I don't think it's going to be as much of a clusterfuck as most would assume.

West is a short and tight track, so slower cars will hold up the fast cars for quite a bit, especially the guys that need to lap the entire field in order to win. Also not a whole lot of people can turn their best lap time for every single lap of the race so I don't think it's going to be any more nuts than a normal race in terms of contact, but it should be fun.

 

I might have to come down to watch that, even though I try to avoid Phoenix from May-Sept... LOL

 

Ill be there with aaron, maybe ill drive the POS if you want to see it.

 

You're welcome to come hang out, but since this is part of the "June-Fest" event that GoFast is hosting (concert, drifting, beer garden etc.) I think there is an entry fee.

I'll have the trailer out there with the A/C going so at least we'll have somewhere to hide from the heat if it's still pretty bad when the sun goes down.

 

So. Night event.

Kind of a bust as far as attendance goes. It was something that fell in place for the organizers last second, so there was only one other car in class and I think my pace was like 5 seconds a lap faster or something like that.

Almost got the overall win lol...

Since turnout was so low, and I also had work the following mornings at 5:30AM. I decided to go back the second day and pack up and head out. I also let hi_im_sean drive an HPDE session in the car since he was there helping out with stuff.

A/C in the trailer worked awesome. Generator is running... better... still needs to be run a bit more I think.

Video:

 

Hit the track recently. Pictures and video below. Also going to start changing some stuff up. I'm no longer concerned or interested in running TTE or PTE at NASA since it is going away in 2018, and also because my local NASA region keeps paying to have MCE drag that piece of **** dyno from Nor Cal to AZ pretty much every local event, and my car reads different on it every time. Trying to find a new direction for the car and my dad and I have come up with some ideas, so expect to see some updates soon. Trying to find somewhere to go where there is a bit stiffer competition.

I'm focusing my resources on the RX8, so it's up to what my dad would ultimately like to do, and he's leaning towards aero, and go from 1000/400lbs springs and stock sways to 1000/500lbs springs and 949 sway bar setup. Also a Racetech Dash 2 Pro is likely in the future along with getting all the engine sensors hooked up and wiring in the flex fuel sensor, retune, etc.

The car is starting to look a bit ragged. I think taking all the stickers off, washing it, maybe doing a halfway decent rattle can job to get everything the same shade is in its future. Paint is definitely in tough shape from years of track use.

First new part that has been ordered from @Lincoln Logs is a Singular hood vent kit. The ones on the car right now have nowhere near the same area of opening as their offering. Having them powder coated matte black so I'll update on that when they get here.

Anyways, track event. Pro Auto. New track for me, half of it is WHP Main which some of you might remember with the drag strip straightaway, but at the end of the straight you turn right and go through the Bob Bondurant school racetrack then get spit back out onto WHP Main in about the same spot. It pretty much doubles the lap time and is a lot of fun, the Bondo section is a bit scary. Foot to the floor in fourth gear and try to hit all your apexes perfect or else you'll have to lift in order to correct. There is even a jump and a spot where I was bottoming out the suspension which surprised me.

Also, picked up some real race communications gear from KNM Industries which is a local AZ company that mainly does offroad stuff like Baja 500/1000, but they also have IMSA style equipment and more affordable road course range stuff. It's awesome to say the least. When you're spotting, you can hear the driver loud and clear, the noise cancelling on the microphones is awesome. This turned out to be a huge advantage during the races, increasing track and situational awareness by a boatload.

Quick Video Overview: I won 5 races total.
(Second is probably the most interesting)

First Qual Race: This is the largest field I think I've been in. 12 cars in class. I qualified really well, 3 seconds a lap faster than second place, 6 seconds a lap faster than the remainder of the field. (Best lap time from the weekend was 2:14, but first day I was in the low 2:16 area.) Got to mix it up with a couple higher classed cars.

Main Race: Two cars out due to mechanical. Field of 10 cars. Went up against someone that was obviously cheating, from what I thought was a reputable company that is local here. (If you know anything about Hondas, you know who Hasport is...)

Super Sprint Race: Interesting format. 7 cars first race, 6 cars for the second and third in class. Three back to back to back sprint races. The ending position of the first race determines the starting grid for the second, etc. This means that the second and third race starts you can be near the back of the pack if say the race leader is about to lap you and the checker drops before he gets by. You just have the pace car come out after a checker and relaunch the field to start a new race. Then points are added up from the three races and you get your finishing position. It was about an hour long which is the longest track session I think I've ever done. Car was great and luckily the weather was nice so I wasn't overheating.





Pictures thanks to my friend Will:

 

Oh also this happened... there was a Friday practice day and while my dad was driving the car in the second session of the day, third gear blew up. All the teeth were sitting on the bottom of the case.

Thought that couldn't happen with less than 120lb/ft of torque but I guess after 120k street miles and probably 10 to 15k track miles that's a pretty decent lifespan for the original transmission.

I had picked up this spare trans awhile back because I found it for 40 bucks. No idea if it was shot, but swapped it in, the fluid and output seal together tripled the value of it (LOL), and then it worked great for the rest of the weekend. Was able to test it out in the last session of the practice day so we only missed 1.5 sessions worth of drive time in order to get the swap done at the track.

 

To quote a close friend:
"Bauce."

 

So this happened the other day.

 

Damn dude, glad you found a good replacement after the garage fire.

 

I still cant believe that muffins didn't make it. RIP you de-clawed little fur ball.

 

Huh?!? What the heck is going on? Fire? 10AE? How come Aidan and Sean are up to speed and the rest of us are in the dark? Not feeling the love . . . .

 

 

Well they know more than me since they're just making **** up haha.


My dad picked it up to use as a daily driver. Have wheels, tires, and coilovers on the way. Will post some updates on that later. Also still gathering aero stuff for the track Miata. Not sure what direction that build is heading in anymore, just having fun with it.

 

Looking forward to seeing it.

 

I recently picked up an NA Miata to flog on the the track and really enjoyed reading through your thread, thanks for taking the time to document it all

 

Its really to bad it all ended in a fire, last week. So much work, just up in flames because of a shitty fuel line.

 

I told him to use the Gates barricade stuff. He cheaped out though. He made it out safe though.

 

They're lying. Car is in the trailer. Picked up a stock hood yesterday for the new vents. Just need to order some material for the front end and splitter.

 

I figured as much. Wasn't gonna take the bait!