thesnowboarder

iTrader: (15)

How do you cope with having your miata be only a track car?

Its getting really really tough for me now that its getting sunny here in CA.

cardriverx

iTrader: (12)

dont be a bitch and DD it anyway

curly

iTrader: (25)

I did. Partly because of my budget and partly because I missed it I did a semi-convert back to a street car. Welded on a flange and muffler that I could unbolt for the track, screwed in the center console for storage and comfort, rerouted my reroute to warm up in less than 6 hours, and I never took the wipers/heater out. Got some decent free tires from Cueball and had them mounted on my 15" wheels, dropped in $15 NAPA pads to stop the squealing...couple other things I can't think of.

The lack of radio, racing seat, 6pt harness, no power steering, and noise are probably the worst things about a converted track ****--->DD, but I live with them when I want to have fun.

When I do have the funds for a track day, it'll be roughly another $100-$150 to buy new rotors, mount my R888's back on my good wheels, re-do the coolant reroute and fill with water wetter+distilled water, take out the center console and passenger seat, and about 2-3 hours of work to do all this. Small price to pay if you're not doing it all the time and you get the enjoyment of the Miata in trade.

I wanted a economical, 4 door, cheapish, good looking Miata when I bought a real DD and ended up with my '08 Lancer. I was surprised how much fun an entry level 4dr saloon could be, but it fits the bill. Still missed the Miata, so I did the above.

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

I do. Mike has to hear me whine about it all the time. Before the OGK became the fire spitting caged beastie it is, it was something else entirely. The 99 Rental is also too track focused to be much fun on the street. Besides, it's top is bolted on and you gotta run top down on the street.

Favorite DD ever in my life was this sorta faded classic red '91, bronze 9's, worn out and bald NT01's, revalved 12/7 Flex, Hard Dog Sport, MS PnP, I/H/E, 4.3 Torsen, 6 speed and light flywheel. Full race alignment. Was like that for about a year and a half.

No soft or hard top, rarely washed. Car was a blast to drive, reasonably quick on the track, responsive, agile and a car that just begged to be shifted at redline every chance you got. Sounded fantastic. I got thumbs up all time.

Warm weather is here and I miss it.

A pic earlier in it's life.



Have a 95 R package waiting for me to drop a JDM '02 motor and custom ECU into it. Should make about 140whp with the stock airbox/high flow cat and pass smog here in Cali. Throw some black 9's and RS3's on it, Xida Club Sports and I'm done. Can't wait to drive it.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

A little. I have to get to the track at least once a month or I get pretty antsy about it. This was my favorite street car time:



If TSE ever really takes off I'll buy a DD other than the truck. '01+ NB, AC, cruise, good stereo, Rotrex, FCMs, 6ULs. ~160whp, stone reliable, comfy enough to take to LA and back without a headache and lower back pain.

turotufas

iTrader: (7)

I know I'm a few years away from having a dedicated track car. I don't even know if it'll be a Miata either. But I miss having a regular Miata, one that doesn't get attention.

ThePass

iTrader: (3)

Yes I miss it. I bought the car knowing its potential in the right hands and with the right mods for the track, but what I didn't expect when I decided to purchase a miata was just how awesome it was to drive through the backroads with the top down on a warm day:

That was 4 years ago, had super light Heliums with Toyo T1R's (still my favorite street tire), some springs and shocks, and a magnaflow exhaust. I loved it. Then autocross happened, and I decided I was going to want to track the car some day, and the car began to become more and more single minded...

Now, to be honest at least 75% of the time I'm driving on the street I wish it was more civilized. It's cool to stand out, but not all the time, I do like that there are those out there who appreciate the car - today my car was parked outside work and a mid-50's asian dude who was walking by stopped and stared at my car, walked around it, peered inside, for a good 10 minutes. That was cool... but like I said, the majority of the time on the road I'd rather stick out less, make less noise, have a smoother ride, not have to buckle 5 seatbelt clips when I get in, etc.. but then I get to the autocross or track, and it's all worth it:

sforsancho

Learn how to thread the line, if it isn't too late. I made sure my DD (Civic) was relatively fun before treading deeper into track car duty, but for now I will keep the stereo, the carpet and the soft top for those beautiful CA afternoons. What other car do you have a better excuse to have a ragtop for? Any other sports car and you're not 'hardcore' because you didn't pick the fixed roof.

ThePass

iTrader: (3)

sforsancho - we both just put up pics at a Marina autocross. Funny.

Gotpsi?

iTrader: (5)

Just get another miata, unfortunately I have 2, the unfortunate thing about this is one is a track car the other is not running. Its a loose loose situation for the street.

sforsancho

And yet we've never met. A shame. I find that monterey weather is 90% sunshine and teddy bears unless I'm there for a Laguna Seca event. Then it's cold, wet and miserable.

How old is that shot anyway? Are you on .. Azenis?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

yes. I've been "downgrading" my car over the last year to make it a big GT summer cruiser

exhaust and clutch are next to get swapped out in the coming months.

Machismo

iTrader: (1)

He He... seems to be the trend lately. Sold the cage, purchased doors to get rid of the gutted shells, and have been changing just a few things to get back to bare minimal street duty car that I can enjoy. However, some of the mods can never be undone.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Every time I go to the track I want to gut my car because its way too heavy. Every day like today at 74* and sunny I remember why my car has interior and not cage. I am way too attached to my car to track it so I'm going to keep it how it is, maybe clean the wiring harness redo a few things to incorporate lightness...but it will remain the street car track day crusher. Eventually I'll have a 3rd miata that will probably be an SM so I can go wheel-to-wheel.

Machismo

iTrader: (1)

But I do like 2,061 lbs. bragging rights...

curly

iTrader: (25)

I think Hustler owned us all by doing it correctly. Very nice balance between street and track, only sacrificing ~100lbs. If you want a turbo, and want to track it instead of autocross, it seems like you're limited to time attacks like Savington is doing, which is way too competitive for most of us. I think most of us would do SM if we wanted wheel to wheel action. Do we have any turbo options?

I started using my miata for endurance races in Forza 3. I had to give it up around 250hp after class C because the fuel tank is way too small. Isn't that why Sav is doing the TAs?

mikewolf

iTrader: (2)

I have 3 miatas. autox/track, summer and winter. The down side is the winter one is all stock and boring. The summer one with suspension and a lightweight flywheel is a pretty good street car.

Machismo

iTrader: (1)

I agree Curly.

rharris19

iTrader: (41)

I was going to turn my daily into my track car, but I found a beater that I could tear completely down and change everything, while still driving around. Then I needed a parts car for the track car, then I found two for really cheap, and so on. That's how I ended up with 11 miatas.

Given I always sell them for more or part them out, but still. It's like crack.

curly

iTrader: (25)

Does make you gain weight or give you cancer?