Long term update: the car has been perfectly reliable this year. I did a handful of HPDE's, enough to cord a set of SM7's. Next year I'll move to a 225 tire to take full advantage of my spring rates. Now that the coolant temps are stable I can add tire and push the car harder. I've also maxed out the G-Loc R12's so I'll move up to R18's next year.

I discovered that Rival S's are not very good as a wet tire! In the damp I revert to the Hoosier's as they're more predictable and don't have the jerky snap oversteer the Rival's exhibit.


Miata in late 2016 by Ryephile, on Flickr


Miata in late 2016 by Ryephile, on Flickr


I finally exorcized the ACT 6-puck from the car on Sunday. It's truly the worst clutch I've ever owned. Upon pulling it out it appears i got a poorly machined example, noting the unusual heat spots on both the flywheel and pressure plate, and how those spots don't correlate whatsoever to the disk wear pattern. It would explain the shuddering and strange elephant-honk sounds it made.


Miata in late 2016 by Ryephile, on Flickr

The Flyin Miata Happy Meal appears to be also made by ACT, but the pressure plate springs are different design, and based on pedal feel, use a "higher nose" design like a typical ClutchMasters pressure plate to achieve a wider engagement zone along with higher clamping force. That's a good thing.


Miata in late 2016 by Ryephile, on Flickr


Miata in late 2016 by Ryephile, on Flickr


Miata in late 2016 by Ryephile, on Flickr

Miata in its 2nd natural state.

Miata in late 2016 by Ryephile, on Flickr


So, you can have a reliable turbo Miata that is also pushed to its max at the track. It's just not easy, or cheap.

 

Torin stands? I always get a little nervous getting that high with those, but your floor looks impressively smooth and flat.

 

You should be.
Manufacturing a jack stand with a round base is a horrible idea

 

Clutch, no.

 

Just a nice autumn evening for a drive.


IMG_9794.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

 

Inspired by this thread. I just picked up a '91 with a Greddy kit and "band-aids". The car runs great as is but I'm tempted to go your route and start upgrading to modern hardware.

Can you elaborate more on why you stayed with the 1.6?

 

Thanks. My car is all original paint and all VIN tags match, including engine and trans. I had no real desire to screw that up. It was also harder to adapt the 1.6 to 36-2 w/Megasquirt than dropping in a 1.8, so that was more of a personal challenge. The power delta really doesn't matter as you just move the fuse from the rods to the trans to the rear diff housing, all the while the chassis is al dente even with all the bracing. The car has practical development limits with a Mazda powertrain. As it stands the cars' balance on-track is very nice.

Advice? Just leave it as is and enjoy it, especially if you're happy with it and it runs great.