Miata - Autox

[JStockton]

I went out to Spring Mountain over the summer and got completely hooked on building a track/autocross car. I have done a few autocross's here and there, so I know how much fun they can be.

I started the hunt for a Miata, most I looked at were trashed, I ran across this one last week and picked it up. 1995, 5 speed, 130K miles, and in very nice shape. Has new tires on it which I won't use. Clean interior, some rust at rear corner which I will address after I get the car solid mechanically.

The guy started it up and oil was dripping a pretty steady drip, so I had him shut it off and showed him, he thought it was the rear main, but it didn't look like it to me, I low balled him, he accepted and I drove the car home, got it up on ramps and the oil filter was about ready to fall off.

Windows didn't roll down that turned out to be burnt contacts in the switch which I cleaned and all is well.

So far I am just working on the motor, cleaning it up, I pulled the ac, radiator, cruise control, and currently waiting on a bunch of parts..

It is a very easy car to work on. I know there are some Miata guys here so I figured I would share.



http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/miata/1.jpg

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/miata/2.jpg

Got it crammed into the garage.

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/miata/3.jpg

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/miata/4.jpg

[Mike Mercury]

be careful dude...











http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f3/28157d1147485906-close-call-almost-run-over-navigator-squish2.gif

[Nemesis]

Very cool! Enjoy it!

[mrvette]

Bought a nice '91 Miata for my wife some years ago...it was a blast to drive, took it on some road trips....I have a spare front hub for it if you need one....

but after some years, the car was sold last year or so, :issues:

[Fastguy]

Aside from the water pump/timing belt, you really don't need to do anything to it but keep it filled with fresh fluids.
This is my 99.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b71/saltysearay/CAM00843_zpsf6xzyxr9.jpg

It has hundreds of autocross runs on it, thousands of track miles.
Fairly simple setup: Jp Magic coilovers, FM front/rear bars, Carbotech XP10/XP8 brake pads, Roadster Sport exhaust, roll bar, corbeau seats with schroth harnesses.
Stock engine, transmission, diff. Car has around 189,000 on it.
It is very easy to exceed the cost of the car in mods.

[Datawiz]

Nice score! Yes, VERY easy to work on.

:seasix:

[JStockton]

Aside from the water pump/timing belt, you really don't need to do anything to it but keep it filled with fresh fluids.
This is my 99.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b71/saltysearay/CAM00843_zpsf6xzyxr9.jpg

It has hundreds of autocross runs on it, thousands of track miles.
Fairly simple setup: Jp Magic coilovers, FM front/rear bars, Carbotech XP10/XP8 brake pads, Roadster Sport exhaust, roll bar, corbeau seats with schroth harnesses.
Stock engine, transmission, diff. Car has around 189,000 on it.
It is very easy to exceed the cost of the car in mods.

Thanks, I was hoping you'd chime in.

I am just taking off parts I don't need right now, someone put the wrong bolt in the alternator and it was about to fall off, I thought I heard something rattling.

I am replacing the cam angle sensor o-ring and figured I'd pull the valve cover and paint it. Put some spark plugs in it and then take it for a shake down. I have only driven it for about 5 miles and when I did there was quite a few noises/rattles, so hopefully I can get all those sorted out.

Trying to keep everything legal for STS class, so once I get the engine sound, I will move on to coil overs and a sway bar, tire and wheels.

Everything I have read this should have the Torsen rear-end in it. but I haven't looked at it too much right now.

[Fastguy]

Not sure about the NA Miatas but NBs like mine have the LSD as part of an option package. Basically if it has power windows and leather seats, it has a locking diff , as dumb as that sounds.

[JStockton]

Not sure about the NA Miatas but NBs like mine have the LSD as part of an option package. Basically if it has power windows and leather seats, it has a locking diff , as dumb as that sounds.

That is what I read, basically if it had any option such as power windows, cruise, leather it had the Torsen, but my seats are a grey cloth, the door panels are tan, I am leaning towards someone swapped out the seats. Who knows, will take me a few weeks to dissect the car. And as of right now I don't know that much about Miata's other than what I have read on the internet.

[Loco Vette]

Nice! Have fun!

[Fastguy]

All you really need to do to a Miata to track it is add tires. I had Dunlop Star Specs on and they were awesome. Now I run a Hoosier SM6 (spec Miata tire).
With the heavy suspension and loud exhaust, it actually sucks to drive every day. I am going to turn my C5 back into my daily driver.

[Dave]

I feel like a circus bear driving a toy car in one of those.

[Nemesis]

I just don't understand why Mazda didn't put a decent engine in one. I've seen rotaries and V-8s in them so they could have put at least a V-6 in them.

They did.

[Fastguy]

With hp comes heat, parts wear, failures. These cars are track ready off the showroom floor and can be run all day without overheating.

[island14]

I feel like a circus bear driving a toy car in one of those.


:Jeff '79:

I imagine Data and Snide would look about the same..

[island14]

I posted this awhile back Jason but wanted to make sure that you get a copy of this PDF Miata Service Manual also.


Right click.. save as.

http://carburetor-manual.com/libro/Mazda-Miata-MX-5-Service-Manual-1991-1999.pdf

:cert:

[JStockton]

All you really need to do to a Miata to track it is add tires. I had Dunlop Star Specs on and they were awesome. Now I run a Hoosier SM6 (spec Miata tire).
With the heavy suspension and loud exhaust, it actually sucks to drive every day. I am going to turn my C5 back into my daily driver.

I am still researching the suspension, I am leaning towards the FM kit and throw on some 15x7.5 wheels with 195/55 tires, looking at the Toyo's R1R

But I am still cleaning up the engine right now, hopefully by this weekend I can take it out for a full shake down run and make sure the clutch and everything else is solid.

Next step will be going through the brakes.

So far so good.

[JStockton]

I posted this awhile back Jason but wanted to make sure that you get a copy of this PDF Miata Service Manual also.


Right click.. save as.

http://carburetor-manual.com/libro/Mazda-Miata-MX-5-Service-Manual-1991-1999.pdf

:cert:


Awesome Tim, Thanks!

[island14]

be careful dude...

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f3/28157d1147485906-close-call-almost-run-over-navigator-squish2.gif

Reminds me of a story.. :D

Years ago I was taking a guys Late Model out for a shake down on a open test and tune night at Kil-Kare.

The bad thing about those Thursday night events is that they just let everything out on the track at once, so you have a lot of slow cars along with the fast ones.

While out there bringing the car up to speed I ran up on one of those little Legends cars pretty fast so had to stand on the brake to keep from running him over when he cut down on the track at the last minute.

The car I was driving had so much rear brake bias in it, that it spun around completely right away and still hit that little car slightly with the rear bumper, But just gave him a Gentle nudge..

When I pulled back into the pits I just said to the car owner..

"well that was close"

he replied..

"yeah you scared me for a minute.. I thought you was going to dent the oil pan" :Jeff '79:


Photo of a Legends car for those who have not seen one.

http://www.knfilters.com/images/press/codyswanson2.jpg

[island14]

Awesome Tim, Thanks!

Hope it helps in some way..

Even for guys that say they do not need a manual, torque values and settings information sure come in handy at times..

:cert:

[Fastguy]

:Jeff '79:

I imagine Data and Snide would look about the same..

I offered my car to Datawiz when he was running his rental at one of our autocrosses but he physically couldn't fit in the car since I have a rigid mount seat bolted to the floor. Same with Snide, he can't get his knees under the dash.

I am still researching the suspension, I am leaning towards the FM kit and throw on some 15x7.5 wheels with 195/55 tires, looking at the Toyo's R1R

But I am still cleaning up the engine right now, hopefully by this weekend I can take it out for a full shake down run and make sure the clutch and everything else is solid.

Next step will be going through the brakes.

So far so good.

I had the FM II adjustable Tokico shocks and FM bars/endlinks. That is an awesome suspension for a dual purpose car. Going to coil over makes the car almost undriveable on the street.

[simpleman68]

That looks like a great project racer! :cert:

Scott

[Fastguy]

they put a gutless motor in it. It doesn't have enough power to break itself.

That's the point.

[Datawiz]

A gutless mtor is good ? Screw that.There's a shop nearby that has 15K miata motors. For that kind of money I'd take a LS series motor anyday.

Dude, I have the best of both worlds, and so does my 16 year old daughter. Not only does she have both Corvettes at her disposal, the race car currently under the knife getting 700 HP, she still drives the 2006 with 420 HP to school quite often. The Miata we built this summer is the essence of a driver's car.

Here's her quote: "The Corvette is a numb piece of shit". Ok, she didn't actually say "shit", and she acknowledges that '08 and newer is much better, but she's a disciple of LIGHT, SIMPLE, and FUN.

Miata's own the agile fun department in spades. They don't need a lot of HP. ;)

[markids77]

The point of wringing out a Miata is being able to use ALL of what the car has to give, even if you are not Jimmie Johnson or a member of the Andretti clan. There's enough motive force to entertain, and teach the finer points of car control, but not so much that the car becomes scary or brutish. A local racer recently traded a Z06 away and ended up with a mildly modded Mini... when asked why he said he loved the Vette but got frustrated he could never use all of the potential on the street. The Mini (and Miatas, and vintage British sport cars) all allow you to max the fun factor and retain your license.

[CuZ06]

All you really need to do to a Miata to track it is add tires. I had Dunlop Star Specs on and they were awesome. Now I run a Hoosier SM6 (spec Miata tire).
With the heavy suspension and loud exhaust, it actually sucks to drive every day. I am going to turn my C5 back into my daily driver.

I have a 10ae with some mods.....planing on throwing an FM2 kit on it in the spring......get it to about 260rwhp.....should be fun....not as fast as my c5z but still a blast with the top down

[JStockton]

I have a C7 that I can drive if I want to burn the tires off.

I am just looking to get into Autocross with something relatively cheap. The C7 would do well in the events but just too much money.

I gave 1900 dollars for this car and so far it seems pretty decent. I will probably have around 5K all in once I add roll bar and suspension/tires. Pretty cheap for something to beat the heck out of and will probably do quite well.

I do not plan to ever drive this car to work, maybe once every so often for a shake down if I have done some major work on it.

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/c7.jpg

[Fastguy]

Then why do so many put V8s and rotaries in them? Nobody NEEDS HP , it's just a lot more fun to have. I look at it like riding a 250 dirt bike vs a 450. Bigger is better. If the Corvette is numb, fix it.

The same reason anyone mods anything. There are many people who think a stock Z06 is too slow, hence companies like ECS, England Green, etc. A full V8 conversion starts at $43,000. Now you can certainly do it yourself for less, but the parts still run far more than the cost of the car. It defeats the budget bomb aspect of the car to dump 5 times what you paid for the car into the car. It is not a drag car, was never meant to be. It shines on autocross courses and tight road courses. For a big road course with lots of straights, I definitely like having the vette, but for a car I can just throw gas in and race ALL season without touching it, you can't beat the Miata. I am not going to convince you that its a great car via internet since I couldn't be convinced even running with them all day at events. It wasn't until I broke my vette at an event and borrowed a well sorted Miata. I went out on a wet track and started tearing through all the big GT cars like they were pylons. It'
s just a totally different experience, like riding a small 600 sport bike vs a 1500 V twin. On every car I have owned, I always modded the engine, then the trans/diff, and then the suspension and brakes. On the Miata, I went the total opposite direction and to this day still have a stock motor with a paper filter. Until I can get to the point where I am outdriving the suspension, there is no need to have any more power. Getting to a corner really fast, executing it terribly, and then getting really fast to the next corner is how a LOT of people race, and HP makes it easy. To be totally honest I lose to a lot of inferior drivers in faster cars because of that, but that isn't why I have this car. It's all about the curves. I can say that I feel running it has made me a much better driver. In the spring when the vette is back together, it will be a very difficult decision as to which one I want to keep racing.

[Nemesis]

Photo of a Legends car for those who have not seen one.

http://www.knfilters.com/images/press/codyswanson2.jpg

Love thise things. I almost bought one this past summer but decided against another race car all together. They look like a hoot!

[Nemesis]

Then why do so many put V8s and rotaries in them? Nobody NEEDS HP , it's just a lot more fun to have. I look at it like riding a 250 dirt bike vs a 450. Bigger is better. If the Corvette is numb, fix it.

I know youre going to overlook this because you arent interested in a differing opinion, but im going to offer mine anyways.

Ive driven hundreds of cars ranging from the Miata to nearly half million dollar supercars on the racetrack and there are 2 cars that stand out as the most fun to drive, the Lotus Evora and the Mazda Miata. You would consider both cars "underpowered" but I had no problem running down cars with 4x the power. Drive one for yourself.

[JStockton]

While still waiting on some parts to come in I painted the valve cover and various other small parts.

Before

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/miata/vc1.jpg

After

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/miata/vc.jpg

[island14]

Love those things. I almost bought one this past summer but decided against another race car all together. They look like a hoot!

I have not driven one myself.. but they look like a whole lotta fun! :seasix:

A friend of mine that always has good late model rides for other car owners (and I mean high dollar top notch equipment deals) kept one of these on the side as a hobby... for lap time and had a blast with it.

Sometimes it is just about the sport, and to be honest I would still have a blast, even just going back to my old Go-Kart racing days.. :yesnod:

What some people tend to forget is, that while one type of racing might be faster on the track, each type of racing has its own set of rules to go buy, and keeps it competitive...

Some just keep the cost down better than others. :seasix:

:cert:

[island14]

I know youre going to overlook this because you arent interested in a differing opinion, but im going to offer mine anyways.

Ive driven hundreds of cars ranging from the Miata to nearly half million dollar supercars on the racetrack and there are 2 cars that stand out as the most fun to drive, the Lotus Evora and the Mazda Miata. You would consider both cars "underpowered" but I had no problem running down cars with 4x the power. Drive one for yourself.

It happens..

I had a 4 cylinder race car years ago that only weighed about 1600 lbs, that would kick my V8 car's ass that weighed 2800 lbs with over three times the HP on a short track... :yesnod:

[Fastguy]

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/c7.jpg

Does that sign say what I think it does?

:rofl:

[simpleman68]

Does that sign say what I think it does?

:rofl:

Damn, good catch :funnier: :waiting:
Scott

[island14]

Does that sign say what I think it does?

:rofl:


Damn, good catch :funnier: :waiting:
Scott

I cant read it.. ??? :island14:

[island14]

I'd buy a high end go-kart before I'd buy a miata. You want thrills , they provide thrills.

Karts can be a blast also.. :seasix:

:cert:

[Black94lt1]

Does that sign say what I think it does?

:rofl:

Awesome! :rofl:

[CertInsaneC5]

I cant read it.. ??? :island14:

"Assholes Neighbor" :Jeff '79: :cert:

[JStockton]

Does that sign say what I think it does?

:rofl:

Yes, :D

Long Story about my neighbor parking his old truck in front of my house for years while nothing in front of his. He doesn't park in front of my house anymore.

[JStockton]

Got the Engine all cleaned up, New Plugs, Wires, gaskets, belts, I also changed out the Clutch Master Cylinder and the Clutch Slave.

Car drives well, Next will be the suspension.

http://www.mulldrlg.com/vf/miata/eng.jpg