Flyin Miata Frame Rails Install! | Reborn Turbo Miata Build #13

Aftermarket Frame Rails are a cheap, easy upgrade you can make to your Miata that make a very noticeable difference in the handling of the car! Grab a friend and spend a couple hours doing this job and the results will immediately show themselves!
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Links To Parts:
Flyin Miata Frame Rails $169 (Stainless Steel and the Lightest of the bunch 6.6lbs each, with the best hardware) - www.flyinmiata.com/fm-frame-r...
Garage Star Frame Rails $150 (Also Stainless steel, heavier than FM's Design 7.3lbs each) -
garagestar.com/blog/product/st...
V8Roadsters Frame Rails $129 (Mild steel and coated, heavier than the other options, but a good price!) - v8roadsters.com/shop/frame-ra...

[@MrHeisenb3rg]

Man looking back these dudes were so ahead of the curve with the solid miata content.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Thanks for the kind words! We'll be back. Other things going on at the moment. The Miata is patiently waiting.

[@craigdetroit]

I've had FM frame rails and a butterfly brace sitting in my garage for 6 months. This video definitely helps!

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

craigdetroit Great! Glad to help! The butterfly brace isnt too much on top of this

[@Criam]

Did you ever install them...?

[@Paintplayer1]

I'm about to put these on this week and I will be referencing this big time. Thanks guys, great video!

[@Paintplayer1]

I put them on, wary of the idea that people might be overstating how much of a difference they made. My rails were really messed up, among other things like seat bolts being seized beyond removal and inaccessible because the passenger seat wouldn't go all the way forward. As a result, the project took me and my buddy about 12 shop hours over 2 days (worked on it on the army base where we work, they have a fully equipped shop with lifts and tools and stuff for Soldiers to use). But driving it off the base, hitting some side roads, I really have to say this was a worthwhile upgrade. Everything feels more responsive and the feeling I get is that the weight transfer is more on the suspension than on a twisting action in the frame now. I'm a novice driver, so I don't have a refined ability to feel things like that, but it's just that noticeable. Thanks again for this video, guys. It helped immensely.

[@heavychevy383]

great walk thru guys, very detailed... thanx!

[@JB243bikes]

Just found the channel, loving the videos! found it by looking up the process so I can do it on my 93 I bought not too long ago. Keep it up!

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

JB243bikes Thanks man! 😀 Many to come!

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Thanks for the great install video!

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Thanks for the great products! Can't believe these held up so well in such a bad accident, you build them too well and customers will only buy them once ;)

[@Gale_Force_Raceway]

Isn't a cross brace part of the kit to tie the frame rails together or is that an optional unit? And if optional. curious about recommendations from you guys, and Keith of FM since it loks like he's here...

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

If FM responds to you, great! If not I'll let you know that what your talking about is their "Butterfly Brace" You can get the rails and the butterfly in a kit, or just the rails separately. The butterfly brace does make a difference and improvement even past just the rails, I've driven a car with both before. Only reason I didn't do that yet is because of the fact that I am rebuilding my whole car and can only afford certain things at a time here, it is likely an upgrade I will make in the future.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

That's pretty much it. The butterfly brace takes this to the next level. Installation effort is pretty similar to what's shown here. We offer either the full butterfly (rails plus center section) or a butterfly upgrade for people who already have our rails.

[@Gale_Force_Raceway]

Understood, and thanks for the unbelievably fast response time there! Been subb'ed, liked! Where r u guys out of anyway? (if I can ask)

[@Dcurleyfry]

I am getting a set of these for Christmas, they seem like a really good mod!

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

+Dcurleyfry They are! You'll enjoy them!

[@OhYeahAboutThat]

I bet those make a nice difference!

[@revmatchtv]

Just discovered you guys on Reddit. Nice how to. Looks pretty straightforward!

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

revmatch Cool man! It is pretty straightforward, just need a drill and simple tools!

[@revmatchtv]

I'm planning on doing more how to videos on my channel since they're useful. You guys have a nice shop! Where are you based?

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

revmatch For sure! We are in the mountains of san diego area, Ramona.

[@revmatchtv]

Oh nice. I'm in LA and so is the shop I shoot in.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

revmatch Sweet, I'll check out your channel when my phones not dead!

[@bagelhunt]

I looked at my frame rails today and thought they were bad, looked up some other peoples cars and I saw it can get way way worse. I'll def. be buying these in the future.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Great! They are my favorite budget mod, make such a difference to the feel of the car.

[@bestvett]

I’m currently looking a Miata and while I look I’ve been watching a bunch of these videos trying to see what I should buy for it and I love the videos but I would like to see some driving after the install and talk about the difference it makes

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Well, too late for the vids you already watched! If you have any questions feel free to ask. I do my best to describe in the vids why your doing it and how it changes the car. These frame rails make a massive difference in the way the car feels and drives, much more stable, solid and predictable.

[@rkelly200]

Great video... my NB has a mysterious shake at around 35mph and gone at 40. I’m thinking a stiffer frame would help but do you have any idea what is causing this vibration? Tires are new and balanced and front end and rack seems tight. Thanks - Rob

[@miataganggarage4680]

hell Yeah I wanna get these cool video 👍

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Miata Gang Garage They are great! The V8 roadster ones are only $130 too, pretty affordable, cheaper than sway bars and in my opinion are better.

[@miataganggarage4680]

do you think this would be better to get first instead of sway bars first? cool channel just came across it.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Miata Gang Garage Thanks man! I've seen yours. and Idk, if your shocks and springs are in good shape or you already have coilovers etc. I'd do this over sway bars...but if your shocks are a bit soft sway bars do make a pretty big difference in helping your car stay flat and more controlled.

[@jamieee321]

I'll be doing this first when I finish fixing things.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Which ones you gonna go with?

[@jamieee321]

GearHeads Garage I am in the UK and these look like the best option for me www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=280481&page=1 They're made by a dude in Slovakia.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

jamieee321 Looks a lot like the FM design, but they might have made them thicker. Cool, good luck! You'll love them

[@jamieee321]

GearHeads Garage They have a 2mm or 3mm option. Jass performance also do rails, however I read the circular cut-outs on their rails reduce rigidity.

[@NippyMoto]

Installing this to your car will stiffen the chassis to a point that is comparable to a car that has a hardtop and rollbar installed which is pretty damn noticeable! I would also recommend this to anyone who has bacon strips for frame rails lmao

[@upandaljm]

Great video, new subscriber. Put on some safety googles you savages.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

DoitDoug Thank you! and safety goggles for what? the small amount of drilling that we did? no big deal! I wear them when I'm cutting with a saw or grinder.

[@upandaljm]

Good man. Metal shavings in the eye, even little ones, are bad. Personal experience here. Gonna pick up a set of rails and install them with my new Roll bar. Thanks for the how to. Always nice to see it done before I jump in.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

DoitDoug Trust me I understand, have spent a lot of time doing construction cutting metal, wood and tile, and mechanic work, I don't want things in my eye either! I feel like simple drilling its unnecessary unless your face is right underneath it. Never hurts to be extra safe tho! Thanks for watching I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@SmooveBee1]

I have this same car; mine is a 92 NA with black and tan and with the hardtop; I am still tweaking mine at 27 years (!!) I see the clear-coat peeling, but these cars are worth this investment! (please clean yours); My hardtop is peeling, but I plan to get it painted this year. How many miles on this one?

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

This car is slowly getting rebuilt bottom up, I know its dirty but the paint is already bad it will be getting a paint job in the next year if things go according to plan!

[@rodan9]

So I'm considering buying these from the FM. I would do the rails now and maybe the butterfly brace at a later time. My question is: for somebody who would add the butterfly brace at a later time what are the chances of having the rails misaligned so the holes for the butterfly brace don't line up with the holes on the rails? Because there's some free play before you drill the holes when installing the rails right?

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

You know, thats actually a very good point and something I did not consider. However, if you take measurements when installing and make sure they are even with each other before you drill your holes, I would expect there to be no problems later.

[@rodan9]

GearHeads I'd hope so! considering all the holes drilled and the cost of the butterfly brace. Another concern is clearance for an aftermarket exhaust with the butterfly brace in place.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Exhaust is something I would deal with after the butterfly brace. I'd just get whatever cat & muffler you want and have an exhaust shop in town weld up the rest for you, its not expensive at all.

[@rodan9]

GearHeads cool! thanks for the help/advice it's always awesome when a channel responds to questions!

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

rodan9 No problem man!

[@miatau8359]

Stupid question, I was trying to install the garage star frame rails and been hammering the stock rails to make it fit but it doesn't seem to want to sit flush with the floor. Did you guys have a gap before you started to drill and tighten the screws on or was it flush with the floor before that?

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

+Miata U It definitely snugged up a bit better after bolting it in, but even then its not completely flush in all places to the stock frame rail. This doesnt matter though the design does go around/over the stock rails but does not rely on it for structural integrity. They will still work perfect!

[@miatau8359]

Thanks, I'll probably give it another try because I gave up after hammering like crazy but the garagestar frame rail never sat flush with the floor of the car and i didnt want to start drilling holes if i was doing it wrong.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Miata U Good give it a shot! Like I said pretty much the same thing when I did it on my current car but they sucked right up when I put the bolts in! My last Miata had cleaner rails so I actually didnt even have to hammer at all!

[@speedbandit8947]

Good instructive video. Just for safety I'd recommend using safety glasses. Nothing more painful than getting debris in your eye. Particularly when under the car. Keep up the good work.

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Bob Hurd lol have had it happen before! I wear them when necessary, especially when grinding etc.

[@stevengrizzle]

just an fyi- you always want to be tightening the nut end... especially with an impact

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

I should have mentioned in the video, but he sunk the nuts down with the impact, and I gave them all about 1 more turn by hand from the bottom(the nut side), plus they all had lock washers next to the nut as well, they'll be good!

[@andyvaid69]

I used a piece of steel from.a hardware store and welded it on.WAY cheaper.. $20! and no holes!

[@fox10169]

you kinda defeated the purpose of spray painting the holes by imidiately putting the bolts in after you painted

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Fox Better than nothing, and it should be sealed up well enough to keep moisture getting in. We also were making a video and pressed for time, think it should be good. Flyin Miata themselves didnt mention any issues!

[@fox10169]

GearHeads Garage one little spot of rust can grow, dropping the bolt in just scraped all the paint off. but if it's not a problem I guess I'm just being paranoid

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Fox Nah your not being paranoid, I gave some thought to it too, but the truth is even if you let the paint dry you'll likely scrape some off installing the bolts anyways, maybe if its still wet itll at least fill any exposed areas lol idk but I gave it a shot!

[@fox10169]

GearHeads Garage good point, didn't mean anything negative from the original comment, just a though. definitely like the channel, dude! yall have earned a sub. really wish they made these for my car lol

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Fox Thanks man! What do you drive?

[@jcsanchez6513]

cringy when you took off the hardtop

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

lol why because I wiggled it loose since the back was sticking? Idk where people come up with these random complaints

[@jcsanchez6513]

lol i saw the hardtop flexing

[@GearHeadsGarageChannel]

Its fiberglass, it will flex a little no matter how you pick it up. Flexes with the chassis when driving too! Not a problem just don't try to break or scratch it and it'll be fine!