The "What would you do?" M@MRLS thread.
 

Backround story:
-"A Group" driving spot for the trackday and you want to have fun chasing around Emilio, Sonny, Moti, Ryan, and whatever other awesome people you meet after only knowing them online. (you want to be "competitive" at the fun trackday)
-10 other Ohio/midwest cars in the caravan. (potential need for spares and tools)
-5200 miles
-1 trackday
-No cruise, no AC.
-Less-than-stock rearward visibility due to CoT wing and tiny side mirrors.
-You'll be staying in Motel 6's with no secure parking.
-You happen to have a Flyin Miata lightweight hitch recevier that showed up on a parts car.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1406337205


Options:
A: Buy a $600 set of fresh 225/45/15 BFG Rivals or Hankook RS3v2. Drive out, drive trackday, drive home on the same tires.

B: Buy $350 Harbor Freight utility trailer, ~$150 tag, title, wiring kit and drive out on currently owned street tires while towing currently owned race tires and a much more thorough spare parts kit, jackstands, jack, ez-up, etc.


What would MT.net do?

As long as your shit is solid, get a trailer for that bitch.
The down side is that tow home would be ridiculously expensive.
Make sure you buy a spare for that trailer and repack those little wheel bearings before you go. I wouldn't trust harbor freight wheel bearing packing and grease. Also will be a long drive going the speed limit or lower the whole way.

I owned an HF tire trailer once. The idea of trying to tow it 5200 miles in a week fills me with horror. Given the two choices listed, I'd go with A.

--Ian

I tried the HF trailer route. On the first event the car broke and barely made it home. Not even sure how the motor ran with 70% leakdown... Second time I tried it the car shot the crank pulley out and that was it. AAA ended up refusing my tow an I was stuck at the track. If you can find a way best bet is to tow your car out.

Also see you at MRLS. I am in A group too.

What was the reason cited? Was it due to having the trailer with you and trying to get that transported as well?

Every time I have used AAA it's been quick and pain-free. I've had a tow-truck drive right into the pits at WSIR, pick up a friend's car who had broken down on-track, I gave him my card and signed for the tow, and off they went to his house.

-Ryan

There reason was probably related to their own stupidity. Also when I mean refused they refused to honor my AAA premier. When I first called I told them about the trailer and that the car will need a flatbed. They said that would be fine but there would be an extra fee for the trailer and I was fine with that. So the tow first tow truck that comes is one that just lifts the front up which well never work even without a trailer. Actually every single time I have used AAA they ignore me and send this type and I have to wait twice for a truck. Anyways so the second truck finally gets there and the driver is unaware I have a trailer and does not have the ability to take it. He calls in then is told that AAA refused service because ironically enough I was at Autoclub Speedway. That was when I decided I should probably buy a truck.

I really want to participate in the caravans and a truck and trailer would prohibit that. Although, I do have the opportunity to borrow both. Borrowing is another liability in and of itself...

The logical part of me is leaning towards fresh Rivals, remove the wing, stock hood, re-installing wipers, radio and some vented side windows and calling it at that. Keep it simple, keep it 'more miata, less racecar' and enjoy the event instead of worrying about all the extra variables.

Fresh tires. Don't grenade the motor. Don't futz around with a HF trailer.

If a group of you is caravaning and if there is an extra person coming, you could all chip in for a support vehicle. Would be easier for you guys to bring tools and spare. In the worst case someone in the group breaks you can rent a uhaul trailer and tow it back.

Fresh tires, reinstall the wipers and radio. maybe the stock mirrors. I'd leave the hood and wing.

--Ian

Rental van or pickup pulling a car trailer or dolly with car on it or nothing. If you break anything you will thank me.

I couldn't imagine trying to pack a miata for a trackday AND a cross-country trip. I'd definitely want a trailer. A new, untested HF trailer is definitely a gamble in itself, though. I'd start by trying to rent/borrow an already built, registered, and tested trailer from a local autocrosser. Most of those guys have nice setups with a locking box and locks for the wheels/tires. If that doesn't work out, then buy and build your own. Definitely repack the trailer bearings, and definitely carry a spare set of bearings and a spare trailer tire plus the tools for those two jobs. Walmart had the correct size tires for my shitty little trailer, so you should be able to get more spares anywhere along your route if things go way wrong. You can probably sell it to an autocrosser and get most of your money back after the trip.

+1 to wipers, rivals, keep the wing, use a blue tooth speaker for a stereo and play miata tetris. should be doable. I do it all the time out here without issue. With a caravan you prob don't have to carry all your tools with you since other people will have them.

See you in september. Come visit say hi thepass and i in the blackbird fabworx booth. I'll be out in A/B group giving rides.

There are two models of HF trailer. One that uses little 8 inch wheelbarrow size trailer tires, and one that comes with real 12 inch trailer tires. Do not buy the model with the tiny tires.

On that long of a drive with a car not meant to haul a trailer, you might want to see if you can fit a load levelling hitch onto the HF trailer and FM hitch. Would make it a bit safer.

Options:
A.1: Drive out on your street tires, buy a $600 set of fresh 225/45/15 BFG Rivals or Hankook RS3v2 in California, drive trackday, drive home on the same tires.

Option 3: Buy a conversion van and a cheapo trailer on craigslist, sleep in it to save on motel fees, don't bother with registration because you have a 45 day window for that, tow your car there and back, sell conversion van and trailer when you get back.

I have some serious soul searching to do. I was trying to diagnose and repair a simple belt squeal on cold start up, which led to finding a broken water pump. Replacing the water pump lead to finding some fairly serious crank keyway damage.

Need to either Loctite fix the current crank, source used bottom end/longblock or pick up one of the many miatas for sale here... before Laguna.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1407532000

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1407532000

Do you own a welder?

No.

Do you know anyone who owns a welder, and likes beer?

For the crank repair?
I've done a couple Loctite 660 repairs now, I plan on doing that next week when my woodruff key arrives no matter what.

I feel like i'm really Hustlering up the situation, but there is a very nice 46k mile, Titanium MSM locally that an acquaintance is selling. That's kinda tempting to pick up for Laguna, then part my car out.

first let me just say: you guys blow my mind with this stuff. I can't even fathom loading up a race prepped miata with next to no creature comforts and drive 5200 miles

second: I think I should talk to my brother about ripping apart like 3 or 4 of the parts cars and bringing them in pieces to MRLS, I feel like the engines/transmissions/etc would probably sell within hours.

third: sorry I'm not much help. because not racer/racecar

The MSM would sure be more comfortable. How cheap?

Vlad, yup that'd be a great idea.

If you do it, you need to do it like a farmer's market: all laid out on a pallet, wood sign with painted on prices, straw hat and overalls, corn cob pipe, the works.

Probably would. I remember distinctly two people swapping six speeds last year. Maybe a third as well.

Well, Loctite 660 happened. (sorry for super shitty pic. dark garage, hard spot to photograph, yada yada)
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1408231268

Then, last night I threw everything else back together. After a pretty 'spirited' test drive last night and cars and coffee this morning, I have some confidence in its longevity.
Also, new rivals are on. They're really quiet which should be nice on the trip.

If you are going to do this drive in the racecar have an emergency backup plan for handling mechanicals on the way, at the track or on the way home. If you pull a trailer, make sure your AAA is upgraded to RV with the 200 mile tow. This will cover the trailer too and 200 miles should get you to the next sign of civilization.

bbundy, jmann and I all had 6 speeds out of our cars Saturday last year and all drove full days Sunday. I'm seriously considering bringing some spares including a 5 speed to help pay the fuel bill.

I lost third gear on Sunday last year too, but I just drove that thing all the way back home anyways. Good times...

-Ryan

Yep. We have 5 cars registered for the trackday and another 2 cruising out to spectate/world record stuff. Plenty of tools and small spares planned. Nothing bigger than a CAS or slave cylinder though.

In other news, my car feels great. I didn't realize it was missing power, but man it feels healthy now. I've been driving it every chance the last week and half or so trying to build some confidence in it.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1408994266

Looks great man. looking forward to seeing you again out there. I'll be driving in with your group Friday, with Darryl and thems.

Ron Cortez from AIM Tire will be there, I think with his full rig. If so, you might be able to get tires at the track--even used ones to abuse for the day.

AIM Tire: American International Motorsports

We left Columbus Ohio today and made it to a cheap hotel in Springfield Missouri.
My lower alternator pivot bolt/pin is either loose or bent. Major bumps around St Louis is when it started squealing. The alternator has leaned in a bit and te belt alignment is a bit off. Gates blue belt didn't shred itself on the leg between stops so the goal is to get up a bit early and fix it before the others wake.

Tomorrow's destination is Albuquerque. 830 miles away.

830 miles in 1 day? Ouch, that's a haul...

Especially in a track miata... yeesh.

We did 647 yesterday. I'm loving the Sparco Evo. Glad I splurged on that thing 8 years ago.

In other news, I have broken ANOTHER water pump ear. Still weighing options on how to continue. The other 5 cars are set to leave the hotel within the hour.

My idea was a truck and trailer.

Man, if only my house was on the way, I have a spare water pump for the DD that could go in.

In for pics of hotel parking lot fabrication ghettoness.

I've got a spare water pump in the garage if need one though I bet you could find a FLAPS locally or en route that can find you one.

I'm local if any of "you people" need anything ordered from Amazon or something and can't get locally, look me up and I can have it shipped. I also have access to a cherry picker and a garage full of hand tools as well, but my landlord would evict me if we started swapping transmissions in my yard. :giggle:

We're about 200 miles north with 14 NB2's sitting here ready to be harvested for parts :giggle:

I'm coming down on Friday for sure, maybe Sat too.

Lastly: like I mentioned in G's thread - do any of you want to meet up somewhere or something and meet one another? I've only met a handful of MT folks, and I think it'd be pretty sweet to meet some real miata enthusiasts among the sea of CR retards and M.net wine and cheezers?

If not, I'm going to wear my Miataturbo.net t-shirt and maybe have a name tag "18PSI" or something.

Or maybe something to piss off all the retards I've made cry over the years. I dunno. I fully expect someone to try to assault me btw :laugh:

You gon git shanked.

Oh boy. This is all copy-pasted from my post in our OMO-MRLS-Caravan group, so please disregard cellphone typo's

As some know, I discovered a broken water pump a few weeks ago. The part that broke was the upper alternator/ tensioner mount, which happens to be a threaded hole on an ear of the cast aluminum water pump. I picked up a Gates water pump from Midwest Miata Parts and tore the entire front of my engine apart 2 weeks ago some night after work and changed the water pump. This also led me to finding some keyway damage on the crankshaft similar to a "short nose" 1.6 issue. I fixed this with Darren's help and tried to put as much mileage on the car before we left as I could. I think I got two tanks of gas through it. It was running great but It was apparently not enough.

We left Columbus as expected, car was great(as great as no air conditioning or cruise control can be on 2-300 mile freeway stretches) all the way to St Louis. In STL we pulled off the freeway to go drive under the arch and as soon as my car idled down off the freeway the accessory belt started squealing. I didn't think anything of it. I had just done a full timing belt/water pump replacement a week earlier and must have gotten tons of oil and grime all over that belt and pulleys. After we left town we stopped to refuel. This was the first time in 4 or 5 hours that I had turned the engine off, as I left it idling at the previous truck stop bathroom break. Chris popped his hood to check his oil. That's when I popped mine to check as well. I immediately noticed my alternator was sitting a little crooked and the belt alignment was obviously off.
It was not until we stopped for the night that I told the group I might have some adjustments to make in the morning. I still didn't know what was actually wrong. We all actually had a good laugh about it in the Waffle House parking lot before we checked in. Super loud annoying belt squeal while we cruised around on surface streets was the only hint I got. It was dead silent on the freeway and honestly was running great.
The next morning I unpacked my trunk(which is only slightly easier than unpacking Joe Podelco's) and got my toolkit out. My simple fix was to loosen the alternator tensioner, remove the belt, clean it and reinstall. Easy peasy. Shouldn't have taken me more than 10 minutes.

As soon as I put the ratchet on the bolt head and applied a smidge of torque, I saw the worst case scenario. The whole alternator and bracket ALL moved left half an inch, taking a chunk of the water pump with it. Needless to say it did not go back in the same spot
I knew I was done right then and there. I drove on the last broken water pump longer than I'd like to admit because I could never find the issue. But this break is way worse and allowed the alternator to drop vertically. I may or may not be able to "make it" to Laguna, but no way would I risk running the track day. And then the 2300 miles home.
So I let it sit all night after tightening the belt a few turns.
Once the others woke up and got back from breakfast we went our separate ways. They kept heading out 44 west, and I eastward.
I drove behind semis and hypermiled a 308 mile tank out of my 1.9, standalone ecu pig. I couldn't apply more than 3/4 throttle or the belt would squeal like crazy. It was slipping badly enough that it would not charge both of the accessories I had plugged in at the same time. I don't have a radio in the car so I was using a Bluetooth JBL speaker and had a two port USB adapter in the cig lighter. I did most of the 12 hour drive from Springfield Missouri to New Albany Ohio in silence.
Tomorrow I hop on a plane to Vegas. I'll stay with a couple good friends for a day before driving a rental car out to Laguna for Friday and Saturdays festivities. I'll drive back to Vegas on Sunday and meet my wife who already had this Vegas trip booked for while I was in Cali and we'll go see the Grand Canyon on Monday since I missed that stop on the OMO Caravan.

This failure mode is actually quite a bit worse than the one i found a few weeks back. This time it broke a much larger chunk off and actually slipped downward vertically, totally fucking with the belt alignment.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1409718967
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1409718967


TL DR:
Car broke. Limped it home ~700 miles From nearly Tulsa, Oklahoma to New Albany, Ohio in 12 hours, by myself, with no AC, cruise, or radio because the alternator would only actively charge one thing at a time plugged into the cig lighter. Flying to Vegas tomorrow, driving to MRLS friday.

Awwwww man! That certainly sucks. :sad2: In for knowledge. It'll be interesting to see the post-mortum as I'm not familiar with this particular failure mode. My condolences for not making it with the Miata, but I'm sure there will be plenty of folks willing to give you a ride. Just don't forget to pack you're helmet!

yeah huge bummer man.
I've never seen one come apart like that, not to mention twice.

is the engine solid mounted? only thing I can think of that would crack the ear off like that is massive vibration.

Doward and I might be working out an agreement to use my car for his track reservation. I wanted to get a track time but was woefully late in registering.

So when I drive up I'll ride shotgun if it ends up working for him and he does decide to use it for the sessions.

It'd be a blast to see how an experienced driver handles my car on a track and how the car itself does on the track. I just hope that if it works out the car can handle the sessions ok. I'll definitely have the laptop open running logs to make sure there isn't any alarm bells going off.

That was Trackspeed's first idea too. Mazdacomp engine mounts, but old school MMR solid delrin diff mounts. But I've had those for years and years now. I think the issue is a series of events tracing back since I swapped to the Superdamper. I did not apply Loctite or use a new bolt when installing the damper and it came loose enough to damage the crank keyway. I think while it was loose it shifted and started tugging the accessory belt and broke that first water pump and more importantly might either bent the lower mounting pin or wallowed out the holes the lower pin goes through. That could be allowing the alternator to flap around a bit even after fixing the crank and pulley.

Wow, talk about bad luck. Hope things work out to allow you some seat time

I wanted to type up a big blog style post, and I will, but this photo sums it up so well.
Borrowed an Ohio club friend's '04 MSM w/rollbar and rivals. Tried on the Blackbird Fabworx trunk and got lucky enough for a photo.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410580952

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410580952

Godddddd I hate that I missed the corkscrew. The slope of that thing is unreal when taken from that angle.

Just wait til you're diving into it from the top, Jeff!

Great photos.

very cool.

moar pics plz :)

From here on out, I dub thee "The what I actually did M@MRLS thread"

Left central Ohio on Sunday around ~2pm.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410754272

Drove until dark.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410754272

Went through St Louis, saw the arch. We actually exited the freeway to go park by the arch for a photo, but there was a baseball game and downtown was packed. We got called a "gay parade" and drove over some super shitty roads. I think these bumps are what/when my water pump actually broke.
We never did end up stopping, we just got back on the freeway and kept driving.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410754272

Parked at the hotel on the west side of Springfield, Missouri:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410754272

This is where shit got cray. The next morning is when I attempted to clean my accessory belt thinking I must have slathered it in grease and grime 2 weeks before hand when I replaced the water pump and such.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410754272

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410754272

So after breakfast on that Monday, Labor Day, I started back east while the group went west with the goal of Albuquerque.
~750 miles home, solo, in holiday traffic through STL, Indy and Columbus. Check out that epic carbotech dust:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

My wife helped me find as cheap a flight as possible that morning. Cheap meant flying out of Cincinnati instead of Columbus. We live ~15 minutes from Cbus, and 2.5 hours from Cincy. Cheap also meant roundtrip instead of two one ways. My wife's plan for while I was gone was to go see our friends in Vegas who are getting married next year. So she was scheduled to be there Thursday-Tuesday. I flew from Cbus to Vegas on Wednesday, stayed with them that night and drove to Monterrey Thursday. I ended up driving back to Vegas the Sunday of MRLS. For triple the cost, I could have flown into Monterey and out of Vegas and saved a day of travel.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

Good food in Vegas. Japanese curry:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460
PreRunners everywhere:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460
Landscape shot:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

Driving from Vegas to Monterey:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

BTW, I kind of want a hybrid to replace my Passat wagon(that I dont ever drive), so I reserved a Prius online with Hertz as a sort of extended test drive. Turns out I only reserved a "hybrid sedan-seating for 5" so I ended up with a Ford C-Max instead.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

More landscape shots. I love it out there so there will lots of these to come:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

Almost to Boron/Buttonwillow I think?:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

Coming down some sort of Sierra Nevada shit towards Bakersfield, California. During this descent, I put the car in neutral and coasted for like 8 miles on the tripmeter. C-Max got 37.8mpg on this Vegas-Monterey trip.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755460

Bakersfield meant civilization, a fuel stop, and rush hour traffic. So I hopped off and grabbed dinner:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

Leaving Bakersfield, I thought there was a drought or something?
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

Back up into some rollers, not sure if still Sierra Nevada or Pacific Coastal at this point.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

Racing the sun to the west coast:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

OMG BEAUTIFUL:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

OMG MOAR BEAUTIFUL:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

I was making good time, so i skipped the 101 and went for the coast, Cambria.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

Caught my first glimpse of the Pacific, EVER, after climbing some hill in a random rich neighborhood that had a "coastal access" sign off the highway 46 or 44 or whatever road i was on. Bonus Prius sighting.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

Wow....
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

This shit was FREEZING and i'm an Ohio kid who does "polar bear plunges" in the winter.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410755984

From there on out I didnt take any pictures until the next day, but I drove HWY 1 up from Cambria to Monterey at sunset. 112 miles of Amazing pretty much all to myself that time of night.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps10798021.png

Woke up on eastern time, so I went for a jog on the beach, Monterey Bay beach.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Met JeffBucc at the breakfast spot:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Had breakfast with E02k, JeffBucc, 18psi, Turbofan, and a few others. Then we kinda got split up. I went to meet my Ohio friends and KINOD at the home depot parking lot to await our designated Wolf Hill group entrance time.
Thats where I spotted a wild Type R.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Max's montego blue widebody/fastback that I love:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Driving from home depot up to Laguna Seca:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Top of the hill access road at LS:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Turn 9 from Wolf Hill. 9 is amazing. Better than Corkscrew to me.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Cars at the hill:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

This happened:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps223ac861.jpg


Back to the hotel after free bbq dinner and ND drive by. I was able to walk up and get a suite the day of, at the "sold out" host hotel, on the 11th floor, with an ocean view.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

KINOD hotel party that night. Really bad idea the night before a trackday.... But Embassy Suites does a free happy hour so....

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757010

Next day Miatas at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca happened. I didn't take any pics because fuck you, you weren't there. :fawk:

Sunday I drove back to Vegas. Saw more desert and more prerunners and this sweet truggy.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685

Stopped in Baker, California for some Alien Jerky and Del Taco.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685

Thats when I caught up to "hurricane Norbert?" This storm was bizarre. I have never experienced anything like it. The winds blew a bunch of dust up in the air, then rain started falling through that dust. There was literally mud falling on my windshield, MUD, from the SKY!
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685

Got to Vegas, spent time with friends and Wifey. Took wifey to Hoover Dam on Monday while friends were at work.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685

Saw some cycle bros:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685

Worked more on my tan:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410757685

Flew to Cincy Tuesday night, landed at 11:38pm eastern time, drove 2.5hrs to Columbus. Laid down in bed around 3am, woke up for work at 6:45am...

Nice photo set! :)

Minor nitpick -- Monterrey with two "R"s is in Mexico, the one in California is Monterey.

--Ian