Miata ABS Planning
Plans for ABS in the Miata
Just a heads up this is purly my own notes for me to refer back to at a later date. This may or may not be turned into a full post. Will also be written in blog style
I own a 1999 Mazda Miata CA Spec, which is a non-ABS model. Therefore, I’m not only converting it to ABS but also upgrading from the factory ABS.
Why not use the factory ABS? Well, the factory ABS, while functional, is often regarded as quite basic. Many reviews suggest it’s just the bare minimum. Let’s face it, which ABS system from the early 2000s was truly decent?
So, what ABS system am I using? I’ve opted for the BMW MK.60 ABS. This system is well-known in grassroots motorsports circles for being relatively inexpensive compared to the Bosch Motorsports ABS system, which costs around $10,000 (that’s more than I paid for the Miata in 2021).
MK60 Specific Parts
Stealing some info I’ve found on TrackTuned.com who installed an MK.60 unit into a 350z
Parts needed:
- MK60 ABS Unit
Part Numbers with more aggressive calibration:ATE 10.0960-813.3: E46 M3
ATE 10.0960-818.3: E46 M3
ATE 10.0960-817.3: E46 M3 CSL
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There are two variants of MK60 units that were fitted to the E46 M3 that can be used with the 3DM Motorsports standalone harness; part number 34512282558 (units fitted to 2003-2006 M3’s EXCEPT ZCP and CSL models) and 34512282421 (for the ZCP/CSL package cars). At the time of writing this 3/23/34 3D Motorsports no longer offers their wiring harness on their website. I haven't tried to contact them as I already had planned building on my own harness.
Any E46 M3 MK60 ABS unit will work if making your own harness. The units with the computer **part numbers ending in 813.3 supposedly can be programmed to a ‘race’ setup.** Another Post by [mck11117](https://rusefi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2454) goes into detail "*The 813.3 and 817.3 are flashable to the motorsport firmware.* BMW considers the 813.3 and 818.3 to be the same, as they're interchangeable as far as they were concerned on a factory M3. It's not known how common the 813.3 is vs. the 818.3. All M3 controllers can be reconfigured to use the CSL parameters."
- MK60 Yaw Sensor
- 2x MK60 Pressure sensors
- MK60 Wiring harness connectors (Ideally just cut the OEM harness with at least 12” of leads)
- Heat shrink, solder seal wire connectors, fuses, 2.7k resistor, etc (details below)
- Fittings/Adapters to connect OEM lines to ABS unit (details below)
Thank you to TrackTuned.com for the parts list. While I don’t know how much this list will apply to me and my configuration It is a helpful step so what I need just for the MK.60 unit is.
- MK60 ABS Unit with part number ending in 813.3 (need to research this “race” setup)
- MK60 Yaw Sensor
- 2x MK60 Pressure Sensors
- MK60 Wiring Harness Connectors (will be soldering my own wires onto this) (Could possibly repin this as well for a cleaner install, depending on my budgets)
Parts for the Miata
Since my Miata doesn’t have factory ABS rings, I’ll need to either acquire OEM ABS rings from a junkyard NB or opt for new hubs. I’ve decided to go with the latter and purchase new hubs from MiataHubs. Although these hubs are highly priced, I believe they are worth the investment, as OEM Miata hubs are known to break under the pressures of track use, even with stock power (which is what I have at the time of writing this). Now onto the next task…
Wheel Speed Sensors
Getting straight to the point, I’m contemplating installing OEM ABS knuckles for my car. I already have plans to coat the entire suspension system in POR-15, while also upgrading bushings with Supermiata’s bushing set. (I acquired these when they were originally released in 2020 or 2021 and haven’t yet installed them.) Since I’ll already have my entire suspension disassembled, what’s the difficulty level of swapping the knuckles on my Miata?
it looks like the MK60 unit can use any active speed sensors for its ABS system. the OEM miata abs sensors are active. (this is know by the 2 pin connector instead of a 3 pin connector)
While I was looking into this I found a helpful post on the Miata Turbo Fourms for using the factory miata ABS sensors as a wheel speed sensors for the haltech ECU (Im using the Haltech 1500 ECU)
I found used OEM knuckles on Cap-Parts.com priced at about $175 to $200, but they were located well over 200 miles away. This price seemed steep, and I doubted that most lower-costing places would ship the knuckles to me. Additionally, I would need to coat them in POR-15. However, I managed to find a whole brand new set from Mazda for $700, covering all four corners, in brand new pristine condition. This means I wouldn’t have to coat them, and I can be assured of their excellent quality. This looks like the path I’ll be taking.