Sorry it's been a while again, and unfortunately this is only a minor update again, but I figured I'd do it just for anyone interested in doing the same thing.
So, the wheels are off and I'm now focusing more on the speed of it and getting it more into track work.. it was annoying me how much fun I was having driving it but just couldn't do anything because of how ridiculous it was, plus I have another stance build anyway so its time for a track car!
With the direction I'm taking toward the turbo route I figured the first thing I should do is replace the brakes and upgrade them. I originally wanted Wilwoods but they are stupid money and at the moment, overkill. Instead I opted for an OEM upgrade, I was looking for the NB8B brake set but couldn't find any so settled for the NB8A/NA8 set, which are still a good 15-20mm or so bigger in rotor size than the NA6 set on the front.
Here's what I started with, my original front brake set up.
Hadn't touched even the pads since I bought the car back at the beginning of the year!

And this is the new set of front brakes I will be putting on from the NB8A.

I have a big thing on safety and firmly believe brakes/rollcages/seats are a far higher priority than power.. Why build something stupid fast if you can't survive to rebuild it if you crash?
So the first thing I did was get the callipers completely rebuilt. I went through a place called ABS (Auto Brake Services) in Adelaide to get this done, they completely pulled them apart, cleaned them up, replaced all the seals, machined it all, and reassembled with new paint. I chose silver because honestly, they are just OEM callipers, they are nothing to brag about and I never liked the look of red brakes.
This is how they came back, the guy who rebuilt them reckons they are now better than they were new.

While that was being done, I had ordered my new rotors and pads and I already had some braided line laying around!
I went for the DBA 255x20mm T3 slotted rotors, these are basically one step below DBA's full track spec option, and Bendix Ultimate DB1282 ULT pads.
Thankfully they rocked up Friday arvo ready for a weekend install! Perfect timing and perfect weather for it too.

I didn't take any photos of the install because it was all very straight forward, there are no fitment issues at all, or anything different you need to do, just straight up bolt it all together like normal. I realised half way through that I didn't have the right fittings for the mx5 brakes so I didn't bother putting the braided line on, but the OEM line reaches just fine without any issue. However I've heard that if you go for the NB8B instead of the NB8A, you need new lines as the banjo bolt isn't in the same position and requires a longer line to reach, so that's something to think about if you decide to get the 8B brakes instead.
Here's how they look now!

I bled them through with Super Dot 3 Bosch brake fluid and went for a small drive to bed everything in. If you have never worked on your own brakes before, it's not hard but PLEASE remember to drench everything in brake cleaner before you go ANYWHERE, you don't want any brake fluid on pads or rotors and them not working while you are driving around.
I had a bit of trouble with the front left locking up and it took me a bit to work out the issue. I checked everything involving the brakes and couldn't find a thing so I measured all the spring heights and they were dead on. Turns out it was a dampener issue. I had one corner a couple clicks out and it was causing the opposite wheel to lock up due to weight transfer.
I've been racing cars and playing with racing cars, suspension and brake set ups for 16 years so if you get me talking about geometry and brake set ups I will not shut up but basically your car is balanced diagonally, front left to rear right and vice versa.
How this affected my brakes, was the stiffness of the Rear Left (RL) shock was alot firmer than the Rear Right (RR) aswell as the Front Left (FL) and Front Right (FR).
This meant under brakes, the Rear Left (RL) unloaded faster than the Rear Right (RR) and shifted all of the weight diagonally from the Rear Left (RL) to the Front Right (FR). This was causing the Front Left (FL) to lock up due to the lack of weight on the wheel.

I'd draw more diagrams and explain it better but this isn't a suspension thread so I won't, it's just good to keep in mind that when it comes to handling in all aspects, your issue may be caused by something completely different. Most people wouldn't think suspension loads or dampening could affect a lock up but it does happen! So if you ever come across a problem like this, before you go pulling everything apart to check if anything is seized or warped, check your shocks first!
As a slight review on the brakes themselves; I've had them in for a week now and I love them. I forgot to measure but I think the piston size is a bit bigger than standard NA6 callipers which means I lost a bit of pedal pressure due to the brake booster/master cylinder being wrong but other than that they are great. A lot of performance/track rotors and pads squeal when cold but I haven't had that issue at all and they seem to work really well cold too.
I'll keep you all up to date with how they handle a spirited drive through the hills and then when I take them to a track and give them a good beating!
This whole process cost me a bit more than it could have mostly because of the rebuild, but it's definitely good upgrade to do if you want a bit better stopping power!
My pads and rotors were just over $400 for the pair, the NB8A stuff was like $60, like $30 in brake fluid and the brake rebuild was $375 including paint. So it was just over $850 for a full front brake upgrade/rebuild and they are currently so good my tyres can't handle how quickly they stop and lock up without me even trying to brake that hard, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking to make a bit more power and head to the track!
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