BRG 4 AutoX

It wasn't me, I thought there was you and the one Miata faster then me, if there was more I'm not sure.

 

It wasn't me. I was stuck in the 1:14s with my lack of grip all day. I should have just run my street tires.

 

Do they post the results?

At the last event, "the little Miata" was beaten by its naturally-aspirated version by more than one and a half seconds ...

 

On 1 1/2 season old Kumhos!! To be fair, my dad's 01 with a 6 speed was perfect for that course. Put it in 2nd and go. For my 5 speed, it was too slow of a course to stay in 2nd, and too fast to stay in 1st. That's why I was on the rev limiter so much. The mazdaspeed 6 speed is limited much lower than my dad's 6 speed. Again, causing the same issue I had.

 

Also, a turbo was NO help on that course. Even with mine, I could barely get it spooled up before the next corner. And it's designed for autocross and instant spool.

For chassis stiffening, go here: http://flyinmiata.com/index.php?dept=15 I have the rear subframe brace and a front strut bar and they help, but from what I've read the frame rail kit is what you need to make the car tight.

 

Also, don't do the hardtop unless you want that extra 2mph at Mid-Ohio. They're expensive and a pain to store unless you drive year-round with it. The hardtop also doesn't do a thing to stiffen the car.

There's been some really good advice in here so far! Another couple places to check out that I didn't see listed are http://www.good-win-racing.com/, http://www.bellengineering.net/ and http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/

 

This is a neat tool to help once you've decided what springs/shocks you want. http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FRC_1_6NA/FCM_MSDS_1_6NA.htm

 

Before upgrading, I would try to get some rides and pick people's brains about what is in their car and see what you like and don't like how it feels. At the BMC autocrosses, I've never asked for a ride and gotten turned down. I drive the turboed British Racing Green Miata at BMC, feel free to jump in for a ride and I'll help how I can. By the way, great driving the other weekend at Ackerman. 4th fastest of the day for a first event is pretty impressive.

 

NAPA rotors are all the car needs and are super cheap. There's no need for anything more. I've also raced on NAPA pads and they've been great for the price. Here's a quick hint, go with a pad with more bite in the rear. The car is set up with too much front brake bias from the factory and this offsets that.

 

The OE clutch is good until about 150whp, so there's no reason to go with anything different until then.

 

The first two upgrades after getting the car race worthy I would do would be a Torsen then tires, then get some seat time with that and finally upgrade the suspension and stiffen the chassis. Drive it like that and if it still isn't fun enough for you, start looking for a turbo.

That was Tom at the BMC autocross last week. It was either that run or the run after that he ran FTD. Great guy, and great driver.

 

Thanks for sharing this. The video was taken by my friend's Go-Pro and I'm sure he'll be excited to see his video make it further than Youtube.

The rating manufactures recommend are usually a little too low for autocross. It is set for a bit more comfort (and roll-over) than you want for autocross.

 

Personally, when I get new tires I run them 5-10 psi higher than the recommendation and adjust from there. Just another way to do it. I mainly do this because letting air out is much faster and easier than putting more in between runs.

Congrats! Glad to hear there will be another Miata owner on here. Read this thread and you'll find yourself doing something to that car every day after work.

 

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=328159

 

Also, these cars didn't come with a clear coat from the factory. So if it still has the original paint, clay bar and wax it one afternoon every few months to keep it shining like new.

The NA is the better Miata, the NB is the better car.

 

It really depends what you are looking for. They both will out handle almost everything in the turns. Stock NA vs Stock NB, it still comes down to the driver.

 

Once you start changing things, it really just comes down to the style and features you want the most. Almost every part of the NB Miatas can be swapped directly in an NA. So if there's only a few things you really like about the NB, get the cheaper NA and swap those parts in and end up ahead.

 

I personally love my NA but I can't pack much more than a week vacation in it. My Dad likes his stock 2001 SE more because it can fit two golf bags in the trunk, it has the sport suspension, has a glass rear window, and is still fast enough to have fun in Hocking Hills.

I can't remember, don't know the exact years where everything changed. But they started out I think with just 14" wheels, later it was 14" with a 15" option i.e. 1999 (we just got a base model and it has 14" wheels), then maybe in 2001 they went to 15" standard with 16" option. I'm not sure after that but you may be right about the NC's.

 

NA's and NB's with 14" wheels have a pretty hefty sidewall, 185/60 14's (at least for 1999).

 

Here's a chart of all the weights and sizes of stock wheels from 90 - 2003.

 

http://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.html#weight

Not gonna lie, This turbo miata stole the show for me. Looks like a lot of time went into this car. I'm thinking this is the same guy.

 

Yep, I was driving the turbo Miata. I must confess I have not put as much time into the car as the previous owner, but I bought it unfinished with less than 5,000 miles on the turbo install and tune so I have had to fix and finish some things on it. I'm hoping to put my new suspension on soon as well as some other little things. I was expecting a wash out, so I left my hardtop and street tires on which proved to be better than I thought they were, but still no where near my normal autocross tires.

 

The red Miata driver is an amazing driver, he can usually run circles around cars classes ahead of him. He was taking the hard right hand turn before the cross over to the other side of the parking lot much faster than any other car out there.

 

Imolaveedub - I was really surprised how neutral that MK4 was, I've never seen one driven so well and without any understeer.

 

Das Borgen - Thanks for the pictures!

Great fun today! I was impressed I could slide my all seasons to a 89.1xx. Can't wait to try out the Summer tires in a few weeks.

 

I saw a few people with nice cameras, anyone on here?

Correct. MBCCA decides on the dates and "uses" the OSU Sports Car Club to reserve the lot. The club has not been very active in it the past few years because the president of the club didn't even know what was going on. Now there's a new president and expect at least a few members to be more active in the events this Summer.

As of right now, I plan on joining in on the fun. I have to finish up a few things before my new car can hit the track though.

I'm on my third Miata, 2nd turboed. They have all been the 1.6 models with a 5 speed.

 

The first one was a 91 with a GReddy kit, ebay intercooler and other goodies. It went from about 100whp to 240whp at ~14psi with the outdated Link ECU. It was driven like that for 80k miles until I got rid of it. Even with the worn out suspension it was one of the best handling cars you could find for the money.

 

My second one was stock without a LSD. It was still fun, but not nearly as much as my previous Miata with a LSD. Especially at autocross and Hocking Hills. Being stock, it was fun that I could push the car near it's limits on the street and still be going 30mph instead of 60+.

 

My current Miata is almost identical to my first '91, but with a Begi S4 kit and Megasquirt. It should be around the same power as my first on, but running less boost. With the NB suspension and other goodies, it handles even better than my first Miata and many others I've driven.

 

If you are planning on staying under 250whp, the 1.6l will be fine. The 1.6 cars were also the lightest and I feel they are more "tossable" and easier to drive fast with less power. The 1.6 motor came almost straight from a 323 that had a turbo on it, so it's built to handle the turbo stock. If you are looking at pre-turboed cars, I would try to stay with Begi or Flyin Miata kits. You can find some good ones with around 100k miles at the $5k mark, but those get picked up very quickly in the Summer.

 

Good luck in your search, feel free to ask me any questions.

The Buckeye Miata Club has a few events left as well. One this Sunday and one in early October.

The next one is June 27th, same place, same time.

It would be... I thought no one noticed. It was still fun. How many runs did everyone end up getting?

I drove the red S4 on its second time around. My sister drove it the first time for her graduation "parade lap."

 

Nice fun course, wish I knew how slow the end was before I went out at full speed, but I only had one chance to show my grandparents what autocrossing is.

Trailer queen?

 

If its completed then drive the dang thing

 

In

 

That would be my recently completed project. By completed he means completely totaled...

Damn, saturday worked a lot better for me, I'd have to leave Sunday by like 2:30, would it be worth it to come or should I just wait for another time?

 

If you don't mind getting there early and help then talk to the guys making the running order, you should be able to get all your runs in and be out by 2:30. It'll be worth it.

Usually around 4 or 5. If you have to leave early for something, let one of the guys in charge know. It makes them mad when people just leave when they are done racing. If you know you have to leave early, try to get there early (around 8) to help set up.

The event is on Sunday, not Saturday. Just for clarification.

 

We've run over 40 drivers before, although the club doesn't like to. Just get there before 9am and you'll be fine.

 

It's my sister's graduation, so I can't make it. I'll be at the next one though, just have to figure out what I'm driving...

You wouldn't have happened to upgrade to the 1.8 brakes.

Nice meeting all of you the other night. Hopefully I can make it out to more this Summer.

Even owning a Miata, I'd have to say it's more of a chick car than the RX-7. But the look on people's faces when I blow past them in my "chick car" is priceless.