Ford Swapped NC Miata on Wet Track | FULL SEND

The miata set up is finally finished. I destroyed a hub on this session and had the car towed to auto zone.

[@jimmyjobsllc]

My brother in Christ you were absolutely *wheeling*

[@MiazdaDude]

"Full Send' is an accurate statement.

[@MilesPerHr]

Feels good to get all those point by’s from V8 monsters! Nice laps, Zent! (And great POV 😉)

[@ZentRose]

Thank you and thanks for your help with the camera set up!

[@agegonzo39]

Broooo, your (daily driven) nc is an absolute weapon! Took down 3 vettes,camaro,s2k,e90, mk5, an nb,600lt and then i stopped counting 😅. Geez!

[@mrjiggles2540]

Kudos to the other drivers for giving you the point by. Seen and heard of too many instances of people's egos getting the better of them.

[@Oldpuck81]

Imagine your speed in the turns on a hot dry track! Lucky the hub didn’t completely break! WTG!

[@flienlow6281]

I was right there with ya man!! You won, We won.

[@laserquant]

Amazing ride with your NC. Delivering this performance with an open top made it even more spectacular.

[@hoost3056]

The way you stayed on the Vette, yow!

[@Dyltheboy]

Loose em in the straights, pass them in the corners 😁

[@Dolby109]

Wow that was some serious driving! You chased down some heavy hardware there. I feel like you might be a little overdue for a rollbar driving like that though.

[@ZentRose]

I ordered a PRHT compatible one from some place overseas. Haven't received it and not sure I ever will lol

[@VikasShankarathota]

Keep up the great work! I upgraded my NA to an NC miata last year and your videos were a huge inspiration to get the NC > s2000 and pocket the difference

[@youmongrel]

"It sorta melted" goddamn bro I wonder why :D

[@paulbfields8284]

That’s some commendable driving. I have an NC1 and it just feels like I’m in mine while watching yours..

[@richardmaxwell4785]

...'kn ell what a great drive. Brilliant! Best I have seen in an MX5. Makes me think I'll need to do that swap.

[@screamingstrings76]

to quote a famous nature show host: *smashing*

[@josephellis5973]

Great driving!

[@adinlouw]

This was very entertaining

[@stevensumner3146]

Great vid thanks for sharing 👍

[@neshanbk9632]

You are so talented

[@stuffandjunkandthings364]

That is the exact motor/transmission combination I am wanting to put into a Ford Faimont sedan (I am 6'9", so a Miata is out of the question). Hell of a job at wheeling that thing around.

[@ShotByDale]

at least the whole wheel didnt jettison mid lap. you got lucky for sure!

[@ricardosabatino3172]

full fucking send! Everyone here in FL tells me that I gotta replace the studs and hubs on my NC and this video is another reminder not to put that off.

[@KeoEye21]

That some motivation for a swap.

[@chasemoore1281]

As an nc owner watching this was surreal I could literally feel the shits your driving ability is very nice

[@MrCaterhamr500]

You could feel the ‘shits’ 😮

[@curtis4994]

ABSOLUTE NUT!!!!

[@Getsomepiggy]

Great car control when it got loose in Cotton Corners

[@K2xan_]

Car looks lovely mate, is it paired up to a 5 or 6 speed box?

[@r0bkills]

nice drive

[@ZentRose]

Thanks 👍

[@MonkeyMD3]

Nice saves around 10 min

[@WTFNoNamesLeft2]

Great laps! You are blipping the throttle coming out of gear instead of going into gear though :D You can hear that usually the RPM have dropped and when you let the clutch out they jump back up.

[@ZentRose]

Yes that’s the ecutek way

[@lauriedooker1031]

Mildly Un- damp 😮

[@camgarage]

Absolute props and fantastic driving. Curious what size tire you're running? Fender rolling required? Assuming your on a 235 or potentially a 245. I'm about to send my '06 NC in for a 2.5 swap with Stage 2 cams, but I don't think I'll have the cojones to push my 8-year old Michelin 205's without blowing the back end of the car off!

[@ZentRose]

245 but the faster NC guys are using 225 now apparently

[@tigerrider6711]

Well that came out easy! Were you riding the tires on curbing much?

[@ZentRose]

The hubs have a couple seasons of track use and they are known to fail. I should have swapped them out earlier since they are the original hubs. I ordered new oem rx8 hubs now to swap on

[@shuaizhong5585]

So I opened my 2rd nc with 2.5 engine for rods and high cp piston and putting long tube header into it. Hoping it can match stock new 86 on straight line. Also working on an adapter to mate 2.3 mustang intake manifold.

[@TopVineVideos]

Thats my goal! That’s why I bought my NC. Hoping the 2.5 with cams will keep up with a ND2 and a GR86 If i open the engine. From what I’m seeing, a cammed 2.5 with a stock bottom end CAN beat a GR86 in a 0-60 sprint!

[@shuaizhong5585]

@@TopVineVideos I have tried friends 2.5 with 264/264 cams. And it drives wonderful because meaty midrange torque and not falling fast on high rpm. But even with good launch 0-60 is around 7.8 unlike Zent’s nc in 5ish. Maybe our tune is too conservative.

[@Oldpuck81]

@@shuaizhong5585 I get 0-60 7.25 sec in my tuned 2.0 NC1. You should be

[@tylerhoover1770]

@@shuaizhong5585 wait… what does 0-60 in 7.8? You mean your friends cammed car? Ive seen non cammed 2.5’s break 6 seconds 0-60. Im a bit confised

[@shuaizhong5585]

@@tylerhoover1770 Exactly, our cammed 2.5 is doing 7.8 right now. Even with decat header and all other parts. It just does not have that kind punch in high rpm like all other 2.5s.

[@LifeSOSlive]

Impressive 😮 you tracking oil pressures at all? Concerned about pressure drops typically seen on track. Cheers!

[@ZentRose]

I’m not. A new engine is only $400 from the junk yard. I just check oil level and send it

[@pedro7401]

dont you notice a diference ofthe body rigidity with the top down? nice driving !

[@ZentRose]

Not really. I'm just out doing fun laps so not concerned about chasing tenths of a second

[@ryshask]

Should have been a check hub light instead of engine light.... Great laps too bad it was ended short :/

[@caramelbear757]

Ridiculous send, bro!!!! I plan on doing that duratec swap to my NC1 also and worried about that common rear hub failure.. From your experience, would you suggest doing the rx8 hub replacement prior to tracking w/ the 2.5 swap? Or just send it until the oem fails post swap?

[@ZentRose]

I'm just going to regular inspect the front hubs for play. The rears should be done preventatively. New OEM every 3 years is fine for someone like me who only goes to the track about 4-6 times a year

[@robertpearce5553]

Hey Zent is your mx5 anywhere near the performance and handling of your Lotus Elise? If so what did you do to make that possible? I love the Elise but at 6 5 195lbs don't know if I'd fit

[@ZentRose]

similar lap time but driving a lotus on track gets expensive if you go off

[@agegonzo39]

Dude 6'5, idk if youd be able to fit in the nc either?

[@Aquineas]

Man that looked impressive. I'm sure it's nothing, but out of curiosity, what was the CEL?

[@ZentRose]

I didn't put an O2 sim in when I swapped in the recent engine. It seems like I get more engagement on instagram reels with the check engine light so I've just left it on.

[@tequilagrae]

What is the screen you have on the dash? Is it attached to the suction cup on the windscreen? Thanks

[@ZentRose]

It’s a garmin catalyst. Yes suction cup mount

[@tofudeliverygt86]

What kind of swap did you do? 2.5L Duratec? Any extras like cams, ITBs? I think you mentioned headers in the past?

[@ZentRose]

2.5 with stage 1 cams.

[@profmathers00]

Homie I don’t see a roll bar in that mirror, and the way you’re wheelin’ that thing I’m nervous for you. Way too fast a driver not to have some insurance against the unlikely event you get upside down. Does a solution exist that fits the PRHT?

[@jmahtab]

Did the 2.5 w cams make a big difference on the straight sections of track? I see you getting point bys from cars that should be faster.

[@ZentRose]

Yes pretty big difference in this little car.

[@Dyltheboy]

The point bys by the faster cars are likely them letting off because he’s catching them in the corners, not the straights

[@Dyltheboy]

This is ohlins, sticky rubber as all the handling mods?

[@ZentRose]

I have a 33mm Front sway and 19mm rear. Also have the Mazda motorsport camber joints to get the necessary negative camber

[@danielpineda1916]

Hi, what brand is your 19mm rear? I know you mention the front is from Hotchkis. Thought your rear was oem. Didn’t see you mention 19mm upgrade on your video about the sway bar upgrade. Hope you post more NC material soon! Love it! Tks!

[@dowroa]

Sorry, I must have missed -- what Ford engine did you swap in? Thanks!

[@ZentRose]

Ford Fusion 2.5 with cams

[@jake1021]

@@ZentRose what do you figure you're making? I'm trying hard to get my hands on a 2.3 ecoboost for a crawler, but was told to give it up and go with the duratec instead.

[@Chilicharger665]

@@jake1021 those are the same engine family. Ford used to own Mazda.

[@serenahansen2394]

​@Chilicharger665 That's not quite true; Ford used to have a stake in Mazda as high as 33% (not a controlling share) which resulted in joint projects between the two companies. The Mazda L-series engine is a Mazda design that is used by Ford as their Duratec engine worldwide.

[@cajunsushi]

I don’t see a roll cage, wouldn’t it be prudent to have one racing at these speeds?

[@sao007]

What kind off ford motor ?

[@averyscottbrown]

2.5L Duratec i4

[@HeCute_]

whats the setup in your nc?

[@ZentRose]

off the shelf ohlins and sticky tires

[@mrmohr2]

What tires are you running?

[@perrosdemaiz]

Does anyone really need more car than this? Fast as all get out

[@legatus9081]

the body can't handle it. It will be fine for now but the body won't live long like this

[@ZentRose]

The body?

[@accordv6er]

​@@ZentRoseright?! What is it gonna flex to death or something? Eat bearings? Maybe he meant the tire scrub on hard bumps.

[@mystictrunks5508]

I might have to go nc2 or 3 over an nd

[@JETZcorp]

Definitely better value for money IMO. The ND is a great design, probably objectively superior, but for 2-3x the cost. I'm very happy with my NC2. The things I don't like about the NC, like floppy suspension, also apply to the ND.

[@stub4488]

America still buys cars for 0-60...🤗

[@ridge9066]

Looks like you had AI set on 70%. They were a little slow.

[@phillippittman]

Great driving!