DAILY DRIVEN

NAME: NATHAN TOLICH // AGE: 24 LOCATION: NORTH SHORE // OCCUPATION: CABINET MAKER

NZ Performance Car: Hi, Nathan. We understand your first modded car was another MX-5, how did that come about?

Nathan: Growing up, my dad always had classic British sports cars, which helped develop my love for Japanese cars. An MX-5 just seemed right, and my brother used to own one when I was younger so I knew they were good fun to drive. That’s why I ended up buying and modding an MX-5, and I’ve done a bit of work on various daily drivers since.

Did you have a goal in mind for this one?

At first, I just wanted to do a quick stance project, then fell in love with the car and decided to go down the ITB route rather than the turbo route you see most people doing these days.

Was performance a factor?

Performance was never really a factor, especially when I usually had a turbo car as daily that offered a bit of power. This was just meant to be a nice weekend cruiser, it’s definitely nice to have the added power associated with the ITBs and cams though!

And it sounds great too. What does the car primarily get used for now?

It’s usually just for a Sunday driver or for getting to work as my Friday car, but it’s too much fun so I practically daily it!

If you could do one more thing to the car what would it be?

The goal is now to just tidy up certain parts of the car. If I were to do it again I definitely would choose my wheel set up before respraying the car and wrecking my guards! Cheers for the yarn, Nathan.

ENGINE: Mazda B6ZE, 1597cc, four-cylinder; silver top 4A-GE individual throttle bodies, M-Spec throttle body adapter, M-Spec fuel rail, reground cams, HKS headers, Link G4+ Storm DRIVELINE: Five-speed manual, 1.8-litre clutch and flywheel

INTERIOR: Bride-style seats, Nardi steering wheel, Autoways rollbar EXTERIOR: Resprayed Mercedes Blau, OEM hardtop, Hybrid Lab roof spoiler, OEM boot spoiler, R-Package front lip, R-Package rear lip,Californian By Vitaloni wing mirrors, modified chrome tail lights WHEELS/TYRES: 15x8.5-inch (-6) Work Meister S1 2P, 195/45R15 Jinyu Gallopro YH18 SUSPENSION: D2 coilovers