Track day #2 was a success! Had Aidan as my instructor this go around, so great to have Miata people to learn from. No drama cause by me this time, but I did have to avoid a Canada Goose coming out of turn 6, which was fun. Weather was pretty much perfect, and had a great time meeting people.

I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the proper racing line, next area of focus will be growing a pair and shortening my braking zones. I'm not close to using the full capabilities of my NA8 brakes and Stoptech pads, and I still have the BBK sitting in a box. Next event will be June 7th, and I don't plan on doing anything to the car other than changing the oil unless the front pads need changing.

Once we sell our previous home I'm probably going to look into getting the rest of the safety system sorted out: seats, harnesses, HNRS, gloves, ect. Probably won't be able to get that done before the 7th though. Still debating whether to go with braced aluminum seats, or spring for a fiberglass seat and the necessary fab work necessary to get it to fit.

 

Brake pads were questionable for the next two track days, and I wouldn't have time to swap between the days so I used this as an excuse to install my big brake kit. Fairly non-dramatic. Kinda a bummer that I needed to beat on my brand new Singular duct backing plates, but such is life.


Yep, those should last a while.

 

Nice build you got going on here. That dyno sheet looks good for an 8.6:1 block, definitely a little more than I thought it would be.

 

So this happened yesterday.

The front fell off.
Off to get it welded back together this morning.

 

Thanks! Most surprising thing about the power is the mid-range torque. First thing people, including Miata people, comment on when they drive it.

 

Have two more track days this summer, both in August. Second one is an open track event, so I should get plenty of drive time!

Finally getting seats, harnesses, and HANS, will be getting installed between the two August events. Recaro Profi SPG XL for the driver's side, OMP WRC-R for the passenger. Schroth Profi's on both sides. HANS Sport III for myself. Should help my wife breathe a little easier.

 

First track day driving solo was August 2nd. Had a great time in the Intermediate Group, despite giving plenty of point-bys. I even got some lap times and video this time. Behold, my least-slow lap!


Still a crap-ton of room for improvement. Next event is Thursday, and I'll have seat and harnesses which should help.

 

Get the camera up higher if you can, can't really tell what your line's like. But it doesn't look terrible, you're hitting all the turn ins, apexs, and turn outs. At this point it's just pushing the braking zones, carrying more speed into the corners, and pushing the limits of grip through them. If Martin's there Thursday (PIR again?) get him to drive it for a few laps with you in the passenger seat, it's usually a good wake up call to where you're loosing a lot of time.

Your setup should be good for 1:34-35s fairly easily, Throw Martin or Eddie in and it'd probably do a 31-33, I'm not too familiar with your tires, but that's probably out of your reach until you get more than 2-3 track days under your belt

 

So yesterday's event was an open track event, and I definitely prefer that format. I ended up driving a greater number of shorter sessions, and more track time overall. Best part was not feeling pressured to stay on the track if something didn't feel right, or I was stuck in traffic, or whatever because I knew I could go back on at any time. Will definitely be doing more of these next year!

I did have one minor mechanical issue: the bolts that hold the catalytic converter to the midpipe fell off somewhere or another. Quick trip to the auto parts store and some wrenching and I was back in business.

This was my first event with seats and harnesses, and man what a difference! Much easier to feel what the car is doing, and it took me a little while to get used to it. No video this time, but I did get down to 1:38.328. Pretty happy with that at this point. I was having some issues with my rear tires locking before the fronts, probably need to give the front calipers a bleed, but braking zones and corner speed through 4 and the 10/11 complex is where most of my improvement needs to happen.

I also may be picking up a tow vehicle and trailer this weekend, which will make travel to other track an easier proposition.

 

What brake pads are you running? In lieu of an adjustable proportioning valve, I run 1 or 2 compounds less stoppy in the rear and don't bleed the rears as frequently. That has worked well enough that I don't feel the need to install a valve.

 

StopTech Sports all around right now. I'll start with rebleeding the front calipers, I probably just didn't run enough fluid through them when I installed them.

 

Got myself a towing setup! 2000 Ford Excursion with the 6.8 V10. Now I can go to and from the track in air-conditioned comfort. You can see the trailer in the background.

 

So there is one thing about the trailer I mentioned earlier: it is just BARELY wide enough for the Miata. The seller gave the width measurement OUTSIDE the fenders, rather than inside, and I didn't take a tape measure with me when I went to buy it. I've been writing "Trust, but verify" repeatedly on a chalkboard for the past couple days as penance.


JUST made it.

225s might be a problem.
This presents two problems: wider tires might not actually make it in the channels, and when I have the car positioned properly for weight distribution I can't open the door enough to get out of the car. The second issue can be fixed by making the fenders removable, as the primary attachment points are like so:


A grinder, bolts, and some paint will make me the fabricator I ain't!

No welds on the bottom.
Grind off the welds, drill a couple holes, and ta-da! Bolt on, removable fenders. I can also bolt them farther outboard, giving a bit more space between the fenders. Then I can put some material in the channels later if I have tires that are too wide, or at least give me more margin for error.

So I know that I CAN do it, the question in my mind now is whether I SHOULD. I still feel like I got a pretty good deal on a solid trailer. The frame is older, but it is basically fully rebuilt. Axles, hubs, wheels, and tires are brand new. Has a manual winch. A new one of similar build would easily be a couple thousand more, and who knows how long it would take to sell this one. I'm leaning towards making the modifications, because a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Unfortunately I probably won't be able to get to it for some time...

 

 

I'm with stupid.

 

Is Don stupid or am I stupid?

 

Well I know that I am for sure for not taking a damned tape measure.

So say I get a replacement. Should I still be looking for a steel deck? I had been trying to avoid wood due to rot issues, but steel trailers are few and far between it seems. What other features will I want, since I am clearly incompetent when it comes to selecting a trailer.

 

Wood is fine. If it rots, you spend a day making a new deck and taking the opportunity to refresh the rest of the trailer. Once every..... 5-10 years? Oh no.

 

He is right. Just check the boards before you purchase. I bought this trailer probably 9 years ago and the wood is still in incredible shape (and it is stored outdoors in the Northeast). It is used to transport dirt, mulch, etc around my house most of the year aside from lending it to buddies that need it for miscellaneous tasks.

 

Been a long time without doing any work on the car. Still have the trailer, I'll keep it listed through the winter and see what happens. In other news, my parents finally finished the remodel on their former rental and moved out! So nice to have the house to ourselves. I also found out that I passed the last section of the CPA exam, so that's off my shoulders too!

For the past 6 months this is what my garage looked like:


Filled with most of our earthly possessions, as the house itself was full of a lifetime of my parents' crap. Additionally, at one point we had 8 vehicles parked outside: 4 for me (Fit, Odyssey, Excursion, and Miata), 3 for my parents (VW Eos, A6, and Toyota Avalon), plus my brother's POS truck. Parking was...fun.

As of last night:


I'm sore, but it was worth it. Just a few more boxes to deal with inside and we will be fully moved in. In the interim, got some SADFab goodies:


Hopefully I can get started on installing the pile of parts I have. First up will be the DW200 fuel pump, followed by the ID1050X injectors and D585 coils. Then tune a bit. Then the REAL work begins. The plan is for me to do most of the hardware install for the turbo kit, then take it to Curly's shop for buttoning up, exhaust fab, and tune.