I'm not much of a forum goer, but a buddy of mine talked me into checking the site out.

I'm the proud owner of a 1994 R-package Miata that has recently been turbocharged, I'm not an expert but I know my way around the garage. My car is a Grassroots Motorsports project, so if you've got any suggestions on things you'd like to see in the magazine, I'm all ears. (Not that I'm in charge, but I know a guy...)

I hope to learn a lot from you all. Thanks!
Tom

 

Welcome aboard, you will find that we are not your typical forum and we are proud of the fact. We are a little tough on all new members, so I hope that doesn't scare you of, we really mean well by that.
Now, you will notice a hazing ritual, and pics requests quiet frequently, it's more like a tradition now...well we just really like pics.
Good luck with your car and we are all looking forward on you guys testing out lots of stuff that we can't simply afford to trial and error on on our daily drivers.
Some guys were mentioning how they would like to see several different suspension set-ups tested and compared, I think that would be a great start for you guys since that is the simple most enjoyable upgrade on any Miata due to it's handling characteristics.
I would like to see some test data on some chasis bracing personaly, most people do not change bracing or use more than one set-up in their cars lifetime. So that would also be a good start.
Other than that, anything goes i guess.

 

no GRM guy is going to be hazed. don't worry.

welcome aboard. saw the shots of Keith and Bill doing your install a few places. They're good guys. I had a beer with them on my way from California to the east coast.

 

welcome....some pics of your car would be nice

 

You should go give that guy a swift kick in the junk!

Tom, welcome to a little slice of crazy. It's about time we got some a respectable members of the automotive community around here. Mostly it's a bunch former Jerry Springer guests and the odd cage-fighter that frequent this forum, but there's no better place to get the down-and-dirty on EVERYTHING relating to turbo Miatas. I think a lot of people would agree that the interest this forum has generated in the last 2-3 years for tubo-Miatas has led to a lot of innovation, at least one or two startup companies dedicated to new parts and that ACTUALLY LISTEN to buyers and give them what the community demands. All of this has led to greater competition in the market which is good for all of us.

How about a complete run-down on your car and maybe what you're thinking about next for it... and put a short mod-list about it in your signature.

 

Aww, shucks—You all aren't as bad as they say. Thanks for the kind welcome.

Other than the effing terrific (how's your swear filter around here?) turbo setup, my car is close to stock. It's got the factory R-package swaybars and bilstein shocks, but it's not very different from most any other Miata I've driven. The biggest difference is the lack of power steering.

I replaced the clutch and installed a Griffin aluminum radiator at the same time as the turbo install. I've also picked up a Hard Dog Hard Core single diagonal roll bar (on sale, free shipping) and a Memoryfab kevlar seat (factory blemish, $100 off) over the last year.
Oh yeah, and a shift ****, because I couldn't stand the wood thing that came with the car.
Other than that, there's just maintenance items like brake pads/rotors.

My next step is suspension. Since I'm a big autocross geek, I'm interested in a competition-focused setup; I'm leaning toward something from Shaikh at FatCat Motorsports, I met him at the Dixie National Tour autocross event earlier this year and he really impressed me—a total suspension genius.

The turbo setup isn't really done yet either. I'm shooting for 300 whp eventually, but I'll stop when the drivability goes away. This is still my primary driver, so I'm pretty interested in keeping it reliable.

 

Well, the only word that is filtered out is d r i f t i n g, everything else goes...


Suspension, yes!
You'll find quiet a few auto-x addicts here, so suspension is a very important topic here as well.
Shaikh is very well respected on all Miata forums, I however never had a chance to speak with him so I cannot comment from experience.
We are a very DIY focused crowd, most here typically do not buy anything off the shelf, we prefer the cheaper wrong way of doing things, IOW, we are cheap bastards.
I started out with a R package car as well, today, the only thing that remains is the Torsen and the rear sway bar, everything else has been replaced.
I will be watching your build and hope to learn a few things and apply towards my build, I am sure Shaikh has a few tricks up his sleeve.

 

I actually met you at Road Atlanta that weekend. I came up and talked to you while we were waiting inline for the parade laps. I was at the time enjoying a friends yellow 996 turbo for the weekend. How's the hydra treating you?

You can read more about my recent suspension setup and autocross experience here:
https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/showthread.php?t=23843

My car is pretty well setup and I should be faster, my experience is lacking though. For the time being i'm done modifying the car, time to focus on the driver.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Oh well! I guess it's up to me then (since I'm a foreigner and never heard of GRM before) pics or ban!

Too many members fawning over you!

Welcome to this forum. I hope we can all enjoy your contributions in the future.

 

Hi Tom. Welcome.

 

HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
******* .

 

Hi Tom,
I saw you driving your car either from or towards the GRM tent at the Mitty. I think you had TurboDog's Dad in the pass seat.

I bought myself a Griffin rad 2 days later, after seeing yours.

Ben

 

That's cool; I remember both of you guys from the event. Small world, eh? Anyhow, I don't want to get banned, so I posted this thread-

https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/sho...659#post286659

 

welcome.

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head are wheel weights for commonly available 15x8 wheels (and MSRP) and CHEAP suspension mods with test results (slalom, skidpad).

Most of us are dirt cheap DIY bastards and if a mod costs more than $200 without a HUGE diffence in performance we are likely to not bother. At the same time, most of us won't drop more than $500-$1000 at once regardless of the performance gain.

 

300whp isn't nearly undriveable! Hope to see the car in GRM more often!

 

there's a few others...


like **********

 

Welcome GRM Tom.