I used to drive one (a buddys, late teens) and they do handle OK.. Personally preferred the handling of a old fiat X19 dog I had before (mid engine allowed better drifts) but quickly graduated to better motors.

But its not just me.. Earlier thread.. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Mazda-Miata-...ar-t260574.html

Anyway this is the bikes forum

[jackcorbett]

Sorry I have to be honest here...You blew up three engines but your telling this guy HE made a mistake? I find this amusing. YOU would get a ER6n, how does that help the guy asking the question? There's no comparison other than they both have 2 wheels. The Kawasaki is not a scooter and costs about ten times the price.

Jeff--Unless I am missing something you provided only the sketchiest information re your engine modifications and although you just stated you pm'd the person asking advice you haven't offered what you can to the conversation here. As for this being a bike forum, I replied in an earlier post ( (But I think I'd better get back on subject in future posts) and LivinLOS just posted "Anyway this is the bikes forum". I think we all realize that but might have gotten caught up with the enthusiasm of the moment.

Now....the reason I got into an extensive description about how I blew three engines on my first Miata is I think it offers some useful information about the kinds of things that can happen if one soups up a motorbike. If you had shared with the rest of us a more extensive description of what you actually did and why along with what performance improvements have resulted, we could continue on with the discussion in a meaningful way. (Perhaps you did in another thread). Are you the guy who put a larger engine in your airblade JBob alluded to? If so you went up to 130 c'cs in a 110 machine. But we don't even know that for sure. You could have stated, "I think I increased my horsepower output to 12 or my torque by an increase of 20 %. This could all help anyone who is thinking about increasing the power of his bike because further discussion would result. I might ask you, for example, "If I increased the horsepower of my Miata 50 % and that resulted in transmission failure, can someone increasing the horsepower of an Air Blade or Nouvo expect to experience belt failure and other related drive train problems? Fact is a much larger machine such as a TMax has two belts, not one so I'm sure the Yamaha engineers figured out a Nouvo belt is not sufficient. But does a Nouvo Elegance use a different belt and other components than the Yamaha Nouvo MX to compensate for the 20 % plus additional horsepower? And how about the Air Blade? What extra margin of stress tolerance is built into its stock components right down to the belt it uses? Does the PCX use different transmission components and belt to accommodate the increased horsepower over the Air Blade? Real world examples such as my Miata example are certainly relevant here because they go much further than such namby pamby replies as "You might decrease your engine life of your bike if you soup it up" to something far more shocking. I blew three engines and caused the early demise of a transmission of a sports car. You might or might not have the same results as I did with a bike but that's up to you."

Edited December 30, 2009 by jackcorbett

[b19bry]

Well that seemed to hit a nerve..

Didn't it just !

[Phil Conners]

Can we get back to the topic. I'd like to know more about upgrading an Air Blade but couldn't care less about a hairdresser car - particularly in a bike forum.

[pete600]

Lastly----I routinely drove 1000 miles non stop with my Miatas.

Must have a big petrol tank

[jackcorbett]

Can we get back to the topic. I'd like to know more about upgrading an Air Blade but couldn't care less about a hairdresser car - particularly in a bike forum.

I entirely agree which is why I just posted a message in a more appropriate thread so those wanting to pursue the "sports cars" discussion can. Miata girlie car thread If we had more information here on where after market performance components and parts can be purchased, what they accomplish....eg...How many more ponies will this give an Air Blade or Nouvo we have more to discuss including reliability issues that are raised when one modifies a stock bike. I'd like to know more about tire size and how it influences the handling and general performance of a given bike and its affect on fuel economy if any.

[jackcorbett]

Lastly----I routinely drove 1000 miles non stop with my Miatas.

Must have a big petrol tank

Are you English?

[davethailand]

Can we get back to the topic. I'd like to know more about upgrading an Air Blade but couldn't care less about a hairdresser car - particularly in a bike forum.

Hear hear.

[tatt2dude]

If you want to get more performance out of an airblade then personally I wouldn't jump straight into a re-bore and piston kit, the quality piston kits do not cost 3500 and someone like Vic Rom's place in BKK will want somewhere near 5000 to bore it out and fit the kit.

If you want performance lighten it. Any standard exhaust manufactured by Honda weighs in excess of 50 kilo's... or feels like when off the bike!

I did a mio which was very fast with no engine work as such other than clutch springs which gave it a faster hit off the line, the Thai guy who worked on it also played with the ignition which made a big difference but I am not sure exactly what he replaced/modified. We added a bigger carb and carved and drilled the airbox for more air flow. The Mio was also de-restricted, again I didn't pay attention as to how and I have no idea if the Airblade is even restricted.

If you want faster then get lighter before you do anything else.... POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO....... exhaust, shocks, wheels etc etc. Amazing saving on weight over standard stuff. Engine work should be your last resort, especially on something you have on the road. Unlikely but insurance and legality can come in to play in the case of an accident.

Also keep all your bits, put the original parts back on when you want to sell it as nothing hits resale value like modifications do.

[tatt2dude]

Just to add: If you do buy any aftermarket parts such as an exhaust system then check it is stamped as road legal. It should have a round emblem embossed in the metal. It is I suppose the equivalent of the TUV stamp in Europe.

A farang with an aftermarket pipe is worth at least 1000 baht to the cops. "Too Noisy!". However when you point at the stamp on the exhaust there is much satisfaction to be gained from watching their face drop. Which is usually short lived unless you have an International Driving License handy.

[LivinLOS]

Theres a tuning shop near my local which is putting wide wheels on clicks and I think airblades..

They also extend the rear swingarm in an oddball looking config and I am guessing the tyres / wheels are KSR ones.. Wide but small..

Not my idea of hot but pretty heavily modded.. Will snap a pic if I see them soon.

[jbeck]

Just to add: If you do buy any aftermarket parts such as an exhaust system then check it is stamped as road legal. It should have a round emblem embossed in the metal. It is I suppose the equivalent of the TUV stamp in Europe.

A farang with an aftermarket pipe is worth at least 1000 baht to the cops. "Too Noisy!". However when you point at the stamp on the exhaust there is much satisfaction to be gained from watching their face drop. Which is usually short lived unless you have an International Driving License handy.

A little more realistically, this is dependent on the province . . .and the cop.

Are you trying to scare the OP?

I don't have any stamp on my aftermarket exhaust and have never had a ticket with my airblade, in 7 months driving in Chiang Mai town..

It is pretty loud, but only when throttle is wide open.

I've even gotten a ticket for no helmet, but no mention about the exhaust.

Aftermarket pipes in Thailand: NMF, Endurance, DBS, have no such " stamped as road legal" -at least I've never seen one.

I have seen stock exhaust muffler outer chrome "covers" welded OVER stainless steel aftermarket exhausts.

A sonic muffler is a good example.

Saving weight (realistically- on a street legal bike) can NOT give you the same performance as a bigger piston, pipe, cam, carb, and CDI.

Other than the pipe, which doesn't weight 50 kilos BTW, there's not much to take off to save weight.

And what if you ride with a passenger? Or you weigh alot?

If you want a faster bike, a pipe alone will mostly only make it louder, really. You need more.

For an airblade/click (same engine) there's a limit to the piston size if you dont want to bore the cases - you can NOT do a 170cc motor by modifying the top end alone. And it wouldn't work without a bigger carb, pipe, and the stock CDI limits the top speed as well.

I hope there's no more posts about that miata!